Family Life « UnSpoken Adventures

He we are!

Every summer the Underhill’s get together in Cataumet. It’s a beautiful little cape house that has been in the Underhill/ Downey family for generations. Jeff tells stories about his family history there. He’s been enjoying the cottage his whole life, as did the Underhills before him.

This year was particularly special. Sam & Sandy, Jeff’s parents, decided to throw us an Engagement Party on Tuesday, August 19th. They had hopes of us being married at The Cape during this time, or possibly being married BY this time, but we thoroughly enjoyed it as ‘just’ an engagement party. It would have been a lovely wedding celebration, but Jeff and I had been moving slowly with our wedding plans. There was catered food, a beautiful tent, drinks, a couple hours of biking around Otis, and many wonderful people. My family was there (with the exception of the Jones’s), Jeff’s family was there from VA and FL, and there were many local Catamaut folks who came to join in on the fun.

We had beautiful weather! Our mini vacation went from August 16th through the 20th and we had sunshine the whole time. There was some shopping, lobster dinner (for those that eat lobster), ice cream cake for all (although it was Jeff & Jenny’s birthday on the 18th), walking on the beach, biking, rollerblading, and crab hunting.

(Crab hunting was awesome!)

Crabs!

One afternoon- at low tide- my mom, dad, Jeff, the two dogs, and I went for a walk around the island. We walked along the shoreline and surprised hundreds of crabs! The photos may not do them justice but these little guys (and ladies) were SO funny. Little bodies with BIG claws. As they scattered across the beach we could hear them chattering; they were moving as fast as their little legs would carry them back into their holes in the sand.

Just a little crabby.

Walking around the island.

Everyone had a good time. The dogs loved the water and my parents (as well as Jen) enjoyed the change of pace. Allie was with us in spirit and in our hearts- sometimes literally. (I would stick her photo in my bra so we could take her out for photos.) 🙂

There’s Allie!

(She was there as we passed Papa Gino’s- her favorite childhood pizza place. I’m pretty sure that she loved that part the best.)

Jeff requested that his dad reserve us some (tennis) court time for he and Jen. I was pretty sure that Jen would kick Jeff’s butt… and she did! Clay courts were something I don’t think Jen had seen since high school. But she has always been quite the tennis star. She looked like a natural as she played. (Cause she is!) She has effortless returns and great serves. I had bought an inexpensive racket just so I could play. But, I wasn’t as gracious. (It must have been the racket.)

Sam in front of the courts

Jen in front of the courts & ready to kick butt!

The morning of the 19th was party morning! Jeff and I had a few friends coming to ride with us. Scott, Tom, and Aaron from Riverside; Phil Wong, our trainer for TransRockies; Matt O’Keefe; and Mike from the Chevy dealership. These were all individuals that live close enough to come for a few hours and with some connection to Jeff & Cannondale. Some people met us at the house and we rode to Otis, while a couple of people met us at the trailhead. About 15 minutes into the ride Scott was stung by a bee. Not a big deal for most, but since he’s allergic we made a quick ‘bee’ line back to the car. (Pun intended.)

Bad little bee!

He grabbed his epi pen, shoved it in his jersey pocket assuring us that he was ok, and we continued riding. The bees were everywhere! There were more bees than we had seen in a while. I wasn’t stung, and neither was Jeff, but I think everyone else was. Scott was stung a second time on the head, so we bailed after riding for about an hour and a half and went back for food & beers. Beer apparently, makes bee stings better.

The tent was a beautiful circular shape with a flag at the top. Sam and Sandy had also reserved a second smaller tent, exactly as the first, which was for the drinks. The food was catered and delicious! We sat under the tent for Sam’s speech before we ate, and then after some people departed, we headed next door to the fire pit. It was a perfect evening. (We watched a few bunny’s hop by… and a fox on the hunt, sat star-gazing, and talked by the fire.)

Me & my mom. XO.

We will always have great memories of that day and our visit to The Cape in 2014. Another fun adventure with my wonderful family & soon-to-be Underhill family. XO.