Thanksgiving

This year Thanksgiving was spent on Long Island with Frank's side of the family. After a long, but safe trip, on Wednesday, we were able to spend a wonderful long weekend with the family! When we arrived on Wednesday Grandma and Papa took all the kids for an overnight stay-- always a great gift! Frank and I were able to have a delicious dinner at Vincent's Clam Bar. The ironic part? We used a gift certificate we got last Christmas!

Thanksgiving day was beautiful and warm. After the kids arrived home, they showered dressed and headed outside to play. Thank goodness for fickle East coast weather! Here Tyler is taking a break from Hide-n-Seek. He insisted on wearing the sweater despite how warm it was outside!

After running around for a bit which allowed for the adults to dress themselves, set the table, and work on cooking, the kids came in for a snack. Aunt Laurette spent a lot of time this week making chocolate lollipops for the kids:

Then it was time to play some more. Skylar and Tyler made themselves at home at the top of the stairs where they busied themselves with their Nintendo DS's.

Soon, everyone else arrived for Thanksgiving dinner. Frank's Uncle PJ, Aunt Linda and Uncle Bill, Mom, and Dad, all joined us at Jim and Laurette's for a yummy dinner. Not that an on time arrival threw the schedule off! At 1P.M. Frank asked Laurette if the turkey needed to be cooking yet.... That was a yes! We threw it on the grill (where it was going to be cooked anyways) and it was ready by 5P.M.!

Skylar, Tyler, and Conor enjoying a delicious Thanksgiving dinner of... Pizza!?!

For the past few weeks, Laurette and the kids, even some of the people in the neighborhood had been taking care of a stray cat, nicknamed Mosey. Mosey is very sweet and definitely takes her time, moseying from one place to the next. She has an appointment at a veterinarian on Monday and may permanently reside with the Fagan's. She was invited inside on Thanksgiving night because remember that warm weather? It was windy and cold outside by evening!

No Thanksgiving is complete without Uncle Clark's, whoops, I mean Uncle Jim's house lighting! We all gathered outside and welcomed the start of the Christmas holiday season!

On Friday, we all took the kids ice skating at the beautiful new Bethpage Ice Rink. All the kids did wonderful and stayed on the ice for over an hour! Tyler zoomed around, Conor kept right up, and Skylar came away from the wall and skated unassisted!

Conor...

Frank, Conor, and Tyler....

And Skylar and Uncle Jim.

It was a wonderful weekend and we are praying for a quick drive home so we can light up our tree and decorations! Happy Thanksgiving!

Boston Bruins

Tonight we were able to score some great seats to the Bruins game in Boston thanks to our friends. Our seats? Second row, center. Frank and I both realized that Tyler has never had to sit in the balcony section for any of these games....what a life! Here is the view from our seats before the start of the game-- there is something about seeing the ice so smooth and clear:
From our seats we could watch what was happening at the official's and the announcer's table. At times, the referee would skate over, say something to these gentlemen, and then skate off. After each period, they would leave this box and Tyler would wave to them when they came back. They really liked him!

Center ice face off:

Not only were we directly behind the official's table, but we also has great seats to see the penalty box! This player, Shawn Thorton, #22, was in the box a whole lot-- mostly for fighting! Here he is, still jawing away at his opponent across the way. Eventually Mr. Thorton made way to the locker room-- his penalty minutes were greater than the time left on the game clock!

Prior to the start of the game, they showed Darth Vader, Storm Troopers, and Chewbacca on the JumboTron. At the end of the first period, the Star Wars theme started playing and this caught the ears of a certain little guy we were with:

For good reason, too! Both Darth Vader .....

and Chewbacca were riding along on the Zamboni's! It really was cool-- Darth Vader was his evil, menacing self, and Chewy was totally in character. Each time they rode by, Tyler gave them big waves. It was awesome!

The whole lot of us, living the big life!

The best part of the game? The third period. Why you ask? Well, it wasn't the score (but the Bruins did win). It wasn't the seats (they were awesome!). What else was there? This:

Remember Tyler waving at the men at the official's table? It paid off (that and a little how-ya-doin' by Frank). They flipped Tyler this game used puck-- still frozen, cold, and wet! Fantastic! What a great ending to a fantastic night! We can only hope that things are always that great!

Fall Soccer

Tyler had his last soccer game of the Fall season today. After numerous rain-outs, the sun finally decided to give these kids a chance to play! I was so excited to see how my little guy has progressed over the season.

The day started as another crazy Sunday morning with hockey at 10A.M., drive through at you-know-where for the super healthy lunch of nuggets and apple dippers, and then soccer at 12:30P.M.. In the meantime, being the soccer mom I am, I was off to my game in Connecticut at 9A.M.! Truth be told? Neither Frank or I will miss the craziness of our Sundays!
Tyler and his teammate, Emma, warming up with shots on goal. I love how the shorts are so long that you can't see his knees between his socks and his shin guards!
Somehow as the season went on Frank found himself on the field as the defense coach. I guess once a coach, always a coach, no matter the sport! His best defenceman? That little guy in blue ready for action!
I had a prime seat for a throw in. Unfortunately it was a prime seat from the rear view. You get the idea, right?
Here they come!
Leaving the field for the last time :(-- so proud of the way he played! He was a great teammate, helping his fellow players up when they fell, cheering them on as they took the ball, and celebrating with them when they succeed!

OLSH!

Our Lady of Sacred Heart under 6 Fall soccer, 2009.

Tyler accepting his trophy from Coach Joe.

Tyler with his trophy! How proud is he?