Seven Friarys

St. Maarten Video

Published on July 26, 2013August 1, 2013 by 7friarys1 Comment

As I’ve said before, I am addicted to Vimeo! Enjoy!

Hiking

Published on July 25, 2013August 1, 2013 by 7friarys2 Comments

Jon and I started walking and hiking back in March. Every week my friend Kristen and I would send each other pictures of our hikes. She motivated me to workout all spring. So it’s only natural that I thought of her many times during my hike in St. Maarten. I can’t wait to show her these pictures:

A view of the hill from my room:

My St. Maarten Favorites

Published on July 24, 2013August 1, 2013 by 7friarysLeave a comment

This trip was my 4th time in St. Maarten. Over the last couple of trips we definitely developed some favorite spots.

Rima’s is our favorite “junk” store. We were very sad to hear that it’s closing at the end of August. We had to stop in one more time before we left to get some more bargains :

My favorite spot to have dinner is at the Lolos. The view is quite beautiful too:

The ice cream at The Carousel is out of this world delicious! We had to stop there a few times too!

Sunset Bar is a FUN place to go and watch the planes! The frozen margaritas are an extra treat:

This was the first time we went to Mullet Bay Beach and it was AMAZING! There were hundreds of fish swimming around us! The kids had a blast feeding them bread. Well everyone except Emma. She was a little freaked out about it. There were stingrays swimming around us too!

Snorkeling is Chloe’s new favorite thing to do:

Relaxing on the deck and taking in some of the views:

No matter where we go or what we do as long as I’m with them it’s one of my favorite spots in the world:

Travel Day

Published on July 23, 2013July 23, 2013 by 7friarysLeave a comment

I’m really lucky that my kids are good travelers. We woke up at 2:30 am to go to the airport and look how happy she is:

Jon did help entertain her in Puerto Rico:

Almost there:

First steps in the Caribbean Ocean:

On our deck getting ready to swim:

We had a slight delay in Puerto Rico which made a long layover even longer but it was a really good travel day. After enjoying their first swim we went back to grill some hamburgers. Everyone went to bed early, excited for what the week would bring. I took over 600 pictures and lots of videos that I plan on sharing this week.

Back From Vacation…

Published on July 22, 2013August 1, 2013 by 7friarysLeave a comment

…..and I’m drowning in a sea of laundry.

Our Town’s 4th of July Celebration

Published on July 7, 2013August 1, 2013 by 7friarysLeave a comment

About a month before we moved to town I heard what a big deal the 4th of July is around here. There’s a big parade, a town cookout and then a big fireworks show. I remember wanting to rent a hotel up here so we wouldn’t miss it. Unfortunately we had other plans that weekend and had to wait an entire year to participate in the fun. For the last 6 years we have sat in the same spot at the parade with the same group of people. The girls have such a great time! Every year I take tons of pictures of these kids all sitting on the sidewalk waiting for the parade to begin. There were a few families missing this year but we still had a great time. After the parade we came home to swim for a few hours, it was SO hot out there! Then we headed over to a friend’s house for a cookout and waited for the fireworks show.

Lucy and her parade candy bag:

Waiting for the parade to begin:

Lucy with her dancing partner and idol, Allie:

Doing the locomotion with her friends:

Until next year:

4th of July

Published on July 6, 2013July 6, 2013 by 7friarysLeave a comment

The 6 of us ended up spending the day at home this year. And what a great day it was! Jon and I spent the entire day in the pool playing with the girls. Emma had to work for a couple of hours in the late afternoon but once she got home we made s’mores in the driveway and hung out outside again until the mosquitos got too much to handle.

Summer moments are the best!

Recent iPhone Photos

Published on July 2, 2013August 1, 2013 by 7friarysLeave a comment

It’s been a while since I’ve posted my iPhone photos.

I just LOVE a counter full of fresh fruits and veggies!

Thirteen

Published on July 1, 2013 by 7friarysLeave a comment

Miss Megan turned 13 on Saturday. Every time I would take the girls ANYWHERE when they were little people would love to tease me about the teenage years. I don’t expect the teenage years to be perfect but so far so good 🙂 I love you Megan! I hope all of your birthday wishes come true!

Last Day of School

Published on June 28, 2013 by 7friarysLeave a comment

Soon to be Senior in HIgh School!!

Soon to be 8th Grader!!

Soon to be 6th Grader!!

I can’t believe that today is the last day of school! Didn’t the girls just start? This has been the busiest and fastest year of my life!! From: field hockey, the musical, guitar lessons, tennis, lacrosse, chorus concerts, traveling, holidays, parties, sleepovers and hanging out with friends. To: the every day things like homework, appointments, chores, errands and everything else that comes with being a stay at home mom. I got to spend time enjoying the last year of that 4 year old goodness I always talk about. We spent a lot of time working in workbooks, going on “field trips” and learning most of what she needs to enter kindergarten confident in the fall. Jon travelled a lot which meant most of this fell on me and I loved every second of it! I love the chaos of raising a large family. It was exhausting and exhilarating at the same time! I don’t expect my summer to be relaxing, we have a ton of fun things planned! I look forward to the summer chaos!! It’s been really fun watching the girls grow and change over the last year. Recording all of this on the blog this year has taught me to slow down a bit and enjoy each of these moments. Happy Summer!