Is it New Year's yet?

This is the most crazy but most fun filled time of the year and probably the only part of the winter that I enjoy. This year more than most though I have realized how hectic the season has become and how much more relaxing/ less stressful it would be to do less. I was shocked by the number of trips we had to make into the attic to retrieve all the decorations and am finding a conflict in our schedule more days than not. We have already decided that each child will get only three gifts under the tree this year including one from Santa and one being a joint family gift.  We picked names out of a hat for the kids and they will each give each other a special gift of something nice they will do for that person but they are still working on the ideas.  We are donating the gifts that they received from DJ's work holiday party. Of course they wanted to open them right then and there but have not asked about then since we decided to give them away.  The real eye opener for me was at the party last weekend one of the little cousins said to his mom that our playroom was better than the Target store. This was a real indication to me that they have way too much stuff and most of it goes unplayed with, only to be a constant source of material to be cleaned up. It is not that we buy them things often and almost never on a whim but just that having 4 kids and a large generous extended family makes the toys add up over the years. So one of my missions for this new year is to simplify things for all of us in both activities and in possessions that require our attention and care. For me this means continuing to purge closets, drawers and files and for the kids it will mean selecting favorite toys and both donating and tossing the remainder. I am also trying not to bring anything into the house that is not a consumable unless it is absolutely necessary. The kids are not totally on board yet but we will take baby steps. DJ grabbed a few library books about simplifying life with kids and there are tons of great ideas that I am going to start implementing. The other thing that we are working on curbing is TV time for DJ and the kids and computer time for mommy. (including recreational blogging) :-) My hope is that in making these steps we will be able to relax and enjoy our time together more and concentrate on some new outside interests.   One new fun thing that I am looking forward to learning this winter is ice fishing.  I found myself an all season fishing mentor and he is going to show me all the ropes or should I say lines this winter.  Should be fun,  I just need to break out the thermals and hope that I can take the cold!  I am also trying to put more time into a business idea that I have been tossing around for the last two years and that I finally have a workable game plan for. It is a long term project and I believe it will take several years to reach fruition but it should allow me to make my own hours and work in my field of interest. We shall see how it all works out but at the very least we will all have less to clean and more time in which to do it.


Happy Holidays to everyone and Best Wishes for a Great New Year!

We will eventually be getting our Christmas cards in the mail and my goal is to have them beat Santa's arrival. It might be a close call...

*I will add more pictures to this Holliday slideshow as time allows.

It's officially December

Our Christmas tree looks more chaotic each year.  Everyone wants to help and they all want to put their own special ornaments up and the traditional glass balls get left in the boxes.  Oh well, it still looks beautiful in a disorganized, random way!

Thanksgiving

We decided to spend the Thanksgiving holiday in Vermont and I think we may have the makings of a new tradition. We stayed in Newport a couple of years ago during Thanksgiving and that was enjoyable and the mansions were beautifully decorated but I think Vermont was even nicer. Things were hectic the previous week so we didn't end up leaving until Sunday and made the trip in an uneventful 6 hours. I was concerned at first that there might not be enough to do in the area this time of year and the kids would get restless. It turns out that there was so much to see and do that we could have easily spent an additional week there without skiing and still not have seen/done everything we wanted to. They had a great little water park and play zone at the resort and everyone was incredibly friendly. I was initially planning to go out for our Thanksgiving meal but once we were there and settled in, it just seemed like it would be more relaxing to cook in and spend the day at the resort. It was a little of an adventure in shopping to get the ingredients together for the Thanksgiving meal and it took a few stops at local stores to gather up all the fixings. As it turned out I forgot to buy sugar to make the cranberry sauce and didn't realize it until I was ready to make it. I had to improvise and use honey instead. The kids baulked at the idea at first but soon realized that it still was tasty and went as far as to ask me to prepare it that way next year. The one big downer about this trip was that DJ had a project due for work and ended up spending about 2 days on the laptop and phone in order to make the deadline. That left me to play lifeguard to the kids, which was no simple task when everyone wanted to be doing something different and they had no real lifeguards on duty. Personally, I think they should have someone on staff there at all times. I was shocked at how little some people watched their children in this potentially dangerous environment. The other bummer was that it was unseasonably warm when we arrived. This was perfect for hikes and sightseeing but not conducive to skiing. We will hit the slopes later in the season. We did get snow the day before we left that transformed the mountains and gave us a taste of the winter to come.

We arrived home with Christmas on our minds and in our ears from the holiday songs on the radio. We decided to pick out our Christmas tree early this year since the calendar was not looking friendly for the month of December. It has been trimmed and the house is decorated. Now it's time to add Christmas to the yard but we still have more leaves to rake.

Less than 24hrs on the job and Gavin has fixed our old elf on the shelf.

Raking leaves

An ongoing project!

Tale of the Shark the witch a pirate and a snow princess...

Below are a few pictures from Halloween. We had a great time trick-or-treating and visiting with neighbors. I knew it was time to go home when Gavin started saying at each house we went to... Last one, this is the LAST one, OK? He was a tired little shark but did enjoyed the experience. Zoe was disappointed because her friend who was going to join us became ill and was not able to go out.
Pumpkin carving was fun and we kept them simple so the kids could help cut out the faces. Violet insisted on doing hers all by herself. Unfortunately, all it took was one wrong move and the pumpkin ended up with a cleft palate and it took much consoling for her to learn to except and embrace it (still was cute). The kids did a super job of picking out all the seeds and we feasted on them for two days. Violet even picked out her pumpkin especially for the abundant lines that it had in hopes to have it chock full of seeds.
We are closing in on the Holiday season and I am bound and determined to get this house in order with the FLYLADY flylady.net before Christmas. At least that is the intent but I will be happy to even just get rid of half the junk that we no longer need/want and get all the paperwork, drawers and closets organized. This may require me to stay away from the computer and put the cell phone out of commission for a spell.
Gavin made a smooth transition into his big boy toddler bed and mommy is almost ready to pack up the crib until the grand kids arrive YEARS from now. Marina has settled into her new twin bed and is enjoying her mermaid comforter. We are all looking forward to our upcoming vacation to the Green Mountains and are hoping for some good skiing weather and some time to unwind. Off to see what the fly lady has in store for me tomorrow!

Birthday Video

This is my interview with our 12, 7, 4 and 2 year old.  This was shot with only a flip camera and was put together quickly for birthday purposes.  There are two or three repeat clips because we did not have time to preview before rendering but the thoughts are still there... or NOT!  :-)

Happy Birthday Diege!

Happy Birthday Diege!   I hope you have been enjoying your special day.  Here is your present from the kids to you.  Hopefully you will find both the edited video and the full script (below) to be entertaining and that it will bring a smile to your face.  Now on to dinner... 

Daddy interview
questions + answers

1. What is something that dad always says to you?
Zoe: Daddy always says to… be nice to each other. And in the morning, because since we wake up at the same time he says have a good day at school and then I say have a good day at school, I mean work.
Violet: Good night (Mom: All that) No, hi. (Mom: When does he say that?) Um, when I come home, or when he comes home.
Marina: Um… clean up.
Gavin: Don’t know

2. What makes dad happy?
Zoe: Um, chips. Chips make my dad happy. Anything salty or spicy. And us! He likes baseball too! Yeah, next question.
Violet: Being nice. And doing chores, which I don’t like to do.
Marina: When you clean up.
Gavin: Daddy likes bakugans

3. What makes dad sad?
Zoe: What makes my dad sad is, when we fight as siblings. And when my mom is not happy. As my dad’s saying goes, happy wife, happy life (Mom: Smart man your dad is)
Violet: When I’m mean to my sisters or don’t do my chores. And when I don’t pay attention to him.
Marina: If you don’t clean up. When you don’t listen to him.(Mom: Do you listen to him?) Um yeah!
Gavin: Don’t know.

4. What does dad do to make you laugh?
Zoe: With his bad jokes. His “look. Oh and when, Violet and I are watching Hannah Montanah or something and they something like “Oh no, I can’t make it to the concert.” And my dad says,”Oh no, oh my gosh, they won’t make it to the concert! Whatever shall we do?” He loves to do running commentary on our shows.
Violet: I don’t know, tickle me?
Marina: When he acts like a clown. But, he never makes me laugh.
Gavin: Smiles

5. What was dad like as a kid?
Zoe: He was a young Polish lad.
Violet: I don’t know, I wasn’t there.
Marina: He didn’t have a ‘puter. He played games.
Gavin: Don’t know

6. How old is dad?
Zoe: 41. As of today 41.
Violet: I don’t know. 50. No sorry, 40 like 40 something. In the 40’s
Marina: 100!(Mom: Oh my goodness, he’s lookin’ pretty good for 100) 14! 15! Yeah! (Mom: Is that your final answer?) 100.
Gavin: 2!!!

7. How tall is your dad?
Zoe: My dad is 5 ft. 10 in. tall. Oh ba-bam!
Violet: I don’t know. I’m 4 ft so he has to be more. 5 ft. No sorry 10 ft.
Marina: Really tall.
Gavin: Bigger.

8. What is his favorite thing to do?
Zoe: Watch baseball, spend time with us and eat chips.
Violet: Um like go biking and have time with his family.
Marina: Eat. Go on the ‘puter. Watch tv. Watch the Red Sox. Goin hikin’.
Gavin: Don’t know.

9. What does your dad do when you’re not around?
Zoe: Work and watches tv.(Mom: You don’t think he parties?) Isn’t watching tv a party?
Violet: Work. Or watch some tv.
Marina: Go to work. He’s at work and we’re at home.
Gavin: Don’t know.

10. If your dad becomes famous what will it be for?
Zoe: Winning “Are you Smarter than a Fifth Grader” shows or something.(Mom: Let’s encourage him to do that then)Yeah.
Violet: Hmm, I don’t know. Oh, I KNOW!!! Uh, maybe like you know, being the best dad.
Marina: Money, ‘cause he has a lot of money.
Gavin: Don’t know.

11. What is your dad really good at?
Zoe: Math. Yup, math.
Violet: Being the best dad. Work. Being nice um putting us to bed and saying goodnight
Marina: Um, holdin’ stuff that’s really heavy.
Gavin: Don’t know.

12. What is your dad not good at?
Zoe: Cooking real meals. When my mom went to Florida for 4 days we had pasta, then pasta, then leftover pasta and cereal. And then the last night we went out to McDonalds.
Violet: Being bad. Shaving his own hair. Like you always have to shave it. I don’t know, ok. Can we just go onto the next question?
Marina: Picking up stuff that’s more heavier. Like the stairs and the house.
Gavin: Don’t know

13. What does your dad do for a job?
Zoe: He is an accountant. And in the winter he is a tax personer.
Violet: Go to a water company.
Marina: I don’t know. He has no job. Taking care of his kids. It’s yours too. Oh wait, he counts money.
Gavin: Makes applesauce.

14. What is your dad’s favorite food?
Zoe: Chips.
Violet: Blueberries. Yeah, I think he likes blueberries.
Marina: All kinds of food. Chicken.
Gavin: Pretzels.

15. What makes your dad proud?
Zoe: When I do good in school and/or if something good happens at work.
Violet: When I do my chores.
Marina: If we clean up.
Gavin: Don’t know.

16. If your dad was a cartoon character, who would he be?
Zoe: Mario from Mario and Luigi. Doot doo doot. (Mom:Why?) Because…he has brown hair. (Mom: Anything else?) I don’t know. Wait, no! He’d be Luigi because he is tall, and has brown hair, and likes green. That’s why.
Violet: I don’t know. Maybe someone in Star Wars. Oh, oh Anakin…Skywalker. Like a jedi.
Marina: Um a farm…er. ‘Cause everybody is a character. ‘Cause I want him to be a farmer ‘cause I want to see animals.
Gavin: Little Einstein

17. What do you and your dad do together?
Zoe: Math homework together. Well, actually he does it for me. (Mom: WHAT?) No. Sometimes, he will do the problem and then he will ask, ”Do you understand now?” And I will be like,”Yeah… no. But thanks for doing the work.”
Violet: Go to the movies.
Marina: I like to make towers and he looks at them. I like to read with him too!
Gavin: Don’t know.

18. How are you and your dad alike?
Zoe: We both have brown hair. And we are both tall. (Mom: You’re not tall) HEY! (Mom: Hey, don’t kick your mother.)
Violet: I like Polish and he’s Polish.
Marina: We’re not the same.
Gavin: Don’t know

19. How are you and your dad different?
Zoe: My dad likes math and I… I don’t. I like healthy stuff and he likes beets. I don’t like beets.(Mom: Beets aren’t healthy? He likes tofu) Tofu is just pointless.
Violet: He’s a boy and I’m a girl. And we’re different in a lot of ways. Like, he doesn’t have blonde hair, I do. He doesn’t have blue eyes, I do. So, we have like different DNA’s. I don’t like scary movies and he does. And I don’t like James Bond but I used to.
Marina: He has black hair and I have blonde hair.
Gavin: Don’t know

20. How do you know dad loves you?
Zoe: I just know. And ‘cause he tells me. And I know.
Violet: ‘Cause he’s nice.
Marina: ‘Cause I say I love you daddy and he says I love you too!
Gavin: They don’t love me. Mommy love me. Yeah, daddy loves me.

21. Where is your dad’s favorite place to go?
Zoe: Fenway.
Violet: I don’t know, home. What I don’t know, I’m not him.
Marina: Um carnival, he brings me to carnivals. Yeah, ‘cause he brings me to it. That’s my favorite place. Daddy’s favorite place is Disney World and everyplace.
Gavin: I ‘da know. Church!

Apple Picking

Almost Autumn

It is starting to feel a lot like fall. The leaves on the trees are just beginning to change around here. The fairs have begun and halloween costumes have been chosen. Zoe has even decided to go trick-or-treating this year. We have started to settle into our fall schedule and I am looking forward to a 4 day Disney vacation with a couple of my friends next week and a trip to Smugglers Notch Resort in VT with the family in a few months. We are hoping to do a little skiing if the weather cooperates. I used to love to ski but it is something I have not done in years because it seemed like I was either pregnant or nursing a newborn for the past decade. Time for pumpkin and apple picking and my least favorite project... Switching out everyones seasonal clothes. It just adds to the laundering fun.

Mystic Aquarium, Once is Never Enough!

Snapshots of Summer

Magnificent Maine

Splish Splash

Splish Splash... Marina learns to swim and Gavin is trying his darndest!

Acadia National Park, Maine 2009

Zoe singing "The Climb"

Summer is sweet but all too short!

Where is global warming when you need it? This has been one of the coldest spring/ early summers in my memory. Things have been incredibly busy here with the kids activities, DJ's work, summer sports and his recent involvement in a local volunteer group and a few projects that I have been working on. I don't have much time to keep the blog up to date but I still am having fun with my photography and will be able to document the children's year when things slow down. The journal books will have to wait until winter to be put together though. I am so far behind as it is! We are looking forward to spending some time with the extended family on vacation on Mount Desert Island and the older kids are signed up for a week of ocean camp. I am going to try and hold onto summer for as long as I can this year or at least until I am begging for school to start up again. What I should be posting pictures of is the piles of laundry to be folded and put away along with the dust bunnies to be vacuumed, the many trips to the grocery store with kids in tow, the tank with salt creep toppling over the side with it's windows that are growing huge colonies of coralline algae needing to be scraped. That would make a more realistic view of our daily life with four kids, two cats, and a tank full of fish and not enough time in the day. Did I mention the laundry?

Docent days

Horseshoe crabs rule the beach.

CRABBY CONCLUSION:
The census is almost over for this year and we tagged close to 600 crabs. I am ready to get caught up on my sleep! The hardest night was when I did a sweep of the local beaches for scouting purposes and didn't get home until close to 5am and Gavin was up and ready to go by 7am. I was quite the crab that day.
Gavin joined me in the backpack a few times to help when the other kids were in school. Both Zoe and Violet came out with me on occasion during the daytime surveys and Zoe got her picture in the paper from one of those days. Violet was dissapointed that only her leg was in the picture but was in a publication earlier for a bird walk so she made peace with it. We had a film maker scheduled to come out to make an episode for Expedition New England but they had to cancel for this year due to the heavy rains during the peak of the season. Unfortunately though we were still out there in the cold rain. :-) I am looking forward to next year and to see how many recaptures we find.
I added a few more pictures below.

The Limulus census is underway and I am excited about all the local interest in the project. I have been contacted by both the middle school and girl scouts and have heard that the High School is interested in getting involved too. They are very interesting organisms with such great economic and ecological importance. Our group has had a slow start with the first full moon but the new moon promises to be full of action. Here are some pics from the first three nights/mornings. So far the toughest survey time was at 1:39am but we had a group of 5 people and we all managed to save the crabbiness for the crabs.

Happy 1st Birthday Annie!

I can't believe Annie is already a one year old but Kim and Will had her party so it must be true! The kids were lucky because several chicks had hatched on mothers day so the kids got a chance to see and hold them. Violet managed not to drop one this year but I can't say that the poor chick Marina held had the same fortune. They asked us if we wanted to bring one home but I really didn't think there was enough meat on it yet to bother. Plus it is just more fun to go and visit them and let Uncle Will and Aunt Kim keep up with their daily care. I did enough chicken coop care as a child and I have enough (more then enough) to care for with the two cats. I have been negligent and have not brought them to Kim yet for their annual check-up and shots. It is on my to-do list though, right after the laundry.

Happy Birthday Harrison!

These are just some recent pictures that I had uploaded to my album.

Zoe earned student of the month for April so we are very proud of her. I told her now if she could only bring the attitude and work ethic home with her...

Happy Mother's Day Heather!(DJ)

I feel very blessed to have such a wonderful wife and to have such a great mother to our children. I really am amazed at how you are able to do so many things for us. I love you very much!

Happy Mother's Day Mommy!(Zoe)

Dear Mommy,
I love you soooo much! I want you to have the best mother's day ever! I want all your wishes to come truel You are the best mom EVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!But I think you know that!!! Have the "perfect day, nothings standin' in my wayyyy, it's the perfect day, nothing can go wro-ong!" LOL!!! XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXXXOOOXXXOOOXXXOOOXXOOXXOOXOXOXOXOXOOXOXOXOOXOXOX><3<3<3<3<3<3<3
Luv,
ZOE!

Happy Mother's Day Mommy!I LOVE YOU!!!

My pathetic flower garden

Need I say more?

Widget issues

grrr... I have been trying to add the HTML code for the i-like music widget to my blog for the last hour. I keep getting an error message when I try and open it with Internet Explorer. I guess that is one of the things you have to deal with when they are still it beta but hopefully they will figure it out soon!!! We each took time to create our own playlists and now they have vanished. Back to the drawing board!

April

April has proved to be a busy month so far both good and bad. It seems like we were running from one thing to the next all the while things were breaking all around us at the most inopportune times. First it was the furnace (no heat and cold water for two days while they worked on it) then both the washer and dryer and to top it off the hoover floor scrubber AND the carpet cleaner broke down right before we expected company. I did gain a new appreciation for my mother who never had a dryer until a few years ago. I found it hard to keep up with line drying the laundry on the rainy/cold days. Luckily, we were able to find a new huge washer and dryer to replace them and I can now do almost two loads at once. Too bad they don't have anything to automate the folding and putting away process.

Easter came and went quickly this year. The bunny hardly had time to get the loot from the warehouse in time for delivery. On Good Friday we had friends over for dinner and the girls were able to visit with their buddies (watching a movie below) Easter morning was spent at home, in the afternoon we visited the Polish side of the family before heading over to my mothers house at dinner time. Marina got a pretend Blackberry from the Easter bunny. (pictured below)




We had my uncles funeral in town and the reception was here at our house. It was nice to see the extended relatives but it was a hard day on everyone. The following morning we all went to his house to clean and to find any sentimental family items that we wanted to keep. It was very bittersweet to go through my grandparents household items that my uncle had kept boxed away. We took my grandparents potato ricer home (something they used to use often) and Violet who has always "said" she hated mashed potatoes has become a huge riced potato fan. She refuses to believe that all she has to do is mix them a little with a spoon and *poof* they become mashed potatoes.

APRIL 15TH!!! Was a day to celebrate!!! DJ has been busy doing taxes on the side this year and was also working long hours with his regular job so we all missed him a lot. I was getting sick of eating dinner by myself (well actually never by myself... that would have been a treat!) It has been a long winter and a slow start to spring but we have a lot of fun activities planned. I am looking forward to a long weekend white water rafting with my girlfriends next month and DJ and I are even getting away on a couples only trip to Block Island with a group of friends in June. Maine is not too far off and it will be great for the cousins (and the grown-ups) to spend some time together in the pine tree state. Oh course between all that is soccer, dance, girl scouts etc... and tons of laundry! I am going to be working on a horseshoe crab study starting in early May and hope to take Zoe out one of the nights at high tide to help tag, measure, sex and count the crabs that come up on shore to breed.
(can you spot the sleeping daddy in there?)


Zoe came home with her report card which was great as usual and she earned honors but the best part was that she earned an A+ from the one teacher that never or hardly ever gives out A's to anyone so she is very proud of herself and rightly so. She has spent the last two days trying to convince me of the worth of this particular grade in terms of what she can get out of it. I think I will concede and bring her by herself to the movie Earth that she has been wanting to see.

School Vacation- we just got through with a week off and were fortunate to have nice weather for most of it. We went to the Zoo one day but spent most of the week visiting with friends that we normally don't get the opportunity to see. It was an enjoyable week but I am glad to get back to my routine.

Natures Classroom (mom's version)

I was very fortunate to be able to spend two days with Zoe and her classmates at Natures classroom. Luckily DJ was able to take off a day and my mother tended the kids on the second day. I would have loved to stay up there much longer if possible. The facilities and the staff were wonderful and the girls in my group were a lot of fun and always respectful. We had a little snow the first day and everyone was a bit frozen and tired after doing the underground railroad simulation in the woods after dark. It was a blast though and certainly the highlight of my visit there. The food, contrary to what Zoe said... left a lot to be desired but the coffee was excellent and available at the mess hall 24hrs a day. They also had wi-fi so at least I could check my e-mail on my phone from time to time. I had the opportunity to get away on my own while the girls were busy with the goodbye activities so I took a little hike around some of the lake. I have forgotten what a beautiful part of the state it is and it has gotten me in the mood for some "real" camping. The Giant slide was broken until the last half an hour before we left. Of course I offered to test it out before we sent the kids down... something that Zoe won't forgive me for because as it turned out we ran out of time before all the kids could give it a try. Unfortunately she didn't get there in time. Overall it was a great experience for both of us and I think we will sleep well tonight. I suspect Zoe didn't get much sleep before I got there and I know that I went to sleep around 11 and was up at 4 worried that we would oversleep our roundup time without an alarm clock. I can't wait until my Nature's Classroom experience with Violet and Marina.
Oh, and if I never hear that silly song again... it will be too soon!

Nature's Classroom!!!(Zoe)

Ahhh! I loved Nature's Classroom! I was in the boathouse cabin. The only bad part of my stay was the WEATHER!!! It poured the FIRST day I got there!My mom came on the third day and slept there one night. She threatened to dance if we didn't behave. A lot of the kids in my cabin liked her alot. While there, I made up a song called Magical Pixie Whales. Inside joke!And eventually my whole cabin was singing it and passing it on to others!Lyrics are at the bottoms! Anyway, I enjoyed making candles. That was one of the many fun classes I took. I also took a class called Feed Yo Face. We used everyday food to give ourselves a facial. It was sticky and fun! One of the other classes I took was Arch Bridges. I built a bridge out of styrophoam with teammates.We couldn't talk to eachother while building the bridge so it was a bit of a challenge. We made the bridge sucessfully and actually got to walk on it! My other class was Boomwhackers. We learned lots about music, beat, and notes. Field Group was lots of fun. My Field Group leader was Jessie along with some of my other friends Jackie, Corrine, Allison, and Maya. We shared about ourselves the first day and came up with a "sentence off". It goes like this: I want a(mine) son that moe poe my rock extravaganza field Connecticut. It was sooooo silly. The second day of Field Group we took a 2 hr. hike up Sunrise Mtn. and played the game of camoflauge on the way. On the third day of field group, we took a 5 hr. hike and toasted marshmallows(YUM)!!!!!!!!! On the last day of Field Group, we took on a challenge course which was surprisingly challenging! The meals there were very good and I loved the entertainment(HUZZAH!!!!!) Inside joke!(Again) I loved transition time in the cabins. I bunked with my best friend Jackie and across from us were our good friends Alexa and Haley, which didn't exactly make it easy to sleep! During my stay, I recieved an IALAC bead which I am very proud of. IALAC can mean anything from I Am Loving and Caring to I Am Learning at Colebrook.It means you did something good. I took a picture of my friend Hailey with her IALAC bead for her, so she gave me the bead. Inside the cabins we enjoyed playing Zoo, lacrosse, and just hanging around and chatting(don't forget naps)! Our cabin was right on the water and we had a beautiful view!!! Underground Railroad(UGRR) was a blast.My mom was an abolitionist in thsi activity and she said she enjoyed it too! We all were treated as slaves and had to take this activity very seriously. For slavery is not a laughing concept. It was one of my favorite activities though very sad. At the begininng, they would tell us things such as, " You are seperated from your mother, father, sister and brother" and,"You are not a person, you are property" all while we had to keep our heads down as not to disrespect our "masters". I was almost going to cry! But, overall, I had the greatest exprience of my life at Nature's Classroom this week and I will NEVER EVER forget it!!!

Magical Pixie Whales Song
Chorus:
Magical Pixie Whales
Rockin' the seas
Wha-ho-hooooo

They're like Pegasus' in the water
With their unicorn horns
Lalala lalala hoo hoo

Chorus

They're not pixies
The're not whales
Nor are they unicorns
Wha-ho

Chorus

They're like Pegasus' in the water
With their unicorn horns
Lalala lalala hoo hoo

LAST TIME

Chorus

Zoe's Play

Today is opening night and I will try to snap a couple of pictures but here is a picture of the whole cast. The arrow is pointing at Zoe.

Gavin having a sip of water.

Mom, this is what Violet picked out yesterday after she broke the flower. Is this something from Grandma and Grandpa's house?

Spring has Sprung!(Zoe)

Ahhh! The wonderful scent of fresh spring air! I await the coming of spring all year (except for when it is spring! Flowers bloom and blossom all different colors! I love spring so much!!! Easter is just around the corner! Baby animals are born(awww, how cute)! It's such a joyful season. What will you be enjoying this spring? A bike ride with the family? A sunyy picnic? A trip out on the water? Anything you do, make sure you will enjoy it! I know I will enjoy every little tidbit of spring there is(except for spring cleaning, I can't guarantee you I will enjoy that)! Just keep in mind, Spring has Sprung. Don't forget the old saying either, April showers bring May flowers. Uh oh, April is right around the corner! Better get my raincoat and umbrella out!!!

Check Out My Profile(zoe)

This is sort of a campaign. Actually, now that I think of it, it's not really. I haven't posted or updated my profile in... forever!!! So, I finally got around to it! Check out my profile and you will find that everything has been updated, except for my picture of course. I love my kitties too much!!! Anyway, after you check it out tell me what you think of it by posting a comment. Thanks always!

Welcome Me to the Blog! (My Colors)

Hey I am new to the Blog. If you seeI like pink.I also like purple/violet. They are my colors. I hope I will post more!

Checking out the boats.

I wonder how many more months/years I will be able to carry Gavin in the backpack? :-). Luckily he is only pushing 23 lbs so far but I am thinking by 30 he will be too heavy and probably won't enjoy it anymore. 30lbs not 30 years!

Spring is here!

Mommy decided to take the day off to enjoy this beautiful weather. Marina, Gavin and mom headed to the water for a picnic and a small hike. Would it have been to much to ask for a gorgeous weekend too?

Testing Mobile Blogging

The Nutty Natives

Here are some clips of my New England Natives observed in their natural environment.

Gavin's mealtime antics.

Gavin has a habit of keeping us all entertained, especially during mealtimes. He is definatly a class clown in the making.

The Big Plan

I am not sure if I should be concerned yet but Marina has an obsession with guns lately. Someone gave her a little pink pretend one as a party favor. (thanks!) and now she is killing people left and right. The other morning she was asking where the real one was because when the bad guys come I am going to have to teach her how to kill because she doesn't know that yet. Zoe taped Marina's master plan as she explained it to us in detail at the dinner table.

Zoe sang on our 12th Anniversary

Zoe sang this at the library last week. The song is "A Change in Me" from Beauty and the Beast.



DJ and I celebrated our 12th wedding anniversary on Sunday. I can't believe how fast the years have passed by, although at the same time it is hard to remember life before being married and becoming a family. Ciocia Irene was nice enough to come down and babysit so we could get out for a bit sans kids. (THANK YOU!) We decided to head to Mohegan Sun for dinner and a little gaming. I had won a gift certificate from a raffle for a few hundred dollars so dinner was on me. They had an awesome band playing that night called "The Short Bus" so we spent a lot of time there and had a blast watching all the characters that were on the dance floor. We found the casino to be a fun place to do people watching. We ended up not gambling much at all and actually did not lose any money and returned with enough money on my gift card for another night. I think we are still in the black with the few times we have gambled because of my big Vegas win but someday if we continue to roll the dice we are bound to end up in the red.

My Response to Krazy Kiddos (Zoe)

Oh yes, good times, good times. We are quite crazy it's true. We all want to laugh!!! I especially like the clip of Gavin when he pulls the pacifier out of his mouth and says,"Bum bum bum". I think it is just adorable. Although there weren't many clips of Marina, I believe she is the craziest of us all! Heehee! I think that the video was very entertaining!

Krazy Kiddos and Dancing Divas

Montage of our drama queens and Gavin...

MIA on the Blog scene

I have been a slacker when it comes to keeping up with my blog lately. Mom, I am sorry that you thought your computer was not working correctly because you couldn't see my new posts! (hehe) I am going to try and get back on the bandwagon and keep my postings current. We had a busy but enjoyable holiday season and survived the christmas parties with only a few extra pounds of damage. We only have one holiday party left for Jan. and of course a special Christening! I will include a slideshow of holiday pictures below. It is that time of year to refer back to New Years resolutions and this blog is on my list this year. Hopefully it will make it longer than a couple of my resolutions, which have gone by the wayside already.

Zoe's Christmas Present fun

Zoe got a flip-mino camera for Christmas and is racking up the hours of silly videos. Here is one of them.