Cape Cod Birthday

**Note: I figured out a workaround for my camera failure and added pictures to the first Cape Cod post, if you haven't seen them.**


When I was finalizing travel plans for this trip I realized Mary's birthday would either be a driving day or the day after we got home, so I asked her if she would rather have a party at the Cape a little before her birthday or the weekend after we got home. She was really torn as far as the friends and family that could attend each one, but ultimately she decided on a beach party.

So yesterday evening we packed a picnic and a brownie cake and presents and met some of our favorite old friends at one of our old favorite beaches in Dennis. It has picnic tables and swings and a nice flat beach with sand that isn't rocky and gentle waves that just barely lap their way in.

Catherine and Mary ran directly into the water and made Daddy come with them. It wasn't as cold as the southside beaches we have visited, but at 64 degrees it definitely still wasn't warm.

Gussie and Michael set to digging.


At  one point a fierce water canon battle broke out between Daddy and Catherine, and Michael Jr actually ventured pretty far into the water to see how he could add to the craziness.

The girls eventually went back to swimming.

And Michael got his hands on one of the abandoned water squirters.

Then our friends joined us and swimming continued until all the kids were shivering uncontrollably.

Finally we convinced them to come up to the picnic tables for dinner, cake, and presents. Mary couldn't stop grinning the entire evening.

Gussie ignored everything else that was going on and only played with Mary's balloon.

Michael Jr did an amazing job not complaining about Mary being the only one to get presents (and that mark over his eye is the last bit to heal from his whack from Gussie's putter the other day).

By the looks on their faces, this must have been a pretty amazing gift.

Mary really wanted a couple Barbie dolls. I tend to just ignore them as a toy possibility, but she convinced her Grandma and big sister.

Gussie trotted around shouting "Happy Birthday" for a long time, but he saved some love for Grandma. (side note: I just noticed the kid on his head in the background.)

I don't have any pictures of cake but maybe Grandma does?

When everything had been eaten and unwrapped, the kids wanted to go back down to the beach and it looked like there might be a nice sunset, so I told them we could go walk by the water again. Catherine had already changed into dry clothes, Mary likes to be completely dry before the ride home in the car so she doesn't get wet near the end of any beach endeavor, and Michael and Gussie had barely been in the water at all, so it seemed like a safe choice.

Of course, Gussie decided now was the time to stop being afraid of the water and he just ran headlong into the little waves.

 

Then he fell down and his whole tummy got wet and his face got splashed with water. And he thought it was so hilarious, that he did it a dozen more times.

Did you notice that bobbing head behind Gussie? That's Catherine, swimming in her clothes. But Mary is serious about riding home dry - she only went up to her ankles. And she's turning six!

 And then the sunset was as glorious as anticipated. I know you can't see them, but all the kids are in there somewhere.

Mary is the one in the Karate Kid pose.

Dancing on the beach at sunset. I honestly can't think of a single better thing to do with your time. She's still pretty smart at almost six.

And then it was nearly dark and Catherine and Morgan were still bobbing out in the bay.

When we couldn't stay any longer because Gussie's lips were chattering and it was well past bedtime for all involved, we collected everything and headed to the van. As Catherine climbed in (in soaking wet clothes) she declared, "Well, that was an awfully good birthday party."  To which Mary replied, "Yes, yes it was a terribly good party." Ha! I love them.

Cape Cod

Well, I really wanted to give you a nice pictorial update of our trip to the Cape and everything we've been up to for the last few days, but unfortunately I have something new to add to my list of camera fails: refusal to talk to my computer. I tried restarting my computer, shutting down my camera and letting the battery sit out for a few minutes, using a different USB cord, and using different programs on my computer to try to connect to my camera (all things that have worked in the past), but to no avail. The camera simply has no reaction whatever when something is plugged into its USB port. If we are out today I might try to find an external card reader to plug into my computer and see if I can get it to work that way, but for now, pictures are stuck. We popped by a camera store in the pouring rain yesterday and a card reader has temporarily solved my problems - pictures below!

But we made it to the Cape with no real shenanigans, and since "making it to the Cape" involved being in the van with four kids for 26 hours over two days, I'm pretty excited to report that so nonchalantly. We took a day in Pittsburgh to visit family so I think having a day of rest in between the two driving days helped. We had a really nice visit with Gram and Gramps in their new place. I think Gussie was making faces at Grandpa Johnny here.

We are staying at Skip's, the name of a beautiful rental house on the inlet waters of the upper Cape. I almost can't get over how lucky we are that this particular rental house is owned by friends who recently stopped renting it for the summers and now consider it a getaway and ministry house for family and friends and clergy to rest and enjoy all the Cape has to offer. When they heard we were planning to vacation and catch up with friends and the old parishes here they offered it as our home for the week. They're pretty amazing (and one of the many reasons leaving here was tough in the first place). This was my view while cooking lunch:



I think we went to various beaches four times in the first three days. By the third or fourth time, Gussie let the wave water lap his toes without freaking out, crying, and hiding until we allowed him to retreat from the beach entirely. While he wasn't very interested in getting wet, he thought it was HILARIOUS when Daddy would fill the water gun for him so he could squirt his siblings.


Michael Jr has yet to touch the water as far as I've seen, except once to try to fill a water gun. But they are both very happy to spend their beach time digging sand, spotting crabs, and making sand tracks with cars and boats.

Mary has surprised me as the one mostly likely to splash in the waves. She has always been the shell collector, only using the water to rinse her shells or fill sand holes, but now she just pops on a pair of goggles and a floaty of some sort and spends a lot of time jumping and splashing in the waves, and dragging me and Daddy and Grandma in with her (the dragging is necessary; these are Cape Cod beaches after all, which means the water is COLD and there is generally seaweed in abundance).



Mary was always sputtering salt water every time she ran out.

And Catherine is training her siblings in all things Cape since she is the only one old enough (maybe) to really remember living here.

Other than beaches we've been catching up with lots of friends and trying to eat a year's worth of fresh seafood in one week. This is what Grandma does while she's waiting for seafood.


This is what Gussie does while he's waiting for seafood.

Yesterday was a little cool and misty so instead of beach time we took the kids to play mini golf. I think we made it through 18 holes with only two semi-serious whacks to the face with a putter. Daddy tried to help Gussie and Michael Jr with their putting form, but I think only Michael Jr retained any of the lessons at all.

This is Catherine when she doesn't notice my camera:

This is Catherine when she does notice my camera:

There was also a small issue of Gussie refusing to give up his ball to the last hole, but eventually we convinced him to trade it in for a pirate hat instead.

 

We also spent some time at our rental house (you know, the one we still own against our will) cleaning up the landscaping and scoping out any major projects that need to be addressed. The renters don't seem particularly interested in the landscaping or garden, so I'm going to try to heist the blueberry bush and some raspberry canes and transplant them back to Saint Louis. It's supposed to rain a bit today so we will hopefully spend a little more time at the house clearing the rest of our stored stuff out of the basement.

Maybe I'll find $1000 down there I forgot I had so I can buy a new camera.

Our Summer Normal

This post could be titled "playground fun" or "daddy's home" or "gymnastics" or "crab in a shell" because it's really just a couple weeks' worth of photos that I'm mashing together and posting before I have a camera full of vacation pictures to share.

Gussie was down last week for 3 days with a 103 fever. He basically just slept off the fever for three days with no other symptoms, which is a pretty easy illness to deal with except the part where it's a little terrifying because you have no idea what he's fighting. And the part where a little fireball of a toddler just wanted to curl up in my pregnant lap for three days and nights. I like it a lot better when he's feeling like normal Gussie.

The kids had their monthly gymnastics play time last week as well. I usually don't try to take many pictures because they are all through a glass window covered in chalky kid handprints, but here are a few little peeks.

Gussie is just *dying* to get his turn in the gym. But he has to be 3 for that class, so for now he has to be content with climbing equipment at the playground.

He discovered recently he can climb this one and make it over the gap at the top all on his own. It's his new favorite thing. Unfortunately I can't sit back like I was to take this picture while he climbs it because if I'm not standing right next to the ladder every mom, dad, grandma, grandpa, and school kid in the playground rushes over to stop him from trying it. Am I the only one who thinks that looks perfectly appropriate for a 2-year-old?

Have I mentioned Daddy's home? Daddy's home!!! The kids are all very happy to have their running, bike riding, wrestling, singing, and 80s dance party partner back.

Gussie LOVES piggy back rides right now.

I'm pretty sure Catherine and Mary have told everyone about these but I forgot to put up the picture. Dema was very faithful in collecting shells during their time in the Bahamas and mailed a big box to the kids when they returned stateside. These two happened to have little stowaways in them. Don't worry, Dema insists the little crabs had already died inside the shells on the beach before she picked them up.

Speaking of dead animals, I have to record this little story. A few days ago Mary was looking out the window to the backyard and exclaimed that a squirrel was sleeping on the patio. Then she noticed a bunch of flies bothering it and wondered if maybe it was actually dead. It was. All the kids ran to look and I told them we needed to get rid of it before the chickens found it. Catherine heard "get rid of it" and all but snapped at me, "We can't throw it in the dumpster! It's one of God's creatures! We have to bury it!" So I'm looking around the yard, thinking I don't want to bury a squirrel in the front yard (because the dirt there is like concrete, among other reasons) and I don't want to bury a squirrel within the chicken confines because they might try to dig it up again, and I don't want to bury a squirrel near any of the garden boxes that grow things we eat... so we buried the squirrel as far to the back of the yard near the alley as possible, which happens to be right near my door to the van. The kids were all very somber as I dug the hole and they spent some time surmising what its life was like and how it died, and when I scooped up the squirrel with the shovel and placed it in the bottom, Michael Jr offered a very heartfelt "poor fellow..." and Catherine wished it a happy time in heaven. I'm pretty sure there were a few tears in the crowd as I filled the hole with dirt and tamped it down. Of course they then had to find an appropriate large stone to mark the grave, which Catherine and Mary then decorated with a pattern of smaller stones around it, and a couple small wildflowers from the yard. And then the job was completed properly and with dignity and we continued on with our day.

I don't know why these things never seem to happen when Daddy's home.