Max and Esme

A foot of snow on Monday evening has given us two days of winter fun in Rodman so far. The kids enjoyed swinging in the snow - Max holds the record in long jumping from the moving swing, but his mother sticks her landings better. Peter and Max blazed the trail yesterday and we all had fun sledding this morning.  Now we're enjoying some hot chocolate and lunch while the mittens dry. 

Max wrote his letter to Santa on Christmas Eve.  Included in his modest list of present requests were some philosophical questions for Jolly Saint Nick and a drawing of a dolphin.  He was very pleased to see the answers left among the cookie crumbs the following morning, and the dolphin sporting a Santa hat.  Dear Santa Claus, I would like: Legos - lots of them - a big sticker activity book, a book about ocean animals and a dinosaur activity book.  Questions: How old are you? Dear Max, I stopped counting birthdays many years ago. I'm no longer sure how old I am. What are you getting me? See for yourself. Where did you live as a child? With my paresnts, in many different places. Have I been good this year? According to my lists, yes.  Am I right? How do children know you exist? They don't. It's the same for me. How do I know you exist? I just believe in you, that's all.

Here are a couple of pictures of the kids enjoying our off-season trip to the zoo a couple of weeks ago.

I'm thankful that Mom and Dad could visit us for Thanksgiving this year.  We went for a hike at the local Marshlands Conservancy where we spotted signs of deer, picked up oysters and green crabs on the shore, and scared up a flock of wild turkeys in the woods. Mom and Dad celebrate 44 years of marriage today.  We love you.

Peter and I attended an open house at Esme's preschool last week.  The teachers talked us through a usual day in the life of our 4-5 year olds, and discussed the skills the kids were learning and the topics they were covering in class.  Most recently they've been learning about Space (I have to remember that Pluto isn't a planet any longer!) and their artwork and music have been focused on that topic. The kids treated us to a series of songs about outer space - including both the traditional  - By the Light of the Silvery Moon, and the specially re-worded - The Planets follow around the Sun, Hurrah, Hurrah.  Here's a couple of photos of our rocket ship princess.

Today was Max's final day of soccer.  The kids had their favorite weather to play in - wet and  muddy! Max finished the season with his second Player of theWeek award and we were all there to cheer him on. We didn't get any action shots in the rain, but here's our winner after running hard for 90 minutes.

What it looked like before we ate it!

The striped bass that Max is holding in the previous posting was actually a little small to take, so was released to live another day.  But the fate of today's lobster is some drawn butter and lemon...

The kids had school off yesterday for election day so Peter took them to the aquarium for a visit. They spent over five hours exploring the sea-life exhibits, watching the seals being fed, visiting the pengiuns and seeing a very cool IMAX video.  Here's a photo from Max's favorite room, the shark tank.

We're having a beautiful autumn day to celebrate Peter's birthday.  Blue sky, colored leaves, and a morning at the beach.  Perfect.

We forgot to sign the kids up for annual Halloween window-decorating in town this weekend, so decided to let them paint our front window instead.  They had a great time making a haunted house with bats (Max) and lots of ghosts (Esme). Peter and I got to help only at the very end when the kids agreed we could fill in the background sky.  We think the end result is reminiscent of Van Gogh's Starry Night, but way cooler 'cause it has ghosts and bats.

What Max and his friend Paul did on their playdate this week. http://maxwellandpaul.blogspot.com/

We're two weeks into the fall soccer season and Max has been phenomenal. He scored his team's first goal in game 1 (and the second goal too.) And he played hard without a break this Saturday earning the first Player of the Week award. Way to go Max!

A few random shots from my birthday celebration yesterday. Esme enjoyed the cake the most. She was also not the least bit shy about asking Per to read her two bedtime stories before she went upstairs.

We spent a mid-September weekend at the Jersey shore for our last beach trip of the season. Peter and Chris got a little fishing in while the kids and I played in the sand. It was a gorgeous end of summer.

Esme is visiting me at the office this morning. Her brother is at school this week and she has a chance for some special Mommy time.

We watched this young bear from only about 50 feet away as he fed from the neighbors duck trough. Our presence didn't seem to bother him much - he noticed that we were there, but it wasn't enough to interrupt his breakfast.

Max joined me at work last Friday morning and we spent the afternoon at the American Museum of Natural History. We saw a special exhibit on "Extreme Animals" - all of which Max had heard of and only half of which I knew. We also visited the Gems and Minerals room for the first time which was perhaps surprisingly interesting. And no visit to AMNH is complete without at least a run-through of the dinosaur rooms. Here are a couple of phone pictures of Max with some bones, and posing in the subway station on the ride home. (Note Max's cool shirt - a birthday gift from his British friends Callum and Finn and his new favorite.)

Pete and the kids went to Playland yesterday. Max is big enough now to go on most of the rides and happily rode the roller coaster by himself. Esme enjoyed the kiddie rides and the family-friendly ones like the log flume. With the temperatures where they were yesterday everyone enjoyed getting soaked!

When Max was about 3 years old he started asking for a pet. We told him at the time that he could have one when he was 7 - it seemed a long way away then! Over the years he's reminded us of that promise. Well, when Max arrived home yesterday afternoon he found a large new fish tank in his room. He beamed with joy and was practically quivering with excitement! Pete had been conditioning the water for the last week and has the tank all set up, so Max gets to go to the pet store to pick out his fish after camp today. Max proclaimed it the best birthday present ever. (Photos to come.)

Max started his birthday celebration early, attending the Yankee game with his Dad, Declan and Una last night. He was still wired when they arrived home at 11:20pm - breaking Max's previous record for staying up late! He wanted to stay awake until he turned seven, but we said no and he was basically asleep before his head hit the pillow. Today the birthday boy gets to celebrate at ecology camp by wearing the Crown of Mugwort (supposed to keep insects away.) A family celebration with cupcakes and presents is planned for this evening. Here's an "official" picture of the guys at the game - maybe 7-year-old Max will learn how to smile.

While we were vacationing on Nantucket, our British friends Becky, Gareth, Callum and Finn were staying at our house for their own holiday. We had a couple of days together at the end of their trip and the kids enjoyed catching fireflies together, playing in the sprinkler, boating, and having a slumber party at night. Here are some photos from our boat ride.