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A Peek at Our Easter Home Decor, and Finished Eggs

April 20, 2011 By Laura 3 Comments

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After sharing with you all the egg dying fun we had with the kids, I wanted to show you what we did with the eggs they dyed, and a little bit of the rest of the Easter/Spring decor around our home.  As always, our little holiday tree ( or, branch in a bucket of bricks…lol.) is decorated.  Mostly photos here – less chit-chat.
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{O} did this arrangement of some of our dyed eggs and raffia in a tall glass jar, all by herself. (She’s 8.) I was so impressed.

Next, you can see what I decided to do with some of those dyed pieces of lace you saw in the photos of the egg dying post….

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CALVARY.

This was a Lenten project & (Scriptural) lesson we did with the kids. Well, Michael really gave the lesson, and he did a really good job with the message, as they all worked, getting their hands really dirty.  It always warms my heart, to listen to the kids talk about their faith, so directly from their heart, and in such sweet ways. I took lots of photos of them making this.  I’ll share in time next year, and show you how it is done.  (If I’m still blogging.)  The whole thing will be going out in my garden.   I love it, for all it represents.  The kids put it together, seeded it, watered it every day, and grew it to this,  and all of that makes me love it even more.

JESUS’ TOMB.

I hope you enjoyed the peek.  : )  We won’t be blogging again until next week. Our family has a busy and focused rest of the week, that I’m really looking forward to, as we prepare ourselves for Easter.  So we just wanted to say to you now…


From our home to yours, wishing all of you, and your families, a blessed Holy Week, and a joyful Easter Sunday celebration.

See you again soon.

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Filed Under: Gardening, Home Decor, Photography, Seasonal Home decor, SPRING Home Decor, The Homestead Tagged With: Catholic-blogs, Catholic-families, decorating-with-dyed-Easter-eggs, Easter-home-decor, easter-tree

Welcome to the ValenDiner | Our Valentine’s Day Diner Theme Party

February 23, 2011 By Laura 6 Comments

Valentine theme party idea

For this past St. Valentine’s Day, I had the urge to throw a fun little party for our kids.ย  The more I got thinking about the little details, (which I love to do), a theme party sort of started snowballing in my head (which is often the case, when I think), and I got beside myself with excitement (which happens quite easily with me.)

Simply put, my idea, was simply, a St. Valentine’s Day diner theme party.

We invited a family we are good friends with, who have just as many kids as we do!ย  That was enough for me, because frankly….I had never (evah!) waitressed before.ย  But I was about to!

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A menu sign welcomed them, as soon as the ValenDiner was open, at 1:00 in the afternoon.

The menu offered all of the specialties any good diner would, as you can see.ย  Milkshakes, in 3 flavors, and even deep fried french fries and onion rings!

(ย ย  Soon, our home would smell like a real diner too. ; )ย ย ย  )
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Here are our special patrons!!ย  A happy-go-lucky, handsome little crew, huh??ย ย  One of our crew, {D}, top center, was even so kind enough to take a shiner at his wrestling match that weekend.ย  I could have taken care of that, with my photo editing skills,ย  of course.ย  But us parents decided it added a nice 50’s sort of touchย  to our party…..like one ofย  “The Outsiders.”ย  ; )ย  So, we just thanked him.
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Valentine theme party idea Us moms (a.k.a – the waitresses), took the kid’s orders soon after ‘we opened’.ย  We hung the order up, for the kitchen crew, over the breakfast bar window. (See them?)ย  Me and my side-kick were just like ‘Alice and Flo’.ย  (From that old sitcom, Alice.ย  Remember?ย  I’ll tell you a secret….I had a crush on Alice’s son, Tommy. Sshhhh.)ย  I really got into my role,….more like Flo. (Because it would just be weird, to be Tommy’s mother.)ย  I had fun blowing bubbles with my bubble gum, as I took orders, and asking, “Alright kids, what’ll it be.” <Pop!>

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As many of you know by now, we take every opportunity we can, to let the kids learn.ย  It’s personally important to us (4 parents), that our children understand the history and true meaning behind every holiday or saint day.ย  (or anything else, educational, that we can squeeze into them.)ย  So while the kids were waiting for their orders to be up, and being that our celebration on this day, revolved around the life of St. Valentine, they watched a very informative and wonderful (wonderful!) power-point presentation, put together by….well, Alice.ย  ; )ย ย ย ย  I learned a thing or 2 more, I didn’t know, myself!ย  (More on that later.)

 

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They each got a printout, too.
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Valentine theme party idea Here’s ‘Grill Boy”.ย  (Mel?) He was cookin’ up those hot dogs and cheeseburgers.

Weย  had some unexpected mechanical difficulties with the frialator, that really held things up a bit.ย  But eventually, we got it working right.

 

Valentine theme party idea The little wait, just made the kids extra-thankful for their food!!ย  Honestly, it melted my heart, to see them join hands, and say grace together.

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Valentine theme party idea A ‘cheers’, with milkshakes…..in vanilla, chocolate, or strawberry.
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Yum.ย  It’s hard to find good diner food, these days.

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Valentine theme party idea Us parents loved seeing the kids, all chowing down, giggling and chatting.ย  There was a real ‘hum’ of a busy diner.

 

Valentine theme party idea <Swoon.>ย  I so wish, I had gotten the shot of this sweet boy’s expression, when he tried that dill pickle.ย  I was a fraction of a second too late.ย  But I think I’ll remember it in my head forever, because it was ‘that’ comical.ย  There was actually a couple of hysterical moments with that pickle.ย  What a blessing this boy is.ย ย  (Well, that all are. But, you know.)

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Valentine theme party idea

The patrons lingered.ย  And our tip they left us, was the echo of their generous giggles, in our hearts.
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Valentine theme party idea All of our kids, made Valentine cards, for each other.ย  (More on that later, too.)ย  But our friend’s sweet girl {S}, above, got an extra-special, unique Valentine, made by our boy, {JM} (with a little wording help from his Mama. ; ).ย  You need to know……{S} is a competitive Irish Step Dancer.ย ย  So, her Valentine was a 4 leaf-clover, with a heart center.ย  And it read:

*ย  “I-RISH” you’d “Step” into my heart, and be my Valentine! ย  *

Do you want to know the best part?ย  (Of course you do. )ย ย  As I type this post this moment, that Valentine card, right now, is in IRELAND!!ย  I’m not even kidding.ย  {S} took it there with her, for ‘good luck’, as she competes against the best Irish Dancers in the world!!

 

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All of the kids, totally loved exchanging Valentines with each other.ย  They were all ‘keepers’.

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{Baby E} loved his Valentines, too!ย  Holding him, is “Milkshake Man”…..a.k.a Daddy!ย ย  He and
“Grill Boy” get along great.

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Valentine theme party idea There’s my good friend, “Alice!”.ย  I would have never survived the diner crowd on this day, without her.ย  Actually…I may have not survived a few things in my life, with out her.
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The kids partied on, to the 50’s ‘jukebox’ playing.

(Pandora. Whatever.)

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Valentine theme party idea We all partied, until we started poopin’ out!!

Honestly, it’s always a good time of memory-makin’, when our families get together.

And this St. Valentine’s Day celebration,ย  was no exception.

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Valentine theme party idea

Before we all parted ways, we each had a Valentine fortune (paper-cookie) to read.ย ย  They actually came with fortunes already.ย  But because “Alice” and I have higher, perfectionistic standards, I pulled those lame ones out, and re-stuffed them, with our own alternative fortunes.ย ย ย  The theme of course, was “LOVE”, and together, we combined our lists of messages about “love”,ย  that we wanted our kids to be sent <wink-wink>, including some Biblical Scripture quotes.

It was a wonderful St. Valentine’s celebration, I think we ALL, always will remember.

If not, we have this post to remind us!

And if that fails us, there is that faint “deep-frying Diner” scent, Iย  swear still lingers in the air.

***ย  We hope you “LOVED” this theme party post!!ย ย  As an FYI…..we have more Valentine season ideas/photos from this year, that we hope to share with you next year, pre-Valentine’s Day, if I am still blogging away! Then perhaps you might like to use those ideas too, when you might need them.ย  (I’m sure you all are all Valentine’d out, by now.) There will be some treats under the ‘Recipes’ tab, as well as some Valentine card ideas (complete with sayings) under ‘Crafts & Creations’ tab.ย  And just maybe, I can manage to get that educational power-point presentation on St. Valentine, to share under ‘Homeschooling.’ ย  That’s my plan, if I blog-on, anyway.ย  Hey, a lot can happen in a year! Right?***

Meanwhile, leave us your thoughts, and then….let’s get on with Spring!ย  (Lent, Easter….Alleluia!!)

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Filed Under: Celebrations, Faith, Faith/ Catholic, Holidays, The Big Picture Tagged With: Catholic-blogs, Catholic-families, diner-theme-party, St-Valentine's-Day, St-Valentines-day-party, Valentines-party-theme-ideas

Homeschooling in the Kitchen | Food for Thought; Literally!

November 14, 2010 By Laura 7 Comments

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I’m sure I’ve been forthright about this before, as much as it makes me feel a little bad to say out loud.ย  (Figuratively speaking.)ย  But there always moments in time when these things come up, and there is some purpose in being truthful in the matter. Right?

Well, this is one of those times.

So the truth is, <whisper> my mother was just not very domestic in the kitchen. Nor was her mother. <end of whisper> Which says something not good.ย  Doesn’t it?

I’ll answer that.ย  Yes it does.

It says that the chances of me being one, was slim to none.

Unless of course, I broke the cycle, and took responsibility for myself.ย  Made different choices. And God-willing, began a new cycle for my children, and grandchildren, to carry on.

(I’m not really that smart.ย  I read something like that in a book once.)

I have to say, I did know plenty about cleaning, weeding gardens, and working hard coming into this holy-Sacrament-of-marriage-thing.ย  I worked for a little old lady from the time I was 11 years old until I was14, every Saturday.ย  Her name was Mrs. Flahive, (pronounced with long vowels.)ย  I cleaned her house top to bottom, kept up her gardens, weeded her stone patio, changed the sheets on the beds, did laundry, etc.ย  I even polished her silver with some grayish-brown, horrid-smelling stuff. I learned a lot from her.ย  Although I didn’t really appreciate the value in the tasks, at the time.ย  I never even thought about how they would serve me well someday, in my own home-keeping years.

Some things, she was very particular about how it was done….such as the fine techniques of folding sheets, or making a bed.ย  It’s funny that I insist on these same techniques in my own home now. lolย ย  She was a nice old lady, made me a fine lunch which we enjoyed together, and later had an afternoon tea as well.ย  And then she paid me too! She paid me well, I might add. For a kid. Of course, I was also risking my life twice a day, every Saturday, as this 80 year old woman who peered through the hole of her steering wheel, picked me and and brought me home.ย ย  I’ll never forget that time we were heading for the side of the bridge…..

But admittedly, I was slow coming around as a new bride-to-be, in the cooking and baking area.ย  I think becoming a mother sort of kicked me into domestic-gear. Somewhat. Until then, my husband and I did o.k., together. He did have more of a domestic mother, all the way around.ย  From what I could tell, anyway.ย  So he had watched, learned, and praise God, was not helpless himself when we married.

Yes, all of this story-telling has everything to do with homeschooling.
In particular today: Homeschooling in the Kitchen

I don’t know if they even have Home Economics in school anymore.ย  Do they?ย  But I heard they did, back when I was in school.ย  Problem is, I went to a private Catholic high school, where the guidance counselor, was also the Geometry teacher sometimes, and the principal was sometimes the Religion teacher. (That was a bad run.). The gym teacher helped in areas he should have never been helping, with the senior girls, if you know what I mean. (But I won’t go there today.)ย  In other words, we were just a small school, without any extras.ย  We didn’t even have a football team. Or a field of any sporty-kind.

 

homeschooling-kids-in-the-kitchen My mom was a wonderful mother in many ways, so don’t get me wrong.ย  But seeing as though I was not learning much in the kitchen at home, it would have been nice to learn about some of the cooking and baking stuff, especially, somewhere.ย  In retrospect, I mean. (Because I am quite sure I could have cared less at the time.)ย ย  And so seeing as though my kids are not in school, and won’t be going to high school either, where they may or may not have gotten Home Ec classes, I feel it is up to me to be sure they get some!!ย  Otherwise, they could end up as a floundering bride or groom some day.ย  And if they marry the same, there is going to be a big problem.ย  Like. . . . a travesty. Know what I’m saying?

homeschooling-kids-in-the-kitchen-1 So I need to be sure, my kids get a domestic bone from me, some way, some how, some day.ย ย  Hopefully before they are married, or are out on their own.ย  Even if they are single, I don’t want them resorting to fast foods and whatnot!

And so it was that mindset that I was in, when I got my kids (happily) helping out in the kitchen, since they were about ohhhh….so tall. (Use your imagination.ย  It’s pretty short.)

But it was in having them help, that I realized just how much schooling can happen in the kitchen!ย  And the more we do it, the more I see the lessons happening.

It’s a whole lot more than Home Economics!

Let’s see…….

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First, there is READING…..the directions.ย  I have them do it out loud. It’s such an opportunity for new kitchen-related VOCABULARY words, SPELLING words, and PROPER PRONUNCIATION.

On this particular day in the kitchen, we were making an ordinary box ofย  cinnamon streusel cake, and making the apple version.

homeschooling-kids-in-the-kitchen-3 Then, comes FOLLOWING DIRECTIONS, of what was just read, very carefully.


homeschooling-kids-in-the-kitchen-4 MATH is a biggie!ย  (age depending.)ย  There is counting, adding and subtracting, and measuring. (Especially when halving or doubling a recipe.)ย  Reading numbers, and temperatures!

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SCIENCE is everywhere, in the operating kitchen.ย  How does one ingredient react, when another is added to it?ย  Why must we temper some ingredients first, before adding to the big batch.ย  (There’s another new word!ย  So what does it mean, and how do we do it?)

What happens with various temperatures set in the oven, and what is the difference between baking, and broiling?

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Enjoying our time spent together counts for something too! For some, it truly is a learned behavior!

(Not for my kids, of course.ย  I’m just sayin’ ; )

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How about the ins and outs of KITCHEN SAFETY?ย ย  We are using sharp knives, reaching into hot ovens….

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…..and operating heavy machinery!

(After you read this post, you may want to find out how this sweet piece of machinery hummed it’s way into our lives, and MiXeD everything up, HERE. ; )

Uhh, by the way…….Where’s the fire extinguisher, just in case?ย  And how do you use that?

We don’t want to learn that Science, in an emergency. You want to know how to use that thing if you need to!ย  And if all else fails,< insert the family fire drill skills here>, and we’ll meet at the telephone pole across the street!

Back to the lessons at hand…

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Learning how to WORK AS A TEAM, and also ……..

homeschooling-kids-in-the-kitchen-10 …….admitting when you need help, and allowing others to help you.


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All of these lessons I mentioned, are just the topping of the cake.

I am sure you could think of plenty more, in addition to mine.

Think on it.

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OH OH OH!! I just thought of another one!!ย  The one I think we all like to forget!:

The RESPONSIBILITY of cleaning up the mess!

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But most times, we can do so, while we enjoy the mouth-watering smell we’ve created in the air.

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Ahhhhhh……smells…..SO…….good!!!ย ย  We can hardly wait to cut into it, indeed!

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Of course the best lesson of all:, our mouths and our bellies, REAP THE REWARDS OF our HARD WORK.

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All kids, home schooled or not, can benefit from the lessons to be learned in the kitchen.

What lessons have I missed mentioning?ย  Help me out here.

I’ll be hoping you can you add to my list, because I know there is a lot more.ย  And you’re smart cookies.

While I wait, if you’ll excuse me, I need to head down to the laundry room, transfer clothes from the washer to the dryer, sort some piles, and start a new wash load.

And you can bet I’ll be taking a kiddo down with me.ย  And believe it or not, they’ll be excited to come and help! (And secretly learn.)

Hopefully, I’m cutting my chances here of them coming home on weekends from college, accompanied by several loads of laundry.ย  If they do, we’ll be repeating those lessons, that weekend.ย  ; )

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Filed Under: Elementary Homeschooling, Elementary Homeschooling HOME ECONOMICS, Elementary Homeschooling SCIENCE, Homeschooling, Math, Middle School Homeschooling, Middle School Homeschooling HOME ECONOMICS, Middle School Homeschooling SCIENCE, Science Tagged With: Catholic-blogs, Catholic-families, elementary-homeschooling, homeschooling, homeschooling-in-the-kitchen, kids-in-the-kitchen, kitchen-lessons-for-kids, middle-school-homeschooling, teaching-following-directions, teaching-kids-home-economics, teaching-kids-measuring, teaching-kids-responsibility, teaching-kids-science-in-the-kitchen, teaching-math-in-the-kitchen, triplets

Just *Some* Things That Make Me Smile….| In Photos

October 24, 2010 By Laura 4 Comments


smiley Me.

I’m always taking random photos, that I love to have because they made me smile. But they wouldn’t necessarily make a whole post.ย  So I thought I’d try putting them in bunches sometimes, and doing a post now and then, about some of these little things that make me smile. Then I may happen to throw in a couple of others too, that were not random photos, but do indeed make me smile anyway.

Just a photo-happy little post.

So here are just some things, that make me smile……

birthday-pancake This beautiful pancake my husband and kiddos surprised me with on the morning of my birthday, even though they knew I would never eat it in a million years.ย  They made it anyway, because ‘number breakfasts’ are a tradition in our home on birthdays, and they can’t let the tradition go, even on my day.ย  I’m not big on eating much in the morning. That is chocolate frosting they worked with there, by the way. (In the morning?).

This pancake masterpiece sat in the fridge for about…well, the million years.

And then Michael ate it.ย  Really.

I know.
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0021 ….How happy my kids are, whenever they can spend time with their Papa.

Or maybe it’s, ….how happy my father is, whenever he can spend time with his grandkids.

Basically, it works both ways.

And it all makes me smile, because I love them all, and I love to see them all happy.

Anytime. All of the time.
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003 When I can just watch them play…..

tea-and-rosary-time …..or focus on our faith, together……

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….over apple-cinnamon tea, and banana bread.
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kitchen-aid-mixer My Kitchen Aid Mixer.ย  And it’s Sender. <3ย  You just had to have known that was coming.

And oh yes…..we’ve used it lots already.ย  You’ll be seeing!
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How silly my boy gets.ย  Every day. He’s a clown, for sure.
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0082 My new/used lens. We fit like a hand in a glove, Baby.

Or is it hand and a glove?

Well, you know what I mean.

We belong together.
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My God-Daughter. Ohhhh the smiles she has caused on my face.ย  Her expressions of love for me have made me cry, 100 times over.ย  Can you even get over the freckles?ย  When I see her, I try to kiss every one.
She’s so precious to me.
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homeschooled-siblings Our Autumn family hikes.ย ย  The crispness in the air, the crunching of leaves under our feet, appreciating the beauty all around us, that confusing scent in the air (….Old leaves? Or dog poo nearby?….lol)….and just chatting, laughing, and being together, going nowhere in particular.

These are just *some* of the things that make me smile.
I encourage you to ponder the things that make you smile, too. And if you can, take photos of those things! They’ll make you re-smile in later years, when you find them.

Thanks for the visit today, Friends.

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Filed Under: Faith, Faith/ Catholic, Life In General, The Big Picture Tagged With: Autumn-family-hike, birthday-pancake, Catholic faith, Catholic-blogs, Catholic-families, homeschooling, Kitchen Aid Mixer, rosary-and-tea, triplets

Surprise Destination – Martha’s Vineyard | Continuation of Triplets’ Birthday

September 29, 2010 By Laura 10 Comments

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Continuing sharing the triplet’s 8th birthday here.  Get ready for a whole lot of photos! (Let them all load before scrolling like crazy, ok?)

Following a birthday kick off at home in the morning (as posted in ‘They 8 and 8 and 8’…), we had big plans for the rest of the day!  Well, you know, big in our world.  It was going to be a great surprise for the kids. A whole new adventure, and I knew they would excitedly enjoy every second of.

But first, believe it or not, we had to deliver our home schooling package to the town, as this day was the deadline! Ugh. The office was in the complete and distant opposite direction of our adventure, so it was a mad rush, as we had transportation to catch!

In our travels, the kids tried to guess what we were doing, and eventually voted that they wanted to know, so they could be excited on the way. So I told them.

(Imagine the announcement here, Oprah-style:

“We’re going to Martha’s Vineyard!!” “We’re going to Martha’s Vineyard!!”   “We’re going to Martha’s Vineyard!!” “We’re going to Martha’s Vineyard!!” “We’re going to Martha’s Vineyard!!” “We’re going to Martha’s Vineyard!!”

Ok enough.  They were about as excited as that audience too!!  And no, I don’t really watch Oprah much.  But is there anyone in the world, who hasn’t seen that clip?)

Sometimes, knowing what you are about to do is half the fun! They chatted excitedly the rest of the way, all the way to………

marthas-vineyard … the Island Queen Ferry. We were indeed going to Martha’s Vineyard!

It was about as close to (and as exciting as)  a cruise ship experience, that we were ever likely to have.

You’d think, where we live, we would have been to Martha’s Vineyard by now, if not 100 times.  But we hadn’t.  I think I do recall going as a kid with my family, though.  But not since.  Have you been?  If not, you can ‘come along with us’ through these photos. And if you have, you’ll know it’s well worth the re-visit!

marthas-vineyard-1 Just about to deport.

marthas-vineyard-2 The sea was so calm that day, and the temps were mildly warm…..perfect for a nice cruise, and a beautiful day on the island.

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They stood a lot of the time.  They didn’t want to miss a thing.

A few days later, someone asked {S} if he saw any dolphins or whales out there, and he said,
“No.  All I saw was a dead bass, and a jelly fish.”

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This mother’s heart gushed at the sweet sight of this.
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marthas-vineyard-6 Another motherly heart sigh.
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Pulling into port!!

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A little welcome from the shores.
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An Osprey nest, perhaps?
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We got walking on the island, and every where I turned around, there were fun photos to take.  Who’s birthday was it, anyway?

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Looking at the pamphlets available, there was one ‘must see’ that jumped out to us, and we were on a mission to find it.
(Dropping in on little shops as we went along of course.)

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We found it!!

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I can tell you, it was hot as hell in this old wood structure.  (Or so I would imagine.  Hopefully I’ll never know, for sure.)  You could literally smell the warm wood.  And believe it or not, so dark in there I had difficulty taking (good) photos. But it was so charming anyway!

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Ready to go!!
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The coolest thing about this carousel, was trying to get the brass ring, as the carousel went around.    These next 2 photos are awful, and you’ll need to look carefully to see what I am talking about.  But, do you see that thing {JM} and {A} are reaching towards?  That’s a metal ring dispenser.

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You could try and grab one out of the dispenser, every time you went by.

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Most every ring was silver.  But the one who got the ‘brass ring’, got a free ride!!  It really added such a fun element to the whole carousel experience.  There was also a dispenser on the inside of the carousel.

None of our kids got the brass ring.  But hey…they are lucky enough, right?

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More strolling around, just enjoying all of the charming little shoppes and restaurants.

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This place looked like fun!

–

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Just a quick glance around, told me this place had some great games to play!  And none of the smutty and/or violent animated graphics I deem inappropriate for my little one’s eyes.

marthas-vineyard-20 But nothing in this amusement arcade place, was more exciting than the site of PLINKO!!  Seriously??  I could not have been more excited!!  That was always my favorite game on the Price Is Right.  We were good at it too!

I was busy playing myself, and not taking as many photos in here.

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Racking up the tickets!
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Oh what to get……decisions, decisions.
–

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I am sure all of you parents out there, know how long this can take.  Have mercy!
–

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In the end, they all happened to settle on ‘silly bands’.   It’s their first ones, believe it or not.  I don’t think I’ve seen anyone wear them more than once or twice, since.   But they sure do like to collect stuff~ Oh my gosh, do they ever. (All of them.  Trust me!)
–

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There are a lot of great signs at Martha’s Vineyard.   Being in the sign business, we really notice and appreciatethese things.  For anyone reading and not aware of these things, a sign is one of the top most important elements of your storefront business.  It’s a first impression.  It’s creates all kinds of sub-conscious messages about your business, and it definitely effects the flow of people that come in your door.  Or not.

This sign, Sharky’s Cantina, drew us in.  It was just a great sign.  Well laid out, fun, high quality.  So it gave those same impressions of the establishment as a whole, too.

The margarita might have been calling me in also.

But……there was just no room for us in there. It looked like a great place, but it was small, and packed with people. (Because of the sign. no doubt. ; )  See? ) We sat at a teeny-tiny table, in the very back corner, and I immediately felt trapped. Need-to-get-OUT!!  I guess ‘Cantina’ was a clue there.  But I was hyper-focused on the, well maybe the margarita.  We had to find somewhere else to eat.

As we looked for somewhere else, we happened to look down a pathway, that really, really drew us in.  As hungry as we were.…..

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Walking through these gates, was seriously like walking straight into another world.  Martha’s Vineyard as a whole, is pretty peaceful.  But this…..this place….offered an indescribable feeling.  All we could hear, were our own soft steps on the sidewalk, and the occasional tweeting of birds.  As we walked along, I had to look back behind me to the gate I had just walked through, trying to figure out what just happened.

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marthas-vineyard-32 The little walkway, led to a street lined with the quaintest little homes, that all seemed to surround a big green.   Just looking down the little street, with the row of little houses, almost dumbfounded me.  I almost felt like I was in Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood.  Can you imagine that?  I really wanted to go there, as a child.

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This is the green that the we came upon, surrounded.  What you see there in the center of the green is what is known as ‘The Tabernacle.’  We had to check it out.

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It definitely had elements of a place of worship. It seemed like such a lovely place, to hold an outdoor Mass.

(To us, because we’re Catholic.)

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As I looked around, I think I said, “This place is so cool, ” 20 times.

But it really was!!

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One of the kids took note of the banner sign hanging, and read it out loud:

“Surely the Presence of the Lord is in this Place.”

Yes, surely. It seemed to us, that the ‘presence of the Lord’ was all over Martha’s Vineyard!  The beauty of it all….how could one not feel God everywhere?

But, we didn’t see ‘the Tabernacle’ as us Catholics best know it. And thus, ‘the presence of the Lord’ as we know it, either.

Still, it was cool!  And I did feel Him everywhere, all day.

I guess concerts and such are held there.  I got the impression, some non-denominational celebrations as well.

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Over yonder, from ‘the Tabernacle’ looked like what might be a Catholic Church.  But the family was all talking about their ‘bellies grabbling’, and they all wanted to eat.  We all needed to, really.

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So we continued on our quest for a restaurant, which really got to be quite the task!  There were little places around, but by this point in the day, I really wanted the kids to eat some ‘real food’, as I like to call it. (In other words…healthy.)  Time was ticking, we were all dragging by now, and pretty warm too!  When finally, we settled on an Italian Restaurant.  By the time we got in, got a table, and ordered, we were in a slight panic waiting for the food, worried we would miss the last ferry at 6:45, to home-land!  So we were scoffing down our meals by the time we got our food.  Can you imagine missing the last ferry of the day?  An overnight at MV was not at all in the budget, and we had nothing with us!

Can I just say, Fettuccine Alfredo is not easy to eat quickly!

Nor is high-tailing it to the ferry with a belly full of it!

(The fettuccine was what I ordered.  The kids made healthier choices on their own, thankfully.)

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I just had to grab a shot of this place.  It’s an Inn.  Michael knows some folks who stay there every year.

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See?  No heavy fettuccine in those bellies.  “Hey, wait for me!!”

We did make it to the ferry in plenty of time.  We ended up sitting and waiting for it.  But we were happy to just sit, and chill.  No rush anymore.  Just a sweet evening ferry ride for us all, at dusk.   SO BEAUTIFUL!   The cool evening breeze……the smell of the sea…..the colors in the sky…….God everywhere, still.  Not to mention our beautiful children, I was especially, especially thankful for on this day.

So….I took lots more photos on the ferry ride home.  And that, my friends, will be the final Trio Birthday post, coming up next.  You just have to see how perfect it all was.

Now tell me, have you ever been to Martha’s Vineyard?  Once?  Many times?  For a day or an extended stay?  Recently or a long, long time ago?  As I said, I think I had been as a child.  Michael never had.  Nor our kids, of course.

But we’ll all be going back.

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Filed Under: Celebrations, The Big Picture Tagged With: Catholic-blogs, Catholic-families, Martha's Vineyard, photos-of-Martha's-Vineyard, surprise-destination, triplets, triplets-birthday

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