christmas concert

One of the teachers at school started a guitar club this year.  Both boys have really enjoyed the club after school one day a week.  The club played at the Christmas concert and did a fantastic job!

geh

An annual tradition to go to the George Eastman House and see the Gingerbread Houses on display.  And then we came home and decorated one of our own.  Maybe next year we should enter??

ambrose turns 12

Campfire themed party for Ambrose turning 12.  Tacos in a bag for dinner, flashlight tag, ghosts in the graveyard and a smores bar for dessert.  Simple yet so much fun!

ambrose turns 12

Tomorrow Ambrose turns 12 and we will be attending an open house, one of several to decide where Ambrose will go to school after finishing his last year at Seton. 

Tonight we celebrated with salmon and bagna cauda and apple pie for dinner/dessert.  After opening gifts we decided to build with the keva planks and built a castle.

halloween over the past nine years

happy halloween

Harvard Street gang - William, Ambrose, Blaise, Sawyer, Adelaide, Delaney (visiting) and Mary Grace.

powers farm market

Every fall the boys ask to go to Powers Farm Market.  They run around trying to figure out which pumpkin is the one to take home.  You know something like . . .I found it, oh wait maybe (cross to the complete other side of the area of pumpkins) maybe this one . . . and so on and so on.  Then the choice of which donut - pumpkin, glazed and so many more choices.  Can we eat them now?

But the most talked about is the Powers Farm Market tractor ride through Witch Hollow.  They narrate the entire ride and tell you what is going to happen before you get there and exclaim at almost every point 'this is my favorite'.  And finally, walking through the humongous teepee adorned in jack-o-lanterns.  Simple, delightful . . a wonderful fall tradition.

6th grade retreat

Ambrose along with 17 other classmates went on a 6th grade retreat.  All of the kids were so engaged, extremely helpful, and really allowed for the spirit of the retreat to be a real part of their two days together.  The theme was one of "Service" - serving others, our community, and ourselves.  Ambrose shared with us at dinner all of his 'highlights' while referencing a small paper where he wrote items down throughout the retreat.  He told us he didn't want to forget anything that was really good, so he made the list (my little engineer, cute).

marathon

Marathon 2017 - black team (6th grade) for Ambrose and yellow team (4th grade) for Blaise.  Ambrose now has gone through all of the colors as this is his last year at Seton (sniff sniff).  He as a 6th grader gets to add pink accessories (his request was the tutu) and duck tape.  Ambrose also got to run instead of walking with his class; another 6th grade privilege.  He ran 8 times around (approximately 8 miles).  Blaise did 4 laps with his class.  One of their favorite days of the school year - great fundraiser and community builder.

magical vacation

We sure surprised them!  The boys thought they had doctor appointments and instead after opening the box to find their magic bands . . . we were on our way to Disney.  From quintessential rides at Magic Kingdom that showed off Walt's work to epic rides at Epcot.  Eating our way through the World Showcase in Epcot during the Food & Wine Festival, trying food from numerous countries (our fav being Thailand).  A day of rest at the exquisite Wilderness Lodge, Copper Creek Villas.  A beautiful setting on the waterfront, two pools complete with water slide, ride on boat and monorail all to rejuvenate to go to Universal the next day.  Universal was truly like stepping into Harry Potter's world . . . Diagon Alley and Hogwarts, one word amazing.  Truly a magical once in a lifetime experience!

first day of school

Going from no schedule at the beach where the hardest question to answer was - do we go to the bay or the lake today?  Back to school.  Back to a schedule.

The transition happened and it all went well.

Today we heard how each son really likes their teacher.  How Ambrose who isn't that crazy about joining in on the kickball games at recess did and now has the nickname of 'ninja' because he just reached out and grabbed the ball while standing by third base for an out.  Ambrose is excited about back to back ELA and Social Studies because he loves Mr. T who teaches both; plus it probably means extra class time for work which equals less homework.  Blaise has a later lunch (12:10pm) but as he put it luckily has snack and can make it through (oh, the problems of a 4th grader!)  Overall a great first day and looking forward to more tomorrow.

summer is going too fast . . .

Summer.  Family.  Friends.  Boating.  Sailing.  Fire trucks. Grilling.  Hiking.  Beach time.  Swimming.  Solar Eclipse.

medina, ohio

15 minutes from the center of my hometown is where our family's house was located.  The town square was the center of town, the place that is still so familiar today.  The courthouse being tidied up for the 200th anniversary next year.  The old firehouse that is now a museum but looks like a fire truck could come screaming out at any minute.  The fountain that I used to climb all over while attending concerts at the gazebo in the middle of the town square.  The old Farmer's Exchange that just standing outside conjures up the smell of fertilizer in my mind.  And my house that looks different but underneath has the same basic shell.

I caught up with the familiar sights of Medina.  And caught up with classmates at our 25th reunion.  Medina you are a good place to have grown up in.