We are continuing to share with you here, our little celebrations we had for {J, O & S}’s 7th birthday.  Michael and I had been planning for a month, this surprise overnight trip for the kids.  It was interesting for me to try and secretly pack for us all! Especially for {A}, who I know would much prefer to do it herself!  She likes to bring as much of what she owns as she can, and there are a lot of ‘musts’ as well.  But I wanted to pack LIGHT.  I thought, if anyone would realize we were going somewhere overnight, it would be her, and I would know that she knew, when I saw something she had, that I didn’t pack!

So after lunch, cake choices, and their surprise of MP3 players, we headed out on our trip. Michael managed to get the suitcase in the van without anyone noticing.  Unknown to them, we were only heading across our own town of Plymouth, MA, to the John Carver Inn.  This is a great hotel/inn in downtown Plymouth, that many of our guests who come into town to visit us, stay at. Especially those with kids. Because one of the greatest perks of the John Carver Inn is their  Mayflower-themed pool and awesome slide . . . . . .

There’s a huge ship, with a really great water-tube slide!!

These stairs climb up to the ship, and the entry to the slide.

I knew they would love it, after swimming every day for weeks this past summer, and loving every water-filled-minute of it.

It was the biggest hit with {S}, who loves anything that goes FAST! I already worry about his driving years.

I always crack up, looking at him when his face is all wet, the way those crazy-long wet eyelashes of his, just stick to his eyelids all over the place.

He went down that slide again, and again, and again. I had this ridiculous need to take a photo of him coming out, every time.

{A} was swimming all over that pool.  I was looking for her half the time, and she was often in the deeper end,  on the other side of the ‘Plymouth Rock’ that holds the hot tub.  I forgot to take photos of that.

But she loved the slide too.  She always holds her nose still,  going under water.  My sister always did that.

{J} was the first one down that big slide, within a few minutes of getting there that afternoon, when I didn’t have my camera with me yet.  : /  He liked it, but he preferred to do other water-related things, so I never got a photo of him going down.

{O} has always been our water-bug, since birth.  Very tactile.

But she preferred to practice her hand-stands over going down the slide.

And also having piggy-back rides with Daddy through the waterfall > another great feature at this pool!

They all wanted rides through the waterfall……

LOL!

When {A} was little, she used to be really big on piggy back rides.  Now, she’s just really big! Those long legs are ridiculous.

There are lots of perks of always being the one behind the camera. And one of them, are the days you are wearing a bathing suit. ; )   I was there.  I swam. I went through the waterfall. I had lots of fun. But I did not go down the slide. Or have my photo taken. : )  I know; I should have. I need to, a lot more. It really is important, and I realize all of the reasons why.

Anyway, we made great memories at the John Carver Inn, and we had a wonderful dinner that night, at the Hearth ‘n Kettle Restaurant, which is downstairs in the hotel. The kids love that place. So cozy, with a little old-time feel to it. The food is great, too.  The kids ate every bit of their meals (as always-they love to eat!), and really, really loved the sweet-potato fries!

We did more swimming the next morning before checking out. But that one night as we all crawled into our 2 Queen beds in our hotel room, with girls all in one bed, and boys in the other, I noticed {A} snuggling up to that nightie she sleeps with every night. Mine. The one she confiscated.  The one I nursed her in, many, many summer nights in the first year of her life. The one she still has me wear again just once, after she has it washed, so it smells like me again.

The one…I didn’t pack!

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