Skiing

January in New England can be miserable. Cold. Dark. Windy. Dreary. Just plain dreadful. However, there are little glimpses of hope. Little windows of opportunity where the sun shines brightly, where the winds calm, and where the air warms enough to make everyone smile. Saturday January 16th was one of those days.

Dad and Charlotte had already planned on skiing that day. As the weekend neared the weather forecast got better we all became excited with anticipation for a great day. We hit the slopes at Pats Peak, only 20 minutes door to door. Since Charlotte has her own skis, we simply grab a free leaners pass and hit the magic carpets. Simple as that.

The sun was out and the temperature seemed to soar to a balmy 40. Charlotte had a blast practicing on the hills and kept asking to go on the chair lift. Unfortunately as good as she is dad was not willing to risk it on a packed Saturday. The Reeves were also on the mountain with the kids and Charlotte was so excited to see them. We skied and Charlotte seemed to get better with every run. As we were skiing the Reeves grabbed a table upstairs on the deck, a perfect place to relax and watch the skiing while enjoying a beer and a burger. Mom and Maeve joined us for lunch and we all had a wonderful time outside soaking up the sun.

We hit the slopes for a few more runs, Charlotte wanting to show off for Maeve and for mom. Maeve laying in the snow and eating it like all kids do, waiting impatiently for her big sister to make it down. She wants to ski too. Hopefully next year she will also learn.

Charlotte flying down the mountain as fast as she could. No fear at all (even though she has fallen many times). She loved it and kept asking for that ride on the chairlift. Next time Charlotte. I promise.

Someone loves skiing!

In line with Kelly and Brodie .
Heading up the magic carpet.
Loving the sun on the deck.
Maeve enjoying a little snack of fresh snow.

Its a New Year

The kids are growing so fast it's nearly impossible to keep up with what is going on. Its been three weeks since the last post. Since then, just few minor things have happened...like CHRISTMAS and NEW YEARS.
So let's take a step back and update you on some of the Christmas 2009 highlights:
*No sick children this year.
*Very little infighting between cousins (boys vs. girls).
*Charlotte & Liam sleeping in the same "bunk room".
*Oodles of toys.
*Snowman making with all the kids.

In all in was a very successfuly Christmas. The kids had a blast and unlike last year we had no trips to the Emergency Room for a kid battling 104 fevers for days due to pneumonia.

What follows Christmas? Well New Years of course.
Highlights of New Years Eve 2009:
*Charlotte and Maeve spent time with their family friends (Mason, Brodie, Adrie, Colin & Brendan.
*Lots of great food and lots of great cocktails.
*Wii bowling. 'nuff said
And unfortunately 1 lowlight:
*Having to leave at 10:30 because Charlotte wouldn't sleep.

Ok, so that covers the last three weeks. Now on to the real reason why you read this blog, the girls:
Maeve (aka Maevey Gravy).
Maeve is just hysterical. She is funny but at the same time extremely sweet, and well...at times very needy. "Hold me!" is her favorite phrase. When she says it she means it. Pick her up or she will cry, there is no getting around it.She usually says it at the most inopportune times, like when you are trying to cook dinner and have something dangerously hot on the stove. "Hold me Daddy!" as I am frying chicken and have spattering hot grease inches from your little body. We have said it before but Maeve also loves to dance and sing. Right now her favorite sing along songs are "Wheels On the Bus" and "Mary Had A Little Lamb." She also like the "ABC's". As for dance music, well, she is a Miley Cyrus fan and loves "Party in the USA". She started dance class as the YMCA and loves it. Maeve is smart. She completely understand everything we say. To me, she is a little old lady in a little girls body. Sounds strange, but thats how I feel about her. She is a tiny adult.





Then there is wacky Charlotte. Aka "Flappy Flapperson".
She is really hard to pick out of a crowd. Maybe you can find her in this picture?
Still cant figure it out? How about you try to find her in this picture?

Like a fish swimming upstream this kid stands out. Life of the party, the kid who wants to play play play, unabounded energy and witty and goofy. You can't help but love her. She is always on the go. Swimming lessons, school, ballet, gymnastics, and now with the cold weather, skiing. Even with all the activities she still has energy. She loves princesses and cars. Dinosaurs and kittens. Jack of all trades Charlotte is a chameleon and seems to adapt to any setting we throw her in. Lately she has been making deals with us. When it's time for bed and I am about to leave her room,
"Goodnight Charlotte" I say, heading for the door.
"Wait wait wait Dad!" Charlote responds. "I have an idea...."
Dad looking at her sternly, "What now Charlotte?"
Charlotte answers in one breath "I have an idea. Dad you go downstairs, and I will go with you, we can let the dogs out and then I will whistle for them to come in and we can ALL go upstairs and YOU can lay right with me and sleep in my bed and then I will sleep in your room until you wake up and then we can go downstairs again. Ok?" Yes, Charlotte the deal maker.