winston and duffy

winston and duffy
Originally uploaded by funnkds5.

amy and joe brought winston by. what a difference since we last saw him. he is HUGE and incredibly handsome.

knex from santa

knex from santa
Originally uploaded by funnkds5.

mike and tom spent the last two days working on this really cool gift from santa. under the ever watchful eye of madeline, they built this water park slide fron knex. kept them very, very busy- a good thing, even if it has over 500 tiny pieces that will eventually end up scattered throughout the house, breaking the vaccum. merry christmas!

sarah's new slippers

sarah's new slippers
Originally uploaded by funnkds5.

madeline picked out these slippers for sarah's hanukah present. the girl has taste. the flamingo slippers are actually coming in handy, since we maintain the house temp. at 60 degrees. sarah informs us hourly that home is at least 30 degrees colder than the dorm temp. and completely unsuitable for human inhabitants. we do our best to encourage their independence.

gingerbread house construction crew

gingerbread house construction crew
Originally uploaded by funnkds5.

mike,sarah,matthew,tom and madeline keep busy christmas day.

madeline post practice

madeline post practice
Originally uploaded by funnkds5.

madeline spent the entire ride to philadelphia conked out on the back seat- i guess her coach decided that christmas was no reason to go easy on them in morning practice.

santa's helper

santa's helper
Originally uploaded by funnkds5.

we are, as always, down to the last minute. thanks to our santa's helper, we may actually get things done on time.

christmas tree '05

christmas tree '05
Originally uploaded by funnkds5.

the tree has been decorated, the angel placed on top and now santa has only to brave rockville pike this week.

holiday picture

holiday picture
Originally uploaded by funnkds5.

finally, a picture where everyone's face is visible. madeline thinks her shoulders look like she plays tackle football, but alas, i think we are done.

holiday outtakes

holiday outtakes
Originally uploaded by funnkds5.

it's always so much fun to try and take our holiday picture when the kids are so cooperative- william is always happy to tackle the gang...

holiday outtake 2

holiday outtake 2
Originally uploaded by funnkds5.

and again,

holiday outtake 3

holiday outtake 3
Originally uploaded by funnkds5.

and again

tom dolan invitational

tom dolan invitational
Originally uploaded by funnkds5.

audrey, madeline and allie were so excited to make the cut off times for the tom dolan invitational meet- we couldn't let an ice storm get in the way- so i stayed overnight with the girls in a hotel close to the meet. it was just so enlightening to watch " the oc " and 'reunion" with them. yikes!

first taste of snow this season

first taste of snow
Originally uploaded by funnkds5.

our little devils making snow angels on the deck.

sarah's dorm room for christmas

sarah's dorm room for christmas
Originally uploaded by funnkds5.

well, sarah and ashley went to target and decked the halls. they are ready for the holidays, complete with elf costumes- note ashley's garb. i can only hope they are as ready for finals.

rokenbok

rokenbok
Originally uploaded by funnkds5.

john set up a table in the basement last week and mike and tom have been spending all their free time following the 50 step instructions to set up a rokenbok system. the boys finished the last step today, inserted batteries, and voila- a functioning system. mike and tom were very proud of themselves and their resourcefulness.

john and tom

john and tom
Originally uploaded by funnkds5.

today we went to a farm to find our christmas tree. it is cold enough to feel like winter, but there is no ice or snow yet- maybe tomorrrow. here,john and tom looking through row after row of trees, for just the right one.

found the one

found the one
Originally uploaded by funnkds5.

after traipsing over the two acres, the kids have agreed on a beautiful tree and madeline begins cutting it down.

taking it home

taking it home
Originally uploaded by funnkds5.

john and madeline tie the tree to the top of the van for the ride home.