Another first

     Jimmy got his license last week and you know what that meant..yep, he had to get a new car.  Well, not exactly new, but new for him.  Its an older car and thankfully, he likes it.  Today was the first day that he was able to drive to school by himself with Laura.  He was nervously excited.  He popped into my room early this morning with Laura to tell me about their new way to get to school.   Well, i know I'm silly, but I couldn't help but think of the times Jimmy and I rode bikes to school and he would ride up and make sure all the kids on the bus would see him on his bike.  He would yell out 'Hi Charley, Hi Mike, Hi Clayton"!  Everything has come full circle and only a bigger transporting vehicle.  Well, his car is pretty cool, maybe not a camaro but its his first car

Trombone not so shorty

Bonnie and Clyde

  Jackie had his winter concert last night at the High School.  I was very impressed with how well they do.  He was hesitant about the trombone at first but now he really likes it.  Because its such a quiet instrument all the other kids at home are just smitten with it too.  He's fun when he gets into something and he tries very hard with it.
     I was accompanied by Ant Joe and mommy to the concert.  I like these things because they dont last that long but they are very entertaining.  When I see him over with his friends I swear i could just look at him all night long and just crack up laughing.  I don't know, but i just do.  Last weekend he slept over aunt jo's and i was at the lake.  I called him before sleep and we exchanged really bad jokes.  He got a joke book for Christmas and he went through it.  He's a gas!!!
     And another thing i noticed last night....all of a sudden, the little buggah is getting tall.  I saw him walking with his classmates and he is starting to tower over the other boys.  Its amazing you dont notice that as much when you are with them everyday. 

A new driver in the house!!

He had to go to his Drivers Ed office to get his test taken.  Awaiting us there was a mother and her twin girls.   Both girls come back, one after the other, and both failed.  Then we are told that a girl two before them also failed.  Focus, focus we say....Jimmy wasn't rattled and on he went to claim his license.  Whew!!  He's a good driver thankfully and takes it pretty slow and pays attention to the speed limit. 

Greater Boston Classic 1/13/2018 Cat gymnastics

     Another Weekend, another meet.  Cat continues on her roll back from the injury.  She was very upset a couple of meets ago when she didnt get up on the podium but she has worked so hard to get back and during this meet, she made the podium on each event.  She is really focused and this stuff matters alot to her.  She's so cute and loves the friends that she has on this team.  She really took it personal when she didnt do so well and took it hard.  There was no talking to her, no consoling her, we just knew what she had to do and she did it.  I like to see the smile back on her face, thats all that matters!!
     The best part of watching her do gymnastics is seeing how happy she is.  Her smile could light up a room, and sometimes it does just that.  She's fun and to see her snippy personality is a joy to behold

January 2018

     A trip up to the lake for a couple of days with all the girls.  Last week was unseasonably warm which made for alot of grass on the sledding hill.  However, there was still plenty of ice and snow for the kids to fly down the hill.  We would have to unload the kids at the top of the hill and then drive down picking them up and bring them to the top to do it all over again.  Its a really nice hill.  Maybe one of these days I'll join them in the downhill fun.

I love Catherine taking a spill and up-righting herself.  Awesome!!

Of course there was a couple of trips to the Old Country store.

Floor routine in the Boston Meet

She's got the bars down

so happy here to see her come back and ace the GIANT move on the bars.  She had a hard time coming back from her back injury but she kept at it, kept practicing and stuck it perfectly.  I was so happy for her.  Her other events were also very good and she ended up Fifth overall in the Boston meet.  I'm so happy for her.

Sledding and Frostbite

Thi

The kids hit the sledding mountain too in this freezing cold.  They jump off on the top of the hill and we have to drive to meet them at the bottom of the hill.  We then drive them up the top of the hill and start all over.  During the first trip down Jackie had a spill and landed in the snow.  He was a little upset and informed us all that he had frostbite.  I can surely understand considering how cold it was.  But he popped right back up and went at it again.  Catherine didnt last long but she took several turns before calling it a day due to the cold.  I believe Erin got a run in but only for a bit due to her health.

Ice skating at two degrees

I could just squeeze those cheeks

 Picture it, two degrees out at the lake and we ask Laura what she wants to do.....Two degrees now, dont forget that part.  "Lets go ice skating", she says.  Well, anything is better than just sitting at home I suppose.  Our new lake town has an outdoor skating rink and we took  advantage of it.  I love that these kids dont like to sit around.  They had a blast out there and only seemed to be minimally bothered by the cold.  They do have a blast I must say
     Erin didnt last that long as she was still recovering from her bout of pneumonia.  She toughed out a couple of minutes and then she went into the car to warm up with Lynnie.  I cant act tough....Catherine came to get me to watch them and then i was in the car myself.

Jackie is a star on the ice

Catherine couldnt get any cuter

                                                     Catherine and Erin lacing up

The awards stacking up

Gift of Lights

      We headed out to the race track where they put out a light display every year around Christmas.  There are all different displays set up and you can see that they take some time and effort.  We entered into the parking lot and you just drive aroud and each area has different displays.  Laura really liked it alot.  The other kids thought it was okay and Jimmy was just so pleased with it (not so much), but he was a good sport about it.  I could see how a 16 year old boy could get bored with it.  Afterwards, we went out to eat so they all quickly recharged.  We got a room all to ourselves at the  restaurant. 

Erin wanted to know if Jesus was born in Florida because of the palm tree.

Christmas

Christmas 2017 was a success.  Catherine settled down and finally liked the tree after initial disapproval.  She came along.  The kids got plenty of toys and gifts to open throughout the day and night and everyone seemed very happy.  The gift of the year was Jackies new phone.  He's been waiting all year for a phone and now that he has it, he's thrilled!!  The other kids spent hours opening up their gifts and once again were spoiled rotten.

     Can  you believe this gift.  Apparently Nana had been in love with the Molly doll for years and nobody knew about this.  Well, Auntie Chrissy found one and Kara gave it to Nana who had a meltdown when she saw it.  It was too funny....But she didnt let it go all night after she got it.

The traditional pajama stair photos

The tree looked good, especially with all the gifts around it 

Christmas