Photo Blogging Challenge – Give Thanks

The Photo Blogging Challenge prompt for November was “Give Thanks”.

Boy, do I have a lot to be thankful for.

This made me tear up when it came home with my daughter’s art from preschool

Let’s start with my daughter, Elise.

I was having Elise developmentally tested & we got an Autism diagnosis 2 weeks ago.

I’m really happy to have a name for the difference I see between my daughter and her 4 year old peers.

I’m also super lucky to already have a great group of Autistic friends – all thriving as adults. Positive is my only reference point!

I’m thankful for family!

My brother has been overseas for work (Qatar and Greece) so it was wonderful to see him on Thanksgiving.

Elise is obsessed with dinosaurs. Dave flipped each page and asked Elise to tell him the dinosaurs. I have cute video too.

Mass Audubon Wildlife Sanctuary on Cape Cod

I’m thankful for Mass Audubon Wildlife Sanctuaries and that our family was gifted a membership from Grandma on Dad’s side.

Our family of 3 can often be found exploring Mass Audubon sites on the weekends.

Barry Clifford – treasure hunter & historian

I’m thankful for the kindness of strangers.

A few weeks ago, my family and my in laws visited the Whydah Pirate Museum on Cape Cod. (The museum is very worth it and I recommend it.)

The museum goes over the history of the ship “Whydah” from origin until today – a wreck of Cape Cod that’s actively being searched for historical items.

Barry Clifford is the explorer who found the Whydah wreck.

Barry is also the man in the photo above. He was at the museum the day we visited and noticed my daughter investigating the cannons. While Elise was talking to Grandma, he hid 2 plastic coins in 2 different cannons for my daughter to find!

I cried tears of joy. Here I was worried Elise was getting bored and his kindness made my day.

Finally, I’m thankful for the beauty of New England nature – especially on Cape Cod.

You can find our family on Cape Cod at least 1 weekend a month, if not more. (My in-laws live mid-cape.)

Did you enjoy my photos? Looking forward to seeing what everyone else is thankful for – and their creative photos.

October Photo Blogging Challenge – Get out and play

Posted by Getting Fit In MA

How did October fly by?

My job is nonprofit fundraising and we’re about to head into the busiest season of donations in the whole year. (Good busy!)

The October Photo Blogging Challenge is “Get out and play!“

October with a nearly 4 year old has us appreciating play. I have a wealth of photos to choose from that would fit the theme. The hard part is picking 5.

We celebrated cousin Georgette’s 3rd birthday at a park in Walpole. I was extremely impressed by all the ride on toys at the playground for kids to use. Elise tried out a few.

My daughter finds play everywhere. She loves arranging shells when we visit her grandparents who live on Cape Cod.

On the Cape, the town of Chatham hosts “Pumpkin People in the Park” every October.

The displays are always wonderful, but not usually interactive like 2 were this year.

Above, my daughter attempts a “pumpkin push up”

You don’t need any event to play. Here’s my daughter enjoying running on the beach. Later in the day she pretended she was rescuing sea turtle eggs and some adults turned to look. I whispered “they’re imaginary” and the adults smiled and walked on.

This last picture was in Dorchester at the Pumpkin Parade.

After a fun night of trick or treating and seeing family who were volunteering – Elise and Daddy walk back to the car. I liked her light up shoes and glow bracelet adding to this one.

So there you have my 5 photos.

Looking forward to seeing the other posts from those in the photo blogging challenge.

Photo Blogging Challenge – It’s Your World

Posted by Getting Fit In MA

The theme for September’s photo blogging challenge was “It’s Your World”

September is National Service Dog Month.

Since I work in fundraising for a nonprofit that trains service dogs for the Deaf and Autistic, I hosted a few “Barks and Brews” fundraisers at local breweries.

I walk by this fountain often, about a 5 minute walk from my home.

On Smithsonian Free Museum Day my family visited the Rhode Island Audubon. There’s a nice museum on the natural environment and then miles of beautiful walking trails.

I’m a huge fan of the Quincy Farmers Market & I helped plan their 40th anniversary celebration.

The 40th anniversary celebration for Quincy Farmers Market was on the USS Salem and it was a lobster clambake. The food was amazing and the company quite fun.

So there’s a glimpse into what “my world” looked like in September.

Looking forward to seeing everyone else’s photos.

Photo Blogging Challenge – Adventure

Posted by Getting Fit In MA

I’m late again for the Photo Blogging Challenge, but here’s August’s “Adventure“

I started a new job in August, and that’s an adventure I’m adoring.

I’m the northeast fundraising manager for Dogs for Better Lives. They train service dogs for the Deaf and Autistic.

My family and I went to the first annual Cape Cod Pirate Festival and it was so much fun

I liked this library display about Cape Cod, one of our favorite adventure spots

Space bunny at her first Chatham Band concert

Better late than never! Hope you enjoyed my photos!

Photo Blogging Challenge – Happy

Posted by Getting Fit In MA

The theme for the July photo blogging challenge was “Happy”

Boy do I have a lot of options to choose from with July photos!

In non photo news, I have a new job fundraising for an organization who trains service dogs for Deaf adults and Autistic children. I’m 2 weeks into the job and am loving it, but that delayed blogging. Oops.

Fried clams after walking on Wollaston Beach make me happy!

This is the toy my daughter got for registering for the kids summer reading challenge

Dandy Lion made both me & my daughter happy.

On July 4th weekend we went to the Springfield Museum complex – all 3 of us were happy
Here’s my daughter building in the Dr. Seuss Museum

Street art makes me happy
I discovered this mural in Quincy, MA when I was walking to the farmers market

My family went to the Barnstable County Fair and the only reason I wanted to go was to see the dog show! It made me so happy.

So there are my July submissions with 1 bonus photo.

Looking forward to seeing everyone else’s photo challenge posts & hopefully being more timely in September with my August photo post.

Photo Blogging Challenge Spring Has Sprung

Posted by Getting Fit In MA

The theme for the May photo blogging challenge was “Spring Has Sprung“

I have a bunch of options for this post but let me start with what consumed my May: planning Quincy Pride Festival.

We had one month only from getting city approval to hosting the Quincy Pride Festival (on Sunday last week). The hard work was worth it and it was a wonderful event.

Here’s a rainbow heart Quincy Pride board (myself included) set up in Quincy Center on May 31st

Spring in New England still has rain – so my daughter made the most of it puddle jumping

Quincy, MA is beautiful and I got this photo on a walk downtown – in a historic cemetery.
I just love the blooming tree!

Spring means a bunch of baby goats at this farm in MA

Spring in MA brings some days perfect for patio dining. I enjoyed my mule at Rozafa.

There you go on my photos.

Looking forward to seeing everyone else’s and snapping away for the June theme “DIY”

Photo Blogging Challenge – Eight

Posted by Getting Fit In MA

The March photo blogging challenge was “eight“.

It’s celebrating the 8th anniversary of the photo blogging challenge.

There’s a restaurant called “Old Mill” that has birds in the pond. I lucked into a photo with 8 birds in it.

My 3 year old daughter loves her magna tiles. She made this and I proudly took a photo.

I love this photo from the Franklin Park Zoo. I get 8 from the 3 children watching 5 chickens. My daughter is the one farthest from the camera.

*8 cupcakes with light green jelly beans*

My sister in law baked cupcakes for St. Patrick’s Day

This photo is my favorite that I got for this challenge and it’s actually the first one I took in March. My daughter and I were walking in Quincy and I spotted the rock.

Photo Blogging Challenge – Change and Hope

Posted by Getting Fit In MA

The January photo blogging challenge was change and hope

There’s a saying in MA, “If you don’t like the weather, wait a minute”. The weather is changing constantly.

Here are some pretty photos of cloudy sky outside my balcony window

And of course, an expected weather change in MA in January – snow

In clear but cold weather, I took my daughter for a walk to the city common. We happened to see a couple and their family walking to City Hall to be married – boy did that fill me with hope!

You know what else gives me hope? Quincy has a free COVID-19 testing & vaccination site!

In January, I was tested for COVID-19 and thankfully it was negative. (My toddler daughter just shared a bug with me.)

I hope that those participating in this challenge had a restful and healthy January. Happy new year and on to 2021!

Photo Blogging Challenge – Thankful

Posted by Getting Fit In MA

The November photo blogging challenge was “Thankful“

This was actually a month of photo taking that I had too many to choose from!

Despite the pandemic, I’m thankful that we’re still able to safely enjoy outdoor activities with our toddler

This was written as we left the Blue Hills Trailside Museum

Looking at an emu at a zoo in North Attleboro

Every once in a while I remember to get myself in the photo, so here’s a selfie I enjoy

I’m also very thankful for our family!

This photo was taken on Thanksgiving

Here’s a bonus because I still can’t believe I caught it without trying. I was at an online fundraiser for The Samfund that had Tig Notaro as a speaker. Look what I caught when I excitedly taking a photo of Tig! (My name on the thank you donors scroll)