Ryan Starts 1st Grade!

Ryan is Ready for First Grade!

Today was big day for Ryan! He started First Grade at a big boy school. He was a bit apprehensive upon arrival but he did see some kids he knew there which seemed to settle his nerves. When we got there it was no nonsense. We checked in with a teacher who went over all his paperwork and then someone immediately came and took Ryan for a reading test. 10 Minutes later he came back and was placed into a class. We walked over with him to meet his teacher who seems very nice but after 2 minutes the principal asked if we could step into the hallway and let his teacher teach. :-)

After 1st Grade we went out for lunch to talk about his day. They had a half day and don't serve lunches on half days. Ryan informed us that his teacher is very boring and only likes to do boring things. Friday he will have lunch, gym and recess so we'll see how boring he thinks it is then.

Later that evening we got sandwiches and went for a hike. We found a butterfly. (I took a video of it here lol) Here are some more pictures:

Ryan's in School and ready to rock!

Ryan found a butterfly! If you can't see it here check the video link above. ;-)

Running down the trail

The infamous butterfly!

Fourth of July Fireworks!

We went to the Manchester Band Shell for Fireworks this year. It's becoming something of a tradition. Adam and Austin met us here for a Barbeque and then we met Jeanine and her friend at center field.

Adam and I were the ONLY ones there with a green laser pointer so we had fun showing off amongst the lesser powered red dots. We took lots of pictures and only had to walk about a half mile to get there this year. (We were actually closer last year but this year we got out alot faster)

After fireworks we enjoyed some Ice Cream and DQ! All in all a great time. Here's some pictures of the occasion:




Sparklers. (We brought like 30!)

Manchester Band Shell



Kids before the Fourth of July Celebration. (8,5 and 6)


Ryan had a Blast!


Austin is stronger then dad already?


Jeanine looks very happy... Almost too happy...


Mother and Son!

June Birthday Parties! 

Jason Turns 30!

Uploaded from my cell phone. For more details about Jason's birthday and a few videos click here.

Boating on Lake Pocotopaug

Cruising around Lake Pocotopaug! For more pictures and videos of this excursion click here.

Ryan Graduates from Kindergarten

A big day for the little guy! As part of the ceremony Ryan had to perform the Pledge of Alliegiance and a little song called The Speckled Frog. After the ceremony the kids got to play on a sponge bob square pants moon bounce and the parents got to socialize and eat lots of pizza. (There was some pizza for the kids too!) I'm proud of the little guy.


Ryan's exciting day is at hand! Schools out for the summer!



Self Portrait he did. The kid's got an eye for detail!


The Lil Graduate relaxing with his friends.


Ryan's bouncing in the Sponge Bob Square Pants Moon Bounce!

Ryan's Ant Farm

Ant Farm now complete with 3 queens. 

Ryan loves his new Ant Farm. He was able to obtain a queen from Deb Deb's house that the other ants seem to have adopted as a surrogate mother but his latest acquistion is 2 more queens one of which has mated. For a video not for the squeemish you can click here.

Boston Museum of Science

Boston Museum of Science 

Today we took a family outing to the Boston Museum of Science. We had a blast even though we kind of got ripped off hehe. See we went there thinking the exhibits were open to 7:30... but they were only open until 5. So the tickets we bought, 3 for exhibits +2 attractions should have been perfect. Instead we rushed around alot. We first saw the 3D bugs film. About 20 minutes and primarily about a praying mantis and a catipillar. The 3D effects were excellent. Next we went to a few physics labs to teach ryan about leverage and other cool experiments. Then we headed off to an electricity show featuring a Van de Graaff Generator and 4 Tesla coils. (Two were quite small and two were huge!) While loud and a bit scary as random lightning bolts can be, we had a blast. Then we went to the plantarium. And hour long show on Supernovae. It was quite informative and I actually learned a thing or two. I also stopped by to see an aztec calendar stone + pendulum. I have to say the aztecs rocked! Then we headed off to see more exhibits... Of course the exhibits were closed so we headed to gift shop where we spent far too much money then we should have. Overall it was a blast. I highly reccomend it for a one day adventure to just about anyone. More pictures and updates to come.

Neighbor visits

Ok so not too exciting but I had to demonstrate how their picture instantly ends up on the internet from my cellphone. Blogger always impresses me.

Day in the NYC

New York 

We decided to spend the day in New York and see the sites. We spent much of the day in central park before we headed to Skala's for lunch and then spent some time shopping. We didn't bring a real camera but I did sneak a few pics. We plan to head back a few times this year.

Ryan Turns 6

Ryan turned six years old and was joined by all his friends. He had a blast this weekend and got so many new toys that its a week later and we still haven't played with them all. Thanks everyone for coming!

Our new Jack Russell... Jack!

Our new dog Jack. (He's a Jack Russell and yes I get a F for orginality) He's a handful. He is a bundle of energy and winging the dog training doesn't seem to be working. So I have invested some time in learning about dogs and how to train them and its paying off in spades. Dogs are immensely time consuming. Jack is luckily an extremely bright dog and learns quickly.
We brought him to Petco the other day and he got along with all the other dogs there. He didn't get out of control once and Ryan was guiding him. As dogs go this one is extremely well behaved and fitting in nicely with our family. While there is still alot of training to go he is welcome addition to our home.

June 5, 2005 Update:

Thought I would upload a new picture and a video of Jack doing some tricks:
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