11 Days to go...

and soooo much to get done! As most of you know this has been a stressful event. Although only minor problems have come up it is alot of work. The worst part is that I am allergic to something in my house right now and my face has swollen up and I'm now on Steroids to be able to live in my land. What a fiasco that is...Good news is the electric and the HVAC should be complete by Thursday! Yeah!!! Then onto floors and drywall...we'll be done by the 25th!...Right?
Framing is up! This will be our new living area! I'm excited about the end product!I've been doing laundry at Jamie's house...don't even ask me why! Those that know me know this is making me CRAZY!This is the new central air she-bang, it's placed by the back deck, it will control the heating and cooling of Narleeville efficiently and increase my home value substantialy...so they say.This is some of the new duct work in my living room. When this was opened is when my face blew up, so as you can see we have sealed it up untill it is completed, again, by Thursday, am I convincing you? PLEASE convince me! I can't wait till this is over! This will all be framed in and covered in dry wall. All the radiators in the house are being eradicated and that will open our home up to new options for furniture placement. I am also investigating color for the walls. Are you shocked? Me too! SCARY!

Fort Rickey Game Farm

Also while in NY I took Kaleb, Madison and Aliza to Fort Rickey, a petting zoo that was a great treat when I was a child! We had a good time petting the baby goats and feeding the llamas and other critters there! Madison loved this big Momma goat! We saw Lemurs and Monkeys and Bison, oh my! Peacocks ran around and the roosters were Cock-a-Doodle-Dooing all over the place! Kaleb spotted me a peacock feather and jumped a fence to grab it for me! They sell them in the gift store for $2 but we lucked out naturally! No, we didn't pluck it from the bird! We listened to an interesting presentation about this 7 year old snake and the kids got to hold it! None of them were scarred at all! Luke would have peed his pants! The kids also got to pet the porcupine after hearing about how it was found as a baby on the side of the road after it's momma was killed by a car, it seems they love salt, and go to the roads after they have been salted in the winter storms...bad idea for them! We all had a great time and it was nice to spend a warm summer day with some critters! The place hasn't changed at all since I was a kid, some things are better left alone!

Before...

As most of you know we are undergoing some changes in Narleeville. The basement is becoming 5th bedroom, a 2nd bathroom and some common space to spread out a bit. Well, although this sounds great, the process is, well...messy and stressful! But I want to keep a diary of before and afters so here you go!... This is the basement empty, for the most part, we absolutely cannot get that couch out of there, the deck was built over the window we got it in through...bad planning. Notice the "bar" is gone, if you have been here you'll know it as the "sports bar", it is no longer with us. Although it was built to withstand a nuclear attack!

Stay tuned for more progression on the enhancement of Narleeville!

An Old Friend...

When I was in the fourth grade I met a girl named Shawna and we became great friends! We stayed frineds until about 8th grade when we just went our separate ways with different groups, but we have always thought of each other fondly and recently became connected again through MySpace. So while in NY I HAD to see my old friend Shawna! We spent two whole afternoons re-hashing funny stories and learning about what has gone on with each other over the last umpteen years. It was so good to see her again and it is amazing how well we still get along after all this time. I got to meet her awesome daughter and her handsome husband, a truly beautiful family! She met Kaleb and Aliza and was just as charmed by Kaleb's funny humor and Aliza's soft spoken way as we all are. Honestly, I've had a fairly hard run with friends in the last few years and I feel like I've been rewarded for getting through it by being given my first friend back! I can't wait to see her again!

Honor America Days - Fire Works!!!

In the evening of the same day, they have the Syracuse Symphony Orchestra play at Fort Stanwix National Monument in Downtown Rome. After the Symphony, which is amazing, they set of a grand fire works display! Here are some pics of us all getting ready to watch "the rockets red glare, the bombs bursting in air..." Kaleb found a lady-friend while waiting for the action, she kept his mind of the wait for quite a long time! Aliza was so excited to see the show, although she was pretty beat by the full days events! Seth had the best seat in the house!After the AMAZING fire works show we stopped for ice cream cones on the way home...the perfect treat to end a really great day!

Honor America Days - Parade

While in Rome, do as the Romans do, well around there the Romans go to the PARADE! So we went! It didn't hurt that Eema (my mother), lives on the parade route! Bathroom access is a huge bonus with kids! We put out our lawn chairs and got the kids ready to collect the candy! The parade lasted about three hours and there wasn't a dull moment. It ran the gammet from clowns and Elmo to the Revolutionary War themed groups that are very active in the area. My nephew Seth was in the parade for his day care center and had a great time, he was escorted by his "Poppa" Gary.
I loved the bag-pipes! They are so moving to me! The kids liked them too, although their hands were too full to throw candy! I had the opportunity to teach the kids a little about respect and honor while the uniformed military marched passed. I had them both stand still untill the men and women had passed. They took my request seriously and were the perfect example of how to show respect! I was so proud! Then we all got to laugh at Uncle Sam riding this...It was a great parade and I'm so glad we got to see it together!

Swimming Lessons

Aliza has become much more comfortable in the water this year. With a little help from her Momma!She has changed from clingy and scarred to adventurous and brave! She started out with the help of a life vest to gain some confidance and practiced getting the feel of the water and learning to kick and paddle with her hands. We practiced this for quite a long time. We both got "raisin toes"!

While we were in NY, although I don't have pics because I was in the pool and alone with the kids, she ditched the life vest and started actually swimming back and forth from the side of the pool to me! I'm so proud of her progress! We were actually in the same pool I learned to swim in as a kid - The Municipal Pool in Rome, NY - funny!

Also of note is that Kaleb took the swimming test to swim in the deep end and go down the water slide and passed with flying colors! He was so proud of himslef and must have rocked that slide 40 times! Congratulations to both of you on how great you are learning and growing!

I want to ride my Bicycle!!! I want to ride my BIKE!

Before heading to NY, Aliza and I had a talk about her bike and she let me know she wanted a "big girl" bike, like Kaleb has. So to the toy store we went and she picked out a nice one! After assembly Daddy was quick to take her to ride it and she did a really great job! When we got to NY Kaleb and Aliza were hot to trot all over the place on there bikes! After only a day or two Kaleb was convinced the training wheels had to go! Not to sqwelch his hopes and dreams I accomodated with the help of a good wrench and off he went! He didn't wobble at all and really has a great command of his wheels!Soon Aliza was trying her best to keep up with her hero, I mean big brother! Aren't they amazingly cute?!

Kaleb's 7th Birthday

Kaleb's birthday was a happy one! We were invited to a fun BBQ with a few of Boones friends so we took the party there and had a blast! He recieved an "Air Soft" gun as a gift from his good friend Daniel and that made his whole summer I think! It's like a BB gun, but with much less pressure, don't worry Gramma - he's been very responsible! At his party we all played in the pool and Daddy decorated his cake, good job Dad! We all had a great day and Kaleb had a wonderful birthday with his friends and family! Happy 7th year Kaleb David! We all love you!