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...

 

Green Eggs... and Ham, I mean Toast!

After getting home from school, Tom and I showed Cole 2 dozen fresh eggs from a local farm.  We asked Cole if he wanted green eggs or brown eggs for a little afternoon snack.  "Green eggs?  Oh yeah, sure.  I've had green eggs at school.  I like it."  I said, "I don't think these eggs are quite the same as the eggs you've had in school, where green food coloring (perhaps blue?  blue + yellow = green?) was used to make the eggs look green.  These eggs we got today have a pale green shell and a regular fresh egg inside."

Cole didn't quite know what to make of what I just said until he actually examined the eggs.  His favorite eggs are the speckled ones, which are the three he's holding in the cup of his hands (third photo).  You'll see the pale speckles better on the third egg from the left (clockwise) in the second photo.

Since we didn't have ham in the fridge, Cole opted for toast... Hence, the Green Eggs... and Toast, Dr. Seuss!

Gladiators Game - 10/09/10

Fun Time at the Pumpkin Patch

We were blessed with gorgeous weather again this weekend so we decided to go to THE BEST pumpkin patch ever!  This place had pumpkins of all shapes, sizes and colors!  Wow!!-- can't stop the exclamation points  : )

Cole picked all the pumpkins to come home with us.  Tom carried the gigantic one, Cole carried the smaller ones (some of those smaller ones were heavy too) and I took pictures...

 

 ... and Harry didn't want to miss any of the action so he tagged along too!

 

 

 

 

We had a fun time at the pumpkin patch.  But getting those pumpkins to the car wasn't so fun... Tom had to load everything in a wheelbarrow and push this overloaded wheelbarrow up a hill to the car.  We didn't think to get another wheelbarrow... ay yay yay!  But that's not the end of it.  When we got home, Tom still had to unload that giant pumpkin on to our front stoop.

More pics to follow.

The Venus Fly Trap... UP CLOSE

Last June, Cole's friend, 9-year-old Andy, let me shoot his Venus fly traps.  Tom, Cole and I were very impressed with how Andy talked about his Venus fly traps so intelligently and fluently.  He also knows all about pitcher plants!  Andy is definitely on his way to being the next future Botanist Extraordinaire.

Here are some shots of Andy's Venus fly traps...

Andy, thanks for sharing your knowledge and plants with us!

Clearwater Beach, Florida

We've been to Florida many times but never to Clearwater Beach.  It's a super nice beach... much better than we expected, with white sand and the water felt so warm.  Here are some shots from our little weekend escapade.

Can't get these two out of the water.

Here's Cole diving for shells...

The Cole Man flexing his muscles.

A Cole and Mommy snuggle moment.  :)

... and they're back in the water!

Pretty sunset.  The birds came as I took this shot... as if they wanted to be in the picture.  I couldn't have asked for better timing.

Tom's bday party at home...

We had a nice, cozy celebration for Tom's birthday after we got back from MA.  It was my first time ever making angel food cake with whipped cream frosting and strawberries.  It was delicious... but the decorating needs more practice (obviously)!  :)

Here are some pics from that night.

Mike, Little Tommy and Little Lady Lila