Kilwin’s was calling out to us!  With temps in the low 50’s the last week of February, we ventured to Portsmouth to savor our favorite ice cream served in handmade waffle cones… the smell – when you walk in – is to die for.

Soooo goood.

Next up, we zipped north to Dover Bowl and hung out for three hours, playing just about every game in the house.  A fun time was had by all, including yours truly, when I won the Monster Jackpot of 1500 tickets!  It was my first time… you guys have done that before; I was a mere rookie.

Good times for the CAB trio!

Grammy and I have been busy going to your games… often 3-4 per weekend.  We go to nearly all of them, and enjoy every minute of it.  Your home games at Jackson’s Landing are C-O-L-D!!!

Midway through the season your team moved up to a more challenging level. You’re doing great playing right wing, making great passes, getting off good shots and protecting the puck.  The other day you got your first penalty… your Dad said “about time!”  Ha!

As if your Pee Wee 1 games weren’t keeping you busy enough, you also joined the Middle School team, playing hockey games in Massachusetts.  Your Dad is one of the coaches.

You’re a stick handling, pass making, goal protecting, puck shooting busy bee.

The 2016 holiday season was filled with wonderful experiences together including the annual Dover Christmas parade; Middle school concerts; a Christmas Eve get together at Surrey Lane; Christmas day at the Clickman’s (the Beaupre’s were in Maine this year); and a big day after celebration – all together – at 30 Shore Lane.

Thanksgiving 2016 was a day filled with fun, food, laughter and being together.  I even got a cream pie in the face, thanks to my buddy Camden!  I told him… “just remember, you don’t know when or where or how it will happen, but revenge will be mine.  You better sleep with one eye open!”

Great Gram’s real name is Etta Gwendolyn Buzzell St. Laurent (Buzzell was her maiden name).  She was married to Bernard “Nard” St. Laurent for 53 years.  She grew up in Dover, and he was a Somersworth boy.  They had four girls, Marcia, Nancy, Brenda and Karen (also known as your Grammy).  Her husband died in 1992 at the age of 73 (the same year my Dad died at the age of 67).

Over the past 24 years, Great Gram has lived on her own on Pinewood Drive in Somersworth. She does her laundry, cooks her own meals, goes grocery shopping, takes a daily shower and can hear a pin drop on the other side of a room (otherwise known as good hearing).  She’s still sharp as a tack, meaning mentally sharp… able to listen attentively, able to join a conversation and express herself in every way.

What makes this somewhat ordinary set of things extraordinary is the fact that she turned 98 years old October first.

98 years old! 

She’s been blessed with a loving family and very good health (she was only admitted to the hospital twice in her life besides giving birth to her daughters).  Most people (A) never live that long and (B) if they do, have lost their health, can’t hear, can’t walk, can’t talk, are in nursing homes, and aren’t mentally sharp.  Among other challenges!

Almost a century old, she was born in 1918, the same year World War I ended.  Woodrow Wilson was President, the Red Sox beat the Cubs in the World Series (they wouldn’t win again until 2004).   The average annual wage was $1500.00 (today it’s $50,000).  A house cost $4,820 (today it’s at least $300,000.00 for a decent house in the NH Seacoast).  A car cost $360.00 (today it’s $33,000.00).

Amazing huh?  Happy birthday Great Gram, you are living, breathing history!

Say what?!  Eleven years old, how can that be? Happy birthday Beaupre boy!

To celebrate, let’s spell C-A-M-D-E-N to spotlight cool things about you:

C= confident competitor –  you have the inner DNA-driven drive to do your best on the field, on the ice, pushing yourself hard to succeed, not backing down.

A= ambitious achievement –  you always have something on your agenda to do, to tackle. You’re a Renaissance kid, interested in all kinds of things, never satisfied to sit idly by.  Read the blog I wrote about me at 10 years old… I was just like you, interested in many different things, except I didn’t have your athletic ability!

M= Magnetic & messy – they don’t go together, but these are the two “M” words that come to mind when I think of you.  Magnetic because you’re a natural born leader, you burst into a room, you light it up with purpose and intensity.  Messy because this is a standing joke about you… form the time you were little you made a mess, especially while you are eating, so intense on what you’re doing that food flying around is always an afterthought.  You’re still like that, ha!   I love that about you, go for it dude@!

D= deliberate –  there’s an intensity about you that’s fascinating to watch.  You remind me of your Dad when he was young (he’s still that way), driven to be the best, always trying hard, nothing will stand in your way.

E=energetic & enthusiastic – you’re not the kind of kid who sits around much; you’d much rather be zipping around, doing your thing.  You bring passion to whatever you do, jumping in there with imagination and curiosity.   I love that about you.

N= namesake – you’re the keeper of the Beaupre flame, the one grandchild who will bear the torch of the next generation.  Be proud of being a Beaupre, and always represent our “brand” with honesty, integrity, kindness and purpose. I know you’ll leave your own lasting legacy behind.

Happy 11th Camden, love you!

Are you ready soccer players??!!??

It’s a new September, a new season and from the photos below you sure are READY to go!

It was a beautiful summer with a couple notable twists: the Clickman clan lived there from June 30 through August 15; it featured phenomenal weather with the longest stretch of sun and clear skies I can remember in our 20 years of owning the beach house.  We had our annual 4th of July party, there were sleepovers, lots of boogie boarding, yummy deck food grilling, drippy castle building, freeze pops; river and lake building and visits to the Scoop Deck.  Here’s a visual recap of July & August: