Fairies

Our local Disney Store recently held a "fairy party" for little kids and we took the girls.  It was really a way to introduce the girls to the latest Tinker Bell movie (and sucker parents like us into buying it), but it was fun for the girls.  They got to watch a clip of the movie and then do a Tinker Bell craft, which they loved.  It wasn't as painful for the parents as it could have been and the girls got their own fairy house (and the movie, because we I am a sucker) out of the deal.  Oh, and it gave us a taste of the "treatment" that we are sure to experience when we go to Disney World - the professionalism, the ridiculously polite treatment, the fact that the employees never, ever come out of character...

The fairy house.

Busted

Until we get our Flip Channel up and running, there will probably be a few more videos on the blog.  Here is one of Emily dancing (God help us!) to "Busted", a song that recently played during her favorite television show.  You can see Elizabeth hiding in the background - she was miffed about something, so she wouldn't dance.  Emily, however, ALWAYS wants to dance!!

Playing with Emma

Over the weekend, we visited with Fireman Dave, Miss Sara and beautiful little Emma.  The last time we saw Emma, she was only a few weeks old but now, she's a six month old with a personality of her own.  The girls enjoyed playing with her toys and smothering (literally) with attention, affection and love.  It was a great visit and the girls had so much fun.

What a cutie! 

Emily and Emma playing. 

 

So tired (we suspect that Miss Sara woke her from her nap so that she could play with the girls....)

More Soccer

Elizabeth continues to play soccer three days a week and we are seeing some steady improvement.  She really enjoys playing, although a big part of that is socializing with her friends.  Soccer is teaching Elizabeth about responsiblity, commitment and disappointment (she had to give up a dance class in order to make all of her soccer practices) and we are proud of all of the work she has done so far this season.

 

Goal kick. 

 

 

Always with a smile on her face. 

 

Yes, we know that she went out of bounds....

The Pledge

We just purchased a video camera (we usually take videos with our old point and shoot camera), so we've been trying it out.  The obvious and most readily available subjects are, of course, the girls.  I was amazed to learn that Emily and Elizabeth both knew the Pledge of Allegiance and that even Emily's pre-K class says it every day.  In case you don't believe me, here is a video of Emily saying The Pledge:

Ending Summer on a High Note

This post is very late but with everything else that is going on, it took me a while to get through the pictures from Labor Day Weekend.  We ended our summer, fittingly, at a Dudley Labor Day party, surrounded by many great friends.  The kids all had a great time getting in the last swim of the summer and adults enjoyed spending the end of the holiday weekend together.  The company was fun, the food was great, and the water fight was spectacular!  Thanks, as always, to the Dudleys for putting together another successful event.

Grabbing a snack. 

Tav 

Elizabeth in her favorite place - the pool. 

The water fight begins. 

Emily and Woody watch from a safe distance...and laugh. 

But Woody wasn't safe for long. 

Elexa gets Linda, big time. 

Apryl and Woody - fully clothed - into the pool. 

Carnival

Elizabeth's school held its first big event of the year a couple of weeks ago - a school carnival - and it was a huge success!  More than 500 people enjoyed popcorn, sno-cones, face painting, games, hotdogs and hamburgers and much, much more and everyone had a wonderful time.  As always, Apryl had a huge hand in organizing everything and making sure that carnival came off without a hitch.  We are already looking forward to the next school event, in October.

Derrick worked the grill all night long, feeding more than 500 people!! 

A small portion of the crowd. 

Emily enjoys some games. 

 

Cindy working the cotton candy machine! 

Elizabeth and I waited in line until it was dark for some delicious popcorn!

Visiting Grand Memere

During our recent trip to New Hampshire, we visited Grand Memere, the matriarch of the Roy family and Lee's sole surviving grandparent.  She was delighted to see us and very amused by the girls - especially Elizabeth, who can be a motormouth.  She was interested in everything the girls are doing at school and enjoyed showing off the different crafts that she makes at her assisted living facility.  But she was most delighted that Emily took such a huge fascination in her walker and even went to far as to let Emily sit on it - which Emily loved!!!!  We are so happy that we had the opportunity to spend such quality one-on-one time with her.

Emily sitting on Memere's walker. 

Memere with Elizabeth and Emily - who are just two of her seven (almost eight) great-grandchildren!

First Soccer Game

Elizabeth played her first soccer game and participated in the soccer jamboree last weekend.  Her team lost soundly, but she had a really great time playing.  I noticed, as I went through my pictures, that she had a smile on her face the entire time she was on the field, which is just so great!!

Elizabeth with her best buddies - Meghan, Sarah and Chaney (Meghan was having a hard time with the bright sun). 

Kickoff. 

Running down the ball. 

Making contact... 

Playing some defense. 

The "cluster" look of two teams of littl kids playing against each other... 

Go Team!

3rd Annual Alliance Against Cancer

On Sunday, September 12th, the NH Athletic Alliance held the Third Annual Alliance Against Cancer 5K and it was a huge success.  The number of runners continues to grow every year and this year, we were thrilled to see so many family and old friends present.  Two of my former high school track teammates were there and did awesome - BJ finished third overall and Kristi won our age group!  We also had many family participants - my sister Kathleen ran (more on that later), as well as Alison and Seth, and Natalia, just a few weeks shy of delivering her third baby, walked the 5K pushing Nolan and Lucia in the stroller!  Uncle Chip, Aunt Denise and Aunt Sylvia were also there to cheer on everyone.  Elizabeth ran the kids race, along with Nolan and Emily from NH.  And our amazing friends and family helped make us the top fundraiser for the second year in a row - donations were literally rolling in while we were driving up to New Hampshire on race morning, it was great!  Thank you so much to our friends and family for making this race such a success (more than $10,000 raised overall) and for supporting a truly wonderful cause!

Seth, Kathleen, Alison, Maureen, BJ, Kristi and Chris pre-race - MHS classes of '80, '92, '93, '95 and '01 represent! 

David addressing the runners prior the start. 

Maureen near the finish - my sister Kathleen is about four runners back.  I point that out, not to brag that I beat her, but in sheer humiliation.  Kathleen is training for the Chicago Marathon and ran 22 miles less than 24 hours before this race.  She then caught me around 1.5 miles and proceeded to yell at me encourage me to pick up the pace, berate cheer me into running faster, finishing hard, etc.  Thanks to her, I had a new PR (24:39).  I had a kick at the end that allowed me to pass her, but she is, quite simply, a rock star.  Superwoman.  Unbelievable.  Oh yeah, and 13 years older than me.

Natalia finishing the walk, pushing Nolan and Lucia.

Elizabeth and Emily from NH, pre-race.

Elizabeth, coming down the home stretch!

Nolan, finishing up his first race. 

Emily and Elizabeth with their (chocolate) medals.

Maureen and Kristi - we finished second and first, respectively, in our age group.  In the spring, we will be teammates again when, along with Alison and 9 other women, we participate in an overnight, 200 mile relay together!

First Day of Preschool

During the second week of September, Emily started pre-K - our last first day of preschool!  After living through all of Elizabeth's first days of school, plus her own last year, Emily is an old pro and barely noticed that both Lee and I dropped her off at school - or that we left after about ten seconds!  All of the other parents were videotaping the big moment, taking photos like crazy, but Emily didn't seem even remotely interested in the attention, she was ready to get down to business at school.  She is such a big girl now!!

First day of pre-kindergarten. 

Adores her big sister. 

With Daddy. 

With Mommy. 

Showing off her new lunchbox. 

Already at work painting when we left - giving us her best "cheese" smile.