Did I mention I LOVE the MFA?

Two Museum of Fine Arts trips under our belts and the kids and I could not be more in love with that place.  Of all the art museums I have been to, in the USA and abroad...the museum in Boston has always ranked number one.  Gammy drove us in for the first class.  She and I wandered the Rothko exhibit and made our way through the gift shop in the two hours Fiona and Ethan were in class.  We did catch a glimpse of Fiona with her group...  As is our museum day tradition, we ate our packed lunch in the cafeteria before heading together to the Takashi Murakami show.  Wow!  Bright!  Happy!  Big!  Intense!  Thoroughly engrossing.  It would be impossible to keep your mind on your own thoughts at this show.  Too much to absorb.  If these works of art made noise they would be screaming! 
Last week we also had the pleasure of hosting Cate for a night while her parents moved into their new house!  The next day Scott and I and the kids brought Cate home and helped with a little of the set up of the new place.  It is an adorable split level in Salem.  Fiona and Ethan can't wait to sleep over there soon!
We were in Plymouth on Sunday to celebrate my sister's 28th birthday...again.  Thankfully the weather has been unseasonably warm the last few days, allowing for the kids to play outside.  Meagan's empty pool provided hours of "white trash" (sorry if I offend anyone with that statement...for those of you with empty trash-filled pools..) entertainment for the kiddos.  The Patriots were kind enough to provide an exciting game and a win for the occasion!  Superbowl, here we come!
These last few weeks have really zipped by.  Fiona is still going strong at the sewing studio.  This week she intends to begin making her own clothes.  Ethan is loving his baseball clinic that he attends every Saturday.  The coach doesn't mess around, and the kids are all business. 

After a warm, wet snow.  They made an alien.

And its babies...

Fiona (far left) with her class. (She never even noticed me.)

Happy flowers everywhere!

They were smiling like the flowers...but you already knew that.

Aren't I nice to pose with these strange children?

Huge!  And red!  My favorite color!

Gammy instructing Fiona on her 1968 Singer machine that she is letting Fiona borrow indefinitely.

Cate and Fiona working on an art project.

3-D coffee mugs with steam!

Tough morning of T.V. in bed.

In Cate's new home!  Video games in her room!

Cool kids walking home from the "T" after art class in the city.

Did Fiona or Ethan come on a walk with me?

Ellie's.  Before the swing broke...

Inground pool/playpen.

Man with fire.

Men with fire.

Birthday girl!!

Watching the Patriots stomp the Panthers (or is it Tigers?...whatever, it's a big cat)

So...What do You Think About the Weather?

Oh my gosh!  We got what we wanted!  SNOW!  And that same snow that fell about a week ago is now turning into some VERY deep, brown slush.  Impossible not to completely wreck whatever shoes you put on your feet!  BUT we are not complaining about the weather.  No, we have not been in New England long enough.  These last few weeks have flown by.  All the family enjoyed "Shen Yun" on December 30th.  On the whole it was lovely.  Our only group critique was that it ran a bit long (2 and a half hours), had a bit too much dancing, and the male opera singer sounded like the lion on "The Wizard of Oz".  The Wang Theater was as Baroque as ever!  Lots of gold and light and murals!  I know I will never tire of going into Boston at night!  Gammy and Gampy were gracious enough not only to take everyone out to a show...but they also took our kids home with them from the city for two entire nights!  Yup, all three cousins piled into their grandparents car in the parking garage, and Meagan and I left with our husbands for two nights sans children!  Scott and I had hitched a ride into the city with my parents, so we were on our own to get home.  It was so perfect walking through the city that evening, a light snow starting to fall.  We meandered through the Public Gardens, all lit up from the holidays, and got on the subway at Copley for the short ride back to Newton.  On our way through town center we stopped into a ramen place we had been curious about.  Oh boy this place did not disappoint!  Meanwhile the kids were living it up at their grandparents house!  Their days consisted of sledding, snow-fort building, drawing, eating and best of all Gammy and Gampy let them stay up until midnight for New Year's!!!!! 
    Now that we are getting settled, and returning to routine Scott and I have also begun to sign the kids up for their own lessons.  I discovered a little bit of Heaven here in town in the form of a sewing studio.  Fiona has spent five and a half hours there just this week!  It's a great place where she can be dropped off, meet new friends, and come home with the most wonderful creations!  Ethan will start a baseball clinic this weekend that will meet once a week through March.  Tomorrow we head to our first Museum of Fine Arts homeschool class in two years.  My goodness the kids have missed this program!  It feels good to be settled.  (Check in with me in a year and we'll see if I still feel the same!)

We were warming up and waiting for the theater doors to open.

Ellie's just taking it all in!

Best bowl of ramen I have ever had.

New Year's Eve at Gammy and Gampy's!

Gammy and Gampy's front yard is great for sledding!

Bundle up kids!

This was just a little snow...

This was the start of my daily walk during the height of the storm.

Our side street...

THE MAIN ROAD!!!

My new plant "Frankie".

Fiona sewed this lovely formal dress for Shirley during the storm.

I was thinking spring and made myself a gardening skirt.

My girl with this weeks creations!

All sewn on machine independently!

I just took these two photos right now.

Look how happy this kid is studying for a spelling test!!!!!

Family visits, Sickness and Christmas celebrations. They all go together!

We made it!  Our first Christmas back and we got it all done!  Even with a nasty cold that threatened our family Christmas on the 26th...we persevered!  December has been filled with many wonderful visits from family and friends.  This little house is so happy to be a home!  My old friend Cara made the trip from the Cape for a lovely day.  Mollie ventured the short distance from Jamaica Plain for a cool walk and a delicious slice of pizza from a shop down town. My godmother Sandra made the trip to Newton and joined my parents and sister along with Ellie for a nice brunch.  The Goodwin's brought their super-awesome girls over and the kids went bonkers-nuts around the house before we headed to get coffees and let them burn off some energy at the neighborhood playground.  Cate joined us for an overnight while her parents were busy signing papers for their new house!  Then Cathy and Tom arrived for Cate and we celebrated their big purchase with a yummy meatball dinner Scott made.  A few days later Fiona awoke with a NASTY cold...which we all had to some degree.  A full days rest and a perfectly healing chicken noodle soup brought us all back to life just in time for the holidays!  And what magnificent weather!  It was a white Christmas!  Sledding in a gentle cold and powdery snow made this Christmas the best I can remember.  The next day it was off to Gammy and Gampy's for more celebration.  Catching up with family friends was so great.  Those who have married...or added to their families in the last two years.  Time keeps marching on.

The gang is back together!

Before the big snow.  Cate and Ethan found the littlest patch!

Decorating their "ugly sweater" cookies.

Fiona, we said ugly...geesh!

She got the award for hardest hit by the yucky cold.

Before the kid hurricane!

Look at those faces!  No idea what is under the tree!

Risk!  He got what he asked for.

Watching the Christmas snow fall...

Fiona sewed this little guy for her brother.

Ethan spent his own money to get his sister what she asked for.

I worked on that scarf from California to MA!

With a little help from "Youtube" the "Risk" game was underway.

My beautiful baker made some award winning molasses cookies.

Sledding in Gammy and Gampy's front yard!!!

Here's to the NEW YEAR!!!!