The kids were so excited to see Gram! They came in the door calling her name and begging for her attention. Before too long the cousins arrived and that made the day even better. We had our usual Chick-fil-A nuggets, Burch locks, and general chaos.
Wade
Ben always gets to celebrate a couple of times for his birthday – once at home and once on the road. Today was the day we celebrated at home.
The plan was donuts for breakfast. I had planned to get up and go to Dunkin. Alex had taken orders the night before and told me he was going to walk down to pick them up, but I didn’t quite believe him. I knew it was going to be early, cold, and dark. Imagine my surprise when I got downstairs this morning and there was Alex sitting at the table, drinking hot chocolate (our favorite is from Dunkin), with a box of donuts.
We had candles in donuts and then Ben chose a present to open. He chose the biggest and it was the Gabby Dollhouse he has been hoping and hoping to get. I put it together and he and Kaitlyn played until the bus came.
Ben and I had a sushi lunch (his favorite) and then he picked Chick-fil-a with milkshakes for dinner. His cake was paw patrol but we did presents first, at his request. He had a fabulous birthday and he can’t wait to celebrate again in KY.
Teague joined the bell choir this year, but it is a very small bell choir. They started the year with three ringers, but at some point the number dropped down to two. They kept practicing and hoping to recruit more kids. Sadly that hasn’t happened. Wade has pitched in to practice with them and today they had their first performance. Teague did a great job and it was fun to see him up front!
Halloween is always a little more tricky when it’s on a school night, but the kids were up to the challenge. We started the night at one of my friend’s houses for a little party (pizza, bouncy house, etc). The best part is she lives on South St – THE Street for trick or treating. The street is closed down and people come from all over. There is a definite party atmosphere with music, glow sticks, and candy – lots of candy. Alex joined us for dinner but headed home afterwards to watch an outdoor movie with friends. We met up with some of Kaitlyn’s friends and proceeded up and down the street.
Side note: Ben’s costume was the best! Having him in a costume with lights made it so easy to keep up with him! I’m going to try to push a light up costume of some kind next year too!
Today was the Trunk or Treat at our church. We had a whirlwind day full of activities, so Wade and Ben went first in the minitruck (our “trunk”). I arrived with the other kids and then we got to the candy portion of the afternoon. Ben loved running wild, Alex loved scaring little kids in the “Scary Hallway,” and the other two loved traditional candy acquiring.
Wade spent the weekend working on leaf pickup. That of course means that the kids spent the weekend outside playing in the leaves.
Pumpkin Carving Party time! If you are keeping track, tonight was our 16th party. I didn’t actually count the number of people attending, but we definitely had a lot of new faces and people who have been coming since we started the party here in the beginning. We were having so much fun that we were a little slow getting to the carving of the pumpkins, which means we were also late getting to the group picture. This is the first year in many years we have taken the picture in full dark.
And always the group photo:
Wade has been slowly working on the wood chips/mulch left from having our big tree cut. He took today off and had a large list of things he was trying to get done. One item on the list was to get the rest of the yard cleanup done. He was still working on it when the kids came home and they quickly jumped in to help.
Today was our yearly Back to School Picnic for the two elementary schools. I’m on the PTG board so I spent most of the day helping organize and most of the evening manning the table, but it was a lot of fun! I love seeing everyone get together and have a great time.
Wade decided to make dinner a little more interesting tonight. He was trying to teach the kids how to balance a spoon on their nose and it spiraled from there. (Kaitlyn really missed out by being at cheer practice.)
Ben was gifted a new car by one of my friends.. He was so exited when we pulled it out of my van. Then it didn’t run exactly as it should. Of course, Wade immediately began trouble shooting. He should have it fixed in no time at all and I’m so thankful he can fix almost anything.
Tonight was the perfect night for some outside fun, roasting marshmallows, and eating of s’mores.
About once a year, Wade details my car for me. This year he went above and beyond. He spent the entire day detailing both of our cars and now I’m a little afraid to let the kids anywhere near my car. I’m not sure what to do about the fact that we are leaving for Kentucky next week…
For our final day at the Cape, we decided to head back to our favorite beach.
Today we did it all – hiking, boating, and beaching.
Hiking:
Boating:
The beach:
After such a great beach day yesterday, we decided to try a new beach today. We had a major fail. The weather report said it was going to be a great day, but… It was cold, cloudy, and windy. We tried, we stayed, and then we eventually packed it in.
After showering and evaluating our options, we decided bowling and dinner out might be our best course of action. Everyone had a great night!
Wade had arranged for the kids to participate in an obstacle course on the beach this morning. The youngest three loved it. Alex had to be challenged (an option at the end of the races) to go through the race, but he was a good sport and did. Mom and Dad were challenged and ran it too.
We knew today was going to be amazing in terms of weather so we planned a beach day. The parking lot for the beach was tiny but the beach itself was amazing. The big boys especially loved the bridge they could use to jump into the water during high tide.
Today was our first full day in Cape Cod and Kaitlyn’s birthday. We started the day with donuts and presents. Then we went on an awesome hike and took a long drive. Every house has the most gorgeous hydrangeas, which I love. 90 percent of them are blue (although I love every color). Kaitlyn and Ben fell asleep on the drive so Wade made it a little longer than we had planned. We stopped at a local general store and everybody had fun doing a little shopping.
We got home and let Kaitlyn open most of her presents. (Then of course she spent most of the afternoon playing with her presents.) Before dinner, she and I ran out so that she could pick her cake. She chose the most delicious chocolate bomb cake. I hope I can find something similar for my birthday next year. It was amazing!
When Wade and I were planning our vacation this year, we decided to try Cape Cod. We almost feel a little silly that we live so close and have never been. The good news is that everyone and their brother has recommendations on what to do, where to eat, and what not to miss. We were a little late making plans, so we knew our house was going to be a little small, but no worries.
Wade had taken off the entire week, so we have been in vacation mode for a while. We couldn’t get into our house till 4 pm and it was only a couple hour drive. This felt like a wonderful luxury after our normal vacation drives. We didn’t even start packing till this morning. The kids were anxious to go and we finally got on the road.
We arrived in plenty of time and enjoyed driving around. We easily found our house, unpacked, grabbed a yummy dinner, and then checked out a local beach for an evening walk, and then some fabulous fireworks on the beach.
We started the day with some reading.
Then we headed to the lake. (Alex stayed home. Firstly because he didn’t apply sunscreen very well on his first trip. Secondly because he couldn’t find a friend to come with him.) Kaitlyn did bring a friend and had a great time.
We ended the night with a baseball game – a first for all of the kids. We had a blast at the Woo Sox and Ben was completely mesmerized by the fireworks (which might have been his first?!?)
We decided to grill hotdogs for dinner and then ended up spending the entire evening outside. The kids ran around, Wade and I sat and talked. It was perfect. Kaitlyn decided to dig out her bow and arrow and do some practicing before dinner. Then Alex picked it up after dinner – that’s what started the battle. Wade and I got such a kick out of watching the battle that followed. Teague brought his nerf bow down and the kids played forever. The little kids were content retrieving arrows and chasing the big kids. (No one ended up in tears – a miracle.) Why can’t every night be like this?
Today started early with FunFair setup. My awesome family started the day with me for setup at 8 am and was there through cleanup at 4 pm. (The actual event was 10-3.) Alex was the true rockstar because he was also there last night from 3-6 to help with setup. Wade and Alex were on volunteer duty all day. Kaitlyn ran wild with her friends and Teague was in charge of Ben. I heard later that Teague ate his weight in cotton candy – definitely an impressive feat.
As if that wouldn’t have been enough for one day, we also had plans to go to Monster Truck Jam! Wade and I bought tickets not realizing it was the same night as FunFair. We rushed out a little early from cleanup, cleanup the best we could, and met some friends for dinner before racing to the stadium. We had a great time, but I made a major miscalculation and didn’t bring warm enough clothes for everyone. Kaitlyn and I ended up with Monster Jam branded clothing out of it. The big kids were ho-hum with the night but the little kids loved it!
Alex was kind enough to recreate one of the pictures I remembered from his first Monster Jam experiences in 2012. Here’s a comparison. (Note he’s wearing the same headphones – a happy accident.)
Wade decided to up our outdoor movie game this year. He recently bought a new projector so he decided we needed a new setup for our projector too. He and Teague spent the afternoon building a stand for the screen and then the big boys invited friends over for a movie. (Those boys ate an entire tubs worth of candy – which normally lasts several movies – impressive!)
Ben had his last day of school today:
Every year Ben’s preschool holds a graduation ceremony for all the kids that attend – whether they are returning next year or not. It is usually held at the Common, the families bring picnics, and sometimes there is music and bubbles. Tonight the location was different, but we had all the rest.
After a few years of no field trips, the schools are cramming a bunch of field trips all together. The kids are loving it but it makes for a hectic spring. Wade was available to chaperone the 5th grade field trip to Boston for the Freedom Trail. Teague was so excited to have his Dad tag along. He was up insanely early this morning packing his lunch and getting ready for the day. Wade took a few pictures along the way and one of my friends snapped a picture of Wade and Teague having lunch.
Weeks ago we promised the kids a night of putt putt. The afternoon wasn’t too bad – the sun was out and the wind had died down. Kaitlyn had been begging for putt putt and ice cream and we agreed. Then we arrived at our destination. It was freezing. The sun was gone and the wind was strong. Most of us thankfully had jackets – some with hoods. Kaitlyn and I even had gloves. The only upside is no one else was playing so we didn’t have to worry that our group was too big or slow or that Ben was running wild all over the course. We also convince the kids that hot chocolate and donuts might be a better treat afterwards than ice cream!
Wade had a load of mulch delivered while we were all gone for break week. Some other chores/projects took longer than expected so the mulch sat untouched. Today was a gorgeous day and he was determined to get the pile off the driveway. Teague even offered up his services (probably in hopes of getting to drive the tractor), but help is help.
We planned a spontaneous day trip to York, Maine. First we visited Nubble Lighthouse. The kids loved rock hopping and just enjoying the day. Alex surprised us all by being rather concerned about Ben and his daredevil adventurous spirit. (To be honest, we were all keeping a close eye on him. I’m never sure when he’s going to decide to just keep running straight off a rock wall into the water.)
Then we drove into York and explored the town and the beach!
Teague is not normally a child interested in sports with balls, but I looked outside to see him playing catch with Wade today.