Bonfires

This is when the building begins.

Throwing all the wood over the sea wall.
We don't actually build a bonfire ourselves. Our neighbors are the ones who really coordinate "our" section of the beach's fire. So we all always try to help out. See little Declan and Boston crossing the rocks for more wood? What beachy troupers.
They are getting bigger...and bigger... and they are going to be SO BIG!
Oh, yeah, baby, they are ready for some flame!!

These were really beautiful this year. Sometimes, the temperature, the tide and the wind all coordinate to make some really beautiful fires. But, alas, with all the fireworks going off and the kids running wild, once the flames started I *had* to put the camera down!

Fourth of July Talent Show

Well, it was really the 3rd, but that's how we roll.

Among other festivities, we had the annual Talent Extravaganza.

Ella MC'ed and coordinated the talent (which is a bit like herding cats, but she got the job done!).

The karate girls. Unfortunately, I couldn't get the camera to get a clear picture of the kicks. Even in the sand, don't they look strong, focused and intense? Uh huh, they are.

The girly-girls doing the Cotton-Eyed Joe remix dance to The Dog Song by Nellie McKay.

The diaper dance karate improv roll in the sand having fun routine!

Oh, this was coerced participation in the show. Ella: "You can pretend to kill each other!" The boys: "YEAH! Then we'll DO IT!!"

Everyone took a nice bow :) We couldn't quite get our diapered lady to join in, but she got plenty of applause, too.

Birthdays

Who are these girls and why do they look so grown up?!?!?!

Not only were they grown up, but they were also *goofy*

Ella is turning 11 next week. This year, as a party, she decided to go to a movie and to lunch in the mall with her two BFFs.

It was a blast.

I had to laugh because when we were going over the schedule, Ella was concerned that there seemed to be some "lag" time, and what would we do in the mall. I said we could ride the carousel there. Her reply? "Mom. We're. Eleven."

Note the pictures of three very happy girls on the carousel.

Easter Part Two

It was harder than we thought to find those eggs.
But victory was hers!

Cousins. We love cousins.

The girls are about 9 months apart and the boys only five months apart. And five inches apart *grin*.

Easter

This year, Declan was completely pumped up about Easter coming. And it must have lived up to his expectations since he was asking today how many days until Easter. It was so early this year, I think Ella's estimate of 364 was a little short.


We had a lovely day at my aunt and uncle's house. Both of their children have been deployed in Marine units to Afghanistan two weeks ago, so keep them in your thoughts for a safe return. They've all signed up for Skype, so they can communicate over the internet for free with video! But, the military is requiring that the soldiers pay a small fee for the internet access. Hmm. Well. That is all I will say about that.

This year, the kids really wanted ugly dolls for from the Easter Bunny. I also thought the Easter bunny should add something cute, but he needn't have bothered as the kids loved those ugly dolls exclusively.

I think at this point in the photo shoot, Ella was getting a little cold. Declan wore his dog sweater. I love that sweater on him. He looks like such a little Cape Cod preppy kid with his cords and turtleneck and dog sweater.

We have been crazy with rehearsals for the Wizard of Oz, which was featured in the entertainment sections of the Cape Cod Times and the Barnstable Patriot this week. I wonder whether that is a testament to the production or says more about what is available for entertainment in March (the cruelest month in a resort area).

Christmas Sweaters

Lately, Ella has taken to carrying a purse everywhere. It is great for me, because I hate carrying a purse and she is more than willing to have my camera in there or a chap stick.

It is funny what becomes the best gift of Christmas. We decided this year to only give fun stuff. Last year, we wrapped a bunch of stuff that the kids needed, like tooth brushes and boots, and let's face it ~ that is just not that fun.

So this year, we decided not to get any clothes. What was one of Ella's favorite gifts? A sweater from Tom and Jenny. *g*

It does look nice on her, tho, huh?

Declan loves his Piccachu, even tho Santa did not have time this year to build it in his workshop with actual lightning bolts coming out. We read a great Christmas book this year about lists to Santa and the kinds of gifts we *want* vs the kinds of gifts we will really *enjoy* called My Penguin Osbert. It is pretty cute. Declan was delighted with everything he got.

We had a really cool moment when Ella gave away some of her soap, and Declan went on and on about how good she was at making soap, and how it was glycerin and so you needed to keep it out of the way of running water, and how Ella was able to add all kinds of "flavors" to the soap.

Sweet. He sure does love his Big Sis.

Rudolf's Gift to Declan

Declan was so happy to have a blinking nose. Like his grandfather, he loves a good joke accessory.

Ella and Boston went with Nana to the Nutcracker Ballet. It was a magical night by all accounts. They were beautiful, and B. was so excited to have Ella all to herself. She kept hugging and kissing Ella. They got all dolled up (I did their nails), and then they snuggled on the couch and read the Nutcracker book together.

Meanwhile, the boys and I had a great time, plus I got some one on one time with the fabulous Shyah while the boys wrestled and ignored me. She is a beautiful, smart, fun baby. I am so glad that she came along!

Let it Snow

Yippee!! It finally snowed here! I have been so jealous of our nearby neighbors who have gotten snow. That darn sea breeze keeps much of the snow away, but we are getting slammed today! Ella loves the snow. At the first sign, she is always out there making, if not snow men, snow slugs.
Happy snow-baby *g*. Plus, any decrease in sunlight is a "wicked good" excuse to turn on the Christmas lights.
Declan, on the other hand, was quite content to eat butterscotch oatmeal cookies and pulled a chair up by the window to watch the action. If you look closely, you can see Milo waiting for some dropping crumbs.
Then, stood by the deck door to kind of get in on the action. Ella threw snowballs at his face as he stood there laughing hysterically. It was great. he did go out, but well, the snow has never been so much to his taste.
Evidence of the sister trying to massacre her brother, I mean, the deck door.

Centerville Stroll

These small children adored Frosty! They followed him down the street, and told him, "We love you!" and "We know your SONG!"

He was very nice to them and said he would pass along their messages to Santa. Oh, yeah, baby! Marshmallows on a dark night in the middle of the street!?!? Does it get any better?
And then my camera died. So, I missed pictures of Shyah with her dancing toes in the stroller. But, the memories are in my head.

Hyannis Harbor Lighting

This picture is for Mel (the gorgeous gal on the right) who "complained" I never have pictures of myself (the lady in the yellow coat).

That sweet girl is her daughter, and my dad is there on the left. That is his traditional Christmas scarf. He wears it every Christmas season. Sometimes, I feel like this blog is kind of a travelog for Cape Cod :) But, here goes again!

We LOVE the Hyannis Harbor Lighting. The boats circle the harbor, and there is music and chowder (what else?) and a lovely sense of community.

Sally's shop was all decked out for the holidays and it looked great. She was having a major sale! Note the eye patch on the bear. Some people are really pirate crazy *g*.

This year, Santa came in on the Duck Boat. Now, the duck boats are a bit low in the water, so there was some trouble getting Santa on to the Harbormaster's dock. Fortunately, he had plenty of elves there dressed in police uniforms to get him and Mrs. Claus up onto the dock.

Declan was a little nervous about Santa, but he went up to him, and Santa rubbed his head. He told he was, "too shy to have a chat about the robe". Oh, that kid is SO getting a cozy robe from Santa.

Taking a few outside shots before the big freeze

This is Declan's new favorite face. I think of it as the "Mom, what you are doing right now is crazy" face. I had just pulled to the side of the road to snap some *priceless* pictures. So, yeah, he is usually right when he makes this face.

They are so loving to each other. They can drive each other nuts. This is the picture I will hold in my heart when they are making each other crazy.

Even the cat was getting a Christmas shot taken. We laugh all the time about Cute With Chris and have been taking photo shoots of our cat.

This is the 1856 General Store. There are two benches outside. We always sit on the Democrat side. After 20 years, they switched the sides so now the Dems are on the right (facing the store). I have not quite adjusted. Some things should remain the same. The benches in their rightful positions were immortalized in this ornament, but now....well....I suppose I will adjust. I just keep sitting in the wrong, or should I say, right side. Wait, I now sit on the right, left side. See.

It is a topsy turvey world.

"Mom, why are we at the beach? It is December. We are cooooooollllllllldddddddddd"
This is the most awesome train set. Coolio.
These are not the presents under our tree. Declan had had it at this point. As Madeline will attest, red heads ARE more sensitive to cold and heat and he stayed in the car. Ella was considering taking her shoes off. That girl loves the cold when it is on her terms.

Scrapbook Fun

We have found a wonderful place! It is called Simply Scrapbooking, and the woman who runs it, Michele, is awesome with the kids. We have been twice, and both times the girls (we have yet to get Declan or any boys to come!) made stuff they were really proud of.

It is so fun to hear them chatting in the "back room." Ella is really concentrating here.
Ahh! The finished product! A picture book for Dad for Christmas. Shhhh. . . it's a secret!

Carving Pumpkins

This one was really cute. Ella thought that the little ones would not be fun to carve, but they are sometimes the best.

She is really into this. Maybe she should be a sculptor. Note the fashion statement with the apron.
That one in the background is mine. I was glad that Ella made her marks smallish, because the finished pumpkin ended up with perfectly sized features.
My pumpkin had this really strange stringy spaghetti squash inside. It just kept coming and coming, and was really dry. We bought pumpkins a while ago, and had them outside, but it has been so warm here that they all rotted on the porch. They 'll go in compost tomorrow and feed the crows and coyotes probably.

So, anyway, we went to Trader Joe's today and snagged the last few mangy looking pumpkins. So what if one of them was so dried out it was filled with spaghetti? They were easy to carve!

Well....Declan really wanted to carve pumpkins, but Episode 1 of the Star Wars saga was on, so he kind of gave some creative input while I carved the pumpkin. I LOVE carving pumpkins, but for the last few years haven't really been able to carve the kind of pumpkin I like to carve.

Ella has gotten to be a completely independent carver, big knife and all. She is not crazy about getting all the guts scraped out. Could it be because I call them guts? Well look at them in the bowl. What else would you call them?