To Hamma's House Maddy Goes!

So, I didn't mean to leave you hanging in the last post, but things were really busy around here last weekend. On Saturday, Bill and I were heading up to Saratoga for a patient appreciation event for the practice and Madelyn was off to spend a fun filled weekend with her Hamma and Grandpa Mernon. (Grandma Vickie & Grandpa Merritt). Mom & Merritt were so excited to have both of their grandchildren for the weekend, Madelyn and Baby Carter. (Kelly & Tyler's Baby) So, as usual... Mom, Bill, Maddy and I met at the half way point, to do the official transfer of goods. The goods are Maddy and all of her stuff, no dogs this time :) It is really very funny, Maddy thinks that Hamma lives at the gas station in Scoharie, since we usually always meet there. After dropping Maddy, Bill and I headed back towards Saratoga, we had a really nice lunch at a favorite diner of ours, Gibby's in Duanesburg, in case you are ever stopping through. It is truly comfort food at it's finest. The accept cash and personal checks as payment, if that gives you any idea of the type of place it is. After lunch, we headed to the Saratoga Hilton for the beginning of our patient appreciation event. We invited 25 patients and their guests to attend a motivational health talk by Dr. Guy Reikemen. Dr. Guy is the current president of the largest Chiropractic College in the country. He is a great speaker with an amazing life story. So, we spent 3 hours at the event with our patients and I think they all enjoyed the evening. After the event, Bill and I bundled up and took a leisurely walk through Saratoga. It really brought back memories of our college days. We sat down at 11:30 at night and ate chinese food and then went to a small french restaurant and sat and had a couple glasses of wine and chatted until 3 o' clock in the morning. It was so much fun and we were so grateful to have the time to reconnect. The next morning, we slept in (ahhhhh ) went out for a big breakfast and then headed home. We were greeted at home by Hamma and Maddy. Hamma was nice enough to drive Maddy all the way back to our house and even bring dinner. Of course, Maddy had so much fun with Hamma. They baked cookies, made a stuffed boy for our front porch (look at the pictures and you'll understand), they caught fish in the pond, went in the hot tub, played with Lily (Hamma's big fat cat) and of course Maddy had fun playing with baby Carter. It was a great weekend for all of us and looking forward to next weekend. We are excited about Halloween and can't wait for the Michael W Smith/Steven Curtis Chapman concert. Should be another great weekend....

Why we live in Upstate NY!

The Fall in upstate NY is my favorite time of year. The leaves are amazing and the cool crisp air is so welcomed after a hot, humid summer. During the Fall we always try plan a few activities with friends and family. Maddy and I started off the weekend with a trip to Bowman Orchards with our Mom's group. I think there was about 8 mother's and lots of children. We picked apples, ate cider donuts and Oh... I ran out of gas. Well, let me explain, Bill drove my car the night before and left me with no gas, the gas light went on right before I got to the orchard, I thought I would have at least a few miles before I would need gas, but I guess I was wrong. The good news I have Onstar, so I pressed the button and within an hour they delivered me 1 gallon of gas. That was just enough to get me to the gas station. So, in case you run into this situation and you have Onstar, press the button and gas will be delivered :)

On Saturday we visited the Upper Hudson River Railroad, for a train ride through the adirondacks. The past two years, we've had picture perfect weather and the leaves are at peak. The Fall is also when Waterfowl hunting season goes into full swing, so Bill decided to stay back and went hunting with Merritt. So.... Mom, Lark, Bobbie and I decided it would be a great trip to take with the kiddos.... It has been a very rough year and half for Bobbie, Ethan and Lark so we were so glad to have them with us and enjoy the day together. Maddy and Ethan had so much fun playing together and they both shared their toys nicely. We look forward to the train ride again next year. Maybe cousin Carter can come, and baby Lillian!

Sunday started off slow, we made a big breakfast and went to the late service at Church, it was so nice to sleep in. Church was different this Sunday, as our Missions week began and it is always so uplifting to see how our church in Loudonville is impacting the world. I am very proud to be a part of Church that is focused on global missions. Bill had the privelege of providing chiropractic services to visiting missions workers. It is a welcomed experience to offer gratis services to people who truly appreciate his skill.

On Sunday evening, our friends Jen and Dan invitied us over for a Pumpkin Carving Party. It was so much fun... As usual, you get a few adults together to carve pumpkins and it starts to get competitive. We all came prepared with our perfect pumpkins, and our professional pumpkin carving kits. We ate pizza and wings and spread out on Jen and Dan's big dining room table. We had a busy weekend, but it was so nice to spend it with our closest friends and family. We are really looking forward to next weekend in Saratoga. More to come on that!

A Great Trip to Florida!

Maddy and I just got back from Florida. We flew down to Ft. Lauderdale and spent a day with Uncle Dan, Aunt Ria and her family. Then we traveled down south to stay with Nono Gino and Nerys and then back up north to see my Grandmother, Aunts and Uncles and Tia Alex. I have to admit I was pretty anxious about this trip. I really don't like to travel alone with Maddy and always prefer Bill to be with us, he stayed back to work :( but nonetheless we made the best of it. It was also going to be a very short trip with lots of visiting. We stayed at a different house almost every night, which can be very crazy with a 2 year old and all the "stuff" you have to transport. Anyway, we did make some time for fun. The night we got in, we went to the beach with Uncle Dan, Aunt Ria and Andrea. It was awesome!!! The weather was perfect and after our flight down it was nice just to put our feet in the sand. Maddy is always a little skeptical at the beach, she does not like the seaweed, but after a little while with Uncle Dan, she was running and playing and stripped down to her onesie, chasing the birds....

On Saturday , we visited a wonderful children's musuem called Youth at ART in Davie... There were so many fun things to do, ride in a Waste Managment truck, sort and recycle bottles. Visit a mini Asian DoJo, play drums with an African Tribe, and explore Egyptian ruins. The museum even had a mini cruise ship you could explore. My Dad (Nono) and Tia Alex enjoyed the day with us and had a blast watching Maddy play and interact.

Sunday and Monday were spent with my family in Pembroke Pines. It is always so good to see all of them. Grandma Romeo looks wonderful and of course all of my Aunts and Uncles are a riot. It's always so much fun seeing them. It doesn't get much better than 15 Italians sitting around a table for 4 hours eating, drinking and just laughing so hard, your sides start to split. I am so happy that Maddy is able to spend time with my Dad's side of the family too, what an amazing extended family she has.

Then there's Tia Alex, it has been way too long since we've seen her. She is so busy with her schooling at Nova, but that girl has more drive and focus in her left toe than I do in my entire body. She is straight A student in one of the hardest programs at Nova. You Go Girl!!! Only good things to come for Tia Alex. Maddy and Alex had so much fun together. We had a sleep over one night, it was so fun to sleep in the same bed with my sister and daughter. Wow, how things change..... We stayed up most of the night talking quietly while Maddy snoozed in between us. I think we learned more about eachother that night then we ever had. It was a special night and a great memory I will cherish.

So, the trip was a success. I saw everyone I planned to, we had fun, and Maddy and I made it home healthy. Unfortunately, there were a lot of nasty colds going around down there, it looks like we dodged that bullet... this time....

Bill, Maddy and I are heading back down to Florida in February for a family vacation, we will be staying at the Mariner's Club in the Keys for a week and plan on just staying put and relaxing together as a family. So family in Florida, we love you, but if you want to see us, you'll have to come to the Keys :)

Maddy and Ella.... 2 Peas in a Pod!

For those of you who don't know, we have friends that moved to Greenville, SC earlier this year. I met Emily at our Mom's group at Church and our daugthers always loved to play together. We were so sad to see them move away, but we were really excited they came to visit us this past weekend. The girls had so much fun together and we all definitely had a crash course in "Sharing". I think if I hear "No Mine" one more time, I might go crazy. By the end of their visit, the sharing concept was starting to catch on...... We didn't have great weather but tried to make the best of it. We visited the NYS Museum and rode the vintage Carousel. We created a mock backyard camping trip and played "Ballerina Dress''. We were even crazy enough to have a playdate at our house on Monday. Picture this.... 7 Moms, and 9 children all under the age of 3 in our basement play room. It was a little nuts, but a lot of fun and it gave Emily and Ella time to visit other friends . All in all it was an awesome weekend, we feel so blessed to have such amazing friends and it's so fun to see our girls play together. Can't wait until we see them again!