Painted twister

     First of all, let me just say that I think they are all crazy..  A good crazy of course.  Laura got this idea in her mind that she wanted her friends over today to play twister with paint.  What a fun group!!  It wasn't long before they were all covered in paint.  At one point they were going to walk to get ice cream...then it started to rain!!  I guess we will find out if the paint is really washable now because into the minivan we went!!

They are such a fun group of friends!!

Patriots game

     It was Jackies turn to go somewhere with Daddy.  He had never been to the Patiots before and for a couple of weeks he had planned that we would go to the Red Sox game Saturday but the opportunity to go to the Patriots came around and we didnt hesitate.  We left the house around 2pm and had to get the food for barbecue and then head out.  He insisted on Steak tips and hot dogs so thats what we got.  We got into the parking lot no problem and set up behind the car and ate up with alot of playing catch with the football in between.

Love this smiling picture....the picture below shows how we were cooking on top of our table.  Maybe that wasn't the wisest decision because the plastic melted away from the grill

     Umple Eddies seats are awesome right in the end zone.  Jackie was worried that he wouldnt be able to see because there was a guy with an enormous head in front of us but we worked our way around it.  A couple of large drinks of soda was all it took during the game.  That was mostly because the line for the ice cream was about a mile long.  We did end up getting ice cream on our way out at the end of the night.

     Here is what happens when you use a plastic foot stool as a grill table.  It's actually a piece of art now...how pretty those circles are

Lauras Summer Softball

     This being the night that she broke her middle finger on her right hand.  They played Charlestown for the finals and it was a great game, just losing in the seventh inning.  Such a great tourney....We ended up at the hospital that night....She played the whole game with a broken finger....ouch....this picture is kinda funky...kia is squished in next to Laura

Monkey trunks

     Today was the day to get up, have some breakfast at the condo we stayed at and go over to the Monkey trunks.  The Monkey trunks is a acrobatic place where you fly all around the air while you are tethered to wires and walk on air.  You can imagine just how well this went over with Catherine and Jack...and Jimmy.  Catherine and Jack had quit almost immediately but we wouldnt have any of that because they would do nothing but give excuses the rest of the day and regret not finishing.  Thankfully, Haley from Monkey Trunks came outside and saw that they were struggling and volunteered to take them through the course.  She stayed with them for about an hour, ending with a zipline from way up in the air.  They were fearless in the end...in the beginning, not so much.
Laura, on the other hand, was like an army ranger on high showing no fear of height or danger..which is scary.  Jimmy did very well also after some bit of nerves.  Hell, i was scared watching them.u
     It was a good thing that it was raining a bit because it kept many people away so we had the place to ourselves it seemed.

     Laura was scaling the wall and knocked a couple of pegs off the wall.

Mountain fun, falls and Diana's bath

Falls at Jackson

This poor old couple thought it might be a good idea to stop and get some peace and quiet....but then we showed up!!

Cat going in Diana's bath

Jackie cracking it

  Oh that little buggah has been hitting the ball all over the park lately.  During this game in Framingham he had a couple of these long shots over the right fielders head.  He's so fun to watch while he goes at it.....

800 Posts

Wow, who would have ever thought.  For over ten years I have stuck with this blog and i'm so glad I have.  The every day happenings of these little buggers are so important to be able to chronicle and then look back at often.  In one sense its an extremely personal thing having a blog, but in another way, Its relieving to feel like i'm telling someone about the stuff that matters too.  When I read it back it reads like the Cunningham's without Richie because everything is sanitized to protect the innocent.  But it really is a pretty good life with these four.  We haven't had the terrible two's or the terrible teens, or at least we haven't realized it.  Based on what we do for a living, maybe we do some comparison shopping and figure we got it made.  So here is life with these four:
Jimmy is now a great big fifteen years old.  Throughout the years of this blog he's gone from Blue's Clues to having a girlfriend. He's a bit taller than me and is really a funny kid.  He took to high school very easily and seemed to do so with very little drama.  He even has a girlfriend who is very nice.  The wonderful thing about all of them is that they have chosen such great friends throughout the years.  Jimmy has had the same crew of Charlie, Clay and Connor throughout the years.  He's a very good friend to them and is very loyal to them too.  He's always building up Charlie about what a good basketball player he is.  Those two together are like two big goofballs.  Maybe they're not but we still see them as five year olds that they were and they really havent changed.  He really is a good kid and i'm happy that he still asks to go to the Red Sox game with me.  We have a great time and laugh together, especially at the games.  The traditions still stand, pizza in the third, hot dogs, hamburgers and that helmet full of ice cream in the sixth inning.  He wont stand up and sing Sweet Caroline with me in the eighth anymore, but not many people would.  The summer for him has been taken a little bit by fitness practice for football three days a week.  Its weights and running.  I'm not so sure he's a big fan of it but he's been going.  Also, he has a job.  Its a maintenance job at the swim club where he tries to dodge little kids that throw up on the ground.  One of the kids went away early to college so he's gonna get more hours now.
     Laura the hippie is also getting bigger and bigger.  She is now five feet 8 and i'm not so sure she's done growing, although i've heard from Lyn that they are all done growing  for several years now.  The is going into eighth grade this year.  Such a sweet gal with an enormous heart.  She does very well in school, makes a lot of friends and has an all around great time at anything she does.  She's incredibly fun to hang around with, however, she does spend a lot of her time making fun of me...how tough, booohoooo...
Her swimming is huge with her and she loves it.  Its her sport and she is very, very good at it.  Her and I talk a lot about Grammy Franny.  When certain things come up, she gets it.  When we go to the grocery store, Laura understands that we have to get something for the food bank and runs to do it....but what I love about her is that she has to take the cart to the cart return area and smash it into the other carriages...just for fun....but it is fun!!!  She's playing softball this summer, and swimming but doesn't seem to be overwhelmed.  She broke her finger the other night when she went to tag someone out.  She played the rest of the game, adding to her legend.  She might be out a week or so which upsets her more than the injury.  

Next, there is our little Catherine.  There are no amount of words that can describe how incredibly sweet she is.ii can just say that she is nice to everyone and very rarely gets on our bad side.  She just returned to gymnastics from the injured reserve after hurting her ankle.  It was a beam accident where she lost her footing and twisted the ankle..  It wasn't the first time, won't be the last.  Cat will be going into the sixth grade this year.  She is an exceptional student and doesn't require much assistance, thank goodness.  I'm not too sure I could help much.  I've looked at a lot of their homework, it's scary.  

     Speaking of scary, then there's Jack!! I love to joke about him being a monster, but he's actually very sweet and sensitive.  This past week we went to the Patriots game together and had a blast tailgating before the game.  We played catch in the 95 degree temperature on hot pavement, but he didn't care and just wanted more!!  He's a blast to be around and does his best to aggravate the siblings.  He absolutely adores his older brother and wants to be just like him.  Jimmy doesn't see the flattery in all this yet....but that's what big brothers are for...

Overall dear blog, we are doing farely well through these 800 posts.  The kids keep growing taller and older with no stopping in sight.  We are still having as much fun as ever.  I hear all these people telling me to enjoy it while it lasts because it will be gone before we know it.  We take that advice to heart and are enjoying every single moment we have with them!!