Posts Tagged ‘memorial day’

Memorial Day Weekend 2018

Wednesday, May 30th, 2018

America is the land of the free because of the brave, who we honor on Memorial Day each year. I selfishly hope it’s always a holiday I think of in the abstract and enjoy as the unofficial start of summer, rather than a day with personal meaning. So many families aren’t that lucky. I’ve never been a very good military spouse – I’m not good at volunteering for things, I’m never on committees, I rarely attend meetings, I don’t sign up for meal trains, I forget about bake sales and I’m so bad at military ranks, rates and jobs I’m still not 100% sure what my own husband does. All I know is he’s good at it and he’s gone a lot. I just need him to come back every time.

We had a great weekend that kept us very busy. The big kids had a birthday party, Caroline had kids ballet classes, everyone over the age of 4 got to see the new Avengers movie plus we went to the parade and the lake. We also went to the downtown carnival, where I spent way too much money on a few rides and cheap prizes, but the kids ran into several friends and had a great time. The house is a DISASTER and we don’t have a single dry towel, but I’m so happy I can finally use summer as an excuse for my poor housekeeping.

Summer is Almost Here

Monday, May 22nd, 2017

Huge thanks to Gymboree for once again sponsoring this post and outfitting my constantly-growing children.

We are T-minus 4 days away from the unofficial start of summer around here because this weekend our lake opens! I’m not actually sure how we survived summer before we had a lake membership, but for the past few years it has been a lifesaver for hot summer days, the cure for too much screen time, a meeting place where we almost always find friends to play with and a much-needed break for me from cleaning up the same mess day after day.

But it’s not just the lake I look forward to in the summer. I’m an ocean devotee – the sand, the salt, the smell, all of it is necessary to my happiness. Just knowing I can be at the ocean in a few minutes makes me feel better. It’s why I don’t know if I could ever live in a non-coastal state. How do you handle so much dry land?

Thanks to a few true summer weather days last week we’ve already been to the beach once this May and are going back during Memorial Day weekend to share it with some flyover state relatives coming to visit. They specifically requested the ocean be on the itinerary, so we’ll probably take them to Ocean Beach where they can get the full Atlantic experience: cold water, hot sand, the boardwalk, the rickety rides, the overpriced ice cream. It’s all important. And thanks to my friends at Gymboree the kids are going to look stylish and patriotic for all our weekend plans. Their new Star Spangled Days collection is perfect for Memorial Day, 4th of July, or any summer day where you’re feelin’ the red, white and blue vibes.

Caroline’s favorites from here look are the sunglasses and her “high heel” wedges.

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You can find the shoes here, which you should definitely do because they’re so adorable. They also come in big kid sizes.

One of my favorite things about Gymboree is that they still make clothes for ALL my kids so it’s easy to match even when my cool-guy 8-year-old maybe doesn’t want to wear exactly the same shirt as the 2-year-old. Although who doesn’t want super sweet glasses like those?

My very attractive and well-behaved children are the perfect fashion models. In opposite world.

Evan has worn that hoodie every day since we got it, which is about as strong of a recommendation as anyone can give.

Four more days before Memorial Day, 18 more days before we ditch school to start our summer vacation, 43 days until the 4th of July, and my fingers are crossed every single one of those days is perfect New England summer weather. What are your plans for the holiday weekend? Is it summer yet where you are?

My Week(187) in iPhone Photos

Monday, June 2nd, 2014

It’s unofficially summer now, so all the time not spent at the doctor was spent outside.

Sunday:

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Take your children to work day (because people feed them),

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They took turns pushing each other on a big kid swing. I’M FREEEEEE.

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Look at all that glorious empty floor space! If I took that picture right now it would not look that clean. At all.

Monday:

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3 year old heaven

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It is shocking our friends still agree to play marbles with my husband.

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That is not her beer.

Tuesday:

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A block fell on his nose because his tower was REALLY tall

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Playing with my piggies

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Everything about this photo cracks me up

Wednesday:

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WINTER COATS BECAUSE SCREW YOU CONNECTICUT

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Awwwww, what a cute little ferret that will NEVER EVER COME TO OUR HOUSE

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BFFs

Thursday:

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Mommy, take my picture!

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(Fisheye) Lunch of the front steps

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Gorgeous night for a maternity session

Friday:

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Peek a boo?

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He takes my appointments very seriously

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Can’t wait! Family movie day!

Saturday:

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We can’t go to the grocery store without visiting our lobster friends.

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STRAWBERRIES

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False alarm contractions sent me to L&D and then home again. The good news (?) was I wasn’t imagining it, they could see them on the monitors. The better news is they weren’t doing anything so the doctor isn’t worried. The bad news is this will probably keep happening (minus going in to L&D) until I go into real labor.

BOTH kids have field days at school this week, so it’s time to stock up on sunscreen and bug spray and cross my fingers for afternoon naps. I have four photo sessions to finish editing,  three trashed bedrooms to clean (because organizing and rearranging the second floor has gotten Out Of Hand), one zillion baby onesies to sort, and – in theory – a nursery to paint. That is probably not happening, but I can at least pick a color. Who wants to come over and stare at various shades of creamy off-white with me?

My Week(135) in iPhone Photos

Saturday, June 1st, 2013

Based on my pictures, I think we can officially say summer has started here.

Sunday:

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Is this a New England thing? I hadn’t ever had it before we moved here and now it’s my favorite.

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Shopping helper

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All 15 episodes watched in one day. Obsessed.

Monday:

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Photo of the parade photographer. So meta.

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Dual swinging skillz

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Screw you, tree helicopters. Say hello to my little friend, the leafblower.

Tuesday:

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Gas station fashion shot

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No, of course I didn’t feed the kids donuts for lunch. Why would you think that?

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PLEASE SWING PLEASE SWING PLEASE MOOOORE SWING!

Wednesday:

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C’mon Rhode Island, maybe try repaving ONE SIDE at a time?

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Checking out Inara the Anteater.

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Petting a Moon Bear. Maybe if he was named for a Firefly character I’d know his name too.

Thursday:

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One of the benefits of going to the gym is finally catching up on magazines

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Beach babies

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That “sand” is really more like dirt, but it works.

Friday:

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Ducky friends! Baby duckie friends! So many duckies!

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11:00 am. BLERG.

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LOOK WATER I LIKE IT! – says the child who didn’t like the water 24 hours before.

Saturday:

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Indoor, air-conditioned playground birthday party. Best idea ever.

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PEEK A BOO

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She accidentally ate the bubbles almost every time

The next week is going to be a busy one for me – TWO trips into NYC for fun blogging stuff. The weather is supposed to be a little more reasonable too (70’s instead of 90’s) so we can go back to doing other fun stuff besides hiding at the lake. Not that I really MIND hiding at the lake, I just don’t think I can afford to go through that much sunscreen every single week.

Wordless Wednesday: Memorial Day Edition

Wednesday, May 29th, 2013

Norwich Parade:

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Mystic Parade:

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mystic memorial day parade 2013

Patio Fun:

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