Winter 2024

It's been such an exciting winter, and now we are all very ready for spring! Marcus is having a great year, loving physics, joining the school track team, and loving that frisbee started back up again. He finished another season of volunteering with YES and skiing as much as he could on weekends, and he is a proud Y teen member, mostly working on his ping pong and occasionally his squash. Helen is loving everything she does, and just turned 8. Samantha is artistic and independent as ever, starting Saturday classes at Mass Art. Highlights of the winter follow.

Girl Scout cookie sales:

Girl Scout February break trip to NYC:

Some of Samantha's artistic endeavors:

Pottery from our December parent/child class, all glazed and finished:

Snow! There hasn't been much, but there was a bit:

Reading before school one day, and playing before activities on a weekend day:

Ice skating lessons with friends, and then freeskate afterwards. Helen is getting really great, and Robert's teacher was also pleased with his progress and his dedication.

My pancake chef: (these are Korean filled pancakes)

Fashion at the MFA exhibit, with crafting:

Boston Children's Chorus performance in Symphony Hall:

Stopping for a "kids coffee" (misagaru latte) one evening:

Friends, and birthday parties:

More friends, and babies who grow up too fast:

Pop-pop's birthday (Groundhog Day!):

Heading to an orchestra concert with a friend one day, and a chorus concert with a friend another day:

Biking to chorus and dance on mild Saturdays:

Urban life = carrying weird things on the subway (heading in one Monday morning with Helen's violin plus "Heavy Mary," my babywearing demo doll, for a coworker's baby shower):

Evil Dead THE MUSICAL with friends at the BCA. We opted not to sit in the splash zone and were pleased with our choices:

Guest speakers and co-teachers:

Free tickets for faculty at a hockey game, and Marcus getting Helen a free (giant) tee shirt:

Making Valentines Day cards for classmates:

Seeing "Annie" with friends:

Making Valentines Day cookies:

Celebrating Lunar New Year:

Going to a Taylor Swift party (Sean paid close attention to the music and filled out the girls' BINGO cards so they could get prizes, while they did crafts and I waited in line for face painting):

Helen getting to be an only child for a day, with Marcus away with friends and Samantha with the Girl Scouts--lots of downtown fun, including the Lunar New Year parade, a giant slide in the Seaport, games at the Capital One Cafe, and some funky "Winteractive" public art:

Skiing in Colorado for Robert and Marcus--skiing with cousins, and also running into old friends:

Kids Arts during school vacation week:

More free hockey tickets, this time BU women vs. UConn at Walter Brown. The girls now always wear their Elsa cloaks:

African American meeting house downtown for a history-at-home day, and pho for dinner afterward:

2nd grade field trip to the MFA:

Biking with my girls:

A fantastic visit from the California cousins! We adored seeing Mia, Enzo, and Cooper, and we loved lunch at Legal on the Harborside to celebrate my parents (having missed their 60th anniversary and my mother's 80th birthday in the pandemic):

We started the weekend off with a zoo trip, timed with an orchid exhibit, and Enzo regaled us with facts about anteaters (apparently one of his favorite animals):

A guess-whose-poop-this-is activity. Marcus did excellently. Plus a birthday card for the lion:

Sunday we went downtown for a fun walk around the North End, some pastries, some Paul Revere, a playground, and the Boston Public Market:

Sunday night everyone was back at our place. It was an amazing weekend of family and fun.

2nd grade field trip to the Museum of Science (where Stella's dad lost Malachi):

Just some regular times with Pop-pop (going out for Indian food here):

2nd grade field trip to Tufts Medical Center:

Commuting around the city:

Redoing the girls' rooms--Samantha moved upstairs to the former art room/play room, and Helen got a room of her own:

And Marcus got a haircut:

Helen's Harry Potter birthday party was a big hit with everyone, including guests who remembered Samantha's "pig" pigs in the blanket from last year and were excited to see what she'd come up with this year (mandrake baby pigs in the blanket was the answer). There were also dragon eggs and house-reveal cupcakes, flying snitch cake truffles, Harry's birthday cake from Hagrid, and Harry-Potter activities, too: herbology class (decorating pots for and then planting succulents) and potions class (mixing up the perfect snack mix in a jar).