Parade!

We went to a parade right after Thanksgiving that is a big event in our city.  A local restaurant sponsors the parade and the main purpose is to collect presents for kids in need.  We try to go every year, and were able to make it this time.  The kids had a blast- Sloane loved the cheerleaders and Finn liked the dancing librarian troupe (go figure?).
Here's some pictures from the parade.

Lift up from Dad

Finn's birthday Interview

Ok, so Finn's birthday was back in December, but I am just now getting to posting about it.  We decided that since Finn turned eight, he didn't need a blow-out birthday party every year.We let him invite a few friends from school (which turned out to be 6) to go see a movie and eat frozen yogurt afterwards (Finn's fave).  There weren't too many kids movies to choose from, so we had him go see the movie "Frozen".  At the time, I didn't really realize it was a Disney princess movie.  Despite the musical princess numbers, Finn and his friends really enjoyed the movie (except the kissing scene at the end.)  It ended up being Sloane's favorite movie (and the theme for Sloane's birthday party a couple of months later.) Afterwards, the kids got to sit on Santa's lap and tell them their Christmas wishes.  One of Finn's precocious friends asked for a girlfriend for Christmas.

So, my plan was to ask interview the kids every year on their birthdays and see how their favorites and personalities change over the years.  Here are Finn's answers for turning 8:

1.  How old are you?  8
2.  Who is your best friend?  Aidan (some things never change)
3.  What is your favorite thing to do for fun?  play video games
4.  What is your favorite color? Red
5.  What is your favorite food? Pizza or Ben and Jerry's Phish food ice cream
6.  What is your favorite thing to do as a family?  Be outside together
7.  What is your favorite toy?  My basketball hoop
8.  What are you scared of? Getting in trouble
9.  What do you want to be when you grow up?  An NFL football player
10.  What is your favorite book?  Wayside School
11.  What do you want to learn about in school this year?  Porcupines (OK...)
12.  What do you want to do for your next birthday?  see another movie with my friends
13.  Where is your favorite place to go?  Chuck E Cheese
14.  Who is your teacher? Mrs. Dimiceli
15.  What is your favorite drink?  Puppy juice, I mean, Root Beer
16.  Who is your hero?  Adrian Peterson

But wait... I forgot the summer pics

I just realized I never posted pictures from our fun summer, other than our European vacation.  As usual, the kids and I had a blast entertaining ourselves this summer.  It always goes by way too fast!

2nd grade

I don't know how it is possible, but I have a second grader.  Yes, this post is extremely outdated and I have been very bad about updating this blog.  I promise to be better this year, especially with the new baby coming.  We will have a new baby (gender unknown!!!) in May .  Not only that, but we have made the decision that I will get to stay home next year. I feel very blessed to get to be able to get to do this, but sad that I will be leaving teaching for the time being.
Anyway, in an effort to try to backlog this blog, I will try to start where I left off.  Finn is now a second grader and doing great.  He is in a class with many of his closest friends and has turned out to be a fabulous reader and student.  Sloane is in the 3 year old class with many of the same friends that she has gone to school with since she was six months old. It is bittersweet that this will be her last year with her friends, but I hope to homeschool her next year in her last year before Kindergarten.  Here are some pictures of the kids in their new school year.

Europe

I really thought that I would be better about posting blogs this summer, but free time continues to be hard to come by.  I am enjoying every minute with my kids and we have been busy with activities, sports, camps, the pool, etc. etc.  So- the BIG thing this summer is that Finn and I got to go to Europe! I have always dreamed of going to Europe but agonized about leaving Sloane.  I even considered bringing her with me.  Now that I'm back I realize that would have been a HUGE mistake!  My dad gave Finn and I plane tickets for Christmas, so we have been planning everything out for awhile.   Sloane stayed home with Rick and my mom.
We left for Europe at nighttime and arrived in London during the day.  Erin's friend Colby drove us to the train station to go to ....Paris!  It is a pretty short ride- only two hours away- crazy!  I don't even need to mention that Finn is the most well behaved kid on planes and trains (even with me leaving his DS at home, oops).  He either slept, read, or watched a movie.
Paris was as beautiful as it looks in the movies- such a charming city.  I loved the cute balconies and cafes everywhere.  Our hotel was really nice too.  We had a dinner of roast chicken, escargot, and a french style hamburger (thumbs down from Finn).  We took a stroll along the Seine, which was so pretty.  We got to see the Eiffel Tower twinkle at night and we saw the bridge with all of the lovers' locks on it.  Paris is definitely a romantic city.   The next morning we shopped around the city looking for a souvenir for Sloane.  French children's clothing is beautiful, but I tell you what- if Sloane lived in France she would have only two outfits because they are so expensive!    We went back to the Eiffel Tower and played in the nearby park.  We had to leave to go back to London by train.  So glad I got to see Paris- something to  check off the old bucket list.  I would love to go back some time, maybe without kids.
That night in London we went to Erin's flat (I know the lingo now) and Finn and I had our first proper curry at a nearby Bangladeshi restaurant.  It was better than I thought but not something I would crave. We hung out with Sherri, Erin's roommate and her friend Malcolm.  Finn loved Malcolm after he taught him how to play hackey sack.  The next day we went touring the city and hung out at the Tower of London.  It was really cool getting to be in a real castle and learning about British royalty. The most memorable part of this day is that a Royal Guard winked at me at the castle.  Erin doesn't believe me, but I swear it happened.  Or he has a twitchy eye.  We then had a Charlie and the Chocolate factory themed tea at a restaurant.  There was no actual tea, but there were delicious desserts and drinks involved.  That night we took Finn to see Lion King.  Finn thought the play was really entertaining.  I loved it too, but I'm not going to lie, I did fall asleep for a minute.
The next day we we toured the city some more, including checking out Buckingham Palace and the changing of the guards.  We got to ride on a Double Decker bus (top deck, natch!) and explore the sights.  We met Erin's friends at a private club for dinner that night and had the best meal. 
It was such a short trip, which was good, because I really had no time to dwell on the fact that Sloane wasn't with me.  I really hope that I can go back some day to London and explore other parts of Europe- maybe Ireland?  I would love to take Sloane someday.    Finn even mentioned going back to London when he is in college so that he can play rugby.  We will see about that one...