Welcome to the Connell Family
Christmas / New Year 2004 web page!
From Chuck: Hi everyone! Welcome to our third annual holiday web site. I found lots of cool animated GIFs this year, so I had to use a few of them above.
Our family had a good year. Now that Elizabeth is getting bigger, we took quite a few trips, including New York City in April, camping in NH in July, a weekend in Martha's Vineyard, and two weeks in Ogunquit in August. For any families traveling to NYC, I highly recommend the Hotel Beacon. We got a one-bedroom apartment with full kitchen for a reasonable price. Plus, it is close to H&H Bagels, which many people feel is the best anywhere. While in NYC, we visited the UN, ate at John's Pizza in Greenwich Village, and toured the Statue of Liberty / Ellis Island. Ellis was fascinating. It is now fully restored and well worth a half-day to see this part of American history.
Here are some pictures of our family this year. The second one includes my Aunt Elsie and Uncle Jim, whom we enjoyed visiting on Martha's Vineyard.
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(Since so many people have asked about this for several years, let me state for the record that Charles has a very nice smile and is actually a happy kid. He just wants to show who is boss and acts cool for family pictures.)
From Katie: Hi!!! I have Miss Jones for a 4th grade teacher. I play on a travel soccer team. I love soccer!!! My other favorite activities are dance, Girl Scouts, and basketball. I play a little softball too. I have just learned how to knit. I had a blast at my dance recital. I took hip-hop. All the trips we took this year were awesome!!! Like the trips to Maine, NYC, camping, and Martha's Vineyard. I had the best year!!!!!!!!!! Here are some of my favorite pictures. The first one is from Easter (notice how carefully Liz is trying to "smile") and the last is from the pool in Maine.
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From Charles: Well I guess I’ve had a good year, not much happened. I’m in 8th grade now, and that’s pretty cool. At the end of the year, we get to spend a week in Washington D.C. We also get a prom, talent show, and other cool stuff. The spring musical is starting, and I plan to be lighting manager. (And I really want to also.) Last year I was working on the computerized lighting board a ton, and got totally addicted to it. I am really, really certain that no other kid in the school can compete for manager based on experience. As I am writing this, other 8th graders are trying out for acting part in the play. It’s called Honk, and it is an extremely adapted version of the ugly duckling story.
I’ve gotten up to level 5 on the piano now. My recital is next weekend. I’m doing “Sounds of Silence,” a song from Jekyll and Hyde, and a song from The Phantom of the Opera. I’m also playing percussion in a middle school band concert in a couple of days.
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From Elizabeth: I turned three years old this year. I am having fun being part of this family, and I make sure to let them know that I don't want to be left out of anything. Some of my favorite activities are reading with my sister, playing Star Wars Battlefront on PlayStation with my brother and his friends, and going to gymnastics class with Mom. My two best friends are Mia (also from China) and Lilly (from Russia) who joins me at Story Hour at the library. I went camping for the first time this year. It was quite an adventure for my parents to keep me from wandering into the woods or tripping over tree roots. They convinced me to wash a lot of dishes (photo below) which kept me in one spot for a while. The other picture is from summer vacation in Ogunquit, where I like to run on the open sand during low tide.
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From Janet: I am always the last one in the family to find time to write my paragraph. I wonder why?? All is well here. I had a great year taking care of our three wonderful kids. It is fun to have such an age range: a 14 year old teenager who thinks he is an expert on everything, a 9 year old who is involved in many activities, and a 3 year old who loves to keep up with everything the older ones do. They keep me hopping, but life is good. Two of my favorite pictures are below. The first shows Katie and I with a Valentine's cake we just made, and the second shows Elizabeth's reaction to a summer boat ride on Lake Sebago (sound asleep). Happy Holidays to all our friends and family.
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Happy New Year Everyone!
We hope your coming year is filled with joy and good memories!