Cookies!

Due to the natural time delay in MLM's postings, we bring this one to you a little later than intended:

I even received a beautiful card to celebrate the holiday.  Best part?  It included yet another spelling of Hanukkah!

cover

Inside the card

First Snow

The snow started falling so the kids begged to go outside.  First thing they wanted to do to launch the season?  Shovel!  Who am I to tell them no?

Then we went inside to warm up:

Post-hat hair

Warm food to fill the belly

Comic relief

A Hiking We Will Go

Not too snowy?  Check.
Not too sunny?  Check.
Not too hot, buggy, or otherwise yucky outside?  Check.

Then it's off to the Fells we go! 

Porsche Boxster

Adam and Tate may want to drive a Porsche Boxster one day, but until they scrape together the cash, they'll have to settle for the budget version:

Hiking the Meadows

Another beautiful weekend, another hike through Arlington's Great Meadows (conveniently located within Arlington, of course).

We had cooperative citizens on the hike and captured some nice photos thanks to Daddy's selfie skills:

Pretty Smile

What a pretty smile!

Merry Christmas

It was a merry Christmas for all.  Except maybe for Tate.  He wasn't excited about taking a photo.  We'll work with him and next time we'll have a stunning photo.

The rest of our cousins knew the drill because they've done it before:

First one was in 2012 and then we were All Aboard with the idea in 2014.  We took another one on Labor Day in 2015, followed by America's birthday in 2016, and thankfully once again that fall.  What a photogenic bunch! 

Fall Photos

Finally!  Cooperation from the kids!  The results?  Beautiful fall photos.  Enjoy!

It's so hard to capture the little guy that I just kept snapping photos.  I couldn't decide which one to share with you, so here are all three:

OK, so they weren't all perfect.  But you gotta have a sense of humor.

Old Sturbridge Village

We had one of those mornings where the kids were whining and didn't want to do anything, least of all leave the house?  So MLD and I did what any parent would do:  bundle them up and take a long car ride to a historical site from the 1830's.  OK, maybe not every parent would do this, but it seemed like a good idea.

Complaining turned into compliments within 10 minutes of our arrival.  I think the water pump played a huge role in turning around attitudes:

Adam learned about old-fashioned horsepower:

Ashley learned how to throw a pot:

And then both Tate and Adam refined their wheelbarrow handling skills:

We even got to drive a team of oxen!

We had so much fun that we went back a week later!  This time we took family:

Can't wait to visit again to see how the early Americans fared in other seasons.

State House

The entire family took a fun trip to the State House.  Tate made the most of his experience by snacking in the Hall of Nurses.

Mystery Reader

I woke up one morning to find these two angels reading in the hallway.  Why were they there?  They didn't want to wake up the other two sleeping beauties in their shared bedroom.

Ring the Bell

Every now and then I like to use the blog to show what MLD and I are up to.  Here's one showing MLD's raw strength:

Now those are the muscles I married!

Gymnasts

MLD captured A+A and their gymnastics routines.  What talent!

Last Day at Drumlin

This was the last class of the fall season at Drumlin Farm.  Tate enjoyed playing with the tools:

Pick Up Line

Laura often picks up the kids from Bright Start.  See how they're all lined up and ready to go?  I call this one "Pick Up Line".

Great Meadows National Wildlife Refuge

When A+A are busy on Sundays, we take Mr. T on hikes.  After all, this is a kid who pounds on the windows asking to go "ow-tide" in all types of weather.

We made a return trip to the Great Meadows National Wildlife Refuge.  We heard lots of birds but didn't see too many.  That's OK, because there was plenty of room to run and have fun with MLM and MLD:

Farewell

We didn't have a chance to properly say "farewell" to Amanda.  Where is she now?  Back home in South Africa with her family.  Wherever we go, she will always be in our hearts.

Here's are two precious photos taken during her last morning in the USA:

We miss you Amanda!

Circle Dance

Here's a game that has amused kids for (literally) hundreds of years:

Boppin' With Da Boys

Boppin' with the Beach Boys is a favorite past time in these parts.  It's even better when you add a mirror into the mix.

Adam Grows Up Fast

Thank you once again, Google Assistant, for your editorial assistance:

Crazy Kids

I remember the days when A+A used to run around the table.  Now it's Tate's turn.  Except with three kids running around, it's much (much!) louder.

Blumlin Fahm

Tate loves going to "Blumlin Fahm".  He asks to go there almost every day.  Every night too.  Here are a few photos of him in action:

Giving Thanks

There are many things for which I'm thankful:  family, health, and the community in which we live.  This year I'm especially thankful that we didn't have to drive far to enjoy the weekend celebrations.  The party came to us!

Gimme a Break

Gimme a break!  Gimme a break!  Break me off a piece o' that Kit Kat bar.

Mother Russia

When I married a Russian I didn't expect to see nationalism in my home.  Yet here it is:

Molash!

The kids were sick a few weeks ago and I had three consecutive nights with very little sleep.  So little that when I saw this text plastered on the MBTA I was very convinced that I was entering a dilirious state of mind.

So I snapped a photo and kept looking at it... until I realized that thankfully, my brain was still functioning.

The spell check for EF North America, however, is clearly not:

May "molash" be with you in your travels, friend.

For those who don't read Hebrew, the language is written from right to left, unlike English which is left to right.  EF has used the correct letters for the word "Shalom", but in the wrong order.

Spooky Spectacles

Yes, it's the post you've been waiting for:  Halloween!

Where's my other child?  He was too excited to hang around for photos because I told him he was old enough to walk by himself up the street to our neighbor's home.  What was the attraction?  A Halloween party, of course.

Before the other two ran out of the house, I managed to snap some photos:

Wicked Witch of the West (Wizard of Oz)

Dragon (also known as "Bubble Butt")

And here's one with all of my spooky creatures:

Date Night

I always wondered what was happening at home when MLD and I would go out for a date night.  Now I know!