Sunday, December 26, 2010

The Christmas Tree




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Pappa Lloyd had a tree perfect for a Christmas tree growing in his yard, it was getting too big next to the house. He waited for the kids to get here so they could cut down their first Christmas tree. They loved going out with the saw and cutting down the tree and helping to carry it into the house. They decorated it later that night. It was the first time they've ever had a live Christmas tree for Christmas so it was extra special. Thank you Pappa Lloyd for letting them experience this with you.

Owen Meets Ruby

Owen finally met his cousin Ruby. They are two weeks apart. My girlfriend made these hats for them, they are so cute. Taking pictures of the two of them is a challenge because they don't keep their hands to themselves nor do they pay attention to anything but eachother when they are put right next to eachother. It has been fun to watch them interact.


Ruby offering Owen a taste of her string.

Let me fix your hat, it's a little crooked.

Two heads are better than one.


Christmas Eve



Christmas Eve we went to Mass with Pepere and Auntie Sharon. The kids were invited to the front for the homily. Beau was asked who a character in the nativity was, it was a shepherd, he said "some guy". It was a proud moment, he later said it didn't look like the shepherd in our nativity, and it had a cape on. In his defense this particular nativity had a lot of figurines, it was the whole village and each shepherd was some guy. The kids looked very nice and behaved well for Mass, but Luke was very tired so he was grumpy for pictures.

Christmas Morning


The kids have had a fabulous Christmas. Santa Claus came to Connecticut for them and they enjoyed opening presents from Memere and Pappa Lloyd and Auntie Kara and Uncle Scott Christmas Eve before opening Santa's and Mom and Dad's presents Christmas morning. Lots of food, family and fun keeping us super busy.

Owen's Baptism






We had Owen's baptism today. We had it at St. Augustine's Catholic Church in Canterbury, CT. The last time we were at this particular church was in January for Ben's grandmother's funeral. We started the year with a funeral and ended it in the same church with a Baptism. It was a very special day surrounded by family. The ceremony was wonderful and we were so happy to be able to share the day with everyone here.
Love,

Sunday, December 19, 2010

Hockey

Hockey started back up at the end of October, I finally remembered my camera for their scrimmage today. They both have improved so much. Beau's puck handling is getting so good.
Luke is much faster and more agile than last year, he really gets around well out there. Beau still prefers defense but has significantly improved on offense and scored an awesome goal today (although I missed it which really made him upset at me, it is hard to watch two ends of the ice at once.)

Luke scoring a goal.


Luke just getting ready to fall.
Luke just getting out on the ice.

Beau watching the puck.

Beau taking the drop.

Beau just after making a pass.
I didn't get a close up of Beau, he wears his skates to the rink and gets on the ice as soon as possible. Luke still likes to carry his skates and put them on there so he has a few more minutes and he likes to cheese it up for the camera. They are both a lot of fun to watch and they give it their all when they are out there.

Saturday, December 18, 2010

The Rest of Our Early Christmas

After opening gifts, we enjoyed a crazy wonderful evening. Owen hit his face with a plastic candy cane and bloodied his nose. He actually just reopened a scratch he had gotten the other day. It didn't bleed the other day though so he must have smacked himself hard. It didn't stop him from continuing to munch the candycane. Beau put together his new game and Ben whooped up on his poor kids twice, during the fun Luke hit his eye on the corner of the coffee table and now he has a shiner. Luke and I enjoyed drawing on his new table, writing the whole alphabet and making Christmas objects like trees. Anna's mind is whirling with ideas for her doll house. She loved looking through everything that came with it and she is more than willing to move Owen out of her room to move her dollhouse in. As I was about to tell the kids to get ready for bed, Ben pulled out a sugar cookie recipe and he and Anna got to work while the boys watched Charlie Brown. They got to bed by 9 and a fun family night was had by all even with blood and tears. Can't wait for all the activities we are about to encounter and all the people we get to share them with, I'm so excited I can hardly sleep.




Christmas Came Early...

We decided to give the kids their big gifts tonight so they could play with them before they leave Monday. Owen got a ramp racer from us and a sock monkey from his siblings. Luke got Corroder, the hero factory lego thing he has wanted for a long time from his siblings and a table he can draw on from us. Anna got a littlest pet shop and a doll house. She absolutely loves her doll house and her eyes couldn't have been bigger. Beau got a game that u build yourself and he got a .22 from Ben (I mean us). He loves it and can't wait to go out and shoot it with his dad, his only downfall is there are many rules and stipulations with his gift and he will only be able to access it through us, but he is still very happy. The kids are waiting (impatiently) for me to come play U Build Sorry with them. Then we need to move the big toys to bedrooms and switch the crib from Anna's room to Luke's to make room for Anna's doll house. Quite an exciting night in the Marnell household. I'm 3/4 of the way packed and feeling good about that.
Enjoy the pictures.














Friday, December 17, 2010

Because its been too long...

Time is flying by, Christmas is 8 days away and Luke has the countdown. He informs us many times throughout the day. We are leaving in three days and there are no bags packed.
Hockey is in full swing, two nights a week practice and scrimmage on Sunday. The boys are both improving so much.
Beau loves karate, he and Ben do it together two nights a week.
Anna is in gymnastics and hates the bars, the thing I thought she would like the most, what do I know.
We are all so excited for our trip. We can't wait to see all of our family it has been way too long.
Owen is ready to meet everyone and I am ready to pass him off to whoever will take him. He is great but a handful at times. He sits very well and will fall over on purpose to his belly to get what he wants if it is out of reach. This has ended up in two presents being bitten open and him choking on wrapping paper, ugh. He is no longer allowed to even be sat down anywhere near the tree.
Time to get things around and go back to town, to pick up Luke and attend Christmas parties for Beau and Anna.
See everyone soon.





Much love,

Tuesday, December 7, 2010

Owen singing to Auntie Kara

Happy Birthday Auntie Kara, Happy Birthday to you.
See you soon.
I love you.

Monday, December 6, 2010

Shutterfly

Just a short time ago I posted about Shutterfly's promotion to get free holiday cards. Shutterfly is running another promotion this time for a gift certificate. I love the ability to put my kids pictures on things and then give them as gifts. I sent a mug to Ben's greatgrandfather for his birthday and now he can have coffee with the kids whenever he wants.
Blank Project Collage Mug
Unique party invitations and announcements by Shutterfly.
View the entire collection of cards.
"Help us (Shutterfly) spread the word. Embed a project and receive a $25 gift certificate. Here’s how:

Embed your project on a blog or Web site you own. Email an active link (no screenshots, please) to the Web page containing your embedded project to: shareproject@shutterfly.com. We will confirm placement and reply to your email with a discount code.
Limit one per customer.

How to Get this Deal

1.Login to your Shutterfly account

2.View your projects

3.Choose one and click “Share Project”

4.Give it a name

5.Embed the code on your blog

6.Send the confirmation email to shareproject@shutterfly.com