Hello Shore Lane!

Hooray, we finally did it!

Grammy and I moved out of “the big house” on Waterloo Circle in June 2014, then lived at the beach for 14 months which included one of the worst winters in New England history.  Our new house is great… a lot smaller and more manageable; nice & comfy.  It’s only two steps from the garage inside the house vs. 13 at Waterloo (so easy) with everything we need on one floor.  It’s a handy location, on the south side of Dover, close to Portsmouth and Route 95.  Lots of new memories of you, our super-dooper-trooper grandchildren, will happen at 30 Shore Lane!

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spring soccer pride!

IMG_0895a lot of hard work, practices, games, and help from your Dad have made you a strong soccer player. you understand the subtleties of the game, think big picture and are a great team player, doing anything to help out.  although you’ve become a defensive “expert” over the years, you’re also strong on offense with your “big left foot.”  You’re often the go-to-guy for throw-ins and long boots down the field.  Proud of you Ben!  Having never played sports in school like you do, I am in awe of all you’ve achieved.  While there are always people who are better than us, that really doesn’t matter.   Don’t fall into the trap of measuring yourself against other people… it’s what YOU do with your life that counts.  Discover what makes you happy, what you’re good at, what gets you excited… and focus on that.

Marvelous May 3M adventure

“One of the best 3 Musketeers adventures ever!!”

That’s what everyone shouted out as we drove home from after a fun-filled day that included a climb up West Rattlesnake Mountain in Holderness, NH (overlooking scenic Squam Lake).. a visit to the world’s largest arcade, FunSpot, in Laconia… and an end of day visit to Hilltop Fun Center for go karts and miniature golf.

Some of the funny moments included:

  • we went to a restaurant to buy lunch takeout for our hike, but they didn’t have anything for us to order (it was more formal).  So I asked the waitress for a recommendation of another restaurant in town but she told us “This is the only restaurant I ever eat at.”  We thought that was hilarious… she probably thought she’d be in trouble if she recommended another place… but come on!  She only eats at one restaurant… ever?!?!  We walked outside, looked across the street and there was a sub shop where we ordered our food!
  • Ben had soccer practice later that afternoon and his Mom said he had to be back in time. We were over two hours away and knew it would be impossible to do everything we wanted to do and get back in time. You guys started lobbying for me early on to see if I could persuade her to change her mind.  You really wanted to stick together; you have so much fun on these adventures. After a rousing chant of “call her, call her, call her” I placed the call, explained things and got the Green Light for a full 3M day!   You were so excited!
  • You won so many tickets at Funspot that you could barely carry them to the cashier.  Look at the photo for evidence, it was a funny moment.img_0779img_0795img_0809img_0790

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birthday unicorn zanyness

"I want the unicorn!" that's what you said at Macro Polo in

“I want the unicorn!”
We were at Macro Polo in Portsmouth, two days before your birthday, and I had asked what you I could buy you in that zany store. “Anything you see here Ben?”  You didn’t hesitate, having already spotted the unicorn high up on the wall among a bunch of other masks.  Turns out you’re a fan of unicorns, not for the usual reasons… but because you think they’re cool and ridiculous and funny.  While I drove to Dover, you wore it and tried to get drivers in passing cars to notice.  Hilarious!

 

 

a beachy Easter egg hunt in 2015

You had all searched for eggs, top to bottom, at the beach house.

Nothing. Zero. Zilch. Nada.

No eggs to be found anywhere.

Grammy said “the Easter bunny told me he definitely left eggs behind.”

Jack said:  “The Easter bunny didn’t come because you don’t have any kids.”

There was no place left to look, nowhere else to go… except for outside, which is exactly what did.  There before you was a vast beach, sand and white sea shells all around. And  no eggs in sight.

All of you – except for Ben – started making your way toward the water.  Ben kept studying the scene, trying to figure it out.  He kicked over one of the white shells, and there was a red Easter egg buried in the sand, hidden by the shell.

 “Hey guys,” he shouted, “they’re up here.”

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You ran up toward the sea wall and soon a full scale frantic Easter egg hunt was in process.  Under nearly 100 white sea shells – we counted them later – were brightly colored eggs, each one containing money and candy.  You took your blue and white bags and began filling them up with the holiday treats.

Soon the hunt was over and everyone was back in the beach house, munching on chocolate, counting money and dreaming of what to buy with your gift cards from Grammy and I.

It was a memorable Easter, the first one we’ve ever had at the beach house, and the first time we’ve ever had an egg hunt outside.  Cool, fun, different!  Goodbye giant Waterloo house in Dover…   hello vast beach sand along the Atlantic ocean!

a beachy dinner together

we all got together at the beach for a Sunday dinner.  there's less

we all got together at the beach for a Sunday dinner.  there’s a lot less room here than our old house (that’s an understatement), but we make it work by adding a fold-out table for the Samurai Seven.  can’t wait for summer so we can eat on the deck – and be a lot warmer!

Futsol 2015!

working hard chasing and kicking the small, hard futsoll One time during this game you kicked it so hard the ball almost hit the scoreboard high above. After the game I said "Imagine if you had hit that and all the electronics exploded! You laughed and said"I was thinking the same thing!"

 

 

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