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{A}’s 13th Birthday | 4th of July Weekend 2010 | Part III

July 20, 2010 By Laura 11 Comments

By the time {A}’s birthday came, which was following the later part of the long 4th of July weekend, we were on a partying roll. Per tradition in our family, the birthday person gets to choose what they’d like to do as a family, within reason. {A} had a special wish indeed this year, but it needed to wait until the following day. THAT exciting event, ultimately with a couple surprises in store for us, will be the next post in this section. (You don’t want to miss it!) So meanwhile, we spent her actual birthday at home hanging out most of the day, which was very relaxing and enjoyable.

{A} is officially our first teenager! Despite all of the warnings about parenting and the teen years, I don’t expect much to change any time soon.

Here’s a peek at her day:

Her birthday breakfast, which had a special twist this year….

….instead of the birthday number pancakes, Daddy made……

….a birthday number omelet!!

Yes, we are waiting for him to stop outdoing himself, too.

We were all excited to swim in our new pool! LOL.

It’s just a 16′ wide cheap one, with the inflatable ring. But you know, it doesn’t take much to thrill us!

Bomb Pops!
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“Word to the mother”. Literally. He was talking to me. lol ; )

Summertime smiles.
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The birthday girls dinner request: Sausage with peppers, onions and cheese, on a roll.

Instead of birthday cards, the triplets wrote {A} love letters. <sniff> Among the sweet things they expressed, they told her how happy they are to have her as their big sister, why, and how much they love her. She really does have a unique and special relationship, with each of them.
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Grandma sent this birthday gift in the mail. A pewter heart locket, with her initial on it. She loves it.

I was coming out of my skin, waiting for her to open her gift from us!

Yeah Baby!! A sweet camera! You know me….I researched this to death! It’s a Canon PowerShot G11. As a girl who shoots an SLR on full manual mode all of the time, it was an education for me, shopping for a point and shoot! But I found a beautiful one, that has features even I can be happy with! See….our gifts are not usually this big in expense. But, while this camera is pretty much hers, it’ll be the family camera for our little excursions, etc, when I don’t want to be lugging around all of my equipment, but know I’ll want to get photos. Still, I’m very excited for her to have her own camera, and she has really been enjoying it ever since! It was a great idea for her right now. She is using it for all kinds of projects of her own.

She wanted a Carvel ice cream cake, for her birthday this year. How unusual for our baker! But, her wish was our command. So, we found one for her.

It was not peanut-safe, so {S} had to have an ice cream sandwich instead. Poor kid. He looks so upset, doesn’t he? ; )
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Michael and I couldn’t stop looking at our birthday girl that day. She looked so……13. I had ongoing flashbacks of her birth, as I always do on my kids’ birthdays. Those memories always make these days all the more sentimental. I don’t quite know why I always do that to myself. I am so happy to look at how beautiful they are turning out (inside, and out). And yet I miss my babies and I want them back!! It’s a bitter-sweet tailspin of turmoil, I throw myself into.

When {A} was a baby, a lady we did not know at Mass, told us she had ‘such a sunny disposition‘. I never really forgot that. Mostly because her demeanor reminds me of it every day. She just has a light and happiness about her, that we really love. Except maybe first thing in the morning. And an occasional day. She can be on the grumpy side, then. Anyway, we just love her, and couldn’t feel more blessed, with all she brings to our family. Except maybe first thing in the morning. And the occasional day. O.k., maybe even then.

After our relaxing, eating, celebrating, staring, birth-remembering and crying, we all went out bowling for a couple of games. : ) Then we went home, and had an early night. We had a BIG day the next day, which was a birthday event {A} will never forget.

Stay tuned for Part IV, when we tell you all about it.

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4th of July Weekend 2010 | Part I | Our Vacation Home | Plymouth, MA

July 15, 2010 By Laura 7 Comments

Plymouth, MA

We don’t really GO on vacation very often. Usually it’s not an affordable option for us anyway. Do you know most hotels only allow FOUR to FIVE people to a room, or else you need to book 2 rooms adjoining? They say it’s because of fire regulations. We’re a family of 6. So because we can barely afford one room, we then get into sneaking a kid in, which we feel guilty about, and then worry about a fire, where the firemen will only seek out five of us. The whole thing is such an irk, but anyway….OH MY GOSH….I wasn’t going to talk much in these posts, and immediately got off topic anyway.

So, back on track, we ask ourselves……”Really, where would we go anyway?” Because the truth is, in the area we live in, we feel like we’re always on vacation. Even at home, it feels like to us that we’re just living in a big beach house, and stay through the off season too. There is always wet towels and bathing suits hanging around, sand tracked into the house, the smell of the ocean in the air, sea gulls flying over head….and we’re surrounded by others here, on their ‘real vacation’.

Plymouth MA, America’s Hometown, is a fine place to live. And a fine place to vacation too! So when we want a vacation, we just work a little less, pay a little more attention to where we reside, and make the most of it all!

The waterfront is a glorious place to be, on any given summer evening. We spend a lot of time down there. Just as we did the 4th of July weekend.

The Lobster Hut has great seafood! People who vacation here frequently, or are just here for a visit, most always have to hit The Lobster Hut. So if you ever find yourself in Plymouth, and love seafood, try it out! And call us!! We’d love to meet up with you while you’re here! It would be cool to meet each other ‘in real life’. ; )

Right next door is Cabby Shacks, and that is a real hot spot too, with great food, and entertainment.

The fried clams and fish at the Lobster Hut are sooooo good. The kids love them too.
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Pixel comes with us to a lot of places, and she very much enjoyed the waterfront with us. She’s completely potty trained, so she’s a joy to take along.

Great food, summer evening in the air, the sound of sea gulls, boats coming in, laughing, chatting and hanging out…..

Pixel was a real hit down there. Everyone was stopping to see her…..wanting to pet her…..some were just really intrigued by her. “It’s a Hedgehog? REALLY?” “Really, really”, {A} always says.
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The road we live on, is named after Governor Bradford here.
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Yes, a cat on a leash. A patriotic one at that. Seemed like a normal cat. But the owner, uummm, well anyway, she was kind enough to let me take this photo.

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There is always great outdoor entertainment in the warm seasons, several nights a week.

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The kids, dancing on the waterfront green….

….the giggles evaporated into the night air, and floated out over the sea.
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Do you live somewhere that has a vacation feel? Do you have an area right near by, where you can go to and feel like you’re on vacation, even though you are so close to home?

We really love our vacations at home. I mean Plymouth MA…..does it get much better than this? We may never find out, and we’re quite content here, anyway.

I also I really, really love not having to pack for our family of 6!

Thanks for virtually-visiting our hometown!

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4th of July Weekend/Part II/Parade & Fireworks 2010 | Plymouth, MA

July 15, 2010 By Laura Leave a Comment

Most every year, we make it down to the Plymouth parade. Being in America’s Hometown, it’s a big deal around here! (As is Thanksgiving, and our parade for that.)

This year, it was HOT-HOT-HOT. Full blazin’ sun, humid as anything, the works. We enjoyed the majority of the parade, and then were all happy to cut out a little early, and get out of the sun! It’s always a great parade though!

The kiddos brought their American Pinwheels and Liberty Shakers they had made. Other parents and kids were buying those $10.00-20.00 souvenirs off the carts, but they were looking at ours, wondering where they could get those. ; ) {JM} also brought his Republican Beanie Baby elephant ‘Righty’. I love that thing!

O.K….some parade photos…..

You see this guy? They were saying he’s a very old veteran…..102 YEARS OLD! (Yes, one hundred and two).
WALKING in the parade?!! In the heat!? That’s what we kept hearing. Talk about impressive.

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I have no idea who this fool is.

lol. Just kidding. I mean…I really don’t know, but…

I love corevettes, but {JM} asked me to take a photo of this car. Not because it’s a vette, but because it’s purple. It’s his other favorite color. We may have another Donny Osmond on our hands. (…….”I’m a little bit rock ‘n rollll…..”)

This one the big boy asked me to take. That would be Michael. He loves GTO’s. I think it’s petty nice too, but he likes some other old style cars, that I think are as ugly as sin.

So listen…….you know how some pre-teens might see, say……The Jonas Brothers, or one of those vampire guys, and freak out on the verge of tears of excitement, jumping up and down, just coming out of their skin with disbelief at seeing their idol with their own eyes?

That would be {A} when she saw this guy….

Scott Brown!! (If you don’t know, {A} is prepping to be the next hot-and-ticked-off-enough-to-do-something-about it, politician. She has talked frequently about a seat in the House Senate. But today she was talking about her plan to have a bowl of pistachios in every room of the White House. Anyway….NOT the best photo. {A} like…RAN up to him in a nano-second and asked for a photo with him…..and he said it had to be FAST, because there was a trolley behind him. And there was! I had not a second, to adjust setting or get some fill-flash. It KILLED me. But to {A}…..this photo is a treasure. I have not printed it out yet, for fear she will sleep with it under her pillow, or something.

That night we all went to the Plymouth fireworks, too. Someday, when my kids are older, I’ll really get into getting great firework shots. But I really just want to enjoy my kids on exciting nights like this for them. They sat on top of the car to watch this year. The fireworks were happening all around us, actually….down on the beach, and out from the barge in the harbor.

Our whole weekend was just one blast, after another. ; ) (Oh brother….. O.K….sorry. lol. )

It was far from over too. Stay tuned, and tell us about your 4th!

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Let Us Rejoice and Be Glad…| Triplets’ First Holy Communion Day

May 15, 2010 By Laura 3 Comments

The triplets’ First Holy Communion Day, was so special.
This day, that they have waited for for so long, finally arrived! I promise, this is the last of the First Holy Communion posts – along with the Simple Lunch Spread for a Celebration Gathering post up right now. We’re hoping someone, somewhere, is still interested, while we indulge in posting about this happy occasion one more time.

Anyway, I wasn’t going to take photos of them actually receiving for the first time, because it just didn’t seem right. But….the other parents were told it was alright, as long as the photos were taken from their seats. So, I decided to do so too, not wanting to regret passing up the opportunity! Even though my angle was awful! All of the other children receiving their Sacrament this day, sat at the end of a pew for their family, and simply stepped out of their pew to receive this first time. But ours stepped out of our pew, and across the whole aisle in a line up, across the back of the 2 lines of kids. (Hope you followed that.) Anyway…..the Mass was really nice, as always, and the kids did great! They were so excited prior to…..then after, so happy and just….beaming. Trust me when I say, they fully understood/understand the significance of this event, and every Mass from here on out.

Some of our family and friends were there at the Mass with us. Some traveled quite a ways, to celebrate this day with us, and it meant a lot to all of us. {JM, O & S} brought up the gifts for the Mass, which was so sweet. They were really happy to do it.

Do you all know Fr. Bob Reed, from CatholicTV? ( Do your kids watch WOW!?) Well, we do, and love him. We were touched to learn that he had put in for presiding the Mass at which they would make this Holy Sacrament. He has become a great friend of ours. Yes, he is giving them rabbit ears in the first photo, still being silly in the second, and finally we get a serious shot in the third! He even has a secret handshake with them. He is, simply put, a really kind, funny, down-to-earth guy, and the work he does to evangelize our Catholic faith through by his vocation, through TV and otherwise, is nothing short of amazing!
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Following Mass, our family and friends came to our home for a continued celebration. Of course, we had decorated our little tree (a.k.a. a branch) for this special Sacrament occasion, and I loved what the kids did on our schooling chalkboard! We served our guests a light lunch, which I shared in the Recipes section.

Before we ate though, we took some more quick photos with the people who love them, and came to be with them on this day:

triplets-first-holy-communion-day-7 Left: The 6 of us. I love that this is small, and you cannot see how absolutely terrible & tired I looked! (Aren’t I clever?) I had been going non-stop for days, to be ready for this day. Can’t imagine how I would have survived, if I didn’t ‘keep it simple’! But I digress. {A} on the other hand, was an absolute doll! She had on the sweetest outfit, and beads! / Right: The trio with their Godparents, (one of my brothers and sister-in-law), the kids Uncle G and Auntie K. As blessed as our kids are with the Godparents they have, we wanted badly to be able to give them each their own set of Godparents. They are individual kids, not a unit, and deserve that like any other kids. But you know how complicated these things can be, and we just couldn’t at that time, give them their own. I feel compelled to say that, only because I do not want to give the impression that we see our triplets, as ONE, and not individual kids. Most know that, but I feel better SAYING it. (So thanks for letting me!) Their Godparents love them very much though, and vice-versa. They are also a wonderful aunt and uncle, and were gracious to accept all 3 as their Godchildren.

With their ‘Papa’, who often comes for overnights to spend time with them. And then with two awesome and fun uncles! Great overgrown playmates on visits! ; ). We love them for that.

“It’s all…..for you.” lol.

WITH FR. (Bob) REED

Fr. Bob showed up, so I took the fruit cup in his hand away, and I made him have another photo. Even though, as he said, he didn’t have his priest attire on anymore. But he had PINK on!! I think it’s great when guys wear pink. Don’t you?

We were so done with photos by this point. And hungry. So we all went and ate. Well, I made sure everyone else ate, and tried to keep up with everything going on, and took bites in between!

Family and friends brought, and sent by mail, very thoughtful and unexpected gifts. We wanted to spend as much time with the people who came to celebrate with us, so the kids opened most of them later that night by ourselves. They received so many beautiful and special tokens of this day, that the kids truly already, treasure. They have always had a special fondness for their own religious items-and now they have so much more. The people in our lives are so kind and thoughtful.

The day just seemed to fly by, and I felt like I missed so much. I despise that feeling. I had planned this special day for the kids for so long, and I didn’t want to miss a moment. But I just couldn’t take it all in at once. We had several friends with us that day, that I wanted to get candid photos of, and never got to before they left: A family who good friends of ours, and some folks who have sat near us for so long and have become dear friends, who have watched the kids ‘sit like indians’ while we all went up to receive Communion, and have waited for this day too. It’s really bothering me, still. It’s one of those things…I want to go back and have another chance! I want the kids to have photos of everyone who was there with them that day. Did I mention how much it is still bothering me? I need therapy about it, I think. I can’t let it go. Despite my planning, I didn’t get this part done. I wanted to take LOTS of candids all day. But I was so busy with so many things, time got away, people eventually left, and then it was too late.

But to the kids….the day was truly perfect, and joyful. And I too, do have sweet moments of this day, burned into my memory. (But, I don’t have proof of it all in photos, darn it! lol). Sweet moments, like this one…..

….The boys, pushing their Godmother on the swing. She, of course, was really being dramatic and making the most of it for their entertainment, and they were just loving it!! They were laughing so hard, and having so much fun. And so was she!! I truly just love the photo of her on the right.

THIS……Is Fr. Ken. The pastor of our church. You know, the one who’s AMAZING homilies I speak so much about?! We were so happy he came over to our house for awhile, too!! He came a little later on, after many had left (even Fr. Bob). But you know what…it was SO NICE. Because we sat with him for a long time on the deck, and just talked. (After he quizzed the kids on important questions. Talk about being put on the spot!) We talked about his homilies, and how he prepares for them. (I had to know the details!) He also shared a whole lot…..about the new church we will be building quite soon.

Here is another photo, that represents more sweet memories of this day….

…..our kids, with some of their cousins. Many could not be with us this day, but these 2 could!! D & M (right behind {A} in the front) are great kids. They all had SO much fun together, playing with Pixel, laughing and talking about random stuff, and playing basketball. It was great to see them all having a great time together, and we’ll be doing it again soon!

It truly was a blessed and beautiful day, for sure. The weather could not have been better, too. Sunny and mid-70’s. Perfect.

O.K. now, aside from the day’s menu over in Vittles, that should wrap up our First Holy Communion posts!! Thank you so much, for letting us share so much of this special occasion with you, and sharing in our joy!! As much hype as we have built up to this day, the kids will tell you, the happiness and excitement only began with this day. They will, and already are, re-living the joy over and over, as they receive Jesus at every mass of their lives, from this day forward.