OCTOBER - DLP's 80th Birthday

The only thing David Phillips wanted for his 80^th birthday was a photo of all of his grandkids together. And the only way to accomplish this was to have a family reunion of sorts. There have been plenty of family gatherings in recent years, but Eben and I have found it difficult to travel across country for these with three young children. But – this was the time to do it. Marleigh found a lovely (and large) rental house in New Hampshire’s White Mountains and we spent a long October weekend up there together. It was in an area (near Loon & Attatash) that they used to go to as children and the four Phillips siblings had fun reminiscing. It is also a gorgeous time of year to be in that area, “green & gold” weekend and the fall foliage was spectacular from the Kancamangus Highway. But mostly, this was about catching up with family and letting the cousins have a chance to get to know each other and form connections.

 

 

We left Friday morning on JetBlue and actually had a really great flight. The kids loved being able to watch a movie on their own screens. Traveling with kids ages 5/8/10 is way easier than it was when they were younger and the four-and-a-half hours flew by. We landed in Boston at 7:30 pm, rented a car, and drove three hours north to Woodstock, New Hampshire. Lucky for us, most of the family stayed up to greet us and we enjoyed a nice late evening chat by the woodstove in a cozy great room and a glass of white wine.

On Saturday, we had a slow morning. Marleigh and I went for a walk to explore the area and found a lovely spot on the river with wide, flat rocks and beautiful fall color in the valley on either sides. It was great to listen to her and find out what her life is like these days. The kids started exploring the property and especially liked being near the beautiful, cascading brook that was quite active despite the time of year. After lunch we drove to Attatash ski area. It boasts summer activities that were just wrapping up for the year – including an “alpine slide,” a “mountain coaster,” mountain biking, slack lining, and more. The siblings grew up doing the alpine slide, so we had to give that a try. It was a lot of fun whizzing down the mountain in the hard plastic channel, but also really surprising more (any?!) protective gear was required. On his final run, Eben ended up taking a corner too fast and fell off the track – hurting his shoulder and elbow in the process. He went with Palmer to the ER for stiches in his elbow. Not good! Everyone else made it unscathed, however, and it was just beautiful to be out and about on such a lovely weekend. We had a big, family dinner when we got home (thank you, Marleigh!) and relaxed together. The kids stuck together and played downstairs in the large rec room. It was great seeing how the older cousins included the younger ones.

 

 

 

 Driving to Attatash for the alpine slides.

 

 

 

Eben and Palmer also managed to track down their influential swim coach, Peter Theriault!

 Charlotte is so excited to pose with her big cousin, Lily while they were doing a team scavenger hunt that Marleigh set up.

On Sunday, we had another lazy morning, followed by a family photo shoot frenzy at noon. Getting 20 people ready for pictures takes awhile and can’t be rushed. Marleigh found a few great spots in the yard for the pictures and Carolyn had prepared some cute chalkboards as props. Mostly we herded the grandkids from spot to spot for the cherished picture for Granddaddy David. Rakshan, being three, made it a bit challenging, but Palmer and Partap were unflappable and found ingenious ways to pop Rakshan into each pose long enough to get a few great shots. It was great that the rest of the grandkids held their poses and were ready when they needed to be. We also took some sibling shots and got a few possible family pictures for our Christmas card. Check, check! Sunday afternoon a group of us went on a local zipline course – thanks to Partap for giving me his ticket. I had fun swinging through the air and it made me push myself out of my comfort zone, for sure. I had to put on a brave face, though, in front of the teenage cousins and Eben’s siblings J. We had a big pizza dinner afterwards and then celebrated an early birthday for Granddaddy with singing, cake, and ice cream before unwinding together by the woodstove and the cousins on the Playstation downstairs.

On Monday it was time to pack up. We said our goodbyes and made plans to do another reunion in Washington, DC at Palmer and Partap’s house in four years’ time. We drove down to Swampscott and past Eben’s childhood home, then out to Marblehead for lunch at The Barnacle overlooking Marblehead Harbor. It was neat to watch the small boats come and go and to see the Marblehead Lighthouse (where Eben and I were engaged) and the Corinthean Yacht Club (where Eben grew up sailing/ swimming / and playing tennis every summer). The North Shore is very quaint this time of year, but I am glad to be living in Seattle. Eben dropped me at the airport Monday afternoon for my flight home. He’ll be staying on two more days with the kids, visiting his friends and spending more time with his family. Hopefully there won’t be any more stiches!