More Random Beach Photos

(Vacation pictures continued...)Well, did I mention that we took a lot of pictures?! We are going to continue posting because as I mentioned, this is our family scrap book and we want to hold on to these memories. Sorry if you're visiting our blog and getting an overdose of pictures :)














Thankfully, we had this great outdoor shower that we could use after the beach!!!

Plymouth Rock and the Mayflower

Manomet Beach is very close to Plymouth, so we took a quick drive to see Plymouth Rock and the Mayflower. The little viewing bridge that overlooks the "rock" where the Pilgrims landed was being remodeled, so we had to view that from a distance. It was interesting for the kids to see the replica of the Mayflower after reading so much about it in American history. It was smaller than they expected!

Shells, Shells and More Shells

(Vacation posting continued...)We were always on the lookout for different kinds of shells during the week. Teresa collected them and then laid them out to categorize and organize into piles. We did end up bringing plenty of shells home with us...but not starfish, they were getting stinky by the end of the week.

Here are Teresa and Molly Grace playing a game with their shells

You'll notice that Aidan is often making these signs with his hands in many pictures. Usually it's the "peace" sign....but I'm not sure about this one. At least it's not his middle finger. Then I'd have to blame it on his dad! Just kidding. LOL.


Erin preferred the clam shells. She thought they were quite tasty....almost as tasty as sand, her personal favorite for the week!



Eileen came to the rescue before Erin had her fill of clams.
And what was Bridget doing while all the other kids were playing? Cleaning of course. Way to go, Bridge. Spit spot!

Hermit Crabs

Aidan was on a mission whenever we spent time at the ocean. His top priority was to catch as many hermit crabs as he could. He was quite successful! Thankfully, all of his little buddies made it right back to where they came from.

Manomet Beach

We arrived at our little beach cottage in Manomet Beach late at night. Early the next morning we awoke and headed to the beach, first thing! It was foggy and we were the only ones on the beach, which made for some interesting pictures, I think. This was the first ocean experience for all of the kids and they loved it! While we have Lake Michigan, which is the closest thing to an ocean, it's still not the same. They all loved exploring and I'm quite certain we could have made an entire week's vacation out of the ocean alone!

Here are lots of pictures...probably too many. This is our scrapbook, so I want to be sure to capture all those memories! Oh, and the only reason Moira is not in the pictures is because she was taking them! We'll be sure to get some of her too.


Our first view...



The stairs we needed to climb to get to and from the ocean. They are a lot steeper than they look here and our legs felt it on the way up!









Even Erin did not mind the 50 degree temp of the ocean. Brrrrrr!







Molly Grace was feeling the full effect of all that water!

Onward to NYC

We packed up the suburban and left Steubenville, heading toward Manomet, MA. The kids were chillin!






We decided to make a stop in New York City because we were so close and we thought it could be years before the kids had that opportunity again. We didn't intend to stay long at all, but of course it's not a city that you just run in and run out of! The rain stopped long enough for us to get out at Liberty State Park (I think that's the name), which is directly opposite Manhattan. We saw the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island and of course the massive skyline. Mike told the kids about his great great great grandparents arriving in this same bay and landing on Ellis Island, all the way from Ireland. I'm sure my great  great great grandparents did the same. Pretty cool!

Then we ventured into Manhattan. Here's Aidan plugging his nose as we drove under the bay through the tunnel. I don't think he was able to hold his breath the whole way!

We felt so big, bulky and out of place driving through Manhattan in our Suburban, with the big car-top carrier, as small compact cars weaved in and out. We felt just the opposite, so so tiny, as we left Manhattan and made our way through the other burrows, out of the city. NYC is not my idea of a vacation, but it was a great experience for the kids nonetheless. Moira rolled her window down and snapped lots of pictures.

First Stop - Steubenville

We arrived at Tim and Suzy's late on the 3rd. It was so nice, as always, to see their gang! Aileen and Joe are doing great and getting big. We were also able to see Suzy's parents and her brothers, Father Dan and Luke, as well as Luke's wife Anne and their three beautiful boys, Thomas, Ethan and Timmy. On the 4th, Luke orchestrated an awesome shrimp boil, Louisiana style, which is fast becoming a family tradition. It was so delicious! Later that night we watched the fireworks from the hilltop of Franciscan University.


Aidan, Timmy, Ethan and Eileen trying to catch a little outdoor time during a break from the rain.


Teresa running down the hill with Thomas watching...

Eileen, Bridget, Erin and Mike, Molly Grace and Paul Bunyan...er...I mean Joe Awesome...I mean Hustleboy....ok ok, it's JOE!

Thomas, Eileen and Bridget

Aileen, Teresa, Thomas and mystery boy...

Aileen and Teresa

Ooooh, aaaaaah, look at those fireworks!

Time for bed....

Earlier in the day we were able to visit Camille's grave. It's such a beautiful stone in her memory. Camille, pray for us!