Caramel Makes a Surprise Visit Home

Caramel traveled by car from Harrisonburg, Virginia to Topsfield, MA to make a surprise visit to see Cecily for the holidays!
To get from Harrisonburg, Caramel had to travel through 9 different states and spent almost 12 hours in the car. Look closely at the map below and see if you can list all 9 states in the order Caramel traveled to surprise Cecily for her Christmas vacation. (answers below)
Caramel leaves soon for a trip to Plains, Montana.

Caramel, we will miss you and hope that you have a great time on the rest of your travels around the United States.

Your VA family.

 

Answers: Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island and Massachusetts

 

Milk Chocolate is in Sweetgrass, Montana

Hello Proctor 4th graders!

Caroline's Milk Chocolate arrived safe and sound in Montana - all the way from New York. She travelled well. Thanks, Caroline for sending her with a cupcake and a taco. She says she would have been really hungry without that to eat on her way. She braved the snow and the cold to wish you all Happy Holidays! She has had a great time with us, and we are getting ready to pack her in her box and send her to her next adventure. While she's been here with us, she has played in the snow, won a few games of Skip Bo (a card game), played Blokus and helped us finish a Christmas puzzle. She has been on a road trip to Great Falls, Montana and gone shopping and out for supper. She might have eaten a few too many Christmas treats, but we've been making sure she gets lots of sleep.

We're getting ready to bundle her up in her box and send her out to her next adventure. We've sure had fun with her this week.

Lori

Hello from Snuffles in Colorado

Hello!

Snuffles has had a busy few weeks here in Parker, Colorado. It turns out she gets quite rowdy while watching Ty and Jesse play soccer and basketball. Snuffles could usually be found hanging out with Charlie, the boys' elf. Santa even left Snuffles a small gift and also shared his cookies and milk with her. We have gone through quite a bit of tea and honey since Snuffles arrived, in fact we are almost out! Just in time for Snuffles to move on to her next destination... Fairfield CT!

Honey is in San Francisco

Honey was such a great travel companion on my trip to San Francisco, California. The weather was very nice and we got to enjoy the city! Honey also got to work at my company in Mountain View, California. She really enjoyed meeting the team at Yub and she really liked the 'Yubmarine' painting on the wall!

-Pete

Ted is leaving Hingham

Hello Proctor!

 

Ted is sadly leaving Hingham after a whirlwind visit with the Finnertys. This week he made a trip to Fox 25 News in Dedham, MA to try his hand at News Automation and Directing. Can you believe Ted directed the Fox 25 News at 10 on Saturday, Dec. 21st? He did a great job with all the buttons and monitors in the control room. Ted also finished touring Historic Hingham with a stop at The Old Ordinary, a colonial house built in 1688 for weary stagecoach travelers to stop at for an "ordinary" meal and a bed for the night.

He will celebrate Christmas at our house and then head back to the southeast for a stay in Northern Texas.

So long Ted.

Safe travels!

 

Ted, working the automation system before the 10 o'clock news

Ted in the Fox 25 control room ready to direct the 11 O'Clock news.

Ted in front of Old Derby Academy in Hingham

Ted checking out Hingham's Old Ordinary

Nate Jr is in Rhode Island

Hi 4th graders,

What a blast I'm having. I spent the week with Nonni's friend, Kathi, in RI. She took such good care of me.I was there for my first snowfall. It was amazing. I decided to try shoveling but found it was very hard to do. Rhode Island is really nice. It is known as The Ocean State". In the 1600's, it was know as Aquidneck Island.This island was originally owned by Native Americans, from the Wampanoag tribe.
There is so much to do here. In the next town, is the oldest carousel in the country. Plus, the Roger Williams Zoo isn't far.I will go there when I come back to visit as I am running out of time here.
Kathi took me to the beach for our outing. It was fun but very cold, 28 degrees. She was very brave. She kept me warm & toasty in her coat pocket. We picked lots of natural souvenirs from the sand.
Next, I will be heading to FL. I am looking forward to it as it is 80 degrees there.
Miss you Nate.

Nate Jr.
xoxo

 

Rosie is in New England

 

Dear Erica and friends,
I love winter in New England!!!!
All the snow is beautiful.
Merry Christmas to all,
Rosie

 

 

Caramel Visits Fourth Graders in Virginia

Hello from the Fourth Graders in Rockingham County, Virginia!

 

Caramel had a wonderful time at school this afternoon explaining to these 4th grade students where Topsfield, MA is and guess what? They had just finished studying about the Revolutionary War and were excited to look at the map of the United States to find the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Their school is located in the Shenandoah Valley (where a lot of the Civil War battles occurred) and when they go outside they see Massanutten Mountain that is part of the Allegheny Mountains.

Caramel's biggest surprise of the day was finding this very special Boston Red Sox Bear in the office of the physical education teacher--there really are Red Sox fans everywhere.

 

These 4th grade students told me that they have only two and half days of school left until winter vacation. It seemed like they were behaving pretty well and I am sure that all of you are as well. I hope you like the picture we took during recess with Massanutten in the background.

Caramel and the Virginia 4th graders.

Ted is in Hingham, MA

Hello Fourth Graders-

Ted continues his fun in Hingham, MA. This weekend Ted was overjoyed when it snowed and got right out in the cold to try out the Finnerty's snow tube. After a morning out in the chilly air, Ted came in to warm up and then got himself in the Holiday spirit and ready to go The Nutcracker Ballet in Hanover, MA. He loved the show and even got his picture taken with the Snowflake Queen at the end of the show! As he winds down his stay in Hingham, Ted plans to visit Historic Hingham Square and some of the local sites. Elenaor Roosevelt once called Hingham's Main Street "The most beautiful Main Street in America."

We will keep you posted on his adventures.

 

 

 

I Love Los Angeles

Hello Class!

I love Los Angeles!  It’s been sunny and warm and I’m having so much fun! I’ve been to Hollywood and I got to be on the set of a TV show called Chelsea Lately!  What fun!  So much more goes into a tv show than you think and everyone was so nice!
Finnly

 

 I hope you’re keeping warm back east!  Will check back in again soon!

Love,

Finnly

 

Philip

Hi Class!!

I’m having so much fun on my travels. I’m just about to leave Kensington, MD and Washington, DC – my first time seeing the nation’s capital! Here are some pictures; you can read more about these places when I get back to Massachusetts.

Here I am with my hostesses, Cokey and Amber (they’re friendly….):

Travelling on the Washington Metro to the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, MD:

 

Working in a laboratory at the National Institutes of Health:

 

And finally, visiting the White House:

 

Can’t wait to get back to Proctor with my journal so you can read all about these places!!

 

Sincerely,

Philip

Carl Arrived in Washington DC

Carl arrived in Washington DC after his great trip to Naples, Florida. While in Naples, Carl learned about the everglades, alligators, and the Gulf of Mexico!
In Washington DC Carl was able to visit some of the monuments and memorials that are so important to the United States of America; Washington Memorial, Lincoln Memorial, Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, JFK Memorial, Lincoln Memorial, United States Capital Building, United States Supreme Court, Jefferson Memorial, WWII Memorial and the White House were just some of the great sites that Carl got to see. We were able to purchase some postcards and souvenirs to share with everyone once Carl returns to Proctor School. While walking around the district we were able to see President Obama's motorcade drive by, which was very exciting!
Carl had so much fun in Washington DC and can't wait until his next destination!

Huggy Bear is in Washington D.C.

Huggy Bear had such a great time visiting the Nations Capital! We spent the day walking around Washington DC to see what this amazing city has to offer. We were able to stop at the Washington Monument, White House, National Mall, United States Capital Building, United States Supreme Court Building, Lincoln Memorial, and the Jefferson Memorial. Huggy loved hearing about all of the history behind these memorials and monuments and can't wait to share what he has learned during his travels.

The next day Huggy was able to attend the Washington Redskins Football game at FedEx Field in Landover, Maryland. He soon realized that the Redskins will never be as good as his beloved Patriots, but he had fun anyway!

 

 

 

Alec is on His Way to Georgia

HI There - Alec's bear ran into some static in Los Angeles and only yesterday got sent to his second destination in Georgia. My friend is a DJ at KROC and had him Rocking hard all weekend . . . it seems he went to some concerts too but those photos are in his journal.

He also visited with Facebook Sensations V & Blu - two rescue dogs with a very funny Facebook page.

Alec has been clambering for postcards - but this is the best I can do until he gets to his next destination.

 

Gracias

Terri Lee

 

Stephen in California

Hi Brendan,

Stephen is having a relaxing visit taking in the sights. He’ s been to a party in Santa Barbara, and saw Zuma beach at Point Dume, right near Malibu, CA.

The weather is so different here – we are in what they call a low desert, so it’s warm and sunny in the day and cold at night. Plants have a longer growing season so you can see the fields of vegetables growing in Ventura. The whole country gets our berries, citrus and tons of other produce from there. It’s so different from Boston, with all these wide open spaces!

Love,

Auntie Mona

Lake Westlake



Zuma Beach

Garden in Ventura

Caramel Visits the Capitol

Hi Cecily,

The people I am visiting with in Harrisonburg, VA needed to get some Christmas shopping done at their favorite New England store (LL Bean) and the closest store is a two hour trip east just outside of Washington, DC. So after doing our shopping, we went to the National Mall and saw the lots of monuments and buildings including some of the following.

The Washington Monument that is still being repaired after it was damaged 3 years ago in an earthquake. The Thomas Jefferson Memorial--from where I was standing along the Tidal Basin I could read about the Japanese Cherry Trees but had a very hard time seeing Mr. Jefferson. But we think the the real president's helicopter might have flown over the Tidal Basin while we were looking at the Jefferson Memorial. After that we drove down Independence Avenue to the US Capitol. I got to see so many buildings and monuments I could not send you all of my pictures.

I hope that all you can come to our nation's capital some day!!

Caramel

Blades Visits New Orleans

Hello again to everyone,

I had two days in New Orleans and saw so much. It was funny when I arrived, people were saying how cold it was (about 50 degrees) having just left Philadelphia at 25 degrees it didn’t seem cold to me! I already told you about the famous Mississippi River and New Orleans is known for so many other things too. Crowds gather here for the annual Mardi Gras parades which is a winter celebration at the beginning of Lent. There are huge parades and people dress up in costumes and masks. I didn’t see any parades but I did see the jester in the attached picture. These are the type of costumes you would see if you came to Mardi Gras. The City is also known for its architecture. I saw beautiful mansions on St. Charles Avenue, French style porches in the French Quarter and the famous Saint Louis Cathedral (named after the King of France) where Pope John Paul II visited in 1987.

New Orleans is a fun and very unique city and if you ever get to visit they have a big aquarium, lots of museums and GREAT food. Today I got to try the famous Café du Monde beignets which are a special kind of fried donut with powdered sugar on it. So Yummy!

I wonder where I will go next?…...I do know that I am heading to Jay Peak, VT in December and I can’t wait to see Gar there when we meet during Winter break for some skiing!! I will bring my Bruins blanket for sure!!

Love,

Blades

Blades Sees the Mississippi River

Hello Gar and Mrs. Scott’s 4^th grade class,

Wow….that was a close one….thank goodness I escaped from the jaws of that crocodile! There are lots of crocodiles here in Louisiana but they usually stay in the swamps far outside of the city of New Orleans. New Orleans is a major US port and the largest city in Louisiana. It was founded in 1718 by the French Mississippi company and there are lasting effects of the French culture here. The reason why New Orleans became such an important city is because it is on the banks of the Mississippi River and this provided access to the ocean which was critical before we had cars, planes and trains! Attached are some pictures of the Mississippi showing some of the boats I saw travelling on it.

First one is taken about 6am and shows a huge cruise boat coming up the river

2^nd photo shows an enormous barge coming up river

In the 3^rd photo you can see many boats big and small navigating the bend in the river. There are several bends like this along the way and it is incredible to watch the big boats navigate through

The last river photo is one showing a huge river paddle boat (Gar, this boat is a hundred times bigger than the Jubilee!)

If you can, look at a map of the Mississippi River….it starts at Lake Itasca in Minnesota and runs all the way down to New Orleans where it ends up in the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean. It is also really fun to practice spelling Mississippi too….so many s’s…..

Will send more soon,

Love,

Blades

 

 



Blades Has Made it to New Orleans

Important note on Blades....

He has made it to New Orleans and had to be saved from a crocodile there.....

More to come on Blades adventures.....

 

 

Stephen

 

Hi Brendan!

Stephen and I had a great day – it was sunny and so clear – we went down to the Lake Westlake, in the town I live, and people who live there have paddle boats tied in the water right from their backyard. There were ducks and geese, and it was fun to be in the sunshine and see folks on their little boats. I’ll send more pictures soon!

Much love,

Auntie Mona

Ted is in Massachusetts

Hi Ryan and Friends-

Ted has had a fantastic, yet exhausting start to his stay with us in Hingham. He had barely unpacked and gotten to know the family, when they all decided it was time for a Holiday Road Trip!! Ted tagged along to Foxboro, MA on Friday to get a peek of Gillette Stadium, Home of the New England Patriots Football Team. Once at Patriot Place, he headed straight in for a nice dinner at CBS Scene where every table has its own TV. He enjoyed his first time watching Frosty the Snowman while munching on Nachos and Fries. From there he headed over to the Bass Pro Shop and their winter wonderland where he got a peek at Santa and checked out some cool fish, turtles and other (stuffed) animals before trying his hand with a race track. From there he zoomed over to La Salette Shrine in Attleboro to check out the 60th anniversary of their Festival of Lights with more than 300,00 Christmas lights! Finally, he wrapped the weekend up helping the Finnerty's pick out and decorate their Christmas tree. Not to mention a stop at the Chinese Buffet Sunday night.

 

Thanks Ted!