Saturday, January 23, 2010

Early December

This December was such a fun-filled and action-packed month, that I think I need to post about it in "chunks"...so here's what happened in early December...

The boys walked down to the park with their respective classes (on different days) to decorate the designated Christmas tree for their gr
ade-a fun annual tradition. They make ornaments in class, then walk down as group and place them on their tree.
This year Josh's class made cups of cocoa for their ornaments-a neat idea...they simply put brown paint on the outside of a plastic cup, then made a handle from a pipe cleaner....all as a nod to the Polar Express theme
. They had taken a field trip down to the IMAX in Syracuse to see the movie the week prior-how fun!

Here is Josh and his buddies...




Pretending to "drink" his hot cocoa...
Josh and the girls


Josh's turn...

Then, after the tree was decorated, they mailed their letters to Santa...Just look at the chaos...Since the boys have reached school-age, I have a new-found and immense respect for teachers...

And here is Ben, the next day, with his best buddy, Daniel, lining up to decorate the third grade tree...







These guys made bagel ornaments, which they covered with peanut butter and sprinkled with birdseed. How green are they?! ;)
Then, when they were finished, they went up into the gazebo to sing a bunch of Christmas carols. Here is Ben with his goofball friends. I remember a friend of mine once referred to a nine year old we knew as being in the 'goofy stage'. I think I'm beginning to understand what she meant, now that I have one!Here is the third grade tree, all decorated...



And, unfortunately I forgot to take a picture on the first grade tree on the previous day, right after it was decorated, because that night the heavy rain and high winds washed all the hot cocoa away! Here it is the next day...:( Note the empty cups...


And I just love this series for a few reasons...Gracie
marvelling at her first Christmas tree, the light in the sunroom, the scale of my baby girl in front of the great big tree, and the sweet big brother who's doting on her...oh, and who can resist the stylish plastic gate around the whole thing?






And here is Gracie on one of her first sled rides around th
e yard. We got this adorable sled at a great garage sale last Spring. She enjoyed being pulled around for awhile, until she discovered how much she enjoyed EATING the snow....




So this is how I found her every time I turned my back for a split second...face-down in the snow, intentionally, trying to eat as much as she can...What a little nut! Oh, and her word for snow is brrrrrr, brrrrrrrrrrrrr, because when I took her out to see her first snow, I told her, "It's cold, brr, brr!"

She never ceases to make me smile! :) And neither do the boys, for that matter!

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Bama

Dear Bama,
Whenever I think of you, I will always think of purple and turquoise, of pretty jewelry and books and cats and your gentle ways. We will miss you very much, though you will always be in our hearts. Thank you for loving me and for loving my children. May you rest in peace and hold tightly to your great grandbabies until we meet again.

Christmas 2008


Meeting Grace February 2009




Birthday Luau February 2009






Easter Sunday 2009





September 2009




We love you, Bama.



An Anniversary Surprise


I received 20 gorgeous longstemmed roses as a surprise from my husband tonight...to commemorate the day we met...20 years ago?! It's hard to believe we've known each other for more than half our lives...This gesture just re-confirms what I've known for the past 16 years... I married the right man...;)

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Josh's Birthday Fishing Trip- November 2009

A few years ago, Patrick and Ben started an annual tradition of a father-son ski trip, in honor of their birthdays in January. This year was Josh's turn to have a day out with Dad, and he chose a fishing trip on the Salmon River. They happily got up and out of the house well before dawn, and although his conquest was the culmination of two different trips (the first one got away), I think the look of sheer joy on his face says it all!

Captain Lou, our new hero




Reeling in the big one!

The victory call to mom!





Kissin' his fish
And, although we didn't get a picture, this steelhead (aka rainbow trout) was prepared two different ways for Thanksgiving the next day!

Thanksgiving 2009


I. am. thankful.



Monday, January 11, 2010

January Birthday Celebration

We decided as the holidays approached this year, that we should celebrate the January birthdays in the Carguello family (Patrick's, Ben's and Sara's) early enough that Nana and Gaga could be be present, as they leave for Florida right after Christmas. So, as it turned out timing-wise, we celebrated these birthdays at the end of November. Lisa was gracious enough to host this, the first of many holiday gatherings, and we started out with a family hike around beautiful Green Lake. All in all, it was an action-packed and fun-filled day, and, as always, the cousins had lots of fun together. I'll let these photos speak for themselves, in the interest of time.