January 24, 2005
Happy Anniversary!
Happy Anniversary to mom and dad, who celebrate 35 years of marriage today!
And after all that time, they prove that it's the simplest things in life that make you happy. Instead of going out for a fancy dinner, they decided to do it home. And to make it romantic, my dad brought the dining room table and chairs into the living room so that they could eat in front of the fire. It may become a tradition.
And as for that fancy dinner, the kids pulled through and got them a certificate to Spiced Pear Restaurant at the Chanler at Cliff Walk in Newport, Rhode Island.
We love you guys!
Blizzard 2005
We survived the reported 26 inches of snow (22.5 at Logan) very well in Cambridge. It was a great weekend. We saw In Good Company on Saturday before the storm hit and liked it quite a lot. Sunday was a fun day of snow play, hot chocolate sipping, and movie watching (Little Black Book, We Don't Live Here Anymore, and Elephant) combined with the requisite shoveling (in 3 shifts to make it easier). Here are some pics:
The deck (it has a roof!)
First shift
The wiffleball field
Snow angels were hard to do...
Where is the Mini?
January 17, 2005
Happy Birthday Gram and John!
We went down to Marlborough on Saturday to celebrate Grandma Ruth's and John's birthdays. John turned 35 and grandma turned 36! We had a Coldstone cake and a Malrborough bakery cake and Cheryl made an awesome brunch for us all, including a stray bear claw or two from Panera :)
We got the camera out later for a fun party with Grace and Sara.
January 02, 2005
Happy New Year!
Friday was a quiet day of naps, Waffle House, swimming and hot tubbing before heading to Celebration, a "pre-planned community" created and run by Disney. 14 of us had a fabulous dinner at Columbia restaurant before a horse and carriage ride through the eerily quiet town.
They made the Sangria right at the table!
And serenaded us!
We played a speed round of mini-golf with Shachar and Emily - it was Shachar's first round of mini-golf ever! - before heading home just in time for the countdown to the new year! A fabulous trip and great way to start 2005! THANK YOU ANN/MOM & BILL!!
Epcot Part 2 and Universal
On Thursday, we got up bright and early to be at Epcot when it opened so we could do a few rides in the morning before heading off to Universal for the rest of the day. Eduard and Aaron joined us on Misson: Space, Test Track (their 2nd time on the ride), Spaceship Earth, and the Imagination ride with Figment.
In the afternoon, we went with Betty and Aaron to Universal Studios Theme Park, which is actually 2 theme parks in one. Universal has movie rides and simulations (we hit E.T., Back To The Future, Jaws, and Twister) based in replicas of U.S. towns and cities like Hollywood, New York, San Francisco, and Amityville (the setting for Jaws). Islands of Adventure has more roller coasters and stomach-dropping rides in lands like Marvel Super Hero Island, Seuss Landing, Toon Lagoon, The Lost Continent, and Jurassic Park.
Betty and Aaron took a quick nap to get ready for our big afternoon!
Karen poses with the Blues Brothers right before their concert. They had an "Air Supply" CD in their car...great taste!
The HULK Roller Coaster - what a rush it was!
Brian goes on the Unicorn Roller Coaster!
We met the whole family for dinner at Islands of Adventure's Mythos Restaurant, named Best Theme Park Restaurant in the World in 2003 and 2004.
After dinner, we went back through Seuss Landing to Universal to go on E.T. and Jaws with our Express passes. We're glad we saved these two rides for last. We stopped by Curious George Goes To Town before heading out for the night.
Epcot Part 1, Cirque, and The Magic Kingdom
We arrived mid-day on Tuesday the 28th and met up with Emily, Shachar, Betty, Aaron, Eduard, Carrie, and Sam at Epcot in the World Showcase. We accompanied them to Japan, the United Kingdom, and Canada before heading with Emily and Shachar to the Energy ride featuring Bill Nye (the science guy) and Ellen DeGeneres. It was a great first afternoon. Check out a great group pic on Emily's site.
Tuesday night, we went with the whole gang to La Nouba, Cirque du Soleil's Orlando show in Downtown Disney and Karen's first Cirque experience. It was AMAZING!
Wednesday, we spent the whole day at the Magic Kingdom with Bill, Liz, and Annie, traveling to the different lands and going on rides in each. We were transformed for the day into our ten-year-old selves, found out the wonders of "Fast Pass" and had a FABULOUS time hanging out with Bill and the girls.
We stuck around for dinner, a few night rides, and the Disney SpectroMagic parade. We also got to see a few fireworks on our way out. Quite a day!
Disney Digs
We just returned from our trip to Disney with Brian's family. We stayed with Ann/Mom, Bill, Emily, Shachar (Emily's boyfriend), Betty, Aaron (Betty's boyfriend), Eduard, Liz, Annie, Doug, Barbi, Brooke, Lisa, John, Carrie, and Sam (Carrie's younger brother) about 2 miles from the parks in this rockin house.
front
kitchen
dining area
living area
game room
pool and hot tub
our bedroom
mickey bedroom (betty's room)
