all is quiet here and i’m loving this time of stillness. it’s quite relaxing. i’m on my aunt’s password protected everything laptop so the back and forward buttons have become my close friends. it makes it challenging and yet a strange kind of fun at the same time.

the little man, so skinny, ran around in his swim trunks chasing the seagulls. my dad and sisters waded into the sea laughing and watching others around them. my mom read her book on laura bush and my aunt sat soaking in all the sun she could. yes, this is family vacation to me. this is what i’ve grown up doing and this is what makes good memories. today we went to the north shore. thursday we’ll be going to the south shore — that’s where the big waves are.

we sat in the cafe last night. my dad was walking the streets of new york with the two youngest and the rest of us sat with our soda’s and appetizer’s, waiting for our sister’s turn to play. do you know how many terrible “musicians” there are here? there are so many trying to make it great, but if i had anything to do with them, i’d pick up their guitars, throw them in the trash, and tell them to try something else. yet at the same time, there was something very cool about the whole experience. you always hear about people coming to the city and trying to make it big, and well, i saw many of them last night. should i mention that when my sister got up there, told them that she was fifteen, and then played, they were all blown away? and we were just “wicked” proud.

we walked through an old town tonight. it reminded me a bit of cape cod. it really was quite adorable. we walked on the pier, ice cream cones in hand, talking about and remembering random lines from “You’ve Got Mail.” yes, it was perfectly lovely.

i can’t wait till gabriel is older. i’ll take him to see a movie and afterwards get an ice cream cone. i will buy him all the toys he wants. isn’t that what my aunts did for me? and then when bronwyn is older (and if their are anymore nieces) i’ll have all my pretty ladies over and we’ll have a girls day. i’ll take them shopping or out to eat. oh, being an aunt is so very much fun.