Wingaersheek Beach

(Giant oozing snail) YUCK!!




We finally made it to the beach! For most of us this was our first time seeing the Atlantic Ocean. Wingaersheek Beach is in Glouscter MA. It was beautiful. The tides were very dramatic. The water was very clear. Remember the part in the 5 Chinese Brothers where the brother swallows the sea and the whole sea floor is exposed? That is how this beach was minus all the trash. We found so many treasures. Coop was excited to spend all of his sand dollars. He was pretty bummed to find out you couldn't spend them (unless you are Percy Jackson). We found crabs (large and small), a starfish, and a giant snail. I even saw my very first light house.

Complete randomness!

Nothing says fun like throwing dirt!

Ruby came to life as Rebecca Lobo at the 3rd grade wax museum. She LOVES school.
Rocky is mad because the love of his life is moving away!

Our first Sunday here, I met my new BFF. She is one of the coolest people I have ever met. We became instant friends. I soon realized that everything would be fine because Alli was here. We have so much in common, I adore her. Well turns out she's MOVING!!! I am so excited for her and her darling family, but sad for me. Luckily, someday we will be family. Rocky has already fallen head over heels in love with Alli's daughter. Save the date, the wedding will be October 2028, when Rocky gets home from his mission.



Matt ran in the RAGNAR relay race. He was on a team of 12 runners that took turns running from New Haven, CT to Boston, MA. 198 miles!! He ended up running 23 miles! Way to go!!!

I decided to run in our town 5K so I didn't feel left out. It was a cool and very humid morning, perfect for a run. I love cool humidity!



I went to a "Shrimp Boil" with the Newcomers Club. The food was delightful. Seafood is pretty darn yummy when you live by the sea!

Ruby has found her BFF (the girl on the right, not the spud). Lucky for all of us, she won't be moving!


We went to our very first Longmeadow Days. There were games, crafts, food and a cannon so loud I almost threw my children to the ground to protect them. I love the look on Cooper's face, he wasn't so into the craft part.



Spring is busting out all over! These flowering bushes are all in my yard and all over western Massachusetts. It is amazing how vivid the colors are here. It has been raining for weeks so everything is really GREEN! It is absolutely beautiful.

I continue to learn new New England vernacular. A drinking fountain is a BUBBLER, a purse is a POCKET BOOK, a shopping basket is a Bassinet, and a garage sale is a TAG SALE. I think I already mentioned that a grocery cart is a CARRIAGE. The liquor store, which I don't have much use for, is the package store.

You know the little device that you can set on the gas nozzle at the gas station so you don't have to hold down the trigger the whole time? They don't have them here. I miss them!

It is illegal to use hand held devices while you are driving and teenagers can't text and drive. Great ideas.

Mark Twain's Home

Apparently Mark Twain and Rocky have/had the same hairdo!
My school girl as a school girl!
Mark Twain's home in Hartford.
A few weeks ago we went down to Hartford to visit Mark Twain's home. It was beautiful and supposedly haunted!

We met up with some of our favorite MBA buddies/neighbors from New Jersey. We had a great time catching up. We wish we lived closer, but 2 hours isn't so bad! Here are some of my favorite Mark Twain quotes:

Age is an issue of mind over matter. If you don't mind, it doesn't matter.

Anger is an acid that can do more harm to the vessel in which it is stored than to anything on which it is poured.

It is better to keep your mouth closed and let people think you are a fool than to open it and remove all doubt.

Kindness is the language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see.

Let us live so that when we come to die even the undertaker will be sorry.

The human race has one really effective weapon, and that is laughter.

Wrinkles should merely indicate where smiles have been.

Happy Birthday to Cooper, we think you are Sooper!

By the time Ruby's birthday is over, Coop wants his to come so bad his teeth hurt! The day before his birthday, he looked in the empty mailbox and said, "Doesn't anyone know it's my birthday?!?" I felt so bad! To make things worse, his teacher told him he could only bring a healthy birthday treat to share. Who eats healthy on their birthday? He decided to boycott the birthday treat idea.

He has been begging me for breakfast in bed. He requested chocolate chip pancakes and bacon. The blankets were only mildly syrupy. I shouldn't have washed them, it may have helped him sleep in his own bed.

He pooled together all of his birthday money and went on the ultimate shopping spree at the Lego store. He was in heaven when we buried him with his loot! I am wondering if he will ever get sick of Legos? Matt hasn't!

Cooper requested tacos for dinner with a....you guessed it, Lego cake. He was so relieved that his birthday wasn't forgotten. He actually said it was his best birthday ever.

Here are 7 memories of Coop (that I pulled from his journal) that make me chuckle:

1. You love how Pappa has bushes that grow red balls! Those poor tomatoes.
2. You are not fond of saying prayers. I have tried several things to help you learn to pray. You have a prayer chart that you can earn prizes when you fill it in. One day you stood by your chart and said 3 prayers so you could complete the 3 empty boxes on your chart. At one point I told you that if you wanted to watch TV you had to pray. So you finally broke down and prayed “Heavenly Father, please bless my mom will let me watch TV!”

3. We went with Rob’s family and sang at a couple nursing homes on Christmas. During one of the musical numbers you stood in front of our group and plugged your ears!

4. One morning you told me you didn’t want cock a doodle do cereal (corn flakes).

5. “That man is cigaretting!”

6. “Will you roll my sleeves up on my pants?”

7. Daddy was eating some chocolate and you said, “Know what Jesus would do if he had chocolate? He would share it!”

Where did my little boy in the Spider-man suit that was crawling up his behind go? Stop growing up so fast...would ya!?! I love you buddy!

Mother's Day

Before I went to bed last night, I was instructed that I was not to get out of bed until I was told to do so. Rocky woke up with the sun at 5:30 am. Ruby got up and took care of him, set the table all fancy, and made me French Toast! She made me lunch, cookies and gave me a foot rub! Man I love that girl! I am so blessed to be her mom! She is going to be an amazing mom someday.

Mothers Day is kind of sad when your Mom is not around. I miss her all the time, but it really hits home on holidays. In the shortened time we had together, she taught me so much. She shared her love of the Savior, reading, baking, sewing, people, laughter, water/snowball fights, and being a mother with me. She taught me that dishes can wait because kids grow up. She showed me how to handle trials with optimism and faith. I always knew I was her favorite. Somehow my 4 older brothers knew they were her favorite as well. I loved our one on one dates she managed to do with all 5 of us. Ruby's middle name is Marilyn after my mom. I hope she realizes what an honor it is for her to be named after such an amazing person. Love you Madre!!!

Lucky for me, my mom didn't leave me without another amazing mom to take care of me. I have the most amazing Mother in Law. She is one of my dearest friends, I am so blessed to have her in my life. You name it, she knows how to do it or make it! I am so thankful for the son she raised and the way she loves my kids. I don't feel like I am an in-law, I truly feel like I am her daughter. Love you Morrissa!!!

I have also been blessed with lots of other moms that have taken me under their wing. I feel so blessed to be surrounded by so many amazing women. Thanks for all you do for me!!!

DIRT!

We signed our lease when our yard was under a couple feet of snow. Little did we know that our grass, if you can call it that, was spotty at best! For Mothers Day Matt got the front yard ready for grass! He LOVES working in the yard, more specifically, he has always loved to dig in the dirt. As a kid, he built an underground, multi-room fort. My kids love to hear the stories of "Matt's Hole". Cooper decided he wanted to dig his own hole, I was pretty impressed.

The project evolved to the backyard, which we have decided to embrace as a campground/beach. The boys worked together to dig this sweet hole. The kids have spent hours in it. I pull my chair next to the hole and we have our own private beach, sans water.

Eric Carle Museum

I found out the library has passes you can check out to get into many of the local museums. One of the passes was for the Eric Carle Museum. I LOVE his illustrations. I think I have almost all of his books. My little artists (and big one as well) loved creating their own masterpieces.
Rocky turned himself into a work of art. Luckily this project was at home (near the tub!)
Have you ever wanted to just eat someone up? I am head over heals in love with this little man!