Daddy's Fantasy Camp Experience....

Trot Nixon and King Tony

He may not initially strike you as a superior athlete, but King Tony played for the Boston Red Sox at the newly constructed JetBlue Park even before the incumbent players got a chance to set foot on the field! Yes, it is true. Tony flew to Ft. Myers right before Spring Training started to enjoy a fantasy camp experience. Check it off the bucket list. 

After a full week of ball play, evening activities with Red Sox legends and players, he returned to Boston fulfilled...and slightly worse for wear. A few blisters, bruises, scraped up knees from sliding, and lovely 'frozen shoulder/rotator cuff tendonitis' were just a small token brought back from Florida alongside some great memories, new baseball techniques, and one very happy man. :)

In Tony's words, the best part of his entire experience was playing the game with guys who loved to play as much as he did..."and of course, my walk off hit!" 

Tony and Rich Gedman, former Red Sox catcher/Legend

Tony and handsome Dwight Evans (right fielder/legend)

Rick Wise, Tony and the guy who drafted Tony to his team for the week, Dave Henderson (aka: Hendu)

Views from the new JetBlue ballpark.....

The boys at play.....

Pros/legends v. Campers games top off the week.....

Trot at bat....

Tony's coach Hendu takes a swing....

On a calm winter's day...

New England, sadly, has not seen all that much snow this season. Recently, we gained a few inches, but as of this week, all that lovely white powder was melted and gone and our temperatures have again risen into the high 40s.  This is very atypical for the region, and somewhat disappointing as the royals have their winter gear at the ready and we're just not getting to use it much this year.  Fortunately, we did get some snow and we took full advantage of it. We made snow trails for running/obstacle courses. We spray painted snow pictures and played Creeper Chase (King Tony as The Creeper) until we were exhausted and the kidlets were begging for hot cocoa with marshmallows. 

Seriously, look at this beautiful little face. :) New Alabama hats courtesy of Uncle Regis and Auntie Laurie!! :) Cute, hunh???

Prince Aramis has found his way through the forest trails with the squirt bottle...marking a path the entire way. He's going to make sure we can find out way back!

Poor Creeper Tony got pegged pretty good with a few snowballs thanks to Prince Alec's keen throwing arm. We're pretty sure there is athletic futures for all our kids, but Alec seems most able to follow through on Tony's passion for baseball. Look out Papa....I'm gonna get you! :) Whammmm-O!

Aw...a special photo moment of Papa and our youngest....so precious. :)

Fortunately, we also included a few unedited videos of our few hours of outdoor fun. Now if we could only get it to snow one more time before spring so we can go skiing!! :)

"Look kids, it's snowing!!!"

Blue Inc. (Review)

Thanks to our lovely sitter, Kristine A, and foodie
-friends, Auntie Abra and Uncle Peter, Tony and Wendy stepped out for a post-holiday foodie-feast at Boston's Blue, Inc. operated by chef/owner and former Hell's Kitchen contestant, Jason Santos (aka: Blue Jay).  Within the last few months since its opening, Jason has turned this riveting ocean-view bistro into a true gem located in Boston's financial district. With the help of Trish -- Blue Inc.'s very own mixologist and hostess-with-the-mostess--this dining adventure out will be one that none of us forgets for many, many moons to come.

Pan-Seared Salmon over mushrooms topped with lobster salad. YUM!

Freshly prepared cod over garlic mashed potatoes

Cabernet Sauvignon braised short ribs...

Although we are well aware of Boston prices, this tiny little trifle was marketed at a steep $9.  We requested one for the entire table, and all thought the same thing: 2 tiny circles of beet-infused chocolate cake with some sauces and a spoonful of ice cream (regardless of how yummy or beautifully presented), may be overpriced. :)

But, we were re-enamored with the joint once 'Amazing Trish-the-Dish' appeared not only with an after-dinner aperitif, but superiorly concocted milkshakes frozen with liquid nitrogen- tableside. For those not familiar with molecular gastronomy, liquid nitrogen is used to quickly freeze any item--and it does--with an incredible sideshow to boot. Well done, Trish!

 This was THE best way to top off our holidays with special family members in tow. Fortunately for us, we got this on the calendar due to Auntie Abra's failed sense of direction and too many options on OpenTable. :) Ask her about it next time you see her...she'll explain better than we can. :) Heee..heee..

Holiday Travels....

During the holiday week, we decided the timing was ripe for some travel adventures. Now, we've taken many car trips (lengthy ones as far as North Carolina, to boot!), but we have yet to take ALL 3 kidlets on a plane, boat or train. This week, we remedied 2 of the 3 listed and began our travels via train into Boston.  Onto the 'purple train' (as the kids call the MBTA Commuter Rail) we went, en route to Boston and all its hidden fun. The kids really enjoyed the ride, and moreso, the return trip complete with Dunkin' Donuts munchkins in tow. :)

  Not long after, the family made a bee-line for Logan and headed down south to Washington, DC and Virginia, where we spent our New Year's and Tony's birthday. It was fantastic weather and we arrived just in time to see Washington in all its holiday gradeur, while also visiting with special cousin, Juan Mario! The kids flew like pros (all of them) and we couldn't have been more thrilled at how JetBlue Airways handled every step of the travel process. We had NO incidents, and the kids thoroughly enjoyed traveling via airplane--so much so that our hope is to book our next trip in early 2012. Look out world, nothing is going to stop us now!

What, did you think we COULDN'T fly one of these babies! It's like a walk in the park, Kazansky!

After a short visit in Washington, the family headed south to Richmond, home of Tony's best bud, Uncle Chuck!




We

  celebrated both his and King Tony's birthdays (one day apart) and visited with many of Tony's college pals and good friends. We had so much fun and were so busy, that we forgot to take pictures (pretty sad, actually), but when we visited Tony's Williamsburg-based alma mater, we were certain to pull out the camera! One (or all) of our kidlets may attend this school one day...so may as well make the introductions early on.

Ready for class to begin...(for a second go round for at least ONE of these students). Can you guess which one?

Holidays 2011 Part I....and II

The holiday festivities were only improved by the addition of good food. Deciding to host Christmas Eve this year encouraged our family to focus on not only the beautification of the palace, but the quality of the items delivered to our guests. In that vain, Queen Wendy pulled out all the stops and made from scratch all sorts of goodies including Polish pierogis (Grandma Bulawa's recipe), babka (Grandma Bulawa's recipe again), borscht/beet soup (Grandma Bulawa's recipe once again) and our annual piles of cookies/candies including these delicious chocolate peanut butter balls. :)

  On Christmas Eve, we enjoyed the company of family and friends including Aunt Penny (aka: Betty Toothpicks) and our cousins. The kids ADORE Aunt Penny and really enjoyed being surrounded by family on this very special holiday.

 Abby also received a very special 'love note' from her classmate, Fritz...who also came by with a spectacular container filled with sugar cookies that he had made just for her. :) PRECIOUS!!

We made our annual trek to "Christmas Street" ( a street containing 20 houses-- ALL of which decorate to amazing degrees for the holidays. Out front of the first and most decorated was Santa and Mrs. Claus! The street takes the opportunity to give back to the community by collecting donations which go directly to local food pantries. It's an awesome Christmas Eve drive.

  Santa was EXTRA good to our kidlets this year--probably due to having Blue Fred around all month! They received new bikes and lots of special toys that truly made their holidays even more enjoyable! 

After opening their presents and exhausting themselves with play, we rallied the following day to join our very good friends, the Schmiedels, at the New England Aquarium.  This was a fabulous day-long adventure in Boston during which the kids spent most of their time hanging around the penguins--Aramis' favorite! 

 

All in all, a fantastic kick off to our 2011 holidays! :)