SLEDDING!!!!!!!!!!!

Chris here. Helen was so tired after posting the Halloween pics that she decided to post the sledding pics another day. She'd been up since 4:30am, so I understood. But later, I had a little burst of energy and asked if she wouldn't mind if I posted them. Her answer, "Wha? uh...Wha? Fine, yeah, whatever! Helen neeeeeeed sleeeeep! You goooo nowww! Mmmmmm sleeeeeeeeeep..." And her head disappeared into her pillow.

I just want you all to know that I risked life and limb in order to bring you these great pics. Enjoy.

OUR FRONT YARD


Hey. What's different here?


Clara says, "Yay snow! I'm a angel!"



And Roses says, "Hey! I wanna be a angel too!"

Ladies and gentleman, what you have just witnessed is an example of an ordinary day at Connelly Manor. Substitute "a angel" with anything you like, repeat 2,000 times in a 12 hour period and...you will know my madness.


Clara's First Sled Ride



ooooh crashed!

Clara helps Roses with her first sled ride




Since it snowed again today, we will probably make a snowman tomorrow. I'll make sure to take pictures and post them as soon as possible. The cold is amazing. At this point it isn't a problem. It just takes a while to get all those layers on. Right now it is almost 2am and it is 25 degrees outside. Actually a pretty warm night. This time yesterday was in the low teens. It really sounds worse than it is. I walk home from school often. It can be a bit slippery, but the cold feels good. OH! And the stars are incredible! We miss you all and hope you'll leave us lots of little notes. I can't tell you how it brightens our day.

Take care. We love you. Be sure to stay tuned for the next action packed installment of...WEST MEETS EAST!

The Long Awaited Halloween Pics!! (and it's only december 7!)

Okay, before the costumes, I just wanted to show mom how I finally got the girls to fall asleep after Gramma and Papa left on Oct 27. The girls had a rough night. The perfume on the shirts Gramma left behind helped them feel better. This trick only worked a few days, but it eased the transition, and I thought it might make G&P feel better too, knowing a part of them was still with the girls.





Here are the Halloween Pumpkins!!


Clara drew the face she wanted on her pumpkin and I carved it. I chose the Cheshire cat for Roses because these are tiny little pumpkins and the pattern was very detailed and I love to make simple things overly complicated. I get to squint and curse and use super glue and strait pins; then, voila!, a tiny cheshire cat where once there was solid little pumpkin.


ClaraAlice in Wonderland!


Meow! Roses says, "Oh, we're all mad here..."


Hey, wait! Isn't there a ME in meow?


That's right! Me me meow!


We tried the trick-or-treating, but Clara preferred to sit daintily and hand out candy. She's a very generous (wonderful!) girl. She was also afraid of all the costumes and liked the safety of her own porch. Oh well, her dress looks beautiful like that!


Clara shared her bubble gum flavored lollipop since Roses was having trouble tasting her root beer lollipop.


Roses tells Christina, "Here, maybe you can get this thing to work. It just tastes like wrapper to me."




This strange cloud blurred most of the pictures we took that night. It was really weird, it only showed up in the photos between 7:06 and 7:16 PM. It's never happened before or since... It's even more spooky when you see the face. It's like it's looking over Rosemary's shoulder.


Roses pounces like a cat! Mrow!! I got you!


All clean and ready for bed!
This is how most of my posts end because by the time I'm done I can hardly keep my eyes open. I hope my typing is coherent!
So much love! We miss you all. Keep checking the blog. The girls went sledding for the first time and I will be posting those pics soon...ish.
Good night!

Our First Snowfall!!!

It was like waking on Christmas morning. It was a wonderful surprise to see our first snowfall in Massachusetts.


I called the girls to the windows and spent the morning working overtime to get us all fed and ready to enjoy it together. I had to work before noon, so there wasn't much time!


The first thing I wanted to do was get some pictures for the blog. In my mind this is still some freak of nature thing that could stop at any moment. So I took some photos through the window. But that wasn't quite capturing it, so...


...I rushed outside in my pajamas (almost forgot to cover my bare feet!) and took more pictures. Snow on the back of your neck is cold.


Wow. Our first snow. Okay, time to get back inside and layer up! The neighbors seemed to think there was something either amusing or startling (maybe just dimwitted?) about the thinly clad lady with a camera in the early morning snow.


Fortunately, it didn't stop snowing before we were all fed and dressed. (ahem, 2 hours later)


The pictures of the girls are interesting, because Clara was really very excited and happy.


And Roses was very cautious and a little worried at first. "It didn't looked like this yesterday. Where did everything go?"
By the way, I love it when she smiles like this. Too cute! It's her daddy's smile, for sure.


It was so fluffy! When we lived in Riverside they had a "snow day" in the park; they shaved a giant block of ice and blew it onto the ground to form a hill of solid ice. The "snowballs" we managed to chisel free were as solid as paper weights. This snowball here I scooped up with the tips of my fingers.

Snow pictures!








She says, "Set...GO!"


The park!


Our car! The snowfall reminds me of ash from a wild fire, but there's a bit more of it... and it seems to be colder. Oh, and much easier on the lungs.






Look at her rope! Clara loved the way our apple tree looked with it's new make over.


Roses is loving the crunchy footsteps.

Okay, this is what it looked like yesterday. It was actually a little colder before the snow. The wind can go through layers.







Good day/night everybody! It's 2AM for me, and I have to work later. I promise I will get right to the Halloween pictures after Thanksgiving. Happy Birthdays Mom & Dad! We Love you Miss You!

OCTOBER!!! New England Style.

Hello, it's October in New England! Oh my god. It's October. And we're in gorgeous New England.
Seems we brought a bit of heat with us. No matter. Within the next week the Highs are going to be in the 50s. And it's gonna rain! Mom, Dad, I hope you pack some warm clothes for your visit!



Clara swinging at the big girl park.



Roses swinging in the baby swing. Because she's still my baby. =)



Roses Poses



Rosemary contemplating the change of seasons? Or waiting for me to look away so she can eat the tiny apple hiding in her fingers? Only she knows for sure.



Clara Monkey



Our neighbor's apple tree. This is from our front bedroom (office) window.



Chris takes a walk to the grocery store once or twice a week. This is New England in early Autumn. Enjoy!!!











There are a lot more pictures like these... A LOT.



Sunset Roses



Sunday at the Black Sheep. We've just walked downtown for brunch. That's a gypsy swing band playin. Good times.



We found the sneaky toddler hiding in the kitchen...



getting into the spinach.



"I Yam what I Yam!"



Clara played outside and was singing an improvised ode to froggies and bees. Most of her songs involve counting lately.



Chris reading to the girls before bed.



The girls know this book -and all of Chris's character voices- by heart. "Chug chug chug, puff puff puff, ding-dong, ding-dong. The little train rumbled down the tracks..." Hmmm. Looks like I know it by heart too.



Happy Girl. Always smiling. Always looking like she's about to say something sarcastic.



My precious girls.



Clara loves loves loves story time. Good night!