A Practical Christmas For All

We never complain when receiving gifts, but nothing beats giving gifts. Jay and I have an ongoing system of gift giving -- practical gifts for him and non-practical for me always seem to work. This season practical gifts seemed to be our mantra. Jay and I were busy before the 12 days of pages and Christmas countdown creating a much overdue wedding album. 164 pages and countless gruelling hours staring at a monitor later we completed the task. From the sounds of things our parents couldn't be happier. We were so pleased to give them a final gift to thank them for everything they did to make our wedding a reality. We had a blast creating the album thanks to the wonderful images our photographers and friends, Enna and Matt Graizer, shot during the event. Thanks to their amazing photography, I was even able to surprise Jay with an album I designed from our engagement shoot.

Since we can't share the books with you here, the least we can do is show you the covers of each of the albums.

Street View

View Larger Map
Now the holidays have gone by, I've found some time to work on my own. One of the drawbacks happens to be how easily I find myself getting distracted while in front of the computer all day. One of the most impressive finds Jay and I made over this week has to have been our very own house captured by Google's Street View. I guess no one will have an excuses now if they can't get to our house on time!

Deck the Halls

We had a blast helping Mom and Sammy get her house ready for the 25th. After a hard day's work, I must say the house couldn't look better. Between her gorgeous tree, nutcrackers, endless ornaments, and of course a good dose of Irving Berlin's White Christmas we are ready for the holidays. Here are a few photos of us decking the halls. Mom, thanks for a wonderful day. We love you!

Greater Portland

This weekend, Sara and I packed up the car one more time to jump up to Maine. It took all of our effort to roll out early in order to get Sydney to a new kennel (Palmer Kennels of Acton MA - which got an 5 star from us as well as Sydney) and I would like to take this opportunity to credit Sara on a new found skill of packing her things the night before to easy the morning departure.

We arrived in time to see Mom before she returned from Gorham to Bethesda. We got to see her new rug which looks terrific - so soft! She had to leave just hours after we arrived so we helped out for a few moments, winterizing the house, lowering storm windows, and pretending to be helpful.

Just down the street we did find time to relax and catch-up over delicious food and ale at the Sebago Brewing Company. With a great list of not your average beers, there was something for everyone. Northern Light - a light beer for Sara, Slick Nick, SBC's holiday ale, and I skipped the soup de jour to partake in 16oz of Lake Trout Stout - wow.

After hugs and kisses, Mom was off to the skies and we were off to Cumberland to see the Bezansons and Plettes. We found the whole crew - Sandy, Andre, Laurel, Jennifer, Nick, Nicole, Alex and even Gary to boot!

Kristin and Tim Grannell arrived soon after to drop off Perrin which brought out a total number to 11. It was quite a raiding party for that evenings dining at Thai Garden in Freeport. As usual, I found room to put in another meal within three hours.

We stayed in at the Plettes after that - playing pool and staying up late to play Axis and Allies - which Nick lead a surgical strike against Gary (who had only played once before).

Oh, and Nicole made whoopie pies. I had two. That's probably why I had no problem staying up late.

The next morning we found it tough to say goodbye. (Nick, Nicole, and Alex fly back to Okanowa, Japan next weekend). We will miss you.

Way To Go Kris!

Jerry Seinfeld famously joked that at a funeral, the average person would rather be in the casket than giving the eulogy. Indeed, according to national surveys the fear of public speaking is America’s greatest fear, surpassing the fear of illness, fear of flying, fear of terrorism, and amazingly, the fear of death itself. BUT NOT OUR KRIS! Although she spared all of us (except the ever loving and compassionate Kevin) all the hours of rehearsing and fine tuning - Kris's presentation yesterday was a great success. With no room for cold feet she nailed a twenty minute prezento - no small feat! At the end of the meeting, someone in the audience said that she recognized Kris from the National Library Honor Society - who's cool now! Way to go, Kris.

An Orange Christmas

After two years without a Christmas Tree, we thought it was about time to start the tradition once again. Considering the last tree we purchased happen to be on the 23rd of December, we decided to get a jump on things this year. Needless to say, we found the perfect tree last weekend. There is only one problem - we have waited a week for it's branches to drop but haven't had much luck. Out of desperation or maybe more frustration we decorated Fraser (of course we had to name the good old guy) tonight. Thanks to Sheila this is the first year we have been able to hang real ornaments on a tree! We think the orange theme suites us well. We are still debating about incorporating our original ornaments (finger puppets). So far I think the verdict is out...we would rather spend our days hunting for more orange ornaments than trying to deal with finger puppets.

Welcome Home Bezansons!

We had the best time seeing all of our family and friends over the past couple of days. One of the many highlights was the time we spent with Jay's Big Brother, Nick (they have been friends since birth) his wife Nicole, and 22 month year old, Alex. Since our wedding the Bezansons have been living in Okinawa, Japan where Nick is currently stationed as a Marine. Life hasn't been the same without them around. Nothing could ever replace the time we spent together. We hope to get in some more visits before they leave for home in mid-December. Here are a few images of the most beautiful family around.

Treadmill Anyone?

When in Maine, Jay and I managed to fit in some time to walk Baxter Blvd...it only took us 7+ years to get up the nerve to put in some time exercising across the street from Paul and Sheila's. Some way or another we will TRY to continue working on organizing a weekly "body maintenance' routine. In the meantime, we have been searching for any kind of inspiration...as it so happens we came accross this video soon after attacking the Blvd. Will one simple video inspire us? We just don't know...but we will keep you posted.

Thanksgiving in Maine

We just returned home from a wonderful Thanksgiving at Sheila and Paul's in Portland, Maine. Spending more than 2 nights in the area gave us plenty of time to catch-up with friends and family over the holiday. After plenty of Thanksgiving turkey, the Parker clan made sure they left space for 30 crustaceans the next day. I may not be a lobster fan...but I love the brilliant orange hue lobsters become once cooked.

Our Family Knows How To Put On A Good Show

Even though Halloween has come and gone, we couldn't pass up sharing how our family loves to celebrate in style. Each October Jay's sister, Kris, and her husband, Kevin, leave us amazed by their Halloween costumes. When it comes to costumes, we have yet to meet a duo that out matches them.






If you thought you may have had a chance at winning best Halloween costume in this family we are so sorry but you better KISS that dream goodbye. This year no one can out do these two. We love you Kris and Kevin! We can't wait to see what you surprise us with next year.

Willow in Action

Part of our morning routine involves Willow waking-up Jay with a claw to his chin (fortunately no damage has been done yet).

My good friend, Ibi, forwarded us this animation and we couldn't resist sharing it since it outlines Willow's wake-up call all too well. We hope you find it as comical as we did.

Popsicle Pants Parker Has Arrived

We are proud to announce that today the Popsicle Pants Parker website was launched. It took a long time in the making, but all of the stationery will soon be available to view online. Right now, the site basically has an "under construction" theme going on but that will change soon. It just feels good to finally be able to type www.popsiclepantsparker.com and see the home page appear. We will be sure to let you know when the site is truly functioning so you can POP on by.

Congratulations Perrin and Jonathan!

On September 29th we had a blast at Perrin and Jonathan's wedding in Westport, MA. For those of you that don't know, Perrin and my friendship goes all the way back to our Kindergarten days at Dedham Country Day School. Perrin looked absolutely stunning. Right now they should be returning from their honeymoon to Greece (they were chartering a boat around the isles). I only hope they don't return too tan -- only kidding. We love you guys and can't wait to see you soon. Here are a couple photographs from the wedding.

I've never seen Perrin so happy. The veil she wore had been in her family for three generations. It complimented her dress beautifully.

Perrin has always said she can't dance. After seeing her and Jonathan on the dance floor, I will never believe her again. Both of them can definitely move. She needs to give herself more credit.









Jonathan gave such a heartfelt speech to Perrin during the ceremony. I couldn't help but get teary again. Of course it had been impossible for me to hold back the tears during the ceremony.








Perrin truly lucked out finding these dresses for us to wear. The polka dots mirrored the tie her father wore when her parents got married.

I couldn't resist ending with this image. Yep, you guessed it -- that's Jay dancing! He is impossible to keep up with. How he never breaks a sweat I just can't understand.

Perrin and Jonathan, we can't thank you enough for including us in the celebration. We had an absolute blast!

Bye Bye Barista!

We haven't been the best when it comes to updating our blog. In the weeks to come we hope to make up for lost time....Wish us luck!

After reviewing our blog, I realized I have yet to announce that Jay has left Starbucks! After 3 1/2 years this summer was the right time to call it quites. Unfortunately, the only photographs I have from Jay's Starbucks days were taken during his last shift on his cell phone. The only problem being, we still don't know how to retrieve the images. If anyone has any ideas on how we can conquer this little mystery please let us know!

Since Jay has left his Starbucks days long behind, he is continuing to work on his freelance work and commissions. His big project right now happens to be an adorable animated children's' series called Chugington. He is in charge of creating all of the story boards. My explanation of the show doesn't do it justice. We will keep you updated on how the show is progressing in the months to come.

If you miss stopping by Starbucks and seeing Jay's smiling face in that stunning leprechaun green apron, don't fear yet! The apron is currently hanging in our kitchen along side his Starbucks baseball cap. Maybe, just maybe Jay will put it on for one of you next time you stop by...no guarantees.

Sydney's Snifferoo

Wherever Sara and or I travel, be it upstairs for a pair of socks, into the basement to empty the dehumidifier, or outside to enjoy our morning coffee, Sydney likes to accompany us. Although it's perfectly obvious that outside is her favorite. She has plenty of toys but you might not know it because she likes to bury them around the yard. However, what passes for hidden by Sydney is pretty comical. Half buried Frisbees are common sight. Sara's sister Emily is home this week from California.

Last night Emily, Sara, myself, and of course Sydney, enjoyed a wonderful meal with their father, John.

Sydney took her usual Shepard Position at the end of the porch steps to guard our outside dinner party but got up during the middle of the meal and headed for far end of the back yard and stepped directly into the garden. Knowing her fondness for digging, I left my second or third helping of chicken with cashew nuts, and went over to ensure she didn't do any damage.

I was please to see that she was not digging. Instead Sydney was sniffing around like a Swivel Sweep infomercials and was just moments from discovering the skunk that was working its way through the back corner fence between John's yard and his neighbors.

With the eye-burner-stink-bomb crisis averted, we finished our meal in peace and enjoyed a game of bocce ball - during which I achieved maximum glory by winning on account of everyone knocking my bocce-balls closest to the pal lino (the little ball) for the final two points.

A little fun Massachusetts's Bocce Trivia:

There is a cocktail called a bocce ball, made with orange juice, amaretto, and club soda. Michael DeCoste of Duxbury, MA made these popular in the late 1980's after appearing on Family Feud and touting, their "delectable taste" and "clean finish."


I wonder what cocktail DeCoste would have come up with if his game had been interrupted by a skunk.

We had to include one photo of The Hagan Crew (san skunk).

JB

Our Champion -- Flying High

Recently the press seems to be hunting down our family. While still adjusting to Paul becoming a household name after appearing on The History Channel, today Victoria (my cousin) appeared in The Boston Globe.

The golfing publications love highlighting her since she is unstoppable on the green. This article announces how she qualified for the WGAM Amateur championship flight.


The article by Nancy Marrapese-Burrell, entitled Kidder Shrugs Off Pain, Top Seed Welch, can be found in the sports section.

The write-up highlights Victoria's current golfing achievements while battling tendinitis in both arms. Her level of skill, commitment to the sport, and love for golf always amazes me.


We love you and will be cheering you on!


Here is the link to Marrapese-Burrell's article (I promise it's one of the best reads of the summer).

http://www.boston.com/sports/articles/2007/07/18/kidder_shrugs_off_pain_top_seed_welch/

Doc. Hollywood

Many of you already know of the book Jay's Dad, Paul, has been busy writing about the ramming of his father's plane Sacktime during WWII. In May Jay and I started counting down the days until the season premier of the History Channel's series Dogfights. Last Friday was the big day! During the second part of the episode the story of Sacktime was revealed. The animated reenactments, historical facts, and witness accounts were amazing; but the show wouldn't have been the same without one key component -- our very own Doc. Hollywood (aka Paul Parker). As one of the interviewees, Paul helped bring the story to life. We couldn't have been more impressed by everything Paul added to the show and now know one thing for sure -- those extra 5 pounds the camera so graciously gives those it films is an Modern Wives' Tale.



Here is the Synopsis of the premier, titled Kamikaze, provided by The History Channel:

KAMIKAZE: Imperial Japan, desperate to prop up their rapidly collapsing empire, sent poorly trained volunteer pilots in suicide attacks against American naval targets. This wasn't the only time pilots used the plane itself as a weapon. German, Russian, and even US ramming tactics will be explored.


If you are interested in checking out the show, you can find the schedule of upcoming episodes at: http://www.history.com/minisites/dogfights

A PEEK of Our Trip to Peaks Island

We just returned from a relaxing trip to Maine. While visiting Jay's Mom we took a trip to Peaks Island. Once on the island we took our time taking in the sites and of course found time to dine on some clam strips. For those of us that have yet to acquire a taste for each Maine entree, the veggie wraps can easily win you over. Here are a few images from our trip -- if you want to take a PEEK.

Here is a quick review of our trip.












Yep, you guessed it -- here's the entrance to the island.












Fortunately, there were plenty of signs around so we wouldn't get lost. From the look of things, updating the street signs must not have made it into one of the island's budgets in a few years. Maybe the residents seemed to forget their home started to gain popularity in 1700?







Surprisingly, we never got lost. Then again, the island is only 3 miles long.










When questioning our whereabouts, we look up and down and all around.

































We spent some time at The Fifth Maine Regiment Museum. The building and the views were stunning.

While wondering around a few surprises came our way. One of many finds happened to be an ORANGE house owned by the Clarke Family (Clarke was even spelled correctly -- maybe some distant relatives of mine were from Maine).

After we enjoyed a filling dinner we returned to the ferry and headed back to Portland.

The commute to and from the island couldn't have been easier. We left at 6:15 and never once encountered any gridlock.

Once back at the harbor, it seemed as if we had never left Massachusetts. Boston Harbor was staring right back at us. Home sweet home.