24

October 23rd, 2011, the day I turned 24, was a wonderful day. Actually, the entire weekend of my birthday was pretty fantastic. My Mom, Dad, and brother Jonathan flew up from Florida to celebrate with me! Here are a few snapshots from our weekend. (And by "a few" I mean a lot...there were too many that just had to be shared :)

My family arrived on Friday afternoon. that night Trevor and I took them to Federal Hill, the Italian district of Providence for an authentic Italian dinner. We had amazing fresh pasta and delicious sangria.

After dinner we went to Pastiche, a pastry shop and cafe that has the most divine sweets I've tasted since moving to New England. (Also, Trevor happens to be doing some promo work for them.) It is from this shop that Jon tried his very first cannoli. I know, I couldn't believe it either. How could he have never had a cannoli before?? He loved it!


On Saturday we went to Lexington, MA to visit my aunt and uncle as well as my cousins who traveled in for the occasion as well. My aunt Lynne is a fabulous artist. Here she is sharing some of her more recent work with my mom.



After lunch in Lexington, we all went into Boston for the day. While walking around my aunt showed us The Advent School...one of the first places she taught. Here my mom peeks into this charming building that is pretty much my dream school.


You can't visit Boston without going to the Boston Public Garden. And you can't go to the Public Garden without visiting the ducks from the beloved children's book, "Make Way for Ducklings"...

...or taking pictures under the pretty trees.

Mom: "Christmas card photooooo!"

On the train back to the parking garage after another divine Italian dinner.

Clockwise from bottom left: Mom, cousin Jason, cousin Julia, Aunt Lynne

October 23rd
Sunday was by birthday. Trevor and I took my family to Newport, one of the first places I fell in love with when I first started visiting Rhode Island years ago.

While driving around sight-seeing, we passed by a field of animals. While the llamas weren't very social (to my disappointment), the donkeys were quite friendly.

Newport is a big boating town and my dad loved seeing all the pretty sailboats. Since he's looking to buy a new boat, he even decided to extend his visit here to look at boats around New England.

Jon taking in the "majestic" (as my dad described it) rocky coastline of Newport.

I can never leave Newport without bringing home some rocks for my collection.

This little lighthouse is probably my favorite place in Newport.

Also, while in Newport, I received a surprise birthday phone call from my dearest friend, Emily! She called me from Guatemala just to wish me a Happy Birthday!

That evening we went to Trevor's mom's house in Hopkinton for my birthday dinner. Deb is the ultimate entertainer and gourmet chef. She made my birthday feel like a truly special day and it was just perfect to have my family and Trev's family together in one place for the first time EVER.

While Trev's brother and sister-in-law were away in Thailand they left their kitten, Chip with Deb to take care of. He was tiny and so adorable. And yes, that is a birthday crown I'm wearing. It wouldn't be a birthday party without festive hats!

Blowing out the candles on my birthday cupcakes.

What a perfect ending to a perfect day!

Thank you to everyone who made is so special <3