Sunrise

On north Carolina

ROAD TRIP

Our flight to florida got cancelled cuz of the blizzard coming
tomorow. Schools are closed and even Sleepys is closed and there
hasn't even been a snowflake yet!
As soon as the kids got home from school we piled into the minivan
John rented and hit the road.

Karen
Sent from my iPhone

Cutest Bass Player

Can you see her there in the back row?

Mackenzie makes All-County Orchestra

Courtney came along with me to see Mackenzie play bass with the All-County orchestra. She is now the 12th best bass player in the 5th grade in all of Nassau County! And how many people can say they performed on stage at the Tilles Center?

Happy 2010!

Celebrated New Years with some neighborhood families and the Mattejats
from Maryland. Walked up the Fire Island lighthouse today with Peter,
Laura, Maxx and Kyle.

Karen
Sent from my iPhone

Happy Christmas!!!

iPod touches all around was the biggest hit. For Christina it was a 'Kathy' bag (huge funky purse), Courtney flipped over her practice balance beam, Matt couldn't get enough lego sets or nerf guns, and Mackenzie loved anything in orange.

Even though each of them asked for it, no one thought Santa would actually bring them an iPod touch. The video ends before you can hear it, but Matt was so happy he says "I'm gonna cry."

Wintuk with the 5th Grade class

Already got popcorn and the cotton candy that comes with a giant
jester hat and the show hasn't even started yet.

Gingerbread House! And Train!

It's not Christmas 'til we're covered in frosting and eaten all the candy that won't stick onto our gingerbread creations.
Matt and Courtney worked together on a gingerbread train, complete with candy bar reindeer and marshmallow snowmen. Mackenzie and Christina had as much fun arguing as building their gingerbread house. You can't see any gingerbread under all the frosting, gumballs, peppermints, gumdrops, marshmallows, and anything else from the candy jar they didn't eat first.

Saratoga Springs

After much planning, finagling and scheduling John and I got away for
the weekend. I won a trip at one of the Summer Series races. Got here
and found a lot of running friends.

Massapequa Wellness 5K

Christina ran with Katie from soccer and Mackenzie ran with Ciara from
her team, so I ran up ahead. I was 3rd woman overall and 1st in my age
group, and Christina was 3rd in her age group.

Karen
Sent from my iPhone

Happy Halloween!

Matt the Slasher, Bacon & a Fairy.

Peter Peter Pumpkin Eater

We finally got our pumpkins, but only because Matt skipped football practice and Christina's soccer was cancelled. We thought we weren't going to get them when we pulled up to the church where we get pumpkins every year and it was dark and deserted. As we were deciding where to get some ice cream the door opened and two men came out. They were happy to sell us four huge pumpkins and lots of little gourds as long as were out of there by the time the yankee game started.

5th Grade Economics Fair

Matt is selling sports cards and raffling off some lenticular cups.
Courtney is offering little fairy people and she's raffling a box of
crafts. Mackenzie has Bacon Buddies, based on her Halloween costume.

Christina is 12!!!!

Guggenheim

Googly boogly great Guggenheim. If only we had our rollerblades!

Last Jump in the Pool

Summer will really be over when the pool is closed. We jumped in one last time. Mackenzie and I got pushed. And yeah, we still have those beautiful bathing caps from my chemo days.

First Day of School

Christina left for the bus to Berner Middle School at 7:35. John and I walked with her but told her when it's snowing and 20 below she's on her own!

The triplets start 5th grade! Courtney sported some wild looking hi-tops, Matt got dirty before the bus even got there and Mackenzie wore her lucky cow earrings.

Here's Matt's feeling about school:

Last Day of Summer

Boo hoo. Enjoyed the last day with a wiffle ball game, a bike ride, tennis, and buying last minute school supplies. Christina was hysterical crying and we turned the house upside down when she misplaced her class schedule. We knew this would happen eventually, but we didn't even get to make copies of it before it was lost!
We'll end the day with a fire out back and ice cream from the Mr. Softee truck. mmmmm

Conklings Conquer the Mile!

Christina finished under eight minutes, Mackenzie ran the whole way without stopping, and Matt did really well. Karen did a little over 6 minutes. Not the best time ever, but great just the same. GO CONKLINGS!

Fire Island Lighthouse

We usually start the summer with a trip to the lighthouse but this
year it's the end. Aunt Bette joined us and we hiked to Kismet for
lunch with LOTS of interesting sights along the way!