Yet another few weeks have passed and we have less than two weeks left in Boston. Going home has suddenly become a reality and we are all feeling rather strange and unsettled. We are all genuinely looking forward to heading back to the UK and seeing all our family and friends again and settling back into our house but we are going to miss Brookline and its people terribly. The girls are in a fluster of social activities trying to make the most of the time left with their friends. Isabel is planning many social outings after school over the next week or two and Rachel is busy planning her birthday party and going to other friends' birthday parties. Added to that there have been school events and there are other social gatherings planned to celebrate the end of the school year and to say farewell to Rachel as well as to another of her classmates Milica, whose family is moving to Hawaii.

Meanwhile, Barry and I are busy making preparations for our return. Everything seems to be going smoothly at the moment but I can't help thinking it will still be a huge rush and panic in the last few days as there is so much that can't be done too far in advance such as packing clothes and cleaning the apartment.

Anyway, following on from the end of my last entry we had a lovely afternoon at Pete and Libby's house in Quincy.

Some of the gang of Fellows: Jens, Hans,  Erica, Barry and Pete

The girls went kayaking again. This time Rachel managed not to fall in!

The following weekend was a public holiday weekend. Monday was Memorial Day, the US equivalent of Remembrance Sunday. It's taken seriously in the US - in Massachusetts no alcohol is allowed to be sold on Memorial Day. I don't know if that's the case in any of the other states but I guess the idea is to encourage reflection rather than celebration. There were lots of military parades and events going on and US flags appeared everywhere with name plates on various lamp posts commemorating those in the US armed forces who had lost their life in conflict. 

We went out for the day to Lexington, the site of the first battle in the American War of Independence, and then on to the De Cordova Sculpture Park, which had been recommended to us. Lexington was very attractive, as are so many of the small New England towns, and we saw lots of historic points of interest relating to the War of Independence, most of which Rachel was able to tell us more about after her social studies lessons this year. Lexington Common hosted a Memorial Day event with lots of local organisations represented and lots of speeches orated. The Town Band played (all in costume!) and the local Minute Men re-enactment group gave a gun salute. 

The Sculpture Park was great fun, even if some of the sculptures were rather beyond our understanding and interpretation. The sculptures were dotted all around the extensive grounds, many of them hidden in trees, so some of them took some finding. 

The Memorial Day event on Lexington Common

The Minute Man statue. The Minute Men were Patriot soldiers who were ready to leap into action against the British at a minute's notice

The Belfry housing the bell which rang out the warning that the British were coming on April 19th 1775

De Cordova Sculpture Park

Rachel's final basketball tournament was the following weekend with the matches on Saturday in northern Massachusetts and on Sunday in coastal New Hampshire. Rachel played well and scored a few baskets - in fact in Sunday's match she scored all of her team's 3 points as they were rather soundly beaten by a much better team. It was rather sad at the end saying goodbye to everyone as the parents and girls have all become like a big family.

Rachel in action on the Saturday

Sunday's tournament was at the University of New Hampshire in Durham, near the coast. It was a large and very attractive campus.

Rachel succeeding in getting a basket with a foul (penalty) shot

As the school year comes to an end the girls' school various music ensembles have their spring concert. Rachel has played in the 5th grade wind band all year and Isabel has sung in the 7th and 8th grade chorus. 

Rachel's wind band. The school set up the wind band concert outside in the amphitheatre which proved to be a mistake when the breeze picked up and sheets of music started flying everywhere!

The 7th and 8th grade chorus in the school's auditorium.

Isabel with her friends India and A K (Anna Kathren) just behind her

Izzy, A K and India

The big event of last weekend for both Isabel and Rachel was the opening of the film "The Fault in our Stars". The book, featuring two teenagers with cancer, has been doing the rounds of the older girls at Pierce School and there was great excitement about the film, particularly as the two starring actors had also starred in one of the other teen hit films of the year, Divergent. Isabel went to see it with a gang of girly mates on the Friday after school and Rachel and I went with her friend Lili and Lili's Mum on the Monday after school. Lots of laughter and many tears - very funny  listening to the entire cinema sobbing quietly at the end credits!

One of the local attractions which we hadn't made it to so far this year was Franklin Park Zoo, part of the New England Zoo. We had a free Sunday afternoon - a novelty since the basketball started - so we jumped in a taxi and went to the zoo for a few hours. This zoo is well know for its gorillas and also has tigers, a lion and giraffes amongst many other exhibits. The highlight for the girls was feeding the budgies!

Rachel's grade at school have had a few field trips through the year into Boston, linked with their study of American history. The final field trip involved a scavenger hunt along the Freedom Trail finishing with lunch at Faneuil Hall, where there a long arcade lined with take away eateries to suit every conceivable taste. Rachel persuaded me to be one of the chaperones and we had a fun day out.

Snack time on Boston Common - Rachel and Alex

Rachel and Milica

Sydney and Alex

Lili and Lee

Nadia

Alex and Emily

The George Washington statue in the Boston Public Garden

The "Make Way for the Ducklings" statue in the Public Garden

A bas relief on the edge of Boston Common showing the settlers meeting with local Native American chiefs

The Massachusetts State House

Rachel's classmates and teacher on Boston Common

The Franklin Family Memorial (as in Benjamin Franklin) in the Old Granary Burying Ground

The oldest gravestone in the burying ground, dating back to 1667!

The Benjamin Franklin Statue at Old City Hall, now a steakhouse but once the site of American's oldest public school, Boston Latin School. Benjamin Franklin dropped out of school before graduating!

The site of the Boston Massacre

Lunch time for Rachel and Emily

Class 5W on the steps of Faneuil Hall

Pierce School's 5th graders!

The 5th grade field trip was followed by a class breakfast for Rachel's class on Wednesday morning where the children performed a sketch demonstrating all the class rules and Rachel's teacher Amy Woogmaster was presented with some class gifts, some for the classroom and some for herself, and a letter of tributes from the parents. As a first year permanent teacher (she has been a helper and a substitute teacher for the last year or two) she has done an outstanding job and is adored by her class. Wednesday evening was the Pierce Picnic which gave the girls yet more opportunity to spend time with their friends.

So the packing and socialising continues for the next couple of weeks. Izzy is off to see The Fault in our Stars again this evening with a different group of friends whilst Rachel is off to a birthday party for a girl who isn't even in her school and she only knows as a friend of some of her friends! Tomorrow we are going out for brunch with Peggy, Deon, Megan and Jacob and Isabel is having her friend A K to sleep over. Next week we shall probably drop into a regular Monday evening potluck picnic; Barry is off to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota from Tuesday to Thursday for his final work trip; Thursday evening is Rachel's birthday party and Friday evening is another potluck picnic, this time for the 5th graders to say goodbye to Rachel and Milica, and to Lee who is off to summer camp for 7 weeks. Saturday Rachel has another birthday party and a sleepover and then the following week is our last week. The girls are in school Monday to Wednesday and we fly out on the Thursday evening, on Rachel's birthday. Phew!!