Decorating Owen

O.K. so you saw Owen (our Christmas tree) when we cut him down. Well on Friday afternoon (Dec. 19th) while it was snowing out we decorated him. He fits perfectly in our living room. Not to tall and just the right size. Enjoy the pictures. We would like to take this opportunity to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a Happy and Prosperous New Year.

Stringendo Concert

Those of you know that Jack plays the violin. On Saturday mornings for the last three months he is part of the Stringendo Orchestra School. Students audition to determine which level of playing they should be place in. All students auditioning get into the school. It's kids from all different schools and you get to meet new kids who are interested in the same thing you are. At first Jack wasn't quite sure about Stringendos because they stop and work on a specific piece until they get it right. He just wants to play. Now he loves it so much he looks forward to getting to practice at 8:45 a.m. on Saturdays.

It starts with Prelude, Intermezzo, Mazurka, Tarantella, Chaconne, and Vivace. Jack is in the Intermezzo Orchestra which practices for 2 hours every Saturday morning. This past Saturday was the winter concert for Prelude, Intermezzo, Mazurka, and Tarantella. The concert was simply amazing. The students did such a great job. I also loved that fact that it started on time and the audience was so supportive and very well behaved. Sometimes when you go to school concerts, parents and students really can be noisy.

I couldn't get any pictures because we were towards the back and when they play the only lighting is on the stage. But I will get a picture of Jack and his violin and post it as soon as I can. He has a few weeks off from Stringendo. It starts up again in mid January.

Christmas Tree Search

Alyssa's happy we finally found a tree


Jack is dragging Owen to the bailing station


Everyone who knows us knows the weekend of Thanksgiving the family gets up early and piles in the car to cut down the family Christmas tree. According to our tradition, we always stop at Duncan Doughnuts on Route 9 in Hyde Park for a quick breakfast. Then we drive to Battenfeld's tree farm in Rock City. With saw in hand and climbing up the mountain, we start our search for the perfect tree. Everyone has to agree on the tree and then Frank gets the job of cutting it down. The tree has to speak to everyone. As the kids get older and depending how cold it is it speaks to us quicker.The kids are standing in front of Owen


This year it was snowing and we had some Christmas music playing. It was a lot of fun for all of us. This has always been something we look forward to do as a family. It took us about 45 minutes to find the perfect tree. Over the past few years, Jack started to name our tree. This years name is Owen (after the character from Total Drama Island). We were lucky this year, because about 10 minutes after starting home it started to sleet and then turned to rain. Now Owen is on the back deck waiting to be decorated. In about 2 weeks we'll show you pictures of Owen. Hope you enjoy the pictures of us cutting down the tree.Owen on top of the car

Cleansing Feeling

On Monday night around 7:15 the dumpster that was filled with 16 years of junk has been picked up. I felt as though a huge weight has been lifted from my shoulder. I was so happy because now the junk is someone else problem. Alyssa says she doesn't remember the basement to be so clean. To be honest neither do I.

Winter Clean Out

You know how everyone does spring cleaning. Well we decided it was time to rent a 10 yard dumpster and start cleaning out the junk that has been accumulating for the last 16 years. I didn't think we would fill up the dumpster but we did. My basement and shed has never been cleaner. I hope to keep it that way. It was such a good feeling when it was completed. We also cleaned out the "den" and got rid of the desk and made it into another t.v. room with a pull out sofa. Alyssa wants to claim it as her other room. I keep looking around the house to make sure everything we don't need or haven't touch in years goes in that dumpster before the end of the week when they come and take it away. I'll have to remind my children, especially Alyssa, that we don't need to save every stitch of paper.

On Thursday, November 6th Ashley Cirone passed her driving test. We just want to congratulate her on this major accomplishment. Alyssa has only had her learners permit for about 6 weeks and is doing well driving. I have to say it can be very scary when she is driving because my right foot keeps wanting to go for the brake. She says she likes to drive and not very nervous anymore. She has driven on Route 9 at night. That can be scary. I hold onto the door. It blows my mind seeing these kids able to drive and I can remember them when they were all in kindergarten. I guess I'm just getting old.

Alyssa's Goal

This is year number4 that Alyssa is trying to complete her goal of writing a story with 50,000 words or more in 1 month. It's called NaNoWriMo and at home we'll be hearing about it for the next 30 days. There have been a few of her friends and her English teacher from last year working towards this goal as well. Since she wants to go to college for English it's a good way for her to spend some free time. In between texting and going on Facebook that is.

Just a reminder.... don't forget on Tuesday, Nov. 4th to get out and vote.

Hello World

Hello - This is our first blog post. Not sure how much we are going to do this but we are going to give it a shot.