Ummm....

Does anyone else find it weird that Spongebob's friend Patrick, the starfish, has a belly button?

Photo du Jour

Beegs and Sam both ran to the side window and intently watched Ron get in his car to go to work. It was only in a second that Sam turned to look at me, otherwise, both of them had their noses to the glass for a good 2 minutes.

Watkins Glen is Gorges Too!

Last Monday, my shift at Wegmans ended at noon, Ron's started at 12:30 and Sam was at school. I decided to use my free time to hike Watkins Glen Gorge. The only bummer of the whole trip was that i had to pay $7 to park. Ron laughed later and said, "since you went to hike, why didn't you park somewhere else and HIKE in?" Good point.

It was a beautiful day. Warm, with sporadic clouds and a nice breeze.

If you ever make it to this neck of the woods, put this hike into your plan. It wouldn't even take up the whole day, though it would be easy to make a day of it. I hiked 80% of the length and back in a little under two hours, and i was not "power hiking." There were plenty of tourists, as i expected, but i was not looking for a secluded hike. I also wanted something pretty easy, and this hike is. While the steps from the beginning never seem to stop (there are about 800 from the Entrance to the Upper Level), they are intermittent and there is plenty to see and lots of flat areas to walk before the next section of about 10-20 steps.


It's a very well maintained park. And the gorges really are just that - GORGES! I know that is Ithaca's little catch phrase, with several scenic parks in that town, including Ithaca Falls, Buttermilk Falls State Park, Lake Treman, Enfield Glen, Treman State Park, Lucifer Falls, Taughannock Falls, and Cascadilla Gorge.

I took what i think might be the lesser-traveled path back to the entrance, the shaded and wooded well-marked path on the opposite side of the gorge. I could faintly hear the water and the people from below on the Gorge Trail, but i was able to enjoy the trees and shade and the quiet.

Smitten Mama

Sam just finished his 3rd week in daycare. That's 8 days, technically. He's finally gotten used to the routine of things and when i go to pick him up recently, the ladies are quite literally clammering to share stories of how AWESOME he is. It makes me so proud. Lemme share the latest "Cubby Note" left on Sam on Thurs, 7/12. (A Cubby Note, by the way, is a half sheet of paper giving a 'run down' of Sam's day, including what he ate, how long he slept at naptime, and some 'highlights.' I think its an AWESOME thing they do, and i plan to tell them how much i look forward to Sam's Cubby Note that day.)

"He had a really good morning. He had no tears at all after being dropped off. He played with another boy who is about the same age in the morning. And we went outside to play in the playhouse. He is getting to know the rules there and he understands them well. He spent a lot of time playing with wooden airplanes there. It seems that he is comfortable with all other children and staffs. We're so happy to see his smile on his face! Have a great night. ~ Ayumi"

Ayumi rocks!

And apparently, so does my son. Its taken him a gradual and cautious three weeks to emerge and shine as the awesome little guy we love greeting us every morning!

The Bi-Annual Visit to Kerry's

Sadly, it's turned out to be bi-annual, but I'll take that over no visit at all.

My friend Autumn from Wegmans and I ventured to Geneva to visit Kerry and Family. It was a gorgeous day - blue sky, puffy clouds, and
extremely enjoyable temps!

Emmet is Kerry's youngest and will turn 1 in about a month. Liam will be 4 in October. And Sam's just
about 20 mos. At one point, when all of us were in the kitchen, i tossed out to Kerry how, mathematically, all the boys could be hers (or mine for that matter). Could you imagine having three boys all under age 4? I could not. Eek!

What a great day! We hung out a bit before feeding all the kids. I introduced Liam to some sweet potato fries that i make Sam that i brought from home. He gobbled them up! For a while we thought the kids might take a nap, but there was just too much going on. Soon we headed to a local playground. En route, Emmet and Sam conked out and stayed that way for a while after arriving. So the adults and Liam had fun running around, jumping, bouncing, and sticking out our ugly tongues! I love a good playground that the Big Kids can have fun on too. Soon enough, Emmet woke up and wanted some snacks. A few
minutes later, Sam joined in on the fun and slid down all the slides. He really loved the big spiral one!


Thanks again Kerry, for the yummy sandwiches at lunch and being one of my best friends. Let's work on making them QUARTERLY visits, eh?

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These are the Telford Family Kitty Kat Ears, primarily worn by Mama and Sam. When you wanna *meow*, throw 'em on!

Front Porch Loungin'*

*Check out G. Love's album with this title. Very sweet.

Fun at Tim and Heather's

About a week and a half ago, Ron, Sam and I went up to visit Tim and his wife Heather and their daughter Alyssa. Tim was Ron's best man in our wedding. We had a really nice day. Alyssa is 8 and she totally took the role as Second Mommy. It was cute. Sam and Alyssa trucked around in her Barbie Jeep (of which is getting too big for - kissing her knees!). That was a hoot to watch!! It's good to see them when we can.

You lookin' at ME?

Happy 2nd Anniversary to Us!

This is 10 days late, but better late than never.

Ron surprised me this year with his creativity. He told me earlier in the week that he had something planned and so i let him fly with it. Our friend Autumn came over to watch Sam, and Ron and i "gussied" up. Right before we left, he appeared with a vase full of fresh cut flowers from our gardens and says, "i called the place we are going and they don't have fresh flowers on the table
so we're going to bring these." That made me smile. It made me WONDER, but it made me smile.

We ended up near the mall and the next thing i know, Ron is pulling up to the Wendy's drive-thru. Big grins from both of us for different reasons. He orders two baked potatoes with chives. We pay and pull out. He drives over to the Barnes &
Noble Bookstore and parks.

Now I'm REALLY intrigued.

We get out of the car and Ron starts pulling all this stuff out of the back of the wagon; a cooler, a couple Wegmans bags with stuff. He takes my hand and we walk inside. We sit down and he tells me that he called the store manager a couple days ago to ask permission that
we have dinner in their cafe, the place where Ron and i met on our first date.

How stinkin' ROMANTIC!

He had prepared a large delicious salad, grilled asparagus (that the dude working the cafe nuked for us!) accompanied by a yummy HOT baked potato from Wendy's. He packed dinnerware from our home and purchased flavored teas from the bar. I was so impressed and touched.

It was a really nice dinner. We only got looks from one lady (ha!). We topped off everything with a sinful chocolate something or another that was really yummy. I think there were Oreo cookies on it too!

We concluded the evening with a drive-in double feature of "Transformers" and "Evan Almighty." Of course we only got thru the first movie, and even then it wasn't very good. Sure, the chick was hot and the Transformers themselves were CGI-cool, but the plot was ridiculous.

(Right before the movie, on the side of the road, we looked over and saw two people hang gliding. I went ballistic! That is one thing i HAVE to do before i die. I'm going to do it for my 40th birthday. It was so cool to watch. It's easily got to be the closest thing to feeling like a bird... ahhh...)

Happy Anniversary, my dear Ron! Here's to many many more!