Skating Fun

A few of us went skating yesterday. Wiley and Braeden are REALLY beginners and ended up down on the ice for a big percentage of the time. I realized I didn't even have a picture of Luke - that's because he's really skating and was moving around so quickly! Cole had lots of fun on his first attempt on the ice - I can see lots and lots of hockey in the future for the Castor family!!



The Zamboni is always a big hit.



It's getting harder and harder to corral these 6 boys for a picture.



Shaun spent 90% of his time holding up Wiley and Braeden - and then picking them up off the ice when they fell. THANKS, SHAUN!

Surprised!

Typically, this blog is all about the kids...but last night, Robb COMPLETELY surprised me for our anniversary. I'm very difficult to surprise because a.) I know where the $ goes and b.) I didn't get the nickname "nosy Nina" by accident.

After celebrating Wiley's birthday - he whipped out a small wrapped box - pearl earrings. Then produced another... a strand of pearls. I was so shocked - as evidenced by the pictures - thought you might like to see them. Needless to say, I love them. One of my dreams has been to wear pearls while riding my Harley. (now... if I could just get the Harley! ;o)

yes... I was thrilled. thanks, honey.

Santa Claus Came to the Castor's

An early Santa sighting occurred thanks to Kate and the "Friends of Suffield." We had a great time watching all the boys receive their gifts from Santa. It was especially fun to see Henry at age 20 months interact with him!











I love this video when Cole decides he wants what Henry is holding! ; )

First "Real" Snow of the Year

The first snow of the year is always exciting. Wiley shrieked when he found out he didn't have to go to school! Too bad we only had a couple of hours before the snow turned to freezing rain and then plain 'ole rain! yuk! Our neighbor came over to help us build a snowman. Then she went sledding with us. Lots of fun!

Old Friends Are the Best Friends...

Many of you may remember Storr. I started taking care of him when he was only 6 weeks old, that was 20 years ago last month. He and Kellen were best friends for many years. Just after he finished 1st grade, his family moved to Maine. His mother (my good friend, Liz,) returned each Halloween with Storr and Linnea, his sister. We would go Trick-or-Treating up and down Main Street. This tradition helped to cement a life-long friendship. Storr even accompanied Kellen to her Junior prom. He is now a junior at NYU and visited us this weekend. It's been awesome to watch him grow up into a wonderful young man.

We're on a hike around White's Pond at Sunrise Park. They're in the first grade here.



One of many Halloweens. Batman was ALWAYS a favorite of Storr's. Playing "Batman" was one of the few concessions Kellen would make when they played together. In honor of their shared love of Batman, they watched "Dark Knight" last night. ; )



I think they're about 3 in this picture.



After a trip to McDonald's. How cute are they!!?



Here they are - all grown up. 20 years old and still with many shared interests.

New Wedding Pics...

Here are a few more pictures from Robbie and Bekah's wedding.

Kaelyn, Bekah's niece, expected to carry a flower basket. She was a little upset that she didn't have one. Braeden - in typical fashion - strutted down the aisle.



Wiley and Liana (Bekah's niece) looked great as they made their entrance.



There was a little mix-up with the rings.



Mr. and Mrs.



Our family with Granny and Grandma.



All members of both families that were able to be at the wedding - celebrating!

Wedding...

I didn't take many pictures... but here are a couple.

Introduction of the wedding party:



I have to say that one of the sweetest moments of the day was during Robbie and Bekah's first dance. Braeden sat on the steps watching them and Bekah's niece joined him. They held hands and watched Robbie and Bekah dance. It was really adorable.

Weekend Warriors

Most of you know that Robbie and Bekah closed on their house last Friday afternoon. Well... it takes a village to make a house a home. So, I thought I would document the transformation.


At this point, Robbie was "supervising" the crew.




They found out pretty quickly that it's not much fun to paint ceilings - especially when they're that tall!



When the former owner was a smoker, painting everything is a necessity.



Here's Robbie in action - attaching the joists for the new ceiling in the dining room.



Kellen spent Saturday afternoon stripping wallpaper in the bathroom. The little boys mostly ran around getting into trouble - but they did manage to help out a little here and there.

More to come....

Braeden's 5th Birthday...

He wanted cupcakes this year because he thought he would get to have two that way!



Robb - holding the cupcakes with tongs so he didn't get the "mess" all over his fingers.


Wiley and Kellen added to his Playmobile "weapon" collection.



Day #2 of his birthday celebration - Robbie and Bekah gave him a "real" cowboy gun with caps. (I should have taken video - his reaction was awesome.)



He asked for a gun "with real bullets." Here he is - hiding under the table - actually scared to death when they were loading the ring-caps into the guns. Crazy kid!



Here's our little cowboy - ready for the range.

It's Official... he's a soccer player!

You know, it's tough being the younger brother. You have to wait SOOOOO long to get to play on a "real" team! Braeden has watched Wiley play for 2 years and now he finally gets his chance.

All I can say is... watch out kindergartner soccer players.



His favorite part of the practice was running.

Classic Braeden....

One morning recently, I glanced out the window only to see Braeden sitting underneath the tree chugging soda. Of course, he didn't ask me first - just helped himself to an old 2 liter bottle of Diet Coke from the "frarage" - (what we call the fridge in the garage.) I wondered what people thought as they drove down the street seeing this little kid drinking soda at 8 AM. Hmmm??

Celebrate America

Kellen and Braeden get ready for the evening.



Kellen's boss graciously let us have his table at a summer concert of the Hartford Symphony. We really had no idea what to expect but packed up a picnic and headed for Simsbury. Our first clue that we were VIP's was that our parking passes directed us right behind the stage. Then, we were escorted to our table by 2 nice ladies.

As you can see, we had wonderful seats.



Here's our table



The music was extraordinary and we loved being together. The only thing that could have made it better was if Robb could have been with us. We all missed him.

Robbie, Bekah and the boys get ready for food, fun and fireworks.



Ryan and Cameron (sorry it's a little blurry - the "auto-focus" was on the foreground.)



This is the only picture I took during the concert and it was during intermission. I felt obligated to abide by the "house rules."



Unfortunately, I didn't take any pictures of the fireworks (the orchestra was playing, so flash photography was out.) I did think it was funny when Braeden asked me, "Mommy, mommy, Where are they coming from?"

The evening was awesome. We were so appreciative to Kel's boss for the opportunity!