Update 2013

Well, here is an update from the shores of mighty Lake Ontario.  It seems that spring might actually get here soon.  In addition to some flowers and buds on the trees, the TrueGreen signs are popping up on the lawns in the neighborhood and the kids are asking to go outside in shorts.  

We have been keeping busy.  Max is working his way through 7th grade.  The early wake-ups aren't our favorite but we love his teacher and the school is great. He still attends Social Skills Group and Recreation Group at CDS.

Quinlan is our busy girl.  She is part of the 4th grade orchestra (viola) at school, the 4th grade chorus, the art club, K-Kids (future leaders with the Kiwanis Club) and Science Buddies (with students from University of Rochester) all in addition to dance and playing outside with her neighborhood friends.

Reilly is our little reader now.  She is tearing up the pages and enjoys reading to me.  She is doing well in math and has decided that recess is her favorite subject. She is outside playing with friends when she can and had her first sleep over at her friend Tori's house.

I'm holding down the fort.  I volunteer in the school library on Monday and Friday mornings, in 1st grade one Thursday a month and now with the Teacher Appreciation Week committee. I also try to be in the girl's classrooms for special events like gingerbread house decorating and Colonial Days.  In fact, in May I am going to be one of the parents on the 4th grade fishing outing.  Quinlan came home and said that she would like me to volunteer because I'm not afraid of the worms or hooks.  That is a good thing, right ?


We are gearing up for summer....camps, extended school year, and, of course, Keuka Lake.  The kids are talking about it all the time and can't wait to open Memorial Day (weather permitting).  I can't wait for the weather to, kind of, moderate.  It seems every day is different; hot / cold, wet/dry, windy/ not windy.....ok, wind is ALL the time.

Look for more pictures soon.  We will be busy with birthdays, the lake, dance recitals, Autism Fair, and the such. We'll also be putting a wedding on our calendar too (my niece is getting married).  

Drop us a line if you are ever up our way.  If not, we look forward to hearing from everyone soon.

Ann, Chris, Max, Quinlan & Reilly.

Quinlan's dance

 Parent Visitation Day in January.  Practice makes perfect!

We got a nice preview of Quinlan's recital piece when her Jazz class performed at Community Arts Day, Saturday, April 20.  Of course, they were in full costume, hair and make-up.    Here are a couple of pictures (with the new camera so they aren't great).  We are looking forward to the "real" recital in May to see ballet, tap and a polished version of jazz.  

Easter 2013

Easter seemed mighty early in the year, this year.  I think we had snow flurries that day.  The Canandaigua cousins, Grandma and Grandpa Connor and even Aunt Colleen joined us for Easter dinner.  The pictures below are of all the desserts.  I made the cake especially with coconut on the bow tie for Grandpa.  Ewww.  Coconut is yucky.  My kids thought so too.  Quinlan thought the pink gel was yucky too. 

The Easter Bunny was generous, as usual.  I think we just finished the candy last week although there might be a stray box of peeps around if I look hard enough.....and no, I don't intend to share.

St. Patrick's Day Parade

The folks from Lakeside Quality Building Products decided to participate in this year's St. Patrick's Day Parade in Rochester.  Unfortunately, the weather wasn't exactly the same as last year (see St. Patrick's Day Parade post from 2012).  

This year it was cold and rainy with some sleet mixed in.  Luckily, Lakeside rented a limo bus so we could stay warm and dry.  Here are pictures of Quinlan, Reilly and their friend Aiden and Max and Aiden in front of one of the floats that was staged near us.  

We had one of the big crane trucks and the box truck in the parade.

Father - Daughter Dance

Chris and the girls attended the Father - Daughter dance at Schlegel in February.  The girls decided to wear their "flower girl" dresses (see O'Brien's Wedding post) and I ordered flowers for their wrists for when they arrived.  The bottom picture was given to Quinlan by one of the other parents at the dance.  I know some of the other mom's go to take pictures but I stayed home so the 3 of them could enjoy their time.  

The girls told me that they got Chris out on to the dance floor but I didn't believe them until they presented the picture as proof.

Bus Crash

First day with a new driver and lake effect snow contributed to a trip into the ditch right outside our neighborhood.  All the kids were ok and they went to the Easter Seals group home at the end of the street to stay warm.  One of the other parents called me but he told me that everyone was ok so I hesitated to walk down there, but I did.  There were EMTs checking everyone out.  The Principal from Schlegel was there, as was her secretary.  

Quinlan and Reilly decided they wanted to come home and spend the day with me and, against what my mind said my heart said OK.  Most of the rest of the kids continued on to school without another incident.  

It was on the emergency radios as a "bus flip" but as you can see, nobody flipped.  The kids slid out of their seats and then climbed out an emergency window with the help of some of the neighborhood men who were on their way to work.  

We were thankful to the nice girl at the group home that welcomed them all in out of the cold.  The driver was shook up but these things happen and nobody was hurt (thankfully).  They did have a whole lot to talk about for a while.

Some Christmas shots.....

 Opening presents Christmas Eve day at home.

 Quinlan shows off her new Monster High doll.

 Aunt Susie made this cake.  It is a snow globe!

 Emily gifted Reilly with this adorable hat!  I told her that when she outgrows it we will put it on Softy the Bear.  I've had a bunch of adults at Schlegel Road Elementary School comment on how much they like it.

 Max indulges in nap time after opening gifts at Susie & Barney's.  His friend is Lotso from Toy Story 3.  He even smells like strawberries.  We looked for one while we were in Disney World but they were all out.  

Quinlan received a fish bowl and a gift certificate to Pet Smart to start her on her quest to become a pet owner.  We've had 3 of them die but the last 2 are still going strong.  Now she wants a puppy or a kitten or a hamster......... I told her NOT!

Annual Christmas photo

We dodged a bullet this Christmas.  This picture was taken just before church on 12/15.  Thank goodness for digital photography.  I didn't have to take 25 pictures and hope, after processing, that one came out.  I knew as soon as I took this one that it was a keeper.  

After we got to church that morning Quinlan started complaining about her face and neck being itchy and hot.  Sure enough she had a poison ivy outbreak....... in December....... just before Christmas.  By the time it stopped oozing it looked very painful but she was a real trooper and we got through it.  I got asked a million times if I had taken her to the doctor, but I've been there before for the same thing and I knew what they were going to tell me.  The calamine and benadryl works.  Now she says she knows what it looks like (not sure I believe her) and she vows to stay away from it.  I hope so.

Meeting Santa with the Canandaigua Cousins

We got together with the Canandaigua cousins (Mina, Will, Andee and Tess) for our annual trip to sit with Santa but it just didn't work out this year.  Poor planning on my part and poor weather made us put it off until the very last weekend and after an extra long lunch - not by design - we arrived with about 20 minutes before he closed up shop.  It was really cold and the line was endless!  We opted to try again next year..... but here are some pictures from our visit. These are pictures from my new camera that I got as an early Christmas present.  I'm still learning to use it.

 

Reilly's Gingerbread House

 The First graders at Schlegel spent a few hours one morning decorating Gingerbread Houses.  Somebody had obviously done this before because the graham crackers were hot-glued together and each child had a baggie with candy and marshmallows (and the such) for decorating their house.  They all did a very good job.  Once the house was finished each child got to eat the leftover candy and marshmallows. 

4th Grade Colonial Days

The entire 4th grade at Schlegel Elementary School participated in Colonial Days in December 2012.  The children were encouraged to dress in colonial garb.  The girls made dust-bonnets and the boys made tunics.  Quinlan's dust bonnet was made out of the fabric the little girls wore in our wedding.  The kids made a punched tin designs, learned the art of paper rolling, made corn bread muffins and dipped candles.  The picture below is of Quinlan learning to dip candles.  Unfortunately, poor Quinlan had a bad case of poison ivy on her face.  Hard to believe that she could get poison ivy in December but she did.