The nerdiest way to share photos, videos, and stories of our adventures….
We were so happy that the Bodenstedts came to visit for Thanksgiving! The kids loved spending time with their cousins 🥰
Sammy loved showing Uncle Eric his Bluey book.
K-Pop Demon Hunters in the Thanksgiving Day Parade!
Putting on their own show? 🤣
Shaun and Gracie took the kids outside so we could get some cooking done.
Very proud of my apple pie ☺️
Let’s eat!
The next morning, we took a short hike. The kids loved throwing sticks and rocks in the creek.
Carving pumpkins!
We always have the best time trick or treating with the Shannons!
Spider and Ghost Spider are ready to get some candy!
2 hours and 2 neighborhoods later lol so much candy this year!
Mack’s Apple never disappoints and one of our favorite fall traditions. First stop is always the farm market to get cider and donuts! We got chased out by yellow jackets this year but still had enough time to enjoy the view!
First we pose then we pick 😂
We went pretty late in the season this year so the orchard was pretty quiet and picked over. Still able to complete mission Honeycrisp.
Let the eating begin!
Mission complete!
Bonus! Sammy’s two bottom teeth were loose before we went apple picking and all that apple eating was the encouragement they needed. He lost his two first teeth!
We had the best time at Alex and Maggie’s wedding!
Gabby with the beautiful flower girls 🌸
Cousin shenanigans 😂
Things got pretty wild 😝
Margo, Nonno and Nonna came for a quick visit! Margo had lots of love for Gabby 😭
Showing Nonno her crystal collection.
Sammy showing Nonno his tractor.
Silly cousin stuff 😂
Watching Gabby at practice!
Singing to Aunt Julia. Happy Birthday!
The long overdue hockey scarecrow design and build!
Started with creative sketching.
Then some good engineering, like design requirements and a concept. 🤣
Assembly and dry testing.
Finished!
When Gabby and I walked through the open house back in 2022, one of the first things we told Mommy when we got back was .. “It needs a kitchen.”
Needless to say, as soon as the cabinets were ordered, we were keen to remove any of the old ones that were deemed “non-essential”.
Believe it or not, this was better.
Cringe …
There, all done.
Thank you PODS. You were perfect for storing all our cabinets and materials!
The interior wall has the baseboard heating and had been underutilized as a result. We chose to meet this challenge with a creative solution, and are very pleased with the extra countertop area and cabinet volume!
Not bad for our first time hanging cabinets!
Daniela was always working ahead with drywall and paint prep so we could hang a cabinet or two, as time allowed. We always put the fresh cabinet immediately “into service”, so the next one could be emptied and removed.
We hung ‘upp-ahs’ as ‘low-ahs’ (in a Boston accent) to create our base cabinets on the interior wall.
And added two new receptacles. Temporary plywood to make it immediately usable.
And easily the most brilliant idea of the whole project (thanks to Daniela!) was using matching maple table legs to finish the look. Ready for granite …
As incentive, Daniela said she would start making some of our favorite family meals only once the microwave and vent was installed. Very smart lady ..
As promised …
We were so giddy. (Not pictured. HA)
After the 4th of July, we could finally pull the trigger on demo’ing what remained to be perfectly timed with the delivery of our next piece of granite.
Shaun’s copper skills were rusty but fortunately, not leaky.
Bye bye …
Demo day!
Awful …
Cut out all the grossness.
Time for the new base cabinets!
Gabby pretending to be a dishwasher!
Hardware close-up.
Second and final piece of granite! Really happy with the granite vendor, they were wonderful to work with.
No expense spared!
– Under-sink large carbon filter system with a deck-mounted fountain.
– Massive 1HP disposal.
– Single handle faucet with deck-mount soap dispenser.
One of my favorites; a retaining bar that is captured within the cabinets to prevent the dishwasher from tipping.
Back to a working kitchen! Total downtime was about 2.5 days. Not bad!
We are so proud of Daniela for learning how, and doing a great job, with the backsplash! Thank you!
We decided to finally retire the whiteboard calendar, after more than a decade of keeping us all on the same page. Leveraging much of what we already host ourselves, we now have a digital version that is completely run by us with no dependency on Google/Apple, etc.
It’s not summer without ice cream!
Enjoyed lots of quality time together ❤️
Lots of shenanigans.
Nova Adventure Park!
Many bike rides.
Fun at the splash pad!
4th of July pool party at a neighbors house.
Backyard fun with friends.
Baby deer that was born at the start of summer. It’s much bigger now!
Snacks in fort.
Gabby got her library card!
Some science fun! Thanks Grammie and Papa for the fun science kits.
Packing up for our trip! Some of us were doing more than others 😂
So excited for the beach!
In about two hours, we make it to the beach house. It was such a nice place to stay, we loved it!
The kids loved their Finding Nemo themed room.
The only clock you need 😂.
Just a short walk and we are at the beach! This wagon was perfect 👌🏻.
Lewis Bay 😍
Gabby’s dam.
We referred to Sammy as “Beach Guy” lol he lived in the water.
But he did need a reboot every now and then lol
❤️
Giant clam still inside! We also saw lots of fish, hermit crabs, other crabs, jelly fish (the non stinging kind) sea birds. The bay is full of life!
Lots of time for games. The giant Jenga was very popular. Gabby was the Jenga master!
I don’t know why this became a thing 😂
Ice cream at Cape Cod Creamery.
Shaun grilling up some food for an outside dinner.
When I came inside to grab something I found them like this 😭
Playground at Old Town House Park.
Dinner at El Mariachi Mexican Restaurant. Yum!
Sand sculpture outside the restaurant.
Morning silliness 🤣
Shopping in Hyannis.
Gabby got her puppy and Sam got a fire truck.
Shaun captured some great photos of the full moon over the bay. Beautiful!
Gabby had her Author’s Picnic where she shared some of the stuff she’s been working on throughout the school year.
Walk to school with Daddy on her last day ❤️.
First and last day of school!
We are so proud of how hard she worked and all of the progress she’s made! On to second grade! ❤️
