2nd place tournament winners

the 6th grade school team earned second place in the tournament on tuesday night.
it was such a close game and they were only down by one point at the end.
we are so proud of them and their hard work and dedication-
way to go irish!

greg & peggy's wedding

their wedding was last friday.
first one in the family in 14 years, since chris and i got married.
and i forgot my camera!
luckily, nani got some with her phone and we had chris' i phone.
so, just excuse any red eye or blurriness.

christopher and andrew were the altar servers.
first time serving for andrew!

ella was the flower girl.
she has been so excited for it for quite awhile.
and i must say she did a wonderful job -

the reception was in chris' aunt & uncle's beautiful backyard.
they have had many a wedding reception there, it's lovely.





we danced the night away, all of us.
i am so glad all of my kids have inherited my love of dancing,
they were on the dance floor most of the night, so much fun!
andrew brought this had to wear to the reception, it was a hit.

we stayed until the very end of the reception which was at about midnight.
the two youngest crashed on the patio bed about an hour or so before that...

we had a great time and everything was beautiful.
it was so fun to have the kids involved in the celebration.
congratulations greg & peggy!

easter 2012

it was a lovely easter, as it is every year.
we dyed eggs on the back patio on the afternoon of good friday.
in the morning we had gone to the live stations of the cross that the 8th grade puts on.
second year we've gone, and it was tough to get out the door, but i'm so glad we did.
so very moving, let's just say it's a good thing i didn't wear mascara (no time for makeup!).

we have continued the tradition of no technology on good friday.

chris' family did this growing up - no radio, tv, internet, ds, itouch...nada.

it is such a good way to reflect on the day, the quiet brings so much peace to the house.

on easter sunday we went to the (school) courtyard mass that we have gone to for years.
it was the first year that christopher served the outside easter mass.
last year (his 1st year of altar serving), he served in the church.
it was nice to be back outside since it has been our tradition for so long.
(and we only get to be outside this one day a year for mass.)

since we had to be there extra early to get him there, we had our choice of seats.
andrew and ella went straight to the front row, they were so excited to be in the first row.
andrew was the first of the entire congregation to receive communion,
he was the one to bring that to our attention after mass, pretty neat.

we had a wonderful brunch at chris & carol's house.

then came home, napped, and got ready for my family to come over for dinner.

he kids got in a lot of outside play time with the neighbors and family.

and then it was time for the easter egg hunt.

this was my favorite part of our entire meal.
fresh salad greens, with warm grilled vegetables and goat cheese
(served with balsamic dressing).

the weather was so nice we all ate on the back patio.
and it is so nice to have spring break the week following easter.
we were able to just relax for quite sometime out there,
and not worry about an early school morning the following day.

first day of swim = yesterday

so, the kids jumped into the pool for the first time this year.
ella is always the first one to take the plunge...she is sure a brave little girl.
no messing around, count to ten and then jump in - easy peasy - that's how she does it.

christopher likes to take his time and count several times before he actually goes for it.

by the way, this is exactly what i did growing up - the boy does take after his mother.

let's cut him some slack, that water is cold you know!

and then it was andrew's turn and here he goes...
that is pretty much the order that it happens each year.

they went swimming at my mom's last week and at lori's last weekend.
but, this was the first of the season in our pool.
chris and i sat in the shade in our nice gliding chairs doing paperwork and such.
it's so nice to see them enjoying each other's company and hang'n out together.

they played 'toothpick', their new favorite pool game they learned from their friends.
then they hung out together on their towels all spread out enjoying the beautiful weather...
don't come too soon, heat, this weather is pretty perfect!

who's that girl???

yes, it's my ella - with her favorite new hair accessory (a scrunchy with extensions).
we were at the mall last weekend with my mom getting items for greg & peggy's wedding.
ella is the flower girl and she needed shoes and hair accessories.
and we found this fun addition at claire's, she's thrilled with it...

we had a great time, the three of us, shopping together.
and ella was in hog heaven with us pulling cute clothes off the racks for her to try on.
it was all about her and that made it so fun for my sweet ella and for us.

thanks, nani, for joining us on such short notice.
it was fun, we got the job done, and we need to do it more often...
yea for another girl in the family who loves shopping and clothes!

the picture to prove it

christopher did not recall putting on this mustache he got for christmas
along with the hat and candy cigarette -
and knocking on doors in the neighborhood using a broken spanish/english accent.

i don't remember exactly what was said to the neighbors when they opened the door.
but, i do remember the boys having a great time with it-
i think andrew jumped out and said something, they were pretending to sell something?
whatever it was they said i recall them thinking it was quite hilarious.

lucky i have the picture to prove it!
so, here it is lc - documented...does it look/sound familiar now??

next time, don't argue with your mother...she's always right :)