We decided that since we had a couple of days with no plans, we would drive to Newport RI and tour some of the mansions which are supposed to be very pretty at Christmastime. It is only about a 1.5 hour drive, so we left on Friday morning and were standing at the Atlantic Ocean by noon. Not bad!

We spent the first day doing some outside things like walking the Cliff Walk, since it was such a beautiful day...in the high 40's. We toured The Breakers on Friday, did the Cliff Walk, and walked around downtown Newport doing some window shopping. Fun day. Saturday was drizzly and was a good day to tour two more mansions, Marble House and The Elms, and find a dry spot to watch the UConn Bowl game. We had a really good time. We were worried Jack would be bored, but he actually liked the houses as much as, or more than, his brothers.

I tried to figure out how to put these pictures in slideshow format, but no luck! Sorry for the long post! Maybe I'll figure out a better way next time.

Here is Jack at the top of the "Forty Steps" which is where we started our walk on the Cliff Walk. The Cliff Walk is a beautiful path that goes between the Atlantic Ocean and some of the great mansions. The forty steps lead down to some rock outcroppings you can climb on. Another view of the start of the Cliff Walk. It was a beautiful day for a walk. It took us about 20 minutes of walking to get to The Breakers.

This is a view of back of The Breakers, facing the ocean. The only picture they allow you to take inside of The Breakers was of this huge poinsettia tree in the grand hall. The front of The Breakers.
This is the view of The Breakers from the Cliff Walk. This was our favorite mansion.
This is the administration building of Salve Regina University. Nice! It is just off the Cliff Walk and next door to The Breakers.
This is the back of The Elms, facing the ocean. This mansion had the most beautiful grounds. This is the back of the Marble House which faces the ocean.
There are number of wharfs in Newport that are full of little shops. It is really pretty at night when they are all lit up. The Breakers view from the enormous gates

We had a very relaxing and nice Christmas Eve. We went to 4PM Mass, then home to light a fire, eat some appetizers and open presents. Thank you to all the Schoeberl cousins for the nice gifts, and to Grandma and Grandpa Schoeberl for their nice presents and to Grandma Connie for the ornaments. Everything was a hit and thank you notes are forthcoming!



Christmas this year was about music, music, music...some of it very loud! Aren't you glad you don't live in Connecticut? Jack is seen here with his new Sing Star game which is like karaoke, except it actually keeps track of how well you sing. I have not tried this game yet as I want Jack to enjoy it before I short it out with my vocals. He also received an electric drum pad, and a "Power Tour" electric guitar. Here is Sam in deep concentration trying to get to the expert level of Guitar Hero. When he is in the zone, we must not interrupt the master. David has had this drum set since last Christmas, but got a new double bass drum pedal so he can drum twice as fast. He also got new drum sticks, a subscription to a drummer magazine (yes, there is such a thing) so he can dream of his next upgrade, and a new ipod to drum along to.

Blue Man Group - Boston

Since David and Jack are both into percussion, Brian and I decide to surprise the boys with an early Christmas present and bring them to see the Blue Man Group in Boston. We told them to get ready for church, but instead we turned off onto the highway. We expected them to immediately ask where we were going, but it took them a while to even notice we were not on our way to church! They were so excited and surprised, although Sam says he knew something was going on when we told them they did not have to get very dressed up for church since we are going to Christmas Eve mass tomorrow. I guess he thought that was wierd! Anyway, this is a picture of them in the car right after we told them our surprise. Notice how well they hide their disappointment in missing church. Boston is about 1.5 hours from us so it was not a long trip at all. The show was loud, messy, funny, interactive and we all loved it. If you have never been to see the Blue Man Group perform...here are some things we experienced: marshmallows, Captain Crunch, jello, paint, toilet paper, twinkies, fire extinguishers, and the list goes on and on. It was a really fun day. We got home just in time to see the Vikings choke...

We would have loved to get some pictures of the performance or of the "Blue Men" but pictures were not allowed, so we had to settle for a shot with the marquis.

Brian and the boys on Boston Common after watching the show. Notice that we finally got all the white streamers off of us...if you have never seen the show, it is wild and crazy!

The Charles Theater was only a block from Boston Common, so we took a little walk to look at the Christmas lights. It was very mild out, although a little damp and drizzly. The lights were pretty and there were a lot of people skating at the outdoor rink. These pictures are very dark and do not do the Common justice...but it was very pretty.

First winter storm '07

Here are a couple of pictures of our first big winter storm. Schools were cancelled yesterday in anticipation, and today schools were 90 minutes late. The boys were extremely sad that their education may suffer as a result. We can only hope they muddle through.



The first picture is of our yard at 10:30 am. The second picture is of our yard at noon.

A Nor'easter is heading this way and should be here on Sunday. Sounds like a good day to bake cookies!

UConn football game

Sam invited a friend, Will, to come with us to the UConn football game for his 13th birthday. We had a lot of fun, but it was coooooold! UConn won of course! David, Jack and I got so cold that during half-time, we walked across the street to the new Cabela's store and wandered around.

Jack's football pictures

Jack's very first win..and at the new home stadium too!Jack celebrating with a teammate

Here's Jack about to sack the quarterback! Go get 'em number 76!

Here's Jack putting the pressure on again!

Boys at the hotel...

In front of Babe Ruth's birthplace...

At Camden Yards...

Our friend Boof

Here we are after stalking Twins pitcher Boof Bonser
outside the Hard Rock Cafe in Baltimore. Sam looks
happy to meet Boof!