Dance Little Sister

I think it is interesting to look at children's (and adults') interests and professions in relation to their parents.  Do you work in the same field as your father or your mother?  Do your kids like to play the same sport as you?  Maybe you play the guitar for pleasure - do any of your children like to play the guitar?  Maybe your children's interests are completely different than yours - that certainly is possible.

When my older siblings were old enough to babysit us younger siblings (I am the 3rd youngest of 13 kids), my parents took up dancing.  They started with square dancing but also did round dancing as well (round dancing is kind of like ballroom dancing).  Dancing was my mother and father's outlet -
I have tons of memories of my parents dancing together. My dad would record the instructor's "calls" for a new dance and then replay the recording in our kitchen while him and my mother practiced the new dance steps.  My brothers and I would run through the kitchen dodging their footsteps - we must have drove them crazy!

Well, I wouldn't consider Sarah and I to be "dancers".  Sure, I can do the Electric Slide and I like to shake it up to classic dance music from The Jackson Five, Shalamar and the like...but no, we are not dancers.

Our girls love to dance so it will be interesting to see where it leads them in the years to come.

This is a clip I got of Anna dancing with Sarah.  I love this clip because there is so much joy radiating from BOTH of their faces:

Boston Driving, The Red Sox and A Swingset.

I've conceded to the Boston driving.  Having driven the streets and highways in and around Boston for almost 30 years now, I can say that traffic is extremely unpredictable, the roads seem to be forever under construction, and there are some people who drive like lunatics. 

New Englanders are very familiar with the Big Dig.  And f
or those of who are not familiar, it was (and still is I believe) the largest federally funded construction project in the United States.  Well... the Big Dig was completed a few years ago but every other roadway in a 20 mile radius of Boston seems to be under construction now.  I have dealt with the traffic and crazy drivers the past few years commuting home from campus after taking evening MBA classes.  Construction.  Traffic.  At 9:00 at night. 

I understand that roads need to be resurfaced.  Roads need to be updated.  But why does it take SO LONG!?

Case in point:  last night's drive home from the Red Sox game.  Sarah & I had a nice night - just the two of us.  I picked her up at work and then, thanks to a sibling, we got free parking within a short walk to Fenway.  We enjoyed a great game at Fenway.  Good seats (sat between home plate and 3rd base).  We stood with the Fenway faithful to give Kevin Youkilis a warm welcome upon his return to Fenway (after he had been traded to the White Sox). 

We decided to exit a bit early to beat the crowd (and we did). We got to within about 15 miles of home and TRAFFIC.  10:15 PM traffic.  On a major highway.

Can you tell I am a bit done with driving in Boston?

Onto something fun...I was taking some clips of the girls playing on the swing set (or whatever they call these playthings) when Allie decided she was going to describe to the camera the various items on the swing set.  Kind of cute.

Beach Day 2012

Sandwiched between numerous scheduled events like birthday parties and the like, we have been able to make it to the beach a few times already this year.  July has been hot!

With my class schedule light for the second summer session (only 1 class this session = last class!) and with Sarah on her reduced schedule, we hope to get several more beach days in.  The summer closes quickly here in New England so Sarah & I want to take advantage of it while it lasts!

This video clip is from a couple of weeks ago.  The girls have since done a little "boogie" boarding - I hope to have some video of that soon....

Allie reads to Emily & Anna

The title says it all...

The girls apparently get their love of books from Sarah.  Sarah tells me how, as a kid, she would go to the library, get a bunch of books, and read read read!  The benefits of reading are so obvious now that I know Sarah so well - she has a great gift for words and is smart as a whip!  So yes...the girls get their enthusiasm for books is similar to their mother's love of books at that age. 

I, on the other hand, like a good book as an adult.  As a "yoot" (think My Cousin Vinny) it was a different story for me!

I'm glad I was able to get this video clip - it makes me so proud!