Gingerbread Castle

The gingerbread house of the year has to reflect what's going on in the family smont, and this year it's all about castles and knights. Red knights and green knights, and even gingerbread horses. I'm proud of this one. And it's held together by one very yummy cake.

Big Apple

Here's Thomas in the Big Apple. On the 23rd floor on our balcony at the Wellington Hotel. Tomorrow, we are going to the Museum of Natural History.


Here is Marty in Times Square.
He loved the Toys R Us with the ferris wheel.
And FAO Schwarz with the 6 ft tall Lego Chewbacca.
And the Rockefeller Center Lego store with the the
Lego Rockefeller Center.
He liked Central Park, too.
He liked the carousel.
And the swank hotel.

Tales of Tales of the Night

It looks like a postcard for Halloween, but here are the boys going in to Tales of the Night at Drumlin Farm. We met up with Liam and Jennifer and Molly, our protective Mummy for the evening, and also Karin and Gabe and Haze and May and Mike. A few spooky stories, a super scary haunted hayride, the paths all beautifully lit, jack o'lanterns everywhere, owls in the barn, Miss Rina in the pig house, Paula and the Big Bad Wolf, spider cider and witch's brew, a big bright moon. A home run of a Halloween kick off.

Tom Goes to College

Today was a treat. Nana had an alumni meeting at Emmanuel College, so Thomas and I got to visit with Tina. We all went to lunch in the cafeteria, and Tina showed Thomas where to get the chocolate milk and pizza. Tom liked college very much, chatting up everyone within earshot. Back at Tina's dorm we schooled Tina at foosball and checked out the weight room while she finished her laundry. We love ya Tina!

Tennis Anyone?

Marty started tennis lessons today through the Recreation Department. Look at him all decked out with the sweat bands. He was the only one in class who brought his own racquet which we purchased over the weekend in Belmont. It's the lightest racquet I've ever held.

Marty enjoyed class very much. His hand-eye coordination is pretty good. It's too bad it's over on the other side of Pizzi farm from us, but not too bad to get to I guess.

A is for Apples

A is for Autumn. A is for apples. A great combination. After lunch out at the airport in Stow, we headed for Honey Pot to pick up some gorgeous Honey Gold. We had a terrific time in the hedge maze there, but the kids preferred the tunnels, which they crawled through a number of times. They let me know that it's much lass scary once you know you can get out!

We just had time to get some candy apples and then a little rain shower sent us on our way home. A great start to the season.

Bike Ride to Concord

Marty and I had an excellent ride this morning. We dropped Thomas off at school (no school for Marty due to Jewish New Year) and headed straight for the Battle Road bike path. We parked at the Visitor's Center on 2A and rode toward 128, to the end of the path at Fiske Hill. Neither of us wiped out this year, and there were a lot fewer leaves on the ground. We felt ambitious, so we drove past the car and all the way into Concord. It's some tricky riding, on and off the boardwalks there, but Marty loves riding on the dirt. We stopped for a quick snack at the cafe in town and then had to hurry back to the car. We even met up with an old Kestrel friend en route, but had to scurry off. We mixed it up with some roads and trail on the way back, trying to save time. Marty seemed unsure if he'd make it, going that fast, but he passed me on the last hill near the Paul Revere Capture sight, and we were back to pick up Thomas with time to spare. 12.33 miles in about 90 minutes. Marty did so great! Way to go little man!

Back to pre-school

Now it's Tom's turn. His backpack is fully loaded, his snack
is prepared, and it's back to Drumlin Farm for Thomas. New friends to meet, old friends to catch up with, it's an exciting day.

First Day of First Grade

Here is Marty ready to go back to school. He's heading off to Mrs. Meuse's class, excited to be up on the second floor, like one of the big guys, lining up on the opposite side of the school from last year. A sunny warm day for school.

Tom's along for support. No more stroller going to school for him.

Summer Rides

Marty has been doing great on his bike this summer. First, he managed to ride all the way up the Fiske Ave hill and onto Villa Street. That is a tough climb. Yesterday, he rode all the way to Waltham Community Fields. Those are the hills over near Bentley. Steeve calculated 300 feet of climbing on the round trip. They also made a stop at the Waltham Farmer's market.

Way to go Marty. Allez!

Cape Cod Getaway

Once you cross the Sagamore Bridge, you are on vacation. Welcome to Cape Cod, beaches, bike, mini-golf, ice cream and onion rings. We were lucky enough to rent a cottage in Dennisport for a week of lazy fun with Nana, and a good time was had by all. Nana even joined us for an early morning round of Adventure Golf, after Pancake Man of course.

Thomas at 4

Happy Birthday Thomas! Our little man has turned four. It's all about dinosaurs (particularly of the Dinosaur Train variety). He asked for a Tiny Pteranodon cake for his birthday party, and then we baked a 4 cake together on his actual day. He's pretty good at baking, actually.
His stats: Thomas is 43 inches tall (3'7") and 41 pounds.

The boys love Ottawa

We found the patisserie where Obama buys his cookies. Yum. Parliament is about this big.

Martin turns 6

Happy birthday Marty! Here he is with his Millennium Falcon cake and brand new Star Wars old school t-shirt. Yes, at 6 he was finally allowed to see Star Wars, and now life is all blasters and shooting and light sabers and fighting. As long as it's to save the galaxy and not just to torment your brother then I'm okay with it. Airplane fascination continues, and Lego brain as well.
The stats: Marty is 50.75" and 53.8 pounds ... so he grew over 3 inches in the last year, and as his doctor pointed out "kids just don't do that". His BMI is 14. That's awesome.


And here is a close-up of that Millennium Falcon cake. Yeah, I did that.

PMC kids ride 2010

Allez Marty! Allez Thom! The boys lined up for another year of riding for the cause, and they did great! A beautiful day, no rain this year, and this time in May and in the afternoon. Thom rode 3 whole laps (2.4 miles) and Marty repeated last year's epic 10 lap total (8 miles). Look at those skinny legs! Andy Schleck has nothing on this kid :)

Loose Tooth Comes Out

After a week and a half of wiggling, the loose tooth came out cleanly after dinner. Now Marty has a nice jack o'lantern smile. Way to go, big boy!

This is Playoff Hockey

Marty got to play some playoff hockey for the Chicago Blackhawks. Games on Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Mostly playing defense, and learning so much.
Two two-minute shifts per period.
Send it up the boards!
Marty even got an assist, his first playoff point!
WYH did a great job with the tournament, too. The kids had a lot of fun and got to play a lot of hockey.

Tykes End of the Season

Tom finished up his first season in Tykes playing a real game, getting a trophy and having a pizza party.
Look at him on the bench there, he was so psyched!
Tom is totally kick-*&s. He wants the puck and just goes for it. All with that cute little grin and a lot of trash-talking.
Yeah, he was mesmerized by that trophy.

Hockey Update

Happy Spring everyone!

Last weekend Marty moved up to Mites and joined his friend Jack on the Chicago Blackhawks team. This morning was his first game, and he did great. He skated so hard, on full ice, and he even got a shot on goal that went behind the goalie but not in because the goalie had come about 8 feet out of the goal. Granma, Granpa, and Thomas of course were in attendance to cheer him on. Way to go Marty.


Meanwhile in tykes, Tom continues to amaze, perfecting his Superman drill, putting more pucks in the net and trash talking Coach Bob.

Future Olympian?

When Steeve got home the other night, Marty announced that we need a half pipe in the backyard. He's never had a lesson, he's just been watching the winter Olympics.

Biking in the Winter

The Minuteman Bike Path is down to bare ground, Marty had an early release day, and it was 40 degrees -- a perfect combination for a midwinter bike ride. Thomas looked a lot more comfortable on his bike now that it fits him a little better, and Marty and his Gary Fisher were off to the races. It was brilliant.

We LOVE Snow!

Here's Thomas all decked out and ready to go walking to school in the snow. We're currently battling the snow piles people are leaving on their sidewalks and railing against the city plow for the mess it made of the crosswalk in front of Marty's school. All done with a smile of course. We love snow. We wish everyone loved snow like us.