Winter Reprieve: Caribbean Adventure!

Yay for sun and sand! While we may be back to our snow-shoveling reality today, the tans and memories from our trip sailing the Caribbean this past week will take much longer to fade. Eva is now asking if next week is too soon to go on vacation again.

Preparing to board the ship.

Day 1, in CocoCay, Bahamas. Eva took awhile to realize she wasn't in Boston any more.

Beach girls!

Sharing a lounge chair and milkie break with Grammy.

Storytime in a beach hammock...not too shabby.

Woohoooo!

Exploring her own private Bahamanian beach.

On the "little boat" back to the "big boat" from CocoCay.

Formal night....clearly our girl knows how to go classy.

Good times.

Night out with Poppy!

Daddy exploring the rock climbing wall...

...And the FlowRider.

Relaxing with our favorite tiny barfly.

Breakfast time with Grammy!

Naptime under a low-hanging tree on a St. Thomas beach.

We couldn't have asked for a more idyllic beach spot!

Cautiously surveying the water...

And then jumping right in with Daddy!

Pirate night on the ship. Arrrrr.

Party time in St. Maarten!

Enjoying a little Red Stripe on the beach.

Ducklin Ducklin...his name is Ducklin Ducklin... (Eva's newest friend.)

Another night out, this time at the pub on the ship.

Eva, showing off her kids' talent show award. (She was spectacular, not surprisingly.)

Last day on ship, spent lounging in the water. As it should be.

More winter sporting

While much of January was spent shoveling, followed by more shoveling, our 70+ inches of snow so far this winter, we did manage to find some time for fun amongst the winter grousing.

Our little snow angel.

Rocking the magic carpet.

Look at that form!

And she even carries her own gear. The perfect ski-mate.

A few of our winter icicles before being taken out by a focused shovel attack.

Winter sports and sparkles

The day after Christmas brought our first real winter snowstorm of the year. We ended up with about 2 feet of snow...perfect for building a snow house and snow castle! Problem was, the "Blizzard of 2010" was immediately followed by several consecutive days of spring weather, so we're back to our boring castle-free backyard.

Another treat the snowstorm brought us was fresh powder in the mountains, inspiring us to bring Eva up for her first ever ski day! She's not quite ready for a real chairlift yet, but we're sure it's just around the corner.

We also enjoyed another official end to the holidays: Eva's stage debut in "Nutcracker Wonderland" (think: lots of small children dancing - sometimes in unison - to The Nutcracker). While Eva seemed minimally concerned with following the routine, she seemed delighted by waving to daddy from the stage and having half the audience wave back.

Marching up what was once our driveway after "Snowpocalypse 2010".

First day on skis!

Eva played the role of one the "Spanish" dancers in the Nutcracker. She owned the stage, of course.

Post-show flowers from Daddy!

Showing off her pink pucker.

Christmas Eva, Part 4!

This is the first year that Eva has been fully aware of the hoopla, majesty and magic that is Christmas. She's made a list, baked cookies, and wrapped presents, but when the big morning came, she still ran right past her shiny new "kitchen"...twice! (it was a few feet away from the tree). When she did finally notice it, she focused only on the Rapunzel cup she'd been wanting.

Which made us think...maybe we could have bought a whole SET of Rapunzel cups and saved a few bucks on the kitchen!

All day Eva has been thanking the family and friends who've sent so much love and wonderful gifts. But since you all can't hear her yelling in our living room, we thought we'd say it again. Your generosity is truly appreciated! Have a wonderful Christmas, and may 2011 be spectacular!

Sliding for fun on Christmas Eve (only 10 more turns to go!)

ANTICIPATION...the night before Santa...

Congratulations, you've won...A BRAND NEW KITCHEN!!!

Enjoying her new ornament...which can be filled with shredding wrapping paper!

Taking a break to visit SnowGirl!

Who can resist admiring their new hair ties and magnificent yellow tutu?

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!!!

Preparing for the holidays

The tree is trimmed, Grandma-ma's sugar cookies have been baked, and we're ready for the holidays! With some play-time with good friends thrown in, of course.

Admiring the tree.

Three Sleeping Beauties...though none seem to be sleeping.

Cookie time! Eva was nothing but helpful, of course.

Rainy December

First off, I know what followers of AAE may be wondering - where are the birthday pics?!? Well, it's a long, boring story, but suffice to say that documentation of Eva's completely fabulous B-day party is...on another computer. But not lost!

And, since there's no sense in continuing to hold up the fun while we wait for said computer access to happen, onward and upward! Especially since as of this weekend we have camera, charger AND card reader at last, in one place! Lesser mortals would have given up and just bought a new camera already, but not we. (Check again in a week to see if we still have all functioning pieces.)

Recent weeks have been predictably New England-frigid, but this weekend brought some unseasonable warmth (highs in the 40s! gasp!) and plenty of rain. We made the most of it, though; nothing like a rainy day to inspire bringing out the tutu for an indoor dance party.

Dancing shoes!

Lucky spectators definitely felt the same.

Eva called this a passe (as in, "pah-say"). Not sure if that's the real ballet term for flamingo stance, but she's got it down, whatever it is.

On our way to pick up our (very wet, but well-loved) Christmas tree!

Autumn in New England

Well, technology struggles have again afflicted our tiny family. We now have a working camera but are unable to charge the battery or upload its pictures to the computer. Le sigh. In the meantime, here are a few more stunning cell-phone-mediated shots from our adventures out and about as fall has fallen up here in the Northeast!

Enthusiastic Pumpkinfest-er.

Pumpkin queen on her pumpkin throne. (Can you tell what the thematic focus of Pumpkinfest might be?)

Holding court with Nathan and Paige.

"I want TWO ponytails, Mommy!"

I know the feeling, kid.

I see you!

Checking out a piece of history - statue of Cy Young at the site of the first-ever World Series. (Which happens to be right behind Mommy's office. Easiest sightseeing trip ever.)

Who doesn't love a carousel ride??

Indoor bouncy house in a princess dress: Eva's best day ever. (With fabulous pumpkin Burke in the foreground.)

Ballerinas on the bench.