Back to School!

Every year on the first day of school, the Deluca girls have invited all of the neighborhood kids to a cute little party at their bus stop. It's a great tradition because eating powdered sugar doughnuts with your pals takes away those first day jitters.

As always, young children (and their parents) shed a few tears as they take their first trip to kindergarten. And this year I noticed that there were several kids missing and then I realized that they were off to their first day of high school. Scary because I remember the way each one of those kids looked when they were similar in age to my wee ones. Well, I guess mine aren't exactly wee ones anymore since Baxter is starting 3rd grade and Summer is now attending the middle school in fifth grade. (Whining ahead...) And get this...she didn't even care about a new outfit for back-to-school. She already knew what she was wearing and it didn't involve a shopping trip. WHAT?!? It breaks my heart I tell you!!

Ok, I can't even talk about that anymore, you can just go ahead and see for yourself how grown-up they both are...
The Mamarazzi!!
We had to take this group photo over about 5 times as more kids showed up. Baxter is at the far left and Summer is the second from the end on the right.
Be afraid...very afraid...it's the new face of Cujo!
Every time I turned around Baxter would have his mouth stuffed with those doughnuts.
The goodies...
Baxter with his traditional first day of school powdered sugar lips. This time with the new vampire teeth...
hugs and kisses as the bus door opens...
the line-up...
Bob, the best bus driver....EVER!!
Get some sleep while you can baby Thomas, because in 5 short years you'll be hopping on the bus too!
Waving good-bye. And hey...wait a minute...is that the world's biggest first grader stepping on to the bus?? Nope, that is Lauren Ober, reporter extraordinaire. She attended first grade all day...complete with story time, school lunch and a game of octopus tag. She stumbled off the bus at our house and the poor thing was so pooped that we had to fuel her back up on popcorn and soda to make sure she made it home to write her story. Click HERE for her story!!


next up...Chelsea and Matt's e-session!

xo

O Canada!

We just returned from a week of family fun in Mont Tremblant, Canada. It's in the Laurentian Mountains, north of Montreal, and about 3 1/2 hours driving for us. It was definitely one of our favorite vacations to date. Every day was packed full with outdoor activities: hiking, swimming, canoeing, mini-golfing, caramel apple eating, etc.

We stayed at a condo at the Wyndham Cap Tremblant and the kids were thrilled because there were two swimming pools within walking distance. One had a big slide, which they noted looked much bigger in the website's photo.
The lake view from the condos was so pretty. We really lucked out with amazing weather for all but one day.
Did I mention we were in the French-speaking region of Quebec? The kids enjoyed learning some words in a new language.
I don't think I've ever seen a bluer sky or puffier white clouds!
Yeti got to come along for his first and last big family vacation. Apparently a dog moved in near our condo one day while we were out and he and Yeti chatted up a storm almost the whole time we were away. I don't think the neighbors appreciated it much. A huge condo faux paw!
A little family photo on a hike above the village of Mont Tremblant. I finally figured out how to use the timer on my 5D. Doh!
My beautiful family!
I love this one of Summer. I put a little softening action by Kubota on it.
On our hike we came across a Ropes Course a.k.a. Acrobranche and we were all enthralled.
The mountains were covered in wildflowers.
Baxter was obsessed with wiggling his front tooth.
We finished up our hike by crossing a suspension bridge and Yeti didn't like it one bit!
After a long hike we got the ultimate treat...Caramel apples...yummy!!
We can thank a really nice passing tourist for this shot! Amazingly, it was well composed and in focus! I almost always toss them. Perhaps she was a photographer disguised as a tourist!
All signs lead to yum!
The village was so charming!
Did I mention how good the food was?...
....with some exceptions! What the heck is mock chicken meat loaf?!
The moon was beautiful.
Swimming for ten hours a day in goggles was not enough for aqua boy...he had to wear goggles in the bath tub...and walking to and from the pool too.
The next day we were all a bunch of Lugers!
Especially me!
Baxter rounds the final big corner!
Here is one of the last photos I took of Baxter with both of his front teeth.
That evening we did the family ropes course, a slightly tamer version of the one we saw the day before. It was still quite challenging, especially for a big chicken like me.
Go Baxter!
Summer had so much fun on the family course that she and Andy went on the adult course the next day. Andy said she was awesome! I don't have photos because I was busy taking Baxter swimming since he sadly didn't make the height requirement. My poor little guy!
On our last full day we went on a self-guided canoe trip down the Diable River in the The National Park. It was amazing!
(Oh, and did you notice something missing here??)
We stopped at this little sandy beach for a picnic and castle building.
Around every bend was another beautiful scene.





Tons o' Fun!!

Next up...Christine and Steve's wedding at the Shelburne Farm's Inn!!

A little behind...

Hello friends in blogging land!
I have soooo many amazing weddings and an e-session to show you, but you'll just have to wait very patiently, because our family is off for a little r + r. We are up at Mont Tremblant, Canada for the week.


p.s. for those of you who simply can not wait for some Jeffanda photos, head on over to the fabulous Carla Ten Eyck's blog OR the dynamic duo of Justin and Mary Marantz OR try Carla's kickin' right hand man, Mike Romano. You won't be disappointed!

Have a very happy week!!

xo

Big Fun on the 4th (& 3rd) !*

*warning...long post ahead....

Our family was invited to a really fun party on July 3rd at the home of Suzanne and Nordahl Brue. I met Suzanne when I photographed her for the book jacket of her fab new book The 8 Colors of Fitness and we were instant friends. (You can see the photo on her website's home page.) The Brue family is so nice and we met so many awesome people. When the sun set we had a great view of the fireworks on Lake Champlain.

Summer and our niece Camille, who is visiting from Michigan for the week.
Summer and Baxter conduct the waves...
The perfect party spot!
If you dig Bruegger's Bagels you can thank the guy on the right, Mr. Brue. Can you tell the guy on his left is his son?

Sweet light!





We had another perfect day for the fourth. I was so excited because it was the first time in several years that I didn't work for the paper. It was quite relaxing, almost too much, because in looking at my parade photos, they weren't too amazing this year. I was so lazy that I never changed my lens once, it was simply too much effort. In case any of you are wondering, I used a Canon wide angle 16-35 F2.8.

The Williston fire department forgot their truck this year. Considering the price of gas, I can't blame them.
Here's Steve Mease...hard at work for the Williston paper.
Yeti at his first parade!
Love the socks!
Jordan Silverman was hard at work photographing fuzzy dice for the Free Press on the back of our pal Lucas's cool car.


Candy!!
Go Ali!
I'm a big fan of girls who play trumpets!
The Williston Lawn Chair Brigade is no laughing matter.
Seriously.

bubbles.

We spent the rest of the afternoon at the Pasley's camp out in Colchester and it was as good as it gets!

Baxter collects skipping stones
Max prepares for a water adventure.
Yeti swam for the first time!

the golden girls
Camille
Sun kissed Summer
Forrest
My handsome hubby
The birthday girl, Patty!
a perfect way to end the day!


Next up...Luis and Jill's mountain top wedding!!

Exercise+Friends=Happy!

I promised myself that I would take more time for fun and exercise this summer. So I've been swimming and mountain biking as much as possible and I always return feeling so happy and refreshed. I've learned that I'm a social exerciser, so it really helps to meet up with friends.

Yesterday, Andy and I went out with pals Lea Davison and Michael Riddell to tear up the trails and we had a great time!



Have a Festive July 4th!!

Puppies, Papers, Ponies and Fishies....oh my!

A little family update...

Yeti just had his first birthday....already!! Here he is having a little romp in the yard recently....



Lucky wandered in for a little center stage time....


Summer's class had a little graduation ceremony for the kids going into 5th grade. She will be switching schools, so it's an exciting transition.
Summer and her amazing teacher Mrs. Desilets
Summer and a few chums
Baxter with his fabulous first and second grade teacher Miss Deforge. For the next two years he'll have Mrs. Desilets.

Summer started vacation with horse camp and I chaperoned a field trip to the University of Vermont's Morgan Horse Farm.
The foals were so adorable!

Morgans are so regal! This fellow was a little feisty...




Summer joined the local swim team's summer league. There are only a few photos from her first meet because the parents are put right to work! (Sound familiar Mom?)

the lighting wasn't stellar indoors, but I love this pre-race scene...
Baxter was gung-ho to join in the fun after watching the first meet, so he joined up a day later and raced the very next day! So far his best (and only stroke) is Baxstroke. But that's how Michael Phelps started at 7 too.;-)

Getting positioned on the blocks...
Having a word with the referee...
And he's off!...



Summer finished off her week of horse camp with a little show. It's always fun to watch (and take a few photos!)
Here's Summer with Little Girl...

Tina, the instructor at Windswept Farms, is awesome! And of course, that's Andy behind her...


Baxter is such a monkey!

Happy Father's Day!

Andy started his extra special day with a big bike ride, while the kids and I picked some garden flowers for the table and made him a yummy waffle breakfast.

It was a beautiful day, so we did a bunch of work on the garden and went out to dinner.

I hope all of you dads out there had a fun and relaxed day too!

(Tons of love and a big xo to my wonderful dads!!)

Girls (and a boy) on the Run

Ok, I am definitely blogging out of order here, but I was so proud of my kids yesterday that I wanted to share right away...

For the second year, my daughter, Summer, participated in the Girls on the Run . Their website states: "The program combines training for a 3.1 mile run/walk event with self-esteem enhancing, uplifting workouts. The goals of the program are to encourage positive emotional, social, mental, spiritual and physical development." It's an all around great program, with amazing people and I'm so happy that Summer has been involved.

This year, the schedule fell on the evening the kids had piano lessons, so Baxter joined the group on Thursdays. They enjoyed having him around and thought of him as their team mascot. He told me, "It's fun to run and also I like running faster than most of the girls." That's Baxter for you!

The program prepared them for a 5km event, which was yesterday, in Burlington. Both years I have been completely blown away by the spirit and enthusiasm of this event!

I photographed the event for the Free Press, but took lots of pics for my family too...

Hannah, Rebecca and Summer!
One of my BFFs, Lucy and her sweet daughter, Madison
girls having fun...
...staying cool...
... and signing shirts.
Laura and Evangeline
Baxter cools his head
the loves of my life!!
peace
a big smile from Summer
a few of Summer's teammates...
and more of the team!
Waitsfield photographer, Corey Hendrickson, was busy capturing the action for the GOTR
pre-race stretching
fun shadows
the line-up
and they're off!
I was shocked and delighted to see Baxter finishing in 8th place overall! I almost didn't recognize him because his little face was so red and he was a bit dazed as he crossed the line. The 90+ degree weather was a huge challenge to everyone who participated...even to those of us who didn't!
I worked on getting Baxter rehydrated right away
then it was on to the ice cream!
I almost missed Summer! It's tough being a working mom!
A little smile
I think this is my fav of the day

Poor Yeti...

he simply doesn't understand that he is actually a dog.



I hope your weekend was a happy one!

xo

NYC---the final chapter

On Saturday morning we were rushing to grab breakfast in D.C. and bumped into Vermont's own Howard Dean. Such a small world!
Then we sped off to NYC for Summer's super secret birthday surprise.
We snoozed at the very stylish Le Parker Meridien and after recovering from the trauma of losing Summer somewhere in the hotel the next morning, we played tourist for the afternoon.

Guess where we went first...

While other tourists waited in the never-ending line to get up in the Lady Liberty...we had fun in the gift shop!

silly kids!

How sweet are these moments of Baxter playing with Andy on the ferry? You've gotta love the 70-200mm zoom lens!!



Sweetheart Summer
My beautiful boy
My handsome hubby
Our CELEBRITY sighting at The Coffee Shop in Union Square.
Our last, and the kid's favorite stop of the day was to Dylan's Candy Bar. Nothing like a good candy fix before a long car ride!

stairway to heaven...
All you need is...

D.C. and Beyond---chapter 2

We had a terrific visit with Andy's Uncle Martin and Aunt JoAnn at their new home in Richmond, VA.
Later that day we traveled a few miles down the road to Cousin Hope's house and hung out with her beautiful family. We had a great visit and a memorable meal of Uncle Martin's famous fried chicken.
Mason
Ryan
Ryan with his Grandpa Martin
Our little wiseguy by the neighbor's mailbox.
Thursday morning we headed for George Washington's estate, Mount Vernon. My mom said the restaurant was not to be missed, so we had lunch there. Summer was thrilled to have sparkling cider and Baxter shows off his "beer".
The line to get into George's home was a mile long, so we opted to run around the grounds instead. There were too many photo ops!
Our naughty monkey at work...

a moment of peace
An Eastern Tiger Swallowtail
Our little photographer tinkers with the camera settings...
Romping in The President's backyard.
Later on we had a super fun visit with Andy's cousin Jimmy and his wife, Kimmy, in Chantilly, VA. Here are his darling girls: Nina and Tery.
Jimmy and his beauties.
That evening we shared some great times with Andy's cousin Susan and her husband, Tom, in Annandale, VA.
Early Friday morning we were back in D.C. for a tour of The Capitol.
The plaster model of The Statue of Freedom is in the basement of the Russell Senate building. The bronzed version graces the top of The Capitol.
Our wonderful tour guide was an intern from Senator Leahy's office, Patrick, from South Burlington, Vermont.
We rejoined the Pasley family for our tour. The rotunda was amazing!!
One little segment of the rotunda ceiling.
A tasty tour tidbit.
The office of Ted Kennedy.
Segways: cool or dorky? you decide.
A brief visit to the National Air + Space Museum. One small step for man...one small tickle for Baxter's neck!
Then it was off to the National Zoo for the afternoon.
I adore this photo Andy took of the flamingo feet.
One cool looking bird.
This peacock did a very impressive dance to score a cute peahen. He just called to ask if we could photograph their wedding in 2009.
My baby panda, what big teeth you have...
These animals should be caged!
This is kind of sad...
But this is kind of funny...
After dinner, we decided to take a walking tour of the monuments. It was one of our very favorite memories of the whole trip! Here is the Washington Memorial. (These are all hand-held because there was no way I was lugging around a tripod!)
Playing with the lights.
The World War II Memorial.
And finally...the Lincoln Memorial. We watched a fireworks show from the steps and it was quite memorable.

Happy Mother's Day!

We wish all you mothers out there a very Happy Mother's Day!

I had a great day. The kids started off by making me delicious blueberry pancakes and a fantastic fruit salad with mango, papaya, pineapple, peaches, and strawberries! Yum! Then we took a wonderfully sunny but epic five hour hike up Camel's Hump...encountering SNOW (on the ground, not falling) about two/thirds of the way up!

Here is a tulip from George Washington's gardens for you to enjoy!

D.C.--- chapter 1

Wedding season officially started for us yesterday, so the blog is going to get tons of love again....hooray!
So I'd better get a start on our vacation photos right away...

We started off our vacation with a coffee social with the fantastic Senator Patrick Leahy and his super-star staff at his office in the Russell Senate building. It was social indeed as many Vermont families on spring break were invited. We met up with our favorite pals, the Pasleys, and spent the remainder of the day visiting the sites with them.

Enjoy!...

we stopped for a couple of snapshots on our way to the senator's office at the US Capitol Building...

Senator Leahy greeted the group and told us some great stories. I especially enjoyed hearing about his role in the upcoming Bat Man movie, The Dark Knight.
Andy captured some moments of my visit with the senator. He gave me a tour of some of his photographs, as he is a very accomplished photographer. He also shared about his family and friendship with Bono. I learned that Bono likes to sit at his desk and stare at a photograph that the senator took of a refugee. Bono says the man is pleading with his eyes...don't forget about me. Out of respect, I didn't take a photo of the photo, so you will have to drop by the senator's office to see it.
The senator arranged for each of the families who visited to have a photo taken with him. Here the kids chat with one of Senator Leahy's awesome staff members, Jennifer, while waiting their turn.

Senator Leahy at his desk.
This is my favorite.
Stop number two was the U.S. Supreme Court. The line was longer than a fun new Disney World ride and there was not a "fast pass" to be found.

The kids kept themselves entertained, and I stayed entertained by taking photos of their silliness. After an epic wait, we were able to sit in on an actual session for a grand total of 5 minutes. Andy saw Antonin Scalia and Ruth Bader Ginsburg speak and I only heard them because I was sitting behind tall people. I'm a big fan of stadium seating!


A view of The Capitol Building from the U.S. Supreme Court.
Our next stop was the National Museum of the American Indian. The building was one of the most interesting I've seen. I loved the exhibits inside too. And the unexpected perk was the lunch from their cafe. Andy and I shared a sample platter of Native American cuisine and it was one of the yummiest things ever!
A colorful piece from the Day of the Dead exhibit.
Gold!
This is a Native American wedding dress. CLICK HERE to see the online exhibition!
Max in fine form...
The kids found this sweet family just outside the museum...
Following the urban wild kingdom sighting, it was on to the U.S. Botanic Garden.
St. Patty...

Our final tourist stop for the day was Summer's favorite...The Library of Congress. Summer told us that the library houses over 30 million books. Funny because the only books I remember seeing were from Thomas Jefferson's collection. Where do they hide all of those books?!
Andy was admiring the amazing ceilings!! Do you see any books?

lovely dogwood blossoms



more to come....

Perfect Ten!

Our family just returned from our big road trip to DC and NYC and I have TONS to share from our fun adventures; however, the photos are going to be a little out of order because the most amazing event happened yesterday that I am so excited to tell you about!....

Our beautiful, sweet, smart, silly, precious and precocious daughter, Summer, turned ten years old!!! We are officially in the double digits now. It's scary how fast that happened. Seriously.

(Just a warning to all of you parents of very young children or parents-to-be...it is true what everyone is telling you...they grow up too quickly. So enjoy every amazing moment!)

So how did we celebrate?? I surprised Summer with an afternoon at the American Girl store on Fifth Avenue in NYC on Saturday. We started off with a show, then had reservations at the cute-as-a-button cafe and ended with some shopping. We walked out with a bag that was so big that Baxter could have fit inside. (I should have snapped a photo!)

Anyway, enjoy the photos from our sweet + cozy little birthday party...


too many choices...


this darling little box was filled with fun little questions we could ask each other during dinner...


who wouldn't love a skewer of fun shaped fruits?
Summer spies the waiters lighting the candles...
she was going to kill me...

luckily she didn't blow them all out on the first try, because I can't afford a pony!
Julie gets some peppermint ice cream too...
it was an extra special day!!!

Citius, Altius, Fortius…

I just learned that the English translation for the above words are...Swifter, Higher, Stronger. If you knew that AND you knew that they were the Olympic motto you are much smarter than I am. I didn’t take Latin and I’m ok with that because I have a smart husband who did, so he can easily translate for me.

So our kids recently participated in the Greek Olympics at their school. The games culminated the students’ ancient culture studies. It has been a tradition in their class for at least twenty years and is held every Olympiad.

I was photographing the event for the Free Press, but I snapped up some photos of our kids as well. I adore school events!!

Our family is off on a road trip to Washington D.C. for the week starting Monday. On Tuesday morning we will be drinking coffee and eating donuts with my hero, Senator Patrick Leahy. I can’t wait!!

We’ll be checking our emails periodically if you need to reach us.

Have a great week!

xo

Baxter's teacher, Miss DeForge, reminds him that as Zeus, he must have a loud and powerful voice.
He made a very fine Zeus!
Kindergartners wait for the games to begin...
The classes enter the stadium, aka the gym...
The school Principal, Mr. Terko, reads the Olympic oath...
The athletes agree to the oath...
Summer (in the center) had a big job during the games to help the kindergartners with their ribbon dance. She was a champion!
Allyson competes in the long jump...
It is difficult to focus when there are little girls to bug...
Brigitte announces the events on her trumpet...
Thumb wrestling is one of the lesser known Olympic sports...
Baxter competes in the marathon...Amazing after all those miles he can still smile...
A musical interlude...
Summer and Jackson compete in the chariot races...
I spied lovely Summer...

The fabulous Mrs. LaFlamme participated in her last Olympic games, as she will be retiring in June after about forty years of teaching. It won't be the same without her amazing spirit!!
Baxter and Summer with Mrs. LaFlamme, the best kindergarten teacher EVER!!

Happy Spring !?!

When I think of spring I think of daffodils and green grass. I don't think of snow boots, winter parkas and frozen fingers. But living in Vermont, that is our reality. Love it or leave it. So when Easter morning arrives, we don't pout about it, we just don our winter gear, do a quick egg hunt and run inside to thaw out and eat yummy food. The funny thing is, my kids didn't grow up with the spring memories that I did, so they don't really know any other way.
I hope you had a happy Easter day!

Our family egg hunt...



Baxter is thinking...all right already, can we go inside and eat jelly beans now?

Later in the morning, our friends came over and we had a second egg hunt...

Yeti loved the hunt!



Sugar and spice and everything nice...
and you know the rest...

Summer caught in the act of sneaking goodies...