Blueberry Picking

What's better than a trip to the blueberry farm on a beautiful, late July day with four little boys, two moms, a Gramma and a Grammy?  I can't think of anything....can you??
Logan picked and picked but never had more than one blueberry in his bucket, and that was the one that I put in for him.  Every blueberry he picked ended up in his belly!  Just like little Sal!

Hot Air Balloon Festival

Ever since I was in high school, I have wanted to go to the hot air balloon festival in South County.  I don't think of it every year, some years I miss the dates or have other plans, but for one reason or another, we've never been.  Until this year!  I thought it was something that we could do as a family that the boys would enjoy.
I have to say, I was a bit disappointed with the hot air balloon portion of the festival.  There were only about 8-10 balloons that were inflated, but grounded at dusk.  I thought there would be more and I thought they would take off at dusk, even if they remained tethered.  We were able to climb and play inside a balloon on it's side and see them up close but I would have liked to see more.
The boys had a great time riding the rides.  Well, Logan did after his first ride which he cried all the way through and said "Hop down, Mommy, hop down" every time he came by me.  But when it was over, Logan immediately said " 'Gain, 'gain" and then he couldn't get enough.  We watched an amazing tightrope performance by the Flying Wallenda's, had a picnic dinner, enjoyed the fireworks beyond the glow of the hot air balloons and the boys got "real" temporary tattoos.  All in all it was a much needed fun family night!

Need a good laugh??

You'll want to bookmark this post so you can pull it up anytime you need a good laugh.

I can't decide which I like more...Logan's giggles in anticipation of what Evan is going to do or the laughter that begins around 52 seconds.

Enjoy the entertainment from these silly, silly boys!!

Post Beach Vacation Blues

We've been trying to beat the post-beach vacation blues this week.  We are missing the beach and missing our friends.  It's been a hot week so we've been enjoying some time in the pool and playing with water!  The boys have been bickering quite a bit, especially when compared to last week but here are a few moments when they were just having fun being silly!

One Last Beach Day

We had such a great week at the Cape that we didn't want it to end...so we made sure it didn't...At least for today!  We spent one last day at the beach.  We started with a stop at Allie's Donuts on the way to meet Nicole at Roger Wheeler state beach aka Sand Hill Cove.  We got a bit of a late start and she was there early so we missed her which was just as well because by the time we got there, the lot was closed.  We doubled back to Scarborough and had a great afternoon at the beach.  Evan had a bit of an incident with the waves and got knocked under and lost his sunglasses but he was fine.  After the beach, we picked up chowder and clamcakes for dinner and brought them to Papa & Gramma's.  We ate poolside and then enjoyed a bit of a firework show from their family room before heading home.  What a great way to end a wonderful vacation!!

Cape Week!

When you are on vacation, living in a house with 9 people including 4 boys ages 4 and under, things can go horribly wrong if people aren't getting along.  Thankfully for us, this was not the case!!  We had a wonderful week in East Dennis with Mark, Laura, Henry, Charlie and Nicole.  We couldn't have asked for better weather or for the boys to get along better.  It was a wonderful week at the 'cation home (as Logan called it)!  It was great having Adria, Avi and Lilly so close too and being able to spend lots of low-key but important and fun time together.  Wanna do it again next year, ladies??



Logan playing T-ball with a little help from Charlie


Evan and Charlie super-swinging

Ahoy, Matey!

When we knew we were going to be spending the week on the Cape, we asked our Cape expert friend, Jenna, for suggestions of things to do with the kids.  We knew we wanted to just mostly spend the week on the beach but everyone, even this beach bum, needs a break from the sun once in a while.  Jenna recommended the Cape Cod Pirate Adventures boat trip which sounded like the perfect thing for four little pirate loving boys!  

We booked a trip on the boat and headed to Hyannis for the day.  It worked out perfectly because it wasn't much of a beach day to start the day anyway.  Upon arrival, the boys were outfitted like pirates complete with vests, beads, and pirate tattoos. They were each given a pirate name as well...Hilarious Henry, Enthusiastic Evan, Captain Charlie, and Lagoon Logan.  The boys all signed their names to a flag that would later be hoisted up the mast of the Sea Gypsy.  

Once we set sail, the fun began.  The crew of the Sea Gypsy had the kids entertained the entire way as they pieced together the treasure map, hunted for treasure and defended the Sea Gypsy from other pirates.  Evan's favorite part was "All hands on deck, To the lookout bench"  when looking for pirates and Logan's favorite part was "Heave! Ho(ve)! Heave!  Ho(ve)!" while hoisting the flags and sails.  Such a fun event for four little pirates!

Pool Time with the O'Shea's

After 4 straight beach days, we needed a little change of pace.  We took this opportunity to visit the O'Shea's, who happened to be in Mashpee this week as well.  We went to their house for lunch, pool time and lots of fun!  They boys had a great time with the O'Shea kids.  Evan especially loved playing hide and seek with Zoe, who was like a little mom to Evan while we were there.  He even said that his favorite part of the day was getting hugs from Zoe before we left.  So cute!  Thanks for hosting us, O'Shea/Gabrielian family!  It was great to see you all!

Beach Time!

We started our Cape week vacation with 4 straight days at 3 different beaches.  Days 1 and 2 were at Sea Street beach, day 3 was at Cold Storage Beach and day 4 was at the beach in Brewster, just across from the house that Adria and Avi rented.  Each day we would load up the car with gear and kids, drive the 1/2 mile to the beach, unload everyone but the driver and go get set up on the beach while the driver would return the car to the house.  It was a great set up.  The only thing better would have been if we were directly on the beach.  The boys had so much fun playing in the water, building sandcastles, and exploring each different beach.  My favorite was Cold Storage...by far!  It may have been all because of the extra time with the ladies in the afternoon while the guys were back at the house with the boys but I would go back there in a minute!


Stomping the castle