Latergrams: In which we celebrate a lot, say many goodbyes, and arrive at a new home

 Absolutely perfect day to be traipsing around Boston with Mom & Dad Iverson.  We got a babysitter and went out to eat on Charles Streen in honor of Ben's big week!  #figs #beaconhill #publicgarden #iloveyouboston #graduationandbirthday

 Whoa.  I almost forgot about the ridiculous professor robes.  Is it too late to trade professions?  #gradrobes #pompandcircumstance #atouchofhogwarts #800dollarslater

One thing I'm pretty sure I'm not going to miss: the incline of most of my jogging paths here. 

Oprah.  Happening right  now in Cambridge.  #harvardgraduation #Oprah #nosebleedseats 

 And it is very grand indeed.  #grandcentralstation

 Graduation dinner with these two.  #robertnyc #overlookingcentralpark #fancyschmancy

 Gnocchi goodness.  #robertnyc

 A-maz-ing.  #newsies #buymelastpape #kingofnewyork #hotness

 Taking four kids to four different locations in the morning.  You can bet they all have their clothes lined up in hallway.  Rachel's kids are angels!

 Ending things on a sweet note with my friend Linda.  #cheesecakefactory

 Ellis has been begging me for weeks to help him finish his Joy School homework.  #familytree #namesandfacesguy

 Teaching piano lessons has been one of my favorite parts of my life here, mostly because I got to work with these kids and their amazing families!  We had our final recital tonight.  I'm really going to miss this!  #ihateendings #thankyouforthemusic #bostoncountdown

 Three boys rock out to Fun. on the five hour drive to Maine.  Twelve minutes into the drive, Ellis asked if we were almost there.  #acadiaherewecome #tonightweareyoung #yeswearemovinginoneweek #yesweareinsane

 I might have to call this the prettiest "rest stop" we've ever made on a road trip.  It sure beats anything off of I-95 (south of Boston).  #portlandmaine #kindofperfect #newenglanderatheart

 I know three boys who think their dad is the coolest guy on the planet.  #happyfathersday #homemadecards #nothinglikeit

Sam: "Oh-bah!"  

Ben: "Oh-bah?"

Sam: "No, Dad don't say oh-bah; Sam say oh-bah!"

Ben: "Well, what does Dad say then?"

Sam: "Bishopric."

Ben: "What's a bishopric?"

Sam: "Say . . . gosh, dang!"

 Wishing I were still looking at this view... #acadiasunset #latergram

 ...instead of this view.  #theaftermath

 Proud of this handsome Joy School graduate!  He was disappointed that he didn't get to wear a gown like Dad.

 Saying my goodbyes to Boston with Brittany.  #bostoncountdown #beaconhill #acornstreet

 Packers.  Clocking in at 9:15am

Kind of.  #enjoyisrelative #andboxesarenotsobeautiful #butmoversare 

 Just found these passwords from Bryson and Henry's playdates.  Total death 2?  Seriously?  #screentime #bestfriends #yesiamcryingnow

 Man, moving is easy!  Can you tell I'm bored?  #notallowedtohelp #thiskindofrules

 Three guys, six hours.  And we're in boxes.

 It's an ice cream with friends kind of night.  #moozys #perfectnight

 A few more Boston goodbyes.  #swanboats #beaconhill #samandsami

 Last day of school, June 28th?  I don't think so . . . Chicago is calling!  Thanks Lowell School and amazing teachers.  It's been real.  #lastdayforhenry #thekingoflowell 

 We have shared a house with these wonderful people for five years.  They have been AMAZING neighbors, and we will miss them so much.  Sam will especially miss Artemy and Arkady, the funniest, sweetest boys ever.  

 Our moving guys had to load our stuff onto a Uhaul, which will later be transferred to the big moving truck.  I can't believe they got our whole house into this truck!  And to top it off, the one on the right fixed Stephanie's bumper, and the one on the left gave me a 20-minute sermon of parenting wisdom.  #moversandmore

 I hate to see an empty space where memories were made.  This is where we had family nights, read stories, wrestled/tickled/laughed/hugged, had piano lessons and recitals, hosted holiday dinners and sing-along parties, had playdates, and brought two babies home from the hospital.  Lovely little home, we will miss you.  #goodbyehouse #itsbeenreal #sobstory

 Road trip chalk-on-tire game.  Ellis wins the prize!  His prize was choosing the next movie.  My prize (at our next stop) was Skittles!

 Maid of the Mist.  We got soaked!  Ellis fell asleep and missed the whole thing!  #niagarafalls

 "Maybe keeping our kids up until 11pm and then making them go to Church history sights all day was not the most genius idea we've ever had," thought Ben and Jenn.  #ithaditsmoments #mostofwhichweredisastrous #afewwerelovely #sacredgrove #palmyra #bostontochicago

 Newerll K. Whitney store.  #churchhistory #betterthanyesterday

 We pretty much just discovered the coolest pit-stop along I-80.I-90: The RV Museum and Hall of Fame in Elkhart, IN.  We went because it sounded quirky, but we actually all LOVED it!  They let us climb in most of the RVs, starting with 1910 models to present.  It was really well-done and worth the stop.  #threeboysinheaven #roadsideamerica #happycampers

 After more than 17 hours of driving, boredom seems to have reached its peak.  #kinghenrythefirst #firstaudiobook #fablehaven

Home.  #thisisourhouse #evanstonillinois #newlife

Latergrams: In which the Boston Countdown begins, Ben does a magic show, and the last WIC check is spent

Trying to wrap my head around leaving this place.  So much I want to soak up in the next 8 weeks!  #bostoncountdown #carpediem #amateurchalkboardart

Has anyone seen Henry?  #minipanicattack #readingattheplayground #newlibrarybook

With three kids, shopping has started to feel a lot less like fun and a lot more like work.  #springclothingsort

Turns out, my bookbinding skills come in handy quite frequently in my current career.  Tonight I got to repair (again!) the two most loved books in our house. #iloveyouhenry #marvelsofnature #dkchildrensencyclopedia

Henry's first major class project and presentation: layers of the earth!  Core, mantle, and graham cracker crust!  #jellohomework

Guess who got to clean the church bathrooms on the day ALL NINE toilets overflowed and are still slogged, sending nastiness coming up all the drains?  #myluckyday

Tulips.  Much prettier than toilets.  #publicgardentulips #datenight #bostoncountdown

Walking through the memorial certainly made me tear up.  So many good people in this world.  #bostonstrong #datenight

We have decided that our need to go to Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park exceeds our need for sanity over the next seven weeks.  Booking this place tonight!  #canneverhavetoomanyvacations #mainefarmhouse

Fridge magnet upgrade #mythreesons #funwithlaminator

Happiness is . . . backyard family trampoline time.  And lying on our backs looking up into the trees.  #thankyoufortrees #andboys

This happened.  #peanutbuttersandwichcookies #ourbestbites

Magician meets musician as Ben subs for the Primary chorister tomorrow.  Kids, this is going to be wild.  #cardtricksinprimary #magichandkerchief #missingprimaryalready

Henry and Ellis made ten Mother's Day cards throughout the week and hid them around the house.  They could hardly wait for today's scavenger hunt!  #happymothersday #lovemyboys

Not sure if I'm ready for the joy and pain that comes from counting calories, but here I go.  At least it is significantly less painful with the My Fitness Pal app!  #myfitnesspal

I think I just found myself a new hobby!  Can't stop thinking about the very therapeutic girls' night at the Clayroom last night.  #potterypainting #getsdarkerwhenfired #lovemygirls

Went to the doctor for Sam (double ear infection), and Ellis was the one who scored the free throw-up bucket.  #unrelatedsickness #poorlittleboys #bewarefriends

My life is complete once again!  I really felt like I was missing something when I bought my new roll of plastic wrap and discovered they no longer come with the slide cutter.  No fear, you can buy them on the Stretch Tite website for only a small fortune.  #twodollarslidecutter #sixdollarshipping #happinessbeyondprice

Favorite place on earth. #mountauburncemetery

Ellis brought the Star Wars Character Encyclopedia to Mount Auburn Cemetery.  He stopped at every "microphone" to announce the characters.  "Admiral Ackbar, will you please stand up?"  #starwarsmeetsconference

A little too much excitement was in Ellis' voice when he came into our bedroom at 6:30 this morning.  "Dad," he whispered, "I think Grandma and Grandpa are here!" Sorry, buddy.  #airmattresstest

"Feel free to yell at me while I'm jogging . . . as long as you don't mind waiting in the crib while Sam watches a show after we get home.  The timer is counting your angry minutes!"  #loveandlogicexperiment #workedbeautifully

New worker spotted at Russo's.  He helped me pick out all of my produce and recommended treats my children might enjoy.  #plasticbaghand #employeeoftheday

Happy to say I redeemed my last WIC check yesterday.  Thank you, taxpayers, for all the food!  We are about to join you as contributing members of society!  #finallygrowingup #assoonaswefinishthisgallonofmilk

This is happening. #parentssleepin #kidswatchgeneralconference #theiridea

Meet Dr. Iverson

Dr. Benjamin Charles Iverson

Graduated May 30th, 2013

Ph.D. in Business Economics

Harvard Business School

 Hip, Hip, Hooray!

After five years, he's finally done!  

"We did it!"

 That's "Mrs. Dr. Iverson," to you!  

 Henry missed three days of school that week.  One day was to attend Ben's graduation.  I think watching his dad walk across the stage was pretty darn educational.

(whale watching - also pretty darn educational - was one of the other days Henry missed school) 

Thanks to this smart couple for encouraging and supporting Ben from the day he was born!  Aren't they a good-looking bunch?

My parents also attended, but they didn't make the cut on the pre-lunch photo session.

We had a birthday/graduation party with our parents and friends after all the Harvard festivities.  This carrot cake cheesecake must be repeated! 

 Our friend Tim created an awesome HBS quiz, complete with cool Harvard prizes for all of the winners!

Some of the girls I love: Stephanie, Laura, Christy, Jamie, and Becky... 

 We never want our conversations with the Wilsons to end!  They stuck around to the end of the party.  We have a special bond with them, as Becky, Ben and I are all from the same hometown, and Becky was one of the first people I saw at church when we moved to Boston.  Ah, this is where we started thinking about missing people . . .  :(