Our Magical Summer, Part 1

Now that it's mid-September and the girls and I have been back in California for almost two months, our summer in Cambridge feels like it was ages ago.  It was a whirlwind 7 weeks that passed far too quickly.  Yet during that time, we managed to create some amazing family memories.  It was truly a magical summer.  

Truth be told there was also plenty of stress, which led to temper tantrums, sibling fights, and lots of late night adult conversations about how we're going to make all of this work.  But Jordan and I are so grateful that we were able to begin his journey at MIT together.  The girls and I gained a sense of what his life at school will be like, while spending almost every day exploring one of the best cities in the US.  I didn't take many photos on our big camera, but instead used my iPhone since we were always on the go.  There are so many pictures I couldn't possibly cram them all into one post, so I will share them in a few separate installments.  

Here is our summer in photos.

We were delayed by 3 hours(!!) on our flight to Boston and didn't land until 3am.  Neither girl slept a wink, despite my best efforts.  Instead, there was a whole lot of this:

On our first day in Massachusetts, we took the subway to Boston Commons and rode the swan boats.  From there, we walked back to the MIT campus.  We were a little jet lagged, but so happy to be reunited as a family that it didn't matter.

We subleased a 2-bedroom apartment on the MIT campus from a family that was gone for the summer.  They had a 4-year old daughter, so there were plenty of toys to keep Clara and Evie busy.

Only MIT families with children can live in the apartments where we stayed, and the units surround a huge playground and picnic area.  Every night by around 4pm, the playground filled with families.  The setup created a wonderful community, with kids playing together and moms and dads visiting with one another every night.  We met many, many wonderful people who embraced our family.  Within a week, we had been invited to birthday parties, BBQs, and fun family excursions.

Our apartment was on one end of the MIT campus, about a mile away from the subway station and where Jordan took all of his classes.  During the week, a shuttle ran every 20 minutes so we could quickly get to the other end of campus.  Clara and Evie LOVED riding the shuttle.  But on weekends and at night we had to walk, and we did a LOT of walking this summer!  Some days the girls walked 4+ miles.  We also took the subway regularly.  Evie particularly enjoyed being our "navigator," a term I use very loosely.

More photos to come!!