Family update blog. Please add your comments!

older collage---can you pick the eyes? We're missing the youngest one....

2011-11-14T19:10:00.000-05:00

Century 21 Top 5 Agents October 2011

2011-11-14T18:58:00.001-05:00

toes under nose, mmmnn, good cracker!

2010-06-04T00:34:00.000-04:00

I love watching these two families raise their goslings.......

2010-06-04T00:24:00.000-04:00

2010-06-03T20:16:00.000-04:00

2010-05-30T19:36:00.000-04:00

gulf oil industrial disaster

2010-05-20T09:20:00.005-04:00

I'm not an expert but this is NOT a NATURAL disaster! This is an industrial disaster with natural consequences. (And, as a parent, I'm all in favor of natural consequences! {sic}) I don't think initially that anyone but BP and other responsible parties should be ponying up for the effects! I don't care if BP is completely dismantled to pay for the damages. The protocols for safety weren't followed, maintenance wasn't performed, warnings (gasket bits rising to the surface) weren't heeded, and corporate greed won the day! Well, shareholders beware, when money is all anyone cares about, risk is the order of business. High risk equals potentially high losses. Following high gains are high losses. Oil companies posted record profits as we paid $4.00 a gallon for gas. Now we're being asked to DONATE for relief!!? Look, we ALL know, eventually, we will all bear this burden, (As usual) but for once, can the responsible parties pay the FIRST part??? Suspend their assets, accounts, etc. Every nickel should be diverted. Does ANYONE think by bailing out British Petroleum that any oil company will learn to be safe/cautious? Did bankers? Come on, WE'RE TIRED! How much overtime can a fella' work to pay for their avarice, again????

birth announcement

2010-05-05T22:36:00.001-04:00

Mom and Dad disco. (aren't they in great shape for grandparents?)

2010-05-03T01:30:00.003-04:00

http://sendables.jibjab.com/view/7PNb5m0N3ZnE9q6M

album 04\14\2010, by Renee O'Brien

2010-04-14T20:36:00.001-04:00

I'd like to share my Snapfish photos with you. Once you have checked out my photos you can order prints and upload your own photos to share.
Click here to view photos

easter family pic

2010-04-09T14:21:00.000-04:00

2010-04-04T18:08:00.000-04:00

John Patrick Loren O'Brien 3-21-10 1:50 am

2010-03-30T14:50:00.000-04:00

New baby pictures

2010-03-30T14:48:00.000-04:00

Claire holding Jack

2010-03-26T20:44:00.001-04:00

Hannah's swim team pic 2009

2009-10-31T23:23:00.000-04:00

Claire's 1st day of preschool

2009-09-09T19:45:00.000-04:00

little kids at six flags

2009-08-24T22:59:00.000-04:00

Robert's 1st day of Kindergarten!

2009-08-24T09:18:00.000-04:00

2009-08-11T10:02:00.001-04:00

Conor's 1st swim meet

2009-07-08T21:40:00.000-04:00

Hannah singing Taylor Swift's Love Story

2009-02-24T15:15:00.002-05:00

Click the highlighted text above to view.

Chicago Theatre 2-17-09

2009-02-18T02:33:00.001-05:00

Chicago Theatre

trip advisor's "Cities I've visited"

2009-02-16T17:10:00.001-05:00

2009-01-11T19:39:00.001-05:00

This is Conor sledding down onto the pond! That's our house on the left.
Thanks to neighbor Jeanne for the video!

2009-01-01T16:07:00.000-05:00

Grandma holds Robby during Mass.
Hannah cantored beautifully!

2008-12-20T11:49:00.000-05:00

Claire waves bye-bye to the visiting Santa Claus making the rounds of the local neighborhoods passing out fire dept. trinkets and candy. All the neighborhood kids came out!

This'll make a good Christmas card photo

2008-12-07T18:30:00.000-05:00

Thanksgiving 2008

2008-11-28T21:45:00.001-05:00

Here's the "Grown Ups Table"!

Robby plays with his food more than he eats its!

Claire creatively consuming Thanksgiving dinner from the comfort of the "Kids table" while the adults ate in the OTHER ROOM! :)
Robby slinking up the back stairs to see what's going on with the adults! (BUSTED!)

2008-11-10T16:48:00.000-05:00

Pumpkin picking at Thompson farm! (Pre-Halloween)
(Sorry for being out of chronology!)

2008-10-31T11:00:00.000-04:00

Daddy puts a 'rastafarian hat with included dreads' on Robby.
(The hat was actually Fuzzy Grandpa's costume for work at the library.)

2008-10-31T10:56:00.000-04:00

Hannah as "ATHENA" with her dog, ARTEMIS
No, really, Claire DOES eat.
Kathleen, and our neighbor, Brian.
All school Mass at St. Patrick Church/School

Halloween

2008-10-31T10:47:00.000-04:00

the crew
Tiki
Conor
Robby

assorted October pics

2008-10-31T10:36:00.000-04:00

Claire goin' out to dinner!

Kathleen turns 11. (Rainforest Cafe)
Trick or treating in the 'hood.
Claire as a bunny!

See how we're connected on LinkedIn

2008-07-27T01:17:00.001-04:00

One way to find me online...

2008-07-12T15:33:00.000-04:00

You can find great local Montpelier, Vermont real estate information on Localism.com Renee OBrien is a proud member of the ActiveRain Real Estate Network, a free online community to help real estate professionals grow their business.

2008-07-02T00:32:00.000-04:00

Here's Hannah smirking about me getting off a photo before she could block me!
Ha HA! Victory is Mine.

Hannah at Bball tourney

2008-06-02T22:56:00.000-04:00

Hannah grabs pass
Hannah "picks"
Hannah rebounds, then passes
Hannah sprints

Derry NH Basketball Tourney

2008-06-02T22:32:00.000-04:00

Hannah plays a killer POST
Go Hannah!
She SHOOTS!
She SCORES!

Hannah's concert 5-29-08

2008-05-29T23:12:00.003-04:00

Here is Hannah playing a solo (okay..she and the guy next to her, but just them) for the intro to this song. There was a chord pattern that the rest of the kids couldn't play.
Anyway, some of you will like this......listen closely!

2008-05-07T07:24:00.002-04:00

Claire's 1st pigtails! We all think they're pretty cute!

2008-05-01T10:39:00.001-04:00

April in Middlesex

2008-04-22T08:51:00.000-04:00

As seen from South Bear Swamp rd (facing northward)
Spring is shaping up to be beautiful. We've had well over a week of 70 degree weather, and there's still snow on the ground. If you zoom in on these pictures, (just click on it--when you're done looking, don't forget to hit the browser back button to return here) you'll see that it's still a foot or more deep in places. In our yard there are a couple of patches of 4-6 inches. Arie runs outside and rolls in them. She wishes she could keep them all year.

Same general spot, facing southward
More of the southward side of the rd
Well, they're not chickens, but they're much cuter.
Speaking of chickens: we caught a weasel. (A mink to be specific.) We had two traps set (Hav-a-hart) with the chickens they killed as bait. One of the traps was empty, but the chicken was taken out. (the trap didn't trip) The other trap was pretty well frozen into the coop, and we couldn't check it. When the thaw finally came, we (Kathleen, really) opened the coop and found the weasel, sans chicken, dead in the trap. I might post the photo of the mink on the other side of this blog. Go to 'my profile', then to other blogs, chicken massacre, I'll put it over there.)

nice road.

2008-04-12T18:00:00.000-04:00

Helpin' pull a friend's friend out of the main road

2008-04-12T17:52:00.002-04:00

Kathleen stands in the rut left after Kate's Toyota was hauled out.

Hard to believe this is a fairly main thoroughfare in town. You should see it bounce
up and down when you step on it. It really flexes. WEIRD!!!

And to think I wanted
to fight Union Pacific Railroad for a rough crossing back home. HMPH!

2nd MUD SEASON post, read the 1st one below, 1st.

2008-04-11T23:23:00.000-04:00

These are more angles of the bumps mentioned below. Read there first. (It's just the order I have this set up, the later entries show up on top.)
(Don't be misled by these photos. This isn't just ONE bump. This is just a big one near my house. I go over about six of these each pass between school and home. 2 or so into town. They're really everywhere. This isn't the worst one. The worst one I've seen yet is about the 4-500 block of East Hill road. When you hit it, you come down into a mud/slosh pit, slide around some, your rear tires get a little traction on the top of the mound and hopefully, if your wheelbase is LONG enough, (whew) you'll clear it. Otherwise, I hope you've got cell reception!
My girlfriend jogs in the AM. She hit one of these quicksand like erosion spots. Sunk in up to her knees. It pulled her sneakers off. She had to fish around up to her elbows to find them, and then wear them home like that. She didn't even cry when she told me the story. She said she'd been here 14 years, she was used to it. sigh. (my sigh.)

What MUD SEASON means in Vermont

2008-04-11T23:15:00.002-04:00

This is our parking pad. Robby is stuck in mud up to his ankle. (You can see that it pulled his boots OFF) This is what you step into when you get out of the car. (and carry in Claire, and groceries, backpacks, mail, etc.) This is also what you can expect to clean up, after seven people have tracked it into the house. This is what my landlord figures I can expect to share in the sufferings of all Vermonters alike because it's 'MUD SEASON'.) Funny though, It seems like something a load of gravel could help with....Hmnnn....

This is what's Vermont's predominantly unpaved roads can look like in 'MUD SEASON'. Going over this bump threw the stroller up into the air (In the trunk of the Chevy Suburban) and then it came CRASHING down along with the rest of the vehicle. I have never so frequently used the 4X4 feature. Thank GOD I don't have manually unlocking hubs.

More of the same bump. I'm gonna' just show you several angles, because, the photos JUST DON'T DO IT JUSTICE.

Don't even try bringing your sedan or coupe up these miles of dirt roads.

There are these cute little stories Vermonters tell to appease themselves about their state of being. This one's cute and goes something like this:

Two old Vermont gentlemen are sitting on their porch. They see something passing by on the road in front of the house. They think maybe it's a raccoon? One old feller' goes out and pokes it with his cane. Turns out, it's a hat, and when he pokes it, it reveals the head of his friend Jim. "Jim! You're in pretty deep. Are ya' okay???"
"Yup," he says, in that slow, Vermont, monosyllabic response style so common to men his age, "But my Horse is nearly drowned."

So, "Yup. I'm in pretty deep."

more easter 2008

2008-03-23T20:56:00.000-04:00

easter 08

2008-03-23T20:50:00.000-04:00

easter boogie

2008-03-23T14:39:00.003-04:00

Claire, in costume change number 2, (pajamas, before easter dinner dress), following a complete coating of chocolate. She is wearing a skirt that was part of her easter basket, (cut it off after opening.) It doesn't fit her, so it's tucked into her jammie bottoms.(which are a size 6-9 months!(though she usually wears 18-24mos)
Anyway, she loves a good hillbilly dance, as I've told some of you before, so, here's a taste. Not her best effort, but cute anyway.

Here's the actual link to the Catholic blog in question

2008-03-23T13:53:00.001-04:00

Easter, feeling away from home again.

2008-03-23T13:42:00.003-04:00

So, here we are, in a small town, in a small parish, away from the comforts of home, and a parish that was active and committed.

It felt strange. The services were lackluster. I know it shouldn't be about a floor show, and I tell myself it isn't. It's about being reverent. It's about bringing glory to God. But I just couldn't get over how much I missed Holy Week at St. Patrick's Parish, in Wadsworth, IL. If anyone got it right, they did. So, I'll remember to thank the Liturgy commission and liturgist and music director for making Easter special for our family.

When I came home last night I started reading about Easter traditions and found a great blog about the Catholic faith. It sounds like what many of you would expect me to say, only if I link to it, you'll get mostly my opinion, without me having to opine. Cool.

Most of you have no interest in me pontificating anyway, you're just here for the pictures. So be it.

here's the link: (or address, anyway)

http://www.conversiondiary.com

I did post a comment to an entry titled, "Es Tu"

Happy Easter!
He is Risen!

Real Estate link

2008-03-10T18:20:00.000-04:00

Conor whizzes by

2008-02-24T19:05:00.002-05:00

2008-02-24T19:01:00.001-05:00

2008-02-14T20:46:00.000-05:00

yup, we've been getting more snow, too!

2008-02-07T14:12:00.000-05:00

Arie is such a snow dog!

Trees are heavy with snow.

Better them, than me! Quite a view of snow from the front porch. This is Kathleen & Conor's music teacher's house.

View from deck. There's enough of a roof overhang that the snow doesn't fall IN when we open the door. Thankfully!

Conor whizzed past before I could get a shot, but here are the girls!

2008-01-28T20:50:00.000-05:00

More skiing pics!

2008-01-28T20:48:00.000-05:00

this one has their teacher for the day

A view around Mt. Ellen side of Sugarbush on the busiest day I've seen YET!

2008-01-28T20:47:00.000-05:00

Kids ready to go!

2008-01-28T20:46:00.000-05:00

Skiing lessons for Hannah, Kathleen, and Conor

2008-01-28T20:44:00.000-05:00

Ahh, this says it all!

Conor can't wait to get his skis on!

Kathleen's ready too!

Let's get this show on the road!

artwork, prints, and birds

2008-01-23T21:36:00.000-05:00

Claire sitting at piano at the museum where Conor's rendition of 'The Mona Lisa' was on display.

"The Mona Lisa" up close. Isn't it great??

Weasel tracks from the weasel(s?) that killed ALL of our chickens......:(

Evening grosbeaks at the feeder! Look at the males!

We've had a tragedy at our house. We suspect a weasel, but will keep you updated.

2008-01-23T10:52:00.000-05:00

Our chickens, now up to a total of eight, were all violently killed last night. The kids took out food and water and checked on them before they went to bed, closed and latched up the house, and came inside. This am, from the bathroom window we could see some chickens strewn around the chicken run. (They don't usually come out first thing in the AM, so it was weird to see any out at all, let alone just lying there....) When I went out to investigate it was clearly 'fowl play'. There were mixed tracks, but many were weasel sized and feathers and blood around. The chickens had all been bitten in the head, and left dead. (all but one, which was absent.) For reference purposes, (People looking around the internet to see what may have happened to their own chickens,)I will be posting photos of this massacre under separate cover. Sorry for the gruesome news, I just won't feel like describing it over and over on the phone. The kids don't even know yet, They'll be devastated when they get home from school. What a bummer.

click here for a great shopping portal that rebates money!

2008-01-23T10:39:00.000-05:00

This is a link for BigCrumbs.com. It's a spyware free site that rebates you money for any online shopping. It really works, just from Christmas alone at various common retailers I have $80 in rebates waiting. Some retailers are as much as 20% off! Floral orders, etc. can be even more! If you sign up from my link I even get a little cut. ($0.20 here $0.15 there, but it adds up) I've been using it for around one year, so I know it's safe. The only trick is to remember to start your shopping there. You click through to your store of choice by going to BigCrumbs first, the rest is automatically done for you. It has neat links if you're an ebay junkie, just click the ebay big crumbs link, and you get part of your ebay seller's listing fee rebated to you. Try it out!

Hannah makes highest honor roll - -follow link

2008-01-18T21:21:00.000-05:00

pass the cursor over the text above, it IS the link. (sorry)

Hannah at Ski Lessons at Sugarbush ski resort

2008-01-13T19:32:00.000-05:00

2008-01-03T17:21:00.000-05:00

Here's Robby, after a day at preschool and sitting in the car with his hat on. His head got sweaty and when he took his hat off, his hair was wild and woolly! I thought it was cute.

2008-01-03T15:23:00.000-05:00

Hannah gets the iPod she wanted. (It is pretty nifty)
Hannah is learning how to juggle, so Santa slipped a clown's nose in her stocking. She's also sporting abalone guitar pick (clip-on) earrings and a Taylor Swift CD!
Claire is a night owl, just WAITING for Santa. She didn't get to sleep until after Midnight.
Conor loves a Turkey leg. We had a local farm turkey for Christmas dinner.

Christmas 2007

2008-01-03T15:20:00.000-05:00

Claire opens a big bag!
Conor seems happy with his weapons of war. (soft ones)
Too cute, Robby.
Kathleen's pretty cute, too.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

2007-12-28T15:00:00.000-05:00

Well, folks. I ordered my Christmas cards on 13 December. As of the 26th, I still had not received them. Sam's Club agreed to issue a refund. This didn't really help me though, because now they are no longer Christmas Cards, now they are New Year cards.

I'm hoping you'll all just be so happy to hear from us, that you won't hold it against us.

It's always fun to go over the card list. I always feel like there are people that I am missing, if you have managed to be overlooked by my electronic process, PLEASE let me know your address. I don't want to lose contact!

So, I received them on the evening of the 27th. Here it is the 28th and the kids and I are putting them together assembly line style. It's fun, but a little chaotic. Don't mind if the stickers are crooked or upside down, it's part of the fun. (?)

Please stay in touch and USE the return address, put it in your next year's Christmas Card list, or send a note or email!

Good Tidings for a Happy New Year. We miss you all!

2007-12-22T21:42:00.000-05:00

If my Christmas cards would ever show up, (I ordered them late, on the 13th with priority shipment. They're still not here. You all may get them next year some time. It actually WASN'T my fault, this time)you'd see that this is similar to or maybe actually the photo on the card.
These signs are seen around, but I've not yet seen the nearby Moose.....
This would have been a neat photo if I had a passenger to take the pic, instead of driving and capturing.
Doug has to dig out the mailbox in order to get delivery. He looks thrilled to do it, doesn't he!?

Middlesex morning drive after the most recent snowfall

2007-12-22T21:06:00.000-05:00

Honey, warm up the grill for me, please?

2007-12-18T20:06:00.000-05:00

So, I just wanna' grill dinner, but my husband WON'T preheat it for me.
What a slacker!
Even the dog can barely carve a path through this ever renewing bank of snow on the deck.
Don't even TRY to navigate the steps!

So, for those of you who were wondering, "Yes, we've had a bit of snow."

It's not that 3 feet is so much, we've all had occasions of heavy snow, it's just that there's no reprieve. Every day there seems to be at least a fresh dusting to clean off the car or steps or walk. I do, however, hear that this is unusual. The ski resorts are thrilled. I guess last year, they didn't even have a white Christmas, so this much, this early IS unusual. I guess that's good. It's an entertaining induction, to be sure!

neat winter birds

2007-12-13T16:50:00.000-05:00

Wish I had a bow on this wreath. It makes the chickadee almost look like a fake!
This nuthatch was right up against the sliding door!

these tiny little birds are so pretty!

winter from deck in increasing zoom levels

2007-12-08T17:41:00.000-05:00

as seen from deck
zoomed in view, Sugarbush ski resort visible
Snow on runs is evident
This afternoon before sunset

what winter in VT is already shaping up to be

2007-12-08T16:50:00.000-05:00

typical outlook
Claire is too cute Sunday at church not to publish
Back of coat from Grandma Marcy
A look up (actually down) the street from our house. Thank God and Doug for 4x4 truck!

Let it snow! Let it snow! Let it snow!

2007-11-29T23:22:00.000-05:00

driving around 'town'

2007-11-29T23:17:00.000-05:00

We had a break in the snow and the sun came out. I had to take a few snapshots.
It's nice to see a blue sky, but it won't (didn't) last. Every time the snow melts, more is right behind it to replace it. The dirt roads are loose under foot (tire) when it melts/refreezes, but I think we'll make it through the winter!

2007-11-21T07:54:00.000-05:00

Here are the 1st 5 chicks. There has been one more since for a total of 6.
1st chick named 'Coconut' gets introduced to Arie.
Coconut wastes no time TRYING to show Arie who's boss.
(But, come on now, we know who that REALLY is!)

I guess the evening grosbeak post never made it to the blog!

2007-11-20T09:17:00.000-05:00

My first evening grosbeak hung around for a while!
He brought a dozen or so of his friends, 5 are pictured here.

I tried to post this when it happened, (couple of weeks ago?) but while posting pine grosbeak pics, I didn't see it, so here it is now.

Sorry to bore all my non-birding family members. Still, you have to admit, it's neat!

Pine grosbeak on a snowy day!

2007-11-20T09:13:00.000-05:00

Pine grosbeak plus bluejay on feeder
Zoomed in shot, (very snowy day, hard to capture clearly) of my 1st pine grosbeak. First the flock of evening grosbeaks come to visit, now this fellow. They're my first grosbeaks, ever!

Newest life at our house!

2007-11-16T16:37:00.000-05:00

Green Grami helped me take this little clip as we watched the miracle of this little chick hatching.

This video is not the first or the last of the series, but one of the neatest ones.
There are a dozen or so clips of varying degrees of interest/climax.

Let me know if you want to see more!

He really didn't drink too much at the wedding.

2007-11-04T08:12:00.000-05:00

The kids enjoyed their crazy uncle!
He just gets silly around his sister!
Doug and Kelly

2007-11-04T08:08:00.000-05:00

After painting the chicken coop we put the run up against it. (This was a while ago, I'm just getting around to posting some month old photos..........
These next few are me just TRYING to get a group photo of the cousins. These were the better ones. They at least had everyone IN them.

2007-11-04T08:01:00.000-05:00

Hairy woodpecker
Claire, helping put away the groceries. Wonder where she'll put the cookies?
Kathleen catches the local dusky salamanders with fair regularity. They're so small. This was a big one.
Somebody's got blue eyes!

DOWNTOWN MONTPELIER

2007-11-04T07:49:00.000-05:00

Montpelier is the nation's smallest state capital. Here, 2 doors down from the capitol, smack downtown, is an example of a local full serve gas station.
Many gas stations around have electronic readout pumps, but many of these remain. Remember the 'ding-ding' sound when you'd pull up to the station? We've got it. This downtown gas station doesn't sell drinks or cigarettes or anything but oil, antifreeze, and wiper fluid. (Not because of any regulation, just because.)

Can't help but take pictures of the friendly birds!

2007-11-04T07:39:00.000-05:00

I know, I know

2007-10-25T09:21:00.000-04:00

But I just can't help it! If you look, you see a cloud layer, the ridge behind it, then another denser cloud layer beyond that, and another ridge. Sorry about the birdhouse at the top, I wasn't dressed to go out to take a photo. Oh, and wow, did the leaves disappear fast. There are still some yellows hanging on, but the reds are gone, and the hills with mostly hardwoods are looking barer. I guess I'm just a newcomer because I just can't get over how great the views are here!

you must be tired of these same shots,

2007-10-19T17:05:00.000-04:00

but I can't help it! I love looking out the slider in the morning to see what there is to see today. I love that the clouds in the valley are below us. The colors everywhere are starting to fade as the leaves fall off. Still, beautiful, IMHO.

cute school pics

2007-10-16T14:12:00.000-04:00

2007-10-13T16:30:00.000-04:00

Wrightsville resevoir, Middlesex, VT
The colors are like a rainbow, everywhere you look!

view from inside my car when I pull up to the house. (taken with phone; low res)

2007-10-09T22:37:00.000-04:00

my backyard view since color has developed

2007-10-09T22:33:00.000-04:00

2007-09-26T13:23:00.000-04:00

Red squirrel trapped in chicken coop.

Bantam Orpington rooster was NOT happy about his company!
fattened chipmunk on deck, right by door.
Bantam Orpington hen lays 1 cream colored egg. (Shown next to golf ball to promote broodiness)

2007-09-26T12:55:00.000-04:00

This titmouse was brave enough to come to the feeder, and then decided right up to the door was okay too. The wildlife here is getting aggressive. Squirrels and chipmunks and chickadees wait for us to open the slider door to come in and shop for seeds. (The kids encourage this.)

2007-09-24T08:55:00.000-04:00

Kathleen's soccer game

2007-09-22T21:57:00.000-04:00

neat hairdo, too!

chickadees are getting pretty aggressive

2007-09-22T21:56:00.000-04:00

I took these pictures while sitting within 3 feet of these little birds.
They came right in looking for food.

I had, (admittedly) put out hulled sunflower seeds to see if they'd take them. They did.

Open house at

2007-09-20T09:41:00.000-04:00

Kathleen's class made self portraits with clues to help identify them. (I hope she wasn't talking about MY cooking! HA !
You can see here that hers was a real stand out. Her teacher called her a "Power House". I asked what that meant, and she just explained that Kathleen was great at everything. Sports, academics, art, everything. "Wow!" she said.
Kathleen was nominated for a "Rumney CARES Award". This was presented at an all school assembly, and consisted of a wristband (you know, those plastic/rubber ones...)and a photo on their web page. (www.rumney.org) She was chosen because of her great sportsmanship. When someone falls or gets hurt playing soccer, she stops, helps them, makes sure they're okay, THEN proceeds to score. ::grin::
Kids in the yard while working on a project. More on this later.