Christmas!

Sunday, December 21

The Sunday before Christmas, Santa drives thru every street in our town on the firetruck throwing candy to all the kids.  You can always hear the sirens and the kids always look forward to them driving down the street!

After that, Aba and I went shopping.  There are a number of things he wanted to buy but couldn't seem to find exactly what he wanted.  I am going to set him up on Amazon and he can buy online! I'm not sure he believes me that the snow is coming and it will get very cold for a very long time,  and won't warm up until June!


We host Christmas Eve dinner at our house.  This year, my sister, Alicia and husband, Larry, came along with my cousin Paula.  They all had gifts for Aba, which I think surprised him :) We had a nice beef tenderloin dinner with all the trimmings.  Aba had been out shopping with a friend of his earlier in the day and she ended up joining us for dinner too.  When I was taking a couple of photos, they were in the basement watching tv...I was busy cooking and watching Sunnie get to know my sisters 2 dogs so I did not take as many pictures as I would have liked.

On Christmas morning the boys were up at around 6:30am and opened their stockings.  My parents were coming over to see the boys open up their gifts so we let Aba sleep in until they arrived.  Aba got the boys their first snowboards which they thought was pretty cool.  All we need now is snow!

We like to stay home on Christmas Day and relax.  Of course, Sunnie gets a nice walk in the woods and then we watched "Marley & Me" and played with the new games, ate then watched "Titanic" since Jack is learning about that in school.  For dinner, we thought we would try something new and ordered take out Chinese food....ohhh was that good!

The Day After

Well, it looked like a bomb went off here.  We got cleaned up and Aba is now off to Boston for the night with his friend Laszlo.

I'm not sure what we will do all week, the kids do not have school.  I'm sure I will figure something out!

~Linda

Semi-formal dance

Saturday, December 6, 2014

I thought I posted this last week!

Aba had a busy weekend with an all day wrestling match against a bunch of other schools.  When he got home he had to get read for the first semi formal Junior dance at the high school.  He went with a girl named, Giselle.

Scott hurried up to get some dinner ready for Aba before the dance. He just grilled some burgers in the kitchen on the stove top grill. But, wow, did it start to get really smoky...then the fire alarms started going off, the dog was running around like crazy chasing a laser pointer and it was pouting rain outside. Quite a chaotic moment in our house!

Anyway, here comes Gisele amongst the chaos and I did manage to get a couple quick photos of the two of them!

We are getting read for Christmas, just got the tree up yesterday. The kids had been telling me that I better get decorating! They do love all of our traditions. Each decoration has to go in the same exact spot that it has always been before.  Last year, we were traveling so we celebrated Christmas quietly in Santa Barbara, CA.  So since it's been awhile, they are especially excited this year.

~Linda

Wrestling

About a month into his wrestling career Aba is doing quite well.  He had an all day meet over the past weekend, it was more like a scrimmage and didn't count, but was great practice.  With two matches he was 1 and 1, one win, one loss.

Wednesday night was his first official meet.  Scott was there cheering him on and I sent him with my camera and he took these few photos.  Aba was one of a few kids that pinned his opponent in the first period.  Here is some more information on High School Wrestling.

I think his festival bracelets are finally off!!

~Linda

White Thanksgiving

Wednesday, November 26, 2014

There is no school for the kids today thru the end of the week in order to celebrate Thanksgiving.  This year, it was a white Thanksgiving with the snow coming down all day today with about 6 inches total.  Many people lost power in the area, we were fortunate and did not.  Although, we have a generator, so when we do lose power, it is of no consequence to us.

Thursday, Thanksgiving Day

We went to Scott's brother John's house in Maine for Thanksgiving dinner.  Also joining us were Scott's brothers Mark & Dave and their families.  We had the traditional turkey, a smoked goose and all the trimmings plus the most awesome desserts made by Uncle Dave.  Dave is the Chef of the family and owns a restaurant.

Quite ironic that there was a gang of wild turkeys that passed thru their backyard. 

This was probably one of the first holidays that I didn't take out my camera...I guess I just wanted to take the day off too!

Friday-Sunday, November 28-30, 2014

Aba's friend Laslo took the train up from the Boston area to spend the day/night up here.  We had a nice dinner at home with them and enjoyed getting to know his friend.  I find it very entertaining to have someone new at the dinner table.  

After dinner, one of Aba's friends came to pick them up and they hung out with a large group of kids at another house for most of the evening.  I love knowing that they are having typical American teenage experiences.  

Bright and early on Saturday morning, Aba was off to wrestling practice and Laslo decided to stay here and enjoy a nice breakfast with us, talking and spending some time with the boys. They went out hiking in the snow covered words for awhile, Scott made his delicious pizzas and we convinced Laslo to spend another night so I wouldn't have to drive him home late.

By Sunday afternoon, he was ready to head out.   We enjoyed getting to know him and I hope he knows that he is welcome here anytime.

As you can see, not the easiest shot for me to get, but at least I got it!

~Linda

Varsity Letter!

Way to go, Aba!

He got his Varsity Letter & Letterman Jacket tonight at the end of the season football banquet.  This will be quite a memento to bring home to Hungary!

~Linda

Let me introduce you to...

You all know we lost our beloved Scout a few weeks ago and we have been heartbroken.  Our house felt so empty.  With a bit of research and a lot of luck, we found a beautiful, female, 6 month old Golden Retriever.  The boys named her Sunshine or Sunnie for short. We just got her yesterday and surprised the boys!  

As Tyler got off the school bus, he saw me in the front yard waiting with her and burst into tears running to us.  He was so overcome with pure joy at seeing the puppy and probably some sadness for Scout too.  I will never forget it.

She is perfect, and so sweet.  Love at first sight for all of us!

Well, another season, another sport.  Aba had his first few wrestling practices this week and he is tired...and sore!  Sounds like a demanding sport and I will be anxious to see an actual meet and take some photos.

My niece Laney was in town this week from California.  She wanted to have a traditional Thanksgiving meal with us while she was here.  I had a chance to grab a few photos since the boys were all cleaned up!

~Linda

Seasons change

November 12, 2014

It feels like the seasons are changing rapidly! When Aba arrived we were still in Summer!  It was warm and sunny, t-shirt and shorts weather.  New England is famous for their beautiful fall color.  We have enjoyed a lovely Fall, with some pretty, crisp, & bright days. The leaves have all changed and are slowly disappearing from the trees and Winter will be knocking on our door soon.  Unfortunately, Winter has a habit of hanging around too long and overstaying it's welcome.

As the season's change, life changes too. Everything changes.  All these things make it all interesting and meaningful. Last year at this time, our family embarked on an amazing cross country tour of the USA.  The 5 of us piled in our new camper with a "California or Bust" attitude. 

Almost one year later, we had to say goodbye to our furry, family treasure on 10/31.  Our Scout was a huge part of our family and had a wonderful 14+ yr life with us.  I think we made his last year the best! Traveling the USA we made new, awesome memories.  Most of you have already seen that blog, but I do have a final entry in there you can read.  Warning: You might shed some tears :)  Scouts Golden Hour

Next year at this time, I am sure that Aba will be reminiscing about his time here & playing football in America.  While nothing lasts forever, the experience and knowledge will remain in our hearts and memories forever.  

Timberlane High School is known for their Wrestling Team, as this is their winning team!  Of course Aba wants to try this sport and so he starts next week.  Scott was an excellent wrestler when he was in High School so he is equally excited to attend those matches.  Should be another exciting season.

The first quarter of school is over and I am happy to report that Aba did very well in his studies.  I really didn't interfere with his studies until I found out one class was proving to be a bit of a challenge.  In the final week he was able to put in a great effort and astound us all!  Like most kids, he needs to be accountable for his grades.  Although this year will not even count for him academically, I think he will go home with his head held up a bit higher if he has the good grades to go along with this great adventure.

We have dinner as a family every night so we get to catch up and have a lot of laughs and teasing at the table.  I hear there is a formal dance coming up.  I will need to formulate a plan so I can get some photos!

Yesterday, was a National holiday here in the USA, Veteran's Day.  Veterans Day celebrates the service of all U.S. military veterans.  This also means no school for the kids.  Aba figured out the train schedule and headed into Boston for the day to meet up with a friend that is living here from Hungary.  He had a long day ending after midnight...and I'm sure he will be quite tired today as evidenced by his reluctance at getting up!  He owes Scott big for picking him up at midnight!

The most exciting news of the day was his article in the paper!  At first, I saw his photo on the front page and thought that was pretty cool to be highlighted on page 1.  Later in the day, I actually bought the paper and when I opened it I was shocked at the almost full page layout!  

A quick backstory...this all came to be because my friend Darcie, who cut his hair a few weeks back, had a Sports Reporter in her chair one day and they started talking about Aba.  One thing led to another and the reporter called me and then got in touch with Aba.  Here is a link to the article from Hungary with enthusiasm.

As we head into the winter months we have already secured Aba a pair of downhill ski's. I asked around and Scott's brother Mark just bought himself new ski's so offered up his old ones for Aba to borrow for the season. Thank you, Uncle Mark!  It sounds like Aba will have many opportunities to go skiing this winter.

And, that's all the news fit to print!

~Linda

Weekend horror & Jack's Birthday!

Sunday, October 26, 2014

Jack's 12th Birthday is Tuesday and he wanted to invite a friend and go to Canobie Lake Park to celebrate.  Canobie Lake is an amusement park that is popular during the summer but, come Halloween, they have it all decked out in skeletons, zombies and other inexplainable ghoulish creatures .  During the day, we went on roller coasters, swings and other rides.  

At sunset, the haunted houses open. 

The lines were long so we only made it into two.  I wish I had done my homework in advance and could have chosen more wisely.  The first one we toured was called VIRUS.  There were lots of interesting characters to keep you company while you waited in line.

VIRUS: The terror is infectious…

The research had gone horribly wrong. Now, as you enter the Genome Biocontainment facility, you will most certainly sense the despair, just as those who have gone before you.  "Containment" being the operative word, the high security (and top secret) site was designed to keep "Virus M" as it was dubbed and its victims isolated from the rest of the world. 

The second one was called Merriment, Inc.  This one brought you through the corporation of Merriment, Inc…where evil clowns are born.  This was pretty creepy and I was hanging on to Tyler while Aba led the way!

October 28, 2014

On Jack's Birthday, we went to one of his favorite restaurants, Plaza Azteca.  We started out with the guacamole made table-side and we ordered dinner for Aba since he had no idea what any of the items were, this was his first Mexican dining experience.  We ordered him a nice steak burrito and he loved it!

                 

                     

We came home for dessert, chocolate roll, and a pretty funny rendition of Happy Birthday!

Here is a quick 2 min video and it shows Aba and the boys being silly singing Happy Birthday!

~Linda