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Learning my old track event - shotput! |
Friday, June 27, 2025
Week in Review: Morning Walks in Weighted Vests, Steubenville Conferences, and Setting Up an Apartment
Monday, June 23, 2025
A Strong Start to Summer
Maggie took D + B to The Cottage for lunch and a treat on their last day, as one does:
Declan and Brendan both had really lovely teachers this year and had amazing years all around, academically, socially, physically, mentally... you name it and they grew leaps and bounds. We are very thankful for our Catholic schools!
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Apparently they call him Decky? Who knew? We typically shorten to Dex at home. |
making him a wonderful contributor to our classroom environment.
He always put in his best effort and faces every challenge with confidence.
I would encourage him to continue putting his best effort into all that he does
and to continue to love learning.
Brendan will do great things!
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Summer Martins and Summer Not |
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When the days end of "Hey Mom! Look what I found!" I will be sad for sure. This was a hermit crab. |
Monday, June 16, 2025
An Expensive Trim, A Quick Getaway, and A Father's Day Race
So maybe I shouldn't have scheduled a haircut on Friday the 13th after all. It's not super awful, but it's not what I was going for. It's a little shorter and no real style, just a long bang chopped straight across before I asked her to try to angle it a bit. Basically I now have a shoulder length cut with some short pieces in front that annoy me and I keep re-tucking behind my ears all day. No bangs. Oh and did I mention that I scheduled a Wash + Cut Only, so I went in, waited a few minutes, got my hair washed and cut and was done in 21 minutes for FIFTY DOLLARS? What the what now? Of course, I left a $10 tip for the stylist as well, so I was out $60. No real styling, no hair drying...I can't even imagine what it costs to get one's hair colored or any extra services added on.
Moving on.
Phil booked us a 24 hour getaway to Newport to a little Bed + Breakfast place we like, and we stayed overnight on Friday. It was just what the doctor ordered. We ate, we walked, we slept in, we ate some more, we shopped, we picked up groceries on the way home and still made it to the Vigil Mass on Saturday. We have absolutely no photos but it was the start of a nice Father's Day weekend for Phil which he deserved!
On Sunday morning, Phil and five kids ran the 5k race in our town. The Ice Cream Cottage is a sponsor and it's a fun event plus we can just walk over to the start line.
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Happy Father's Day to their favorite! |
It was Brendan's (age 8) first time running a 5k race and he did great! Phil ran with him and said he ran the whole time and had a good attitude.
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Eamon |
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Declan (Andrew and Xander too) |
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Andrew and Xander |
Friday, June 13, 2025
Week in Review: Undergraduate Awards, Retro Meals and Haircut Hopes
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Maggie, Maggie and Maggie, jk that's my niece Abby |
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Cousins both in the Top Ten of their grades |
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The Maggies doing the Maggie Face |
Wednesday, June 11, 2025
The Fifth (Child) Graduates Eighth (Grade)
Monday, June 9, 2025
Senior Week: Awards Night, Baccalaureate Mass and A High School Graduation
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Tommy and Eamon, classmates and cousins! |
Friday, May 30, 2025
Week in Review: Spring Concert, Spoiled Dog, Socks Hidden, Smarty Pants and Spiritual Guidance
Happy Last Friday in May! Did you all survive that crazy month? This week was like the eye of the hurricane for us, with lots of events the week before and next week too. We enjoyed the relative calm while it lasted.
It was a big movie weekend, and The Cottage got in on the action:
The little guys had their Spring Concert/Art Show on Wednesday night, and let's just say it is one event I think could be pulled from the school calendar. Having yet another event at the end of May with all the graduations going on does not seem like the best idea. They have a Christmas concert that features singing, and the kids art projects could be put up at the benefit dinner in April.
(These are the moments I think I am a curmudgeon because other parents and extended family members go to these events and seem to enjoy themselves. Maybe it's because it's my 11th year of attending? Perhaps it's because the kids need a lot more practice to sound impressive? Or maybe it's because singing and art aren't exactly my children's talents?)
In any case, Declan and Brendan were happy to have us there, they got ice cream after, and that made it worth it.
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Declan's turtle |
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Brendan's sloth |
This was Declan's 5th Grade class project and I could tell right away which hands were his because he always wears a watch:
Tuesday, May 27, 2025
2025 Prom and a Graduation Party
Friday, May 23, 2025
Week in Review: Last Day of High School, Kind Students, Babe Ruth and Socks with Sandals
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Signing yearbooks |
Monday, May 19, 2025
23 and We
Saturday was our 23rd wedding anniversary!
I admit, I can never remember things like my age of how many years we've been married. I used to always just add a year to JP's age, but now I first have to do the math to remember JP's age so it's all going downhill fast. Luckily, Phil loves me in spite of the way my brain works, and so here we are!
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Our first dance - "It's Your Love" by Tim McGraw & Faith Hill |
I was 23 when we got married, so half of my life has now officially been married to my bestie, and I am so grateful. When Phil and I met, studying abroad in Austria in January 2000, I was in a serious relationship. Phil and I became instant friends, and it didn't take me long to confess to my roommate that I "wanted to marry somebody like Phil." So then what was I doing dating somebody so unlike Phil? I broke up with the boyfriend, told Phil I was single, and he asked me on a date very soon after.
What attracted me to Phil was his GOODNESS. He was so kind and attentive, a friend to everyone, loved to laugh but not be the center of attention, made me feel safe, was a prayerful and chaste young man, led by quiet example, and was willing to put up with me! I knew he would be a wonderful husband and father and he has proven that time and time again.
What I didn't know was how hard of a worker and partner he would be.
Phil has held down multiple jobs, gotten two Masters degrees, and even opened a business to support his family as best he can. I'll give you last Thursday as an example. Phil went to work (teaching high school theology) all day, came home and made dinner, went for a run, walked the dog with me and the littles, helped Xander edit his paper for an hour, went to the ice cream shop when it closed at 9:30 to clean the soft serve machines and leave them to dry overnight, came home and ordered ice cream and got bank deposits ready, went to bed at 12:30 am only to wake up at 5:30 am to go back to the shop to put the soft serve machines back together and fill them, then off to his teaching job for the day. He then worked at the shop right after school until well into the evening.
But that's just his work-work.
He also does so much home-work.
Phil is the parent who meal plans and shops and mostly cooks dinner all school year because I get home from work much later than he does. Phil was the parent who changed all the diapers if he was home. Phil would get up at the baby's crying and bring them to me for a feeding, then burp and rock them back to sleep. "Dad" is the name that the kids would call for over the baby monitors because he was the one who would get up to see what they needed. He picks the kids up from school each day, cleans the showers and does the dusting, mows the lawn and takes out the trash, does the dishes most nights, plays with the kids, and well, the list goes on and on.
Phil scheduled workers at the shop so that we could spend the day together on our anniversary. He asked me what I would like to do...go to the Cape for the day? Shop and eat and walk around a new town?
Instead of planning a romantic day away, I said "Honestly, if I can have you to myself for the whole day, I would like to workout together and then really clean and organize the house together."
So that's what we did. We went to our favorite circuit class at the gym, worked on the house for a couple hours, ran some errands, Declan had a soccer game, then went to Mass and out to dinner and for ice cream, and were asleep by 9:30. It was very productive and just a little romantic, and after 23 years, that was exactly perfect.
All this to say, I picked the best one for me and our kiddos and we all love you so much! No regerts :) I don't think I could do this life without you by my side, and I pray I never have to find out. Happy 23rd Anniversary and many, many more.
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The night before our wedding |
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The night before our 23rd anniversary |
Friday, May 16, 2025
Week in Review: I Keep Reminding Myself That It's Not Me, It's May (and a good recipe!)
Tuesday, May 13, 2025
Mother's Day Weekend and An Honor for Eamon
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Wow has Xander grown! |