Happy Halloween

It was a cold and wet Halloween, and the kids had fun any way! Grace dressed up as a honey bee, and Noah was a werewolf. They were able to dress warm under their costumes and stay semi-warm as they went house to house.

Grace trick or treated with Simon, Manny, and the gang. Noah went door to door with Jon. They got loads of candy on our street and then went over to La Quinta for some more.

Hope you all had fun!

Home again

It's so good to be home. This week I was at the grand opening of the Woodmore Wegmans in Maryland. I took the 6:50am flight out of Rochester on Tuesday and was at the store by 10am. My job was to support the store management with any distribution needs they had. The job involved a lot of problem solving and facilitating and communicating.

My hotel was about 15 minutes from the store, and it was a treat to eat out every night although it wasn't good for my Weight Watchers! Our friends from Tyler Place were going out to eat Thursday night in Glen Echo and invited me along. It was fun to see them again after five years - Rodney and Maria, and Adam and Jodi. Hopefully we can get together for spring break.

It was hard to be away from home for four whole days. Lou did a great job of holding down the fort. The house was sparkling clean when I got home! It's nice to be back in Rochester ...

Grace's swim meet vs. Greece

Today Grace had a swim meet vs. Greece. She swam the 100 butterfly, the 200 individual medley, and the 200 medley relay. She had fun with her friends swimming even though she didn't have the greatest day in the pool. It was her first time swimming the 100 fly, and she swallowed water on her second lap and stopped. She was still recovering when she had to swim the IM, so it was a tough race for her. She did very well in the relay swimming a 50 breaststroke for her team. Go Grace!

The first picture was taken by Lou as Grace was diving in to start one of her races. I am in the background (second from the left) helping out as a timer. Can't say I look as good as I would like! Time to get back to the workout schedule.

The second picture is of Grace and her friends Eric and Alec. Everyone knows you have more fun between events rather than while you are swimming!

Canandaigua Lacrosse

Yesterday was Grace's second and last tournament of the fall season. She played five games and scored two goals. The team was 5-0. It was a beautiful fall day although a bit chilly. Aunt Stacy and Uncle Brian brought Charlie and Mom to see a game. It was nice of them to travel all that way!

Grace and Simon

This picture was taken on Saturday, October 9 in our neighborhood. Grace is with her best friend Simon. He was diagnosed in April with stage 4 neuroblastoma and has undergone six rounds of chemotherapy as well as a surgery at Sloan-Kettering Hospital in New York City. Grace and Simon love to hunt ghosts, build forts, and play kickball. Please keep Simon in your thoughts - Grace wears her bracelet daily that reads "Love and Prayers for Simon".

Grace's first lacrosse tournament

Today was Grace's first lacrosse tournament. She played girls' lacrosse last year but had the flu in October of 2009 and missed this tournament. It was a beautiful fall day - started out clear and cool and 40 degrees and warmed up to 65 degrees and stayed sunny. We dressed in layers and settled in to watch her play nine games. There were two Webster grade 5/6 teams, but there really weren't enough for two teams but more than enough for one. So the girls who wanted to play extra could. Of course that applied to Grace. Her first game was at 9am, and her last was at 330pm. The games lasted 25 minutes each. She was exhausted and went to bed at 8pm tonight. She ran all day! Grace played goalie for three games which was the first time for her in the net. The coaches were very supportive and gave her pointers. Noah tried to help too! That was very cute in the back seat last night when he was telling her what to do in goal.

It was a fun day!

Noah's new instrument

Noah started playing the cello this year. Fourth grade is when they start instruments in Webster, and this was his pick. The music store called today to say it was ready to pick up, and he was excited to play his first song for us. He is just in from playing hockey all afternoon, thus the tall socks.

Germanos in Disney

This is a picture of us getting ready to go on the Kilimajaro Safari at Animal Kingdom. We had a great time in Disney. The last time we were there was in 2007, so it was fun to go on some of the same rides and also try new ones. Grace was as fearless as ever, going on every roller coaster and scary ride there. Noah and I stayed back for some of those! We had great weather and enjoyed our time in Florida.

Disney 2010

We went back to Disney in September. Shannon and Jack were there for part of our time in Florida. We got to spend two and a half days with them which was fun. The kids had a lot of good times together walking the parks, eating, and going on rides. This is a picture of them at Downtown Disney on our first day.

Our first triathlon

Grace and I participated in the Finger Lakes Triathlon on September 19th. My goal was to finish in under two hours, and my time was 1:48. Grace did the kids' version and loved it. We had a great time. Lou was a big supporter during my training with lots of time away at Canandaigua Lake to swim, the hills to ride, and constant running. We are excited to do more next year!