Spring Skiing

Last weekend Mitch and I decided to have a guys weekend away and squeeze in a few more days of skiing.  With all the rain we had recently, Vermont got dumped on with snow.  We drove up to Kathy's on Thursday in quite the storm, snow, sleet, rain and ice.

Friday morning Mitch and I got up and went down to Sugarbush and enjoyed an awesome day of skiing.  Snow all morning giving us fresh tracks on all our runs and then the sun came out after lunch to reveal a beautiful day.  

When we got back to Kathy's we decided to go online to check out some other ski areas because Sugarbush didn't have enough staff and the lines for everything were outrageous!

On a whim I decided to look at ski areas in Quebec (Last year we skied at Mont Tremblant and really enjoyed it).  I came across some reviews of Mont Sutton in Suttyon, Quebec.  I heard before that this was a good mountain and the reviews I saw online confirmed my hunch.  Google maps said that Sutton was a little more than an hour away from Kathy's so Mitch and I decided to make a run to the border.  

Mont Sutton was great, a wide open mountain the looked north across the flat St. Lawrence Rive plains.  There was about a foot and a half of fresh powder and more in the trees.  Unlike some glade skiing in VT, Sutton's glades were wide open and easy to pick clean lines through.  Mitch, though still learning to ski was able to keep up and he had a great time picking his own lines through the trees!  This winter Mitch has made some great strides on skis.  He now uses poles to plant and turn and he has learned to use the fall line of a slope to manage his speed and control.  

After a great day skiing the trees we headed back to Vermont and across the border.  However at the border we ran into some issues because I didn't have a birth certificate for Mitch and Tracy was not with us.  The border agent asked me to pull over and come into the office to answer some additional questions.  Realizing that we could be in trouble I decided not to be my usual smart ass self as the agents wanted to be sure that I was not trying to abduct Mitch.  They even asked Mitch where his mom was and where he was coming from and and to where he was going.  After about 15 minutes of Q&A and a lecture the borer patrol let us continue on our way home.

Luck O' The Irish

Here's how we celebrated St. Patrick's Day 2008...by wearing Green T-Shirts and having a couple Guinness at.  New York was full of 20-something drinks stumbling around midtown in the worst green outfits you eve did see (and it's only Monday) so I was happy to get out of town today.

You can't see from the pictures, but Tess is doing amazingly well.  She's pulling herself all around the house using the furniture for balance and she can walk holding hands so very soon she'll be running around unassisted wreaking havoc in her wake.  She's also got quite a bit to say, unfortunately we still can't  understand her so maybe it's still better that way.

What you can see in the pictures is that Mitch is a wonderful big brother who really enjoys the company of his sister.

It's nice that spring is right around the corner...Steve and I (along with Liz and Chris) will set out to prove to the Village of Mamaroneck that we're the best coaches in town--we did go undefeated in soccer this fall!

Mitch getting ready for spring

Here are a few pictures of Mitch modeling his new Easter and First Communion clothes.  We took him over to J Crew and he got a nice gingham shirt, khaki pants and this fancy blue blazer.  Of course Mitch liked this blazer the best because it has a nice silk lining and shiny brass buttons.

Happy St. Patrick's Day to every one!  We are celebrating today by having  a nice corned beef dinner.

Mom, Dad & Tess

Mom, Dad & Tess
Originally uploaded by obrienonfaxon

Here's a picture of me, Tracy and Tess. Funny, this picture finishes the last requirement of our adoption. The Chinese government and our agency, Alliance needed 6 month updates with pictures of Tess¹ progress. I guess they can see, thanks to her chubby appearance and adorable smile that she is loved and more importantly, well fed!

The "old" man of Battleship Cove

The "old" man of Battleship Cove...

beware of what lurks in the bowls of an old ship!

Cub Scouts visit battleship Cove

Mitch at Battleship Cove, February 2008

On the way home from Massachusetts

The boys on the way home from Battleship Cove, Fall River, MA

Feb 2008

Tess' 2nd B-day

Tess' 2nd B-day
Originally uploaded by obrienonfaxon

Happy Tess with fork

Tess stealing cake

Tess' Birthday

This weekend we celebrated Tess' second birthday by showering her with presents and filling her full of cake!  Mitch enjoyed the Tess-a-palooza weekend, but reminded us several times that his birthday only lasts one day. I guess this year we'll have to celebrate Mitch-a-palooza.  Since the super birthday celebrations began in Mexico for Steve we might as well let everyone enjoy an extra few birthdays.

Here are a few pictures of Tess at her birthday dinner and hopefully the "Happy Birthday" song video will upload.

Accepting the defeat

I decided that I would begin my more regular blogging with a post about the Patriots' loss with a few simple pictures.  Here's one of Tess getting ready for the big game, another of Mitch sometime during the game and lastly a picture after the sad and terrible ending to the game. What's worse is living in Giants territory...no one has let this game go away anytime soon. There are stupid Giants hats all over New York City and Mamaroneck.  Mitch even tried to play sick last Monday so he didn't have to see his Giants friends.  At least the Celtics are playing well and the Sox begin the defense of their World Series in a couple months.

I still can't believe that the Pats scored so few point and that Brady got the crap kicked out of him.  Maybe 2008/2009 will be the undefeated season.

I started my new job today and I think I'm going to like it...quick decision making...no politics and a great group of people...what's not to like?!

New Job

Well, it's been almost a year since I've updated this blog...I guess we've been busy.  As far as resolutions go, I think I'll try to update this blog more often.  I thought I'd take a moment to share a brief update.  I've given up on the drama and nonsense that has engulfed me at the Conde Nast Media Group and have resigned from the company and will begin as the Publisher of The History Channel Magazine on Monday, February 11, 2008.  I will miss working for Conde, but at the same time I couldn't be happier.

On the home front life is great, Tracy, Mitch, Tess and the dogs are all doing well and we're looking forward to a great 2008.

Big Yellow

Big Yellow
Originally uploaded by obrienonfaxon