Christmas Eve.

We went to church at Cascade, had dinner at our house, then opened gifts the rest of the night.  As always, Jodi got everything she wanted, including timer switches for the bathroom fans, a Sony PS3 "Move" controller (with sports games!), and a bathroom scale.  Yes, someone sure is sweet on her!!  (She also got a year-long subscription to "People" magazine, and some UGG boots.)

Connor got a life-size head-shot of his uncle, which borders on creepy but was actually one of C-man's favorite items.  Evie isn't really sure what she got, but she sure had fun!  Merry Christmas!!

Evie's Birthday Party!

Yes, it's also Christmas Eve, but we had a little party for Evie in the afternoon.  Family, friends, gifts, etc. and with Christmas Eve to follow!  She had quite a day, and is a wonderful, sweet two-year-old now.

Heading Home.

Every trip out there is too short, but that's a topic for another time.  I had a great weekend and came home to celebrate Thanksgiving with my more "immediate" family!

This is the Thanksgiving dinner I "missed"; that's my uncle, who is totally normal.

Founder's Landing.

This is the view from one of the beaches where we used to play as kids.

Our Street.

This is the end of Elizabeth Lane, our little slice of heaven.

Pipe's Cove.

I am still finding new "spots" that I've seen from the water plenty of times, but never driven too.  This is Pipe's Cove, which is just past Port of Egypt, between Southold and Greenport.

 Trying out some new waterproof shoes!

LI: Quick Trip.

My Grandmother's birthday is just before Thanksgiving (11/24), and since we no longer go as a family at Christmas, my brother and I went out again this year -- me, just for a long weekend, but he stayed a while.  I flew since it was a quick trip and I was alone, and that brought back a lot of memories too, since I went through Philly and MacArthur -- and nice views of Long Island on arrival and departure.  This is Greenport, and our usual visit to Crabby's.

This is "Snake Oiler", a little present for my little man!

The bar is closed this time of year.

Connor's Birthday!

We have to separate, at least as much as possible, our children's birthdays from the holidays on which they fall (for our next child I'm shooting for Independence Day!).  This year at least Trick-Or-Treating was Saturday night, so Connor's birthday party was "on schedule" on Sunday afternoon.  At the party we had lots of family and presents!  His favorite item was an 19" remote control Mach 5 race car, given by an incredibly generous benefactor, but of course there are no photos of it.  Perhaps in the spring...

That's a glimpse of the box the RC Mach 5 came in! 

Tired out after a long day!  Such a simple item as a glow stick was one of his favorites.

Halloween!

Connor's pre-school had a little party on Friday, then Trick-or-Treating in our neighborhood was Saturday night.  I sometimes wondered if 33 homes was enough "selection" for the kids, but at this point even Connor only hits maybe 15 houses, and Evie I'm still carrying around, so...

It was a great time, and while Connor is now an "old pro", Evie has really started getting the hang of it.  She's so sweet to watch, while Connor is more brave and adventurous now.  Connor's costume was "Racer X", who is Speed Racer's (unknown to him) long lost brother and one of the heroes of the Speed Racer series (long-time readers may recall that last year he went as Speed himself).  Evie was a Princess, which was apropos since she's our little princess every day.

Random Fall Photos

Just like it sounds, folks...  here ya go!

Our neighbors grow pumpkins all summer, and then throw a great fall harvest party for the whole neighborhood; it's a great event!

Connor is right at home in trees, because he's a monkey.

Happy Birthday Jodi!  I think we went to dinner at Carrabba's as well, but perhaps that doesn't need a photo.