With Tamara in NYC

Photos taken on 07.05.2012

The drive from Boston to NYC wasn't so bad.  It took us about 4 hours to get into the city.  It was great to see Tom and Tamara reunite after so many years.  I asked Tom, "When was the last time you saw each other?" and Tom says, "Dunno.  10 years or so."  I bet Tamara would do a lot better at remembering dates and such.  :)

4th of July in Cape Cod

Photos taken on 07.04.2012

Jim, Melissa, Sara and Meghan had us over at their lovely summer home in Cape Cod to celebrate 4th of July.  It's amazing to see how much Sara and Meghan have grown since we last saw them, which may have been two summers ago (?).

Time flies!  Love Meghan's darling red locks and her mischievous smile!  :)

Back at Mom and Dad's

Photos taken on 07.03.2012

So excited to see Harry again...

Our Last Day in Toronto

07.01.2012

Back at 10th Line we were on our last day in Toronto...

Fun Afternoon and Evening at The Gordons

06.30.2012

The Gordons hosted a fun afternoon full of yummy food, great company, with a lot of jumping...

Niagara Falls

Lucy, Len, Lyndsey and Madison took us to Niagara on the Lake where we had delicious pub grub for lunch and a fun and interesting discussion about Cole's kinship toward Lyndsey and Madison... I'm still not sure whether they are first cousins once removed.  Is that right?  I get lost when I read Wiki's explanation and diagrams!  :)

After lunch, Lucy and Len went back home and the girls spent the afternoon with us at Niagara Falls.  It was an amazing experience to get drenched by the mist from the falls' downpour as the Maid of the Mist took us within yards of the falls.  We were given rain ponchos but Cole, Lyndsey and Madison decided not to wear theirs.  It was loud, fun... and WET!  I didn't dare bring the camera on the boat-- so no pics!

Afterwards, we had some ice cream-- of course!  :)  On our way back to the car, we took a couple of pics...

Madison's Soccer Game

06.28.2012

After swimming at the Logans, we went to Madison's soccer game...

Here's Madison's team warming up before the game...

Swimming... at the Logans

06.28.2012

After our visit at the Gordons, we went back to Lucy and Len's for a quick dip.

The fun and silliness continues...

The Gordons Home

06.28.2012

Lucy and Len took us to the Gordons home so Lyndsey and Madison can show us their lovely home, which sat on 5 acres, with a pond to the left of the house...

Cole had to check out their spring-fed pond...

En Route to Toronto

06.27.2012

Then we're off to Toronto where my sister, Lucy, her husband, Len, Lucy's oldest daughter, Nikki and family live.

It was a 10-hour drive from Boston to Toronto... a lot of driving this summer!

Another cool bridge...

Chillaxin' with Mom and Dad

06.26.2012

Took some shots of Mom and Dad when I realized that I hadn't done any the day before!

Here's Dad chillin' with his iPad... looking for the best route that would get us to Toronto the fastest way.

Summer Vacation - En Route to Boston

As soon as we pulled into the garage, we looked at the odometer and found that we traveled a total of 4 thousand miles!!  It was a LOT of driving within 16 days-- but it was so worth it because we saw our loved ones along the way.

Will start off with some pics from our trip.

Can't remember the name of this bridge, but this was right before we saw...

Battle of the Books

Today, Cole's team won at SBE's very first Battle of the Books.  The program began in early October with 5 teams of 4 kids, with a mix of 4th and 5th graders.  The teams met once a month with Ms. Quick, the Battle of the Books coordinator and is also one of the teachers of SBE's Horizons Program.  (Cole's been in Horizons since 2nd Grade.)

Cole's Birthday Party

04.14.2012

We had a total of 16 kids at Cole's party and it was a blast!!  They took turns at the jungle gym.

Easter Bunny

04.08.2012

E.B. stopped by this morning and left a basket of goodies for Cole.

  

Snapshots from Star Mall Show hosted by Paolo Alino, Jasmine Curtis-Smith, RJ Padilla and Mike Swift

01.08.2012

These snapshots were taken while we were in Manila just a few days before Cole and I flew back to Atlanta.  My nephew, Paolo Alino, co-hosted this show at Star Mall, with Jasmine Curtis-Smith, RJ Padilla and Mike Swift.  I was so amazed at how these young artists totally engaged the audience.

Check out the clip of Paolo and Jasmine's duet in the middle of this post (right before the images of Paolo with his fans).  You can also view the clip on YouTube.

Afternoon Tea at The Manila Peninsula

I am so behind on posting pics!!

These were taken on January 4th to celebrate my oldest sister's birthday.  Ate Olay, we love you tons!

Here's Lucy, my second older sister, and her youngest daughter, Danielle.

Highlights from Our Boracay Trip

12.26.2011
Boracay Island
Day 1

The day after Christmas we set off for Boracay. We had a 9:30'ish in the morning flight, which meant having to wake up pretty early.  As you can see, Tom and Cole here looked tired and sleepy while waiting for our plane to arrive.

Frolicking in Xavierville

12.23.2011

Xavierville Subdivision

My brother, Jul, and his wife, Corette, put us up in their cozy home in Xavierville Subdivision the first two weeks of our stay.  It was a great way to catch up on the years we've been apart, which was over 10 years!  Luckily, my brother was off from work those two weeks.  When we weren't home chit-chatting, we were either out shopping, going to fittings for my sister's wedding, or having dinner at a family member's house.

Then we had one of those rare days with no plans for the afternoon.  What better way to pass the time than to frolic in Jul and Corette's neighborhood pool.

The Morning of Stella and Ed's Wedding

12.19.2011
Bridal Suite
Manila Peninsula

I took advantage of the time when everyone was still asleep when I took these shots of Stella's gorgeous wedding gown...

The sun had just started to rise and it cast an ethereal glow on the gown...

The Night Before Stella and Ed's Wedding

12.18.2011
Bridal Suite
Manila Peninsula Hotel

I can only imagine the stress (or excitement?) my sister, Stella, and her husband, Ed, went through to prepare for their lovely wedding.  It took them 3 months of intensive preparation for their special day.

Stella asked us, Mom and sisters, to join her at the Manila Peninsula the night before the wedding.  The bride did a lot of running around and the door to the bridal suite constantly opened and closed with all the last minute preparation and chika chika.  It was fun to watch everyone fluttering about.  I remember feeling the happiness, the stress and excitement in getting ready for Stella and Ed's wedding.

Here's Stella reviewing the misalette...

Scootering and skateboarding...

11.06.2011

Tom showed off his skateboarding skills, while Cole showed off his scootering skills.

"Mommy, check out my scooter-skateboarding skills!"  Look at his feet closely... scooter AND skateboard.  :)

Cole's Trick or Treating Costume...

Oh yeah!  Almost forgot to post Cole's costume for when he went Trick or Treating...

I didn't realize how antsy he was to go Trick or Treating!!  Can't blame him though.  :)

Halloween at Hawthorne

This is our first Halloween at our new subdivision.  It was nice to see the neighborhood kids get together in all their fun Halloween costumes!

This year, Cole wanted to wear two costumes.  He wore his Stealth Ninja costume from last year... but at the last minute, he tweaked it a little bit and became... The Waffle House Ninja!

Dylan Came to Play

Cole's friend, Dylan, came over last Saturday and spent the day with us.  Well, with Cole really.  Tom and I were pretty much invisible... except for when the boys needed help with something.  We had nice weather-- a bit nippy, but nice.

Tom took them fishing in the early afternoon at our neighborhood pond.  Both Cole and Dylan caught fish.  We'll have to check with Cole and Dylan about how many they caught.  Then they came back, had some pumpkin cupcakes, and went right back out to play.  They played on the playset, then played bocce, ride their bikes... and other stuff!  The one thing that was a constant was the laughter.  So funny to watch and listen to these two.  They just cracked each other up!

At dinner, the silliness continued.  Cole and Dylan talked about going outside again right after dinner... and it was already dark!  I asked jokingly if they wanted to sleep outside in our backyard... in a tent.  Just like camping!  There was not hesitation at all... the response was a resounding, "YEAH!!!"  And so they did!

Here are some photos taken from that day... starting with some test shots with Harry.

This is how 2 boys make cupcakes...

09.05.2011

Images © Cole Donovan
Movies © Cole Donovan and Tom Donovan

These pics and movies were taken on Monday this past Labor Day weekend.  It was raining that afternoon when Cole's buddy, Zach, came over to play.   It's always fun to have Zach over.  :)  One of their fun activities was to make Molten Lava Cake (or at least that's what it said on the box!)... more appropriately called chocolate cupcakes with soft centers.

It started off with Cole showing Zach the green eggs we got from a local farm.  Cole unearthed his PowerShot and played photographer while Zach checked out the green eggs.

Here are some shots Cole took...

Our SF Sunday with The Donovans and The Millers

06.19.2011

Cole and I spent the night at Bob and Rosie's after Lily's birthday party.  We had a nice chill time hanging out with the Donovan cousins while Bob and Rosie had a short little date night.

The next morning, Rosie made a yummy breakfast to celebrate Fathers Day!  BUT... I wanted to get some photos of Billy and Sammy in first before chow time.  :)

Snapshots from Lily's Birthday Party

06.18.2011

Here are some snapshots from Lily's birthday party...

Lily's Birthday

06.15.2011

There was a small get-together at Dan and Lily's house to celebrate Lily's turning 8 years old.  Her Rock n' Roll party was the following Saturday.  That will be a separate post.

But for Lily's big "turning 8" day, here are some snapshots from our little get-together.

Here's the Birthday Girl...

Fisherman's Wharf

06.15.2011

Today is Lily's 8th birthday... and one of the things she did today was to be the gracious little hostess that she is to Cole and me... and showed us around at Fisherman's Wharf, the SF Bay Aquarium and Pier 39.

Can't go to Fisherman's Wharf without having a churro... 

Our Jaunt to The Palace of Fine Arts

06.13.2011

Uncle Dan and Lily told us that the Exploratorium would be a fun thing to do in SF.  So we got in the car and found the perfect parking spot... right in front of the Palace of Fine Arts!  Took some pictures on our walk to the Exploratorium, located behind the Palace of Fine Arts.

Billy D's Baseball Game

06.11.2011

After Adventure Playground and lunch at Bob and Rosie's, we went to Billy's game.  It's nerve-wracking enough to watch ball games on TV, but when a family member is out there on the field playing... Yikes!  I can actually feel the adrenaline pumping through my veins.

I didn't really get to take too many pics of Billy and the team because it was hard to find a good spot.  I couldn't get close enough and we all had to stay behind the chain-link walls surrounding the baseball diamond.

I got this one below of Bob as the announcer... :)

Adventure Playground

06.11.2011

Bob came by and picked us (Cole, Lily and me) up from Dan's house on Saturday morning so we can all watch and cheer for Billy at his baseball game that afternoon.  It was great to see them all... Bob, Rosie, Billy and Sammy!  The two boys have grown up quite a bit since I last saw them!  Billy has matured into a more confident young man and Sammy's not quite as shy anymore... I actually got a hug from him this time!!  :)

We traded stories on how life has been since we last saw each other.  Then Bob suggested taking the kids out to Adventure Playground while waiting for Billy's 2:00 pm game.  The kids had a blast at this playground!  Whoever conceptualized this playground is a genius!  Most of the pictures I took were of the kids going down this trolley as you'll see below.

Cole and Lily at SF Ocean Beach

06.10.2011

Cole and I went to San Francisco from 6/9 through 6/21.  We had a great time hanging out with family and friends.  Thank you kindly to Dan and Lily for being wonderful hosts and making us feel most welcome at their lovely home!

I'll be posting photos from the beginning to the end of the trip...

I moved around a lot when I lived in the Bay Area.  But one of the places I truly enjoyed was Ocean Beach when I used to live in the Sunset District back in the day.  I remember that the Taraval train stopped right in front of the house which was a pain, on one hand, because it's LOUD when you're trying to get some sleep, but on the other hand, it was also a convenience when it dropped me off right at my doorstep after work everyday.  What I enjoyed the most about living at this house was having the ocean pretty much in my backyard!  On weekends, I used to go for a cup of java at a nearby coffee house, then head right on to the beach for a walk and to watch the seagulls glide over the ocean or to chill on the beach... just like I used to as I waited for the sun to set.

So on 6/10, Cole, Lily and I trekked out to Ocean Beach...

The Day After... | Easter Sunday

There are two occasions Cole would wake up bright and alert:  Christmas morning and Easter Sunday.  After all that sugar from the day before, Cole woke up to a basketful of goodies from the Easter Bunny.  Oh boy... more sugar!!

  

Cole's 9th Birthday Party

I'm a little late (That's an understatement!!) in posting these pics from Cole's birthday party.  Cole had some friends over two weekends after his actual birthday because he wanted to make sure his friends were back from spring break.  Then Tom had to travel the following weekend.  So Cole was a good sport in delaying his party until after everyone came back.

The kids began trickling in at 2:00 pm and as soon as they all got here, they trekked out to the backyard.  They played badminton and bocce.  I got a little worried when the bocce balls started flying from opposite directions.  I guess Tom, who was in charge of entertainment, forgot to explain the rules of playing bocce.  So I went out to "remind" Tom that it might be a good idea to explain the rules to the kids because we didn't want any of them to go home with bumps the size of golf balls on their heads or black eyes!  :)

We were so happy to see Cole happy!  He was so excited to have all his good friends over!  We've never heard so many loud voices at the same time.  Nine kids screaming at the same time is pretty L-O-U-D!  The kids were all goofy with each other and kids' laughter was contagious amongst themselves.  It was fun to watch.

Here are some pics from the party.  You can click on each picture to view in larger format.

Here's the birthday gang...

Wildflower Bouquet

Cole and I went for a walk on the trail at Sharon Park yesterday after school.  I always treasure these moments with him because this is when we actually get to "talk" about anything and everything that we never get to talk to when we're home... Cole doing homework, watching TV or playing in his playroom... me sitting in front of the computer, never-ending cleaning and cooking!

So when we went for our little walk yesterday, we caught up on things and he also stopped every few feet to pick up flowers and leaves... and he made this little bouquet of wild flowers for me.  It made me feel super special and loved.  :)

I took this shot with my iphone... not too bad, eh?  A lot of times my iphone shots don't come out right.  Cole's blue t-shirt was the perfect background for my little wildflower bouquet!

Thanks, Coley!

Funny Harry

Earlier this afternoon, we were in the office... with Cole, playing Bakugan on the computer and me, working on a blog post when we heard Harry making funny noises.  We found Harry on the couch doing this...



I wonder who or what Harry was dreaming about...

Coley's Turning 9!!

Time is flying by.  Cole is turning 9 this month and it's been an incredible experience watching him grow.  He's a very sweet well-adjusted kid... comes home from art class with all these beautiful  drawings and clay art, loves to play soccer... and still managed to pull all 3's the last two quarters and having fun in the Horizons program.

I love his hair and his silliness.  I love his stubbornness in keeping his hair long.  Heck, you know what?  If it doesn't get in the way of his learning in school (He has definitely proved that!) and he doesn't hurt anybody with his own long hair, we respect his decision to keep it long!  We don't want to stifle his personality.  So Mom, stop telling me to get his hair cut!  :)

Cole's obsession right now is Legos.  Uncle Dan got Cole his first Lego set for his 7th birthday.  He's had a couple other sets since then.  Now it has become Cole's #1 passion.  When he first got his Lego sets, he'd build them according to the instructions and pictures on the box.  Then he'd take them apart and rebuild them into his own creations!  (I'll post those pics separately.)

When I did this shoot with him (which was very brief because he wanted to go back to building Legos again), I asked him to have his most favorite toy with him so we can reminisce about this years from now.  So here we go...

Spring Soccer Game 2

These photos were taken on 03.21.2011.  Our kids worked very hard to win this game... but the other team was good too!  It was a tough game.  Cole thinks the final score was 7-6, in favor of the Strikers.  (Coach Mark will have to confirm this.)

Scroll to the bottom of this post to view the slideshow.  You'll need a password to access it.  Email Angela if you don't already have it.

Here's Cole waiting for the kick-off...

Zach came over to play!

Zach is a good buddy of Cole's.  He came over yesterday afternoon to play.  It was so funny to watch these two and to listen to their conversations.  Cole and Zach laughed a LOT while playing Shrek on the PlayStation.

The Donovan Snow Family

These shots were taken before my sister, Lucy and her husband, Len, made it down here.  We made the snow family as the welcoming committee for Lucy and Len.  : )

Hard to see Harry in the pic above.

The Logans from Toronto

Lucy and Len left Toronto on January 9th, with the intention of getting here on the 10th.  We didn't anticipate so much snow would come when it did on Sunday night.  The snow wouldn't have been a big deal but the freezing rain brought everything to a standstill because of black ice on the roads.  So poor Lucy and Len were stuck somewhere off I-75 for a couple of days before finally getting here.

We were so happy when they finally got here on Wednesday.  Luckily Tom and Cole got to spend more time with them because the roads were shut down pretty much the entire week.

As always, it's great to catch up with family... a lot of laughter, beading techniques and photography of course!  I wish it could have been a longer visit but on Saturday morning, they left for their winter home in Dunedin, Florida.

Here are some pics from their visit.

Snow Angel

The snow crunched under our feet as we trekked to our secret hiding spot for sledding... which was really our neighbor's side yard on the other side of our neighborhood.  ;)  We took turns with the sled and air disc and giggled on the way down.  Cole kept going up and down the hill until his little tushy started complaining that it was getting a little too frosty!

When we got back to the house, Cole tried to make a snow angel.  I say tried because it was not easy to move his arms up and down as the snow was compacted by ice.  It was fun trying anyway as you'll see in the pictures below.

  

Snow Day...

Cole was up late last night knowing school will be closed today.  At around 9:30 or so, I noticed big, fat snowflakes coming down.  I told Cole right away about it but he kept puttering away with the new Lego Atlantis he got from Santa.

So I watched the snowflakes come down... so pretty to watch.  But the crazy wind was making them come down fast.  By the time Cole was done playing with his Legos, he finally went to the back door and said, "Oh My God!  We're going to have a lot of snow for a snowman, aren't we?!"  His enthusiasm is so funny and contagious it made me feel like a kid too.

This morning, Cole woke up (before me, which hardly ever happens) and I got two minutes of snuggles from him (I usually get way more snuggle time than that).  Then he said, "Mommy, let's look out the window."  I was still half asleep when I told him to go ahead and look.  Then he said, "Oh My God!  I can't even see the road!"  There goes my snuggle time.  :(

As Cole and I went downstairs for breakfast, we found Tom in his favorite chair, still in his pajamas, working.  The roads are shut down so he's working from home.  Maybe when it's time for a break, we can twist his arm so he can join us when we go sledding.

I took a couple of pictures from our front stoop while Cole was having breakfast.

Winter Fun

Yesterday, we went over to Andy's hilly neighborhood, where Cole and Andy sled.  The kids (and Andy's mom too) had a blast going down those hills!

Christmas Eve at Home

We have been counting down the days to Christmas since Thanksgiving!  We have been away the last few Christmases and it's nice to be home for a change.  Cole was so excited about the prospect of seeing Santa that he asked Tom to camp by the Christmas tree... just in case we get lucky enough to see Santa when he gets here.  :)

Here are some pictures taken earlier today...

Lunar Eclipse at Winter Solstice

I have never witnessed a lunar eclipse so when I came across this article yesterday morning, I decided to stay up to see this and I'm glad I did because it was worth the wait.

I woke Cole up at 2:00 am because he insisted that he does not want to miss this... specially if a lunar eclipse at winter solstice happens only "once in every 372 years" (quoted from this article). So we went out and looked at the sky and there's the moon partially hidden in the earth's shadow. I got one clear shot of this lunar eclipse... because soon afterwards the clouds decided to play peek-a-boo.

This was taken at 2:16 am Eastern.

The Polar Express

Last Tuesday, all the third graders in Cole's school performed The Polar Express.  They all did a fantastic job!  Cole's classroom dressed as Santa's elves and they all looked adorable.

We were instructed by the music teacher to have the kids in their classrooms by 6:10.  I told Tom I want to get there before 6:10 so I can get a good spot to record their show on video.  We got there at 6:00 and the cafeteria was two thirds full already!  We found a spot somewhere in the middle close to the rear of the cafeteria.  Well, this spot's not going to work... unless I want to get all the tops of people's heads in the shot.

So I ended up leaving Tom there to find a better spot... or at least I thought I landed a good spot until all the third graders got on the risers in front of me and blocked the stage from where I was shooting.  :( ... but it was a good enough spot to get a full view of Cole's class.

Watch in HD... if you have hi-speed internet access.

Thanksgiving Weekend

I'm a couple of weeks late posting this.  Time flies as soon as Thanksgiving is over!  Christmas shopping, Christmas decorating... then more Christmas shopping and more decorating... and on and on and on.

So I'm playing catch-up right now.  We spent Thanksgiving Day with Hong, Tong, Amy and Andy, whose company we enjoyed very much.-- Thank you for joining us.  I should have delegated the picture-taking task to Tom and/or Cole.  I didn't think about it until afterwards.  :(

We didn't join the crazy Christmas shoppers at the mall.  Instead, we started working on getting our tree and decorations up.  Here's a clip after Tom and Cole got the tree lit up.  Watch the expression on Cole's face...

Guess What Cole's Going To Be For Halloween...