Archive | Walk RSS feed for this section

My 32nd Birthday

25 Sep

On the weekend of August 18th, I celebrated my third year in the 30s. For the day of Saturday, August 17th, I invited my brother Brian and his wife, my sister-in-law Amanda, my brother Keith and his girlfriend Malorie, and our friends Meghan and Phil Baker and Liv Fahey. We spent the day at my beach house in Marshfield to mark my new birthday.

The day started with my Uncle Chuck’s brother-in-law Syd visiting my house with his standard labradoodle, Kishka. I went with Syd and Kishka for a visit to the South River in Rexhame, a section of Marshfield, to play with Kishka and throw sticks to her in the river. Kishka enjoys retrieving sticks that are thrown in the water and is a very friendly dog. Brian and Amanda arrived after I returned from the marshes near the South River. Brian, Amanda, Keith and Malorie all enjoyed meeting Kishka and loved her friendly nature.

Soon not long after, our friend Liv Fahey arrived at the house. This was her first time visiting the house, so we gave a tour of the house. She greatly enjoyed all the rooms in the house and loved the design and decor of the place. We then all to the beach for some hours to relax there and we also talked about the latest activities going in our lives with my cousin Elizabeth and her father Larry. We also took some walks on the beach as the weather was comfortable outside, not too hot nor too chilly.

We then went back to the house and started having appetizers, including buffalo chicken calzone from Crow Point Pizzeria in Hingham. Meghan and Phil Baker then arrived. They were so happy to see me on my birthday weekend and talked about how excited they were about getting a new golden retriever puppy named Archie in the fall. For supper, we had steak and scallops as the main course because it goes well as foods for the summer season. We all enjoyed the meal and considered it to be one of the best dinners we’ve had so far.

It was then time for everyone to sing “Happy Birthday” and for the candles to be blown out. The cake was a chocolate mint cake from Sweetcakes in Marshfield. Chocolate mint is one of my favorite cake flavors and this cake was really delicious. The birthday cards were all dog themed since I am an avid fan of dogs. The gifts I received included a book with dog themed social media pics, gift cards to Dunkin’, Starbucks, Best Buy and Amazon and some new clothes for the year. It was a truly fun day at the house in Marshfield and I always enjoy having people down the house on weekends in mid-August for my birthday.

My 31st Birthday

13 Sep

Me and my 31st Birthday Cake

On August 18th, I entered the 31st year of my life. My birthday party was held at the recently renovated beach house of mine in Marshfield. The guests for the day consisted of my brother Brian and his wife Amanda, Amanda’s best friend Meghan Mahoney-Baker and her husband Phil and Amanda’s parents Lisa and Jim. This would mark the first time that Meg, Phil, Lisa and Jim had been inside the new summer home in its completed form. They were all so awed by the architecture and design of the exterior and interior of the house, including the outdoor decks and the bedrooms.

During the afternoon, I went with Brian, Amanda, Mom and Dad, Meg and Phil went to the beach. The weather was cloudy that day, but we managed to entertain with interesting stories about our lives in recent times. We also took a walk towards Beetle Rock, which is in the Rexhame Beach section of Marshfield. During our walk, we saw many cute dogs, including a mostly golden looking goldendoodle named Emma. Emma was so friendly and cute that I felt compelled to play with her for a few minutes.

Unfortunately, not too long thereafter, it started to rain, so we all head up to the house for the day. Lisa and Jim arrived at the house during the mid-afternoon. They were so delighted to see me on my birthday party, as I did love to see them and their family. Lisa and Jim gave me a nice Vineyard Vines shirt as a gift since I am a frequent shopper to the famous clothing store. Some other gifts I received consisted of a brand new watch and 21st Amendment beers from Brian and Amanda, Cisco Brewers beers and movie gift cards from Meg and Phil, an Amazon gift card from Mom and Dad, and a signed autographed poster of saxophonist Tim Cappello, who sang “I Still Believe” from The Lost Boys, from Brian’s close friend Rich Kei, who is living in Santa Monica. I had also received gifts from my brother Keith and his girlfriend Malorie earlier in the week, and from Aunt Noreen and her family and Uncle Larry the following day.

It was then time for the guests to have supper and sing “Happy Birthday” to me. The main course meal consisted of New England clam chowder and steak kabob sticks with vegetables and French bread alongside the steak. The cake was a delicious chocolate mint chip cake from the great local bakery in Marshfield called Veronica’s Sweetcakes. Chocolate mint cakes are some of my favorite types of cakes and was quite happy to see this cake from Sweetcakes. After the singing of “Happy Birthday” ended, I attempted to blow out the candles, only to realize that the candles were relightable. This provided a moment of levity and humor for the birthday occasion. The cake was a hit with everyone in the room.

Me with Dublin for my 31st birthday

The following Saturday, August 25th, I had an additional birthday party in which more people came down to Marshfield. These guests included Aunt Sheila and Uncle Bob and their children Siobhan, Tim, Ryan, Tim’s girlfriend Emily, my Aunt Noreen and her husband Chuck, and two of their sons, Henry and Luke, my grandmother and Aunt Kathy and Siobhan’s dog, a chocolate lab mix named Dublin. That Saturday was a such a beautiful day at the beach that I dove in the water a couple of times for a refreshing feel. I also went on a nice long walk with my relatives on the beach and I even got to see my cousins and Uncle Bob try the paddle board that Siobhan brought down to the beach.

After spending several hours on the beach, I headed up to my grandmother’s beach house, which is two houses up from mine, for the “Happy Birthday” wishes. That evening’s cake was a Dairy Queen ice cream cake that consisted of vanilla and chocolate flavors. I received even more gifts soon afterwards, including an online Amazon gift card from Uncle Sean and his wife Lynne, a Cheesecake Factory gift card from Aunt Sheila and her family and checks from Nana and Aunt Kathy. It was another memorable birthday in my life, and I hope to have see more birthdays like this in subsequent years.