Well, hopefully this will bring everyone up to date on the goings-on in Ontario, NY.  Winter is starting to set in (we had a little dusting of snow on Sunday) and the wind is picking up.  We have been busy doing what we always do.  

Chris has been to a few Bill's home games this season courtesy of his boss.  The team is such a letdown though........ I think this might be the end of his season tickets until they start winning again.  And you can't say that he is a "fair-weather" fan..... he's been a fan since he was a little boy. (With Mark Cavallaro in 1974. It is a good thing the Jills have changed their costumes).

7th grade is going well for Max.  He likes gym class and lunch (of course). He spends time at CDS swimming, doing art projects and going on field trips.  They are wonderful people to work with and they LOVE Max.  They tell me what a sweetheart he is.(don't we know it!). Quinlan is still doing dance - tap, jazz and ballet.  She is in school chorus, orchestra and learning to play the viola.  She is also in the art club and loves to read.  Reilly is very excited about 1st grade.  She loves everything about school and is becoming an avid reader and writer.  She also has learned to color inside the lines (which is very important to her).  

I'm learning to live with myself most of the day.  It is a bit lonely with nobody home but me.  I'm starting to chip away at long overdue projects but I also volunteer in school 2x a week and I have 3 books started.  I love to shop by myself too.  I'll try not to let too much time pass before I update again.
Love to all.
ARC 

Halloween - 2012

 Reilly and her friend Jack (or is it Joey? I can't tell them apart) during the parade through the halls at school.  The kids were really cute and so excited. 

Then it was time for the parties.  Reilly's party included donut holes, cider and a yarn spider web.  They wanted to leave their costumes on all day but the teacher thought it would be too distracting.  And yes, I took the baton home with me to make sure nobody got bonked on the head with it.

 Quinlan and her friend, Xavier, work on "Mad Libs" at their Harvest Party.  We can't call them Halloween parties even though they have a "halloween" parade and are wearing their "halloween" costumes.

Here are the kids just before they went out into the neighborhood with Chris.  They were only gone an hour but they brought back some yummy treats to share with Chris and I.  I even sent some of the extra to Lakeside!

Quinlan - Birthday, Part 3

 Celebrating on October 22nd (her actual birthday) with cupcakes.

 An "Edward" doll to go with her Bella doll (from Twilight).

Cousin Will's birthday is October 30th so we always get together to celebrate. Here they are blowing out the candles.  Grandma and Granpa Connor were there to celebrate too.

Quinlan's Birthday - Part 2 of 3

We celebrated Quinlan's birthday with her girlfriends (and Reilly) with a butterfly themed event.  Quinlan designed the cake and I decorated it for her.  Reilly, Lilah Hann, Karlie DePaull, Meg Wade and Sarah Edwards.

 

Quinlan received some very nice gifts. And the girls enjoyed pizza, wings and a movie. 

Quinlan's Birthday - Part 1 of 3

 

We went to Build A Bear to begin Quinlan's 10th birthday celebration.  Reilly, Meg Wade, Quinlan and Max all got the chance to pick out and build an animal. 

 After they are stuffed but before they are closed up, each child gets to pick out a heart to be put into their bear/animal.  Before it goes into the stuffed being the child has to kiss the heart (to fill it with love), jump up and down with the heart (to fill it with energy and enthusiasm) and do a bunch of other things to provide good attributes for their project.

 Then the animals got a bath (not really).

 Quinlan and Meg pick out clothes from a lot of options.  Sequins, denim, fur, shoes and boots and uniforms were some of the choices.

 Then the kids had to name their creations and provide information for a "birth certificate"  

 When we were all done Quinlan got to "ring the bell" to signal that it was her birthday.  Meredith was our "helper" and she was great!

 Here are the kids with their creatures and their official "Build A Bear Anniversary Birthday" hats.  

 We visited the Lego store at Eastview Mall and the nice manager gave Quinlan a free Lego man.  

Then we went to Champs for lunch.  Here are Quinlan and Meg awaiting their meals.  Quinlan enjoyed her "Shirley Temple" and a burger.

Zoo Boo - 2012

 This year, instead of Wickham's Farm Market, we decided to do something a little different.  The Seneca Park Zoo hosts something called "Zoo Boo".  A not-too-scary trick or treat experience.  The kids went to stations within the zoo and got special treats.  And it was Chris's first visit to the zoo.  Here Reilly accepts a tattoo from "Belle".

 Quinlan, Reilly and Max pose infront of the new lion exhibit.  The lionesses weren't interested at all in the trick or treaters.

The elephants were out and about in their enclosure.

Quinlan was Merida (from the Disney movie Brave),  Reilly was a baton twirler (complete with the baton I got for Christmas when I was about her age) and I think you can figure out what Max's costume was.  (Thank you, Aunt Susie) for loaning us the cool sombrero.  It got a lot of attention.)

The O'Brien's Wedding

 My cousin Bobby O'Brien and his wife, Wendy, renewed their wedding vows on October 13.  They invited family and friends to celebrate with them.  Wendy was nice enough to let Quinlan and Reilly act as her flower girls. They did well for first time flower girls.   Wendy made the flower arrangements for them, complete with glittery pins and earrings and I made sure they were dressed for the event. 

Quinlan, Reilly and Max pose with Mima Reilly at the reception. 

Autism Walk - September 2012

 We did the Autism Walk at Monroe Community College with our Sib Shop, Parent Support and Recreation/Skill groups from CDS.  We raised a pretty good amount of money as a group.  This was the first time we had participated and the weather was a little chilly and overcast, but it didn't actually rain until the walk was over.  After, our family went out to lunch. 

 CDS provided the shirts.  Here is a picture of our group before the walk.

 It is a little hard to see, but this is a picture of the line of walkers/fundraisers.  

Reilly and Max were a little ahead of us.  Her shirt was just a little big.  The butterfly is CDS's logo.

First Day of School - 2012

 First day of school.

Max went back to Willink Middle School for 7th grade.  Quinlan and Reilly started at Schlegel Road School (same district, new school) in 4th and 1st grade, respectively.  It is the first time I am by myself most of the day.  Definitely an adjustment.  Quinlan is learning to play the viola, joined Orchestra and 4th grade Chorus.  I get to help out in Reilly's classroom and in the library.

Reilly's Birthday - 2012

My baby turned 6 on July 12.  We celebrated at the lake, at a Japanese Steak House with cousin Mina, at home with brownies and Skippy Jon Jones. Then we had a pool party for her friends and neighbors.  I decorated the fish cake to go along with the pool/fish theme. It was a beautiful day for a pool party.

 Amina, Reilly, Meg Wade and Quinlan.

Avery and Reilly

Disney - 3

Found this in the drafts bin.  More pics from Disney (Nov. 2011).  The anniversary of that trip is coming up and boy, do we wish we were going back again this year.

More Summer 2012

 The kid show off their prizes from the boardwalk at Wildwood NJ.  Chris won the giant Hello Kitty for Quinlan by shooting baskets.  She had asked him to try and (to my total surprise) he agreed.  He scored on the last try.  Luckily we drove the Tahoe there and had room to bring it home.  I kidded Quinlan that I would need to put her on the roof to do it.

Max and Quinlan fish off the neighbor's dock.  Thank you Mr. & Mrs. Reed.  I bought the worms, put them on the hook and took the fish off the hooks after the girls caught them.  Chris wanted nothing to do with worms or fish.  He was our official photographer.

Summer 2012

Here are some pictures from Summer 2012.  The Bennetts came to visit us at Keuka "Poppy's" Lake and then we met them at Wildwood NJ for our annual beach vaca.  Reilly was happy to see her old friend Cara (the dog) at the lake and the dog was happy to see her.  Most mornings the dogs would wait for the girls to go to the beach to play!  Quinlan and Reilly caught their first fish!  And we think it was the same fish - caught twice.  Max didn't get one but there is always next year.  I wish I had pictures of our first family visit to a waterpark with the Bennett girls in Wildwood.  Chris and I actually went down the slides too.  For me it wasn't so much the down but the up the l-o-n-g  staircases that were the end of me.

 Quinlan, Sydney Reilly and Reilly celebrate at Mima's Annual Birthday Bash!

 Elizabeth and Megan Bennett hang with Reilly and Quinlan at Keuka Lake.

 No. It isn't a giant bat.  Quinlan, Reilly and Max give "Skippy Jon Jones" a big hug at the Strong Museum of Play.  He is my favorite book character.  I hugged him too.  Although he looks a little demented here (his eyes).  He is a siamese cat who thinks he is a chihuahua.

 Reilly attempts to pull the sword from the stone.  We read "Sorcerer's Apprentice" a few dozen times this summer.

 Cousin Emily Croft moved to the big city and couldn't take her stuffed puppy with her.  Reilly agreed to take good care of it.  She calls it her "Vanilla Lab" because Quinlan has a chocolate lab stuffed animal.  Makes sense to me.

We had a wicked rain storm the first night at the beach (of course it was nothing compared to Hurricane Sandy).  It rained buckets for about 3 hours straight. The underground parking garage next door was flooded.  The next day a whole bunch of horseshoe crabs washed up on the beach - dead.  Our girls, and some others on the beach, carried them around, posed for pictures with them and used them to decorate sand castles.  It was pretty creepy to have one of them brush up against you while you were in the waves.