Martin Family Moments: 2025

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!

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.

The night before our wedding

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!)

This week was very May-ish with lots going on.

Monday evening was spent at the Cathedral for Eamon's award, then Tuesday was an 8th Grade fieldtrip to the same cathedral for Xander and an NHS Induction that night. We didn't have anybody getting inducted but Maggie had to help run the show as the incoming NHS Secretary.

On Wednesday afternoon, the girl's tennis team came for ice cream after a game in our town:

This is our current Battle of the Tips question at the shop. Maggie and I think 100 men would win, but all the men and boys around us said the gorilla definitely would. It's been a tight race and a great conversation starter with our customers:

Mother's Day Weekend and An Honor for Eamon

Mother's Day was the perfect weather here in southcoast Massachusetts - sunny and just about 70 degrees. Due to work schedules and Mass attendance, we celebrated on Saturday morning with a breakfast out and only have this low-level selfie to prove it:

But I don't care because all my kids were there! We then drove to The Cottage to take our annual family photo:

Wow has Xander grown!

Later on Saturday, Eamon had one soccer game, and Declan had two soccer games (one was a makeup for a cancelled game) and the sky decided to lightly drizzle while we were on the field. This is why I prefer volleyball and basketball spectating to soccer spectating:

But the rain cleared out (is this a weather blog now?) and I took some kids to the vigil Mass with me where Father gave a beautiful blessing for Mother's Day:

It was hard not to cry through that blessing!

Week in Review: Another Pope, Another Season, Another Acceptance

Happy Friday!

We have a new American Pope!

I got 21 texts within a few minutes once he was named, so even though I don't watch the news, I know the important things :) Also, went on a deep dive to find out more about him:

Not only did we get a new Pope yesterday, but we also opened The Ice Cream Cottage for Season 3, and my brain is fried from *waves hands around wildly* everything. But it's pretty much all GOOD things, just BUSY things, just LOTS of things. Y'all can relate.

Opening Night!

Once we got back from Spring Break, it was time to really buckle down and get The Cottage ready to open, order inventory, shop, clean, organize, create social media content, etc. To be honest, Phil runs the front end of the shop, and I keep it running in the background, where introverts thrive. The kids are really great about helping out when they are not busy with school/friends/events/studying and somehow it all comes together by God's grace. We have lots of new updates for this season, including a second soft serve machine that will house coffee soft serve and Dole Whip, plus an extended sidewalk with outdoor seating and umbrellas for our customer's comfort.

There are a few weeks of overlap between the ice cream shop and our "second jobs" - Phil is the DRE at our parish (his first job is a full-time high school Theology teacher) and I teach two accounting classes online at Franciscan University (my first job is a full-time District Accountant for a town's public schools) - so once Religious Ed classes/sacraments are over for Phil, and once I can submit my final grades at the end of this semester, things should hopefully be less stressful.

Muahahaha.

Why do I always believe that lie?

Our parish's First Communion last Sunday - Xander and Declan served

Anyway, life isn't all work, there have been lots of family things happening as well.

Battle of Yorktown and Medical School Tours

On our last full day in Williamsburg, VA, we drove half an hour away to visit Yorktown, where the final battle of the American Revolution occurred. Of course we listened to, and sang at the top of our lungs, select Hamilton songs on the way. Guys, this place is so beautiful that it's hard to imagine the violent siege that once took place.

That's the American Revolution River Cruise ship in the background.

Yorktown has free trolleys with lots of stops where you can get off and on to see all the sights!

Phil's always creating races or obstacle courses for the kids:

Colonial Williamsburg and Lazy Resort Days

We stayed in Williamsburg for four nights, and spent the day after Busch Gardens just relaxing around the resort. Actually, Phil and I woke up and went for a run, then gathered all the kiddos and headed to Publix for groceries. They all wanted to go because they like Publix and we don't have one near us, so it's a vacationy thing to do. We had created an easy meal plan and made the grocery list ahead of time and it actually worked out perfect with hardly any food leftover that we needed to take back to MD with us at the end of our stay. We will keep that meal plan and grocery list for future trips!

We have stayed at Greensprings before, but now it is owned by Hilton, and they are doing some construction and making some changes. The only downside was that even though it felt like summer weather to us, the outdoor pool didn't open until May 1. But this place has so many upsides! We love it because you can get a 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom suite with a kitchen and family room and dining room for pretty inexpensive. We got two suites (so four bedrooms total that were right across from each other) for four nights for less than $800. It allowed us to cook our meals and have plenty of space. Honestly, we only have 2 bathrooms at home so having 4 bathrooms felt incredible luxurious! As did the large tubs in the master baths:

Simple lunches of sandwiches, chips and fruit

Even though it was our Spring Break week, it seems that nobody else got the memo because the place was so quiet and almost everything we went to do was like a private event!

Pool to ourselves

Workout room to ourselves

Jacuzzi to ourselves

Mini Golf to, you guessed it, ourselves

The amount of fun these boys can have with a ball in the pool is wild. They were jumping and catching, making up games to throw through the rafters, etc. Maggie and I were amazed at their simple fun ways.

The resort is situated next to a golf course that you can see out of your balcony/windows and Eamon and Andrew brought their clubs to take advantage. Hard to tell, but they're playing on the hole right behind our building:

They did not invite Maggie after her showing at the driving range back in Maryland:

Busch Gardens, Williamsburg 2025

We woke up bright and early on Easter Monday to drive straight to Busch Gardens in Williamsburg, VA to be there right before it opened at 10 am. We were shocked to hear the news of Pope Francis' passing before we left Phil's parents house.

Andrew was supposed to have driven back to college after spending Easter with us in Maryland...but he doesn't have classes on Mon, Wed, Fri and decided to skip Tuesdays classes in order to vacation with us in Williamsburg for a few days. Worth it!

We just love Busch Gardens (not a sponsored post but if anyone knows anyone heehee). It's clean and there are lots of beautiful grounds and walkways, cute shows, and it was not busy at all, so lines moved quickly. I just love hanging out with my kids so much sans work and sports schedules. They're fun!!

Easter is a Season, So This Post Isn't Technically Late

Hello! Happy Easter! On Good Friday, we drove down to visit Phil's side of the family in Maryland. We left at 4:30 am and arrived at 11:30 am with one quick stop at Wawa for gas and coffee (My Uncle Tom loved Wawa and we don't have them near us so I took a picture to send to my mom):

Slainte Uncle Tom

I had kept a little secret from the family... a certain someone was able to drive from college in Ohio to celebrate Easter with us in Maryland!

Andrew!

We all went to the Good Friday service and then to our friends, Andrew and Katie's house to have some pizza and a bonfire and let the kids play.

On Holy Saturday, Phil's sister, Diana, came with her cuties to hang out, and Phil's sister, Kelly, sent her kids over as well while she worked. I don't have many photos, but please imagine tons of cousins running around and playing together in the beautiful summer-like weather.

Like father...

... like son!

Give Maggie a child and she's a happy girl

Week in Review: Piano, Pasta and Power Tools

Happy ~~Friday~~ Wednesday! Due to Holy Week, I'm wrapping up this week early and I'll see you all on the flip side of Easter.

Brendan went to his first piano competition up near Boston last Saturday. He's been taking lessons for about 7 months, and competed in the 8 and Under - Non Classical division with ten kids total.

Do you see that snow outside? Yup, snow! On April 12!

Brendan was evaluated before he had to compete, and I was allowed to take a video of that:

Here he is with his teacher after the evaluation:

Then we had to wait for about an hour before his group competed. It took us a few days to find out how he placed, but he got...

Week in Review: A Soirée, Cracking the Code, and Boys Easter Outfits

Happy Friday! It's been a week of wintery cold weather, lots of things on the calendar, and a wind down of Lent and countdown to Easter. Who's ready for Holy Week next week? Not me, but it's coming anyway :)

Last Friday night, Phil and I attended the soirée at the high school where he works. It was a nice time, especially since they honored our friend Jean, and I got to see lots of my old coworkers and friends (I worked there as the Business Manager for ten years). I miss those peeps. My current coworkers and I don't have to interact much and it's always business-related, where at my old job it turned into real friendships. I know the problem is mostly ME and the fact that I have not tried very hard to cultivate the same relationships at this job. It's also because my old job forced me to interact with every single employee (I did the payroll and HR role) and I had known a lot of them before I started working there because they were already my husband's coworkers for years. Anyway, seeing everyone made me feel very nostalgic and emotional. But who am I kidding, so much makes me feel emotional nowadays #perimenopausallyweepy

Andrew went on a retreat with his household, where they officially inducted all the new members, including him! The social media post showed this photo and named the new members, and I laughed out loud when I read "Andy Martin and Smiles". I can't believe he lets them call him Andy and I can't believe that Smiles has gained rapper status by having no real first or last name.

Andrew is fourth from left in the front.

Cooking breakfast on retreat

Easter is Coming - Hop to It

I learned a long time ago to throw all of the Easter Basket goodies into one laundry basket instead of making individual baskets. It means you can give shared gifts and buy bigger bags of candy and I use it as an excuse to get a new laundry basket (and get rid of an old cracked one) each year!