Intro to the Holidays 2013....

Album cover style design and editorial courtesy of Juan Mario Agudelo...a true graphic genius! :) 

It has been a busy but truly fun Fall/early Winter for the royals. King Tony took the boys to see a multitude of their favorite superheroes and movie stars at a recent ComicCon event in Massachusetts--and the twins were absolutely THRILLED beyond belief. They hung out with Spiderman, a Ghostbuster and Jack Sparrow, and got to sit in Bumble Bee (Transformers), the Back to the Future Delorean and the Batmobile too! One of their favorite moments however was meeting the infamous Jon Heder (a twin himself, no less)..otherwise known as Napolean Dynamite! :) 

Jon Heder--a handsome fella without his perm... :) 

Friend Colleen spends the night and makes her first-ever Mickey Mouse pancake for Alec! :) 

And then came the turkeys...a day before Thanksgiving. They were walking around our front yard and were even bold enough to practically walk in the front door! Can you believe these guys??? 

And just like that ('snap fingers'), multiple turkeys ended up in serving trays at Auntie Wendy's and Uncle Ed's abode where we enjoyed a FABULOUS Thanksgiving spread of competing turkeys (fried versus traditional baked). It was a toss up as to which one was better as the food was absolutely yummy, but we learned a very important tip to turkey dinners--BRINE the turkey, baby, brine it! :) 

Wendy and Ed duel it out, with tons of love and affection...good humans. 

Uncle Ed diligently (and expertly) carves the birds in a matter of seconds. Give that guy a gun and a forest and he'd be able to feed an army for a week with precision, skill and absolute comfort!

And then, we waited patiently for the arrival of Blue Fred...our favorite adopted Elf. Terrifyingly, he did not arrive this year. In his place when we awoke was a note and three bags of coal! Our children were devastated (well, maybe not devastated, but bummed) to read that should their behavior not improve, Blue Fred would NOT return this year. :( Boo-hoo, boo-hoo....

 To keep them focused and to stop the tears, we put up 5, yep, count 'em 5, Christmas trees.  The kids had to decorate 2 all by themselves, and together, they helped decorate 2 more. Mom and Dad handled the last one...as they seemed to be getting tired... heee...hee.....

Kitchen Tree

Living Room Tree

Foyer Tree

And, we couldn't forget the house exterior, so Tony hung numerous lights and we crafted some cool decorations, a lollipop garden and some other treats so that our home was akin to Candyland! It all looked so good until 2 feet of snow landed..... :( 

When the snow begins to fly, we know it is time to 'eat and be merry' so Wendy rolled some sushi and the kids and their friends got down to making some gingerbread houses after school. 

Fortunately, after all of this effort, Santa must have felt things improved as one morning the kids awoke, and Blue Fred had in fact, returned.  He turned the bags of coal into delicious chocolate treats, and welcomed the kids to a breakfast of hot cocoa and yumminess before school one day.

And of course THEN, the hijinx began. Blue Fred has notoriously been a wild card-style elf...getting into all sorts of stuff and leaving Tony and Wendy to wonder exactly how he ranks back at the North Pole. We're thinking a step above delinquent...but who knows! :) 

Hands caught in the blender, with PopTarts, and goodie basket coupons...the thief! 

He 'modified' the kids' gingerbread house by making marshmallow/pretzel snowmen! 

He hangs with Batman and moves toys with ease....

And attempts to give Mom a break by WRITING on our washer and dryer. What the heck was he thinking???? AHHHHHH!!

The snow, of course, arrived in New England with all the drama that it typically brings with it! First major storm dropped nearly a foot, and then two days later, another 8.5 inches fell.  The kids absolutely LOVE playing in the snowbanks and are starting to get keen on the whole idea of 'playing' in the snow, regardless of how many times Daddy whines, "it's too cold" and "I don't like the snow." They'll be up on skis this year...it's just gotta happen!

Driving in a winter wonderland...

Our view on December 17, 2013. Woo-hooo! :)

Wings for Autism II....

Two years ago, our family learned of a very unique airport travel 'test drive' program 

called Wings for Autism. 

Created by Jennifer Robtoy Ryan of the Charles River Center, the program was designed to assist children (especially those with special needs such as Autism, sensory processing challenges, etc.) and their families in trialing airport travel from parking lot to plane and all steps in between. Having worked with a family whose Disney World travel plans were dismantled due to one of the children's inability to board a plane, Jennifer knew she needed to do something to help the children and their families. Wings for Autism is the culmination of her idea, with tremendous support from airport, airline, security and TSA personnel. The program, while founded in Boston, has since gone national, and is now being leveraged through major airports across the country. Wendy previously penned an article about our first experience with Wings for Autism for Bay State Parent (http://www.baystateparent.com/features/stories/Travel-Dreams--for--Autistic-Children-Realized-130778768.html) and we again participated in the November event to see how things have progressed.  While our kids love to travel/fly, we were happy to find that the Wings for Autism remains incredibly supportive and the personnel involved (JetBlue/United,  TSA, Logan Airport, Charles River Center) are so thoughtful that families should check with their local airport to see if a Wings for Autism event is scheduled. 

If not, contact Jennifer and she can help! :) 

Upon arriving at ticketing, families are met by a ticketing agent to help them get their tickets...

Once ticketed, families proceed through TSA security checkpoints...with support along the entire way.

TSA reviews all identification, asks questions, and prepares family members for the security checkpoint (bags on conveyor, shoes off, etc.

Members from the JetBlue team are available to answer questions and welcome families.

Once your gate is called...get ready to board! :) 

We board the plane and find a good seat.

Tony helps Abby with the seat belt...

While the boys figure out how to use the TV system located in the back of every seat on JetBlue. We prepare for snack (delivered graciously by JetBlue), visit the cockpit, and sit back and hang on the plane figuring out all the cool new gizmos and gadgets that are now on board since our last trip. JetBlue also delivered a BRAND NEW plane (never been flown commercially) for this event. It was so clean and beautiful...you could eat off the floor! :) 

Our globe trotters...ready for their next adventure/trip...but what they don't know is that it is already booked...and they are going to LOVE it! :)

WORLD SERIES VICTORY, All Hallow's Eve, and the Tooth Fairy...

It's official. The Boston Red Sox WON the pennant! World Series Victory 2013! Yippeeee! October really was an incredibly month of joys for our family. The Red Sox played well, the kids are healthy (but losing a lot of teeth...), everyone is doing well in school, and Tony was named (again) to the prestigious list of Boston Super Lawyers (At the same time, his firm ranked in the top tier by U.S. News & World Report in 12 categories including 3 of his specialties). Alas, we spend all the free time we can enjoying ourselves as a family. Hijinx are never too far away for us--and we even occasionally drag friends and family into the mix. 

Aramis himself could be a jack-o-lantern...having lost three top front teeth in one month! Can you say, "All he wants for Christmas is his 3 front teeth...his 3 front teeth...his 3 front teeth!"

Abby's bestie Colleen selects her pumpkin....

Abby prefers one that is a little bigger...

These crisp fall days are also perfect for hiking. As newly minted Mass Audubon members, we now have access to even more properties for exploring, but we use several trails close to home to keep ourselves fit, while enjoying and exploring the community. After school one day, we headed off to Goldsmith, a cool trail by a marsh/pond and on the trail, we came across some interesting art.

No...not those 3 cute kids...the ART below....some of it is cool...and the other...kinda creepy! :)

"We're not lost...we're taking the scenic route..."

October - All Hallow's Eve - And we're ready! 

 For the men this year, pumpkin carving started to elevate as an art form. NO one wants to put their hands inside the pumpkin to clean out the seeds (except mom and dad) which makes carving not as much fun! Where's the 'get your hands dirty' thought process? Anyway, after doing some cleaning and carving, our pumpkins were ready and Halloween commenced. With a fully stocked costume rack however, our kids changed costumes at least 3 times...from vampires to Spiderman, Pink Power ranger, Batman..etc. We gave up on taking costume shots because they didn't stay in one costume long enough and after multiple parties and trick or treating, we were just happy to put Halloween on the back burner and raise our eyes towards the big holidays.  For those that are wondering, YES, we have already started to pull out our Christmas decorations. If stores can shove Christmas in our faces...then we fell great about decking our halls. Besides, Music Choice is already dishing up Christmas tunes, so....if you can't beat 'em, join 'em! :)

Having started reading the Harry Potter series as part of our summer reading, the boys wanted to dedicate at least one pumpkin to their favorite wizard, Harry. :) 

Look at these two cuties! 

It's all party, party, party with these kids...At what point does the work part start? 

Happy Halloween 2013!

 Thank you Boston Red Sox for winning the World Series! We're proud and happy fans!

The teeth are just flying out of our kids' mouths these days. What seemed to take forever to start has finally caught up as our little guys are losing their teeth---multiples in a single week! Aramis is now sporting a no-front teeth smile--as if they've been knocked out by a boxer...and Alec has lost some bottoms as well! The Tooth Fairy has been extremely busy of late, and she must be going broke at this point since she's delivering upwards of $2/tooth and these boys are filling their banks with lots of dollar bills. Someone is getting rich here...