The One With the Year in Review

 

 

2025 has been a pretty incredible year filled with memorable events for the family. I decided to add a list of what we did this year. It is pretty impressive (the number in parenthesis tells what number event it was for the whole family):

 

 

 

January 4 – Nickel Boys

Jan 12 – Celtics (They lost ugly) and Harp restaurant

Jan 17 – DWTS (Wang)

Jan 18 – Winter Guard Salem

Jan 25 – Winter Guard Eval

Jan 31 – Murray Stand Up 

Feb 1 – Ice Cream for Breakfast Day

Feb 2 – A Complete Unknown (Emmie/Chiff)

Feb 7- Salve Regina/Newport

Feb 8 – Winter Guard. (Melrose) -10-

Feb 14 – new Captain America

Feb 16 – Oscar Nominated Shorts (Salem)

Feb 17 – I am Still Here movie (with Chiff)

Feb 18 NH – Red Fox

Feb 19 NH – Skimobiling, Sleighride as Nestlebrook

Feb 20 NH – return to Zebs for first time since precovid (2020)

Feb 21 – Bri and Emmie to Endicott College Day

Feb 22 – Leslie’s Retreat reneactmant 9:30 to 11:20 (dad)

Feb 23 – Wicked

Feb 28 – Sal Vulcano comedy in Portant (dad and Chiff). 20

March 8 – Winter Guard. (Salem)

March 9 - Mickey 17 (Chiff and Dad)

March 21 - KMS Musical Little Mermaid/ Emmie and Chiff see Novacaine

March 22– Winter Guard. (New Bedford)

March 23 - KMS Music Little Mermaid

March 26 - MICCA Preview show

MARCH 27 - THE Black Bag (movie - Emmie, Kiff, Me)

March 29 – Winter Guard Finals (Salem)

April 5 – MICCA FEST

April 9 - BRI Visit to Umass (30)

April 19 - Holiday Party our house

April 21 - Harry Potter exhibit

 

April 23 - NYC Got in during the late afternoon…went to Carmines

April 24 - NYC Got breakfast at Juniors, Broadway Museum (attempted Harry Potter, but it got canceled)

April 25 - NYC Statue of Liberty Express, at supper at Planet Hollywood, saw Stranger Things Play, got cheesecake at Juniors

April 27 - NYC Ate at Revel and Rye, ride home

May 2 - Sinners (the movie Danvers AMC)

May 3 - Natick Earth Days (Dad); DHS Pops Night

May 10 – Thunderbolts

May 11 - Mother’s Day - Ruth Chris’s  (40)

May 16 - Red Sox Game

May 17 - Bri 18th Party

May 18 - Recital Practice

May 21 - Academic Recognition Night (Bri 4 awards and Chiff 1 award)

May 22 - Bri Prom

May 25 - Emmie and Kiff to Friendship (movie); Kiff got his license

May 26 – Memorial Day Parade

May 27 - French Honor Society (Chiff makes it, Bri inducts him)

May 31 - Eric 17th birthday party 

June 1 – Mission Impossible 

June 7 - Bri’s graduation and Ruth Chris’s (50)

June 10 - Chiff Ensemble Night

June 11 - Weeknd Concert

June 12 - Grade 8 Dance

June 15 - Father’s Day - Nick and Andy’s, Museum of Science, Karate Kid Legends (awesome day)

June 17 - The Materialists movie (AMC Danvers)

June 19 - Uncle Jim and I visited Mom

June 22- Recital (Bri’s solo and last recital); Jimmy’s

June 27 - Museum of Fine Arts; Chiff NYFA debut

July 1 - F1 movie

July 4 - Horribles Parade; mini cookout

July 5 - Brigid's Grad Party

July 6-8 - Brighid UMASS Orientation with Dad

July 8, 2025 – Back to Future Boston (60)

July 11 - Superman (the 23rd anniversary of Emmie and Boo’s first date)

July 16 - Jurassic World (Emmie, Dad, Kiff), F1- Bri

July 18 - Eddington (Chiff and Dad)

July 22: Boston Swan Boats, Mikes, Union Oyster House, Greenway

July 23: NH Trip Hobby Lobby and IHop

July 24-25: Cape Cod Jaws 50th and Marshland

July 26 – Fantastic Four

July 30 - Cape Cod Hyannis Hotel

July 31  - Cape Cod Olivers beach

August 1 - Cape Cod Brax

August 8 - Freakier Friday (Emmie and Dad)

August 9 - Colin Jost  (awesome show at MGM Fenway) 70

August 10 - Fireworks (Bri at Danver, Emmie, Kiff, Dad at Beverly)

August 16 - Cape Cod Sunset

August 17- Provincetown

August 18- Mayflower Beach and Mini Golf and Black Cat

August 19 - Cape Cod

August 22 - Good Harbor Beach (swimming was canceled due to shark sightings…there were also rip currents from Hurricane Erin)

September 5: Caught Stealing (movie Kiff and Dad,  Emmie girls night out)

September 6: Coast to Cure

September 13: Apple Picking (all of us)

September 19: Football Game DHS (first home game of year …. a 34-32 win)

September 18: Emmie and Kiff went to see Big Bold Beautiful Journey

September 23: Kiff and Dad went to see The Long Walk

September 26: Football Game DHS (80)

September 27: NESBA Melrose

October 1: Emmie and Boo in Boston

October 4: NESBA North Reading

October 9: Brattel Theater - After the Hunt

October 10: Football Game DHS (also COlumbus Day)

October 11: Emmie 50 birthday - Roofman, Tony C’s

October 12: Emmie 50th birthday - Downton Abbey, Ruth Chris’s 

October 15: Emmie real 50th birthday - Sugar Factory and Ghost and Graveyard Trolley

October 19: If I had Legs I would Kick You (Dad and Kiff)

October 24: Football Game DHS

October 25: NESBA Reading (they came in first out of six teams)

November 1: Frankenstein the movie (Emmie, Kiff, me)  90

November 2: NESBA FInals Lawrence (they came in 3rd overall with highest score ever)

November 8: Veterans Day parade Boston

November 10: Screen Unseen - Eternity (Emmie, Kiff, me)

November 11: Veterans Day ceremony

November 20: Kiff and Dad - Sentimental Value, Emmie - Paint Night, Bri - Play

November 26: Celtics game

November 27: Thanksgiving Football Game

November 30: Beverly Parade

December 3: Band Banquet

December 4: Wreath Making (100)

December 8: Tri M Induction

December 13: Brown Family Christmas

December 14: Secret Agent meet director at Coolidge (Kiff and Dad)

December 17: DHS Winter Concert (Emmie, Bri, Kiff while Dad dealt with car)

December 20: Winter Solstice

December 23: Saturday Muppet Christmas Carol (Cabot)

December 25: Christmas

December 26: Marty Supreme

December 27: Visited with Mom as family with Mike, Mark, Carol

 

The One With the New Years Eve TV Episodes

 

 

 

To celebrate New Years Eve, we watched several New Years Eve TV Episodes, that center around New Years Eve. These include:

 

• Friends with the Dance - This is the one where Monica and Ross dance on Dick Clark's Rockin' New Years Eve.

• Friends with the Resolutions - This is the one where Ross wears leather pants and Rachel finds out about Chandler and Monica. 

• Mad About You New Year's Eve  - Where Paul films the final time the ball is lowered by people in NYC.

The One With Marty Supreme

 

 

We saw the movie Marty Supreme. And, boy was it interesting. I know it is getting a lot of good publicity, and people have raved about Timothy Chalamet.

 

But, I had to tell you that I was not fully satisfied with this movie. First, it has very little to do with Ping Pong (which, in retrospect, is probably a good thing).  However, it might have made this movie a little more interesting.

 

My key problem was that Marty Supreme was rather unlikable. He created his own problem, literally dropped giant turds in the lives of others, and make his own situation worse. By the end of the movie, though I was hoping for the best, I was VERY irritated with him. And, of course, the use of the Tears for Fears song "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" to wrap things up did not help.

 

Timothy Chalamet did put in a good performance - kudos to him. But I was hardly rooting for the guy by the end.  

The One With the Muppet Christmas Carol

 

We decided to usher in the actual start to Christmas vacation in a different way this year. We went to see a movie. But, not  just any movie - Emmie's beloved "Muppet Christmas Carol"

 Now, truth be told, sometimes it is exhausting being home on December 23, when that is the day you get out of school for vacation (as it has for me for more than 45 years, 32 teaching). However, when it is held at a cool theater like the Cabot, it is always fun. And the fact that it was $1.00 tickets was an added bonus.

We enjoyed the movie - though there were a lot of kids - and then went to AB Burgers after for some dinner. The nice part is the burger place only had a few people in it, so service was quick.

All in all, a great way to start vacation. 

  

The One With the Winter Solstice

 

 

 

 

We held our family winter solstice celebration today and had a lot of fun. In keeping with the day, we did:

 

1. The Sunrise Car ride to Beverly.

2. Got breakfast to go at home.

3. Made our Yodel Yule candles.

4. Went for a walk.

5. Put out food for animals on tree (it was a hit with birds and squirrels). We made apples with peanut butter and seed, put peanut butter on branches, made honey nut Cheerios hang down "ornaments" and put bread and peanut butter on there. I also put up older blueberries on ends of branches.

6.  Turned on all lights.

The One With the Secret Agent

 

 

Emmie got Kiff and I tickets to see the movie The Secret Agent at the Coolidge Theater. Ironically, it was a movie Kiff wanted to see - and had asked us to get tickets - but Emmie had already done that.

The movie was an interesting look at the era of a corrupt Brazilian government from the past. There is a dispute between a college professor and a business leader that leads the business leader to send assassins after the professor.

Although the movie was a bit slow to start as they built the characters, momentum grew and the movie was good...though long. And, it did have a bit of a sad ending.

However, after the movie, we had a chance to hear from the director, who had come to the Coolidge Theater to speak about the movie. He was an interesting fellow and shared a lot about his process as well as his own views on the actors.

Overall a great show! To add to the fun, it was snowing when we left.

 Gotta love December.

 

The One With the Brown Family Christmas

 

 

This Saturday, we hosted the annual Brown Family Christmas, a once regular tradition that seems to have been shuffled around a bit the past few years. A combo of Thanksgiving and Christmas, Emmie wanted to make sure we hosted time for family to be together.

 Now, we had hoped to have a larger soiree, but that was not meant to be because of people's schedules. However, Eric, Kristen and the gang, as well as Tony, were able to make it to the evening. We had lots of great snacks. Kiff made his spinach dip. Kristen had an amazing beer cheese. I can still taste it.

We had some ham, squash, and other veggies. And, we were able to have some great desserts as well. It was a great foray back into fun family frolics!  

The One With Tri M Inductions

 

 

On December 8, DHS Music Department hosted the annual Tri M honor society inductions. Similar to Bri two years ago, Kiff got inducted into the honor society for his music abilities.

As part of the induction, Kiff actually had a role in the opening ceremony. He applied to be an officer and was given the role of historian, which had been vacated by Bri when she left last year. So, it was cool to see the legacy pass from one sibling to another.

Kiff opted to perform a solo as part of his ceremony, which was great. There were light refreshments served, which was also cool. But the whole night was a treat and a wonderful celebration of the talent in the DHS community. 

The One With the 40th Anniversary of Stand By Me

 

 

 

One of Kiff's favorite movies is Stand By Me. It is the coming of age movie from the 1980s that we had Kiff (and Bri) watch one day shortly after we came back from a summer trip. Exactly what allure the movie had on Kiff initially is still unclear...however, all we know it has inspired him to love movies, movie making, and the concept of creating stories on the screen. It truly has been life changing for him.

 As a result, when Emmie and I saw an ad online that the three living boys were coming back together to tour the country and celebrate the 40th anniversary of the movie (it came out in 1986), we couldn't help but jump at the chance to get Kiff tickets for his birthday. And, when they released a chance to meet and take a picture with them, we definitely bit.

Little did we know what an amazing night we would have. We had the chance to watch the movie with a large crowd at Lynn Auditorium. The place was packed. It was clear that most people had seen the movie before, but many hadn't seen it in decades (including the gentleman next to me, who I chatted with a few times). As a result, it was an incredible shared experience. There were oohs at the leeches, fear when they were running away from the train, and somberness when they found the body.

However, the real treat was a Q and A session with Jerry O'Connell, Corey Feldman, and Wil Wheaton. They sat together, with a moderator, as well as an empty chair to remember River Phoenix, who they all clearly loved. He was their defacto leader. They shared some amazing stories and joked with each other...Jerry made fun of Corey's favorite movie experience, The Goonies, and then Corey joked about his flick Kangaroo Jack. We learned that Corey and Wil both had tough experiences growing up that helped them related to their characters. And, Wil actually has anxiety when speaking to others.

The experience was such a one-of-a-kind experience that it was hard not to be moved. It was clear that the experience meant a lot to them, too, because Corey took a picture of the crowd at the end (they stayed long after the time) and posted it on Facebook. I even commented on the post...and got a thumbs up by Corey :) If you look close (I posted it above) you will see me and the glare glinting on my glasses (what alliteration). Overall, such an amazing experience.

  

The One With Wreath Making

 

 

 

Emmie decided to sign us up for a fun holiday craft similar to one we did when the kids were young. Similar to that one, it involved using real evergreens to make decorations. This time, we were building wreaths.

 The activity was a blast. Similar to the one we did years ago, we made the wreaths at Endicott Park. This time. we made them with the Busheys, which made it even more fun. Getting used to fashioning the wreaths was a bit of a challenge. There was some maneuvering and writing. And, of course, there were efforts to balance out the small evergreen boughs...which was not my forte. I did have a slightly humorous wreath. But, I had a blast making it.

Emmie seemed to know a bunch of people there from school, which added to the fun. And, they served hot chocolate....and it was pretty good. 

 We celebrated with the Busheys after the wreath making, spending the night at the Berry Tavern, which always has some good food.  It was a great time with great company.

The One With the Band Banquet

 

 

This year, the Danvers Falcons Marching Band decided to do something a little bit different. They invited parents to the annual banquet. It is part of the new principal's idea of creating a larger community at school. And it was a success.

We spent some time in the auditorium where students got some awards. There were a few speeches. We also got the chance to see a neat slideshow, complete with Kiff's amazing leg balancing while standing on a chair, holding G's hand and playing his trumpet in the other moment.

The food and company after were great. It was a fun way to honor an amazing season!