Day 4- Concord Massachusetts

Before we left on our trip there were a few tears and fears about not being able to get enough sleep during spring break (Disney World was SO exhausting for all of us and nobody really wanted a repeat of that level of go-go-going every day). I think it's safe to say we all got plenty of sleep on this trip.  We planned four nights with Grandma and Grandpa in New Hampshire, with two kids sleeping at their apartment each night.  The first night the girls stayed with them, and the boys got plenty of sleep in our nearby hotel. 

We quickly fell into the routine that took us through our time together- meet at G&G's apartment for a delicious hot breakfast made by Grandma 

then head over to the mission office to swap our our two cars for The Moose!

This 15 passenger mission van made the whole trip so much more fun, with room to spread out and plenty of time to visit altogether each day.  

We wanted to see all of Grandma and Grandpa's favorite mission places, and our first stop in Massachusetts was the Minuteman Bridge. 

We listened as Grandma and Grandpa told us about the beginnings of the Revolutionary War and the Minuteman Bridge and the "shot heard round the world" and how important it was to the Restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ that America be a land of religious freedom. 

And boy howdy was it cold!  Don't be fooled by those beautiful blue skies- we were all freezing and didn't stay here as long as we would have liked. 

Our next stop was a spooky one- Sleepy Hollow Cemetery! 

We walked all over this famous and historic cemetery and hiked up to Authors Ridge, where we saw the gravestones of many famous authors, including Louisa May Alcott,

Ralph Waldo Emerson, 

Nathaniel Hawthorne, 

Henry David Thoreau, 

and someone named Rufus. 

Then we headed to the nearby Orchard House, summer home of Louisa May Alcott, and where she wrote Little Women.  

My favorite little women!

We opted not to go inside but it looked lovely through the window!

Then we headed over to historic Concord for a little bit of shopping 

and dinner at the the Colonial Inn- one of the oldest inns in the United States that was built in 1716 and just might have been haunted!  The floors and ceilings were slanted, the parlor was fabulous, and the food was delicious!

This fireplace is over 400 years old!

We all loved checking out this charming, historic part of Massachusetts. Throughout the trip, it was wonderful to reflect on the impressive and amazing history of our country. 

Once we wrapped up in Massachusetts we headed back to the mission office and got to see where Grandma and Grandpa spend their days- with all of those missionaries!

They are both organized and encouraging and exactly what those missionaries need!

Then we headed back to their apartment for a height check in- 10 and 2/3's year old Emma is just about caught up to Grandma!

And Adam now passes her up by a whole head!

We had to put fudge and popcorn on our schedule!

Along with a game that we tried but never quite got the hang of. Still, it was a fun night and a full day and before we knew it it was time to tuck the boys into bed and call it a night!