Plymouth Pilgrimage

Stuffed with turkey we headed to Plymouth, MA and the Plimouth Plantation where they have a big Plymouth recreation, similar to Jamestown and Willamsburg, complete with role-players of all the people who originally came across on the Mayflower.

The Quinn Family Pilgrims

 The Village

 One of the role players, Mr. Samuel Fuller. He was the ancestor of one of the people we were with.

 Another role player, I don't remember her character name, and no one was related to her. We did get to talk to one of Sharon's ancestors, John Billington, Jr. I didn't get a picture of him though. He had some good stories and explanation as to why no one really like his father, John Billington, Sr. who was apparently the first colonists to be hanged. The role players were role playing as if it was 7 years after the landing of the Mayflower and the hanging hadn't happened yet so the son was quite taken aback by the questioning of his father being hanged.

 Sharon and Amber in the village.

 The girls sight land on after months aboard the Mayflower (II recreation)

 Ira being cute.

 Plymoth Rock, supposedly engraved when they landed, but no one mentioned it until 120 yrs later. It wasn't even in the first governors notes and he had some pretty detailed notes about what happened.

 Proof we were there.

 Mayflower II at sunset.

We even had time to swing by a light house near Cape Cod. We are already planning our return to see more of them.

Boston Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is the best time of year. It's a time of

 Playing Games, Ira playing his favorite new game with mom.

Being with friends and family. Amber,thanks for a great Thanksgiving.

Giving thanks; I'm so Thankful for a beautiful family.

I'm thankful for an adventurous son who love to explore.

A time for feasting on, and giving thanks for, ...

Casseroles,

Vegetables,

Turkey and Potatoes, 

and all other steaming and delicious food. 

Happy Thanksgiving, Eat Responsibly.

November

Hey Everyone,
 Here’s the update on life as Quinns in Connecticut.
   

Ira:  He is the light of our lives….and lots of work.  The past couple of days he’s learned all sorts of new tricks.  Climbing, yesterday he got out a mixing bowl and stood on top of it. He also climbed on top of Anthony to get to the long yearned for door knob.

                                                          Let the climbing phase begin!  
He’s also just figured out that he doesn’t have to swallow food.  If he doesn’t like it, he can spit it out.  But if I’m quick enough, I’ll catch it with the spoon and re-feed it to him.  So appetizing.   He’s also really loved turning pages of books lately. 

Sharon:  For those of you who don’t know, my birthday present was an oil painting class that was held once a week for two months.  Now that it’s over, I’m trying to keep in the habit of painting and getting a little social contact.  So, I found a friend to paint with…which will work as long as her toddler doesn’t scratch out Ira’s eyes.  I’m thinking "pack and play" protective cage next time.   I’ve been busy baking and sewing, reading and painting, playing with Ira and preparing Sunday school lessons.  Our primary presentation was Sunday, which is a relief to have over.  I’m looking forward to not being the reverence task force any more. A few weeks ago, I spent a lot of my time playing Hide and Seek with Ira.  Here's some clips.  I wanted to add a song so you couldn't hear my annoying voice, but you'd miss the cute pitter patter of Ira crawling around.  

Anthony:  Is such a cute dad.  Often, I’m feeding Ira when he gets home.  As soon as Ira hears the door, he turns around waiting for Ant to make his way up the stairs, and then kind of jumps up and down in his seat when Ant makes his entrance.   Work is going well.  It’s nice that he can work from home when he needs to.  He got a stomach bug last Sunday and was able to work from home the next day without any problem.

So, that’s pretty much life.  We’re getting excited and ready for our trip to Boston to visit an old room-mate.  We’ll cook and eat, visit Plymouth, and explore Cape Cod.   I can’t wait!  Love you guys.  You’re in our thoughts and prayers as always.  Mom and Dad, your Christmas card makes me smile every time I look at it...which is often.
                Lots of Love,

  Sharon

Birthday Fun

My work observed Veterns Day today so I felt like I had a real birthday for the first time in a long time. I appreciate the birthday wishes from everyone, thanks.

I got a new camera lens and thought I would share some of the photos I took of Ira as I was adjusting to it.

It was a beautiful day today so we headed to the park to play with the new camera lens and the new Aussie Football (Footy) I got from Sharon. Footy is another variation of football that resembles a mix of Rugby, Gaelic Football, Soccer, and American Football. I won't bore you with all the details, but if you're interested you should check out some videos on youtube. I discovered it doing some research this summer on all the different kinds of football with the World Cup happening. I stumbled on it as the season was starting in Australia and kind of got into it. Anyway, I've been wanting to play, or try at least, and Sharon was nice enough to do some research and find a place to buy a ball.

Ira really liked the ball. Sharon and I had been playing for a bit and he started to get fussy so we went to give him some attention and play with him, but when we got there all he really wanted was the ball. It was cute.

I've got some work to do, but now I have a ball all I need to do is round up some people to play with.

We went out to dinner at a little Brazilian Cafe, Minas Carne, we've been wanting to check out. It's always nice to get some beans and rice Brazilian style, not to mention some meat fresh out of the Churrasco. Ira apparently really like it and the Brazilian guy working the counter really liked Ira back.

Happy Halloween

 Halloween is such a scary time of year! and a fun time. This year was full of fun activities. We went to our church Halloween Party where Sharon's youth class hosted an awesome 'Blind Man's Cave' that all the kids enjoyed.

 We decided to try out a fancy pumpkin carving kit this year. I have to say they turned out pretty good compared to past years.

And what is Halloween with out a fun, cute, and delicious costume for the little one.

I was surprised Ira didn't mind the hat. He seems to be a hat kind of kid.

Family Fall Visit

Grandma and Grandpa Quinn came and visited a few weeks ago. We had a lot of fun showing them around the area, especially with the fall colors starting to emerge.

Kent Falls with the family

 While I was working on Friday Sharon took the family apple picking. Yum.

 We made a random last minute stop at this old machinery museum. Kind of random, but they had a lot of old trucks. My grandpa's would have loved this place.

 The fall colors have been wonderful this year, especially when the sun comes out.

 Ira loved seeing Grandma and Grandpa

Ira's starting to figure out he's dad is kind of crazy.

We did a bunch of hiking and Ira spent a lot of time in the backpack chill'n. He was a good sport about it.

Child Plumber

I'm happy to help you out mom, let me get in here and take a look.