May 22, 2021 The second year we were here we got an early start on summer beach fun, no need to wait for spring to officially end. It was warm and nice enough at the end of May for the kids to hop into the bay and go for a swim. I’m sure Alistair and Ariana were the first to throw off their clothes and jump in the water, but Arin decided to join them for some salt water shenanigans. It was a beautiful and sunny afternoon, but that still couldn’t tempt Mom and Dad to join them. Arthas still…
Finally managed to take a proper video of the kids in 4k, and it’s from this past weekend so it’s current too! It’s also not a short video and not in phone format so basically a real youtube-style vlog for once! The weather was nice and warm so we decided to all go outside and explore the woods around our yard. Two years ago we did a lot of work clearing out trails and getting rid of prickers, but of course they have all grown back now! We also had almost completed a trail through our giant patch of reeds…
Now it is finally time for Part 2 of Trick-or-Treating… a few months later. I spent a lot of time working on videos recently and even though these pictures were all already edited, they kind of fell by the wayside but of course, I did not forget, so without further ado, here they are. If you’ve seen Part 1 of Trick-or-Treating for 2021 you’ll know that it was a gorgeous evening, we went out early for once, and got back in record time. We caught the most amazing sunset which made for a ton of spectacular images that I just…
Halloween evening this year was an absolutely spectacular night for Trick-or-Treating. The weather was quite warm, the sky put on a stunning sunset, and the neighborhoods were swarming with costumed people in a merry mood. I edited a ton of pictures so this is going to be a two-part post, enjoy! After last year, where trick-or-treating was banned due to the pandemic, it seems everyone was eager to have a fun All Hallow’s Eve. Children, adults, and even the elusive teenagers were out in droves, all in costume and in a festive spirit. For Arthas, I picked out the cutest…
This year I was determined to find an apple orchard experience that could compare with our old haunts in Massachusetts where we were spoiled for choice with some of the finest orchards in the world – as a matter of fact we lived in the town where Johnny Appleseed himself was born and began his famous career. Happily, on the first try we found ourselves at the beautiful, immaculately manicured, broadly-acred Breeze Hill Farm and had a great day picking apples, visiting farm animals, and enjoying the beautiful weather. The North Fork has tons of farm stands and vineyards, but…
After having a cough and missing a week of school, it was picture day last Thursday and Ariana swore she was feeling better… so I let her go to school. Little did I know she still had a cough and was sent immediately home and told she couldn’t return until she had a negative COVID test or waited 10 days. Since she still had her cough through the weekend and on Monday morning, we waited to get her tested and just let her relax at home for over a week of school. Better safe than sorry, though other than the…
There is a small, ‘secret’ beach just down the road from us. It also happens to be on the way to the main local beach that we walk to, but I personally never really went to the ‘secret’ beach because I assumed it was too small and boring. My mom and my sister used to walk down there often, and it is a little closer than the main beach so we gave it a try this summer… and it was actually really fun! It’s a beautiful, quiet, sandy spot with a leafy forest lining the back and usually not very…
Romeo & Juliet by Shakespeare Juliet: O Romeo, Romeo! wherefore art thou Romeo?Deny thy father and refuse thy name;Or, if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love,And I’ll no longer be a Capulet Romeo: [Aside] Shall I hear more, or shall I speak at this? Juliet: ‘Tis but thy name that is my enemy;Thou art thyself, though not a Montague.What’s Montague? It is nor hand, nor foot,Nor arm, nor face, nor any other partBelonging to a man. O, be some other name!What’s in a name? That which we call a roseBy any other name would smell as sweet;So Romeo…
Remembering Autumn Memories… it has warmed up for the past few days and it makes me think back to other years where it warmed before the cold. This photo set is from mid-September, just as we are getting used to living at Howell Home, amongst all the mess and relics. The outside environs here were always spectacular, and even without a water view, the sunsets are amazing. What better view than ancient trees and far green fields could anyone ask for? Biking on warm early autumn evenings means bare feet and pajama pants and Tookie cruising along on his old…
Flashback to December 23, 2016 Going shopping at the toy store as a kid was always a treat, and now that most chains are closing down, we don’t have many chances to share this tradition with our own kids, but today we did. Toys ‘R Us won’t be with us much longer, so we took the opportunity to load the babies up in their double stroller and roll through the aisles looking at all the treats and treasures. Ariana wasn’t in the best mood because she’s still a bit little to appreciate all the wonders of the toy store, but…