Gone too long!

Well it's been nearly 3 years since I added my thoughts! As one could imagine a lot has happened in 3 years! We now have 5 amazing grandchildren. We are like most grandparents in that we are so grateful to watch our family grow and be surrounded by laughter and love. 

Molly now 6 and soon entering 1st grade at Bradley Elementary

Emily now 4 and soon to enter the 4 year old program at St. John's 

Andrew now 15 months and walking!

Liam now 2 and curious about how everything works!

Penelope now nearly 7 months old and always happy!

We've also added another "daughter" to our family tree. Last summer was the year of the wedding-with all events being held at the compound. It was a year of planning and I loved every moment!

Tim and I are so proud of all of our family. They each have their own homes now. Parents never really want their children to leave the nest but if they must it's good to know they have found homes to keep them safe and happy.

Jason and Liz will celebrate their 8th anniversary August 11

Cale and Maggie just celebrated their 9th anniversary July 29

Ian and Brenda passed the one year mark on July 19

Celebrating Elizabeth's 27th birthday at Tailor and The Cook

Which by the way won 2014 Open Table Diner's Choice Award for Americas Top 100 Restaurants!

Which leads me into my next discussion.

Utica

Wow! If you knew Utica and it's reputation for an awful place to live then take notice because

Times are a Changing here!

We now have an awesome hockey team. The Utica Comets and in our second season made it all the way to the Calder Cup playoffs. No we didn't win the playoffs but we did win the hearts of the country with our dedication to our team. From "white outs" at the Utica Auditorium to the roar of the audience at every game we are a miracle city who is on their way to becoming notable again. 

And not for negativity but for regeneration. 

Utica Bread

Just one small example is Utica Bread. One of the owners of The Tailor and Cook 

decided to create another new option for enjoyment in Baggs Square. 

Next on the list will be Ocean Blue. A restaurant about to open in the newly renovated HSBC building in downtown Utica. From the outdoor patio you will be able to see the true downtown from Bank of Utica, to the Gold Dome of what is now called M & T bank 

(formerly The Savings Bank of Utica), 

to Grace Church. Staples of our down town community. 

Loft apartments will add to the mix.

And to add to the history of Utica and it's surrounding area is the 

35th anniversary of 

Tallman's Tire and Auto Repair.

Started as a small business at 301 James St. in Utica it now has locations in 

not just Utica (now 1719 Genesee St) but also Yorkville, Rome, and soon in Herkimer.

Also an Express Lube in New Hartford.

There are no words to express how proud I am of my husband who built his business to a industry respected business that he too is proud to share with two of his sons. With their drive and determination they will some day hold a cake that will read 70 years.

When you neglect your blog for 3 years you realize that far too much has happened to try and play catch up in one evening. So I'll pause for now and hope that my next submission isn't nearly so tardy next time!

Mitzy

Twas a great weekend!

Last weekend, September 28, Tim and I drove to New Jersey to visit with Mary Rose and John. It had been too long since I'd had the chance to spend some time with Colleen and it was so good to see her! And her beautiful smiles! She just turned 21! What a strong and brave girl she is! Tim, John and Gerald (John's brother) went fishing early Saturday morning. Of course the water was rough and the fish practically nonexistent but that's par for the course for Tim! He did enjoy conversing with John and Gerald despite mother nature's unpleasant rain lashing. Mary Rose, Colleen and I took a drive to New Hope to see where Caitlin's wedding reception will be next July. And I loved it! I can just imagine it coming to life with flowers and twinkling lights! Here's a photo of one of the buildings where the reception will be held. The place is called Holly Hedge. The first photo is from their website. The second I snapped with my IPad

Saturday evening we went into Princeton and had a delicious dinner at The Ferry House. And fortunately Lizzie was able to join us! She's such a beautiful and talented young woman. Wish my IPhone photo had been better so I could post it here. But alas, I do not want Lizzie thinking poorly of me for posting a less than stellar photo of her! She is truly a lovely and pretty woman. But I do have a photo of Mary Rose, John, Tim and me. Nicely shot by Helen!

Sunday morning came too quickly and we were off to return home. I anxiously await our next visit!

Another special day

First day of preschool for Molly is both exciting and heartwarming. I took her to school and she didn't even look back once she was in her classroom! She knew to look for her name in the hallway so she could put her jacket and backpack away and then it was a quick sprint into her classroom. When I returned she was all smiles and said it was FUN! Here's some pics from this most eventful day!

Yummy breakfast before school! Kisses to Mommy before she heads out to work!

Love you Mommy! And now it's off to school!

Emily was very excited with this special day too!

Monday Monday!

Yesterday was another beautiful weather day. Tim worked on the pool in the morning and then we took a drive to Inlet and Old Forge to enjoy the leaf change as well as some walking. My little toe-which I broke about a month ago is still pretty tender but i was able to get some wide toed sneakers on. In fact we logged in over 10,000 steps with our fitbits yesterday! As I continue to add photos from this past year here are some from the scrapbook pages I sent to Per and Jeanne's kids just before their 30th wedding anniversary. Their kids Kristin and Erika and darling daughter-in-law Samantha had planned to present them with a very special "Pearls of Wisdom" scrapbook and had enlisted the help of many of Per and Jeanne's friends to submit photos and stories. At the very last minute Per and Jeanne decided to throw themselves a small and intimate-but totally gorgeous anniversary party. Just a few weeks before Christmas they were uncertain who would be able to join them. Well we cancelled any plans we had and jumped in the car! Per has always been my "other" brother and I have adored Jeanne since the day they said I do! The celebration was held at a local business-friends of theirs have a flower shop and we were able to use the back room-which was decorated to the nines! It was one of the loveliest parties we have ever been to. And all of their friends welcoming and friendly. Their children had beautiful toasts to their parents as well as Per and Jeanne reclaiming their love to each other via letters they read aloud. We too were asked to share stories and it was so much fun! Here's the photo album photos:

And photos at the event

Our time with our dear friends was priceless and we had no idea what major change was awaiting us when we returned home. Shortly before turning in the driveway Elizabeth called to say that our Golden Retriever of 13 years-Brinkley-was outside in the cold and would not come in. He was huddled under some brush in the back yard. We jumped out of the car when we pulled in the driveway and as soon as I saw him I knew our time with him would be very short. If you can find something positive in such a sad moment there was. All of the kids were nearby and able to come right away to say goodbye to our most beloved and faithful friend. Molly was young enough-just barely-to not realize that something very sad was happening. She never asked about Brinkley-the dog she used to call Bacon. To this day each morning when I get up I expect to see him on his bed in the kitchen. And when I open the door to the house I forget that he is no longer there to greet me. I will never feel as though I did enough for that sweet boy of mine. He was my everyday companion and I was very lucky to have spent as many years with him as I did. But 13 will never be long enough.

Good Morning Saturday!

It was another fun week with my little sweethearts. Tuesday we went to Fly Creek Cider Mill first thing in the morning. It's a bit of a ride-about an hour-thank goodness for the DVD player and my IPad. Molly was highly entertained with her "mouse movie" aka Desperaux-and Emily had to have her Baby Einstein on the IPad. I finally just emailed myself some links to her favorite YouTube Einstein videos so I didn't have to search each time we get in the car.

Wednesday morning we gave Uncle Jason a ride to Toyota to pick up his car and then stopped at the garage so I could do the new voice over for the phone system. Then a stop at the Express Lube to drop off supplies and a quick stop at Target. Molly loves to ride in the cart down the toy aisle oohing and aahing over all the dolls and barbies. "Oh Mimi-these are soooo beautiful!" And Emily prefers to imagine her life as Houdini-trying to escape the safety belt in the cart. But alas, I'm too smart for bam bam as I know the key to happiness for this little peanut is constant motion and not overstaying our welcome! And as I've told so many my alter ego Mitzy and Mimi argue every day. If it was up to Mitzy these little princesses would go home with a cartload of toys EVERY day! But Mimi always wins out with-we're just looking girls! That's not to say Mimi doesn't occasionally toss in something fun-like the Little Kitty nail polish and lip gloss kit! First time I painted her nails and the second time Molly wanted to manage her own pedicure. Not bad for a 3 year old!

Thursday morning was Molly's walk thru at St. John's Nursery School. As I told Cale they won't have any problem with her going-it's leaving that may be an issue! She loved her classroom! What sweet teachers she has. This is going to be a great experience for them! When we returned from the walk thru it's was playgroup time! Had a large group at the playground. Mike Brych and his 3 little guys, Sarah Amante with her 2 youngest, Kim Reale with her 2 youngest and some other folks that heard about the fun. So glad they all came and enjoyed Fantasyland! Great kids with wonderful parents. Always enjoy their company! After naps Emma and Mary arrived. Molly had asked if we could get ice cream before they came and we made a quick stop at Nicky Doodles to pick up some ice cream to go. I always smile when I go to Nicky Doodles as I ( and my awesome family) made it possible to have an ice cream shop so close to home! I don't miss running Frosty's although I often miss all the wonderful kids I had working for me and the great memories we created. Home just in time to have some fun under the sprinkler-although the first hour Molly and Emma were upstairs playing dress up and house. Pretty sure Molly was in control and ordering Emma around-all in good fun and Emma didn't complain. She has always been so sweet to Molly! Here's some pics of the fun they had with that crazy sprinkler!