Gloucester, MA

Last week, we called this pretty house home, along with Mike's parents and his three siblings and their families. There were 22 of us all together. We were in town to help Mike's Granddad celebrate his 90th birthday. Unfortunately, Granddad ended up having surgery the day we flew into town. So no party, but we had a nice visit with him in the hospital and lots of fun all together in the house playing games, or tennis, or just talking late into the night. We were right near the ocean in Gloucester, Massachusetts. Here are a few pictures from our week:

This rocky beach was a quick walk from our front door. I couldn't believe how dark blue the water was. It was so pretty. Mabel and Oliver spent lots of time here climbing the rocks and looking for shells.

We found a "sandy" beach a little farther down the road. Mike and Oliver even braved the 60 degree water and went for a swim.

The walk home was along this beautiful tree-lined road. So different from the beaches I am used to in Southern California. I'm sure the winters in Gloucester are tough, but goodness, their summers are lovely.

Stella and Elliot are surrounded by cousins on Mike's side, lucky kids. They had a great week together. We all had matching shirts, but these girls even had matching hot pink shorts. Totally unplanned, but so much fun.

Oh, the ice cream! New England knows how to do it right. My goal for the week was to eat as many humongous ice cream cones as I could. And I did.

On our last morning there, I took one final walk in the ocean air. Look at that view! Thank you, Susan and Steve for taking us! We had the best time. And dear Granddad, please get well soon.

p.s. All of a sudden this dry desert heat doesn't seem quite so bearable anymore. Blah.