We started of the weekend at breakfast with Santa. We joined our friends Sebastian and Deidre. Anna didn't want to wait one minute after arriving. She ran right up to Santa and Mrs. Claus and told them what she wanted, why she wanted it, and that she was indeed a good girl and so she should have it. I swear my daughter does not have one shy bone in her body. It was a very fun morning and Santa gave her n ornament to hang on the tree.
Anna's dance class had an open house for parents. We are generally not allowed to watch the class, but they let us do it this once. So of course, with all the parents there, none of the kids behave or listen, and several of Ann's classmates got to shy to participate with all of us watching. This was not a problem for Anna, but listening was. As was shouting out to Mommy and Daddy throughout the class. I don't know how that teacher keeps her col, must be a challenge. Anyway, they were all very cute and it is clear that Anna does enjoy it, even though none of them have any apparent skills at this time. The cuteness makes up for it.
We then took Anna for a much needed trim of her bangs. We can now see her eyes. It was then off to pick out our Christmas tree. We picked a nice one and Daddy cut it down. Anna liked the chickens running around the farm we bought it from.
After a nice long nap, we got dressed to go see a production of the "nutcracker" at Mohegan Sun. Anna was very good, but we only stayed until intermission. The first scene was long and boring, and had put a bad light on the ballet. The scenes with the kitchen mice and the ice queen that followed were very entertaining, but by that point we were done. I'm sure the final scene at the Land of sweets would have had great dances as well, but instead we went and got our own sweets at the ice cream stand n the casino.
What day! Today is a day to rest and decorate our lovely tree.
Sunday, December 12, 2010
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Happy Halloween!
What an exciting day! Anna wanted to be Princess Belle today for Halloween so Mommy looked up online how to do a Princess Belle hairdo and since we already had the princess Belle outfit from Grams we were ready to go!
We went to our friend Tammy's house and she had a big to-do with lots of kids and goodies. First we had a pot luck dinner, then out for trick or treating, with about 15 kids!
It was fun, but cold. Anna looked at me after about 1 1/2 hrs and said "I think we have enough candy now Mommy. Plus it's cold and I'm tired since I didn't have such a long nap today. It's time we go home." I swear she cannot be three!!
We went to our friend Tammy's house and she had a big to-do with lots of kids and goodies. First we had a pot luck dinner, then out for trick or treating, with about 15 kids!
It was fun, but cold. Anna looked at me after about 1 1/2 hrs and said "I think we have enough candy now Mommy. Plus it's cold and I'm tired since I didn't have such a long nap today. It's time we go home." I swear she cannot be three!!
Saturday, October 23, 2010
Early Fall 2010
I guess I could even call it end of summer.
The garden is going bonkers! Bryan and Dad built the major structures in the Spring and then Bry put down all the gravel and we installed a drip irrigation system. We didn't know what to do with all the tomatoes. Needless to say, no one at work had to buy tomatoes all summer and we have enough sauce canned to make it though next year. Ann's favorite is the peas, which are almost done and so I have to plant a Fall crop for her. She'll sit there and eat them all afternoon long, right off the plant.
The Goodwin's came across the ocean for a visit and we went to Cape Cod for vacation. Hurricane Earl nearly ruined it, but it turned out to be a great time! The Burrells came up for a couple of days and stayed with us at our outrageously beautiful house. Take a look
http://www.homeaway.com/vacation-rental/p152815
We had a wonderful time. The weather was beautiful and the crowds were gone. We especially like playing off of Morris island when the tide went out. We didn't have Ann's bathing suit with us, but sh didn't seem to mind. It's probably our favorite spot on Cape Cod!
Nanny and Grandad came back to our house for the week. Anna loved having her grandparents here to play with! We went to a local agricultural fair one day. I'm not sure if it was Anna or Daddy who enjoyed it more.
We ended our visit with a trip to NYC. On Friday we walked around and saw the sights. Lindsay joined us for dinner then babysat Anna while the adults went to see Memphis the musical, which was amazing. We were also lucky enough to get the best apartment at our company apartment building. It had a 180 view of the city. It was magical to look at and I think the Goodwins had a wonderful time! On Saturday, we went to the Bronx zoo with the Goodwins, the Burrells and Lindsay and celebrated....MAGGIE'S BIRTHDAY!! It was a fun, sunny day. We sadly said goodbye to Nanny and Grandad as we dropped them off at JFK and headed home.
The garden is going bonkers! Bryan and Dad built the major structures in the Spring and then Bry put down all the gravel and we installed a drip irrigation system. We didn't know what to do with all the tomatoes. Needless to say, no one at work had to buy tomatoes all summer and we have enough sauce canned to make it though next year. Ann's favorite is the peas, which are almost done and so I have to plant a Fall crop for her. She'll sit there and eat them all afternoon long, right off the plant.
The Goodwin's came across the ocean for a visit and we went to Cape Cod for vacation. Hurricane Earl nearly ruined it, but it turned out to be a great time! The Burrells came up for a couple of days and stayed with us at our outrageously beautiful house. Take a look
http://www.homeaway.com/vacation-rental/p152815
We had a wonderful time. The weather was beautiful and the crowds were gone. We especially like playing off of Morris island when the tide went out. We didn't have Ann's bathing suit with us, but sh didn't seem to mind. It's probably our favorite spot on Cape Cod!
Nanny and Grandad came back to our house for the week. Anna loved having her grandparents here to play with! We went to a local agricultural fair one day. I'm not sure if it was Anna or Daddy who enjoyed it more.
We ended our visit with a trip to NYC. On Friday we walked around and saw the sights. Lindsay joined us for dinner then babysat Anna while the adults went to see Memphis the musical, which was amazing. We were also lucky enough to get the best apartment at our company apartment building. It had a 180 view of the city. It was magical to look at and I think the Goodwins had a wonderful time! On Saturday, we went to the Bronx zoo with the Goodwins, the Burrells and Lindsay and celebrated....MAGGIE'S BIRTHDAY!! It was a fun, sunny day. We sadly said goodbye to Nanny and Grandad as we dropped them off at JFK and headed home.
Summer 2010
So then summer....
Here's few picture of Anna being her favorite princess, Belle. Also, some pictures of Anna in her fancy pool (bucket), and some pics of one of her favorite things, pony ride.
Anna's birthday celebration was on Saturday before her birthday. The Burrells came, as did Julie and the kid, Lindsay, and Grams and Aunt Jude. Jarod, Sylvie, Sebastian, Deidra, and Kaitlin were the locals who joined us for the festivities. Anna LOVED her princess cake!
We also went up to Buffalo in the summer for the Erie county fair! We don't have pictures from that, but we do have some of Anna and Maggie in the bath at Grams and Grampa's house. It was a great time having all of us home in Buffalo. Julie, Chris and the boys were up as well and we all had a get together and pool party at Aunt Jude's house. There were kids everywhere. Kristen took those pictures so you can check if they are on her blog (definitely on Facebook).
Aunt Maryanne had a baby! His name is Ben Ellis and a wonderful little brother for Ryan. We went to NYC to meet him and made a weekend of it. He's such a cutie!
Here's few picture of Anna being her favorite princess, Belle. Also, some pictures of Anna in her fancy pool (bucket), and some pics of one of her favorite things, pony ride.
Anna's birthday celebration was on Saturday before her birthday. The Burrells came, as did Julie and the kid, Lindsay, and Grams and Aunt Jude. Jarod, Sylvie, Sebastian, Deidra, and Kaitlin were the locals who joined us for the festivities. Anna LOVED her princess cake!
We also went up to Buffalo in the summer for the Erie county fair! We don't have pictures from that, but we do have some of Anna and Maggie in the bath at Grams and Grampa's house. It was a great time having all of us home in Buffalo. Julie, Chris and the boys were up as well and we all had a get together and pool party at Aunt Jude's house. There were kids everywhere. Kristen took those pictures so you can check if they are on her blog (definitely on Facebook).
Aunt Maryanne had a baby! His name is Ben Ellis and a wonderful little brother for Ryan. We went to NYC to meet him and made a weekend of it. He's such a cutie!
Spring 2010
Okay, I know it's been a while. I apologize. I have a lost of updating to do so I'm going to break it down into 3 posts: Spring, Summer, and early Fall.
So, Spring.....
Ah yes, the Finlay's came to visit after Easter and we had a great time. They came in through Boston so we spent a couple of days there. The kids had a great time at the Children's museum and the weather staying pretty nice for us, sunny, but a bit cool. We then came back to our house to hang out for a few days. Anna loved having Will and Molly here. We then went in to NYC for a couple of days. The kids loved the Natural History museum and the Central Park zoo. We even went up to the top of the Empire State building. It was Jo's first time in NYC so we made sure to see all the sights. We met up with Lindsay and the Richters for dinner, then the next day headed back home for a couple of quiet days until the Finlays were set to leave, but then...the Icelandic volcano grounded all flights. Every day the airlines had a different answer of when the Finlays were going to be able to get home and I think Neil and Jo were at their wits end with these people several times, but all is well that ends well. The Finlays got home safely, we got an extra few days together, all in all, a smashing vacation!
So, Spring.....
Ah yes, the Finlay's came to visit after Easter and we had a great time. They came in through Boston so we spent a couple of days there. The kids had a great time at the Children's museum and the weather staying pretty nice for us, sunny, but a bit cool. We then came back to our house to hang out for a few days. Anna loved having Will and Molly here. We then went in to NYC for a couple of days. The kids loved the Natural History museum and the Central Park zoo. We even went up to the top of the Empire State building. It was Jo's first time in NYC so we made sure to see all the sights. We met up with Lindsay and the Richters for dinner, then the next day headed back home for a couple of quiet days until the Finlays were set to leave, but then...the Icelandic volcano grounded all flights. Every day the airlines had a different answer of when the Finlays were going to be able to get home and I think Neil and Jo were at their wits end with these people several times, but all is well that ends well. The Finlays got home safely, we got an extra few days together, all in all, a smashing vacation!
Sunday, April 4, 2010
Spring has sprung!
Well Spring is definitely arrived in East Lyme.
We decided to completely revamp and expand the garden. Grams and Grampa came down for the weekend to help. Grams played with Anna while Grampa helped Mommy and Daddy install a split rail fence around the garden and put in the raised cedar beds that Daddy built. It was a lot of work and everyone was pretty worn out, but we got a lot done. We also had some trees taken down that week so Daddy and Grampa rented a log splitter. We now have enough wood to burn for the next 5 years. Take a look at the log pile...crazy!! A special thanks to Grampa for all of his hard work (and for the tomato seedlings!) and for Grams for watching Anna and cooking for all of us. It was a great weekend. The pics are included in the last reel below.
Anna finally got her big girl bed and she is so happy about it. It's a bunk bed with stairs and to top it all off, it has a bedspread with CUPCAKES on it! Anna picked it out. She now wants everything to have cupcakes on it.
The day after Grams and Grampa left, it started raining, and raining, and raining. It flooded so badly here, we had to get bussed in to pick up Anna from daycare one day because the police and national guard had closed all the roads! Luckily we didn't have any damage at the house, though the bridge down the road to our house nearly washed out and the houses next to it have lakes for backyards currently. The first picture below is a couple of confused ducks thinking out back driveway is a pond :-)
We were going to go to the Burrells for Easter, but we had so much yard work still to do. We decided to stay in East Lyme and work on the yard, but we took Saturday morning off to have breakfast with the Easter bunny. Anna had on a pretty dress and shoes she calls her "glass slippers." She was very good with Mr. Easter Bunny and he received lots of hugs from Anna once she found out he was giving out chocolate eggs!
After our fun with the Easter bunny, Mommy and Daddy got back to work in the yard and Anna had a great time playing outside. She had a picnic, played with her dinosaurs, enjoyed her playset, and blew lots of bubbles with Mommy! Daddy built Mommy a beautiful entrance to her garden and she couldn't be happier. I think Daddy's getting the husband of the year award for that one ;-)
We decided to completely revamp and expand the garden. Grams and Grampa came down for the weekend to help. Grams played with Anna while Grampa helped Mommy and Daddy install a split rail fence around the garden and put in the raised cedar beds that Daddy built. It was a lot of work and everyone was pretty worn out, but we got a lot done. We also had some trees taken down that week so Daddy and Grampa rented a log splitter. We now have enough wood to burn for the next 5 years. Take a look at the log pile...crazy!! A special thanks to Grampa for all of his hard work (and for the tomato seedlings!) and for Grams for watching Anna and cooking for all of us. It was a great weekend. The pics are included in the last reel below.
Anna finally got her big girl bed and she is so happy about it. It's a bunk bed with stairs and to top it all off, it has a bedspread with CUPCAKES on it! Anna picked it out. She now wants everything to have cupcakes on it.
The day after Grams and Grampa left, it started raining, and raining, and raining. It flooded so badly here, we had to get bussed in to pick up Anna from daycare one day because the police and national guard had closed all the roads! Luckily we didn't have any damage at the house, though the bridge down the road to our house nearly washed out and the houses next to it have lakes for backyards currently. The first picture below is a couple of confused ducks thinking out back driveway is a pond :-)
We were going to go to the Burrells for Easter, but we had so much yard work still to do. We decided to stay in East Lyme and work on the yard, but we took Saturday morning off to have breakfast with the Easter bunny. Anna had on a pretty dress and shoes she calls her "glass slippers." She was very good with Mr. Easter Bunny and he received lots of hugs from Anna once she found out he was giving out chocolate eggs!
After our fun with the Easter bunny, Mommy and Daddy got back to work in the yard and Anna had a great time playing outside. She had a picnic, played with her dinosaurs, enjoyed her playset, and blew lots of bubbles with Mommy! Daddy built Mommy a beautiful entrance to her garden and she couldn't be happier. I think Daddy's getting the husband of the year award for that one ;-)
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Orlando Vacation 2010
For the boys's Christmas presents, Kristen and I booked a trip to Orlando. We brought Mom and Dad along to enjoy a nice family vacation (and to have free babysitting :-)
Darren and Bryan played golf two days while the rest of us enjoyed the fabulous house we rented, equipped with heated pool!
Here's a link to the house. It was really great!
http://www.orlandovillahols.com/
We went to Animal Kingdom and really enjoyed it. We saw a lot of animals close up and the park wasn't horrifically crowded. The live Lion King show was really entertaining.
We also went went to the Magic Kingdom. That was really crowded. Anna and Maggie liked the little water parks the best and everyone really enjoyed the parade, but it was a LONG day. Luckily, the weather couldn't have been better that day, sunny and 75.
We had a great time hanging out with everyone and Maggie and Anna were so happy to have their grandparents there to play with (Grams and Grampa didn't mind either ;-)
The only disappointment was Anna's reaction to T-rex cafe. Anna is VERY in to dinosaurs, so we went to this great restaurant in Downtown Disney that has life size dinosaurs that come to life in a "meteor shower show" every 20 minutes. Anna was scared senseless. She cried the whole time. She's never had this sort of reaction before. The meal was fabulous, we just had to take turns playing with her in the "excavation site" ( a big sandbox full of fake dino bones to uncover) while everyone else ate.
Here's a picture of us going in, before the drama began...
Kristen has a lot more photos so if she updates her blog this year (seriously, it's been since December!) you can have a look there for more photos of this great family vacation.
http://lifewiththeburrells.blogspot.com/
Darren and Bryan played golf two days while the rest of us enjoyed the fabulous house we rented, equipped with heated pool!
Here's a link to the house. It was really great!
http://www.orlandovillahols.com/
We went to Animal Kingdom and really enjoyed it. We saw a lot of animals close up and the park wasn't horrifically crowded. The live Lion King show was really entertaining.
We also went went to the Magic Kingdom. That was really crowded. Anna and Maggie liked the little water parks the best and everyone really enjoyed the parade, but it was a LONG day. Luckily, the weather couldn't have been better that day, sunny and 75.
We had a great time hanging out with everyone and Maggie and Anna were so happy to have their grandparents there to play with (Grams and Grampa didn't mind either ;-)
The only disappointment was Anna's reaction to T-rex cafe. Anna is VERY in to dinosaurs, so we went to this great restaurant in Downtown Disney that has life size dinosaurs that come to life in a "meteor shower show" every 20 minutes. Anna was scared senseless. She cried the whole time. She's never had this sort of reaction before. The meal was fabulous, we just had to take turns playing with her in the "excavation site" ( a big sandbox full of fake dino bones to uncover) while everyone else ate.
Here's a picture of us going in, before the drama began...
Kristen has a lot more photos so if she updates her blog this year (seriously, it's been since December!) you can have a look there for more photos of this great family vacation.
http://lifewiththeburrells.blogspot.com/
Friday, January 22, 2010
Welcome to 2010!!
Hi all! I know it's been ages since I've updated the blog and I'm sorry. Now stop nagging Linds :-)
Lindsay and I went to take Anna to see Santa Claus at the mall, but the line was too long to wait. Instead, Anna stood in front of the area where Santa was sitting and sang him a song, then we went to ride on the Christmas train.
Also, there are a few pictures of Anna helping to decorate the tree.
The following weekend we went to go have "breakfast with Santa" at Flanders Fish Market with the Hanshaws. Anna was very tentative at first, but after a few shy waves to Santa were returned, she overcame her fear and sat right up in his lap (the promise of candy canes did not hurt either.) Anna told Santa about all she wanted and that she had been a good girl and was rewarded by these snazzy reindeer antlers. Anna had a lot of fun with Deidrea and Sebastian. They came back to our house after and played "dress-up."
Doesn't Anna look so big with her hair in a ponytail!
The weekend before Christmas we had a large snowfall and Anna and I had fun traipsing around in the snow. Anna has gotten particularly good at snow angels.
Grams and Grampa arrived on Tuesday of Christmas week. Anna stayed home with them the rest of the week and enjoyed endless amounts of attention and had tons of fun! Grams came armed with pre-Christmas gifts as well. Here's Anna dressing like a princess in the new "dress up box" that Grams gave her.
Christmas morning arrived and Anna was very excited to see her new kitchen! We had a lot of fun getting meals cooked for us. She opened presents for hours and got pretty tuckered out. We needed to take a break for a while so we saved some presents for when Uncle Darren, Aunt Kristen, and Maggie arrived later in the day. It was so wonderful to have us all together on Christmas.
We had a wonderful time with all the family in!
On New Year's eve, Aunt Maryanne, Uncle Scott, and Ryan came up for a visit. Ryan and Anna had a great time playing together, but we didn't take any pictures :-( Next time!
Mommy and Daddy had Martin Luther King's day off from work so we had a nice long weekend. Unfortunately with sub-par weather we were running out of fun things to do inside. Mommy and Anna decided to make dinosaur cookies. Anna put on the dinosaur apron Aunt Jer had bought her and we made dino cut outs and decorated them with the dino sprinkles Grams had brought us on her last visit. We had a great time making the cookies and Anna had an even better time eating them, especially the sprinkles! On Tuesday, we brought a bunch of them in for Anna's class and they all enjoyed them after their lunch. They made a whole dinosaur theme at school that day! How fun!
Lindsay and I went to take Anna to see Santa Claus at the mall, but the line was too long to wait. Instead, Anna stood in front of the area where Santa was sitting and sang him a song, then we went to ride on the Christmas train.
Also, there are a few pictures of Anna helping to decorate the tree.
The following weekend we went to go have "breakfast with Santa" at Flanders Fish Market with the Hanshaws. Anna was very tentative at first, but after a few shy waves to Santa were returned, she overcame her fear and sat right up in his lap (the promise of candy canes did not hurt either.) Anna told Santa about all she wanted and that she had been a good girl and was rewarded by these snazzy reindeer antlers. Anna had a lot of fun with Deidrea and Sebastian. They came back to our house after and played "dress-up."
Doesn't Anna look so big with her hair in a ponytail!
The weekend before Christmas we had a large snowfall and Anna and I had fun traipsing around in the snow. Anna has gotten particularly good at snow angels.
Grams and Grampa arrived on Tuesday of Christmas week. Anna stayed home with them the rest of the week and enjoyed endless amounts of attention and had tons of fun! Grams came armed with pre-Christmas gifts as well. Here's Anna dressing like a princess in the new "dress up box" that Grams gave her.
Christmas morning arrived and Anna was very excited to see her new kitchen! We had a lot of fun getting meals cooked for us. She opened presents for hours and got pretty tuckered out. We needed to take a break for a while so we saved some presents for when Uncle Darren, Aunt Kristen, and Maggie arrived later in the day. It was so wonderful to have us all together on Christmas.
We had a wonderful time with all the family in!
On New Year's eve, Aunt Maryanne, Uncle Scott, and Ryan came up for a visit. Ryan and Anna had a great time playing together, but we didn't take any pictures :-( Next time!
Mommy and Daddy had Martin Luther King's day off from work so we had a nice long weekend. Unfortunately with sub-par weather we were running out of fun things to do inside. Mommy and Anna decided to make dinosaur cookies. Anna put on the dinosaur apron Aunt Jer had bought her and we made dino cut outs and decorated them with the dino sprinkles Grams had brought us on her last visit. We had a great time making the cookies and Anna had an even better time eating them, especially the sprinkles! On Tuesday, we brought a bunch of them in for Anna's class and they all enjoyed them after their lunch. They made a whole dinosaur theme at school that day! How fun!
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