Snowball Fight with Grandpa Buck!

The second week of December brought us winter weather. This only a few days after we had an almost 70 degree day. We woke up last Wednesday morning to a Winter Wonderland and NO SCHOOL!!!! Our first snow day of the school year. The wonderful thing about this day was that Noel (Grandpa Buck) and Debbie (Grandma DeeBee) were visiting us. Poor Debbie and Todd had to go to work. (This was a half pleasure and half work visit for Debbie.) So the girls and I got to stay home with Grandpa Buck and enjoy our first snow day. Grandpa did a lot of shoveling and the girls played in the snow and helped with some shoveling. Then the snowball fights began. They had a snowball fight with Grandpa as the champion but then there was a rematch later in the day. I have attached a video of the second snowball fight. I am hoping you will be able to view it. Meanwhile, I took pictures from inside and finished decorating the house for Christmas.

Grandpa Buck shoveling away!!!!
The girls with Grandpa all wet and cold!

Here they are enjoying some yummy hot chocolate and warming up!
We had a wonderful visit with Noel and Debbie! We ate a lot and shopped and ate some more. We had a lot of laughs and good conversations!! We were very sad this morning to see them leave. We are looking forward to their return visit next month!!!
Below is the video...hope it works!!

Fall Hike

We had a pretty mild October and November. Even December started out with some very mild temps. One day we almost reached 70 degrees. Thank God for days like that to help us get through the cold Winter months. We took a nice Fall Hike on a Sunday, the second week of November. It was a beautiful, warm, sunny day. No need for coats, just a light jacket. We went to a park in Nashua we had never been to. It had nice wide paths and narrower ones if you wanted to go off the beaten path. Here are some pictures from that day.

The paths were covered with leaves. The smell and sounds of Fall made the hike even better.

We came upon a bridge and Emily, Callie and Todd stopped to look at the sights around them.

This is what was under the bridge. The picture doesn't capture all the beauty but you can see how nice it was.

We came upon a building along the water with what looked like a dam. Here is Todd and the girls figuring out why it is there and how it all works. Callie had a lot of questions.

Here is the sign explaining what it is.

Emily resting while we stopped to look at our surroundings again.

You can see the waterfall and building in the back of this picture. I just love the sun and its rays!!! Like I said, it was a beautiful day.

The girls posing for a picture. We sat at this little inlet and rested before heading back to the car. We could see a boat, the Fall leaves, feel the sun's heat and hear a high school football game.
There were quite a few other people there hiking or biking.

When we got back to the car we all were wishing that our favorite ice cream shop, Axels, was still open so we headed over to Friendly's and had an early dinner and ice cream to finish out a nice day with the family.

Soccer Highlights Fall 2009

Last night I caught up on my blog reading. I have several friends that have blogs now and I really enjoy reading them. So after reading their latest entries I realized I have been slacking again on my blogging. I am starting with the girls Soccer highlights of their Fall season. It was an exciting season as Callie really showed her aggressive abilities on the field and scored some goals and in the end made it on one of two all star teams. Way to go, Callie!! Emily's season was challenging for her as her team had some very talented players. Emily started out a bit apprehensive but finished with a bang. At the last regular season game she scored a goal after being tripped by an apposing player/friend. Accident of course. Then at the second playoff game she had the most balls on goal but just couldn't get the ball in the goal due to the goalie catching the ball. The games for both girls have become very exciting to watch with a lot of parents screaming and cheering. I have posted some of my favorite pictures from the season starting with Callie's team then Emily's team, followed by Callie's all star game.

Callie is waiting for the ball to come her way.

There she goes running that ball down the field.


Callie going for the goal.

Here she is running that ball down the field again. Running the ball down the field is her strong point. Very exciting to watch!

Here is Callie with two friends, Rhianna and Rachel. Rhianna and Callie have been on the same team for two seasons now.

Callie's team, The Green Hornets. She has been with these two coaches now for several years both Fall and Spring seasons.

Callie during the last regular season game. She spray painted her hair green as did most of the other team members.

Here is Emily during the last regular season game. She also sprayed her hair green. (Both girls were on a green team this year.)

This was the game where Emily was tripped and fell on the baseball diamond part of the field. She scraped her knee, ripped her tights but stood up and shook it off. She then sprinted down the field and scored a goal!!! Way to go Emily!! Very proud moment for the mom and dad!!!

Here is Emily the week she was captain. Not sure why Emily and the ref. are looking in one direction and the other kids are looking in the other direction.

Emily watching the ball and waiting for the action to come her way. Check out her new sports glasses. You can just call her Bono!!!

Here is Emily with some of her friends. Morgan (Em's best friend), Chelsea, Em and Alexa.

This picture was taken at the team's soccer party at the end of the season. Alexa, Emily, Tara and Morgan.

Here is Emily's team, The Green Monsters!



Here is Callie during the All Star Game. She had been sick with the flu the week before and was a bit sluggish during this game but she managed to run the ball a few times down the field and scored one of two goals for the team!!! Way to go, Callie Girl!!! We were very proud of her!!! Notice the two different colored socks? I guess that is the thing to do!


Callie flashing me a smile during the game!

Callie in motion getting the ball!!!

Callie getting her medal after the game.

Claire, Callie's old preschool friend, was on the other team. They hadn't seen each other in a long time and it has been even longer since they actually hung out together as they go to different schools. They will be together again next year when they move up to the Upper Elementary. I think this picture was more for the moms than for them!

So there you have it.....the soccer highlights for Fall 2009!!

Fun Raking Leaves

We are having some wonderful weather here in New England. Probably what some would call an Indian Summer. Not me...I call 80 degrees an Indian Summer. Nonetheless, it has been unseasonably warm the last few days. We have wrapped up soccer as of Saturday with a playoff game for Emily's team and an all star game for Callie. Last week was Operation H1N1 at our house. Both girls came down with what we all think is probably the H1N1 flu. Callie was home all week and Emily just a couple days. We seem to be back on track as of now. Callie was slow going this weekend and stayed home today b/c of a stomach ache and feeling weak. But after some more sleep and finally some food, she is feeling much better. We just took a nice walk without jackets. Nothing like that to brighten your day in November in New England.

Before all that happened, we had a nice day in our yard raking leaves. It wasn't as warm as today but working hard raking and hauling leaves it was perfect weather at about 50 degrees.

Everyone got in on the act!

Here are the girls in the middle of our HUGE pile of leaves. They wouldn't stop raking until it was high enough to sit in it with just their heads sticking out.

After finally getting a great smile out of both of them, Emily decided to goof around with her sister.

Poor Callie is still trying to give me a smile.

Well, no more smile but they were having fun.

Then Emily took it to the next level and started throwing the leaves at Callie. All I could think of was all the re-raking we were going to have to do.

Now they are getting serious about throwing leaves.

They had a good time with some fresh air. We spent the rest of the day raking and hauling the leaves. The girls pooped out about 1/2 an hour after I took these pictures. Todd and I were at it until dark.

Yesterday, we took a beautiful walk in the woods. We went to Mine Falls Park where they have some great paved walking/biking paths. There are also non paved paths you can go on. It was such a beautiful day and of course I took some pictures. So next up will be our Fall Hike.

Halloween Fun!

Happy Halloween to all!! We had a very nice Halloween here in New Hampshire. We have been very lucky the past 6 years we have lived here to have a warm trick or treat night. We have heard horror stories of frigid temps and lots of rain. We had a few sprinkles this year but the daytime temps were close to 70 degrees if not warmer. By the time trick or treat started all I needed was a light fleece jacket but no gloves this year! With the exception of the clouds covering up the full moon (or almost full), the night was perfect for Halloween with the wind howling, leaves blowing and the shadows of the trees blowing on the houses. Ooooooooo!!

Callie wanted to be a ghost but couldn't be a ghost for her school party since it would cover up her face. So Callie and her friend, Courtney, decided to go as twin nerds for their school party. Callie came up with everything herself with Todd's Napoleon Dynamite wig, Todd's old suspenders, glasses with tape in the middle and a button down shirt with a pocket. She even put a pencil behind her ear and a pen in her shirt pocket.

Here is Callie with her friend, Courtney and their Teacher, Mrs. Vermilyea.

The Nerds!!

We were going to buy her a ghost costume but decided to make it ourselves. Here is our little Callie, the friendly ghost. She kept telling me that all she got was a rock when we were out trick or treating. She actually showed me a rock that she pulled out of her bag. Remember the Charlie Brown Halloween special?? All Charlie Brown got was a rock and he was dressed up as a ghost.


Here is our Vampiress, Emily!! That morning she had a very intense soccer game. She wore the stripped tights to keep warm. She was tripped during the game and scraped her knee, making a big hole in her tights. (She fell on the part of the field that was part of the baseball diamond.) She got up and shook it off and then ran down the field to score a goal. Very exciting!!!

Here is Emily scooping out the guts of her pumpkin. It is very nice that the girls can carve their own pumpkins now. I just get to take pictures.

Emily's vampire pumpkin

Callie concentrating hard on one of her two pumpkins.

Callie's pumpkin

A couple weeks before Halloween, we went to the Keene, NH, Pumpkin Fest. It is about an hour away from our house. Every year they collect as many carved pumpkins as they can to beat their record and Boston's record. This year they beat their own record (sorry I can't remember what the final count was) but not Boston's record. It was a very chilly night but we had a great time. There were pumpkins EVERYWHERE you looked. All lit up.

Here we are in front of a huge tower of pumpkins!

Here are the girls with our friend, Kate. Kate if the one who told us all about the pumpkin fest. She is a first grade teacher and has her kids and their families all carve a pumpkin and she brings them all to Keene. Kate is the one that we do the ski club with. She patiently taught me how to ski.

Here is one of the two huge towers of pumpkins. See the huge jack o lantern on top?? The shadows you see are people's heads that were right in front of me.and the street lamps.

Some shelves with more pumpkins. I had never seen so many jack o lanterns in one place before. Actually, I don't think I have every seen that many jack o lanters period. The town of Keene is a small college town. The downtown area was pretty neat with some really cool shops. They even had an old theater that we went in and for free they were showing old Warner Brother's cartoons. It was nice to get out of the cold for a bit. We want to go back sometime when all the shops are open and walk around.

That is about it for our Halloween Fun. We are almost done with Soccer. Emily's team starts the playoff games this week. Her first game is Wed. night. As I said, Saturday's game was very intense so this one will be even better!!!! Callie's regular team is done but she was chosen to be on an all star team so she will play one more game this next Saturday.

I will leave you with this last photo of the beautiful leaves along our rock wall and my favorite tree. All the leaves have fallen and we raked them up yesterday. So next up.....Fun with Fall Leaves!! Then the Soccer Highlights. So stay tuned!!!