The Donovans Family Blog

With Tamara in NYC

2012-09-06T18:16:00.001-04:00

Photos taken on 07.05.2012

The drive from Boston to NYC wasn't so bad. It took us about 4 hours to get into the city. It was great to see Tom and Tamara reunite after so many years. I asked Tom, "When was the last time you saw each other?" and Tom says, "Dunno. 10 years or so." I bet Tamara would do a lot better at remembering dates and such. :)

And this is the first time Cole and I met her in person.-- I've talked to her on the phone a couple of times in all the years I've known Tom. Tamara is a nice, cool lady!

We got settled in her apartment and went right back out to stroll the streets of East Village.

While Cole and I were waiting in the downstairs hallway for Tom and Tamara, I couldn't resist taking a couple of shots of Cole, using the brick wall as a backdrop.

We went to this Mediterranean restaurant for our evening grub. I really should do a better job remembering the names of these places...

Love this shot of Cole and Tamara below...

More pics to follow.

4th of July in Cape Cod

2012-09-05T16:49:00.000-04:00

Photos taken on 07.04.2012

Jim, Melissa, Sara and Meghan had us over at their lovely summer home in Cape Cod to celebrate 4th of July. It's amazing to see how much Sara and Meghan have grown since we last saw them, which may have been two summers ago (?).

Time flies! Love Meghan's darling red locks and her mischievous smile! :)

And Sara has grown into this lovely young lady!!

Harry's the center of attention below...

Uncle Mike on stilts-- not to be outdone by Meghan...

Uncle Tom goes for it too... Hey, how come Uncle Jim didn't try it?

Um, because he was busy with our yummy lobster dinner!!

Here's Harry getting some loving attention from Sara...

The ladies chillin' while the men tend to dinner... I like this!!

Here's Harry surfin'...

After dinner, everyone went to the golf course for fireworks while I stayed behind with Harry. So no pics of fireworks, sorry!

Thank you so much for having us. We had a wonderful time and it was so nice to see you! We're sorry we missed you Syma, Lila and Thomas.

Back at Mom and Dad's

2012-09-03T22:04:00.001-04:00

Photos taken on 07.03.2012

So excited to see Harry again...

Of course Mom and Dad and everyone else too! :)

Harry's waiting to be walked by Grandpa so he can say hello to his little girlfriend...

Mom and Dad invited us to this fancy place for dinner-- Hey Dad, you'll have to tell us the name of this place-- nice ambience and great food! Thanks!!

Our Last Day in Toronto

2012-08-31T12:35:00.000-04:00

07.01.2012

Back at 10th Line we were on our last day in Toronto...

While Cole explored nature by the pond, the girls jumped in...

... and Tommy too...

Then Cole went exploring again... This time with Tita Lucy...

... and found a frog...

... or two...

... Here's Mommy Nikki reminding her not-little-girl (anymore) to do something...

Lucy, Len, Nikki, Eric, Lyndsey and Madison, thank you so much for spending time with us! Maybe next time we'll see each other here in Atlanta!

Fun Afternoon and Evening at The Gordons

2012-08-25T16:21:00.001-04:00

06.30.2012

The Gordons hosted a fun afternoon full of yummy food, great company, with a lot of jumping...

... more jumping...

... hair static...

... puppy love...

... Lady Gordon busying herself in the kitchen...

... silly posing...

... some more serious posing...

... a ride on the magic carpet...

... and smelly kilikilis...

... goofiness...

(They finally humored me on this one below. However I love the silly ones the best!)

... more silliness...

... some chill time...

... some more posing on the magic carpet...

... and driving around in the golf cart...

Nikki, Eric, Lyndsey and Madison, thank you so much for having us over! We had a wonderful time!!!

Niagara Falls

2012-08-18T14:49:00.000-04:00

Lucy, Len, Lyndsey and Madison took us to Niagara on the Lake where we had delicious pub grub for lunch and a fun and interesting discussion about Cole's kinship toward Lyndsey and Madison... I'm still not sure whether they are first cousins once removed. Is that right? I get lost when I read Wiki's explanation and diagrams! :)

After lunch, Lucy and Len went back home and the girls spent the afternoon with us at Niagara Falls. It was an amazing experience to get drenched by the mist from the falls' downpour as the Maid of the Mist took us within yards of the falls. We were given rain ponchos but Cole, Lyndsey and Madison decided not to wear theirs. It was loud, fun... and WET! I didn't dare bring the camera on the boat-- so no pics!

Afterwards, we had some ice cream-- of course! :) On our way back to the car, we took a couple of pics...

Check out King Kong a third of the way down from the top left corner of the picture below...

I think there are more pictures that need to be downloaded from Cole's camera and Tom's phone. Will add more here when I get around to this.

Madison's Soccer Game

2012-08-17T12:29:00.003-04:00

06.28.2012

After swimming at the Logans, we went to Madison's soccer game...

Here's Madison's team warming up before the game...

And the game begins...

In the first few minutes, Madison hung back a little bit, scoping the competition.

But once she got the ball...

She took off with it...

... and stayed on it

... and kept going

... and SCORED one for the red team!!!

Way to go, Madison!

Madison's a super fast runner!

... and look at the fierce concentration on her face!

Great job, Madison! We loved watching you play!!

Swimming... at the Logans

2012-08-15T13:54:00.001-04:00

06.28.2012

After our visit at the Gordons, we went back to Lucy and Len's for a quick dip.

The fun and silliness continues...

I asked the kids to jump up and out of the water at the same time. Here's the first attempt...

... and the second attempt...

... It's not that simple to coordinate 3 kids to do the same thing at once!

Now, how about surfing??

Whoa, hang in there, Madison!

Uh oh!

and DOWN she goes!!

Ok, now what?

CANNON BALL!!!!

Okay, AGAIN!!

Now, it's Lyndsey's turn to surf...

Uh oh!

She's not giving up!

THAT was a ton of fun!

The Gordons Home

2012-08-15T13:28:00.002-04:00

06.28.2012

Lucy and Len took us to the Gordons home so Lyndsey and Madison can show us their lovely home, which sat on 5 acres, with a pond to the left of the house...

Cole had to check out their spring-fed pond...

Tommy picked some wild flowers...

Lucy and Len used to live here before they moved to their huge house in Ballantrae.

Here's my lovely sister, Lucy.

Can't go to the Gordons home without driving the golf cart!!

Here's Cole holding on for dear life... with a huge grin on his face. :)

Tito Len showed Tommy and Cole how fast this golf cart can go!!

Coley, the madman!!

Tommy HAD TO get on that trampoline...

Say hello to the chickens...

Silly Lyndsey...

... and darling Madison.

To the right of the house, which I didn't get to take pictures of, is a vegetable garden that Eric lovingly planted. They had swiss chard, tomatoes, raspberries and more!

When I took these pics, Nikki was still at work and Eric was working in his shop. Thanks to Lyndsey and Madison for showing us around their lovely home.

En Route to Toronto

2012-08-15T12:45:00.000-04:00

06.27.2012

Then we're off to Toronto where my sister, Lucy, her husband, Len, Lucy's oldest daughter, Nikki and family live.

It was a 10-hour drive from Boston to Toronto... a lot of driving this summer!

Another cool bridge...

I have so many shots of Tommy this way from all our road trips since '96.

Are we there yet??

Crossing the border...

Finally... Yay!

Chillaxin' with Mom and Dad

2012-07-19T19:07:00.000-04:00

06.26.2012

Took some shots of Mom and Dad when I realized that I hadn't done any the day before!

Here's Dad chillin' with his iPad... looking for the best route that would get us to Toronto the fastest way.

Here's Tommy showing off his crane pose...

Like father, like son.

"What time are you coming over, Mikey?", says Mom.

Mom and Dad, thank you so much for having us and loving Harry while we're gone! We'll be back!

More to follow...

Summer Vacation - En Route to Boston

2012-07-16T22:30:00.000-04:00

As soon as we pulled into the garage, we looked at the odometer and found that we traveled a total of 4 thousand miles!! It was a LOT of driving within 16 days-- but it was so worth it because we saw our loved ones along the way.

Will start off with some pics from our trip.

Can't remember the name of this bridge, but this was right before we saw...

... this.

Here's our little navigator, Harry.

And Coley, the easiest kid traveler ever!

And our main man, Tommy, who did most of the driving!! Thanks, Tommy. xo

Couldn't resist playing with these shots (below) of GW Bridge...

Battle of the Books

2012-04-26T23:45:00.001-04:00

Today, Cole's team won at SBE's very first Battle of the Books. The program began in early October with 5 teams of 4 kids, with a mix of 4th and 5th graders. The teams met once a month with Ms. Quick, the Battle of the Books coordinator and is also one of the teachers of SBE's Horizons Program. (Cole's been in Horizons since 2nd Grade.)

The kids were given a list of 30 books, from which they were supposed to read at least half from the list. Cole read 18 of them since last fall!

Here's a pic of Cole, with his teammates. Cole, Allie and Claire are in 4th Grade and Colton (on the far right) is in 5th. There were 4 sessions with 30 questions asked in each round. Took this picture before they went in for their first session. Cole didn't let me bring the "big" camera but I'm so glad I had my iPhone with me. :)

The goal of the competition was to score as many points in 4 rounds of Q and A-- detailed questions about the books. They get 5 points for giving the names of the books correctly and an extra 2 points for naming the corresponding author.

The pic below was taken in between rounds.

Cole was in Team 5.

We are so proud of Cole and his teammates for getting first place at SBE! His team and 2nd place (Team 2) will go to HCE on May 8th to compete against the other elementary schools in Forsyth County. Best of luck to all of you!

We love you, Coley!

Cole's Birthday Party

2012-04-26T23:32:00.000-04:00

04.14.2012

We had a total of 16 kids at Cole's party and it was a blast!! They took turns at the jungle gym.

A shot of the lovely ladies, Laurel, Olivia, Gracie and Siena.

Coley, the Birthday Boy!

Cole's best friend, Zach.

Allie, the head mistress of Weird Academy! ;)

They played bocce. Here they are going over bocce rules.

I think Olivia has a question here...

Here's Lawson about to play his turn...

and Tommy, throwing the Bocce "snitch"...

Hey Grant!

Here's Cole's other best friend, Dylan...

Megan came over right after a softball game...

Madeleine too... Megan and Madeleine played against each other that afternoon.

Then came Musical Chairs...

And cupcake-squishing... Now whose idea was this? I know someone's mother was not too happy about this!! ;)

I don't think I was able to capture anything from the Egg Relay Race-- I didn't boil the eggs long enough... That was a mess!!

Time for BIRTHDAY CAKE!!

Our Birthday Boy!!

Here are some group shots...

Thank you all for coming and for making Cole's birthday a very memorable one!

Easter Bunny

2012-04-18T23:34:00.000-04:00

04.08.2012

E.B. stopped by this morning and left a basket of goodies for Cole.

After inspecting all his goodies from E.B., Cole went to the backyard to search for Easter eggs.

Someone needs a haircut!

Kung Fu Coley...

Silly Coley...

And to carry on the Donovans Easter tradition, we made an E.B. cake right here in Georgia... What do you think, Grandma?

Happy Easter!

No idea what's up with the doo-rag tough guy look... Not quite sure it works with his boy and E.B. in the same picture. :)

Snapshots from Star Mall Show hosted by Paolo Alino, Jasmine Curtis-Smith, RJ Padilla and Mike Swift

2012-04-17T14:12:00.000-04:00

paolo alino jasmine curtis smith
01.08.2012

These snapshots were taken while we were in Manila just a few days before Cole and I flew back to Atlanta. My nephew, Paolo Alino, co-hosted this show at Star Mall, with Jasmine Curtis-Smith, RJ Padilla and Mike Swift. I was so amazed at how these young artists totally engaged the audience.

Check out the clip of Paolo and Jasmine's duet in the middle of this post (right before the images of Paolo with his fans). You can also view the clip on YouTube.

Here's Paolo backstage prepping for the show...

Filipino rapper, Mike Swift...

I didn't have the pleasure of meeting this guy (below), who co-rapped with Mike Swift. Cool dude too.

RJ Padilla

They had all sorts of games for the audience...

... and here's Jasmine Curtis-Smith-- She's one very pretty and charming young lady!

Here's my handsome nephew, Paolo...

After the show, Paolo went backstage to take a 2-minute break, and went right back out the side door to be with his fans who wanted their picture taken with him!!

Signing autographs...

Paolo, with his mother/my sister, Stella.

With Auntie Corette...

Needless to say, I'm a super proud auntie!!

Afternoon Tea at The Manila Peninsula

2012-04-15T22:51:00.000-04:00

I am so behind on posting pics!!

These were taken on January 4th to celebrate my oldest sister's birthday. Ate Olay, we love you tons!

Here's Lucy, my second older sister, and her youngest daughter, Danielle.

Olay, my oldest sister whose birthday we were celebrating that day, on the far right.

Our lovely mother, Otilia!

The lovely ladies at Manila Pen...

Te Luce, thanks for hosting this wonderful afternoon of indulgence!! :)

Highlights from Our Boracay Trip

2012-01-21T23:12:00.002-05:00

12.26.2011
Boracay Island
Day 1

The day after Christmas we set off for Boracay. We had a 9:30'ish in the morning flight, which meant having to wake up pretty early. As you can see, Tom and Cole here looked tired and sleepy while waiting for our plane to arrive.

Cole perked up for this shot with Mr. Elephant Pilot... part of the decor at the place where we had breakfast.

"Where's our boat?"

We arrived at the Regency in Station 2 at around 11:30. We trekked over to the hotel's buffet lunch while waiting for our room. After lunch, we checked with the front desk, it still wasn't ready. So Tom and Cole went for a walk on the beach to pass the time.

The night before we arrived, a mild tropical storm hit the island. There were some rain clouds that lingered a little bit... see the dark clouds on the left side of the picture below.

Tired of waiting, we bought Cole a couple pairs of swim shorts and he couldn't wait to get in one of the 3 pools of the Regency.

Tom had to get his feet wet too...

Here's Cole getting some attention from one of the pool fishies...

We didn't get to check into our room until 3:00 pm. We chilled out there for a little bit and then hit the beach in the late afternoon. Below are some sunset shots...

Sand castle built by Cole and Tommy in the foreground...

I'll be posting more photos from the following days...

Frolicking in Xavierville

2012-01-16T20:57:00.002-05:00

12.23.2011

Xavierville Subdivision

My brother, Jul, and his wife, Corette, put us up in their cozy home in Xavierville Subdivision the first two weeks of our stay. It was a great way to catch up on the years we've been apart, which was over 10 years! Luckily, my brother was off from work those two weeks. When we weren't home chit-chatting, we were either out shopping, going to fittings for my sister's wedding, or having dinner at a family member's house.

Then we had one of those rare days with no plans for the afternoon. What better way to pass the time than to frolic in Jul and Corette's neighborhood pool.

... and some snuggling too.

Tom got some exercise here with a passenger on his back.

The pool was completely surrounded in lush foliage.

So I asked them to pose here...

Then I asked them to fix their hair a little bit...

Still messy...

Okay, a lot better now!

The Morning of Stella and Ed's Wedding

2012-01-03T01:30:00.000-05:00

12.19.2011
Bridal Suite
Manila Peninsula

I took advantage of the time when everyone was still asleep when I took these shots of Stella's gorgeous wedding gown...

The sun had just started to rise and it cast an ethereal glow on the gown...

Here's our fresh-faced bride ready to tackle the BIG DAY!

Some last minute coordination...

Peace before the storm...

While waiting for the photographers to arrive, I took some shots of the bride getting ready...

Jean Castor did a great job with Stella's hair and makeup. Stella didn't look too made up. The look was soft and elegant, which went perfectly with the outfit.

A pensive moment...

Here's Carlo reviewing something on his laptop...

A profile shot with hair and make-up all done.

Here's our beautiful Mama all done up as well. I have to say... our 80-year old mother looked so pretty that day!!

Here's Nikki getting her hair done... make-up expertly applied.

And here's Lucy with hair and makeup all done, keeping herself cool with her fancy Boracay fan.

Silly moment...

Here's Alma waiting patiently for her turn...

I asked Lucy to pose for me in the shot below.

Lucy and Nikki... a mother and daughter moment.

I wish I could have taken more pictures of everybody that very memorable day.

The Night Before Stella and Ed's Wedding

2012-01-01T22:36:00.001-05:00

12.18.2011
Bridal Suite
Manila Peninsula Hotel

I can only imagine the stress (or excitement?) my sister, Stella, and her husband, Ed, went through to prepare for their lovely wedding. It took them 3 months of intensive preparation for their special day.

Stella asked us, Mom and sisters, to join her at the Manila Peninsula the night before the wedding. The bride did a lot of running around and the door to the bridal suite constantly opened and closed with all the last minute preparation and chika chika. It was fun to watch everyone fluttering about. I remember feeling the happiness, the stress and excitement in getting ready for Stella and Ed's wedding.

Here's Stella reviewing the misalette...

Reviewing her vows...

The chosen motif for the wedding is silver and pink. Silver to celebrate their 25 years together and pink as the accent color. Stella had her nails done in a light shade of pink and had delicate flowers painted on every other finger.

Here's our oldest sister, Olay, chatting with Mom (I think).

Here's our groom, Ed, who came by to go over last minute stuff with the bride...

Can you feel the stress permeating out of Stella in the shot below? : )

Stella and Ed's oldest son of 4 boys, Carlo, came to check on Mom.

Nela, Ed's younger sister, came bearing gifts of munchies and good cheer...

Here's our incredible Mama, who graced us with her lovely presence.

Stressful moment!!

"OMG, I hope I packed the rings!!!"

Angelo, Stella and Ed's youngest son, hung out with us for a little bit and showed us his guitar skills.

And Franco, the third of the 4 boys, hung out with us for a little bit as well playing Tilt to Live... or as Cole says... it should be called Tilt or Die.

We all thought that Stella will spend the night before the wedding with us girls... away from the groom. But NO, she slept with her groom-to-be!!

Scootering and skateboarding...

2011-11-12T19:37:00.001-05:00

11.06.2011

Tom showed off his skateboarding skills, while Cole showed off his scootering skills.

"Mommy, check out my scooter-skateboarding skills!" Look at his feet closely... scooter AND skateboard. :)

Here goes Tommy... with Coley close behind him!

Cole's Trick or Treating Costume...

2011-11-04T23:41:00.000-04:00

Oh yeah! Almost forgot to post Cole's costume for when he went Trick or Treating...

I didn't realize how antsy he was to go Trick or Treating!! Can't blame him though. :)

Halloween at Hawthorne

2011-11-04T23:29:00.002-04:00

This is our first Halloween at our new subdivision. It was nice to see the neighborhood kids get together in all their fun Halloween costumes!

This year, Cole wanted to wear two costumes. He wore his Stealth Ninja costume from last year... but at the last minute, he tweaked it a little bit and became... The Waffle House Ninja!

And here are Tweedle-Dee and Tweedle-Dum! Awesome costumes and LOVE the propeller hats!!!

Then Waffle House Ninja snuck in between Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum...

Here are the other kids in their fun costumes!

Guess who won Best Costume-- Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum!!

Dylan Came to Play

2011-10-13T23:39:00.000-04:00

Cole's friend, Dylan, came over last Saturday and spent the day with us. Well, with Cole really. Tom and I were pretty much invisible... except for when the boys needed help with something. We had nice weather-- a bit nippy, but nice.

Tom took them fishing in the early afternoon at our neighborhood pond. Both Cole and Dylan caught fish. We'll have to check with Cole and Dylan about how many they caught. Then they came back, had some pumpkin cupcakes, and went right back out to play. They played on the playset, then played bocce, ride their bikes... and other stuff! The one thing that was a constant was the laughter. So funny to watch and listen to these two. They just cracked each other up!

At dinner, the silliness continued. Cole and Dylan talked about going outside again right after dinner... and it was already dark! I asked jokingly if they wanted to sleep outside in our backyard... in a tent. Just like camping! There was not hesitation at all... the response was a resounding, "YEAH!!!" And so they did!

Here are some photos taken from that day... starting with some test shots with Harry.

Cole wasn't so happy with me when I started clicking away. Sigh!

Here's Dylan... the FisherMAN! Dylan, how many did you catch?

Here's Tommy working on the fishing line to work right...

Here's one of the fish they caught...

My boyzzz...

Here's Harry waiting patiently...

Biking...

Dylan, thanks for coming over to spend time with us!