Saturday, December 29, 2007

Post Christmas Let Down


This is an older photo, but it reminds me of playing in the snow, so I'll use it until I get some snow pictures developed. It's Walker and Audrey "painting" with shaving cream. It was back in July. So cute.

Well that happened fast. All the hype, work, fun and now it's over. Maybe we should move the holiday to once every OTHER year. Wouldn't that make more sense? Our beautiful tree is shedding needles all over the carpet every time anyone even looks at it. I am rarely motivated to take down all the decorations and put them all away. It's so much fun to put it all up, but I wish I had a maid to take it all back down. That'll probably be our project today.

Walker got tons of gifts. His favorite is still the XBox 360. He and Scott play Halo every day. They are on Halo 3 of course (for 360) but they have also been playing Halo 1 and 2 since we found out you can use all the original XBox games on 360. That is a good thing! I also found out yesterday that 360 has the original Pac Man pre-loaded on it. Cool! I used to love that game in the 80's. It's different playing with a tiny toggle than a big, sturdy joy stick, but I think I can get used to it. Other gifts included a boxed set of season 3 of Melrose Place (for me), a magic kit, toy shooting gallery, pin-ball machine, tons of Ben 10, Pokemon, Power Rangers and Transformers (for Walker) and Bioshock and a new baseball glove (for Scott).

Walker has been busy with play dates every day. Yesterday we had his friend Danny sleep over. We wanted to help Dan celebrate his 13th birthday! He's an awesome kid and really great with Walker. We tried to get into Chunky's Cinama Pub (where you can get a whole meal served to you while watching a movie) but they had sold out of Alvin and the Chipmunks. So we ended up at another theater. Yikes, $60 for 4 of us to get admission and popcorn and drinks! Oh well, it's only money. We don't go to the movies that often (now we know why). Alvin was a fun movie. Nice and short for the young set. It was PACKED. Why doesnt' anyone work on Friday at noon?

Vacation has been fun. We've been playing and eating and drinking for over a week now. It's almost like summer. Well, the goal today is to get at least some of the decorations put away. Maybe I'll just do the tree and leave the rest for another day.

The Patriots play at 8:15 tonight. Could they possibly win again? It'll be their last regular season game of the year. It'd be awesome!

Thursday, December 20, 2007

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas

Happy Holidays!

It's snowing here again. We get about 6 inches every other day. Children all over town are loving this. Fresh, new snow to stomp around in all the time. It hasn't been good snowman snow yet, though. It's been too cold so the snow is fluffy, except for a thin layer of ice about a foot down.

Anyway, we're ready for Christmas. Presents mostly wrapped, Christmas books and movies scattered about.

I finally got around to scanning some more pictures in. They are a bit out of date, back to Halloween, but still cute.


Audrey and Walker. Audrey dressed up for Walker that night. She loves to dress up in her pretty dresses. Being a 5 year old boy, Walker didn't even know what to say except for his usual response, "Whatever." I think she looks beautiful. Love the boots!
Walker in his new Cars "bunnysuit."
1st part of our Halloween night. We went to Grammie's neighborhood and met up with these friends. From left: Audrey, Walker, Gage, Alex, Kyle.
Later we met up with our Danville friends for more trick-or-treating. From left: Walker, Tommy, Owen (on Amanda's lap), Lilly.
Ed (Scott's brother) and Scott singing in Scott's studio. Let the good times roll!

Friday, December 07, 2007

Happy Holidays

Wow! It's been a very long time since I've written anything here. Things have been pretty busy. Fall has just flown by.
The Christmas show is taking up extra time on the weekends. It's very fun, but something else to get ready for, get dressed, get to on time. Tomorrow is the dress-rehearsal and Sunday the show. If you live in the area, the show is "A Merry Littel Christmas" at Pinkerton Academy in Derry at 2PM on Sunday, December 9.


This picture is Walker's first day of Kindergarten. We wait for the bus in our driveway. We usually play catch with the basketball. Now we don't because of the all the snow and ice in the driveway. We stand out there as short a time as possible. Notice Walker's first day of school outfit: name tag, back pack and "manpris."

I just got 3 rolls of film developed. Some were from August and the final camping trip of the season. I miss camping. Only 6 more months and we'll be back in the camper.

It's so easy to buy presents for little boys who watch TV. Every commercial that comes on we hear, "I want that!" Every time I walk into a store that sells any type of toy I could spend $200. Each year we say we'll cut back. We do, but for the OTHER people. Not the boy. He still gets a great Christmas. Lots and lots of things from Santa Claus.
We've been using Scott's music room a lot for Karaoke parties. People are funny. They say they won't sing. Then give them a couple of drinks and suddenly they're unstoppable. It's very fun. We love playing "rock star." Apparently, everyone who comes over also does. Scott is thinking that maybe we'll have to move the equipment into another room. Make another room for it actually. His room houses a lot of antiques and valuable collections, as well as his music stuff. It'd be terrible if someone fell over and wrecked the room. Maybe we'll end up finishing the attic area over the garage. Eventually. Then Scott will feel comfortable actually inviting more than 2 people at a time into that room. However, the fewer people that come, the more mic time we each get, so...

Last weekend we had a game/karaoke night with 2 other couples. That was fun. I want to do it again. We played Taboo. When we paired up and played as couples none of us did very well. When we switched it up and did girls against guys the girls kicked butt!



Let the games begin. This picture is when Walker first started to get into video games. We were still using the old X-Box. Here they are using the even older Nintendo-64 (still my favorite!). We just got X-Box 360 for our big family present.










Walker with his friend Gage at the Kindergarten open-house. They got to ride the bus and check that all out. They don't ride the same bus now, though. Walker is sad about that. Gage lives in North Kingston and we are in South Kingston.







I think this was the last day we used the pool. Walker wore this "swimmy" every time he went in the pool. It works very well. We feel comfortable with him going in even if we don't - as long as we are right there on the deck.








Walker at soccer practice back in October when it was beautiful outside. He's in the red pants.
Walker, styling his hair after a tubby. He hates having wet hair and won't put on a pull over pj top until it's dry. He also likes to style it like Zac Efron where it's pulled forward from the back (if that makes sense).
We live at the end of the rainbow!

Thursday, August 02, 2007

Happy Campers


Here is a picture of Walker and his friend, Audrey (5 & 3). They are playing in our "secret garden."
This has been the best summer of my life. Pretty much everything has been fun, fun, fun. I've had a LOT of time off to spend with Walker. It's been great to have a change of pace from the "regular" year. Have I mentioned I love summer.



We used to camp, years ago, in a small tent without much else. We gave it up once we had Walker. Occasionally, we set up the tent in the yard and "camped out." We didn't think we liked it. I thought of myself as a HOTEL GIRL. That all changed last summer when our good friends, Coreen and Steven, invited us to go camping with them. We went out and bought a new, bigger tent, and a few other things. I wasn't really looking forward to it at all. In my mind it was "have" to go camping when I'd discuss our plans. Well, thank goodness they dragged us out there. We really enjoyed it. I think Walker liked it much better than he liked going to a hotel. There is so much more to do. We liked it so much, in fact, that we went and bought a pop-up camper. Now we like it even more - not sleeping on the ground. I also like having a sink to do the dishes in.
So, this is our camping summer. Last week we went to a campground called Whit's End in Ossipee, NH. http://www.whitsendcampground.com/ We had sites on the river. It's a great river for family tubing, even small children would be able to do it. There is also a pool and rec hall and play ground. Clean showers and rest rooms. We're excited to go to Eastern Slope Campground in Conway next weekend for a couple of days. http://easternslopecamping.com/ Then the week after that we've got 5 days at Goose Hollow Campground in Thornton, NH http://www.nhcampgrounds.com/ We've never been to either of those places, but hope they are as fun as Whit's End was. Now we just need to get more creative in our camping food. Everyone was sick of the hot dogs we had last weekend. We went through 3 pounds in just 4 days! But hey, they are easy to hold on a stick over a camp fire. Easy and fun for the kids to do. Think I'll try sword fish next time out.
Tomorrow is my last day of my only 5 day work week this summer. OK, so it's the only 5 days I've worked this summer. But hey, I'm on summer vacation. After finishing college with a teaching degree almost 20 years ago I'm FINALLY able to be on a teacher's school year. I never want to work summers again except for the couple of weeks of dance camp that I do now.
Have I mentioned I love summer?
Does any family ever finish all the freeze pops you get in one of those 100 packs? We keep buying new ones every year, but still have all the old ones in the freezer. Seems Walker only eats them when friends are over and playing outside. Or they multiply in the freezer?!






Here's another one of Walker in the secret garden.

Wednesday, April 18, 2007

Spring Thoughts

I found a couple more pictures from this past winter's StillPointe performance. I was reminded of it when I was asked to perform the "Three Women" piece again. The photo below is from that piece. It was good and it was fun, but this is a very busy time of year, so I'm going to pass



on it this time. As much as I enjoy performing and am flattered that the director of the program actually called me to do it (after I'd begged out when the girls called) I said yes. But then I thought again and realized this would mean the rest of this month's Tuesdays to practice, then 4 nights at the end of the month. I just can't do that to Walker. It's too late, too many nights in a row. Of course, he wants to do it (he says), but I wouldn't be happy about it with him being super cranky from being up too late that many nights in a row. He'd also get bored. So, I got a replacement for myself and taught her my part Tuesday. Hopefully, it'll be wonderful. Anyway, her name is now in the program, so it's not up to me any more.





Then there is this dance, another of which I will not be performing again in this show. It was fun, but I didn't even really know this dance, having only done it a couple times in the studio. I hate performing so unprepared. It's the stuff nightmares are made of.

Sunday, March 04, 2007

"Dress Rehearsal"

This afternoon we had our Sanborn Dance team fundraiser. This was actually the dress rehearsal for the Steppin' Out Dance Company. Money for them, practice in front of a live audience for us. It was a win-win situation. Now we are just about ready to compete at Danzjam next weekend. These photos are from todays performance.

Walker did great in "In My Own Little Corner." It's a sort of Cinerella story. He's the prince and tries the shoe on a few of the girls in his group. It doesn't end up fitting anyone. He's happy about that. He said he doesn't want to get married anyway. He's a little ham. It was a long day, but fun.
I realized that the costumes for my tap piece are not that flattering for even the best of bodies. Oh well. The "go mom" group had a lot of fun anyway.























Here are a couple from "Black Horse and a Cherry Tree."

Friday, February 23, 2007

Walker's Birthday



Today is Walker's birthday. I can't believe he is 5 years old! It has gone by so quickly. All day I'll be looking at the clock thinking about what happened 5 years ago at "this time." I do that every year on his birthday. Five years ago today, at this time, 9:52AM Scott was making us bacon and eggs. I was relaxing on the couch watching TV (on bed rest). Walker seems to be realizing he's growing up and sort of doesn't want to. He's been talking in baby talk and wanting us to feed him. I guess that's indicative of him being aware of this childhood time being on it's way out. Of course he's still got a long way to go. But he's not a toddler any more. He's starting kindergarten in the public school in the fall. It's just unreal. We've been celebrating this birthday for almost a week now. Last Saturday was the "kid" party at Off the Wall Gymnastics. It was great there. They do a very fun birthday party. Plus we didn't have to clean before and after the party as we would had we done the party at home. We had 13 children and most of their parents. The gym instructors led the kids through floor workouts and parachute games, then challenging obstacle courses. The last 20 minutes was "open gym" where they could run wild and crazy. We chose NOT to open presents at the party and that worked out very well. It's always so crazy and never fun for anyone, including the birthday person. So while the kids were eating cake I packed up the gifts in big black trashbags and Scott brought them out to the car. Instead of doing presents we had a game of pin the tail on the donkey after cake. Then handed out goodie bags and that was it. Of course, then we had more fun, once we got home, opening all the gifts in a relaxed way. Sort of.
The above photos are Walker back in the fall. He had his leather jacket on with my boots and Scott's cold weather hat. Walker thought it was the perfect outfit in which to paint a gourd. Since it was still fairly warm we were able to do it out on the breezeway.
This morning Walker got to open two more presents since it's his birthday. He got another Transformer and a Lincoln Log set. Lincoln Logs were always frustrating for me and Sue when we were kids. Not much different these days. Scott was able to make a house, though. Maybe they will be more fun as Walker grows older. Walker is at school this morning. He was excited to wear the birthday crown, birthday sticker and bring cupcakes to all his classmates.
This afternoon we'll go to an early dinner at Bugaboo Creek. We all like it there. We brought Walker there for his 1st birthday and they've sent us free kid meal certificates every year since. We haven't gone back for a birthday since, though. They do a fun birthday song when they bring out a piece of cake.
Tomorrow is the family party. We've got a bit of cleaning to do before the family comes over. We've also got to bake another cake. Luckily, we like doing that. We'll have a big family spaghetti dinner and more presents. Fun.
I can't believe what is going on with Britney Spears. It's very sad, especially when I think about those poor babies. They need their mother AND father both to be healthy and sane (as well as responsible). I hope it all works out for them.
I've had vacation from Andover this week. It's been a bit of a break. I would have been there now, but I'm able to be at home on a Friday at 10AM. Alone, since Scott is in the basement with his brother. Ah, coffee and a free minute. I do have to get ready for teaching "Stretch and Tone" at the YMCA soon, though. But that's fun and good for me.
We had a bit more snow last night. Just about an inch. That'll freshen the yard up a bit for more outdoor fun. We've still got a good 7 inches or so on the ground.

Monday, January 08, 2007

January 6 - 72 Degrees!


Here is a picture of us (and my nephew Jonathan) hanging out by the pool on Saturday. It was so warm I can't believe this is January in New Hampshire. We scooped leaves out of the pool. Walker was even pouring water all over himself. Just another crazy Saturday at the pool. If this keeps up we'll have to add chemicals and start the filter up again. This is supposed to be our cold, snowy season. We had to search for our shorts and sandals.

My friend Felice just reminded me of one of the terrible Christmas presents Walker received from Santa. Floam. He's wanted it since first seeing it on Nick Jr. It was so NOT worth the wait. We were all sadly disappointed. It was not at all like the commercial. In the commercial it looks easy to work with, fun to play with. We couldn't even scoop a spoonful out of the tub easily. It was super gluey and wouldn't come off our hands. We couldn't roll it into a ball or stick it on anything. We ended up throwing the tub away after that one experience. Maybe we were supposed to open the tub and let it dry out for a month or so?

Another loosing gift this year was crystal rocks. You know, the kind that grow into small "mountains" from tiny rocks. Unfortunately, the information/direction packet was so scary talking about how toxic the chemicals are, that we dumped the project about 5 minutes into it.

Other, better Christmas gifts included: Labyrinth (the game), Zingo Bingo, Spongebob Monopoly, Spongebob Life, Caribu, Yahtzee, Jenga. He also got action figures, puzzles, cars, Batman costume and more. It's insane the amount of things he got.

It's been difficult getting back to our "real" life. I liked vacation quite a bit. But it's fun going back to classes and being busy again. All we did during vacation was eat and drink (or so it seemed). We also did fun things like "go to the hospital for lunch." That was Walker's fun thing to do during vacation. He loves riding the elevators at the local hospital. The food at Exeter Hospital is actually very good and very well priced. All in all, a fun vacation.