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

Cat is back in the saddle again..and Wahlburgers after

My little kitty Cat has been out with an injury for three months and had to fight very

hard to get back to competing.  She wasnt very happy with the results from the first

meet back but I thought she did great!!!  I'm biased of course but as long as she keeps

smiling we've won.

      We were gonna go to Fire and Ice but for a special treat we spoiled Cat and Erin at Wahlburgers.  Nana came to the meet with us today and joined us here too.  The kids love it here.  They do have good burgers.

      I asked Catherine to show me the pictures that she puts on her snap chat.  This strawberry shake from Wahlburgers is an example.

Making History

Well, how about this.  She is named the swimmer of the year and is the second all-time at the school for the 50 free and 4th all time on the 100 free.  Its quite impressive.  What I like most about her swimming is how much she loves doing it.  She NEVER complains about going to practice and she has a great attitude even when she does't win....which isnt very often.  This night she was very happy about her awards she received. 

Chopping down the ole Christmas Tree

900 Posts.....

    

 Welcome to my 900th post on this blog.  I'm still amazed that this is something that i've been able to stick with.  What wonderful memories looking back at how much the kids have grown through the years..  And they have grown.....!!
     As we sit today Jimmy is 16 years old, Laura is 15, Catherine is 12 and Jack is 11.  They are all growing like weeds.  We've been very lucky up to this point because they are all such good kids and have not really caused us much drama...,,,ok, i pause and thought about that last statement and its the truth.  I can sleep easily at night knowing that they are ok....
     Anyway, We have gone through the year pretty good but with Jimmy,Catherine and Laura all having to rehab some injuries from competitive sports.  Jimmy broke his leg last year and had a very bad bone bruise this year from, of course, football.  At first they thought it was broken but was downgraded and he could return to the team after three weeks or so.  Laura had some shoulder issues (butterfly) and Catherine had some really bad back issues from all those gymanstic flips.  Her pain lasted quite a while.  They all went through physical therapy and seemed to be healed up or on the mend.   Jackie seems to be the only healthy one.  My little buddy will be able to brag about that.
       I really enjoy watching them all in their sports.  They all seem to smile all the way through it and not have much drama.  Its alot of work for each one of them but they do it willingly and seem to love it soooo much.     Thats the good thing about having a big family, there is always quite the cheering section.
     So back to the 900 posts.  Every time i past a milestone i make a special post talking about it.  I spend alot of time at night reading back on my posts.  It certainly gives me a special perspective on life with the kids.  People will say to us that we have to enjoy these years because they go by so quick.  I listen to that...i've repreated it before, I know i'll miss it someday but I know that we have  sucked every last ounce of energy out of these times.  We dont stop.  The days of us just hanging around and doing nothing are few and very far between.  There is always something to do or some place to go.  The swagger wagon doesn't usually sit in the driveway too long.  Its got alot of miles on it.
     We havent gone up to the lake as often as I'd like but we still have spent some time up there.  When we do go up there we make the most of it.  I like to go alone and start a fire and text a picture to Laura and she usually sends me back a sarcastic comment to let me know all is well with the world.

  You know, the next real update will be the blog number 1000.  Thats quite impressive.
 

Homecoming Dance 2017

Jimmy, Clayton, Laura and Lizzie

Jimmy, Clayton, Laura and LizzieHomecoming Dance 2017....Kathy Maglio Gauvain and I tried to teach them some dance moves before they left. but we didnt get to teach them all the dance moves. We did get to the YMCA dance from the Village People. But the others....you know, the chicken dance, hokey pokey, cotton eyed Joe and such. I don't want the other kids to make fun of them for not knowing all the popular dances

Jimmy the Quarterback