Christmas Favorites

Here are just a few of our Christmas favorites--

Cooper

1. Presents

2. Decorating the tree

3. Chocolate Advent Calendar
4. Christmas movies
5. Christmas morning

Parker
1. Lot's of Family Time
2. Opening presents
3. Putting cookies and milk out for Santa
4. Christmas movies
5. Giving presents

Brady
1. Caroling
2. Decorating the tree
3. Giving presents
4. Making Christmas cookies
5. Christmas Lights

Julie
1. Watching my boy's open their presents on Christmas morning
2. Christmas Music
3. Reading the story of Christ's Birth
4. Giving to Others
5. Watching Christmas movies as a Family

Dan was out of town so his favorites aren't listed, but I would love to hear a few of yours!

Turkey or No Turkey?

Please help me decide -- should I make a turkey on Thanksgiving or should I grill steaks? It's just going to be us and my kids don't really like turkey. Why bother with all the work?

Proud Mother of 3

Here are just a few proud mother thoughts I had!

Brady has persevered through a difficult time at school this year. I'm so proud of him for hanging in there and realizing that he is a great young man with good values and a heart of gold. (I'm not sure about the heart of gold part, but his Mom knows it.) He also ran in the 5 k Veterans Day Run on Tuesday. It brought me to tears to watch him cross the finish line (I'm a cry baby) knowing that he had accomplished something so important to him. I'm very PROUD of you Brady!

Parker..... he has and always will be my very laid back, easy-go-lucky child. I met with Parker's 5th grade teacher last week and he only had raving reviews for Parker. Parker has matured this year. I'm not sure when or where the change took place, but I'm grateful it did. He is doing an amazing job at school and at home with his homework. Parker is very modest in what he does and I'm so PROUD of him and his accomplishments this year!

Cooper had a rough start to Kindergarten this year! He and I had become best buddies since our move and I think we both had a hard time with the separation. He now loves to get on that bus for school (after a hug and kiss from Mom) and can't wait to get to school. He has become quite the social boy (just like Parker). Cooper thinks he's very COOL because not only do all Kindergartner's know him, but all the 5th graders say "what's up?" to him too! (According to Cooper "what's up" means you're cool.) I PROUD of you Cooper!

Random Halloween Pictures

The night before Halloween Cooper and Parker carved their pumpkins. As you can tell cleaning them out is NOT their favorite job!

But the finished product looks GREAT! Thanks to some help by Brady both boys were able to have the pumpkin face they've been dreaming of. Thanks Brady! My pumpkin is the one in the middle. As you can see I opt out of the cleaning the inside.

The following 2 pictures are of Brady participating in the pie eating contest at our Trunk or Treat party at the church. Unfortunately, he didn't win! He said the pie was disgusting and I believe him. It was very runny! Yuck!

Sorry I don't have any pictures of the boys in costume. They did look great! Brady was a nerdy missionary, Parker was a Red Sox baseball player, and Cooper was an army man.

Santa Claus?

If you're a Santa believer than you'd better stop reading here!

I sat Parker down the other day to let him in on the secret that Mom and Dad are Santa. I know I'm cruel, but at age 10 and in the 5th grade I don't want him to be made fun of. And he was a TRUE BELIEVER! This is how the conversion went--

Mom- Parker do some of the kids at your school believe in Santa?

Parker- A couple.

Mom- What do you think?

Parker- I believe.

Mom- Parker, I think it's time that you know that Dad and I are Santa.

Parker- (Blank face. Says nothing.)

Mom- But, in our house we love the thought of Santa and giving Santa gifts. So, I still want you to believe in the spirit of Santa. Especially for Cooper. If you tell him the truth you'll get NO Santa gifts. (I know I'm nice.)

Parker- OK! (still blank face) What about the tooth fairy she's real right?

I love this boy! Parker has the biggest heart of anyone I know and would have been a true believer in Santa for a long time. I guess it's better that I broke the news to him instead of his wife!

Let it Snow, let it snow, let it snow!

We received our first snow fall of the year yesterday. Take note it's before Halloween! I'm all for a white Christmas, but this is ridiculous! Thank goodness it didn't stick to the ground. Unfortunately, for us the cold weather is possibly here to stay!

Elections- A Family Divided

I've never been so unexcited about a presidential election! During Elections past we've had parties, taken the kids to vote with us, stayed up extremely late waiting for every last vote (or chad) to be counted, and even moved across country to support a President. Now I find myself having no desire to even vote!

Until last night....

When my 5 year old son asked Dan "Daddy, who are you voting for President?"

Dan replied "McCain."

Cooper responded "I'm voting for 'Rock Obama'!"

Nice Coop! Nothing like lighting a fire under your parents! I guess I'd better get out and vote this year to cancel out Cooper's vote!

15 Years of Marriage and Loving It...

Dan and I have been married for 15 fun and fabulous years! For our anniversary we took a trip to both Montreal and Lake Placid. We had a great time being complete tourists and eating great food.

In Montreal Dan showed me a few sites he remembered from his mission. We also visited the Olympic Stadium, the Basilique Notre Dame, Old Town Montreal, and ate at a restaurant (Gibby's) in a building that's over 200 years old. Oh, and I can't leave out the mouth-watering crepes at Chez Cora!

After Montreal we headed south to Lake Placid. The views were spectacular and the rest and relaxation even better! We rode the gondola to the top of White Face Mountain. This was very scary for someone who doesn't like heights, but the view was worth it. We also drove-up the other side of White face Mountain and took an elevator to the highest peak and then hiked down a ridge to get back to our car. Lucky for me I only cried once, but my body ached the next day from being so tense from the hike down. Dan and I had a great time walking hand-in-hand amongst all the other senior citizens. Sometimes I think we forget we're only in our thirties.

I look forward to many more trips with my BEST FRIEND!

Happy 5th Birthday Cooper! We celebrated Cooper's birthday on Saturday. We played mini-golf, had dinner, presents, and cupcakes. Cooper invited all three on the neighbors kids to join in on the fun... Cole, Brody, and Chase! Happy Birthday!

Happy Belated Birthday Brady

I know August 30th has come and gone, but I need to say Happy Birthday to Brady. Brady is now 14 and a freshman in High School. He started early morning seminary this year too! We love you Brady! Happy Belated Birthday!

Touch Down

Cooper played in his first Flag Football game on Saturday! He plays for the Steelers in case you were wondering. Lucky for Cooper he took the 1st hand-ff of the game and scored a "Touch Down"! Way to go Coop!

A day of first's....

Cooper started his first day of Kindergarten yesterday. Lucky for me he goes in the afternoon (I love PM kindergarten). All morning he kept asking me is it time to go? This is Cooper as we headed out the door.

Cooper rides the bus to school and once again lucky for me his bus stop is in front of our next door neighbors house. There are 2 other "Big Kindergartners" at his bus stop (Maia and Brody).

Cooper's big Day!

School's out! And I had one happy boy -- he loved it!

After a great day at school, Cooper headed to flag football practice. Only to achieve another first for him -- his FIRST SHINER! He was trying to pull a boy's flag off and took a head to the eye. This is a picture of Cooper today! He doesn't look to happy,

but really was excited to start his second day of kindergarten.

End of Summer Boston Trip

So we ended our summer with a trip to Boston. Dan and I were able to do a session at the Boston Temple. We took the boys there after we were done so they could see how beautiful it is.

After the temple we took the boys to the Quincey Market and walked around the fun little shops. We ate lunch at Dick's Last Resort. It's a fun restaurant where the waiters are crazy and rude!

Our waiter made these funny hats for our boys -- Cooper's says "Corn Dogs Make me Fart!", Brady's says "My braces will come off, Your Ugly Won't!", and Parker's says "I Play with my Brothers Barbies!"

After lunch we strolled down the water front. What a great trip!

Visit from the Bishops

My BEST friend (Jen Bishop) and her family (minus her husband and oldest son) came up for a visit a couple of weeks ago. We had a great time! We waited out 3 major rain storms -- 2 at the Saratoga Race Track and one at the Saratoga State Park pool.

The kids love picking a horse and betting against each other. Unfortunately, for everyone Dana always won, because she picked her horse as the race was finishing. Pictured above from left to right - Parker, Cooper, Dana, Hannah, and Mikey.

Above-- Hannah, Scott, Brady, and Parker waiting for the next race.

Hannah celebrated her 11th birthday while she was here. Jen and I took Hannah and Parker to the late showing of Mama Mia for her birthday. Probably not the best choice for a 10 and 11 year old, but I sure loved it!

Memories made -- down pour at the pool, water slides races, mineral water tasting (priceless faces), horse races, backyard playing, and Mama Mia!

Lake George Camping Trip

Last week we set-off on our annual camping trip. This year we took advantage of the beautiful Adirondacks and went to the Rogers Rock Camping Area on the North tip of Lake George. The scenery was amazing, the food delicious, and the family time priceless.

The second day of camping we decided to be adventurous and take a small hike, besides that the dog needed some exercise. So we headed up Cook Mountain not knowing what we were getting ourselves into.

Well after a treacherous trail of hiking and climbing up hill. I don't know how Cooper, Parker, and I made it! We finally reached the top and this was our view. Breathtaking (literally)!

On our third day we decided to splurge and rent a boat. We found a great little marina that set us up with a 22ft boat and a tube. Dan, Brady, and Parker had a blast tubing.

While Cooper and I had fun driving them in circles to knock them off! My favorite part of boating is parking in the boat in a cove and letting the family jump off the boat and swim.

Favorite memories we'll always cherish... smores every night, storytelling by the fire, middle of the night bathroom trips, breakfast burritos, hiking-up Cook Mountain, and the boating on Lake George.

All Star Parker

Parker finished with a great baseball season! He is definitely our All Star and his teams 1st baseman "All Star".

Virginia Vacation

Well the kids and I decided to take a last minute trip to Virginia last week and had a great time hanging out with our friends. We were able to visit Busch Gardens and attend a Nationals game while we were there. Being a New Yorker now I can officially say that I like the summer weather here much better than there.

Being Short is a Good Thing....

Yesterday morning I was laying in bed and cuddling with Cooper and Dan was in the bathroom getting ready for work, so I was telling Dan that in the past 2 months I've lost a few pounds and he replied "that's good". Cooper looked at me and said "Mommy, are you trying to get shorter like Grandma Maria?" After I stopped laughing I hugged him a little tighter and said "Yes, Mommy wants to be shorter." So, I look forward to the day when I can look as good and be as short as Dan's mom "Grandma Maria". So for all you short people, don't feel bad about yourself because in our house being short is a GOOD THING!

Never Ending Sports

What did we sign-up for? Instead of a long vacation we thought we couldn't afford we let the boys continue with sports through the summer. Brady has been playing on a lacrosse travel team (Go Mad Dogs!) and Parker was recruited into All Stars for baseball (Go Green!). Since the middle of June we've either had lacrosse or baseball practice every night and games every weekend. Not only did we pay for them to do this, but we've now paid for hotel rooms (for long distance lacrosse games), gas, and food (Cooper is addicted to the concession stand). I think we could of gone on that vacation we couldn't afford! Oh well, Brady has enjoyed playing for the High School Varsity Coach and Parker is still the best 1st baseman around. Here are a few pictures of Brady's last tournament in Sackett's Harbor, NY (3 1/2 hours away on Lake Ontario). I don't have any of Parker yet but will post some as soon as I take them.