Henry turns 4!

Get your party pics, people.

Fiona turns 7!

Scenes from today:



Fiona, hula hoop master:

Fiona birthday retrospective

One picture from each of Fiona's first seven (7!) birthdays:

Gaba's visit

We celebrate early birthdays for Fiona and Henry and a belated birthday for Gaba.

A penguin and a skeleton walk into a kitchen...

Bethesda-Delaplane

We visit Elliotts through Maryland and Virginia.

A wedding and some soccer

Elliott-Preston Summer Summit

First day of 1st Grade

Off to Walker School we go...

Double Darth Maul

Mom painted faces on Saturday morning.

Fenway Park

We make our first trip to Fenway Park to see the Portland Sea Dogs vs. the Binghamton Mets in the first game of the Fenway Futures doubleheader.

Pemaquid weekender

We make a quick trip to Maine to see Gaba and Granny. Warning: most pictures involve the Elliotts climbing on rocks. Also, be on the lookout for a pirate -- a small yet frightening pirate.

Fiona: the littlest bloggger

Fiona came home from Woodside yesterday, grabbed her laptop, and told me she wanted to write a blog. So, we headed to the porch, where I showed her our friend Anneliese's TeamFunBaby blog to give her an idea of what a blog looks like (aside from the one in which she stars). She decided she wanted to write a blog post to Anneliese, her daughter Ellie, and husband Jason. I opened up Microsoft Word, and let her go while Sam and I made dinner. Here are a few pics of Fiona in action, along with her blog post.







"If you ever want to go surfing with me again, it's a great idea. I want to. From Fiona. I hope to see you next time. I'm happy to see you. Tell Ellie I said hi. I want to plan something later. Tell Jason I'll see him sometime soon."

First missing tooth

Well, it finally happened. After waiting roughly 2.5 years, Fiona lost her first tooth yesterday. Pulled it out herself, she did. And she couldn't be happier or prouder of her new grill, as you can see:

Surfer kids

Last week, on a 98-degree day, we hit the beach. And thanks to Anneliese, we had wetsuits for the surprisingly frigid water.

T & Salzars: summer visit

Sunday AM ride

Data courtesy of Hagin, Rich.

Beech Hill Farm

Last weekend, we made our first trip of the season to Beech Hill Farm. After eating ice cream, Fiona befriends a few horses and horse-like animals while Henry befriends some trucks and a big sand pile.

Sea Isle City

Summer has arrived

Activities in the past couple of weeks have included running circles, soccer, the Memorial Day parade, and baseball.

Biking and batting

We had a big day yesterday. In the morning, we set out with Rick and Tucker and without our training wheels. Then, in the afternoon, we took Henry's new bat over to the park for some BP. We have video from each outing.

We started on a gentle slope in the grass, and then once Fiona and Tucker found their footing, we went to a flat parking lot. You'll notice that Fiona had some difficulty with the stopping aspect of bicycle riding, but figured it out in the end, starting with a sick yet controlled skid. Tucker, meanwhile, appears as though he's been riding without training wheels for years. As for Henry, he found climbing on Rick's truck to be more fun than learning how to ride a bike. I think he was just saving himself for batting practice later in the day.



Henry reminds some of a young, blonde, American Joey Votto, it is said. Fiona needs a little more work to fine-tune her swing, but she proves to be remarkably fleet of foot in flip flops.

Pictures from Naples

Faces painted

Last weekend, we broke out Fiona's face paint kit. Dad took requests for Indian, er, Native American war paint and a vampire.

Opening Day Wiffle Ball

Henry's fever finally broke today, and he was back to his old tricks. He insisted on skipping his nap, and after watching an inning of the Reds game (which they would end up winning hours later in dramatic, walk-off fashion, btw), he decided we should go outside and play Wiffle Ball. I dug up the bats and balls in the basement and we hit the street!

First, Henry takes some cuts against live pitching:



Then he grabbed the skinny, yellow bat and smashed one off the T:

iPhone photos of the Kimball teardown

Demolition of Kimball School began today. Fiona and Henry will both attend its replacement, Christa McAuliffe Elementary School, when it opens in the fall of 2012.

I stopped by twice today and took some pictures with my phone:

Virtual art show

Fiona has become a prolific drawer. Her medium? Crayola markers. I would estimate that 9 out of 10 school days, when I pick her up, she is parked at the art table, surrounded by paper and markers. She is also an emerging author. Here is some of her recent work:

Friendly's menu:




(Can you find: pizza, hamburger, hot dog, french fries, sweet potato fries, chicken nuggets, mint chocolate chip cone, chocolate cone, chocolate chip cookies, M&Ms, banana split, a tray of brownies, Hershey's bar, cherries, watermelon?)

A note to Henry, meant for his lunchbox:


Channeling her inner John Updike, Fiona pens (or, more accurately stated, pencils) a rabbit tale:


Lastly, a (k)night book:

Henry's first turns

Henry refused to perform any sort of pizza wedge this winter, instead choosing to ski in parallel or french fry form straight down the hill, expecting Dad or the kindness of strangers to stop him. Then, suddenly, one afternoon at Sunapee, he decided to try out turning and -- boom goes the dynamite -- a skier is born!

Henry's weekend of cart napping

In need of a new kitchen light, Henry and I hit Lowe's on Saturday and Home Depot on Sunday to assess our ceiling light options. Both days, we ventured out in the early afternoon, or as it's known in some circles, nap time.

And we're back...

After experiencing some technical difficulties in recent weeks, we are now back up and blogging. To catch you up, we'll start with a day in early February, when Fiona and Dad hit the slopes. I picked Fiona up from kindergarten, drove right past Woodside and continued on until we arrived at Pats Peak for a midweek ski day. Here are two shots taken at the summit:

The Robot Movie

This morning, Fiona and Dad made a robot and then a robot movie. I think you'll find the acting sublime, the direction subtle, and the special effects spectacular.

Black Ice Pond Hockey recap

We may not have won a game. We may not have scored many goals. We may not have even possessed the puck very often. But we could not have had a better time out there last weekend on the pond at White Park. Below, I present a team photo, an album of our Sat AM game, and a video of our Friday night contest against the eventual champs of our division. (Some estimates put the final score at 17-1, but as you'll soon see, we got our lone goal on tape.)

Ladies and gentlemen, your 2011 White Guys on Black Ice:























Photos of the White Guys vs. the Turkey Pond Flyers:




Friday night lights (keep an eye on #20):

Extra photos from the tourney

Pats Peak Pics

Couple pics from our trip to Pats Peak today.

Fiona in the car, showing her excitement for the promise of her first chance to ride the lift this season. Below, Henry loosens his boots for lunch.

Christmas photos

Xmas eve at the Parker's, Xmas morning at home, and then off to New Jersey for snow and cousins.