We're childless

Tonight we took the boys to church to go on the fall retreat (although it's been VERY summerlike for the last few days). We stopped at Tom Wahl's first for a quick bite to eat. They were pretty excited to go on this retreat, I think. Now it's just me and Dave...all alone. It's kind of strange, but kind of nice because I know the kids are in good hands and they'll have a great time. Boy, it sure is quiet here!

Cleaning the basement

Yesterday I decided to venture into the basement to search for my Madela breast pump for Bethany. Can you believe that we've been in our house for 4 years now and still have a few unpacked boxes in the basement?! In the process of looking for the pump I cleaned out some of the boxes. I did find some old diary's from when I was 14 yrs old. I read some parts to Michael and gave him some good laughs, then I ripped them up and threw them away (mostly...way too embarrassing!) I also found some old pictures that were fun to look at! Lots of junk... I don't know why we save so much junk, but it felt great to get rid of it! The messy section is just a small corner of the basement that has doors we can close on it. The rest of the basement has pretty much been finished,( aside from the ceiling) and it looks pretty neat and clean. Unfortunately I still haven't located the pump, but I am getting something accomplished in the process of searching for it.

Decorating for Autumn

Today we're only supposed to have a high of 60 degrees. The cooler weather gets me in the mood to decorate for autumn.( Did you notice my blog colors?) Maybe I'll even bake a pumpkin pie or something else yummy and fattening!

Today was a cool day in the upper 60's, a good day for a walk in Mendon Ponds Park, so Martha, Ben, Hannah, Troy, Bethany, Shelly and Jesse, and I did just that. The chickadees will eat right out of your hand there, although Troy thought that was a little bit "scary". We saw lots of wildlife including deer, squirrels, and chipmunks. The squirrels were very bold and pretty much came right up to us to eat. It was pretty neat!

Irondequoit Bay Bridge

I just drove over this bridge today, and will admit that I do think about the Minnesota bridge collapse every time I go over it. When I got home I was reading our local newspaper and there was an article in it that said...

"(September 11, 2007) — Five of the 49 deck truss bridges in New York, including the Irondequoit Bay Bridge, were found to have some minor structural defects after recent inspections triggered by the Minneapolis bridge collapse on Aug. 1.

None of the defects was serious enough to close the bridges, state officials said.

The New York State Bridge Task Force was asked to inspect the state's 49 truss bridges and report to Gov. Eliot Spitzer within 30 days.

Among the findings:

The Irondequoit Bay Bridge received a "yellow flag" for single, hairline cracks in two concrete pedestals on top of the bridge piers and a "safety flag" because of damage to a concrete barrier that probably was caused by a vehicle hitting it. Both issues are being reviewed for future repair."

We go over this bridge quite often as it is very close to our home. Knowing there is some damage to it makes me a wee bit nervous.

Nice Shirt!

The other day Michael made himself a shirt out of a shopping bag. Isn't he creative?

A good day for a popsicle!

Today the temperature reached 95 degrees here. My poor kids were dying at school where there is 3 floors and no air conditioning. Michael said that in one of his classes on the 3rd floor, they were handing out ice cold water to all the kids. As soon as they came in the door, they ran upstairs to get their swimsuits on. They couldn't get in that pool fast enough! Me? I worked in air condition all day.

1st day of school

Well, the kids have gotten on the bus and gone off to their 1st day of school. It seems strangely quiet around here. They were a little concerned about not having gotten their locker assignments in the mail, but I'm sure they'll find out that info. I miss them already... some of you might find this strange, but I feel like I need to get used to this again.

School Stubbies

Today I shopped for school supplies for the boys, as tomorrow is their first day of school. When I got home I asked the boys to label their things and put them in their backpacks. These are last year's pencils that were still in Michael's backpack. Holy cow, how did he write with these little stubs?

Dave's new do

Tonight we went to visit Priscilla and her family. Alicia has so much fun playing with her Uncle Dave's hair. Here is the new do she gave him. How do you like it?

Lego Life

My kids love to watch this video with all the legos. I like the song too!

A Hike in the Woods!

Today Martha and I went hiking with the kids at Webster Park. In the woods the kids found a dead tree and they thought they'd try to push it down, so they pushed and pushed, and down it went! It was a nice hike through the woods, but it was HOT out and we were soon ready to come back here for a swim. It was a fun day together!

Happy Birthday mom!

I love you!

Me and Gramma

Today I went to visit my mom for a bit, and while I was there we got talking about slides. My dad said he thought that they might have another small box of them. Just before I left, my mom looked and there was! I came right home and started to scan some of them to see what was there. Unfortunately the computer froze up and I have not been able to get the scanner to work, but not before I found and scanned this photo of me with my grandma. I think it's the only photo I've ever seen of myself with her! (I know that sounds strange, but it's true) My grandma (my dad's mom) developed Alzheimer's and was in the State Hospital by the time I was 9 or so. She was bedridden for several years before she died, shortly after Dave and I were married. (I was 23) What a special photo to find!

Yesterday Martha and I went to Chimney Bluffs with the kids for a hike. It was the perfect day for it....refreshingly cooler than normal so we didn't get too hot. As you can see Martha is a very good climber, however coming down was a different story. We had such a great day together. Hopefully she doesn't have too many bruises. Lol!

Silly Dog!

I found this on my camera card today.
What a silly dog! Why he thinks he needs to wear swimming goggles is beyond me! Lol!

I found out that Steven did this and Michael took the picture... the things that dog puts up with!

Tired biker

Today Dave's sister came over after church and the 5 of us went out for a bike ride. No matter what, I just couldn't seem to keep up. I pedaled SO hard, but it made no difference. Finally Dave stopped and wondered what was up (frustrated). I told him I was tired and just needed to go home, so the 4 of them biked and I started for home. (I went a total of about 5 miles or so) All the way home I kept thinking, "This makes no sense. I'm always faster than the boys., what is wrong with me?" When I got off my bike to push it into the garage, it was even hard to push....that's because the front brakes were stuck on. UGH!

Three sisters

This is Martha, Priscilla and I on vacation when we were kids. I'm not sure where this was taken (New Hampshire?), but I like the picture.

Mikey got braces today!

My Little Niece-Hey she looks like me!

I was rummaging through old pictures tonight looking for a photo of a couple I haven't seen in a long time and I came across this. This is a picture of my niece, Bethany and I when she was about 2 or 3 yrs old. When I look at this and then think about her expecting her 1st baby in October, I wonder where time has gone?