Katie's 5th Birthday

Katie had another milestone in September: her 5th birthday. Inspired by the drive-in movie we saw on vacation, we planned an outdoor movie party for both kids and adult to celebrate. We mentioned it to Katie gingerly, not sure whether she would be into that idea. She LOVED it and immediately started drawing a mock up of what the movie screen should look like in the backyard. What was also great is that all the people we invited - our family and the families of the kids she goes to daycare with - were really excited about it as well.  Aside from having a few issues with the sound and the screen falling over a few times, it seemed like everyone had a great time, especially the birthday girl. Here are some scenes from the party.

Of course, what is a party without treats? I called in reinforcements to make the cupcakes. It turned out to be a fun night with the girls and the cupcakes were a huge hit!

And what is a movie without popcorn? Chad and Sue are on it.

We're hoping to make "Outdoor Movie Night" a regular event...since we now own a 12 foot movie screen. Katie said "thanks for the fantastic party" when it was all done. That was worth it all!

Preschool for Katie

My baby started preschool this year! Our town has a program within the public school system so we signed up Katie this year. It worked out perfectly for us. She goes to daycare and then takes the bus from there. She also gets to go with her bestie Cullan. Could these guys be more adorable?

DNC

My cousin Steve was the CEO of the Democratic National Convention this year. Both a huge honor and task. He invited us to come to Charlotte, North Carolina for the big event. Chad and I headed down South with the rest of the Kerrigan delegation to see Steve's speech. We couldn't stay the entire week but we really enjoyed the days we were there. It was a great event and it was a fun hanging out with our family.

Here we are at the Time Warner Cable Arena on Saturday afternoon. We got a behind the scenes tour. This is were all he speeches will take place. Wow!

Steve's office at the Arena and him doing an interview. Honestly, I'm not sure how he made it through the week. Must have been pure adrenaline.

We went to many a party. The signature accessory of the week was a lanyard.

Some shots of the first night. This is Steve being interviewed by ABC News.

Our youngest attendants were both very well behaved. Kevin is a ball of energy...

...and Addie cruised around taking snoozes. Our sleepiest delegate.

Here is me watching a speech by Rahm Emmanuel (Mayor of my beloved Chicago, former White House Chief of Staff and a Congressman) while sitting behind Madeleine Albright! Star struck!

And don't worry. While we were soaking up all that is Democrat, we did find a Kerrigan-sponsor bar in Connelly's on 5th. It is Steve's favorite bar in Charlotte which we quickly adopted it as our own.

We did party like Barackstars.

Cape Cod 2012

We decided to go to Cape Cod during our August vacation week this year. Nana and Papa are trying to sell their cottage in Eastham and since Chad spent so many vacations there as a child we wanted to bring the girls there for a visit.  Now that the kids are older (and have less stuff that accompany them) we thought it was the perfect year to go. We called it the "swan song" vacation. It might be the first and last vacation for them at the cottage.

We spent the weekends at Nana and Papa's so we could visit with them. On Saturday, the whole family had dinner which was tons of fun. It's great to see all the cousins together and summer nights on their porch are really great.

On Monday, we headed to Eastham and settled in there for a few days. I would be lying if we weren't a little concerned about there being no TV at the cottage but we were up to "roughing it." And we knew that the beach would tire them out. After some housekeeping items (sheets on bed, grocery shopping, walk the dog...), we went to the Bay for an evening swim. It was really warm...my kind of beach! The kids loved it because they could walk out far and it's not over their heads.

That night we brought them for a special treat. We went to see Ice Age 4 at the Wellfleet Drive In. It was Marin's first movie outside our living room. It really is a throw back experience on a beautiful summer night.

On Tuesday, we left early and spent most of the day at the beach. We swam, made sandcastles and had lunch.

After naps and showers, we went in search of food which brought us to Wellfleet center and then to the Harbor to see the sun setting.

We went to the beach for a while on Wednesday and then came home for lunch. While Marin was napping, Katie headed down the street to the pond for an afternoon swim. That pond served as a great pit stop in between our adventures.  Good ol' Arnold's was our restaurant of choice. It's a local institution with the yummiest onion rings. We took the girls to Nauset Light Beach so they could see the ocean before heading home. We decided to do our beaching on the Bay side so that Chad and I could enjoy the vacation. The beach side is a little rougher surf and not great for little kids. But it is beautiful and the kids liked it. I mean, who doesn't like crashing waves and surfers?

We hit Nauset Ice Cream on the way home. The cherry on top of a fun day.

On Thursday, we went to the beach but the weather was not cooperating. A big thunderstorm came rolling in. While at the cottage, we packed up and decided to go back to Nana and Papa's to see them instead of hanging out by ourselves in the rain. We had a great time in Eastham and packed in a lot of fun. The swan song vacation was a good one. I had to mark the moment of Chad leaving the cottage in case it was the last time ever.

We headed to Harwich to hang out with the Herolds on Friday where we lunched and beached...our favorite vacation activity.



The weather was not so great at the end of the week but we got to spend some time with Nana and Papa before heading home. Hey Cape Cod! Thanks for a great vacation!

The Story of Our Family

I was looking for a picture the other day and was combing through tons of photos on our computer and not having much luck finding the one I wanted. I knew I posted *the* photo to this blog so I came here to find it. I was reminded that my last post was two months ago. Eek! It also reminded me that this is a fun history of our family. I love to take photos (and they are great to have too) but the details written here are things I may not remember years from now. That said, you may see me back saving entries so they go in chronological order... but stick with me while I catch up with the story of our family.

(Written on October 19, 2012)

We Are Maine-iacs

We are about to embark on another Perusse Family Vacation and I haven’t even posted photos from the last one yet! Sheesh. We had a fantastic vacation at Auntie Sheila and Uncle Bob’s place (aka the Vaudreuil Vacation Villa). I’ve been telling everyone that we came back home rested and relaxed which isn’t easy to accomplish with our gang of little people and one large animal.

I can’t say we did much other than hang out on the beach but I think that was the best part of the vacation. We did bring the kids to see a “real-life” lighthouse. Marin kept asking where the lighthouse was. When I told her she was looking at it and she said “No. That's a castle!” We went to Perkins Cove to see the drawbridge and watch the boats come home for the night.

Katie was so excited when she, Chad and Marin spotted a seal on the beach. We learned that it’s a common occurrence for a mother seal to beach her baby while she found food (Phew. No animal rescue crew needed). We ate lobsters and steamers, enjoyed starfish cookies, took long walks with Abby in the morning, enjoyed the evening light before bed, slept the night away to the tune of roaring waves and were treated to some hometown fireworks, too. Grammie and Auntie Sheila were with us the first half of the week and it was great to relax and unwind with them.

Thanks to my recent phone upgrade, I experimented with Instagram. Here are some shots that I took with my phone so we can remember our 2012 Maine vacation.