My 37th Birthday

Ten months ago I turned 37, which is weird because I feel at least six or seven years younger than that.
This was how I spent my special day.

That week the boys did their week of science and nature day camp at The Cape Cod Museum of Natural History, which left me on my own from 9:00-2:00.

My mom was there and we went to Saint Landing's Beach in Brewster in the morning. It's so peaceful to relax and rest on the beach with the gentle white noise of the waves and a view like this:

The tide was going out so by the time we left the sea floor was visible.

My mom treated me to lunch at The Optimist Cafe, a place I'd been wanting to try for years. It didn't disappoint! 

The clam chowder was delicious.

For dessert I enjoyed my first-ever frozen hot chocolate. I loved it! 

The building is really old and cool. I'd definitely like to come back here again.

Peter sent me a nice big Edible Arrangements that everyone enjoyed that week.

We went out to dinner at one of my favorite restaurants, Yarmouth House, where I ordered one of my favorite meals, lazy man's lobster.

That very loose front tooth finally came out later that week!

I love the good times we spend together.

When we got home from dinner we had delicious ice cream cake that was decorated with edible seashells, and I opened my gifts.

The page from my planner that day.

It was a very nice birthday, with some of my favorite people and things!

Family Camping Trip. Aaaagh!

Last summer my family did something we hadn't done in decades. We went on a family camping trip. 😲

We used to camp when I was a kid. I enjoyed it then. As an adult, not so much. I like the idea of camping more than the reality of it. But as someone who's into emergency prep it's a good thing to do every now and then. I'm a nature lover too, so there's that. And of course, it's great to spend time with family.

We went to Tully Lake Campground in central Massachusetts. It was really nice and classic and in the woods. I'd love like to go back there again.

Here's some of what we did, other than try not to fight with each other. Ha!

We went on a walk to a waterfall. 

Shane is my nephew and he's so cute and mischievous. I just love him.

My pictures of the waterfall didn't turn out that well, but here's the best one.

My boys and my sister Elizabeth's boys. They have so much fun together.

 Sam was being a goofball.

Me and my boys.

Elizabeth and her boys. I can't decide if I like the vertical or horizontal shot better so I'm going to be an undisciplined editor and leave them both.

Me, my sisters, and three out of four of the boys.

Now that's some real rock-climbing!

I've always loved woods and the old stone walls of New England going through them.

Dinnertime!

Sam talked (a lot) to my brother's girlfriend's brother about Terraria, a game they both play. I took pity on him and gave Sam time limits on the Terraria talk. Kat's brother was very patient and kind. 😊

I went kayaking for the first time and I enjoyed it! I'd always been afraid of it because of my fear of flipping over and getting trapped underwater. But it was just fine.

John did great, too.

Jennifer, my mom, Adam (Jennifer's husband), and John.

😍😍😍

Rocco and Sam are only six months apart and they're really cute together. Rocco showed Sam how to fish. Rocco is such a good-natured, sweet boy. I just love him!

My mom and I shared a tent with John and Sam. It was a pretty comfortable set-up but I slept terribly both nights, or rather, I got hardly any sleep at all. (I have trouble sleeping away from home--it usually takes me a few nights to get used to the new surroundings. I should've taken ZzzQuil!)

The boys played many games together, whether it was Uno or playing hide-and-seek in the woods or searching for Bigfoot or having Nerf gun fights. They had a blast!

Packing up and getting ready to go home. Ugh, camping is a lot of work! A cruise is so much easier. 😉

Oh, and the scenery was beautiful!


There were such pretty trails through the woods here.


The campsites were very nicely situated off the trails.

And two of the best pictures of the trip, taken by Elizabeth and texted to me:

I'll admit that it was a fun weekend! Especially for the kids!

A big P.S.!! 
We went home with a bothersome and expensive souvenir, although we didn't know it for a few days. Sam got poison ivy...in his crotch area (boys!!)...and it was all swollen down there but I wasn't sure what exactly it was, so I brought him to an Urgent Care clinic on the Cape and they referred us to Cape Cod Hospital's E.R. to get an ultrasound done of his testicles(!!) to make sure it wasn't something serious. Thankfully, it turned out to just be poison ivy. But it took a whole Friday of beautiful weather on the Cape (the first in awhile) and it cost quite a bit of time and money. (Who said camping was cheap!?) That's what we get for going camping!

Don't let the big smile and relaxed attitude fool you too much--he was uncomfortable! But he handled everything so well.

I guess it was still worth it! 😏

Gym-ja Warrior!

Last summer John was part of a Ninja Warrior competitive team (called "Gym-ja Warrior") that he practiced with at Cape Cod Gymnastics. He absolutely loved it because he's a huge fan of American Ninja Warrior and he's really good at this stuff (see the rock-climbing post I just did). He got to do one competition last summer, at a ninja gym off the Cape in Fall River. It was his first ever ninja competition, and he really enjoyed it, even more than his gymnastics meets. He was definitely in his element!

Listening to the rules and rundown before the competition got underway. 

 The kids competed in teams of three, along with an older kid assigned as their coach. 

Getting ready to go. John was the lead-off man for his team.

He was nervous, but he did well!

And most importantly, he had fun!

I can definitely see more of these competitions happening in his future. Probably this summer, even with our move!