December Holiday Fun... Skiing!

The weather is turning and we are starting to seek our our winter coats. We are eagerly awaiting the arrival of snow and have heard that we get enough snow sometimes that they have to close schools!!

Fall sports wrapped up and Winter sports begin… Love seeing Jordan back on the basketball court!

And pretty cool to see her play in a gym where her grandfather played in not so many years ago…

The cooler weather drives us all inside a bit… and we have gotten creative with our inside activities. Ayden opened a nail salon in our house…

And no surprise who the first customer was!

Gram and Coach took us all to see the most amazing play.. Scrooge! Huge thumbs up for the arts in MA!

Before we knew it, Christmas was upon us and once again the kids were very concerned that Santa was going to find them in yet a mother new place. Garrett was very inquisitive with the fireplaces and Santa’s portal of entry. No surprise, Santa still likes his beer on his riding route!

Each year our elf, Harold, writes the kids a note. They definitely have mixed feelings with Harold leaving… they are sad to see him go, but happy for the relief of not being monitored with his presence.

Before Ann and Mike snow bird in Florida, Chris and I enjoyed a night in Portsmouth. I love this quant town on the water and couldn’t resist taking this picture of a church steeple. The night was so crisp and clear… I just had to take a picture of it.

A little dreary weather wasn’t going to stop us from running…

Before we knew it, we got our first snow and hit the slopes for the first time in a very long time. The kids were eager to learn and Jordan is taking on snowboarding this year.

While the kids were off in ski school… Chris and I got to do our own shredding! But spent most of our time, swinging by the bunny hill to see how our crew was doing.

The report: Everyone LOVED it!!! So much we went back up the next couple of weekends!!

And before long… they were all independent on the chairlift and asking us for their next trip up to the slopes.

Finally, something we can do as a family… So happy to have everyone hooked! Now we just have to work on “Trixie” (Ayden) and her hiking stamina.

We were literally the last ones off the mountain.. (that is Garrett in the background below)

A fantastic way to bring in the New Year!!!

November Update ... First snow and a burned bird

The weather is definitely getting cooler, but Chris is holding onto his last days of riding the Cheng Jang without freezing to death.

Because before long and much sooner then we expected, we got our first long awaited snow fall.

Our first snowman!!! While living in Florida and even in Shanghai, we missed having the seasons change. It seems like we went right from summer to winter this year, but looking forward to living for the first time (the kids) in a climate zone where it snows!

No surprise, the kids were out as soon at there first light to make snow-women…. And a well endowed group at that…

No sooner did we get our first snow covering that we celebrated our first Thanksgiving in our new home.

I think being out of practice for a few years making the feast, made Chris a bit rusty. Wish I had a picture of the bird in flames… but ironically, it still tasted DYNO-mite!

There was no stopping them… both favorite meal of all time!

You can’t kick off the holiday without a parade and a Santa sighting!!!! Could not believe we saw Santa and Mrs. Claus come in on a coast guard boat!!!

Perfect way to kick off the holiday season!

October 2015 - Nana & Pop Pop Come to visit!!!! (Brenda & Dar)

We may not be living close, but at least we are on the same coast! My parents made the long trek to New England and came up for two stop shopping, visiting my brother and his family in New York and me in Massachusetts…

The town where we live was so enticing for so many reasons. After living in a city of 25 million, we opted for a quieter town with 3 acre zoning and A LOT of green space. We have miles of trails and a lot of potential to get lost. Which almost happened… only because my Dad wanted to go off trail. After our hike to Mt. Washington, I was surprised at his insistence on going off trail… Really??

Thankfully, we brought our two trail blazers along… and they kept us on the straight and narrow.

We are in good hands… I think?

Of course, we had to celebrate with some homemade ice cream! This is something we use to do as a child and my kids were all over this! Best ice cream EVER!

Back onto the soccer field… Love the fall ball, but of course, she had to find a way to get some pink into the uniform!

Jordan’s league is a bit more competitive… Brings back some awesome memories for me!

While the girls are off at their events, Garrett and I found some time to “speed”date at the local town hangout. This is how we earned our “regulars” status!

Couldn’t resist including this photo… I love it so much! It really shows how confident Ayden is… This was written and taped onto her bedroom door. One of my parents closest friend gave the kids stationary with their name on it… and rocks to paint. SO clever and such cherished gifts! I hope her confidence lasts a lifetime!!

Had to post a picture of my favorite tree in Boxford. This is on the front lawn of a church in the center of town. I run by it most days and during fall, it was a spectacular site! After living in Florida .. with no seasonal changes and then a quicker season change in China (seemingly only to have winter/summer be days apart) — it was nice to slowly transition through Fall…

One benefit to our moving to New England is being closer to family. We live one town over from Chris’s first cousins and his family. We find a lot of fun with the help of Chris’s Aunt Nancy and Uncle Mike and the kids love spending time together!

Ayden, Caden, Connor, Garrett, Christopher & Jordan

Rupert & Albert finally reunite in the states. Rupert on the left was given to us by close friends of ours in Florida that moved to California. Garrett was completely obsessed with this Halloween decoration when they hung it in their door way. He would stand on their walkway most afternoons and just stare. Rupert has been with us now for over 10 years. When we landed in China in July, one of the first things we realized was that Rupert got packed in our storage unit in Florida and did not make the commute. It just didn’t seem like Halloween in Shanghai. First off, the Chinese don’t celebrate the holiday and secondly, we had no decorations. Until we found Albert…

Ayden had so many ideas for a costume, but this year, for the first time ever, we had to consider the outside temperature… so we opted for the warmest costume we could find in our bin of tricks.

Happy Halloween!!!!

The Boston bucket list and some extras...

The weather is still so hot, but we are kicking off fall soccer season. I am coaching Ayden’s soccer team… and boy I sure am having some crazy flashbacks of my soccer days. I put her out there probably for the same reasons my parents did for me… too much energy!

Jordan is playing for the first time in the US since taking a three year break… So fun to see her back out there with her peers from school.

Can’t say it enough… These two are the best of pals. I hope it lasts!!!!

Definitely a difference moving from a city of 25 million to a town of 8,000… I have always loved apple picking and I am so happy to be living in a town where I have access to it on every corner. These delightful family photos were taken about a second before Chris found a wasp next in one tree and was bit on the eyebrow…

Successful day… apples picked. Homemade donuts and cider enjoyed.

When I found out I was moving to MA, I immediately started mentally making my new bucket list. It didn’t take long before one of my closest friends helped me add my check mark. Carrie is an elementary school friend of Chris’s that I immediately connected with when I first met Chris. We have been great friends ever since. She has a kick ass job and included me in on one of her work adventures. Now rest assure, I would go anywhere with this girl, but when she asked me to a Patriots game, I immediately said YES without even looking at my schedule !

Box seats, and on field pre-game warm up with Mark Wahlberg was just a bonus, but truth be told, the best part of my day, by far, was spending it with Carrie.

I think I am going to like living here… Love being closer to Carrie…

and OF COURSE, the Pats won!!!!!

Gillette Stadium rocks, but the drive home does not!