I love this sound so much! I couldn’t find the bugger to save my life, but I enjoyed stopping at the end of my street the other night to hear him do his thing. Not going to lie, I couldn’t help but think, “Ouch.”
Author: Nichole S.
Skaterdater
Ever since we visited Virginia Beach and rollerbladed alongside skateboarders on the boardwalk each morning, my boys have been asking for skateboards. While totally clueless when it comes to the skateboarding scene, my guess was that the cheap ones that we kept seeing in each gift shop that we happened upon, weren’t going to be smooth or easy to ride.
The boys also wanted new helmets for their birthdays…which happen to fall just 3 weeks apart. In addition to the helmets, they wanted cool stickers to decorate their helmets with. Stumped. So, I took to social media and shouted out to my Facebook friends. Loaded with tons of awesome suggestions, I took to the mall (shudder) and went to a store I had never even noticed before.
Not going to lie….I felt a wee bit like a fish out of water in the too-hip-for-the-43-frumpy-school-teacher-mom-of-two that I am. I found the stickers in the display case (just as I was told that I would) and started chatting with a couple of the employees. They couldn’t have been nicer…or more tolerant of my ridiculous lack of knowledge. With a pretty excellent pile of stickers in hand, one of the kids offered to show me some skateboards….boards, that is. I’m guessing it is fairly uncool to use the full name.
Turns out that I was right to have not pulled the trigger and bought a gift shop board. Not smooth. Harder to ride. Wear easily. Boys will lose interest.
I was schooled on the parts of a true board and the different ways to customize them. I was also taught what to look for when buying starter boards for the boys to help set them up for success.
Turns out, for $99 the boys could go into the store, customize their own boards, help assemble them, and not only get a sweet board, but also have a pretty cool hands-on learning experience….while chatting with some pretty cool employees. I got such a kick out of my own experience that I couldn’t wait to go back with them. By “customize” I mean, pick out their own deck (board), wheels, grip tape, wheel bearings, and wheel mounts. Pretty cool. They got to use the vice to assemble the wheels, help sand the grip tape into place, and screw it all together. Pretty cool again.
The boys were absolutely beaming as they walked out of the store with their new boards and have been working hard to get the hang of it. Have you been on a skateboard lately? Holy crap…not easy. Thatcher got the hang of it pretty easily. Finn is having some trouble figuring out if he’s left-footed or right-footed, but is doing pretty great for his age.
With such short, little wish lists for their birthdays, I’m feeling pretty psyched that they are so happy! Total score for mom…maybe I’m just a little bit cool after all (this week anyway).
Check out Zumiez website HERE….and their store at the North Shore Shopping Center.
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Do the Hula
If you ask my boys, Summer = Lobsters + Shaved Ice
“Shaved Ice?” you may ask. Fair enough. If you haven’t had one recently you are missing out. I don’t care how old you are! My boys are addicted to Hula Moon’s shaved ice…and, I can’t lie, while I usually stand outside on the street corner with the dog while they run in with little fists full of one dollar bills, sometimes I get one too. Hard to resist!
And, while I honestly can’t tell you yet first hand, I’ve heard that many items on their actual menu are pretty delicious too….and they have a fantastic view out their back window.
Hula Moon can be found at 27 Mt. Pleasant Street in Rockport. Stop on by, for sure!
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Nichole’s Picks 6/6 and 6/7
Pick #1 Salem Arts Festival
For three days each June, this FREE family-friendly festival transforms downtown Salem, MA, into an opportunity for the arts community to showcase their talents. Now in its seventh year, the festival boasts attendance numbers in the thousands and celebrates all the arts: painting, photography, sculpture, dance, music, writing, film, new media, performance, theatre, poetry, culinary, and more!
Read all about the event HERE and check out a full calendar of events
Pick #2 See the Whales
The whales have recently returned from their winter vacation and are hungry! Spring trips offer great opportunities to see the whales feeding….which, if you’ve never had the chance to witness it, is not to be missed!!
Check out Cape Ann Whale Watch HERE
and even snag a GROUPON HERE
Pick #3 Myopia Polo
The new season of Sunday Polo Matches kicks off this weekend. It is a really a great way to spend an afternoon. Get there when the gates open (1:30, I believe) get field side parking, spread out a great picnic, and let the kiddos see the horses being cared for and getting ready.
Check out Myopia Polo HERE for more information!
For a more comprehensive list of family activities please visit our friends at North Shore Kid
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A Little Slice of Rockport
Safe to say that Motif No. 1, Bearskin Neck, Tuna Wharf, Halibut Point, and the shops on Main Street are amongst the Go To places when one considers Rockport as a destination. A less known, but not-to-be-missed little slice of Rockport, is Millbrook Meadow….and its Mill Pond. Together, the park and the pond, create a quaint little scenic masterpiece.
I was sad to have missed the Rubber Duck Race held in the park this past Saturday, but I knew that GMG’s Paul T. Morrison and his famous (infamous) RD were on the job.
Read his race coverage HERE
We’ve spent several quiet days grabbing lunch downtown and then sitting in the park. It is incredibly beautiful and wonderfully quiet. Located directly across from Front Beach and next to Nate’s at Front Beach is a small path that will lead you into the park. Nate’s, for the record, is one of many places in town to pick up a fantastic lunch or breakfast to eat at Millbrook Meadow!
See Nate’s Menu HERE!
Please, do yourself a favor, and read more about the park, its pretty incredible history, and the Millbrook Meadow Conservancy HERE! Great things are happening thanks to some great people. A big restoration is planned and no doubt the results will be phenomenal!
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Nooooooo Thank You, Whispers. I like to sleep.
Don’t get me wrong! I’m totally sure that ABC’s series premiere of The Whispers was probably fascinating at some level last night. I am also absolutely certain that its subject matter totally appeals to many, many people out there, but NOT me! I like to sleep and it is exactly that kind of creepiness that would keep me awake for, like, EVER.
We love to play games with our children. But what happens when someone else starts to play with them too? Someone we don’t know. Can’t see. Can’t hear. In The Whispers, someone — or something — is manipulating the ones we love most to accomplish the unthinkable.
I’d love to hear some feedback from anyone who watched it! And, did you sleep afterwards?
Check out ABC’s The Whispers right here….if you dare.
http://abc.go.com/shows/the-whispers/video/sneak-peeks/VDKA0_qk5t2jbn
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Strudelicious
One word. Helmut’s.
While I called this post Strudelicious, I’ve actually never had the strudel here, but that by no means means that I can’t sing their praises! First of all, I can do so because I have heard by MANY people that their strudel is delicious. Secondly, I can do so because my boys can’t get enough of their raspberry and strawberry cream croissants. And….thirdly (and most importantly if I do say so myself) I have literally never had a better muffin in all of my life than their cranberry walnut muffins! So there. Get yourself down to the end of Bearskin Neck and grab a bite to eat SOON.
Not only is everything scrumptious, but the view off the back deck is pretty sweet too!
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Lots of Truck Touching Happened Yesterday
The boys weren’t going to let Saturday go by without touching some trucks so we squeezed in a trip to Touch-a-Truck in between a T-ball game and a baseball game. I was happy to oblige mostly because the money went to the Fishtown Horribles Parade.
Kudos to the the police officers, fire fighters, Coast Guard, volunteers, YMCA kids, etc. Everyone was incredibly friendly and eager to help make the kids smile. A special shout-out to the Gloucester Police Officers who humored my boys for a what probably felt like forever before other kids showed up for a turn. You made their day.
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Fluffy and Fantastic
This is what I’ve been up to this week. “Hatching Day” is always so much fun…and just a little bit stressful. It doesn’t get much cuter than a newly hatched fluffy little chick. The 21 days of waiting each spring are well worth it once all that crazy peeping begins.
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Nichole’s Picks 5/30 and 5/31
Pick #1 Draft Horse Plow Day and Vintage Baseball at the Spencer-Peirce-Little Farm, Newbury
While I’ve never been here for this particular event, we’ve enjoyed other days at Spencer-Peirce-Little Farm. I should add that the Ipswich Ale Tapmobile will be there too.
Sunday, May 31, 11:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Spencer-Peirce-Little Farm, 5 Little’s Lane, Newbury, Mass.Free to Historic New England members, $6 nonmembers, $4 children
Draft mules participate in plowing demonstrations as part of this twentieth annual event and enjoy games of 1860s baseball. Learn how horses are harnessed, hitched, and cared for. Watch the shearing of our resident sheep, and see how the wool is washed, carded, and spun into yarn. Enjoy horse-drawn wagon rides, farm animals, blacksmithing demonstrations, children’s crafts and games. Listen to traditional New England music or watch the teams of the Essex Base Ball Association, the Newburyport Clamdiggers, Georgetown Samosets, Portsmouth Rockinghams, Lynn Live Oaks, and Lowell Base Ball Nine, play baseball using 1860s rules. At these fun, historically accurate games, players pitch underhand, a ball bounced once and caught is an out, and no gloves are allowed. Snacks, baseballs, and cards are available for purchase. Grass field seating: bring blankets and lawn chairs, no reserved seating.
Please call 978-462-2634 for more information. Purchase tickets now
Pick #2 Millbrook Meadow Duck Race, Rockport
Saturday, May 30th at 11:00!
GMG’s own Paul Morrison and his RD will be there…head on down and cheer them on!
For the record, while the Duck Race is sure to be fun, Millbrook Meadow is always a gorgeous place to spend the day! Located right across from Front Beach, the park has recently had a beautiful and extensive overhaul. It is truly one of the town’s treasures!
Read more about Millbrook Meadow HERE
Pick #3 Touch-a-Truck and ChowderFest
What child doesn’t want to get up-close and personal with some super cool trucks, ambulances, fire trucks, ATVs, motorcycles, and more?
Head on over to O’Malley Innovation Middle School on Saturday, May 30th to check out the cool vehicles and eat some delicious chowder….all to benefit the Fishtown Horribles Parade.
Tickets for Touch-a-Truck or Chowderfest are $5 (with a max amount of $20 per family)
Tickets for Touch-a-Truck AND Chowderfest are $8 each (family max of $30)
For a more comprehensive list of family activities, check out our friends at North Shore Kid
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Got Fish? Boyhood at its Best.
I have a feeling there are many days just like this one in these boys’ futures. I love so much that this is how they care to spend their days while growing up on Cape Ann. Good friends, good times, good fishermen. Watching them enjoy each other’s company like this, while doing what they love, gives me the total warm fuzzies.
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Memorial Day Parade, Rockport
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Rockport’s Memorial Day parade
Live Blogging
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Little, Big Boy….or Big, Little Boy?
So, Thatcher turned 8 yesterday. And, lucky you, since I haven’t done one of those l.o.n.g parenting-is-crazy type blog posts for a while…I’m due.
This birthday has hit me. I’m not sure why. It isn’t a biggie as far as birthdays go. It isn’t an “oh my goodness, my baby is already old enough for Kindergarten!”, or an “I can’t believe my baby is now double digits!”, or a “how is it possible that my baby is officially an adult!”. It is none of those. It is just 8. But, as with much of parenting, I was blindsided. I was completely surprised at how sad…well, not really sad….maybe nostalgic….I was.
I should say, for the record, that I’m totally ok with my boys growing up and I’m kind of loving this age. All the more reason that I was surprised by being upset. I loved the baby stage and thought my boys were tremendously excellent during the toddler and preschool ages, but I have to admit that I have enjoyed watching them grow into full-fledged boys now that they’re both elementary school age even more. I was incredibly happy that I honestly felt “done” (not in a holy crap, shoot me, I’m done kind of way, for the record….but a two kids works for me, I don’t have the slightest itch for a third kind of way). I did a victory dance and end zone celebration when they got out of diapers (both right at 2 1/2 thank goodness), when they were finally able to buckle and unbuckle their own car seats (AMEN), and when they switched from tubbies to showers. I have also been absolutely smitten by the fact that I can travel light. By “travel” I’m not speaking about actual vacations…..just your everyday trip the store, beach, or even restaurants! No more packing 800 snacks and 1,000 activities to keep the boys quiet and well behaved. It is now seriously as easy as “Brush your teeth and get in the car.” AND…as if that isn’t cool enough…they’re even helpful sometimes. Mind blown. They now unpack their lunch boxes and backpacks after school, fill their own water bottles EVERY time before leaving the house, feed the dog, take care of the rabbit, fill the bird feeders (kind of), and water the plants. Shot, score! I am also totally enjoying the fact that we enjoy the same music (for the most part), like some of the same shows (watching The Voice and Amazing Race together has been pretty cool), and the same sports. While the Bruins have held their interest for years already, this is the first year that they’ve really enjoyed watching the Red Sox on TV. Thatcher can tell you the starting line-up, the pitching rotation, and some of the more interesting stats. Yeah, me!!
So, it has been good. It has been easy. It has been fun. We’re in a pretty awesome place. We’ve started to enjoy each other on a slightly different level. I’m not explaining it well…but, it is no longer us entertaining them…it is us experiencing things together….and with A LOT of great conversations. They’ve developed senses of humor that aren’t just super cute like when they were little, but are actually funny….like, for real. So, why so teary? I still don’t know.
It started to hit me when I went birthday shopping. I was looking for something in the sporting goods section of a large toy store. As I walked from the front left corner of the store to the back right corner of the store, it occurred to me that Thatcher had outgrown every single isle in the entire store other than the sporting goods. I thought that simple fact would be cause for a happy dance, but instead I felt a tiny pang….a little bit of a loss. Oddly enough, I don’t even like shopping in those large toy stores anyway….so why care that he’d outgrown it? And then, all day yesterday, as if aware that he was suddenly older on a different level….Thatcher acted like he was 15 all day long. We were kind of riding the fence between little kid and bigger kid for the last year or so and I feel like, all of a sudden, he not only hurdled the fence, but then ran so far away from it that I can’t even see the darn fence in his wake. Like, when (although not my proudest moment) he asked if we had arranged for the Patriot cheerleaders to bring out his birthday cake at dinner. What?
So, my first little guy is now a big guy. He had his choice of how to spend his day yesterday and, in typical Thatcher fashion, his choices summed up his love of life as he knows it. He knew right away….with zero hesitation…that he wanted to catch minnows, go to the beach, definitely NOT skip hockey, eat some sushi, and maybe grab an ice cream on the way home. Who could say “no” to that? So, he opened his presents (over a plate of fried dough and bacon), we packed for the beach, he caught hundreds of minnows with Finn and a couple of his best buds, raced home for quick showers, played 90 minutes of hockey, hit the Studio for some sushi and a Chocolate Torte with fresh Raspberry Coulis…and a candle, and then headed home for bed. The only thing we didn’t fit in was the ice cream on the way home. No room in the birthday boy’s belly. Maybe tomorrow.
After we said our last “Happy Birthdays” and “Goodnights” I heard him rustling around in his bed. When I asked what he was doing he said, “I can’t find Hospital Bear.” Hospital Bear is a little stuffed animal that we put next to Thatcher as soon as he was born….and whom he has slept with every night since. We found the little guy under the blankets and as I walked out of the room I heard him say, “Happy Birthday, Hospital Bear.” Maybe he isn’t all grown-up after all. Maybe that fence is just a little bit back in sight.
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Sushiville
There is some serious sushi flying over the sushi bar at the Studio tonight!
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You’d Be Crazy To Not Take Advantage of This Red Sox Package
I know that I’m super fortunate that my boys have had the opportunity to experience some pretty awesome days at Fenway Park and with the Red Sox, but I also know that it can be REALLY difficult to score tickets that don’t break the bank…never mind actually feed the kiddos while you’re at the game.
If you’ve always wanted to go, but couldn’t justify spending that kind of $$$….or even if you’ve gone 100 times and simply want to go again….this is a SWEET DEAL!
Read all about it and BUY your tickets HERE
JUNE 1, 2, and 3 ONLY!
4 Game Tickets, 4 hot dogs, and 4 sodas ALL FOR ONLY $75!
A great deal for families! Bring the whole crew out to Fenway Park to watch the Red Sox take on the Twins. Courtesy of our friends at Aramark, $75 buys 4 tickets, 4 hot dogs, and 4 sodas.*
* Tickets must be presented at concession stands to redeem food/beverage. No substitutions available.
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Throw Yourself to the Wolves
When I did my “Picks” post yesterday I wanted to include a fun event at the one and only Wolf Hollow, but I wasn’t able to confirm until this morning that it is indeed happening. Didn’t want to steer anyone in the wrong direction!
This Sunday, May 24th, Wolf Hollow will be hosting “Family Fun Fest”.
The event takes place from 11:00-3:00 and includes activities such as:
Educational presentations every hour
Children’s games and activities
Pizza from Ipswich House of Pizza
Snow cones from the Kona Shaved-Ice Truck
AND, last but certainly not least, free samples of local brew served up from the Ipswich Ale Brewery. Not for the kiddos though.
Read all about Wolf Hollow HERE
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Nichole’s Picks for 5/23 and 5/24
Pick #1
They’re open, they’re open. Thatcher and Finn have been asking me for weeks when Maritime Gloucester will be opening for the season and I can finally tell them…and you…that their aquarium and exhibits are opening for the season on May 23rd!
Check out Maritime Gloucester HERE!
Pick #2
The Newburyport Spring Festival! Read all about it HERE
Held Sunday & Monday of Memorial Day Weekend. Celebrate the season in downtown Newburyport! Enjoy great live music, art, fine crafts, and food from Newburyport’s best restaurants.
Pick #3
This is always a fantastic place to spend the day, but I’m super intrigued by a new exhibit that they have on display and I can’t wait to go see it.
Read about the exhibit here: Stickwork: Patrick Dougherty
Check out more of the artist’s incredible work here!
Patrick Dougherty bends, weaves and flexes saplings into architectural sculptures that dynamically relate to the landscape and built environment around them. Over the last 30 years, he has created more than 250 works throughout the United States, Canada, Europe and Asia. Constructed from saplings collected by area volunteers, the natural structure will provide dramatic counterpoint to the highly finished wood-frame Crowninshield-Bentley House that dates to the early 18th century. This is the first time PEM has commissioned an outdoor sculptural installation.
For a more comprehensive list of family activities please visit our friends at North Shore Kid
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Welcome, Chief Horvath
Rockport is happy to welcome Police Chief John Horvath. Chief Horvath takes the reigns from Interim Chief of Police, Jim Mulligan. Chief Mulligan was welcomed aboard after Rockport’s long-standing Police Chief John “Tom” McCarthy retired this past fall. Most recently, Chief Horvath has served as the Chief of Police at UMASS Amherst.
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Dining at Davio’s
MarketStreet in Lynnfield is doing it right. It isn’t merely a place to shop, bowl, walk, or dine…it is absolutely a destination. It’s a reserve-a-few-hours-and-make-a-day-of-it kind of place.
The other day, after a bit of shopping, we sat at the bar at Davio’s and enjoyed some really fantastic snacks.
See what else MarketStreet has to offer HERE.
Good Morning Gloucester 