Top 10 of 2011

We present to you:

Our Top 10 moments of 2011

10:  Ben begins studying in earnest for his Bar Mitzvah  in 2012.

9:  Joshua tries lacrosse and has the time of his life!  Declares it's the sport for him!  Daniel tries it and decides he doesn't like it.  Has taken up tennis!  Loves that.  And, it's easy for Mom & Dad - he can walk to the park on his own for practice!

8:  Amazing vacation to Washington D.C. and Williamsburg.  Memories to last a lifetime.

7:  We spend time at Riverway Ranch Camp!  Mom finds out she is too old to go to camp ... Ben and Daniel have a fabulous time!

6:  Mom sets out to really start training for the AVON Walk and raises over $2500 in the fight against breast cancer.

5.  Mom takes part in the AVON Walk (for the 2nd time) and Ben joins in the fun!  We both manage to complete nearly 18 miles and have made the commitment to do it again in 2012!  Thrilled that Allen & Daniel were there all along the route to cheer us on and give us encouragement!

4:  Josh starts High School (Now a member of the class of 2015), Ben is in 7th grade and Daniel is in his last year (sniff!) of elementary school. 

3:  Josh plays High School Football.  Figures out it's not for him!  (Phew!)

2:  Allen gets permission to work from home full time... that is when he is home and not traveling to places like Tokyo, Norway, Amsterdam, London, Spain, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Washington DC.  All places he visited for work in 2011.  (Jan even got to join him in Hong Kong for a long weekend!)

1:  Thrilled to have made memories as a family together. Declared Sunday family dinner night.  Had had many moments and memories together with family and friends and treasure those times!




Happy Holidays!  From our family to yours!

AVON Walk for Breast Cancer

I find myself posting to you all when I have something to complain about.
Today I come to you with a good news post.

I just want to brag for a minute about Allen and Ben and Daniel.

I decided two years ago that I needed to do something bigger in my life then just
what I was doing.

That bigger was raising money for the AVON walk for breast cancer.

Between last year and this year I raised nearly $5,000.  (less than $100 away from $5K!).

But what was more amazing then that...
My husband trained in nearly every walk I did and in that last month has walked approximately
50 miles with me to make sure I am ready.

The walk was this past weekend.
We got up early (4 am) - Ben and Daniel jumped out of bed - loved the idea of leaving home in the
dark -
they never once complained.
(Josh had a weekend commitment).

But what was more amazing is Ben decided he wanted to walk all the miles with me.

17 miles my 12 year old boy who has the soul of a 45 year old man, walked, talked,
laughed, cheered and said that he was so glad that he got to spend that time with his Mom.

For 17 miles Allen and Daniel - my 10 year old boy were there every 2 miles to cheer and clap
and give high fives and take pictures all the way along.  Then a surprise - the last two miles
they walked into the route looking for Ben and I and walked the last two miles with us holding
our hands!

I am so lucky.
I may complain.  I may feel frustrated at times but I remind myself in moments like that
that moments like this exist.  I just want to share with all of you.

At the very end it was Ben and I, hand in hand, walking across the finish line.

So proud of our accomplishment!!

Our Top 10 moments of 2010

We present to you:
Our Top 10 moments of 2010

10:  Ben won the starring role of "Edna" from Hairspray!

Ben & his friend Dylan... Ben loves his fedoras!

9:  Daniel laces up hockey skates for the first time!

DMR

 8:  Visits with our families... near and far!
7:  Jack &  Harry say goodbye to Blacktop.

Jack & Blacktop... A once in a lifetime dog!

6:  Coco joins our family and marks our hearts whole again!

Josh & Coco

5:  Josh becomes a Bar Mitzvah!
4:  Josh plays his first season of tackle football!  Loves It!
3:  Jan walks 20 miles in the fight against breast cancer.
2:  Allen wins his campaign for member of the school board!
1:  Memories made and moments cherished together.










Happy Holidays!  From our family to yours!

Many Days and Many Months...

Wow!
So many days and many months have gone by since I last posted....

At the end of July Josh became a Bar Mitzvah!  What a fabulous weekend of festivities that was!  We had friends and family come from near and far to celebrate our boy, Joshua Harry.  He did a fantastic job on his Torah portion and Allen and I couldn't have been more proud of him.  It was such a feeling of accomplishment from him (and us!).  Besides the feeling of accomplishment that we felt; it was so wonderful having all of our loved ones - friends and family - make it a point to come to see Josh and to celebrate with us.  We will be forever thankful to all of them!  The next celebration will take place on July 28, 2012 for Ben! :)  (Hint, Hint!)

August rolled around all too quickly and Josh started playing tackle football for the first time.  He worked out 5 - 6 days a week and really loved the sport; much to my dismay!  I hated to watch him get tackled and hated to watch him doing the tackling.  But - he loved being 'one of the gang' and for that - it was all worth it!


Ben and Daniel got to spend a week at camp in the mountains!  They loved going and loved having time together with each other.  They really are great friends.

Gramma took Ben to Chicago to see his cousins and he had the time of his life.  He came home nearly a Chicagoan - ready to go back at a moments notice.  Thank you to Criste, Derek, Amanda and Dale for showing Ben and Gramma a great time!  You really made his summer complete!

School started all too quickly.  Josh in 8th grade, Ben in 6th and Daniel in 4th.  They are getting too big, too fast!  Josh is taking Spanish I at the high school early in the morning and *loves* it!  Ben is learning to play the trombone and Daniel is still all boy just wanting to play and get dirty!

Fall rolled around; Football continued, we added Roller Hockey (Daniel) and Flag Football (Ben and Daniel) to our busy schedule.  Kids are loving their activities and keeping us way too busy!

DMR playing Goalie for the first time!

We are looking forward to the rest our winter break gives us and it's my New Years Goal to document more of our lives just for memory purposes.... as I am getting older, it's harder to remember things!

Look for more updates in 2011!

AVON Walk

What an incredible experience!  I walked 20 miles over two days and raised over $2,500 in the fight against breast cancer.
It was INCREDIBLE!!!!

Still Smiling on Mile 18!

I am definitely planning on doing it again and would love to have friends do it with me!!

Josh's Bar Mitzvah Preview

Bar Mitzvah Preview ... trying on the outfit and Tallit

Dad tying his Boy's tie!

100 Things

100 things that make me smile.
I challenge you to make a similar list.

1. Ben's Freckles.
2. Frogs at night.
3.The memory of Blacktop "speaking" in the morning.
4. Allen 's blue eyes.
5. Having a good conversation with my good friends.
6. Daniel's amazing intellect.
7. Josh's crazy noises - even though they make me crazy.
8. Videos that my boys make of their favorite video games.
9. Watching Josh play Basketball.
10. Watching Ben Act.
11. My charm bracelet that Allen has given me charms for over the years.
12. My curls.
13. Josh's curls.  He finally has some!
14. End of a 4 mile walk.
15. Going to the dog park and seeing my dogs smile.
16. My puppy Coco and her cuddles.
17. Jack's sighs.
18. Allen tickling Ben and making him really belly laugh!
19. Family movie nights in our bed.
20. Getting a text message from Allen saying "I Love You".
21. Finding a long lost friend.
22. Whose Line Is It Anyway?
23. Comedy Sportz at the High School.
24. Concerts in the Park in the summer.
25. Allen's stuipd jokes.
26. Allen's if your name was... what would your last name be.
27. Daniel's way he makes the same dumb jokes as his dad.
28. The relationship my boys have with their Grandparents.
29. A letter in the mail.  Just for me.
30. Seeing the joy on a student's face when they complete a project.
31. Knowing that it was because of me they completed it!
32. Making videos for special occasions.
33. Going to Temple.
34. Jack finding a sock and the way he has to show it to me!
35. Coco finding her barker. 
36. Live musicals.
37. Turning the volume up and opening the windows in the van and really singing!  And the boys joining along!
38. Tim McGraw.
39. Laundry complete.
40. Clean house. 
41. Candles burning.
42. Clean yard. 
43. Flowers growing.
44. Email from old friends.
45. Pictures that really turn out great.
46. Malibu sunsets.
47. Dolphins at the beach.
48. Planning my boys birthday celebrations.
49. Planning family get togethers.
50. My nook.
51. Shabbat.
52. Leaving for vacation when it's dark.
53. Memories that I share with my sisters.
54. The love of a niece.
55. Texting with friends.
56. The smell of sunscreen.
57. The smell of honeysuckle and jasmine.  Spring is here!
58. Puppy breath.
59. Sushi.
60. Family Game Night.
61. Seeing old friends.  Especially the ones that no time has passed between.
62. Eating dinner outside.
63. Moms night out.
64. My pillows.
65. My memories of the Calgary Stampede.
66. Completing a jigsaw puzzle.
67. Clean teeth.
68. Dirty children because they played!
69. Watching Daniel play hockey.
70. Watching the joy on Ben's face as he swims in the water.
71. Ben's quiet ways.
72. Holding Allen's hand and the kids getting in the way.
73. Freshly shaved faces.
74. Freshly shaved legs.
75. Looking at pictures of my kids at camp.
76. Pac Man.
77. Really laughing.
78. Dressing my boys up 'fancy'.
79. Reading blogs.
80. Email.
81. Anderson Cooper.
82. Dirty Jobs.
83. Dates with my husband.
84. Aunt Iris' Ice Cream Cake
85. Surprise Birthday Breakfasts - a new tradition.
86. Smiling Dogs.
87. The smell of a fireplace on a cold winter night.
88. The sound of the neighbor playing his clarinet in his driveway on a summer night.
89. Lightening bugs.
90. Chicago hot dogs.
91. Family traditions.
92. Lighting the Hanukkah candles.
93. Sending a card to a friend just to make her day.
94. Real Simple magazine.
95. Clean cars.
96. My real life friends.
97. My internet friends ... who mean more to me then my real life friends.
98. Memories.
99. Holidays.
100. Really loving someone that it makes me cry.