Snow Tubing 2009

Wonderful Christmas Part 3

December 25, 2009

midday at the Mike Wills' house

...Uncle Bobby and Hannah making friendship bracelets....

...i guess they're friends now...

...all Wills boys going to a Caps game in January...woohoo...

December 26, 2009

McGee Family Christmas party at Steve and Sandi's

...Santa has a present for Francis...

...and Kate...

...and Jake...

...and did you know you're NEVER too old to hug Santa!?...

...these can only be classified as Christmas smiles...

MERRY CHRISTMAS from our home to yours!!

Wonderful Christmas Part 2

...psyched about Xbox Live...

...from jake with love, dad...
...from kate with love, dad...

...look at my brother's cool new hat...

...thank you, robert and kim, we miss you...

...yes! I got a friend for Kit and her name is Katelyn...

...yes! I got Call of Duty MW2...

...yes! I got an Ipod Touch...

...yes! smiles abound...

What a Wonderful Christmas!

December 24, 2009

Heading to 4pm Mass at St. Ignatius

I know I'm biased...but are they cute or what?!

New pjs (delivered by the elves) are waiting for kids upon arriving home!

Busy making sure everything is perfect for Santa.

December 25, 2009

Santa spoils the Wills kids.

OH SNOW!

Over the past two days we've had a lot going on for a family stuck inside! We got TWENTY-TWO inches of snow on Saturday...Jake and Kate got out in the blizzard and had a great time...here's a little taste of their fun...

not as much fun for Connor...he was stuck inside getting over a double ear infection and a terrible cough that needed round the clock neb treatments...

Saturday night, I started to feel bad and went to bed thinking a little rest might help...not so much...spent most of Sunday in bed with a sore throat like you wouldn't believe and a temp of 104! I don't remember being that sick...luckily I have a rockin' doctor and she called in a prescription...pretty sure it was strep, but it doesn't matter because the antibiotic seems to be doing the trick! The kids have been great...and my parents stepped in to help...this is not the easiest time for Bob to stay home...5 days before Christmas is a pretty busy time for a guy in retail!! The blizzard hurt business, but that doesn't stop Bob from having a great attitude...he's going to make back every last dime they lost on Saturday...he's that good.

Connor finally got outside today, but I was still in bed and didn't get any pictures...Jake stayed in 'cause his throat hurts (oh dear)...but my Mom grabbed a few photos of Kate...

Hope your family has enjoyed the snow...stay healthy and stay warm!

What to do when there's a BLIZZARD outside?

make like a reindeer, I guess...

enjoy the snow

this little reindeer plans to!

Do you REALLY know this kid?

When people think of Jake Wills...they think...cute, smart, athletic, funny, kind of wild...

but not many people know how big his heart is...or have the priviledge of seeing it often...

Well...I'm one of the truly blessed ones who gets to see and feel his heart every day. Today, as we snuggled by the computer to see a message that Santa sent him, he leaned into me, kissed me and said, "Thanks for having me, Mom."

That's my Jake Wills.

Our little princess loves the stage...

Last night was Kate's winter dance recital...she had a large fan group there...thank you to Grandma, Granny, Pop, Auntie Enid, Hannah, Jessie, Connor, Jake, and of course, her Dad and I! She was in three dances and let me tell you...she shines on stage! Enjoy the photos!

******

******

******

******

******

Traditions...and BIG birthdays!!

So...it has become an annual Christmas tradition that three generations of Anastasis get together to bake cookies...and we all look forward to it. We spent a very snowy Saturday baking, listening Christmas music, and tasting our hard work...here's a peek at our fun!

We got about four inches of snow that Saturday, and as soon as the kids found free time, they were out in it...sledding, building forts, having snowball fights...I was taking advantage of an empty house and so I decorated for Christmas...hence the lack of pictures from outside...I did happen to see a cute snow bunny in the backyard and I got her picture...

So, guess what?!...

Bob and Wanda "turned 140" this past week...they celebrated as any two 70 year olds should...dinner at Red Robin with their grandkids! :-)

Are they the best grandparents ever, or what?

And last, but not least...it's not Christmas in the Villages of Urbana without a visit from our local fire department, with Santa on the fire truck. We gathered out front last night and everyone was very excited to see Santa...it won't be long now!

Our Thanksgiving Weekend Trip to the Beach

This trip is one we all look forward to every year...gets us in the Christmas spirit and ready for the month ahead...enjoy!!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!

From our home to yours...

We hope this finds you...

healthy...

happy...

and with your loved ones this Thanksgiving.

Visit my classroom blog to see what makes me happy...

http://wheretheresawillstheresaway.blogspot.com/

and by the way...if you're reading this...I'm thankful for YOU.

Family

Now I've got my sister hooked on Animoto...check out her work!!

Can't Get Enough of Robert and Kim?

Can't Get Enough of Connor Wills?

Can't Get Enough of Jake Wills?

Can't Get Enough of Kate Wills?

Jakey Bakey plays soccer...

So all day two Saturdays ago was spent on soccer fields...Connor had four games (unfortunately his team lost all four) and Jake had three...two totally different places in the county...and Bob had to work all day...so Grandma, being the wonderful grandmother she is, was with Connor most of the day, and I was with Jake. Jake's team tied two and won one. One of the games was exceptionally exciting. Jake played first half in goal and the other team scored two goals during that time. For the second half Jake was on the field. About 5 minutes into the second half he scored a goal, so now it was 2-1. With about 5 minutes left in the game, the other team had a hand ball in the penalty box, so we had the opportunity to kick a penalty kick...Jake took the kick and tied the game...it was VERY exciting!


ANYHOO...that record of 1-0-2 put them in the U10 Division 1 finals!! I wish I had pictures...but don't you know it...the game was DURING Kate's birthday party...neither Bob, nor I, could miss her party...so we sent the next best thing...Jake's Godmother, Gwen. Gwen gave us play by play action via texts and calls. At the of the game they were tied 0-0...they then played two overtimes...still 0-0, and so...they went to penalty kicks...ahhhhhh!! We listened to those (cause at this point the party was ending) by cell phone...and Jake's team lost in penalty kicks. Both Jake and another kid on his team put balls in the upper corners, but they had an amazing goalie, and he saved them both....the other team didn't miss ONE!


Jake was very proud to be carrying home the FCYSL second place trophy...and we were sorry to have missed it, but really glad he had Gwen.


So that's the story of Jake's tournament...believe it or not, basketball has already started, so we're switching gears...never a dull moment!

Coming soon...Thanksgiving and our annual trip to the beach!!

Just six years ago...

Just six years ago...
my family lived in Germantown and we thought driving to Frederick was a day trip.

Just six years ago...
I was a stay-at-home-Mom.

Just six years ago...
I was the mother of three boys.

My goodness how much can change in six years.

This past weekend we celebrated one of the best things to happen to us in six years time...
Kate Wills.

She had twenty of her nearest and dearest friends to celebrate in a way only fitting of our girl...
a "Hannah Montana", sing 'til your throat hurts, dance 'til your tired, hoe down, throw down party!
I will let the pictures tell the rest of the story...let's just say that Bob and I haven't seen her that happy, maybe ever.

*****

*****

*****

*****

*****

*****


And suffice it to say...even 12 year olds can rock out at a 6 year olds' birthday party!

Just six years ago...the word blog didn't even exist.

Change is good.

Next post...the story of Jake's soccer tournament!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

From a kindergarten party with a girl named Fancy Nancy...

to friends named Cooper...

to the final soccer game for our favorite almost six year old...

to playing soccer with friends...

to having your Dad as your coach...

to thinking you're the very best out there...

to a great trip to the pumpkin patch...

to meeting a friend named "Dakota"...

to zillions of excellent pumpkins...

to finding the very best one...

to hanging with Grandma...

to purchasing our picks...

to gorgeous nine year olds...

and gorgeous five year olds...

to a night full of friends and fun...

to WAY too much candy...

...we had a very Happy Halloween!