Oakwood Rd, North 1st Annual Block Party

Consuming much of my active brain space this Spring was the planning for our 1st ever block party.  Wayne and I really wanted to do this last year but time got away from us.   So we started our planning in April, got our permit, barricades, and bounce houses and with a lot of help from our neighbors, we enjoyed the event Saturday.  The rain held off, sprinkling only occasionally and almost everyone who was home came out for the day to mingle, meet, and laugh.  A few area businesses made modest donations(thank you Wegmans for the gift card, Wise Guys Diner for the hot sauce, and Dunkin Donuts for the donut holes).

 We wanted to make a community of our little slice of Greece but people did not know each other.  Nothing to do but to have a big party!  Our local fire station sent over a fire truck and rescue truck and the Monroe County Sheriffs Department sent over 2 horses and officers.  The kids were able to climb in the firetruck and pet the horses.  While adults mingled and BBQed, the kids ran between 2 bounce houses and enjoyed the thrill of riding up and down the middle of the street.

Adalyn played till she just about fell over, enjoying every ounce she could squeeze out of the day.  She found a deep love of orange drink and sported an orange mustache for a good portion of the day.

The difference in the feel of our street is already tangible.  It is hopefully the start of a great tradition.

An Ethiopian Update

Since writing this post, time has past and I felt I should update those of you who aren't in my daily circle.  To be fair to myself, I wrote that post intending on going.  Indeed, it was written to sway the reader to agree with me.  And I think it would have been a great experience.  Possibly life changing.  I love the friend that offered me this chance and would have loved to spend the time with her knowing that it was possibly the only time I might do so.   But I didn't go.   A few things happened that made me change my initial inclinations.

First, we were put in contact with someone through Compassion who could answer many more questions than we previously had answered.  Someone who knew a little bit more about the way the system worked  and had done essentially the same thing we were trying to do with his own sponsor child.  Tsegaye would have to sit down with a person from the church and discuss the best ways in which to use the monies we sent, though the decision to continue his schooling would still have to be his.  This seemed right and hard at the same time.  I wanted to MAKE him continue, but knew it would mean more if it was his choosing.

We also received his last letter(through Compassion) that removed any doubt as to what his goals were.  He desperately wanted to finish school and did everything but outright ask us to help him.  This made us feel certain that the money we sent would be used for the purpose we intended.  Thus removing the absolute need for me to go there to set it up.

I would be dishonest if I said the money was not an obstacle as well.  It would cost 4Xs as much for me to go vs. just sending the money.  The whole goal was to get his education funded, not to meet him, however wonderful that would have been, and I could not overlook the burden of the price tag of such a trip.  Yes, I had a tentative plan to fund it, but looking back on how busy we were without the added fundraising, I'm not sure how I would have fit it in and maintained my sanity or my family.

On the positive side, we have gotten several e-mails from Tsegaye.  He must have someone who can translate for him b/c they come in English, however broken.  He has continued his schooling and assures us his family supports him in this as well.  He still always asks us to come.  Perhaps our next sponsor child should be in a location that is easier to visit.

I do feel a bit like I settled for mediocrity when I had something so much more within my grasp.  And that is disappointing.  I am not a great traveler without my kids.  I used to love it, before I had wee ones I had to say goodbye to.  And part of me feels like I let this feeling override the opportunity.  I'm not interested in beating myself up about it.  I think that as my kids get older, it will be easier to leave them or I will be able to take them with me more.  I know I missed out on something really special.  I can only pray that the next time I get such an opportunity, I will not have any qualms about taking it.

Dance Recital 2011

 Ahh, the 48 hours that is the dress rehearsal and recital... a time full of make-up, sequins, bobby pins, an ungodly amount of hair product, 4 costume changes, 1 hairstyle change, me running like mad to and from the auditorium so I can alternately see 1st girl dance then hurry backstage to change 1st girl into 2nd costume and run back so I can see 2nd girl dance her 1st dance then run backstage to get the 2nd girl ready for her 2nd dance then bolt back into the auditorium so I can see them both dance their 2nd dance. I'm not sure about them, but I was beat afterwards!

Displaying more interest this year than in years past, the last month was filled with requests to play their practice video so they could cement their routines.  Denver danced a tap number to, 'Let's hear It For the Boys.'(See 1st You Tube Video Clip-she is far right, front row)And a Jazz to 'California Girls' by Katy Perry(kids bop version, thank God!)

Willa's tap was to a cute number called, 'Shake Your Blues Away' and her jazz was to a hip hop version of 'Mary Had a Little Lamb.'  I'm working on getting all the dances up so be patient.

 Of course they were so cute and adorable and did great, but I'm glad I won't have to do it for another whole year.

Spring

 Apologies to those of you who check often only to find my recent lack of activity.  No great explanations to give.  I think the wet soppy weather has drowned my blogging initiative.  We are, of course, busy, but we are generally always busy.  Wayne has been working 65 hours a week since January and I suppose the hours are getting to us, let alone him.  Good news came this week when he found out he could drop to 50.  Still a lot, but after 65 for so long, quite an improvement.  And not a week too soon.  We will all be happy to have him home more especially if he's awake for those hours;)

But to update the world(all 6 of you), here are only a few of the things that have occupied our time...

 Both girls had art pieces in the school's art show up at the local Mall.

Wayne and I have been busy trying to plan our first block party.  This has proved really great in that we get to meet a lot of neighbors we hadn't known, but also hard in the fact that I'm much more of a big picture planner and the details sometimes overwhelm me.  

Mother's Day brought 0 pictures, but Wayne spent 5 hours the day before running the electric for  my new water feature:)  It was either this urn fountain or a Koi pond.  For once I thought I would start small.

Of course after all this rain one would think we needn't any more water but once Adalyn learned how to turn on the hose, it was puddle city.  This requires many baths, many outfits and many tantrums about when a hose can and can't be turned on.

This weekend is the girl's  dance recital and this is truly big news as they have been practicing harder than I have ever seen them!  A whole post, complete with innumerable pictures will soon follow, but here is a little taste...

Niagara Falls

For Willa's birthday trip, she chose to go to Niagara Falls.  For those that may not remember, we don't get the girls presents anymore.  (we have enough stuff) But we do let them pick anywhere(within reason) to go for their Birthday.  And so, Niagara was Willa's choice.

For those of you not from around here, this may seem like a huge deal.  After all, it is one of the 7 wonders of the world.  But Niagara Falls is only a little more than an hour away from us, making it a perfect day trip.  The Falls is best viewed from the Canadian side, so across the border we went. 

 There were quite a few options for the tourist thing but Willa chose The Journey Behind the Falls.  This is a path that leads you behind the Horseshoe Falls, on the Canadian Side.  Here, you see us in a tunnel of sorts, the white behind us is the Falls, crashing down.  It also lets you observe the Falls closer to ground level.  The Falls is immense and we could feel the power in the air as we walked around.

 No we didn't sell off the little one.  The day before we left I took her in to the Dr. to find she had a double ear infection.  While it was still tempting to bring her along, we decided to let her stay with Gran and Pop.  She was a stinker for them so I can't imagine what she would have been if we had tried to drag her all over the Falls with us.  I was sad she wasn't there, but it worked out well, since we were able to focus on the other 2 way more than what we would have been able to if Adalyn had come.  One day, we'll have to start bringing her to these fun family adventures.

At night, they shine immense lights onto the Falls and this was one of the things on Willa's list to see.  The Falls consist of two waterfalls, fed by the same river, interrupted by an island.  Above you see the American Falls, and below is the larger, Horseshoe Falls.  This is when they remembered they could take pictures with their DS.  They have about a hundred pictures like these:)

 The surprise of the trip was an overnight stay at The Great Wolf Lodge, an enormous indoor waterpark.  Literally, 5 minutes away from the Falls, it was a perfect way to cap Willa's birthday trip.  I would put up more pictures, but we were so busy having fun, and being wet, that the camera didn't come out too much.

They were asleep within minutes of crossing the border back into the US.  Wayne and I just wished we could do the same.  Kids love hotels but they don't actually sleep long or well while there.  We haven't been this tired in a long time.  Well worth it though.  

Willa Turning 6, Continued...

For her birthday, Willa wanted a couple friends over for a mini-party.  There was some last minute doubt(and I admit I freaked out a bit) when I only had heard back from 1 out of the 3 girls she invited.  After a lot of unnecessary stress, just the 1 friend came.  But, it is her best friend, and as it turns out, I think that's all a girl of 6 really needs.

I covered her Pink Lady(strawberry) cake in fondant and let them use food coloring and paintbrushes to paint the cake.  This was really turning out cool until, like all painting with small children, they combined all the colors to make a darkish purple that covered everything(including their clothes).  But a cool idea I will keep in my Cool Idea Closet(a space in my brain that I can sometimes find for special occasions).    

Continuing my no toy birthdays, Willa has chosen to go to Niagara Falls, Canada for her birthday trip.  Wayne even took a day off from work(insert the singing of the Hallelujah Chorus) next Thursday.  This turned out to be a bit more complicated when I realized at 2 weeks out, that my passport had expired less than a month before and I could not find Denver's birth certificate.  Long and very expensive story short, I now have a valid passport and Denver's birth certificate.  What the girls don't know(so no one blab!) is that we are surprising them with a stay at The Great Wolf Lodge, conveniently 15 minutes from the Falls.  I am so excited I could burst.  And since they both can read and have now awoken from their royal slumbering, time to end this.  But I'm sure there will be lots of pics to come of her birthday trip:)

#2 Turns #6

 Willa turned the big 6 yesterday.  Looking through the last 6 years in photos, it's hard to find one with her not smiling.  She is as her middle name suggests, Joy-ful.

About 6 months old here.(yes, I could not figure out how to flip it the right way, really blogspot should  make that an option when adding pics)

Around 18 months here.  She and Great-Papa were good friends, though sadly she doesn't really remember him too much now.  

After these there is a gap in photos since my comp. crashed and I can't figure out how to transfer from an online photo store back to my comp.  Is that possible, does anyone know??

Always Happy, even the day after she had the stomach bug.  Every time I see this picture I think about how skinny she seemed from not eating for a few days last Spring.  But, still happy.

We happened to pull out her scrapbook at lunchtime and found her exact time of birth to be while we were eating.  So we quick stuck a candle in her PB&J and sang Happy Birthday to Willa!!

Willa has been saving up for a particular toy(I'm sure a pic will be updated to this soon) and Denver counted out the exact amount Willa needed, $3.64, from her piggy bank and wrapped it up(with a lot of tape) so Willa could get her much anticipated toy.  We are heading out soon to go purchase it.  Much to her dismay we could not go there in our pajamas within the first 5 minutes of wakefulness.

Willa Joy, a beautiful, happy thoughtful 6 year old that we are so very blessed to have in our family.