Where to Begin? Part I

"Happy Birthday to Me, Happy Thanksgiving, Happy Birthday Alexandra, Happy Anniversary to Us, Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, Happy Birthday Olivia." These are just a few celebrations we've shared since the last time I blogged back in - SEPTEMBER!!

So this is where the "Where to Begin" comes into play. I get overwhelmed at the thought of trying to retrace the past five months of our lives. Maybe if I just hit the highlights it won't be so bad . . . and then . . . keep up with taking pictures, loading them onto the computer and actually writing my thoughts . . . novel thought . . . might not be so bad.

Olivia finished her first fall season on the Fishers travel soccer team in late October. It was a good experience for her; developing soccer skills, but more importantly, life skills for handling people, including teammates.

Leighton finished his first season of football in October as well - winning 2nd place in their division. While he loves watching and playing the game of football, (esp. during recess), the fact that he was several inches and several pounds heavier than most boys on his team put him at a disadvantage for 3rd grade football. In third grade football there is an 80 lb. weight limit to pass, receive, or carry the ball. Unfortunately, Leighton surpassed this limit and therefore could not touch the ball which is a very hard concept when you're nine years old. So after three practices a week for about 12 weeks, football burnout set in and we were told he would not play football again next year. We'll see if his mind changes when the July call out comes around. By the way, in 7th grade the weight limit thing is dropped. That will be the time to shine for Leighton. Let me just say, he sure did look very handsome all padded up in his football uniform.

Alexandra played her last season of

rec soccer last fall. She is now playing in the U12 Fishers travel league and having a blast. More on that later.

Fall Break was a welcomed change from all the homework, practices, and games. We took the family to:

We drove to NYC, stopping in Pennsylvania to visit the Hershey Chocolate factory on the way.

A highlight for us all was to see Mary Poppins on Broadway. It was truly fabulous in a most delightful way!

We did a lot in the day and a half we had there, but would love to go back again and spend more time.

Riding subway for the first time and watching the

Series in Time Square

Fire Dept. across from Ground Zero - first to heed the call on 9-11-01

Olivia ran into her math teacher just outside of Battery Park. Neither knew the other would be spending Fall Break in NYC. What are the chances of that happening??