September 11th

Six years have past since that horrible and tragic day. I cannot believe it. This morning after the girls boarded the bus I went in the house to go to sleep...I put the tv on and caught the reading of the names. It is so sad. I did not know one person who was lost that day... which is incredible and fortunate for me considering the number of FDNY firefighters I know. This past school year however Kathryn became friends with Julianna. Julianna is a Minnesauke 2nd grader and in Kate's brownie troop. She is a beautiful and spunky little girl... probably one of the most outgoing kids I have ever met. Julianna's father was a FDNY firefighter and died on September 11, 2001. He was also a former volunteer firefighter for Setauket, although I never had met him... he had resigned before I joined. Setauket FD took charge and gave him a Line of Duty funeral here in town- which I attended. I switched the channel to MSNBC where they were playing all the footage from 9/11/01 as if real time.... it was as if it were happening all over again. Watching the footage again brings you right back emotionally to that morning- the fear the dread, the shock, the nausea... and today as I watched the towers collapse all I could think about was Julianna, her brother and her mom Margarite and how hard today must be for them. My thoughts and prayers are with them as well as all the families and loved ones of those who died.

Happy New Year

This is a pic of all the children at the bus stop.... from left to right we have Allison, Lauren (kindergarten), Hannah (2nd grade with Katie), Megan (kindergarten), Brett (1st grade), Katie, and Brooke (kindergarten). This is a nice change- to have a big group.... when Katie was in kindergarten she was the only kid, and it was sooo boring for her.

Happy New Year... as I read once that every mother knows that the new year "really" starts in September. I believe that. Last Wednesday marked the start of the 2007-2008 school year. Kathryn starting 2nd grade and Allison is a brand new kindergartner. In the picture above Katie and Allison are all dolled up for the first day. I think Katie really enjoyed being the "big" kid and helping her little sister. Allison was really excited... she didn't seem to have any apprehensions at all.
As it seems standard for me... these pics are out of order. The pics above and below are of her getting off the the bus on the first day. I was sooo happy when she got off the bus smiling!!
In the morning... my neighbors and I put together a "New Years" party for the kids. We met about 1/2 hour before the bus came and had fresh bagels and juice. There were party hats, and my neighbor even provided the entertainment by making balloon animals. It was a great send off... the kids loved it. My camera battery died just before the bus came (thanks to Taylor... the day before I got great videos and photos from the aquarium). My Dad had his camera, thank goodness, all the photos of her getting on the bus are on his camera.

Allison on her first day with her HUGE backpack.
Allie and Kate's backpacks... side by side.
This is a pic of the bus stop on Wednesday morning. We had quite the group. Allison is so lucky to have so much family local. Besides myself and Rich (who took the day off) we had my Dad who traveled from PA, Rich's Dad, Uncle Freddy, Uncle Bob and Aunt Gretchen and even Jill, Christopher and Natalie (their first day wasn't until Thursday).

Thanks Pop-Pop

My father-in-law has been watching Allison (and Kathryn when she isn't in school) on Tuesdays for about 2 years now so I can sleep. I cannot thank him enough for all he has done for us... giving us peace of mind know that she is well cared for and loved when her parents cannot be around. I feel that this regularly scheduled time together has brought him much closer to the girls. Allison even more so than Kate has a special bond with him. During the summer he has also been watching Taylor and Emily because Gretchen works a full day on Tuesdays. Today he watched them for the last time this summer... and for Allison it was the last time since she is starting full day kindergarten. He made the day very special for the girls by taking them to Atlantis Marine World. They has a blast!!! The girls were also treated to a Wendys lunch ( I am sure with the frosty included) I gave him my camera to take with them this morning... I think each girl had a chance to be the photographer. I will download the pics as soon as I can and post them.
Thanks again Pop!!!

Pictures from last weeks visit to Minnesauke

This picture above is of the girls as the were wandering around the classroom.... it is small than most of the classrooms- but there are only 18 students in her class.

This is a photo I took of Ava and Allison with their teacher Mrs. Sheehan. :)
Katie's classroom was not open, but I took this picture in front of the door to her classroom.

The girls were really excited to see their names on the board!!

Allie's spot was already labeled and ready to go, she is starting at the red table.

This past week....

These as always for me are out of order... the girls were rinsing off in the showers at the beach. I don't know how they do it the water was freezing.
Katie spent most of her time down at the water...

Allison relaxing at West Meadow. Katie is in the background collecting water.
Christopher and Allison hanging out and goofing off.

Natalie and Katie.

It seems like every week just flies by. I really need to get my photos downloaded ( I don't know how Denise and Tracy get it done so fast!). Wednesday I had a meeting at work and had to go in for few hours. My girlfriend Karen watched the girls... which was great because we haven't seen them too much this summer and Katie and Allison are buddies with her daughters Hannah and Ava. After work I picked them up and had to run a few errands... I hit the bank, and then stopped at Old Navy with the hopes of getting some school clothes. Allison is such a riot when in a store- she LOVES to shop!! I was really there looking for clothes for Kathryn- who is never as enthusiastic as Allie is. I am searching the girls section looking for pants in Katies size, and Allison is picking up every skirt and or skort she can find "Mom, can I try these on?" "Sure Allie! why not." I respond. She then picks up shirts that are too big, and ballet flat shoes that are too small. I tell her that she is picking the wrong size... so she proceeds to bring everything that she thinks is pretty too me so that I can check the size. They cooperated in the dressing room... and I was out of there for under $100!!! Next we stopped at Target to complete the school supply shopping- which btw is still not done- I cannot find the scissors that Kathryn needs. Thursday morning I had to stay home for a few hours and wait for a bed that Rich and I had bought. It was to be delivered in the morning. It came pretty early... so as I promised the girls we hit the beach. We went to the local town beach here... West Meadow. We love it there. It is small and never too crowded. It has a nice playground and a sprinkler section, it is on the north shore so it is a rocky beach... but it has great sandbars that the girls love during the low tide. Jill, Christopher and Natalie met us down there and we hung out for a few hours.

It was really nice. When we left there we went home and jumped in the pool... which was cold and very refreshing after being in the sun for so long. That night the girls were going to their first sleep-over birthday party. It was really exciting for them. My niece Emily turns 9 at the end of September.... but because she wanted a pool party, they had the party early. It started on Thursday night with a slumber party in the pop-up camper and continued the next day with a bunch of additional girls, until 3:30... poor Gretch. Rich and I were alone in our house overnight for the the first time in many many years. It was strange. I think it was even more strange to wake the next morning alone (Rich leaves for work at 5:30am- before I wake up). I was lonely. I had plans to meet Doug and Erica at Buy Buy Baby in Huntington to add items to their registry... after that we went to lunch at the California Pizza Kitchen. They were coming to stay over a for the weekend. I had to work on Friday night at 7pm... :( but it was ok- I was home by 8am (I stopped at the grocery store on the way home to pick up some things) Saturday was fun because the girls went for haircuts... Katie probably had about 3 inches taken off. It looks so healthy and nice. Rich, me and the girlies went with Uncle Dougie and Aunt Erica to look at a house for sale in Port Jeff Sta. :) They are thinking about buying a house and in the process of deciding where they want to live. They have looked as far up at Orange County and and possibly out here in Suffolk. I would LOVE for them to come out here... so we looked at a nice house. I have my fingers crossed. We all then went to Bob and Gretchens house for a Labor Day BBQ. It was fun, the kids went swimming and turned VERY blue. I was so tired after working overnight, so we left a little earlier than everyone else. I needed to sleep good. On Sunday we hit Target for portraits. I paid extra for the photos be online... so I can post here when they are available. I will take lots of pics in the morning- of the girls and the bus, and hopefully will post right away.

Kindergarten Playdate

Today was the "meet the playground" for the Minnesauke kindergartners. I took my girlfriend Karen's daughter Ava with us, she is also starting next week and is in Allison's class. I stopped at Starbucks on the way for a caffeine boost.... considering I haven't sleep since yesterday and worked the overnight last night. We headed to Minnesauke and made it there just on time. Allison and Ava were given name tags will a yellow colored dot on it- the dot corresponded to the teacher you have... so as you are playing you can find other children with the color you have and they are in your class. It was hot! The playground is in direct sun, and kids were quickly tired and hot from the sun. We took a break from climbing and went to have a snack in the cafeteria. I luckily ran in to the PTA vice-president, whom I have worked with on some committees and become friendly with. I got to talking to her... and volunteered to be the class historian for the kindergartners. I am really excited about it. The class historian remains that until the children are in 6th grade... I will be collecting and cataloging photos for the next 7 years- AND at that time- when they are in 6th grade I will be the head of the yearbook committee. I also had mentioned my desire to be the class contact for either class... she is in charge of assigning them also. After a drink and a snack, Karen met us at the school and we made our way around finding the classroom for the girls. When we found Allison's classroom it had a big frog on the outside and the theme was "Leap into Kindergarten" unfortunately the teacher had the classroom window blocked from the inside so we were unable to peek in. We decided to outside to the back of the school, to try a look inside that way... and was even more disappointed to find that the blinds were shut!!! oh well. We found Katies classroom and peeked in and then checked out the gym and cafeteria and then ended with the library. You could see that Katie was pretty psyched to be the "older" kid (my big bad 2nd grader) and really enjoyed being able to show Allison and Ava around. When we left we took a ride to get some pizza... leaving Karens car at the school. Pizza was good... except right in the middle of eating I realized that I never took a picture of Allie and or Ava in front of the classroom. SO we decided that when we get back to drop off Karen and Ava we would go back in and take the necessary photos. I am so glad we did. When we got to Allison room, the door was open and her teacher was there. Allison's official teacher, Mrs. Bruenig, had a baby this summer so is on maternity leave until December... Mrs. Sheehan is her leave replacement... and she was there. It was exciting to meet her and the girls got a chance to wander around the room while Karen and I chatted with the teacher. It turns out she is also from the Three Village area and her children go to Mount. Karen knew her from Spotlight dance in Stony Brook Village where Hannah and Mrs. Sheehan's daughter took classes together. We discovered that we know some of the same people... because before becoming a teacher, she was a RN and worked in Mather's ER. It really is a small world after all!!!
Well I think it was safe to say that Allison, after today, finally feels like Minnesauke is her school. She is happy and excited about the upcoming year (Thank goodness). I am getting excited also- sort of-it is really bittersweet. I know she is more than ready, I just hope that I am. I think that having your youngest start grade school in a HUGE milestone. I am leaving behind a part of my life that I have had for last 7 1/2 years....and I guess sort of mourning that fact that I no longer have babies. Every new phase is exciting, and I feel as though we are setting off on a new adventure. This past spring I got a promotion at work Emergency Services Dispatcher 2...making me the supervisor of the dispatchers, in charge of the radio room, its equipment and its operations. I also have to refresh my EMT-B certification, and take a intense Communications Center Managers Course this fall. Oh and did I tell you I volunteered to teach 2nd grade religion every Thursday!!! SOOOO Allison going to school full time is sort of coming at a good time for me personally... needless to say I have such mixed emotions. I have some pictures that took today of Allison at school, but I haven't downloaded yet. I will post them tomorrow.

North South Lake

Allison, Taylor, Emily and Kate in the creek, their favorite place this trip

I just realized that I loaded all the photos backwards chronologically speaking. So I will have to recap the week in reverse. LOL. So for the last 4 years we have been taking a camping trip to North South Lake in Haines Falls, NY. We are never there alone... we are always with Rich's family... my father-in-law and his wife, her daughter Jennifer and her husband Adam, their 2 children Jackson and Jacob, Rich's sister Gretchen and her husband Bob, their 2 daughters Taylor and Emily and this years we were joined my Rich's oldest sister Nancy, her husband Rich and their 2 sons Richie and Robbie. The first picture is of Kathryn and Allison as we played at the "beach". I put the word beach in quotes because it is the upstate version of a beach with dirt more so than sand. It is also a lake... and that means no movement like the sound or the ocean, and it is just so different. I usually avoid swimming it it, and on this day we all had to stay out because of overhead thunder. Below is a photo of Katie with Emily her cousin... again waiting the 20 minutes until we were thunder-free. By the end of the week we had so warm and humid weather... that after swimming in the lake- and subsequent showers- we all decided to not get hot and sweaty again and took a ride to Catskill. Within the last year since we have been up there, Catskill has gained a Wal-Mart. Below there is a pic of the girls playing the Wal-Mart... staying cool.


This is a picture of Rich's dad with some of his granddaughters. They were getting ready to take a walk around Loop 5. This a view of campsite.... we were lucky to have lake front site this year. It is sooo beautiful. It is an incredible feeling to wake up and look outside to see this sight. It is positively breathtaking!!

Bob, Gretchen and I took the girls horseback riding... Rich stayed back to "watch the car" (wink wink) He doesn't like such large animals. Katie was able to ride by herself, but Allison had to ride with someone else. I have had too much experience and didn't feel that comfortable having her ride with me. Her choices were to ride with the guide (yeah right) or ride with her Aunt Gretchen- who has lots of experience riding. We had a blast on our hour-long trail ride... we saw some beautiful sights... including a spot that they claim you can see 5 states. I am not 100% convinced. The whole rest of the ride I was trying to figure out which states, and if were really possible. It was very distracting. So I figure it is New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania and possibly Vermont. But whatever.
Below is a picture of Rich at our site, we bought the girls fishing poles, so he spent tons of time teaching them to fish. They actually started at home by practicing in the swimming pool. LOL. One of the favorite things to do there is biking. We usually on a daily basis we ride the bike on the trails that take us around the entire lake. I am pretty proud of the girlies... the made the entire trek even though they have bicycles without gears. Allison especially did well... considering she only just learned to ride a two-wheeler early this spring.

The girls and I took Pop-Pop's canoe out on the lake, and I was thankful to have Katie to help me paddle. The Lake is beautiful, but in areas there are lots of lily pads, which can sometimes make it difficult to paddle through. Allison got a little ticked off though, because every time Kathryn paddled and switched sides.... she got some drips of water on Allison which did not make her happy.

Traditionally we always visited the Catskill Game Farm every year... Rich and his family have been going every year since he was a kid, and we went many times with the kids and even before the girls were born. Last fall when we traveled with his family to stay at the cabins in Leeds, NY it was to get together, but also to say goodbye to the game farm. They closed after over 70 years of business. It was sad for everyone... and I believe we had over 20 of us there for the last weekend. SO this year, we chose to take a group trip to Howe Caverns.... I hadn't been there for many many years and the girls had never. It was fun, and informative. We had 18 of us, so we formed our own tour group. Here is a photo on the left of us all 175 ft below ground.
Just a picture of our trailer and campsite... from the lake view! Below is a picture of my sister-in-law and her family... from left - is my nephew Richie (21 yrs) my sister in law Nancy, my nephew Robbie (18 yrs) and my brother in law Rich.

Katie and her little cousin Jacob!!

Aunt Jen and Jacob at the "beach"

We took a hike through a creek... the girls loved exploring the creek and trying to guess where it may lead.
Taylor, Katie and Allison exploring and trying to catch fish and other creatures that can be found in the lake

This is a photo of my father- in -law and his two beautiful daughters.

Katie is trying out her new fishing pole off the bridge... also Allison getting a little help from her Pop-Pop with her pole.

All of us managed to sit at the same table. :)

One of the best parts of this trip was the amount of time spent with our family. We are blessed that we all live close, but everyday life gets in the way and we don't always get to spend a lot of time together. We had this week to hang out, chat, eat, and laugh. It was great!!