Kingdom and Castle: Summ...summm..summertime!

The summer of 2011 has already been a flood of activity. Between traveling, parties, weekend excursions, real estate hunting, and all sorts of recreational activities, the royals have had little 'down time' and tons of memorable experiences with still an entire month of summer to go! Just this past weekend, the kids attended a friend's birthday party, with a theme of Monster Trucks. No one could have imagined the 'cool factor' of this party, yet event planner extraordinaire Stacey Pizzano, orchestrated an absolutely overwhelmingly cool event--complete with a visit from a professional monster truck driver--and his TRUCK--the Towasaurus Wrex. The kids were beside themselves as they got to sit behind the wheel and climb in/on the massive tires. Even the parents were speechless. It was an absolute hit!

Abby with friend, Sofia, and Monster Truck Owner/Driver Jeff Bursey's son, Gage.

Alec investigates the 'interior' of a tire...'just enough room for me, mama!'

Aramis was sizing up the entire truck--making mental notations of measurements so that when he got home, he could start building his own! :)

Bye bye Towasaurs Wrex..!

The kids have also enjoyed lots of adventures around New England--several zoos, parks and even the Ecotarium (Worcester, Mass.), an all-inclusive science/discovery museum, zoo, amusement park and nature reserve.

Alec and Aramis loved watching the river otters. They were so playful!

The train ride was their favorite part--of course!

Aramis got up close and personal with a boa constrictor that had just finished shedding its skin and was likely looking for a meal. Scarily, Aramis is quite possibly the perfect size for what this snake was on the hunt for....yikes!! :(