Two days in Howell

We had 2 wonderful days in Howell. It was so warm on Wednesday that we played outside without jackets! Sheryl had to teach a class on Thursday morning and luckily we were available to babysit. We arrived Wednesday afternoon and left Thursday after dinner, making for a nice long visit. We'll miss everyone tremendously while we're away for the next month.
Sheryl's all smiles as she plays with Ollie. His hair just glowed in the sunshine!

Trenton's all smiles, too. He's a loving, fun-loving kid.

Ollie likes to be in the seat now. He watches everything that's going on and chews on the toys. He's teething now, grabbing on to fingers and teethers.

Just one of Trenton and Grampack's silly games!

A rare picture of Ollie without a smile. Those eyes, those cheeks, that cute chin....

He's just learning about rice cereal.

Jim's got a busy schedule so he makes the most of his time with the boys.

A new generation - a new Giants fan!

Jersey Guy, cute bib. Ollie's chatting with Grampack.

This was another silly game, something to do with imitation. It's incredibly heartwarming to hear Trenton and Oliver laugh. Trenton made Oliver laugh hard during our visit!

The Snowshoe Marathon

John and Jim traveled to Pittsfield, Vermont on Friday to participate in a snowshoe marathon on Saturday. The weather was better this year, no rain and temps in the 40s. They have both been training hard for weeks. Jim had trouble with the snowshoes. They cut off the circulation in his toes and hurt his ankles, and just didn't work correctly over running shoes. Despite these painful problems, he completed the half-marathon - 2 loops of over 13 miles. Way to go, Jim! John completed the Fun Run which was one 6.55 mile loop. The course is mountainous, of course, it takes place in Vermont near Killington ski country! John came in second in his race in his age group!! The hammer in the picture above is engraved "Finisher". That's some trophy, isn't it?! There was a man there who has run over 400 marathons, isn't that hard to imagine?! John came in 24th out of over 50 in his race! You can check out the webpage for the race at http://www.peakraces.com/. Then click on snowshoe race - results - 2009 - barttimingresults to see the results. After showers they enjoyed pasta dinners and relaxing at the big barn where they slept on cots for 2 nights. Some man snored so loudly the first night that the supervisor had to ask him to sleep somewhere else the next night! He slept in his car. No matter what the results, John and Jim have wonderful father-son travels. Glad to have you guys home and glad to be home.

Girls' Weekend

This weekend while John and Jim journeyed to Vermont for the snowshoe marathon, I picked Mom up and we spent a wonderful weekend at Carolyn's. Friday's fun began with fantastic Chinese food delivered to the door, a good glass of Riesling, and warm, moist, delicious G-F gingerbread cake.
Saturday morning began with deep-fried G-F apple cider donuts covered in cinnamon sugar. These were a very big hit, even among the non-G-F folks.
Lunchtime arrived and the deep fryer was used for some tasy fries. Hot, crispy, salty, dipped in ketchup - these were a real treat for me and Carolyn. The weather was spooky warm, about 70 degrees, so we spent some time hanging around in the backyard. In the afternoon we took a drive all through Peter's college, William Patterson. It's a hilly, nice, suburban campus and he is happy and doing well as a commuter this year.

Elise arrived after our delicious dinner of Carolyn's homemade meatballs and G-F pasta, salad, and my homemade Irish soda bread, followed by some fresh strawberries that Grandma treated us to. We saved plenty for her.

This beautiful red-tail hawk sat on a branch in the backyard looking for a meal.

We played an hilarious game of Trouble. After an extremely slow start, I came in first and Chrysanne was second. What good timing, the G-F hot cross buns came out of the oven just as we finished. We had them for lunch - tasty, warm, with a gooey glaze, and cardamom, raisins and citron. Another very big G-F hit with everyone. This weekend was planned to be a special treat for Carolyn as she is teaching and going to school. She will graduate on May 16th after much hard work.

Here is Elise's incredulous reaction to Grandma's entrance in her "elf" costume. Mom did the song for the rest of us on Christmas day and it was still hilarious the second time. Can you imagine, remembering something you did from second grade!

Yes, the guys were around all weekend, too, in and out with friends, errands and work, they just didn't make it into any pictures. It was very nice for me and Mom to have such a long time with everyone.

One final look at the goodies and some very happy, satisfied sisters.

Blizzard

Winter isn't over, that's for sure. Today we're having a blizzard. There's no snow on the deck railings because it's so windy. Now the snow's almost up to the bottom rail. When I went out for the papers this morning my first few steps were in ankle deep snow, then knee deep snow where it's drifted. Thank goodness for my tall, rubber boots. There are so many birds here today, it's unbelievable. Juncos and pine siskins by the dozens, several cardinals, finches, woodpeckers, all the regulars. The squirrels are hiding out in their nest in the hole in the tree and the deer have not wandered through. You can see how poor the visibility is if you look into the woods. The cold, icy snow is blowing everywhere. The total will be around 13 inches but impossible for us to measure.
Good thing we have a snowblower! Good thing we have a snowblower expert (John)! Good thing Jason postponed his departure until tomorrow!

Trenton's Party

Can you believe it, Trenton's 3 years old! Sheryl and Jim had a big party for him in the clubhouse. It's an excellent facility for a large gathering. The kids played with Play Doh with parental supervision.They were on their best behavior.
Oliver had a little snooze. Lunch was (delivered) pizza and salad.

"Hi everybody, don't forget about me over here in the corner!"

"I'm having fun with Grandma, Grampack, Grandmom and Pop-Pop."

"This is the biggest party I've ever been to!"

"That tickles, Grampack."

"You make me smile, Grampack."

"Do I get to have a cupcake, too?"

"Next year?"

"Watch out, Trenton, as soon as I can get out of this chair I'll be playing with your toys!"

The children listened intently to the pinata instructions.

Trenton went first and last. He has an excellent swing because he loves to play baseball, just like Daddy did. Mommy had to rip the cardboard open a bit so the candy could fall out.

Everybody grab some!

Maya watches as Trenton blows out the candles. The party theme was Cars, a popular kids' movie. Sheryl made this cake to look like a road!

The grandmas made cupcakes with red icing, sprinkles and Cars decorations.

Trenton had the entire cake to himself!

"Mommy, it's really all for me?!"

"Ooo, messy." Notice he's gripping a mini candy bar in his left hand, he didn't want to let go of that prize.

"I think I'm full now, can I go play?"

Grandmom and Pop-Pop Lacina had a Cars bag full of presents. Trenton was thrilled to receive a guitar just like Uncle Jay's!"

Trenton loved playing with his new airplane. It shoots off of the base and it flies easily with just a toss. It's made of soft material and hopefully will last a while. The big space of the now cleared out clubhouse was the ideal place to fly it. Trenton loves his new blue Crocs (shoes). Once he opened them and put them on he wanted to keep them on.

Uncle Jay teaches Trenton how to play his new guitar. Uncle Jay is teaching himself to play the acoustic guitar so he's able to give Trenton some instruction.

"Thanks for the moldable foam, Uncle Jay. Next time you visit we'll make some cool animals."

"Ooooo, thanks for the Kid Zoom digital camera, Grandma and Grampack!" As soon as Daddy got it open (the plastic packaging is tough stuff) and put the batteries in, Trenton was taking pictures. Watch for them on Sheryl's blog. It was a fun day, well worth all of Jim and Sheryl's planning and hard work.