Georgina's Cello Concert, May 2010

It has been too long since we last posted a blog! May is just flying by as it always does with all the end of school year activities (school is out on June 9th!). Spring musical concerts and school plays have now all been held to much success - Alexander was in the Fessenden Musical "Oliver" as Charlie Bates - Dodger's mate.... and then played the bass clarinet with great gusto in the Spring school concert - memories of Jaws on that bass! Georgina played the cello in her school Spring concert - her very first orchestral experience with "Can Can" and then performed her individual cello concert this weekend (see attached video) - Bach's Minuet #2. Watched by very proud parents the kids did wonderfully....Mummy even got quite tearful as the cello soloist took her bow!

Soccer Dad with new camera!

Figuring out the new toy (Nikon D90) while watching the kids play soccer this weekend. George played for Weston U11 against Wellesley and drew 1 -1 while Alex played for Mass Premier Bulldogs U14 against Seacoast Maine and won 2 zip.

Alex clearly likes his picture as he has already made it his profile pic on Facebook I see :-)

Time I got some exercise . . .

19th April, 2010 - Patriots Day By: Georgina!

Today, Patriots Day, I went with my Dad to the re-enactment of the Battle of Lexington, which celebrates the start of the American Revolution. This is my 8th year in a row that I have been to see this event, starting when I was two!!!!!! It is really cool as my Dad always takes a step ladder so I get a really good view even though there are lots of people there. It always takes place at 5:45am and then we go for a yummy pancake breakfast in one of the local churches afterwards. This year my brother stayed in bed but I would not miss it for anything! =)

Golden Wedding Anniversary Celebration

We had a wonderful family weekend April 10th/11th to celebrate Mum and Dad's 50th Wedding Anniversary. On Saturday we went out as a family for dinner - a rare event with me living in the US - and then on Sunday 30+ of Mum & Dad's friends gathered at a local restaurant to celebrate in style with them. It was a very special evening with my parents Best Man, George Cannon, again taking the reins to give a heart felt toast, and their bridesmaid, Mum's sister Margie, completing the wedding party 50 years on!! I hope that I'll be lucky enough to have such a fabulous evening with my family and friends for my 50th - Chris and I just hit 21 years earlier this month!

Easter weekend

We were basking in 80 degree weather this weekend - a complete contrast to the torrential rain and 100 year floods of last weekend. Easter is not a public holiday over in the US - though some schools do give Good Friday off...though not our kids'. No matter, we have had a wonderful weekend in the garden with the puppy...close up photos attached! After a rather hectic week of little sleep and lots of "accidents" - the puppy has settled into a good routine....with the use of a baby listening device for peace of mind! The Easter Egg hunt around the garden today certainly had another dimension with a very excited puppy joining in the fun!

Liz v Georgina :-) Waltham Y Parent Child Swim Meet

GO GEORGINA !!

New addition to the Steel Family

.....meet Jazz ! (AKC name: Cayuga Jasmine Skye). She is a 7 week old Toller - Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever. Quite a little character too - with a good pair of lungs which she showed us in the car ride home from Upstate NY! She has a brother in Natick and a sister in Sherborn so we'll be doing a lot of puppy playdates!!! It was a fun trip as we visited Cornell University in Ithaca, stayed in the Sherwood Inn in Skaneateles and then had a scenic drive home along Rte 20 to Albany followed by Rte 2 along the Mohawk Trail in Mass. Needless to say we are ALL very excited about our newest member of the family :-)

TUCKERMAN RAVINE

by Alex Steel

Okay so, this was really my mum's idea, but anyway, here goes. Last Thursday my dad and I went on a 3 day trip to Mount Washington. The first day we just chilled out in our room and unpacked and got ready for the big trip the next day. The second day was one of the most amazing days of my life. We started to begin the ascent to the Bowl early in the morning. The ascent was by far the most boring part of the trip. A mixture of lugging a backpack with heavy mountaineering skis up steep slopes, skinning, and having to wait for dad every few minutes (he still tells me, "I was just taking my time."). Yeah, right. However, when we were only a few minutes away from the base of the ravine I saw the most spectacular sight ever. This huge, steep, shining, beautiful bowl that was absolutely empty. There was not a single sign that anyone had been there. Once at the base of the bowl we did see 5 mountaineers starting the ascent. My dad and I set our gear down on a rock and had a little bite to eat. We were famished. After our quick snack we unstrapped our ice axes from our packs as we saw that the ascent was almost completely vertical. Once we had our axes in hand and one of our poles strapped to our packs, we began the hardest part of our journey, the climb up the Tuckerman Ravine Headwall. It took us around one hour to reach the top of the headwall. We carried on climbing a little further so that we could find stable ground to put on our skis. The best part of the journey took around 2 minutes. The top of the headwall was ice and wicked rough snow. However, once we plunged over the headwall into the bowl, it was fantastic. In addition, dad, being dad, had to stop in the middle of the bowl to take a picture (around his hundredth so far). Once at the bottom of the bowl we skied the rest of the way down back to where we were staying at the Joe Dodge Lodge. It was the most fun I have ever had with my father and it was a really special day for the both of us. The next day dad's legs, as he says, "were not up for" another day of the Ravine. So instead we went and skied Wildcat. As usual though, soccer was to be played. So, the next morning we got up at 5:30 and did the 2 hour drive down to Epping for my first match in the tournament. At the end of the weekend my team, MPS, and I won all three of our matches (2-1, 2-1, 7-0) with me having a fantastic 4 assists making it an over all great middle part of my March break.

New Years Resolutions can come true.....

On January 1, 2010 the Steel Family were all enjoying a hard earned lunch in Solitude, Utah after cross-country skiing for 2 hours to get to the bistro. As we raised our glasses to toast the New Year we all made two resolutions - one for ourselves and one for another member of the family. There were two rules: the resolutions had to be realistic and they had to be achievable in 2010. I am not going to list all the resolutions, suffice to say we had fun! However, my resolution for myself was that I would bring myself into the 21st century and start using technology more to stay in touch with old friends, make some new ones, simplify life, share everyday moments and keep an eye on what the kids were up to! ..... and so this blog.

The goal is to write about the little things that happen - as well as the big things - in the Steel Family. Hopefully all of us will contribute as the mood takes us - funny anecdotes, a yummy recipe, photos, a memory to share, priceless moments, the highs and lows of parenthood, being a teenager, sporting successes, family fun. It is as much for us to keep a family diary, as for our followers to enjoy. We'd love to hear back from readers, be you family, friend or just an interested observer.......life is all about the connections we make, with people, with places, with moments. Enjoy yours!