Celebrating Christmas with Grammy

Due to the ridiculously high prices of airplane tickets this year, we figured we would not be celebrating the holidays with family.  However, Grammy Gayle was not going to let that happen, and when we told her we would not be traveling to California she said she understood and wanted to know if we would like her to come to us.  We jumped at the opportunity and Christmas got that much better.

For the first time we turned to the internet to track Santa's progress across the globe on Christmas Eve.  The girls were definitely interested in seeing just how fast Santa was traveling and how far he still had to go before he reached Lexington.  Fortunately they did not want to stay up all night watching his progress.  After church we checked on his progress a couple of times, put together a dish of cookies the girls had made with Grammy for Santa, and sprinkled the reindeer oat/glitter mix that Reese had made at school on the front lawn.  We were ready.

Christmas morning came quickly, but we are still very lucky in that the girls sleep in.  They are excited to see their gifts but not so excited that they skip out on their sleep.  Everyone wins.  Grammy Gayle wanted to see the morning craziness and Callie and Reese did not let her down.  Here they are snuggled inside one of the sleeping bags we gave them in preparation for numerous sleepovers to come.

One great thing about having Grammy there is that she had a front row seat while the girls opened the stocking she put together for them.  Grammy Gayle has a natural talent for stockings and the the girls loved the Frozen-themed everything that they pulled out of them.  Elsa, Anna, and Olaf are big hits in this house.

This picture highlights Sarah's excitement that the girls just went wild and showcases John's tolerance/self-control after receiving several reminders to just let it be and not clean up every second.  And like last year, Reese wanted to ensure chaos and went through the wrappings several times like it was like a pile of leaves on the front lawn.

Some of their gifts were put into action right away, including this cool coloring craft that they used to send messages to family and friends all over the country.  We needed to make sure that we wished folks from Connecticut to California a Merry Christmas, and the girls looked much cuter holding this sign than anyone else in our household.

We had another special treat on Christmas day when our dinner at the Chrismans included the Gipes.  The girls had their own special table where they enjoyed the fantastic meal, but even more importantly the four of them got to play together before, during, and after dinner.  What could be better than that?  And of course, the adults got to eat, drink, and be merry together, which is just as fun.

One of Grammy's gifts to the girls involved Build-A-Bear, which meant a post-Christmas day field trip to the mall so the girls could pick out the stuffed animal they wanted and of course an outfit to go with it.  Sarah, Grammy, and the girls got there relatively early, which was a good thing because clearly Grammy was not the only one who had thought of this idea.

After an enjoyable two hour adventure in the store, Reese left with a My Little Pony and Callie had a bear that giggles when you squeeze it.  The girls were delighted with their new stuffed animals but also loved the boxes that they got to carry them home in.  You have to give props to Build-A-Bear.  They understand all the little details that go into a fun experience.

We topped off the holiday experience with a trip to the movie theater to see the new incarnation of Annie.  This was Reese's first movie theater experience, and it is safe to say that she loved it.  However, we are not really sure if that was due to the movie or the tub of popcorn and M&M's that she appeared to be swimming in throughout the film.  Not a bad way to wrap up the holidays.

It's Beginning to Look Like Christmas

The very day we returned from our trip to CT for Thanksgiving we headed out to get our tree.  Every year the goal is to get the tree up and decorated quickly so that we can enjoy it for the entire season.  The girls' tree-decorating skills are continuing to evolve, and no longer does Reese just hang all the ornaments in one location.  She understands the concept of spacing a bit better these days, and Callie can be trusted with almost any ornament...almost.  The true indicator that these skills have evolved is that Sarah had to do very little rearranging of those ornaments after the girls went to bed.

Another sign of growth this year came during our annual trip to the Ingle-Mayfield house so that we could see Santa and hang out with friends.  Last year was when Callie surprised us by wanting some alone time with the jolly old guy.  This year both Callie and Reese were willing to sit on his lap and let him know what they were hoping to see in their stockings and under the tree.  It was a fun night overall.

The tree was up, we had talked to Santa, and now it was time for candy.  Fortunately for us, the Johnsons were also ready to hang out and decorate a gingerbread house or two.  We divided up into two teams, and by chance it ended up being the siblings who got to work together.  Vivie Ann and Mason did a wonderful job and the landscaping around their house surely made their father proud.

Callie and Reese also worked quite well together.  Reese of course had to have on her Elsa dress she got for her birthday and she managed to do some decorating in the moments when she was not trying to eat all of the candy.  Callie took the task much more seriously and did her best to tolerate Reese's creative input that did not always conform to the plan Callie had visualized for the house.

For the second year in a row for Reese and the third year for Callie and Sarah, the next item on the Christmas preparation agenda was the Nutcracker at the Lexington Opera House. The girls got all dolled up and were looking forward to seeing all the great dancing.  They now both fully know the story and have favorite parts.  One of those favorite parts of course is the snacks that Sarah brings in her purse.  It has become a fun tradition.

After the show the girls checked out Triangle Park which is right near the Opera House.  This picture certainly highlights the girls' personalities.  Reese is demonstrating what has become a bit of a go to photo move and her zest for life.  Callie is a little bit more reserved and is not willing to be goofy for goofy's sake at the drop of a hat like her sister.  She needs to be coaxed a bit more, but don't worry, once she gets going she can be just as crazy.

One added activity that Sarah took part in was dipping chocolate with Kelly Abraham so that both families would have large amounts of pretzels, pringles, oreos, and ritz crackers dipped in chocolate that could be used as gifts or family treats.  The entire afternoon was fun and Kelly definitely has a system down to make sure everything gets done efficiently.  Sarah left the house with more than enough chocolate dipped goodies to go around.

Next up was the Christmas pageant at our church, and truth be told, this year was a little bit of a train wreck.  We have always loved the low-key aspect of it, but at the same time the Christmas story was always clearly told and the songs fit the story.  This year we are not sure how some of the selected songs made the cut, and if Mary, Joseph, and Jesus were there they must have been hiding behind the choir of cherubs.  Hopefully next year the whole production will be the result of a bit more practice and planning.  However, Callie made a cute, toothless angel and Reese made an adorable zebra hanging out at the manger.

Because the Abrahams were spending Christmas week with relatives in Cleveland we scheduled our Christmas celebration with them early on.  This year the get together reached new heights and we introduced the Abraham family to tape ball.  It was a big hit and here we see the girls showing off some of the fine gifts they won in the game.  The competition was fierce but everyone seemed to win at the end.  Perhaps next year we can avoid the crying or the show of disappointment when the anticipation of a great gift is shattered by the realization that you just got a jar of pickles.

For the past several years Lexington has put a skating rink in the middle of Triangle Park and rented out skates to all who wanted to come down and join the fun.  John, Callie, and Reese took advantage of a cold but sunny afternoon and hit the ice with the Johnsons.  The girls have never skated before and John hadn't skated in more than 30 years, so it was bound to be an adventure all around.

Reese loved it and after she got used to it a little bit wanted to try and do it on her own.  Of course she fell quite a bit, but she got right back up and kept on trucking.  Independence and persistence eventually pays off, and she has both of those traits to spare.  In the hour that we were there she only got off the ice for a couple of minutes and kept coming back on to test herself.  It was great to see.

Callie developed an equal amount of confidence during the course of our time there.  She started off slower and spent a lot of time hanging on the railing as she went around.  But by the end of the hour she was going full tilt across the ice at relatively fast speeds and using the boards at the other end of the rink to stop.  She probably would have stayed for another hour if it was possible.  Next year we will have to do this again and get the whole family out there.

Reese Turns 4

This year Reese got a great surprise on her birthday morning because even our friendly Elf Sam got into the birthday celebration. It added an extra level of excitement to the daily ritual of looking for Sam.  Of course, we didn't need to do much to crank up the excitement level on this day.  Reese was plenty excited for everybody.  She has been able to tell anyone who asks for a while now that her birthday is December 11, and the arrival of the actual day was almost too much for her to take.  In fact, when Reese and Sarah went to Trader Joe's to get some things for dinner she proudly announced to the cashier that it was her birthday, and because Trader Joe's is so fantastic they presented her with a beautiful bouquet of flowers.  Reese absolutely loved it!

Reese had quite a few ideas about what she wanted for her cake but ultimately settled on Elsa's castle.  If you don't know who Elsa is, then shame on you.  Or just go watch Frozen.  In any case, Sarah once again did an incredible job putting together the perfect cake.  And to make it extra special we gave Reese her birthday present of an Elsa dress and tiara moments before we revealed the cake.  So she was able to hold her Elsa cake while wearing her Elsa outfit.  It was almost too good to be true.

The evening overall was wonderful.  Sharon and Chris joined us for dinner and Reese basked in an evening that revolved around her.  The smile in this picture says it all.  Her big sister was very good throughout and did her best to hold back from opening Reese's presents for her.  Meanwhile, we sat there and tried to figure out how Reese got to be 4 so quickly.  She is already talking about how she is going to be 5.  We can wait on that one.

Giving Thanks in Connecticut

Welcome to Connecticut!  It is hard for us landlocked folks to be so far away from the ocean, so we relish every opportunity we get to see the waves and the salt water whenever we visit either coast.  Reese was clearly happy to be down at the Surf Club on this day.  And we were all excited to be up in New England.

Both Callie and Reese were especially looking forward to spending time with Zoey.  The three of them did everything together and took turns soaking up the attention of any adult willing to give it.  We were happy to see that they were just picking up where they left off after this past summer on the Cape.

Uncle Chris is a great guy for many reasons, but he is particularly wonderful with the little ones in the kitchen.  He loves to have them help him with whatever he is cooking or baking and the girls were all over it.  They spent quite a bit of time working on all the steps involved, from the dough rolling technique to the proper placement and spacing on the cookie sheet.

Education runs in the Balestracci family.  Of course, here Brendan's lesson on cookie theft is more on the naughty side, it is still a very helpful skill to carry forward in life.  And it should be said that both Brendan and his older brother are just as good with their younger cousins as their father is.  We say it every time, but the girls are very lucky to have those two as their older cousins.

Since this trip we stayed with Nana Banana and Sport, Callie and Reese were able to get some alone time with the two of them.  Nothing beats getting to have your grandparents all to yourselves for some good bonding, games, and other assorted activities.

This year, instead of doing a sibling dinner or breakfast, we spent Thanksgiving morning running the Turkey Trot down at Hammonasset.  It's the annual 5 mile road race and it's a great opportunity to earn your turkey dinner even as you get to see all sorts of folks who are back in town for the holiday.  We lucked out because it wasn't too cold.  And with the unfortunate exception of a pulled calf muscle we all survived in one piece.

And while the parents were out running the kids got to hang out with their grandparents.  They make a great looking crew, don't they.

And of course their grandparents are beside themselves with joy to have everyone around.  They get to see Mike and Brendan quite a bit, but having the whole gang together is quite a treat.

The Colorado crew headed back home the day after Thanksgiving, but we still had a few days in town and headed to the Science Museum in Hartford.  We had never been there before and it was a great place to spend a few hours checking things out and being silly.  Reese and Sport loved trying to keep the beach ball up in the air.

John, on the other hand, had a great time in the space portion of the center and took advantage of all the good photo opportunities they made available.  However, the family favorite was a lounging booth where we got to watch different educational space videos on a big screen.  Very cool and very comfortable.

With Thanksgiving in the rear view mirror it was time to turn our attention to Christmas, and the Skonieczny's knew just what we could do to get everyone in the spirit.  In Mystic you can watch Santa arrive via tugboat and if you so desire can get your picture taken with him.  This is not the Skonieczny's first rodeo, and while the kids walked around their grandparents held a pot in line that made sure they would not have to wait long at all.

Our girls were happy to take a picture with Ella, Ethan, and Eli, but were less enthused about taking a picture with this Santa.  We chose not to fight this battle and just allowed the girls to take in the whole experience.  Really, how often do you get to stand on a dock and watch Santa arrive via tugboat.  It was definitely a very New England scene.

And on our last night in town we jumped at the chance to visit Mike at his place of employment, one of the best frozen yogurt joints on the Shoreline. Sarah pushed the boundaries and asked for this photo op behind the counter.  However she compensated Mike well with a nice tip.  It was a great way to end another fun Thanksgiving in Connecticut.

Miscellaneous Fall

On November 1 we were honored to run the Live to Breathe 5K to help raise money to fight lung cancer.  Sarah's former boss Mary was one of the main organizers and she is very passionate about it because earlier that year her younger brother had lost his fight against the disease.  Unfortunately the cause hit even closer to home for us because John's Uncle Tommy had recently been diagnosed with lung cancer.  We felt good about being able to show our support and had a good run on a day that was quite cold and even had a few snow flurries.  Sarah made quite a fashion statement in one of the girls winter hats.  She loves the idea that she can already borrow their clothes.

Fall also marked Callie's second year in the LOGOS program at our church, and that means she helped lead worship in song with what is officially called the cherub choir.  They are quite a cute bunch, and you may not be able to see it in this picture, but Callie takes her singing quite seriously.  She is very focused when she sings and is not smiling or playing to the crowd.  It is still great to see her up there when only a few years ago we wondered if she would ever be willing and able to stand up in front of large groups.

Every now and then a little yard work gets done around here, and for perhaps the first time both Callie and Reese specifically wanted leaves raked just so that they could jump in the pile.  This particular action shot highlights the enthusiasm that Callie had as she threw her whole body at the pile with little regard for how little cushion their might actually be.  While not pictured here, you can trust us when we say that Reese attacked the leaves with equal abandon.

The very first snowfall of any worth this fall made Reese very excited.  She could not wait to get out of the car so that she could play in the snow.  She insisted on building a snowman, but as you can see that just wasn't going to happen.  So instead she had a blast throwing snow up in the air so that it fell down onto her face.  That entertained her for quite some time.

So often Reese acts like Callie's friends are her friends and we feel guilty that she doesn't get to hang out with kids her own age as much.  But her friend Maggie stepped in when she was allowed to bring a friend to her dance class.  Reese was excited to go and they had a great time in their dance outfits.  The two of them are very cute together.

The fall also means Thanksgiving and the potential for awkward elementary school Thanksgiving celebrations.  Or awkward at least if, like John, you don't want to deal with the inappropriate headdresses and lack of proper historical perspective about the event in question.  Fortunately for everyone involved, Callie's class chose to do turkeys and we all enjoyed a fun Thanksgiving lunch at Callie's school.  It 's always fun to get to see Callie in her element at Cassidy.  She feels so comfortable there and it makes us happy.

Speaking of comfortable, who doesn't like to soak their feet every now and then?  Here we see Callie and Murphy relaxing as they take in one of the many spa treatments offered at their friend Elizabeth's birthday party.  This birthday party was simply over the top with a series of luxurious spa experiences.  The girls couldn't get enough of it and giggled throughout each treatment.

If you can see through the mud masks, this is Callie with the birthday girl.  Please take note of the head bands and the robes which were two of the numerous giveaways that Callie came home with.  Thankfully, Callie hasn't asked for this type of treatment at home yet and has yet to request a full spa day after a rough week at school.  She did, however, wear the headband every day for about a week after this party.  She will remember the whole experience for quite some time.

Rites of Fall

Hello there, is it fall? I guess it must be fall because we are at Evans Orchard for one of our annual visits. This marks at least seven consecutive autumn visits to this orchard, and in that span of time it just gets bigger and bigger and crazier and crazier. We have our rituals where we check out the pumpkins, run around the playground, and see if there is anything new. Most years we are successful in avoiding any livestock or animal rides, and this year was thankfully no different.

This picture is a little hard to believe because we have a picture of Callie by the pumpkins here every single year, including when she was only a couple of weeks old.  The pumpkins used to seem so big next to her, and now it is the other way around.  Reese is a little bit more feisty and isn't so easy to capture in these kinds of still life poses.

The biggest new addition to the orchard this year was an enormous air trampoline that was built into the ground and allowed for what seemed like hundreds of kids to jump all over it.  It truly was an unbelievable sight to behold.  The girls could not get enough of it.  However, the jumping did end with an "arm injury" that Reese milked for probably two hours before it was magically healed by some unseen miracle worker.  It was an impressive theatrical performance by the little one that had her parents strategizing about a possible ER visit.  Other than that, the day was filled with fun and we were able to get a couple of pumpkins which was the main goal of the trip anyway.

As the girls get older so many different activities get even more enjoyable, and pumpkin carving is right up there.  Although they don't have the knife skills yet to carve the faces they do like to get their hands into the guts of the pumpkins.  You can tell that they had a lot of fun dealing with all of the slimy pumpkin innards.  And at this point it really looked like they were going to be a big help.

However it was only a matter of time when their silly, goofy sides overtook their work ethic.  Reese found it quite amusing to put the top of the pumpkin on her head and was more than willing to pose with it.  This was the type of activity that took place while John and Sarah were doing their best to bring the pictures drawn by the girls to life.

The end results were received well by Reese and Callie, even if they don't reach the intricate levels of master carvers.  It was nice to get pumpkins out on the front porch a couple of nights before Halloween arrived.  We must say that we embrace jolly pumpkins more than we do scary ones.  We are a treat more than a trick household.

Speaking of treats, who wants a cupcake?  This cute picture here is in part the result of some quality conversations that ensured Reese would be happy wearing one of the hand me down costumes her older sister had worn before.  Let us first say that Reese was very happy with her costume on the night of Halloween.  But we have to admit that in the days leading up to the event we tried to ignore it when she would tell people that she was going to be a cupcake because "that's what Mommy wants me to be."  So much for clever manipulation.

Ironically enough, Callie also embraced the candy theme as well as the hand me down theme this year.  One of Sarah's co-workers mentioned that she had a candy fairy costume and Sarah knew it was just the type of costume Callie would love to wear.  Although we had already purchased a cat costume for Callie, we gladly put it aside for this year so that she could spend the night dreaming of lollipops and other sugary goodness.  The only downfall to this costume quickly came when middle school kids asked Sarah if Callie was dressed up as Katy Perry.  That's when Sarah bit her tongue, sipped the wine in her travel mug, and pointed out that Callie was a candy fairy.

This year Halloween started out raining and chilly and ended up cold and sleeting.  In short, this was the type of night that we carried an umbrella and expected the girls would want to go home quickly.  Much to our surprise our girls are willing to tough out quite a bit when the prize is candy.  Any time Reese mentioned she was cold we would ask if she wanted to get any more candy and her eyes would light up and the cold weather would be forgotten.

And because of their persistence the night ended with quite a sizable amount of booty.  The activities following our journey through the neighborhood included the traditional sorting and bartering.  And because it was Friday, we then we topped it all off by watching a movie.  All in all, it was a great Halloween.

The Season of the Shark

After an absence of one season, Callie decided that she wanted to play soccer again.  John decided that he would enjoy helping out with the team and signed up to be an assistant coach.  As it turned out, no other parent signed up to coach, so John ended up being the head coach of the Sharks, a team of girls all 8 and under.  It was quite an experience to say the least.  Fortunately, it was a very good experience for both the player and her father the coach.

It is a bit of an understatement, however, to say that the season was also a bit challenging.  Of eleven players on the team there were probably six or seven who had never played soccer before, and the lack of experience showed in the 0-10 record we accumulated.  Although the record does not show it, the coach and all the players grew throughout the season as a team and most importantly, they had a lot of fun.  The main emphasis every week was to make sure the girls had a good attitude, tried hard, and learned a little about the game.

At the beginning of the season, games resembled the beehive formations of the U-6 league, but by game ten the girls were showing a bit more skill and discipline on the field so that at times it actually looked like they were playing positions and not just running around.  With the spring season just months away signs point to Callie and John making another run with the Sharks.  John has his pair of shark-embroidered shorts ready to go.