The sands of time....

Well, we rounded off the end of our summer with as much camping as we could cram in! Below, Uncle teaches the girls some of the finer touches of fishing! Luci pays attention to what's being said, but doesn't have the patience that Drew does for it. After a few minutes of not catching anything, she's ready to go home!

Uncle's trophy fish!

Luci had a little more luck than Uncle!

Drew's prize!

We took our 2nd annual "Uncle Camping Trip" to Carry Falls Reservoir. Normally, we love to camp in our fifth wheel which is convenient as everything we need is packed away in bins and cupboards. If it gets hot, we have A/C...if it gets cold, we have a furnace. And it's only a few years old, so it's got a bit of luxury in it as well. In all, it is wonderful. But before we bought it (and the other 2 we had before it) we did a lot of tent camping. It was great until Drew came along. Taking a baby tenting is alright as long as the weather stays warm, but after a particularly cold night with 50 pounds of blankets on her, she decided she'd had enough and told the entire campground at midnight that she was unhappy!! That's when the camper idea was born! But anyway, we had gotten away from tent camping for this reason and hadn't done it in years. Last year, Uncle (my brother, Thadd) decided the girls were old enough and convinced us to give it another try. Last year's trip was to the Adirondacks, Raquette Lake, in a lean-to for the weekend. The girls LOVED it! So we decided to do at least one tent trip per year...with Uncle deciding the location. He despises campgrounds and loves to find out of the way places without close neighbors...usually places you can only reach by boat. This year's trip was no exception! We boated to an island (the water was low in the reservoir, so it was more like a penninsula) and set up camp in a clearing amongst the trees. The entire island was surrounded by sandy beach and it was very shallow so the kids had a ball! So did the dogs as they were allowed to roam freely. Below is a partial shot of our campsite. Uncle's tent is the small yellow one in the distance, our borrowed tent was off to the left, Julie's started out behind me (as I took this shot) but was moved twice, and Heather's tent ended up where Julie's started. All in attendance were, Dean and I and the girls, Papa, Thadd, Julie, Jim, Hannah and Ben, and Heather, Nick, Liz, Grace and Hannah. And 6 dogs total! It was a great trip! The kids never got bored as they were constantly on the beach or in the water. We brought our canoe and Uncle brought my mom's kayak and we had both my dad's boat and Jim's boat. Fishing, swimming, kayaking, napping...there was so much to do...or nothing at all!

A panoramic beach shot of Luci on the beach.

One of the favorite things to do...napping! Drew and Monty take advantage of Daddy's favorite position!

Hannah spent a little too much time on the beach without her sunblock!!!

Heather and Thadd ponder the wonders of Mother Nature..

The girls and Uncle at dusk(minus Drew, Grace, Liz and Hannah S.). The sunsets and sunrises were outstanding!

We then spent a week at Cole's Creek State Park in Waddington, NY. Drew, Luci and my neice and nephew, Sonja and Max pile on Dean! Monty and Bear get in on the action, too!

The kids get goofy with Dean's hat. Luci.

Max

Sonja

Drew

Even Bear likes it!

Drew gets snuggy with Grandpa. Their camper was a few sites away. Dan and Tina's camper was in between ours and Grandma and Grandpa's.

The girls do some hand stands in the water.

Swimming in the COLD St. Lawrence River!

Bathing beauties!

The first day of school....YAY!!! 9 whole hours of solitude for Mommy!! I just LOVE working from home! I'm lucky indeed! Luci shows us her first day outfit. She's such a cutie!

Drew's outfit...my little beauty!

How can anyone not be stunned by these two gorgeous girls???

On the second day, they began taking the bus. Here they wait for it's arrival.

Luci was SOOO excited to be taking the bus!

For the first time in 17 years, our school district started school BEFORE Labor Day. And what do we ALWAYS do on Labor Day weekend?? Well, camp, of course!!! After a much needed change in venue, we chose Meacham Lake outside of Saranac Lake to spend the long weekend. Santa Claus came early at our house when Papa surprised us with a brand new tent! It is the green and yellow one on the right. Papa's is the other one on top of the platform. Uncle stayed with Papa and the girls and Dean and I stayed in ours the first night. It was just the six of us with all our 6 dogs. Heather and her kids stayed in another site a bit away, but they came frequently to hang out at our waterfront site with us. On Saturday, Dan, Tina and the kids and Bear showed up and we made room in our huge new tent for all of them! Another great tent trip!

And this glorious scene was our view each and every morning! Beautiful!

The girls found some old birch bark on the ground and decided it looked like bacon. Here they are "cooking" the bacon, just like Daddy does it!

Papa took the girls out in the boat to do some fishing everyday. Here, Drew looks on as Papa rigs up the poles.

Luci is always posing and wants you to take her picture! Say cheese, daddy!

The lighting was just right to capture the beauty that is Drew! What a knock-out! We'll be beating the boys off with baseball bats for both of them! Ha ha!

Peek-a-boo! Peeking through a lifted tree root on our site!

L to R...Drew, Grace, Hannah and Luci. These cutie-bugs thought wading in the water was fun!

Drew shows us one of the fish she caught...a decent sized perch!

Life is strange and sometimes throws us a curveball now and again. This summer threw me a whopper which nearly damaged my heart beyond repair. But my inner strength is pretty tough and I have come back fighting! I've always said, "Nothing bad can happen that something good doesn't come of it". It's so very true! Life is indeed better than it has been and looks so promising to improve further. Anyway, I desperately needed a night away from life and my friends agreed! They took me out for a Ladie's Night! Below, Dean valiantly offers to be DD for the group of us! Thanks honey!! Complete with chauffeur's hat!

My cousin and wonderful friend Heather shows off her brand new nose ring! It suits her face very well!

L to R...our coven!! Heather, Tina, Julie and me! We started the night at Julie's house and then hit a few bars around town. It's great to have loving, LOYAL friends who will be there to the end!! True friends, indeed!

After a few...

This night had been planned all week, so I had just enough time to make....a voodoo doll!!! Ha ha!! It was very juvenile, but oh so theraputic(sp?)...and great fun as well!! A good friend hurt me very, very much and this was my closure! It kind of looks like her, too! Hee hee!

We stuck pins in her, but that got old. We drove around with her in the car, had her stuck in the sunroof as we drove, put her under the car once...but it just didn't seem like enough until....DEAN sacrifices her to the fire gods!! We put our camper in the backyard, Dan and Tina brought theirs and we had a backyard campout this past weekend. The campfire was the perfect spot for her!

And so the fire burns up this painful chapter of life and I am free to move on!! Thanks girls, for a wonderful and so much fun night! I really needed it! Burn, baby, burn!! Ha ha!!

One last thing in closing...I am stealing an idea from another friend, Jody (thanks for everything!), who uses quotes on her blog posts. I am going to leave one as well....

It is NEVER too late to live happily ever after! (Unknown to me)

Happy Gotcha Day, Luci!!

Since we were camping until today, I didn't get a chance to post this yesterday, so better late than never! 4 years ago yesterday, Little Miss Luci was placed in our arms for the very first time! It's hard to believe she's been with us for 4 whole years...though it's difficult to remember what life was like before she came! Next month she starts Kindergarten and has grown into the most beautiful little girl imaginable! Smart, kind-hearted, thoughtful, sweet and forever telling us how much she loves us! She has no idea of the magnitude of our love for her!! Happy Gotcha Day to our little monkey!! We love you so much!

Wow...an update...FINALLY!!

Thanks for your patience...here's the lastest up date at last! So many things have happened in the last month that there will be a mish mash of pics, hopefully mostly in order. Below, the girls have learned a new trick...Barbie Jeep wheelies! Luci gets on the back bumper and leans back and then Drew guns it! This does not work when Drew is on the back and Luci is driving due to weight!


At the end of June, we took a trip to Letchworth State Park. On the day we arrived, the park was holding an exotic animal exhibit, free concert and fireworks! Drew and Sara lean in to feel the shell of a tortoise.

Luci gets up close and personal with a snake! She definitely does NOT take after Papa as he would be screaming like a little girl if he were this close to a snake!

Daddy helps Drew and Luci feed some hungry goats.

This little guy, though very cute, was a bit gross. He was on a leash and wearing a diaper, but his "trainer" was chit chatting to some people and not paying attention to the monkey. He had shifted his diaper to the side and was...ummmm..."inspecting" his nether regions which wasn't as bad as what he did next! He then proceeded to put hid fingers in his bum and then lick them clean! EWWWW!!! It was really gross and as the girls were saying, "ewwww!", the trainer finally realized what his little friend was doing and reached down to fix his diaper! I'm glad he didn't decide to climb up one of the girls!

Free pony rides are always fun!

Daddy with his pride and joy...his daughters!

One of the many fireworks we saw that night!

Letchworth was perfect for taking bike rides!

Horse-Balls, anyone? Drew turned out to be pretty good at this game and even gave me a run for my money!

This little guy reminds us to occassionally to stop and smell the flowers!

Daddy made some Super Bubble Juice for the girls and all their new campground friends! Drew shows us her stuff!

Letchworth has many bike trails, lots of them very challenging! Don't believe me? Just ask Jim! (To his credit, Jim was stuck with a bike which had street tires on it...that made it EXTRA challenging!)

Time for a much needed break!!

Throw some rain on top of tough bike trails and you've got yourself quite a workout!!

I took Ben and Tony fishing and the rest of the group decided to do some hiking. It was raining again, so we were all outfitted with rain ponchos. Here, Drew and Luci check the map! (Disclaimer: I did NOT do their hair this day!!!)

A chair fit for a giant!

My little Olympus camera has a cool panorama feature. Here's a neat picture, even if the perspective is out of whack!

We introduced the girls to an old "game" we used to do when we were kids...walking around with cans crushed to their feet!

We took a day away from Letchworth to visit Darien Lake. The weather cooperated and gave us lots of sun!! Here, the guys lift the girls while walking.

Ben and Tony had to go down this ride with 2 other people...and they got "stuck" going down with these 2 girls who looked about the same age!

Wave pool!

Ben and Hannah

Luci goes under!

Drew taking a break with Mommy!

My husband...aka my third child...goes down one of the kiddie slides!

This was taken by me. I was in the seat in front of Julie, Ben and Tony on the log flume ride. Julie's not much of a ride person...thrill rides are definitely NOT her thing! So when she got on this ride, I got a lot of laughs listening to her fretting behind me!

The girls ride hands-free!

On a rainy day, we took the kids into Rochester to visit the Strong National Museum of Play. I love this place, as do the girls! L to R...Sara, Drew, Luci, Hannah.

The gang prepares for a show put on by the kids!

Hannah is in charge of tickets.

Ta da!

Drew doing what she does best...wowing the adults with her never-ending hula-hooping! I chuckled listening to all the adults oohing and ahhing over her ability to keep it going!

Even Daddy gets into the dancing with the girls!

So many things happened at camp, but in order to get this post done, I'm skipping a lot. Hope you'll forgive me, but it's my own fault for waiting so long to post. When we arrived home, we decided to top one of our huge Adirondack Poplar trees. Here's what it looked like before.

And here's our yard after! The girls enjoyed it!

Don't let their small size fool you...they're strong!

Also new when we arrived home, was Papa's latest addition to the Kid's Castle! On the left, there is now another walkway. It is open on the end and will accomodate a fireman's pole...soon to be installed. Off either side of the end of this walkway, are two supports holding a trapeze bar and a set of rings. Under the walkway, soon to be installed, will be some monkey bar rings. Also to be installed...someday...is a zip-line off the open end of the walkway. This thing is getting huge!

Off on another camping trip, we hit the nature center at the campground. Drew teases a turtle.

Dean was talking to Pearl.

Max needs a closer look.

Luci petting Iggy the Iguana. Iggy was too sleepy to be bothered!

Here's Axel. This is the same bird who, two years ago, followed me out into the front part of the building and bit my big toe!

Sonja and Luci catching a ride!

All ready for a parade! L to R Luci, Darien, Jeb ad Drew.

Luci playing with a ladybug. (Disclaimer: I did not do her hair here either! She was her own beautician so I let her keep it like this!)

Sonja, Drew, Luci and Max playing peekaboo!

The highlight of my summer has to be the Rebecca Kelly Ballet! It is a week-long intensive ballet camp with a performance at the end of the week. This is Drew's second year, and if Luci matures a little more this coming year, I'll put her in it next year, too! I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this camp! The girls learn more in this one week of ballet camp than they do all year long at their regular dance studio! And the performance is just beautiful! Below, Drew waits for instructions.

As you can see, she is once again the smallest one in the camp, even though there were several girls who were younger!

Being small has it's advatages sometimes! Drew gets carried across the stage by the older girls fluttering her feet the whole way!

Drew's little group doing a sweet dance.

Hannah's group did a dance to a cool song with lots of drums!

Hannah R, Drew and Hannah S.

Drew poses with Rebecca Kelly.

Another new thing this year, swim lessons! Between the weather, camping, ballet camp and cheerleading camp, they barely got 2 weeks worth, but that's better than nothing, I guess!

Yep, cheerleading camp...Luci is in the black shirt and Drew is in the light pink shirt.

Rah, rah, rah! Sis boom bah!

Luci adds her own unique touch to the choreography! In case you have a hard time finding her...she's the one with her butt in the air!

Our town's local summer festival ends with a big parade. Here, the girls help their dance teacher make a float for the parade.

Not sure how this shot got here...it was supposed to be a shot of Drew and her friends sitting on the finished float...If it weren't 1:30AM right now, I'd go back and fix it...

And last but not least, I attended my 20th high-school reunion last night! There was quite a showing with about 66 people actually attending! Here's a group shot!

Julie getting silly with my cousin Heather!

Jim tries to contain his enthusiasm...

Dave F and Shelley M. I had the biggest crush on this guy in high school!!

I literally had tons more pics and stories I could have posted...but I'm pooped and need to go to bed! Hope you enjoyed it!