My brother Phil's daughter Jillian had her first communion at the Our Lady of Lourdes Church in West Islip, New York yesterday. The church was absolutely filled with many familes there to celebrate their son or daughter's special day. As you can see Jillian was both angelic and charming! Her three-year-old sister Annabella was my best buddy all weekend! Afterwards, we had a wonderful family celebration at Francesco's Italian Restaurant in Babylon. It was great to see my Long Island family including cousins Kevin and Dan....

 

It all started off simple enough. Vickie, Laura and I were to travel to Boulder, Colorado for James' graduation from the Culinary School of the Rockies (CSR). Of course, like all great heroes, we had to be challenged. Mother Nature whipped up a doosy of a snow storm that paralyzed the Northeast. But after a 7.5 hour drive to LaGuardia (after they closed Hartford and White Plains airports) and nearly 24 hours of traveling, we made it to Denver and then Boulder. In the end, it was definitely worth it!

We stayed at the historic Boulderado Hotel and loved it. Here we are sitting in front of the fireplace in the lobby. (You click on any photo to see a larger version. Just click the browser "Back"  button when you are done.)

 

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While Irving Berlin was dreaming of a White Christmas, we certainly had one:



But this year, the kids' Christmas was pink and blue. Santa splurged for new cell phones for them. The hot Motorola Razr cell phone in pink for Laura and Libby and blue for Joe. (Santa actually made them go on a hunt for them - lots of fun for the parents if not the kids!)



We had a nice Christmas eve eve dinner on the 23rd with Grandma Millie, Vickie, Laura, Joe and Libby:





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There's a new phenomenon that catching on like wildfire among my teenagers and twenty-somethings: Guitar Hero. It's a game for the Nintendo Wii where you play "guitar" along with a classic rock tune. The more right notes you hit, the more the audience loves you. Here's Sarah laying down her tasty licks:

Of course, then there's her on-screen personna:

There's always a precious moment each fall here in New England. The moment when you look out the window and your body lights up and says "It's SNOWING!" Here's what that moment looked like this year:

...Lay around in my pajamas?

Thanks for the birthday presents, Mom!

2007 was definitely the "Year of the Card" as far as my birthday is concerned. Check it out...