Halloween 2008

Halloween was very relaxed this year. Dinner with good friends and just enough trick-or-treating to fill the girl's buckets, but not the dreaded pillow cases they threaten to carry! A Pirate, Dorothy and Bat Girl...walk into a bar... (insert punchline here)
Check out the ruby slippers on this halloween cutie!

This pictures says it all...childhood joy!!

Yankee Candle Factory

To anyone who has even been to the Yankee Candle Factory in Deerfield, MA, need I say more? This place is phenominal!! Room, after room, after room of goodies, half of which are not candles or candle related. Santa's workshop (a.k.a. a HUGE toy/candy store), ranks highest on the list for the girls, as did the horse drawn hay ride!

This was taken in the Nutcracker Castle which even had a waterfall!

It snows (soapy suds) in this room every 4 minutes!!

In addition to making your own scented jar candles and dipping fun shaped candles, they had hand dipping for the kids...this was a big hit with Megan and Lauren!!

What a great day!!

Where The Wild Things Are

Go on, the door is open, you can do it...

Bath time for the elephants is always big on our list of things to watch!

The Red Panda, a new resident at the zoo.

This past weekend we visited the Roger Williams Zoo in Providence, Rhode Island. This zoo is in the midst of huge change with expansion and improvement through out. It is by far the best zoo for putting it's animals first. Sure there are other zoos with rides and shows and animals at every turn, but when you look at the animals, I mean really look at where they live, does the zoo try to give them the as much space and natural habitat that it possibly can? Roger Williams does and that is why we love it. Besides, it's wide open, kid friendly and beautiful, what more could you ask for?

Wildebeest?

Happy 4th of July!

Years ago, Dan and I stumbled upon a local town's Jamboree celebration and have made it part of our traditions for the 4th. This year, we went our great friends, the Wheeler and van der Swaagh families. It's very country and quaint, but chucked full; good (and bad) local bands/singers, men on stilts, chicken bbq, clowns doing face painting and balloon animals, kids games, hayrides and sno cones!! The best part is the afternoon parade that the girls loved...we decorated our bikes and rode along after the fire trucks. Very cool!

The previous night we laid out blankets, played games, ate snacks and got the light sticks ready all in anticipation of our town's fireworks display. It was a great show and everyone had a great time.

Later, when I was scrapbooking the day, it really occurred to me just how great this holiday was. Unlike many holidays in the past, it was stress free, immensly enjoyable and spent with great friends. You can't ask for more than that.

Father/Daughter Dance 2008

Megan, Abby and Lauren


Grampy and Daddy doing the chicken dance?? Can you say...Embarassing!!







Sometimes the highly stressful, time sucking job of being PTO President for my daughter's school actually allows me and other dedicated parents to host an event that makes me remember why it's all worth while.

Our bi-annual Father/Daughter Dance is such a big success!! Little girls dressed in pretty prom-like dresses with their hair and nails done "just so". They arrive, get their photograph's taken and begin to mingle with their friends. Flash forward an hour and you'll find the DJ has gained super stardom popularity and the gym is crowded with dads, grandfathers and uncles who stand around the perimeter with their hands in their pockets looking awfully uncomfortable and totally ignored...until a rare slow song makes it way into the rotation!!!

Truly memorable.

Practice, Practice, Practice

Don't think a little thing like a New England winter can make Megan lose her love of Horses!!

The barn is quickly becoming our weekend destination of choice again, as the horse show season gets into full swing...stay tuned!

Easter

We celebrated this chilly early Easter by having an egg hunt in the yard with our great friends. We have 7 girls under the age of 9 between us and getting together is always an adventure and can often lead to parental exhaustion as was the case of Alexandra and Gabrielle's dad, Kevin...

Most popular eggs? Those filled with money, of course!!! Followed by the ever popular chocolate filled.

Most un-popular eggs? Those found and pillaged by a girl and thrown aside in the mad dash for those filled with money!!


The next morning we woke up to find that the Easter bunny had visited us and had left these wonderful baskets of goodies!!

A Day in the Life of a Pre-Teen Girl

The best sleep-over ever!!

Starring:

Lexi Wheeler (9) - loves softball and girl scouts

Abby van der Swaagh (8) - loves dance

Megan Hyatt (8) - loves horses and friends

Lauren Hyatt (5) - loves being part of it all