LI Visit and a Happy New Year

For the first time, we were going to stay home for the entire holiday week but apparently the best laid plans don't always work out. With the passing of Andro's mom and Aunt Daph, we went on a road trip. First stop Fishkill which was too brief but we will be back soon. Then, it was on to LV. As I wrote in my previous post, it was a sad trip but to look at the bright side - it was a time the whole family gathered together.

Scott, Laura and Isobel were supposed to come visit us in Boston but instead they landed in Boston and then had to drive all the way to Long Island. What a trip!!!!
The boys were reading some of their new books and look who popped out around the corner. Emily will probably be reading at the same time as the boys since they are so good at including her in their activities.
After the funeral, we went to the Inn for some lunch. Connor took this picture.

Here is our little girl all dressed up.

How cute!!

One of the funniest encounters of the week occurred one evening when the boys were supposed to be going up to bath time. Papa had already gone into the basement to fall asleep and could hear the commotion in the kitchen. Papa popped his head out of the basement door and looked across at Garrett. He proceeded to shake his fist and say "I don't want to hear another peep out of you." Garrett non-chalantly leaned over the garbage pail, looked right at Papa, hesitated for a split second and then said "Peep!" All of us in the kitchen burst out laughing - apparently Papa isn't as intimidating as he would like to be.

One of my favorite family traditions which has been going on since as long as I can remember is New Year's Day breakfast. As a teenager, I thought this was a cruel tradition because you always had to be up so early after being out the night before. Now, I see how it is the absolute perfect way to start the new year - with family. The picture below is only half of the tables we took up. From the picture above, you can see that as soon as the eating was done, the kids were ready to play -that is Raymond at the bottom of the pile of my kids.

The girls really love being together and love being next to each other - they reach out towards each other and it really is the cutest thing. Since they are only 6 months apart, I am hoping that they will be the best of friends.

Look at the faces of these trouble makers. So sweet but they look like they are up to no good.

I can't believe we managed to get all three in a picture. Look at how gorgeous my kids are.

Emily loves Aunt Laura and was always happy for all the attention.

Connor took Papa to the basement and helped him with his football picks. During football season, Connor took a huge interest in the picks. Connor you will be amazed that you learned to add and subtract because of the point spreads. Your math skills are unbelievable and you can add two touchdowns and a field goal faster than most - Amazing! Plus, you learned to read. You are able to read all the teams names and were basically doing Daddy's picks for him every week.

Before it was time to head home, Connor and Garrett managed to arrange a good old hockey game. He got all the men playing - look at Uncle Derrick, Papa and Uncle Eric out there. They were all smiling and laughing while running up and down the driveway.

Congrats on a good game!

Back to MA to start 2011!!!