James the Elf

Meet James the Elf, the elderly elf that showed up at Grandma and Baba's house last year!

Just to back track a little, Dominic the Elf came to visit Mason and Miriam's house in 2014.  I think Auntie Maria put a little bug in Dominic's ear that he needed to go visit them!  He returned to the North Pole on Christmas Day, but he comes back every December 1st.  Mason seemed to really like the whole idea of Dominic (although the first year he was very sad to see him go back to the North Pole).

Last year when Paul was digging around in some of our old Christmas decorations in the cellar, he found this elf that reminded me of Dominic.  I decided to play along and put him out for the kids to see.  Miriam was fine with James, but Mason didn't think he was a real Elf on the Shelf.  He said that he didn't look anything like his elf and that he was ugly.  I told him he was an old Elf, like Grandma and Baba and that was why he was at our house!  He wasn't buying any of it.  He asked me if he could touch him (a no-no with the real Elf on the Shelf, if you touched them they couldn't fly back to the North Pole to tell Santa how you have been each day).  I said that this elf you could touch.

This year James showed up at Grandma and Baba's again.  Again, Miriam loved seeing him, but not Mason.  He still says he is not real and that he is ugly but I detect that secretly he likes him, lol!

It has been fun playing along with Mason.  I'm so glad that he still believes in all of the Christmas magic (even if he doesn't believe James is a real Elf on the Shelf).

August and September birthdays (and a photo bomber)

On Sunday we went to Stacia's house in Woburn for her annual BBQ and Lobster fest.

Some years it is earlier in the summer and a few years it has been at the end of the summer.  When that happens, we celebrate the August and September birthdays.  These include Kris, Mark, Janelle, me, and Maria Quinn.  The Quinns always come to the BBQ and Lobster fest, and Maria's birthday is in September, so she is part of the birthday group!

I always want to get a picture of the birthday group, but this is what happens when Paul takes the picture.

He never says when, just starts snapping until I yell at him to tell us when.

Somehow, Mason photo bombed the picture.  His birthday is in June!

If only I could get Paul to tell us WHEN!

Throwback Thursday - Table pictures

I guess my habit of taking pictures before holidays or birthdays (actually, anything special) started early on.  Maybe Paul started it since he is the one taking the picture.

It must have been my mother-in-law Priscilla's birthday because the date on the back of the picture is April 1973. Priscilla's birthday is April 1st, and we moved into our house in the middle of April that year.

I remember being very nervous about cooking that meal.  I think we had a canned ham; I had kind of gotten that down pat. I see mashed potatoes (pretty easy).  I wonder what the veggie was, hmm..

Easter Sunday

Easter dinner this year was hosted by Mark and Janelle.  Unfortunately, Mark had to leave for work right after dinner.  I guess I have to get used to this.  He will always have to work some holidays.

It started with church in the morning and then Kris, Toby, and Marley's annual Easter family picture.  It's kind of a joke because this seems to be the only time I remember to take a picture of them all together.

The grandpas (Papa and Baba) played football with Mason before dinner.

The table looked so pretty.

There were several family traditions and tributes to family members....

The salt dishes from my mother-in-law Priscilla.  She used to always put jelly beans in them for Easter dinner.

Janelle's china that was Stacia's (Janelle's mother) mother's china. 

China that was given to me and Paul as a wedding gift from my grandmother's friend, Myrtle Panageotopolous.  I gave it to Janelle because it matched her china almost perfectly.  Isn't that amazing?  (The candy was put on the dishes by Mason, so sweet).

We all decided that for every holiday we have to make sure to have buns, in honor of my father.  The story is that one holiday, with the table filled with all kinds of food, he said, "no buns?"  After that I made sure to have buns for every holiday that he was there, ha ha!

After dinner, we went for a walk and the kids rode bikes.

Dot had a good time on our walk.  She is in amazingly good shape for 88!

I got some cute pictures of Marley and Mason outside.

Isn't Marley's new haircut cute?  She has been wanting to do this for weeks.  We tried to talk her out of it but she was determined.  She had it cut on the Saturday before Easter.  I was a little nervous to see it because I was sure I wasn't going to like it, but I actually love it.  I think it looks really cute on her.  More importantly, she really likes it!

Kris made these cute little owls to put in Mason's Easter basket.  I wanted to get a nice picture of him holding them, but after several tries, this is the best one I got!

This is, I think, a cute picture of Janelle's dad Joe, Mason, and Janelle.

This is probably my favorite picture of the day.  Mason and Janelle.

It was a wonderful day.  I'm especially thankful for what Easter means to all of us, the resurrection of Jesus Christ.  "I am the ressurection and the life.  He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die."  John 11:25-26 (NIV)

Happy Easter!

Annual trip to LL Bean for New Year's Eve Weekend

Today we left for LL Bean.  We have been coming up here for New Year's Eve weekend for quite a few years.  It always seems so relaxing after the hustle and bustle of the holidays!  Luckily we got here just as the snow started. 

On New Year's Eve day we took a ride down one of the legs of a penninsula to Orr's and Bailey Islands.  It was a beautiful sunny day. 

We stayed and watched a beautiful sunset!

We spent the evening at LL Bean.  Everything was decorated so beautifully: they even had fireworks.  It seemed weird watching fireworks in the winter, but we were bundled up.
 

On New Year's day we headed home taking old roads down the coast.  We stopped at York Beach and got out to look at Nubble Light.  It was so cold and windy that we didn't stay out there too long.

Then we took a walk on the beach.  It was actually warmer on the beach than at Nubble Light. 

Someone wrote this on the beach.

Happy New Year everyone!

Annual trip to the Pumpkin Patch

This afternoon we went to Westview Creamery in Monson, MA.; our annual visit to the pumpkin patch.  It was a beautiful Fall day with beautiful views.

We fed the goats,

went on a hayride,

hunted for the perfect pumpkins,

visited the pigs,

had ice cream,

and basically enjoyed being together at this beautiful place.

Now, if we can just find time to carve all of these pumpkins!