Happy 2013!

Funny Theo. When asked to write and draw a picture about family traditions, he chose "staying up until midnight on New Year's Eve." Needless to say I was horrified. Me, who loves traditions and is very big on holidays and this is what he chooses. And he had stayed up until midnight once, yes while in kindergarten. 

So our neighbors across the street had their New Year's Eve party again and I told the kids it was more likely that they would be able to stay up until 10ish. The night moved on and before we knew it, it was 10. The kids were having fun so we decided why not. I took Gabriel home around 10 and popped back over for the countdown. We wished everyone a Happy New Year and Theo was happy to officially make it a tradition! 

Focused Player

Theo dominated the field this year. He was focused and involved during the games. While other boys were making mud pies, Theo was analyzing the game. He loved it! We'll look to do indoor soccer this winter to see if that helps his foot skills. Go Queens Park Rangers!

Birthday Mums

October means mums and what a nice day to get our porch mums than my birthday. I've decided I'm a yellow mum girl. I get quite upset when they don't last the month. Is it water, cold (I even bring them in at night!), or lack of sunlight? Anyhow... I had a beautiful birthday - a night out with friends, little surprises on the day, a lovely family celebration and a special day date with Nathan on my new bike. We felt sooo European biking to lunch. It feels great to turn 25!

GymBoy

Both boys wanted to take gymnastics. We tried a new gym and they are having a blast. Theo shimmied up the rope to the ceiling! I wish I had that strength.

Bridging Ceremony

Taraneh, Avery, Rachel, Louisa, Laura, Saylor, Maddie, Clara, Ashley, Reghan and Cara

No longer Brownies, the girls were just thrilled to bridge up to Junior Girl Scouts! We had a beautiful ceremony with special treats and even the celebration bridge to cross.

Camping Part Two

Knowing our camping days were numbered we decided to give it one more go before the weather changed. We were a day or two too late. It was chilly and rainy and, unfortunately, we had to set up our tent in the glow of the headlights because we had to wait to leave after soccer games. Impressively, we had decided at Maddie's game to go for it. We arrived home, showered, packed the car and made a grocery run, getting on the road within an hour. We were all very proud of our speediness!

Nathan did get the fire going so we were able to roast hotdogs. As we were huddled under the umbrella, I suggested we sing some songs. No one could think of one and then Gabriel chimes in with: 

Camping, camping, camping

Roasting marshmallows

Doing stuff

Getting chocolate out of the car

Maddie's new sleeping bag

We loved it and it became the family tune for the night. 

The next morning the rain really started to come down so we quickly packed up and decided to stop by a cyclocross race. Cyclocross is a mix of mountain biking, racing and lots of mud. It was pretty intense, also freezing and very, very dirty.

We were very ready to head home. We had invited a few families over to watch the Patriots game so we cleaned up and had a fun crazy evening at home. Talk about a busy weekend!

Calf Cramp

A sign your husband ices his knees too much. Your four year old pulls out the ice pack after a long day to ice up.

Foraging

Meet our Chicken of the Woods. The lovely mushroom that grows at the base of our oak tree, most likely forecasting root rot. But, we'll show it. I harvested it and cooked it up into some good and not so good dishes. Maddie finally asked that we stop eating mushroom soup. It was a rough go.

Letterboxing

I'd been wanting to try letterboxing for a long time. It's basically a nature treasure hunt for a box that contains a stamp. You carry a notebook and stamp and once you find the letterbox (using clues provided) you exchange an image of your stamp and leave one in the site notebook. The first park we had, the letterbox was gone. I got smart and realized I needed to make sure that a site had been updated recently. Bingo. We found a local farm with five different treasures hidden throughout the site. The kids  really enjoyed it when they stopped fighting over who got to the box first. 

Next up geocaching. I've heard it's more challenging!

He's a Bunk Bed Boy

Gabriel was tickled to open his door and find his new big boy bed! 

The first night was a bit of a disaster as I listened to the crowd and allowed Gabriel to sleep on the top bunk. Needless to say he moved to the bottom in the middle of the night. He loves his cozy nest and sleeps fine without a railing. Now what to do with the crib?

Full Circle

Fourth grade music and Maddie chose the clarinet. We refurbished my old one and she's as happy as can be!

Hello Sunday Night Feast

Sunday night family feast has already become a beloved tradition at our house. The best part is that Nathan gets the kids in the kitchen helping and they love it!

Maddie's favorite carrot soup

Lentil cakes, one of my favorites

And we also do family clean up - hooray! I'm then spoiled with leftovers throughout the week. Yum!

Biking Boys

We were excited to learn that the Mayor's Cup bike race included a kids' race. The boys were ready! 

First up, face painting.

Two little doggies off to race

Gabriel was the one of two cyclists in his category without training wheels!

All Boston mascots were present (except Wally from the Red Sox). The boys would not take a picture with them! They led the race.

Someone was a little nervous.

Game face 

Racing buddies already! (They also chose their own clothing for the race...)

The race was actually much shorter than we thought to their disappointment. Theo will be eligible for a full lap next year. He's already counting on it. Maddie chose not to race this year and regretted that choice as she will age out at 10 next year. Darn! We had a great time watching the professionals race and then walked over to the North End for dinner. 

Soccer Girl

Maddie really took to the field this year. She was aggressive and quite the striker. She scored many goals and was an asset for her team! In fact, she was valuable enough on the field that she only had to play goalie once, much to her relief! We'll stay with the same level of soccer in the spring and then make a decision whether to move up to a travel team. Go Manchester United! She was coached by a soccer (or football) loving Irishman, who did not chose the name of the team.

Our Pets

SOCKS! I find them everywhere. They are taken off, inside out, flung in a corner, waiting to be picked up. Rather than get furious, I decided to document the life of the socks throughout the week. 

Yes, my car needs to be vacuumed. Gross.

Eggplant Parm

Can you imagine a cuter helper to make eggplant parmesan? He dips and dusts with expertise.

Rake it Away

One of those days, everyone fighting. Multiple children in time out. And then, they are sent outside while their sister has a piano lesson and they decide to rake, laugh, and play in good spirits. I need to remember these moments!

Camping!

Three years since our challenging camping experience (http://thesandersseen.blogspot.com/2009/09/great-outdoors.html) - we decided to go further afield up to New Hampshire. It was well worth the drive. 

First to pack all the gear. Backpacking in this is not!

The boys were super excited about their new sleeping bags. We also needed a second tent. Nathan came home with a backpacking tent to "keep the dream alive." 

We were so proud of our meal: chicken and vegetables, baked potatoes, corn and of course smores - all cooked on the grill. Nathan even deemed my prepared chicken "very good." Our site was fairly secluded and the kids were beyond excited. They even helped me get the larger tent up. Unfortunately, I did not pack enough warm clothing. Everyone was frigid. Especially after Nathan lectured us on the importance of not wearing anything we cook/eat in in the tent due to the fact that bears have super sniffers and the scent of our dinner on our fleece may result in a bear attack. Really?!? That doesn't scare a 9, 6 or 4 year old, or frankly a 37 year old. 

Cute pic - darn, it's blurry. The boys crammed into the new tent. 

Maddie and I luxuriated in the big one. Everyone slept well. The stars were some of the best I've seen. And we cooked paperbag breakfasts in the morning - bacon, hashbrowns and eggs in a paperbag which didn't catch on fire or leak! 

We stopped at Wildcat Mountain, where we have skied in previous years, for a ride up the gondola. It was 35 degrees with wind at the top of the mountain. Brrr.... we went on a very short hike and had lunch. Everyone slept on the drive home!

Sprint Tri

Mia and I had been talking for ages about doing a triathlon. We signed up for one pledged to train heavily over the summer and then bam, September arrived. Gulp! We were so nervous not being prepared. We even hoped for rain! Alas, a crisp day arrived and we lugged our gear to Hopkinton (start of the Boston Marathon).

Yes, we are really doing this!

Our early morning cheering section!

And we finished! Our times were much better than we thought. I won our swim heat! In fact, if Mia and I can shave a bit of time off the swim and bike, and find a fast runner, we should be able to win the triathlon as a relay next year.