A Few Reasons why we love going to Camp!

Visiting with Family the Sunday after the Reunion!

Visiting in Greenfield with Mom and Grandma

Girls with Great Grandma Burek


This Dog (Xavier) is HUGE, but extremely friendly

Mom , I want a Golf Cart for our House!
Dad with Chris and John
Fun in the Hotel Pool
Visiting Dzadiu
This is the last picture we have of the barn that is no longer there!
It has been torn down and will be the future place of Chris and Melanie's
New home.

The Skroski Family Reunion!

We went to the first Skroski Family Reunion August 15th at John's cousin Don and Ellen's home in Whately Mass. What a wonderful time we had catching up with everyone! Here are some of the fun facts we learned:
** The Reunion took place at the original Skroski homestead that was built in 1909. This is where John's Great Grandparents Frank and Helen raised their 7 children, one of which was John's Grandfather William. So that mean't we were celebrating 100 years of Skroskis in Whately, Mass.
** Frank and Helen each came over to the US separately from Poland and met in New York City.
** Out of the original 7 children, 5 of them had children and all of those five had children representing them at the Reunion. Aunt Wanda is the only one of the original 7 that is still living and she looks wonderful.
** The name Ellis Island assigned to Frank Skroski originally was Skrodsky - apparently that was the way his name sounded in his native dialect.
There was lots more that we learned!! Thank you Don and Ellen for hosting such a great event !
Wow look at the whole Clan!
John with his Dad, Cousin Ed and me

The sign and the original Home.

Fun Tractor Rides with this 1959 Treasure

Brothers with spouses - I think I was telling Christine "Just take the picture"

John and his Dad
Georgeann entertained the kids quite nicely

with Golf Cart and Tractor Rides.

They even went to visit the Alpaca Farm that Georgeann helps out at.

Skylar and Caroline having fun in the Pool
Chris and Melanie, almost celebrating their 1 year Anniversary

Christine and Helena
Maddy and Skylar having a blast in the Sand Box
Charlotte and Alexandra- this seesaw was awesome!
A Great Picture of Aunt Charlotte and Uncle Ed!

Peter and Stacey's Wedding!

My cousin Peter finally found the Women of his dreams! He and Stacey were married on June 20th at the Grace Episcopal Church in New Bedford, MA. This is the same church my Grandparents were married in and my Aunt and Uncle (Peter's parents). It also sits across the street from the house my Mom grew up in! It was a beautiful Wedding! The Reception was held at Wilbur Point under tents in the front yard of the Cottage. John and I had the whole weekend without kids :) - it was a great getaway for us! We are so happy for Peter and Stacey - Congratulations!

Caroline turned 5 May 24th!

I can't believe my baby is now almost 5 and a half! John and I often talk about how fast time flies by. Caroline's Birthday was lots of fun. We had a cake and presents from us on her actual Birthday and then had a friend/family Birthday party on May 31st. The theme for her party centered around bugs! We had a Bug Hunt in the back yard, Pin the bee on the flower, face painting, etc. It was lots of fun and a great time to catch up with everyone :) Unfortunately towards the end of the party John completely wiped out while playing Wiffle Ball, sprained his ankle and had to go to the ER! A Birthday Party that will never be forgotten :)

The Bike Rodeo!

The Phippsburg Bike Rodeo and Community Safety Day took place in May! It's always a lot of work to put together, but thanks to many helping hands , it ran very smoothly this year! Kids get free Bike Helmets and are guided through a Bike Safety Course. There was also Bike Inspection, School Bus Safety, a K9 Demonstration, a Bike accident Demo, Karate demo, Bounce House, Face Painting, free Hotdogs and soda etc.
It's a fun day and the weather held out for us! 12 Bikes and various door prizes were given away :) It's definitely a great Community Activity and one that couldn't be made possible without the generosity of many Sponsors and our Volunteers - Thank You!

April Happenings!

Okay, so I know it's September!!! I am trying hard to catch up on the Good ole Blog, so here are a few snipits of some of the things we did in April......... Keep in mind, they are in no particular order----

We took the kids to Boston over April Vacation and went to Fenway Park to see the Red Sox! The kids had seen a Red Sox game in Baltimore 4 years ago, but had never been to Fenway- We had a blast and actually ran into my sister and her family there!! When "Sweet Caroline" played during the 7th inning stretch, Caroline thought they were singing it to her, she asked "Mom are they going to come get my autograph now?" It was hilarious! We toured around the Boston Sites and did a lot of the Freedom Trail- All in all it was a great trip!

View outside our Hotel while we were eating lunch!

Just had to check out the American Girl Store in Natick----

John took some students from his Karate class on their first Tournament in Winthrop. They all did extremely well as noted by the various trophies! They have come a long way!

Madeline had a Bike Path friend Birthday party. We met at the Bike Path in Brunswick and the kids rode their bikes for about a mile or so. We then picniked with Cake and Juice - it was fun and a really easy Birthday Idea :) !!!!!

Madeline turned 9!!!!!

Easter Morning shots-

Caroline and I had the Priviledge of eating Breakfast with the Easter Bunny!

My Crocuses Bloomed!

Coloring Easter Eggs is always a blast, especially when friends are over!

Our Cousin James turned 4 and our cousin Carson turned 5!

We had plenty of rain to wear raingear!

The Easter Bunny found our house again this year

March Happenings!

March was filled with Cousin Time! We celebrated my nephew Matt's B-day at Jokers- which was a lot of fun! Jokers is an indoor play place which the kids can't get enough of, they love it.



We also had Nathan, Carson and Jack for a whole day! The morning was spent making a snowman and we had a small hike in the afternoon. The girls were great babysitters to 17 month old Jack, they wouldn't leave him alone!




Larry the Leperchan made yet another visit to our house on Saint Patricks Day- He left a trail of Green treats- no Pot of Gold though, maybe next year!


My Nephew Bryan had his farewell for his mission. He is currently serving a 2 year mission for our church in Washington State. It was a really special occasion and the Sacrament Meeting Talks at church were great! It was great to catch up with everyone afterwards too. We're proud of you Bryan!





Aunti Alicia (from California) sent a fun filled package to the kiddos complete with
these foot stompers- they love em! I think I remember having a pair of these when I was a kid-

February Happenings!

In February, Christine turned 11!!! We celebrated her Birthday in New Hampshire at a hotel we stayed in. We were down there for a Karate Tournament- she also ended up having a cake at home too. We decided not to do a "friend" Birthday this year for Chris, much to her Chagrin- To make it fair we've decided that we will take every one's 11th Birthday off from Friend B-day parties- At any rate it was fun to celebrate in a hotel and go in the Pool when the weather was in the mid 20's outside-

These are pictures of the Karate Tournament Christine and John participated in. The Tournament was at Franklin Pierce College and it was Christine's first time competing. They both took 2nd place for Forms- it was pretty exciting!!!

Grandma Burek turned 86 the same day as the Tournament, so after we drove to Greenfield, MA and celebrated her special Day with her and John's Mom! We went out to dinner and had cake later at her Apt. She looks GREAT at 86 doesn't she?!!!!!


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February also brought a ton of snow! We lost power at one point for about 3 1/2 days! We heated our house with our gas fireplace, heated water on the stove to have hot water, put our refrigerator items on the deck in coolers- We were in survival mode! On day 3 we took the kids to a community pool for some fun, but also for showers!




John also celebrated a birthday in February- he turned the big 37!!!It's become tradition that I make Grandma's Chocolate cake for Birthdays. It's a recipe that Grandma Burek has made for years and is so delicous - It's actually the recipe on the back of Hersey Cocoa! This cake is usually gone within a day at our house and John's Birthday was no exception this year.


We had a Ward Game Night at church which was fun. We played board games, ate snacks etc. We showed the slide show that we were suppose to show at the Christmas dinner- It was a Year in Review for our Congregation and Lisa Guerrette did an Awesome job putting it together-


We went out and spent a night at Betsey and David's and caught up with some of our Kingman cousins- Bruce, Erin and kids who were visiting from Cape Cod. It was great to see everyone and we put on quite the "Rock Band". I think we performed "Living on a Prayer" better then Bon Jovi ever could (LOL).




February also brought a "Friend Reunion". We met up with 4 of my oldest Friends and families at Cocoa Key Water Resort in Danvers Mass. It was a fun filled weekend and great to catch up with everyone!

I cannot believe I haven't posted here in 1 1/2 months- yikes! I need to catch up! I think Facebook has seriously distracted me. At any rate- all is well at our house. We still have deep patches of snow, but also have bulbs popping through our flower beds and actually one crocus in bloom! I am currently on a 14 day stretch of vacation and have lots to accomplish- we'll see what I get done- hopefully some catching up on our blog! The girls are doing well and growing fast. Caroline is always coming out with some sort of funny expression, yesterday it was "Mom, I think my tonsil is coming out of my tongue" and "Mom, when we have 3 more kids, can they stay in my bedroom?"!!!

Valentines Day!

We had a fun Valentine's Day. Chris had two of her friends from church Chloe and Nina over Friday night for a sleepover. They didn't get a whole lot of sleep, but had fun. We spent the day sledding on our homemade snow hill, ice skating etc. John and I enjoyed an afternoon movie while the kids played at our neighbors. It was "The Man in the Moon" a 1991 1960's flick with Reese Witherspoon- cute movie and Reese was just a Teenager. We all exchanged our Valentines and of course got lots of candy- Yum! John and I got a babysitter that evening and headed to So Portland for dinner at Romanos Macaroni Grill- We got there and there was a 1.5 hour wait!! We had to do something contructive with that time, so went to the Circuit City going out of Business Sale! In fact we bought a new TV as ours died recently. We got a great deal!!! John and I had a nice dinner just chatting away with no interruptions. He had a free cake coupon that Romanos emailed John for his B-day (which is the 19th) so we couldn't resist. John begged the waitress not to do the singing thing, but she didn't listen! I brought our babysitter Jaanna home and she wouldn't let me pay her - "No Kadi, I want to do charity tonight!". She is such an Awesome Babysitter- the kids just love her as do we! All in all it was a great Valentines Day!

Happy 11th Birthday Christine!

This year we celebrated Christine's Birthday a little differently. We planned a short trip to NH so she and John could be in a Karate Tournament. We decided that even though her Birthday fell on Sunday, we would celebrate it on Friday because how cool would it be to have a family party at a hotel??? John and I also unfortunately both had to work at different times on her actually Birthday (although we did manage to get another B-day cake in together, this time from scratch). So we swam in the Hotel Pool, ordered in Chinese, had Boston Creme B-day cake (Christine's choice) and Chris opened her gifts. It ended up being lots of fun!
These are the top 10 things we love about Christine(in no particular order):
1. She's a great Big sister and advice giver.
2. She is Musically talented and plays the Sax and Clarinet really well.
3. She loves the Gospel of Jesus Christ and because of that makes pretty good decisions.
4.She's pretty smart and was the only girl in her class to make High Honors this Quarter.
5. She loves to read and asked for books for her Birthday.
6. She has a "No hurry" attitude (although it sometimes drives her parents crazy)
7. She loves Birds and can identify quite a few of them.
8. When she puts her mind to it, she can be a huge help around the house.
9. She has progressed really well in Karate, even though it hasn't always come easy to her.
10. All in all she is just an Awesome daughter- We love you Christine!!!!

CPR on the last remaining Gerbil!

So it's about 2:20am and I am working, actually taking a little break at this time, so thought I'd update the Blog a little bit. Last evening, John went to put a empty Paper Towel roll into Mackenzie's (Christine's Gerbil)cage and found her to be cold, but still alive and barely moving. We think maybe she has had a stroke because she isn't really moving one of her legs. Christine is bound and determined to save her Gerbil's life so she was doing CPR on it before I left for work. She was so excited, because it actually revived for a little while. Last I talked to John at 10:20pm, the Gerbil is still alive, but still very sick...... I tried talking John into possibly putting it out of its misery but he's such an animal lover, he can't do it. All I can say is that I really hope that Mackenzie has passed on to a better life before I get home in the morning. She lived a good life, but now it's time for her to join her sister (Jasmin)....... I'm wondering how do we have a proper Burial for Mackenzie when there is 3 feet of snow on the ground?????? Any suggestions?????

Crazy Caroline!

We have some pretty funny conversations with Caroline- Thought I'd share a couple We have had lately-

Caroline: "Mom, did you know I know someone from Washington?"
Me: "No Caroline, who do you know from Washington?"
Caroline: "You know the guy on the back of the Dollar Bill, he's from Washington"
Me: "You mean George Washington"
Caroline: "Yeah Mom, I told you I knew someone from Washington"
__________________________________________

Caroline: "Mom do you think next time I can have pink eyes?"
Mom: "What do you mean by next time Caroline"
Caroline: "You know when I get a makeover"
Me: "You mean pink eyeshadow?"
Caroline: "No Mom I mean I want my eyes to be Pink"
Me: "But Caroline I love your Blue eyes"
Caroline: "Well actually I want one to stay Blue and one to be Pink"
________________________________________

A couple days after the Presidential Inauguration, out of the blue Caroline emerged with this tidbit of info that we were totally unaware of (ha,ha,ha)

Caroline: "Dad, did you know we have a New President"
John: "Oh really Caroline"
Caroline: "Yeah Dad, it's Barack Obama"
We're so happy we have such an informed 4 1/2 year old!

Christmas

We had a nice quiet Christmas this year. Christmas Eve we had our traditional Polish meal. Kielbasa,Perogis etc and then headed to the Congregational Church in town for their Candlelight service. We had never been to a Christmas Eve service as our church normally has their Christmas service the Sunday before Christmas. The Congregational church is 206 years old and has so much traditional New England character. We know the Pastor of the church and he read the kids a neat story during the service. The kids thought that holding the candles was pretty cool, John and I were just trying to make sure that they didn't light anything/anybody on fire (ha,ha,ha). I was disappointed that I was on my 2nd week of Laryngitis and couldn't really sing any Christmas Carols.....At any rate it was a neat service where we were able to worship with people from town and remember the true reason for the season, Jesus Christ. The kids slept till 7AM Christmas morning!!!! It was great! We opened gifts had a big breakfast and spent most of the day in our PJ's- it was so relaxing. One of the best gifts I received was not having to go into work Christmas night as the census on our Unit was really low- Thank you Cardiac Patients! We watched the movie "Elf" Christmas Evening and laughed hysterically- it is such a funny movie! All in all, it was another wonderful Christmas.

Christmas Letter

This is our Christmas letter this year. Now if I could just get it printed and sent out, we'll be all set!!

Seasons Greetings Family and Friends-
We hope this finds you all healthy and happy! Here is the latest update from our house-
Caroline is now 4 ½ and continues to bring laughter into our home. She asked to play an Internet game the other day in this manner, “Mom can you get me on Barbie duck com”. She apparently thinks “Dot” is actually “Duck”. She started Preschool at the YMCA this year and has adjusted really well. She goes there 3 days a week , 2 half days and 1 full day. The Y includes swimming in their curriculum and her Teacher says that Caroline is quite a “Fish”, she has always loved the water. She also enjoys being a Sunbeam in her church Primary class.
Madeline turned 8 in April and was baptized in May. Madeline loves to do various gymnastic moves around the house. Not a day goes by that we don’t find her upside down doing a head stand, in fact John has nicknamed her “upside down girl“. Maddy is in Third grade this year and is doing really well. She also started Tae Kwon Do this Summer and is working toward her yellow belt. She is now in Wednesday night Activity Day Girls at church and has been having lots of fun there. This past Fall Maddy and Christine participated in the Bath Rec Cheering Program which they really enjoyed doing.
Christine is 10 and a half, in the Fifth grade, and has been reading books like crazy. John and I aren’t quite sure where she inherited that gene, maybe it was from her Grammie Clara (Kadi‘s Mom). She is reading the Harry Potter Series and lots of the Maine Student Book Award Books. She really enjoyed participating in the Regional Battle of the Books competition last Spring. Chris earned her Yellow Belt in Tae Kwon Do in April after a couple years of hard work. Chris spent a week at Camp Tangelwood ( a 4H camp) this past Summer and really enjoyed it. She has a passion for Music and switched from playing the Clarinet to playing the Alto Sax for her school band .
Kadi spends quite a bit of time just trying to “catch up”. She continues to work at MMC on the Interventional Cardiac Floor where she also participates on the Quality and Skin Care Committees. She still does 2 Night shifts a week and finds this shift works best for our family. She has gotten involved in the School PTO and continues as the Ward Activates Chairperson at church. Kadi has really enjoyed getting into an exercise regimen this year and hopes to be able to keep it up, especially after indulging in all the Holiday Treats. Our Family also has a Blog now and Kadi enjoys updating that and keeping in touch with family/friends through their Blogs (Visit us at skroski.blogspot.com).
John continues to enjoy working here in Phippsburg. He has found himself busy this Fall dealing with collateral damage from our Country’s poor economic condition. One of John’s highlights this year was earning his Brown Belt in Tae Kwon Do in July. He continues to enjoy teaching weekly classes for the Youth in Town. John has rediscovered his love of running and weight lifting and hopes it will help prepare him for his Black Belt Test in a couple years. John was busy in the Garden this Summer and was thrilled when one of the Sunflowers he planted grew 14 feet tall. John’s calling as Ward Clerk at church continues to keep him busy. He has had fun recently reconnecting with old friends through Facebook.
The girls and John talked Kadi into getting a Kitten in May. John had been on a Call for work where a women showed him a basket full of kittens, he fell in love with the Gray and White Male, went back a month later and low and behold he was the only one left! So now we have “Max” who fills our life with utter enjoyment., especially when he knocks ornaments off the Christmas tree!! John is also glad to finally have another male in the house, even if it is just a cat. Autumn our Golden Retriever is now 12 and is feeling it! She now has Laryngeal Paralysis and can’t breathe when she gets really excited- She has been such a great dog to us! Madeline’s Gerbil passed away this Fall so now we only have Christine’s left.
One of our Family’s big Highlights this year was going to Florida in March. We spent 5 days at Disney World and then another 3 in Orlando. Kadi and the girls had never been to Disney before and can’t wait to

go back again, if only it were more affordable! We toured all the parks and were able to see and do so much!!!! It really is an amazing place to visit! We were also able to go to Sea World, toured an Orange Grove and went to Cocoa Beach. All in all it was a great vacation!
We were able to go to a couple Weddings this past Summer, Kadis nephew Dan and his wife Alicia and John’s Brother Chris and his wife Melanie. It was so fun to catch up with Relatives and Friends that we don’t see often at these special events. Caroline was thrilled to be one of the Flower Girls in Chris and Melanie’s Wedding.
We really enjoyed our week at Camp this year, the Annual Kingman Cousins Weekend, a 15 year Anniversary Boston getaway for Kadi and John and visits from Family and Friends. We had a nice visit from John’s Mom and sister Alicia and her family this Summer. We hadn‘t seen Alicia in over 8 years, so it was fun to reconnect- We hope this letter finds you all healthy and happy. There are so many trials going on in the World today. We are truly thankful that we can all turn to the Savior and get comfort through His Sacrifice and Atonement for each of us.
Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and Joyous 2009!
With lots of love,
The Skroski Family
John, Kadi, Christine, Madeline and Caroline

The Ice Storm that made me CRAZY!!

On December 12th, at 6pm we were suppose to be at "The Ward Christmas Dinner". This is a Turkey Dinner that our church has been having for years now. Since I am the Ward Activities Chairperson at this time, I am in charge of it. It tends to take up quite a bit of my time. I shop for 6 20+ Turkeys, 90 Lbs of Potatoes, Stuffing, Cranberry Sauce, Vegetables, Paper Products etc. I have sign ups for people to cook the food, bring Pies, help decorate etc.. I delegate and have someone be in charge of the Musical Numbers and she had the program in order, from the children singing "Silent Night" to she and her Brother singing/playing to "The Little Drummer Boy". We were going to do something new this year and have "The Topsham Year in Review" Slide show that my friend Lisa was putting together. I make posters and this year I even made invitations. I absolutely LOVE planning it but to say the least I really neglect my family/house so I can make "The Ward Christmas Dinner" really special.
The Thursday night before the dinner, my friends Nataly, Aaron and Trish, their kids and my kids headed over to the church in a storm to decorate the Cultural Hall. 20 tables were all set up for us (Thank you Young Men). We set tables, made centerpieces, hung Twinkle Lights and Snowflakes, set up the stage area, even had a kids table ready for Snowman Ornament making!! It looked GREAT! Friday morning we woke up to NO POWER and about 2 inches of ICE on all the trees. I started calling families that were in charge of cooking to see if they had power. I couldn't get a hold of a couple but did find out that The Achuffs were one of my "Turkey" families that didn't have power. So around noon the kids and I got ready (by this time we had power at home) and zoomed up to their house ro pick up their Turkey so that I could bring it to the church to cook it there. We got to the church and low and behold there was NO POWER there. Our church is located in one of the largest towns in the Area but unfortunately doesn't sit on a Main Road, it's right in the middle of a Neighborhood of houses. My RS President was there rinsing her Turkey wanting to cook hers at the church too as she had no Power. The Smiths live right up the road from the church and they had POWER. So the easy solution was to put the Turkeys in Roasters and plug them in at their house, which we did. Of course we were counting that Power would be restored by Dinner time. 3:30pm came and still No Power, so the Bishop made the decision to postpone the dinner till Sat night. I called my sister in a panic- asking her to move her Sat night dinner time up 2 hours early, so that I could make it back to Topsham for the Dinner. She was able to do that! Saturday morning, I woke up and couldn't sleep, so I headed over to the church to check on things thinking of course there will be Power, there HAS to be power now!!! Well guess what???? still no Power, in fact I found a couple leaks in the ceiling happening! I called our Bishop and let him know. I called Central Maine Power and begged and pleaded for them to restore the Power ASAP to Pinewood Drive in Topsham. I got answers like, "We'll do the best we can, but we still have 120,000 places without power, Can you move your function to a different location?". On our way up to my sister's for dinner we got a call from my friend Nataly saying still no Power at the church and the Bishop is Canceling the Ward Dinner!!! That's right NO WARD DINNER this year!!! I was devastated, but in a way happy that we could actually relax at Betsey and David's and not have to rush back. All the food that was cooked was given away or eaten by Ward members, some families had small get togethers at their houses. Church was canceled Sunday as there still was no power until later in the day Sunday. I can't wait to hear the stories this Sunday! Monday evening Nataly and I and our kids went over to the church and disassembled the whole Cultural Hall. Left the Tables and Chairs for the Seminary Students to take down the next AM- thanks to their teacher Kim Bush!!! I still can't even believe it happened!!! At any rate everyone is safe and we all have Power now. John and I were talking and he reminded me that when it all comes down to it, all of this is just "Stuff" that helps us celebrate this wonderful time of year. I am over it, but if we lose Power again next year on the same weekend as the Ward Dinner, I think I'll need to be admitted to a Psychiatric unit (ha,ha,ha). (Thought I'd include some pictures of the Dark Cultural Hall so you could really see what it was like). PS A big THANK YOU to everyone who helped!!!

Last Saturday, we traveled up to my Sister's house and had a family get together with my Uncle Buzz and Uncle Dave. They have come up almost every December since my Mom passed away 4 1/2 years ago. Last year my Uncle Dave had just had Hip surgery so they couldn't come up from Massachusetts. This year, we had a nice time reconnecting and celebrating Christmastime with them. It's amazing how much my Uncle Buzz reminds me of my Mom, whether it's the physical looks or some of the personality traits- It's always great to see him. This year he gave Betsey and I cut glass bowls that were my Great, Great, Grandmother and Grandfather Kingman's. They are Beautiful. Betsey made a Delicious Prime Rib dinner that we all thoroughly enjoyed!!! Christine entertained us with playing her Saxophone after dinner- check out the video!

The Search for the Perfect Christmas Tree!

We have made it a Family Tradition to go get our Christmas Tree at a "Cut your own" Tree Farm. This is a tradition that I remember doing as a child. I also remember my Aunt Ruthie and Uncle Hap coming up to our house in Western Mass from CT every year to cut their tree down. One year, we must have been out there for hours trying to find the perfect tree for them, Betsey and I almost had frostbitten toes(ha,ha,ha)- what fun memories! This year we went with the Hydes the day after Thanksgiving. We went to a great Farm not far from their house. After walking around for who knows how long, we finally decided on this tree. It started snowing while we were at the Farm which really added to the Ambiance! The kids enjoyed Hot Cocoa afterwards in the Warming hut! Yay the tree is up and decorated- hopefully it will last until New Years!