Our Summer Part III: Our To-Do List for Scituate

The girls have started making a "bucket list" for our time with my parents in Scituate. Every year we seem to accumulate new experiences that become little traditions. It's a good thing we are lucky enough to be there for such a good chunk of time, because the list has gotten longer and longer. Here are some of them:

Snorkel missions with Papa: Kateri was old enough this year to come along...she is as comfortable in the water as her sisters and did a great job, but it was so funny to watch her struggle against the instinct to pick her head up out of the water to take a breath.

This little inlet by Well Rock is the perfect place for beginners

Snorkel missions come with the bonus of getting to jump (or be tossed)off of rocks afterwards.



We're not always in Scituate for the Fourth, but the girls love taking part in the neighborhood parade when we are.

(Captain America's presence was a new feature)

Nanny gave Lili sailing lessons again for her birthday, so one thing high on my list was to get coffee and bagels one morning and bring them down to the harbor to embarrass watch her. It is so beautiful and quiet down there in the early morning.



And of course no summer would be complete without pony rides at the Farmer's Market...

Going to the bait shop and fishing at the reservoir with Papa,

(Look closely...there is a tiny perch at the end of proud Kateri's line)

Pink donuts hand-delivered by Papa on Sunday mornings

And celebrating Lili's birthday. This year, my parents spoiled her with giant balloons

and oyster po'boys for her birthday dinner.

(the oysters came courtesy of these two beautiful girls, my cousins from Louisiana, who arrived just in time to entertain my kids after their own cousins departed.)  

But, as is so often the case, the best things in life are free...like making huge drip castle complexes with Papa at low tide 

And then watching them get eaten up by the waves

And spending hours and hours on the "wope swing." (Maybe by next summer Kateri will have learned how to properly pronounce her "r"s.)

 

What a summer! I am so grateful to my parents for the gift of these experiences. My children will have these memories to cherish for the rest of their lives. You would think it would be hard to stay connected to their grandparents, growing up 2,700 miles or so away from them, but the time they spend creating these memories with my girls every summer makes the kids feel so loved and cherished. It really is a gift beyond any price. It does much more than just give them a fabulous vacation every year. It impresses upon them more plainly than words ever could the statement my Dad leaves me with every time we say goodbye: "If you ever need anything, anything, I'm right here."

Thank you Nanny and Papa!

Our Summer Part II: Family Times

As you can see, our family numbers have exploded in recent years. After years of being the only grand kids/nieces in the Bird family, my girls are pretty much in heaven with all of their little cousins

running around. It's the best part of our time in Scituate.

 

 

Don't get me wrong, they still maintain their love affair with the beach. Oh  the beach! It's our little slice of heaven on earth. It is always shocking to me how often we seem to have it all to ourselves. I guess if we lived in Scituate year-round we might start taking it for granted too.  

I'm so happy all three of the girls love it as much as I do.

We spent many a happy hour there this year....just us.

But then there were cousins to build sandcastles with!

And perform for (however skeptical/disinterested the audience might be)

Each one of them is so adorable and funny in their own way; it has been so much fun to watch their little personalities develop as they grow.

We can't wait to see who else will come along and join the party!

 

Our Summer Part I

I realize I've taken quite a lengthy break from this little blog, but that doesn't mean we haven't been having a fabulous few months. Here is our summer: summarized.

The girls had another great school year, but we were oh-so-ready for summer to come.  The last day of school coincided with the beginning of Luke's favorite weekend of the year: the Purple. This year it was in Phoenix, and we were so happy to have our dear friend Father Francis with us; newly ordained! It was so neat to have him say Mass in our home.

(Some of us were paying better attention to the homily than others)

After the Purple, we headed up to Nona's cabin in Pine for some much-needed family time. We had such a wonderful trip. I don't know if it was the lovely cool weather or the fact that our kids are finally old enough to hold their own on a hike.

(Well, some of us held our own, others were hoisted around like a sack of potatoes 75% of the time)

We saw a lot of wildlife on this trip

 

Audrey was bound and determined to run up to this herd of javelinas and try to pet them, which made me think I might need to let her watch Old Yeller...

 We also had time for the girls to get a tennis lesson from their Dad.

It was Kateri's first time, but she was a natural

We are so lucky to have access to such a beautiful place, thanks to our Nona's generosity. It is hard to believe it is only a little over an hour away! Looking at the forecast for today (113 again) I'm wondering if we can sneak another trip in before this baby comes.