The Family That Laughs Together Stays Together

Elmo and Super Heroes We are SO there! -Lowell, MA

Posted on December 11, 2012 by Laurie

Last year we had a great time at Sesame Street Live at the Lowell Memorial Auditorium. We made a day of it by inviting some friends and then getting lunch afterwards at a local pub. We are SUPER excited that this year the title of the show is “Elmo’s Super Heroes”. If you read this blog then you know that this family is ALL about Super Heroes…my son is in costume just about every day! And Adam at 2 days old was Robin for Halloween.

Sesame Street Live features Big Bird, Elmo, Cookie Monster, Bert and Ernie…and more. Each performance is 90 minutes of singing, dancing and audience participation, including a 15-minute intermission. The perfect length for young kiddos. Tickets can be purchased online or by phone at 978-454-2299.

There are eight shows starting opening night on Thursday January 24th at 7 p.m., then Friday January 25, at 10:30 and 7 p.m., Saturday January 26th 10:30, 2, & 5:30 or Sunday January 27th 1 & 4:30 p.m.

Tickets are priced from $14 to $54 (Sunny Seats). Sunny seats are the VIP package which includes a pre-show meet and greet and photo opportunity with two characters from the show. Group savings are also available.

Grab your tickets and join us for the fun of seeing our special Sesame friends come to life on the stage. What a fun way to spend a cold winter day! See you there!

Disclaimer: This is a sponsored post via U.S. Family Guide

Posted in fun, Local Boston Events, travel | Leave a comment

All Aboard! Polar Express at Cape Cod Central Railway

Posted on December 9, 2012 by Laurie

We took our first family trip as a family of four this past weekend and it was a journey all right….all the way to the North Pole!

The Polar Express left the Cape Cod Central Railway station and headed for the North Pole at 8:15 p.m from Hyannis, MA. We drove down earlier in the day and had plenty of time to watch the movie (one more time) to really build the excitement! The drive down was uneventful, which was perfect! Both kids slept (3.5 year old and 6 weeks), phew.

We arrived at the train station and were greeted with Christmas cheer from the staff right away. Everyone was so friendly and helpful. Checking in for tickets was a breeze and there was both an indoor and outdoor place to wait for the train, both decorated with lights, trees and more. The conductor even let Tommy where his hat! Oh boy I knew right away we were going to have a good time, he could not have been happier and more excited for the train ride.

Once on board we were again greeted by the friendly staff- everyone talked to Tommy and asked him about his plans for Christmas…again really building the excitement. Then the train started….and fast too! The speed definitely surprised us and we had to hold on tight to our three year old who wanted to stand up to look at everything. The 6 week old,, phew- he slept again!

The cookies and hot hot hot HOT chocolate came out first. And boy was it hot- too hot for us so we just had a sip and called it a day. I didn’t want to spill the to go cup on the baby! The cookies were delicious- good job Mrs. Claus. After we had our cookies the dancing chefs read the Polar Express book to everyone and the conductor came by and took all the kids tickets! He worked his magic and punched in both Tommy and Adam’s names on their tickets- very impressive work Mr. Conductor.

All of a sudden we arrived at the North Pole out the window we saw Christmas lights and the big man himself- Santa Claus!

Santas elves came out and started a sing along with Christmas songs and even danced with some of the bigger kids. Santa took his time coming around to all the kids and spent time asking them what they wanted for Christmas. To top it all off the kids- even little 6 week old Adam received a silver bell just like in the movie.

It really was a magical trip to the North Pole. A memory that Tommy will always remember and talk about for “a Long, Long Time” as he likes to say. Adam I am sure will get a kick out of the pictures some day, at 6 weeks old already taking a trip to the North Pole (that’s not bad to start a life time of travel). Mom and Dad, we had a good time too- it really is so much fun to watch your child SO happy.

You can book your trip to the North Pole by visiting Cape Code Central Railways or call 1-888-797-7245 to climb aboard.

Quick Note: Need a family friendly place to stay and eat? We stayed at the Anchor In and we ate at The British Beer Company (early of course). We highly recommend both! The Anchor In had a great morning breakfast which was included in the nightly rate.

Disclaimer: I was provided with tickets to ride the Polar Express. All opinions are 100% my own.

Posted in a photo says it all, adventure, Local Boston Events, review, travel | Leave a comment

Now A Family of Four- photos by Curtis Grace Photography

Posted on November 29, 2012 by Laurie

It’s official we are now a family of four. Adam John Grant was born on October 29, 2012 at 12:32 p.m. right at the height of Hurricane Sandy.

He made his way into this world weighing 8.3 lbs and 20 inches tall, full of spunk and energy from the moment he was born. He actually come out spraying, really he came out of my belly and peed all over the doctors!! Quite an entrance into the world!

He is now a month old and we are starting to settle into our routine and new life, or lack there of… nothing like life with a newborn to remind you that some things just can not be planned- and just maybe are not suppose to be. We are less concerned this time around and are enjoying this time getting to know our new little man All and all it has been a much easier transition than I imagined.

Two weeks ago we celebrated our new family by inviting Sarah Curtis, of Curtis Grace Photography to our house to join us for the afternoon capturing our family in photos.

I am so happy with the photos and I can not thank Sarah enough for her time and effort and of course professional skills- I think we all look great (and that is tough thing to say about yourself 2 weeks post-baby).

Sarah was so great to work with- she is a mom of two who just get’s it, and knows how to make everyone- even my 3 1/2 year old feel at ease and special. She gave Tommy the attention he needed right away to make him feel important and ready to smile for the pictures. He loved the lavish attention and responded by being the best kid! I think that is very clear to see in the photos- his smile says it all.

One thing that Sarah did which was fantastic was she involved Tommy in the process.. asking him questions and having him help. Since many of the photos were just of the little guy this helped keep his spirits up!

Sarah was easy to work with, she came in with ideas and her own props, but was also flexible when I asked for extra photos on the front stairs of our house (our standard every year photo).

I highly recommend Sarah, the owner of Curtis Grace Photography for your family photos, pet photos, professional photos…whenever you need a photographer to capture your life moments. She also offers gift certificates which would make the perfect holiday gift! You can also check out some of her work and keep up to date on facebook

Disclaimer: All photos are property of Curtis Grace Photography and The Family That Laughs Together. Use of photos without permission is illegal. The photo session was provided in exchange for review. All opinions are 100% my own- I highly recommend Curtis Grace Photography!

Posted in a photo says it all, Local Boston Events, marriage, newborns, review | Leave a comment

Pitching in with Splitzee

Posted on November 26, 2012 by Laurie

I am excited to share this new site with you, Splitzee, It is a great site that allows you to track who has pitched in to a group present/gift and keep track of it all …I’m sure we have all pitched in a little too much at times! This is not a sponsored post, I just thought it was interesting and useful and I think you will too!

Guest writer, Wendy Savage, is a multi-tasker extraordinaire who is always looking for the little things that make Moms lives easier. She resides in Boston, MA, and is looking forward to a nice, stress-free holiday season for all.

As a room mother at my daughter’s school, I’ve been in charge of setting up the video montage for parents’ night, getting the kids into their costumes for the Halloween parade (twice for those who decided they needed to pee only after their costumes were on,) and the all-too-unpleasant task of collecting money for the class teacher gift.
It’s the last one that usually pushes me over the edge. In theory, everyone thinks that a class gift is a great idea and wants to contribute. We all get that no teacher really wants twenty “World’s Best Teacher” mugs; and frankly, if we give a group gift, we can all spend less money while giving the teacher a nice $100+ gift. It really is a win-win.
But between having to harass the parents who haven’t given me money, trying to figure out who did but didn’t put a name on the envelope, and then having to kick in the last $15 for the ones who didn’t, it could really send a mom over the edge.
And then there’s the other side – having to give separate holiday gifts to a half dozen people for each of my kids. With the bus driver, basketball coach, gymnastics instructor and religious school teachers, it’s a wonder I don’t go broke or lose my mind trying to keep track.
There is finally an easy way to manage this. It’s called Splitzee and it is like Evite, only for collecting money. You answer some questions about the teacher gift - what the gift is, how much you want to collect, and how much each kid needs to contribute. You then upload the class email list and an email gets sent to everyone with the details. The parents can pay online with a credit card, and everything gets tracked. You can even click a button to send reminder emails to those who haven’t paid. When you want the money, you cash out and get it direct deposited to your back account, or have a check mailed to you.
Splitzee makes it a little easier for busy moms this time of year and can’t we all use that about now?