Adjusting to life in Marblehead.

Posted by: Sherry 

Yesterday marked a week since our move and we are settling into our new apartment and town nicely. There is so much to see and do. So far we have been spending a lot of our time unpacking and organizing (bleh, I know). We took a trip to Ikea for some furniture and got a taste of the Boston traffic…not fun! I will definitely be using public transportation when I don’t need to transport a sofa and beds.

We got the boys officially enrolled in their new school. They’ll be going to the Glover School in Marblehead, which we’ve been told is a really great school. The Glover School building is actually under construction this year, so they will be going to Glover@Village (they combined Glover with another school in the district, The Village School). When we went to register them, we got to see a bit of the school and the boys’ reaction was that it “was very fancy”. It is a really neat building, I think they will be happy there. They’re both really excited to start, their first day is September 4th.

Friday night we ended the busy week with ice cream on the beach. Devereaux Beach has a nice little food hut right by the water with more food than you could imagine - fried clams, veggie sandwiches, fries, burgers and a ton more options. We went for the ice cream - delicious! The kids made some friends on the beach and ran around with them for awhile while we relaxed. Then Saturday I woke up at 5am and decided to head to Chandler Hovey Park while the kids and Stephen slept. I was greeted with the view above and I actually pinched myself to make sure I wasn’t dreaming.

This town is so perfect for us. It is a very chill lifestyle, and everyone is just so happy. It is very outdoors centered (biking, hiking, beach-going), which is just what we were looking for since we are such an active family. It is a definite walking town, and there is a ton to do within walking distance from our apartment. There is also a strong sense of community, which is something that was very important to me and something our old town really lacked. I found a local beach conservation volunteer group and plan on getting involved with them and meeting fellow ocean lovers and hopefully making some new friends. The boys have already found a few new friends. There are two boys on our street, just a few houses down named Aiden and Connor who are also 7 & 8. Their mom is also super nice, she’s been very helpful with helping us get info on baseball teams in the area (for Stephen Jr) and the local theater that has acting classes (for Alex). I just need to find gymnastics classes for Lizze, which I am sure the local YMCA has. She’s really into tumbling right now so I think she’d enjoy it and give her a chance to make some new friends too :)

Hello, Marblehead!

Posted by: Stephen Sr

Well we are finally here, the u-haul is unloaded and the unpacking begins. There are certain things that are going to take a while to get used to. For starters, the New England accent. I could hardly understand what the gentleman at the grocery store said as he was directing me to the aisle with plastic forks. Second, the lack of a fence around the yard. It was real nice to be able to let the dog out whenever he scratched at the door. How we actually need to hook him to a leash and take a stroll around the block, at least there is extra exercise involved. (However, having to pick-up the fecal matter with a plastic bag is kind of a downer.) The roads up here are, shale we say, a cluster f***. I think I could live here for 15 years and still get lost, there is no rhyme or reason to half the roads here. What I find to be amazing though is how much this place feels like home. Sherry and I were discussing this evening how she feels like this is a vacation, but I don’t feel that way. I feel like this is where I belong, like this is home. Maybe my thoughts will change when snow starts to fall in a few months, but right now this feels right. I am heading into my classroom this week to begin set-up, I will be sure to post pictures of my progress. 

- Much Love from Marblehead

Here we go!

Two years ago we took a family vacation to Salem, Massachusetts and felt like we had finally found our spot in the world. It’s been a long and exhausting road to get here, but this Saturday we make the big trip from Pennsylvania to Massachusetts! We are so excited for this next step in our lives and can’t wait to share our family adventures with everyone!