The Last Hurrah!!!

The kids did a MARVELOUS job this year in choir. The final two performances brought tears to my eyes..... such beautiful voices. We've been so blessed with talented choir directors who always seem to bring out the best in each and every child :-)

At last years performance, Sean decided to be a showboat and make faces at the crowd (I wanted to crawl inside myself when he did it). This year was a little better, he only tried to 'out sing' everyone. I'm starting to savor his 'antics' lately..... I know that in a short time they'll be gone.... replaced with a more quiet, reserved, 'Seany-Bear'.

Winters End

We had one final cold snap that pulled the sap out of the trees! Daddy & the boys tapped about 5 trees this year so hopefully we'll get a couple of pints.

Last Fall, the kids & I scouted out about 20 maples on our property and tagged them for tapping. All of the trees weren't sugar maples...... but I'll just throw in some extra sugar and fix that :-) We put 2 taps in each tree but only about 3 were producing when we checked the bags. We really got lucky with that final cold snap or we'd have NO sap haha!

Tomorrow, we'll fire up the outdoor gas burner and boil it all down..... mmmmm, I can taste it already :-) Next year, we'll get a jump on the season and get them all tapped!

Snowboarding

And here come the rains..... everybody scrambled outside yesterday to squeeze in one last run down the hill with their boards !! I think Sean has the fence permanently stamped on the front of his face haha! Actually, he did pretty well for a little fart.... jumps and all :-) Ryan is more the 'speed demon' which really surprises me. Lyndsay.... well, let's just say Lyndsay needs a pair of skis.

We all have big plans for the property for next winter. All of the trails I cut will be perfect for cross country skiing! We have at least 3 areas that would be great for downhill and the hills west of the pond will be awesome for snowboarding. Now I have to get my 'McGyver' husband to figure out how to make a tow rope haha!! I'm feeling the need for a snowmobile :-)

I just love this......

Thought of you with love today, but that is nothing new. I thought about you yesterday, and days before that too. I think of you in silence, I often speak your name. All I have are memories and your picture in a frame. Your memory is my keepsake, with which I’ll never part. God has you in his keeping, I have you in my ............heart.

Curious George !!!

Lilo and I had THE BEST time ever the other night-----we went to see !!! CURIOUS GEORGE LIVE !!! Of course, that's not what Lilo calls him.... his correct name is 'Monkey'. Lilo was practically dragging me through the arena to the check-in counter for the show. You would have thought he knew exactly where he was going :-)

I knew our seats were good, but I was floored when we entered the auditorium and we were 3rd row from the stage.... CENTER stage !!! As the lights dimmed and the announcer introduced Curious George, Lilo went BALLISTIC :-) He stood throughout the entire performance and waved at Curious George.

At intermission, we decided to get some goodies to remember the event. Lilo had to have a T-shirt, a Curious George stuffed animal, and one of those twirly light thingies (of which he almost put his eye out with). Immediately he had to wear the T-shirt :-) We didn't get home 'til around 9:45pm----I thought for sure he'd be sleeping----NOPE !! When we got home, everyone surprised us by waiting up so they could hear all about our adventure :-)

My big helper.....

Seany's been feelin' a little down these days. Ryry's in hockey and English riding...... Lyndsay's in English riding, Little Flowers, 4H, and on and on and on. Poor Seany's been 'along for the ride' and he's getting tired of it :-)

I told him he could be my 'wool helper'-----he's pretty happy with that, and not bad at it either!!! He operated my swift and ball winder like a pro. He gets all worked up this time of year as there aren't many sports to play and he's TOO LITTLE for hockey :-)

Happy 3rd Birthday Lilo :-)

Lilo had a GREAT 3rd birthday !!! His real birthday is on December 26th, but we celebrate it usually a week after Christmas.

We made the cake and ALL THE FOOD in the morning and then we just kicked back and waited for everyone to show up :-)

The kids couldn't wait to blast out the door and go sledding..... WITHOUT the sled popping dog, Kirby :-) The snow was too deep to sled on the lane down to the lake, so they decided to brave the driveway <yikes>!!!!

After sledding..... we grubbed a bit and then did cake and presents!! Lilo's 'ONGE' cake was a smash :-)-----he LUV'D the num-num's on the cake.

Then we decided to work off the cake so we played the Wii. TOO HILARIOUS...... right down to Aunt Laney's 'sound effects' and Uncle Kent's 'pansy punches' <hehe>. What is with the whole MOVING IN CLOSE TO THE TV thing?? I seriously thought Uncle Brennan & Seany were going to take out the television set during the boxing match. Aunt Barbie *reeaaaally* needs to brush up on her tennis and take a 'pirouette' lesson from NET :-)