2017 Holiday Wrap Up

The Christmas break was freezing, which meant lots of fires and snuggles with Disney to stay warm. Christmas was fun, as always, and the 26th brought us Cannon/Amy/Greyson/Easton!!! It was only warm enough on one day to go skiing, and everyone did great. We went to Bousquet and the kids had lessons in the morning while the adults skied, then we all met up for lunch. Easton was done by that point, so Amy & I took her home while Chris skied with our girls and Cannon did the bunny hill with Greyson. We also tried to go sledding one day, but it was so cold that we didn't last very long. The rest of the week was spent inside. Lots of poker, dominoes, movies, s'mores, and games. The kids spent nearly the entire time in the basement: playing foosball, painting, staging plays, etc. Chris's birthday was on a Wednesday, so we all went to trivia at the Brick House...didn't win, but had lots of fun. We also went to the Berkshire Museum, saw the new Star Wars movie, had a hibachi dinner at Enso, and visited the Norman Rockwell Museum. So glad they came up; we had so much fun together.

 Normally we spend NYE at the Hines', but Steph and Jeremy canceled this year...they were just too stressed out and tired to host the massive event they usually host. I thought we were going to spend a quiet evening in, but then Ilana invited us over to join her and Giovanna (& their kids). Their husbands were at the Patriots' game, so Chris was the only guy. :)  He dropped me & the girls off around 7, returned home to have a few quiet hours by himself (my family had just left that afternoon), then re-joined us around 11 to ring in the new year. The Ackermans and the Hennesseys have been a huge part of making us feel at home in Lenox...pretty sure these will be life-long friends.

Happy New Year!  May 2018 be full of joy and fulfillment!!!!

Holiday Fun!

I love the Christmas season! Noelle and I dressed up to attend her ballet company's annual Nutcracker Tea, then a few weeks later we got to see her perform as a mouse in her first Nutcracker performance. No pictures allowed of her in her full costume, but I did get a pic of her in her white leotard and tights. For the tea, Noelle wore a hand-me-down dress of Avery's...Noelle had been dying for the perfect place to wear and the fancy tea fit the bill!

 We also had Jennie and Alexa up from Manhattan. Here, the girls are getting ready to swim at Cranwell, and loving their spa robes.

 What Christmas season is complete without homemade cookies and frosting? And you must be dressed for the part; even Baby and Bear are properly turned out.

 Then it was time for the girls' annual hot chocolate/Christmas movie/pj's party. Delilah invited Maddie, Claire, and Akshara, while Noelle hosted Frances, Willow, and Gianna. The girls chose Elf and it was a delightful evening, as always.

 Then I started a new tradition (not Christmas-related, it just happened to be that time of year). I've decided that every year, I am going to surprise each girl with a day off from school to do something fun. So on a random Monday morning, I told Noelle that she wasn't going to school that day and instead we went to Manhattan. Drove to Port Chester, then took the train into Grand Central. We had lunch at a yummy Italian place, then went to the Rockettes, stopping at the Rockefeller Christmas Tree along the way. After, we had cookies & coffee while reading books at Barnes & Noble, before taking the train home. A wonderful, wonderful day with my girl. Delilah's turn will be in the spring...I already have something planned.

 We always do something festive with the Beatty's, and this year that meant a sleep-over at their house on Dec 22. The girls painted mermaid ornaments, crafted gingerbread homes, and had lots of fun as always.

 And finally, the girls in their annual winter pj's from Grammy Di and Papa H!

Halloween and Soccer Parties

Delilah has been having a lot of fun and learning so much on her soccer team, so we decided to invite the team over after a Friday practice for pizza and s'mores. So fun to have our house full of the sounds of happy girls...especially since Delilah has been really homesick for Rye lately. I know that  one day she will have friends here that she is as close with as her Rye friends,  but it will just take time. So I was glad we could have her team over...she loves to host parties! We did a repeat of the mummy toilet paper game that we had done at Noelle's party...it made our living room a mess, but the girls had such a blast it was worth it.
A few days later it was Halloween and Lenox hosts a parade and in-town trick-or-treating...the whole town gathers in front of the Catholic church and then marches to the community center. Nearly every local store and restaurant hands out candy and everyone wanders around. One of our new friends invited us to a neighborhood party; we hung out there most of the night and met some lovely new people. A couple weeks later, we had the Ackerman family to our home for dinner...they have two girls exactly the same ages as our girls and the night was so fun that it didn't really end: they took our two back home with them for a sleepover. The next morning we picked the girls up and then headed to Boston to meet Kim and Taylor for the day; Taylor really wants to go Emerson, so she was doing a campus visit. Would love it if she and Maddie both ended up in Boston for college!
So it's been a fun few weeks. We all still miss Rye, but we are getting more and more settled here every day.

Happy 7th, Noelle!!!!

Sweet, precious Noelle.
You:
-love fairies and have created a whole little world in a corner of your bedroom so they can come visit you at night while you sleep
-love Shopkins, Calico Critters, and all things tiny and cute
-snuggle Disney every chance you get
-hate to disappoint people and cry when you think you have done so
-still worship your sister, but you are getting bolder about sticking up for yourself
-love to "mess around", which means your Daddy or I tickle you and throw you around the couch
-have made friends very easily and seem to have adapted really well to Lenox
-create art shows in the basement with your sister
-currently take ballet and ice skating lessons and you are about to be in your first Nutcracker performance!
-love one-on-one time with each of us
-think sheep are wonderful
-can get upset pretty easily...when you do, we call it "tiny rage!"
-can also calm down pretty easily, especially if we can get you to laugh
-have a great sense of humor and you make the funniest faces
-are wonderfully determined...when you put your mind to something, you won't stop until you can do it
-still snuggle like a champ

Your actual birthday fell on a Wednesday, which is trivia night. You definitely wanted to go, so the trivia gang celebrated you (and Megan, whose birthday is 2 days after yours). You wanted to have a gymnastics party, but the local gym wasn't available on the right day. So we hosted an art party at the Funky Phoenix. You and your friends painted birdhouses and played games and had a great time. I can't believe my baby is 7; we love you SO MUCH!!!!!!!

Cape Cod, Pumpkin Farms, Backyard Camping and Boston

The weather was absolutely beautiful this weekend and we made the most of it. I headed to Cape Cod with Alicia, Meghan, Megan, Elizabeth, and Erika to spend the weekend at Meghan's dad's house. The home is right on the water and absolutely beautiful. We stayed up way too late both nights playing games, watching movies, and having some fantastic conversations. On Sunday morning, I left early to go to Boston because Maddie was there on a BU college visit. Met up her, Marra, and Marra's best friend, Erika, for brunch. Then we walked around Boston, did a little shopping, and ate again. :) Such a fun day! Maddie fell in love with Boston and BU; it would be so fabulous to have her go there for college.
While I was away, Chris and the girls made the most of their weekend, too. Saturday morning they met up with several friends (Willow, Olivia, Ada, Cassidy, and Maddie) at Whitney Farms: corn maze, hay ride, donuts on a string, petting zoo, pumpkin patch...what more do you need? Then they took Disney for her first hike. They went to October Mountain State Forest and had a blast. That night, they roasted hot dogs and s'mores in the backyard and the girls spent the night in the tent by themselves!! On Sunday, Delilah's soccer team won their first game...hooray! Ice cream to celebrate, of course.
So everyone fell asleep early last night...understandably so. :)