Nick's Black Belt Photo Session

Today Nick went and had his black belt pictures taken. Here are the pictures the photographer took. She did a great job! The "thinker" was his candid reaction when she asked him to think of which karate moves he could do for the camera! I can't believe she caught his look!

Of course I can't seem to get them to work as as slide show here! Ugh this blog makes me a crazy. Here are a few of the best...

Christmas in New York City

We are staying home for Christmas but wanted to do something memorable for the kids this holiday season.  We took a whirlwind trip to the big apple to see the Rockefeller Christmas Tree and Santa at Macy's!  What a great trip and we saw so many things and were there less than 24 hours!!  We wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and hope you are making special memories of your own. All of us are so thankful for all of our blessings.

Black Belt Extravaganza

Here are a few pictures from Black Belt Extravaganza.  Nick is so happy to finally have his black belt in hand.  We are so proud of you Nick!

Sensei Nick

Woo hoo!  He did it.  Nick graduated from black belt testing last night with Honors.  Not only did he do great on showing the senseis that he knows his stuff but he also volunteered for extra credit every chance he got!  One of the instructors recognized this and recommended he receive the "with honors" designation.  We are so proud of him. Congratulations Nick!

Halloween 2012

Halloween was a few days late this year thanks to Hurricane Sandy!  Thankfully we weathered the storm without any issues but so many people along the coast of NJ & NY were not so fortunate.  The NJ governor officially made today the observance of Halloween and trick or treating statewide.  So it's November 5th and the kids are out trick or treating.  Here are some pics of the kids before they left.  Kelsey's night was cut short as she is supposed to be resting after a head injury a week and a half ago.  She still has a headache and is still out of school.  Our friends Jodi, Charlie & Emma and Eric & Victoria joined us for pizza dinner and then pictures.  Charlie stayed with me since it was only 40 degrees here.

Rob's Bar

The basement remodel is almost finished.  We just need to move the dresser out of the bar (but it's still full of craft stuff) and we'll be ready for a grand opening!  Rob did an amazing job building and staining the bar and I did all the painting.  Everyone had a hand in picking out the decorations.

Baseball

After Punkin Chunkin Nick had another baseball game.  Kelsey was trying to capture the perfect moment on film and she caught several cute pictures of Nick and our friends Maddie & Bryan.  Nick is improving so much this year with his baseball skills.  It is sad his last game is Friday.