The Holy Trinity Christmas play

Quinlan participated in our church play today (12/14). It was the first Christmas play in over a decade and one of the high school seniors put it together as her senior community project. Quinn was one of the sheep. She didn't have a speaking part, maybe next year! Here are Max and Reilly enjoying a treat or two before it began.

Here is Quinlan enjoying her treat after the program.

Here she is onstage paying more attention to me taking the picture then to the play that is going on. I made her costume. It was a piece of fuzzy fabric that I cut into a tunic and sewed a tail onto. The non-speaking parts didn't get costumes and there weren't really many to be had anyway. I put the ears on a plastic headband, but she was asleep when I was trying to position them and that is why they are a little too high. Oh well, she liked it!

Another on-stage shot. The official church photographer took pictures too and is going to get me his web address so hopefully I can get his which I am sure are much better than mine.

Our family and the big tree

Here we are. all together, after our visit with Santa. The tree looked a lot bigger, brighter and prettier in person. Dontcha love Q's reindeer antlers (or "anklers" as she refers to them). I think they really make the shot!

A Visit With Santa

On Saturday (12/13), we visited the Connor Cousins (Andee, Mina and Will) and Uncle Curt and Aunt Mary in Canandaigua. We went out to lunch, visited with Santa and gave him our wish lists, hung out at their house and went sledding on their back hill! It was a lot of fun and here are some pictures.

Quinlan's Birthday - Part 3

We celebrated Quinlan's and Will's birthdays today with a picnic-fare lunch, dessert and of course, presents. It was fun end to all the birthday celebrations.

Happy Halloween!!

Happy Halloween from the Lady Bug (thank you, Aunt Susie), the glittery butterfly and Buzz Lightyear ("to infinity and beyond!").

At 4:00pm on Friday we decided that the pumpkins still needed to be carved. So we did it! It is a lot easier with those great pumpkin carving knives but the guts still make me gag! I filled a big bowl with them and gave them to Josh and Dana (who live across the street). Dana roasted the seeds which were pretty tasty!

Reilly decided that she, too, needed to march in the Halloween Parade at school. She couldn't wait to be a ladybug and when I told her that it was only for the big kids she cried until I put her in line with Quinlan. It was a cool but sunny day. So she marched with Quinlan until it was time for Quinlan to go back inside and then she found Max and marched with him. Max's classmates thought our little Ladybug was the cutest thing!! And it probably was against the rules for her to be in there but whatever. She didn't hurt anyone and she was very happy to be included. Plus, she is cute and that doesn't hurt either!

Here are Quinlan (the pink Butterfly) and her friend, Finn (the astronaut) with the rest of the a.m. kindergarteners leading the parade.

We had fun this Halloween. It was hard to tell which neighborhood kid was which and they were all in such a rush to get to every house. It was a beautiful evening and when everyone got home (and after Mommy went through the bags to get her favorites) it was brushing teeth and off to bed for three very tired kids.

(L to R): Quinlan, Ryan Wade (Harry Potter), Ryan Springer (Ballerina), Connelly Springer (Football Player), Max and Megan Wade (witch).

Quinlan's birthday - Part 2

Here are some pictures from Quinlan's birthday party. We had a whole bunch of kids enjoying hotdogs, pasta and cake. Her theme was "My Little Pony" and she got a few of those. I made the cake (which didn't turn out exactly as I would have liked) but a good time was had by all and Quinlan got some nice gifts.

Quinlan's birthday - she's 6! (Part 1)

We celebrated Quinlan's "real" birthday with spaghetti and meatballs and cupcakes. She had a great day at school and at dance class. A party with her friends (who all just happen to live in our neighborhood - how convenient!) is scheduled for this Saturday. Then there will be another party with her cousin Will Connor (who's birthday is 10/30) in November. Sounds like she's got this party-thing down to a science. And too many parties are never a bad thing!

Just a little nostalgia - here she is on one of the first days she was home from the hospital. I didn't have a digital camera then so this one isn't dated, but isn't she sweet?! I can't believe it has been 6 years since she was born. It is hard to remember her that small but she's still a little doll.

A Party at Aunt Trisha's

We went to Aunt Trisha and Uncle Dick's house on Panther Lake for a party on Saturday. It was a beautiful drive up north (if you can believe we can get any farther north in this state!). The sun was shining and the trees were full of color. After we got there, Uncle Dick took Chris, Max, Quinlan and Reilly for a ride in his little boat. They were looking for his "big" boat, but it is parked for the winter. Then we had lunch and a party for Quinlan's birthday (just a little early). We had cookie cake and Quinlan opened her gifts. There were a lot of nice things. Then the kids watched a movie, Chris and Poppy napped and I tried to catch up with Mima, Betsy, Aunt Kath (up from sunny NC -why? I have no idea) and Aunt Trisha. It was fun!

Aunt Kath took this picture of Reilly and the one of Quinlan (below).

The new swing set

There was a surprise in store for the Connor kids on Thursday night. We had our new playset/swing set installed. The man and his helper didn't get to the house until after 7:00pm so it was dark before the kids (and the neighbor) got to try it out. It is a really nice, Amish-built set with a slide, 2 swings, a trapeze and a glider. Plus there is a special place on the end for Reilly's baby swing. She loves to "whing". It was a bit of a change from the 92 days I waited for the last one to emerge from under the deck for set up but the result - happy and excited kids - was the same!

First Day of School - 2008

The first day of school was a big success! Chris, Reilly, Max and I walked Quinlan to the Kindergarten door where she got in line with her classmates. Then Max met his friend, Mrs. Babineau, and she walked him to his new classroom. Quinlan's teacher is Mrs. Smith and Max's teacher is Mrs. Johanson. Reilly missed Max as soon as we got back into the truck to go home but it took a while to sink in that Quinlan was gone too. She looked around the house, all the places Quinlan might be, and then asked me "where TinTin?". When I said "at school" she said "I go school" when I said "no, you have to stay here with Mommy", she cried. That made me feel really good - NOT. Quinlan rode her mini-bus home without a problem..... Max got on the wrong bus but it didn't seem to phase him. Reilly and I will be starting some Mommy & Me stuff soon but with Quinlan only at school from 8:00 to 10:45 we aren't left with a whole lot of time! It's good though, I'm not sure that I'm ready for her to be gone all day (but she is).

Labor Day and the close of summer

It was a warm and sunny weekend at the lake. The kind that is both good and bad. Good because it is nicer to clean up and close up when it is not raining and bad because it is hard to think about closing up and getting back to routines away from the lake when it is nice there. The kids fed the ducks in their jammies, read stories with Aunt Susie, went swimming, had a "Bonair" fire and posed for their annual end-of-summer pictures in Poppy's chair. We can't wait to go back next year!

"Oh, Those Wildwood Days"

We enjoyed a late summer vacation at Wildwood Crest, NJ. We had wonderful weather (not a cloud in the sky the entire week) and really enjoyed ourselves. We spent our days in the pool and on the beach and our evenings out to dinner and at the boardwalk amusement park. A great way to spend summer vacation!

More Wildwood Days

More Wildwood Days

Training Camp

Chris and Max attended Buffalo Bill's training camp on Monday night. It was Chris's second visit. Unfortunately, the first 30 minutes it rained but the players still practiced and the family area was still open. Chris is very happy to be in such close proximity to "his" team. Now if they can just win a few more games this year!
Max tried his hand at some of the games of skill that were in the family area. He had a lot of fun with Chris and our neighbors, Brad and Ryan Wade.

With his Buffalo Bill's visor on (he doesn't go many places without it) and a big smile, Max poses at St. John Fisher college - training camp home of the Buffalo Bills. He got to ride a bus to and from the parking area and even received a new t-shirt too.