Caralena Jane Cancel

Jamaica, mon!

2010-01-14T12:24:00.003-05:00

Feliz Navidad!

2009-12-26T09:54:00.003-05:00

"Gingerbread" (aka graham crackers) houses, decorated by:

Caralena, Mama, Rob, Titi, Nelson Walker, & Uncle Steve.

Cozy robe and slippers from her PA cousins and,

best of all, American Girl Doll! It's Ruthie!

Happy Izzy with new Christmas toys.

These two look a lot alike!

David's totally delicious pizza got raves from everyone!

Dance Show!

2009-12-26T09:49:00.002-05:00

Getting ready for the big dance show.

Looking a little nervous, perhaps?

Crying just a little bit before going on stage.

Yay! She did it!

Looking for Rocks

2009-07-25T20:55:00.001-04:00

Water slide!

2009-07-25T20:49:00.001-04:00

That's Caralena and Dadoo coming down the slide!

Carriage ride

2009-07-25T20:46:00.001-04:00

Red the horse took us for a ride in Kennebunkport on friend Adie's
birthday.

Slow Day for News?

2009-06-17T10:15:00.000-04:00

Caralena and her strawberry take over the local newspaper! JJ is in
there, too!

Beachy Keen

2009-05-21T17:20:00.002-04:00

See those tiny people waaaay down there?

that's JJ, Bobbe and Caralena!

More Mini-Golf

2009-05-21T17:17:00.001-04:00

We had fun mini-golfing with JJ, even if it the

temperature plummeted to 50 degrees.

I Like How You Roll

2009-05-21T17:14:00.002-04:00

Straight down the middle. If only this were

a video, and you could see how slowly that ball is

rolling...

Candlepins but No Cash

2009-05-21T17:13:00.001-04:00

The great thing about bowling on a sunny

Tuesday is that you get the whole place to yourself.

And you get to wear cool shoes.

Puddin'

2009-05-10T17:56:00.003-04:00

It's a very good day when you get to wear your

new leotard to gymnastics class, and Bobby gives you

your first chocolate pudding.

Chop Stix

2009-05-10T17:55:00.002-04:00

We went to a Japanese restaurant with

Dadoo and his co-workers and the nice man

there made this little contraption to teach Caralena

how to eat with chop sticks. It worked!

Mini-golf

2009-05-10T17:52:00.002-04:00

We went mini-golfing this weekend at the cool

dinosaur place. It was fun, although someone

(someone who is not Caralena and is not Dadoo)

was really bad. Oh well.

Happy Easter Everybody!

2009-04-12T17:10:00.000-04:00

Caralena McCancelligan

2009-03-17T13:23:00.001-04:00

Check her out: wearing a green shirt and playing

with green playdough! Happy St. Paddy's Day to ya!

Lookin' Good...?

2009-03-15T10:32:00.001-04:00

Caralena chose her outfit for the birthday party.

Not sure you can make out the striped tights. Wow.

Birthday fun

2009-03-15T10:27:00.001-04:00

Caralena and the birthday girl, Zari.

March in New England

2009-03-12T20:48:00.001-04:00

Caralena and Mama made the most of this

week's storm but, seriously, no more snow.

Just cut it out.

Hot Tubbin'

2009-02-17T12:29:00.001-05:00

Caralena and Dadoo put their feet in the hot tub

and it felt gooood. We may need to get

one of these bad boys at home.

Just Hangin' Out

2009-02-17T12:25:00.001-05:00

Clematis Street, West Palm Beach

2009-02-11T16:51:00.002-05:00

We're probably not fancy enough for the crowd here,

but this is how we roll...

Dadoo's Bday Treats

2009-02-11T16:49:00.002-05:00

They didn't last long.

Friends

2009-02-11T16:47:00.002-05:00

Lucy and Caralena have done a lot of bonding

on this trip.

Florida

2009-02-03T11:33:00.002-05:00

This is where we're living for the month. We may

have to be dragged away, kicking and screaming.

Rainbow heart shirt

2009-02-03T11:29:00.001-05:00

Caralena has waited weeks to wear this tee from

Santa, which combines her two favorite things,

hearts and rainbows!

Fancy Tea

2009-01-07T19:47:00.001-05:00

We are so fancy that we decided to go for a fancy

tea at Upstairs on the Square in Cambridge.

We met our friends Jen and Adie there.

Adie and Caralena had fun for about 15 minutes -

guess we should've waited until they were four,

or five, or even 45!

Caralena holds a crustless pb&j in one hand,

and a chocolate mouse in the other. Also note

the wicked chocolate mustache.

This is what happens when Mum says "Smile, please."

The teenage years should be fun...

Hearts'n'Rainbows

2008-12-30T16:56:00.002-05:00

Caralena wasn't happy with the décor in her room so we're trying to

spruce it up. These cool wall decals were a Christmas gift from Titi.

Big hit.

Good Times

2008-12-26T17:22:00.001-05:00

Once Caralena got over her disbelief over the
cookie and carrots being eaten (see video below),
she finally noticed the presents.

Happiness.

She was absolutely gleeful and kept exclaiming,
"I can't believe Santa brought this all for me!
I must've been really really good!"

In the end, though, the best part was that
half-eaten cookie and one carrot.

Christmas Joy!

2008-12-26T17:02:00.003-05:00

Holiday Show

2008-12-22T10:14:00.000-05:00

Caralena had her holiday show this morning.
You can see her waaay in the back, inside the little
house, waiting for her big moment...

Here it is! She was a Sugarplum Fairy.

Singing some holiday tunes.

Phew! It's all over and she can relax.
Buddy Eyob was a great toy solider!

Snowed In

2008-12-22T10:07:00.000-05:00

As you may have heard, we got some snow this weekend.
Here's the view last night from the door.

We stayed in jammies all day!

Front door. Won't be using this entrance
for a while, I guess.

View of street. Yep.

Holidaze 2008

2008-12-09T20:27:00.003-05:00

Wow, we have been having some fun around here, decorating the tree...

...going to the Santa parade...

...and making "gingerbread" houses!

Ta-da!

O, Christmas Tree

2008-12-06T19:15:00.001-05:00

We got a REAL tree this year with rainbow lights and sparkly
ornaments! This is what happens when Caralena runs the show.

Oops, One More

2008-12-01T12:19:00.000-05:00

This one perfectly illustrates how much
Caralena loves school! Yay!

Thespian in Residence

2008-12-01T12:14:00.000-05:00

Caralena was looking a little nervous before the
Thanksgiving play at school but she pulled it together.

The title of this photo is "Why I loathe my digital camera."
Thanks to the insane delay, this is our only photo
of Caralena as a sailor. See her up front?

Turning the Thanksgiving turkey, which you
also can't really see...

And singing. Overall, a great production.
High production values and stellar acting!

Artist in Residence

2008-12-01T12:06:00.000-05:00

Caralena took about 200 digital photos that Mom just
found on the camera. Some of them are really great!

Love the eerie lighting.

How much time did she spend setting up this
photo? Great composition!

Bubbly

2008-11-30T21:59:00.002-05:00

It's pretty cool when your great Uncle owns a

children's museum and you and your cousins get to

take over on a Sunday. Pretty cool indeed.

Jump Around!

2008-11-30T21:54:00.002-05:00

Caralena loves her new gym class. It's a big girl class,

so no parents allowed! You can see her jumpin' around

back there in the pink shirt.

Brrrr!

2008-11-20T10:34:00.001-05:00

What gives? It's too cold! Mama and Caralena

busted out the big puffy coats.

It's Never Too Early!

2008-11-18T20:25:00.006-05:00

Caralena is already mega-super-excited about Christmas.

Here she is wearing an odd hat that Dadoo made from a

Christmas coloring book, and doing her Rudolph schtick.

Yes, We Did!

2008-11-04T23:40:00.002-05:00

Yay, it's Over! Oops, I mean, Happy Halloween!

2008-10-31T21:45:00.000-04:00

Here is Caralena, aka "Blue Sky Fairy,"
trick-or-treating with her buddies Nina and Adie.

She was a very happy fairy! (That is, until she got over-tired
and crashed from her sugar high, and then she was a
very very sad fairy. And Mama was a very very sad Mama.)

Fever Pitch

2008-10-30T13:07:00.002-04:00

This morning we carved a pumpkin. The excitement level is high.

Trick-or-treating is tomorrow, when it will hopefully be a little

warmer than today...

Happy and Proud

2008-10-27T12:02:00.002-04:00

Caralena and her buddy Eyob were happy and proud

after they rocked it at school. Caralena cannot wait to

go trick-or-treating!

Sing-along!

2008-10-27T11:59:00.002-04:00

Caralena was great in her first performance!

(She's the blue fairy, right in the middle.)

Can't wait

2008-10-26T11:40:00.001-04:00

Caralena is VERY excited for Halloween! She is also a member of the
elite group Blue Sky Fairies for Obama.

Gearing up for Halloween

2008-10-21T11:02:00.001-04:00

Skate rats

2008-10-14T11:45:00.001-04:00

Caralena and her buddy, Eyob, watched the big kids do cool tricks at
the skate park.

Jumpin'

2008-10-14T11:22:00.001-04:00

Caralena loved hanging out at the gym so we signed up for a winter
class.

Comforting Mom

2008-10-14T11:10:00.001-04:00

Mom was sad when Maude went to live with her new friends so Caralena
gave her a big hug.

Big Pumpkins and Big Girls

2008-09-28T08:46:00.001-04:00

Giant Slide!

2008-09-21T13:31:00.003-04:00

Caralena had no fear as she took a giant leap

off the top of this slide at a kid's festival in Brattleboro, VT.

More from Florida

2008-09-16T10:43:00.002-04:00

Caralena was great in Florida. We found some great

play grounds where we went at 7pm when the temp

was down to 80 degrees.

This is at Lion Country Safari, which is actually

a pretty fun place.

It would be difficult to explain how hot it was on this ride.

First of all, they had to give us a towel to sit on. Mama was

drenched in sweat and looked like someone had hosed

her down.

Merry-go-rounds have roofs - shade! Even though it

was hot, we had a great time with Bobby and JJ in Florida.

Roar!

2008-09-12T20:12:00.000-04:00

Lion Country Safari

2008-09-12T20:09:00.001-04:00

There were real giraffes, zebras, and elephants at this cool "safari" in West Palm Beach, but Caralena liked the merry-go-round best. Oh, and did I mention it's hot in Florida?

Wilted

2008-09-12T18:55:00.003-04:00

Whoa, it is super toasty in Florida! Maybe that's why we were the only ones outside?

Fun at Moseley

2008-09-09T08:59:00.002-04:00

Caralena and Eyob (he's in there, see?) had a great time at Moseley Woods.

Just a preview!

2008-08-19T08:27:00.000-04:00

We'll have LOTS of photos to share from Titi Kelly's
wedding, but here's a quick preview. This is Caralena
getting dressed with the girls in the bridal suite.

Here's Kelly, looking amazing in her beautiful dress!

Watching Kelly walk down the aisle.

And running laps around the dance floor. We all
had so much fun! More to come...

Catching up on Photos

2008-08-10T10:06:00.002-04:00

Sorry we haven't posted photos recently. Here are some photos, mostly from Dad's new iPhone.

Every Sunday Caralena and Dad go to the farm to pickup their share of veggies.

Going for a bike ride.

Trying on a dress Grandma made for Kelly's wedding.

Being silly at home with one her favorite "hats."

Funny girl with a pretty dress.

Sandy Point

2008-07-08T18:56:00.000-04:00

On Sunday we spent the morning at Sandy Point
on Plum Island. It's a great beach. That's Mum
and Caralena down by the water.

No crowds at Sandy Point, and it's at least ten
degrees cooler out there.

Surfer girl works on her sand castle.

Shell?

New Skool

2008-06-24T08:42:00.000-04:00

We know that school usually starts in the fall, but
we like to mix it up around here so Caralena is
starting school in the summer. Here she is with
her giant backpack on the first day of school.

Caralena was looking a little nervous at the door, but
she still forged ahead!

She immediately saw the water table and grabbed
a smock. Day One went well. We'll see how it
goes tomorrow!

Caralena 3.0

2008-06-22T09:54:00.000-04:00

On Friday, we had a fun birthday bash for
Caralena and her friends. here we are getting
ready to go.

The party was at Itsy Bitsy Music, just like
last year. The girls love Madeleine's music class!

Mum made cupcakes - just like last year!

Happy birthday, Caralena!

Happy Third Birthday!

2008-06-18T10:42:00.000-04:00

Today is a big day. It's Caralena's 3rd birthday,
and also her last day at Kitty's house. Here she
is wearing her bday dress that Grandma Cecilia
made, and the beautiful bracelet made by cousin
Danielle. Thanks for the great gifts!

Mama and Dadoo are kinda sad today.
This seems like a really big girl! She
even starts school next week.

This beautiful dress is for Caralena to
wear in Titi Kelly's wedding in August.
Grandma Cecilia made it - it is perfect!

Annual Pilgrimage

2008-06-09T09:37:00.001-04:00

Caralena has been to visit Jason and Kira
at Little Neck every year since she was born.

No matter how hot it is everywhere else, there's
always an amazing breeze off the ocean.

The water was not as painfully cold as it
sometimes is in New England.

We'll be back soon!

Heat Wave

2008-06-09T09:29:00.000-04:00

It has been really hot out - yuck! But Caralena
doesn't seem to mind. Here she is getting ready
for dinner at Jen, Jeff and Adie's house.

Adie has a super cool pool in her yard!

We needed to get out of the heat yesterday so we
went to the Museum of Science in Boston.

This display was al about light and mirrors.
That's a lot of Mums and Boodies, huh?

More Good Times

2008-05-27T20:50:00.000-04:00

One more from the Spring Festival:
Caralena had her arm painted with this
funky, glittery moon, and was super proud!

Action photo! Yeeeeee-HA!

Lise finally painted the front porch to match the other
porch. What's that you say? No one cares?
Get back to the cute kid photos?

Majorly Fun Weekend

2008-05-27T20:43:00.000-04:00

Three words: Teddy Bear Parade. Here's
Caralena getting ready for the big event.

Here she is pre-parade. She could barely contain
herself. (Sadly, there are no good photos of the
actual parade! It was super cute.)

Watching a puppet show on Memorial Day.

Mum's got connections so we got to check out the
giant puppets after the show. Good times.

Cousins!

2008-05-13T20:03:00.000-04:00

We visited Grandma Cecilia and Caralena's cousins
in Pennsylvania this weekend. Check out Monica
and Bob's amazing yard. That's Dadoo pushing
Caralena way back there. Uncle Bob built that tree house!

Here we are at Chocolate World in Hershey. We took
a cool tour of the Hershey factory and learned how
chocolate is made. And then we ate chocolate in many forms!

Grandma Cecilia, Aunt Monica, and cousins Danielle
and David, with Caralena at Chocolate World!
(Wish we had a photo with Uncle Bob and cousin
Kimberly in it, too.)

Leaving Monica and Bob's house. Thanks for all
the great food and fun. Caralena loved playing
with her cousins!

Shower

2008-05-08T10:30:00.000-04:00

Caralena was a big help at Titi Kelly's wedding
shower. She helped open all the presents.

Mum and Titi!

Titi's friends were all so nice and fun.

And Titi got lots of great presents to share with
Nelson. (AkaWalker.)

Cruisin'

2008-05-08T10:21:00.000-04:00

Caralena's new favorite thing is riding her bike.

Sometimes we cruise all the way down the
block. With a helmet, of course.

What's Goin' On

2008-04-17T09:14:00.000-04:00

It's been a while since we posted new photos but
don't worry, Caralena has been mostly rockin' out...

...and occasionally flipping out.

On Sunday, we made some cupcakes for
Bobby and Ryan's birthdays.

And on Monday, we made some art outside
with our buddy, Eyob.

Farewell, Austin (sniff)

2008-03-28T22:01:00.001-04:00

We really liked Austin. Wearing a bathing suit
while it snowed at home was cool.

We loved all the vegetation and funky colors...

...and the margaritas at Shady Grove didn't hurt either!
(Caralena did NOT have any margaritas,
but she is pictured here at Shady Grove.)

Bye-bye, Vacation House! Bye-bye, Austin! I suspect
we'll be seeing you again. Keep Austin Weird while
we're gone!

More Austin, TX 03/08

2008-03-28T21:50:00.000-04:00

Highlights of the trip included meeting up with
Mum's friend from twenty years ago! (How could
Mum even be that old, that she has friends she
hasn't seen in twenty years?)

Another great time was visiting Hamilton Pool,
a super cool swim hole.

For a few hours, Mum pretended she was all outdoorsy.

Among Caralena's faves: splashing in the fountain
at one of the many parks we visited.

Austin, TX 03/08

2008-03-28T21:41:00.000-04:00

We had a really great time in Austin this past week.
It was 70-80 degrees and sunny almost every day.

See? Mum is happy in the sun...

Caralena and Sadie are happy in the sun...

Even grumpy Dadoo is happy in the sun! In fact,
we didn't think we'd get him out of Austin,
he was so happy.

Top 'O the Mornin'!

2008-03-17T16:00:00.001-04:00

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Florida: We Want More!

2008-03-02T10:35:00.000-05:00

Hard to believe this was less than
24 hours ago.

Florida: Miami

2008-03-02T10:28:00.000-05:00

Here is Teddy on the train to Miami.
Photo by Caralena.

Caralena was NOT impressed with Miami. It was
quite chilly while we were there, and there was no
JJ or Bobby there, so what was the point?

Breakfast at South Beach was fun.

Still, she was happy to be heading back
to Palm Beach!

Florida: Beach!

2008-03-02T10:17:00.001-05:00

When we first got to Florida the weather was
perfect. (It got a little chillier after that!)

Why build your own sand castle when you can
find one in perfect move-in condition?

Mama was happy in the warm breeze.

The search for teeny tiny shells took a lot of time.

Florida: Carry Me!

2008-03-02T09:44:00.001-05:00

Our usually independent girl was extremely
clingy while were in Florida so there was a lot
of carrying.

Lots of quality time with JJ - while being carried.

Being carried at the beach.

Wait? What's this? More carrying! Super!

Cozy

2008-02-20T19:38:00.000-05:00

That's one nice sweater. Mom's friend
Meganne knitted it just for Caralena. Note
the dog bone button. Thanks, Meganne!

Happy Valentine's Day!

2008-02-14T19:30:00.000-05:00

Caralena checks out her crafts from Kitty's house,
and the valentines from the other kids.

A heart-shaped lollipop? Cool!
Happy Valentine's Day, everyone!

Artist in Residence

2008-02-11T21:00:00.000-05:00

If you're a REALLY great artist (note Caralena's
artwork on the wall), you can wear just a turtleneck
tucked into tights and look totally cool.

We WILL have fun.

2008-02-11T20:50:00.001-05:00

We are determined to have fun, even though it is
cold and snowy and generally yucky outside.

Caralena and Dadoo slide down the BIG hill and
end up going backwards.

Unfortunately, we got caught in a crazy snow squall
and had to leave after only a few runs. Still, FUN!

When all else fails, you can come inside and make
Valentine's for your friends.

One more Princess Dress Photo

2008-02-01T18:14:00.001-05:00

Here's one more for grandma.

Grandma, Caralena says she made this painting for you.

Thanks for the dress!

Princess Dress!

2008-02-01T17:49:00.000-05:00

Yes, the princess stage is here. This is the
amazing princess dress that Grandma sewed.
Is this fancy, or what?

Here is the Princess having a royal meltdown
because we couldn't find her Princess shoes.
It's really, really hard to be a Princess.

Yowsa, that's an Ugly Cake

2008-01-27T13:36:00.000-05:00

Tomorrow is JJ's birthday so Mama and Caralena
made this chocolate cake - from scratch! We can only
hope that it tastes better than it looks.

While Kitty was Away...

2008-01-27T13:32:00.000-05:00

Kitty's day care was closed for two weeks so we
had lots of time to fill! Lots and lots of time...sob.

Mama brought Caralena and Eyob to a fun
indoor play space. They climbed and went down
slides and then hit the craft table.

Then pizza, yogurt and home for a movie.
Kitty is back tomorrow! Hooray!

Guest Photographer: Caralena

2008-01-18T20:27:00.000-05:00

Caralena is really enjoying the digital camera lately.
Lucy and Maude are somewhat reluctant subjects,
but Caralena is a determined artiste.

Action photo of Maude.

Action photo of Lucy.

Self-portait.

Titi's Big Day

2008-01-12T19:23:00.000-05:00

Caralena was involved in a BIG surprise: she got
to deliver a rose to Titi, right before Walker came in
and proposed!

She did a great job, and everyone was very, very
happy! Yeah, Walker and Kelly!

We always knew the universe had something really
good planned for Titi.

Weirdo.

2008-01-05T16:56:00.000-05:00

Sometimes Caralena gets super amped and
then Mama says "You're a weirdo!"

Cute weirdo. Cweirdo?

Happy 2008!

2008-01-05T16:52:00.000-05:00

Happy New Year, everyone! Here's Caralena
at the hotel, right before we went swimming.
Then we had dinner and a jammie party.

Post-Christmas Fatigue

2007-12-28T09:27:00.000-05:00

Lucy and Maude are wiped out after Christmas.
Oh, wait, this is what they always do...

Caralena lounges in her big-girl bed.

Remember when Caralena was a baby and her
room was all neat and uncluttered? Not any more!

Now she's a kid and there are messes everywhere!
She is pretty good at playing by herself, though,
which is kinda nice.

More is more.

2007-12-26T09:09:00.000-05:00

The little kitchen from Grandma Cecilia was a
big hit. Would you like a sandwich?

Maude update: Maude is bored and takes
a nap. (Lucy never even came in the room.)

The easel was a good present too. We know
because Caralena was painting by 7:30am.

Later we hung out with the family and Caralena
got more great gifts, including a wagon, awesome books,
a Backyardigans CD, a leapfrog 'puter and more,
more, more!

Christmas!

2007-12-26T08:54:00.000-05:00

First there was some confusion on Christmas morning.
Caralena asks Dadoo if this stuff is really all for her.

Then she gets in the groove. "Uhm...I'll take that one!"

The drum was a hit, although Caralena did note that
it was not a "Wonderpets" drum, which is what
she had specified.

Cool magnet thingees for buliding!

Snow.

2007-12-15T10:35:00.000-05:00

Getting ready to go out in the first big
snow of the season.

Caralena looks big and puffy in her snow duds.

Caralena laughs and plays while Mama
and Dadoo shovel and talk about moving
to California.

Snow angel!

Cookie Monster

2007-12-06T09:31:00.000-05:00

We had some friends over for a little cookie decorating
party. It was...intense.

They made a huge mess, but the girls had fun.
Caralena is from the "more is more" school
of decorating.

The final product. They may not be the prettiest
cookies ever, but they were yummy!

Two from Turkey Day

2007-11-30T16:57:00.000-05:00

Lookin' good!

Okay, maybe we were having a few issues with
the 'do...

The Soccer Place

2007-11-24T09:55:00.000-05:00

We're scouting out fun places to go during the winter.
First stop, the indoor soccer facilities.

As Caralena just said, "That's me, that's Adie,
and that's a giant soccer ball." So that's that.

Firefighters are Cool!

2007-11-13T20:47:00.000-05:00

Today we got to visit the fire station.
We checked out the fire engine and got Junior Firefighter hats.

Caralena (third from left) had a blast. She wore her hat
for the rest of the day and yelled "I'm a firefighter!" often.

What can we say? Firefighters are cool.