October 2 - paper airplanes

My kids love craft time-- Here's our latest creation-- AIRPLANES!! Tons of fun.

October 1 - New Big Bathtub!

Our bathroom renovation is almost complete! Here's the girls and Dad (with bathing suit) having the very first bubble bath. The bathroom is complete with a TV, huge walk-in shower and amazing vanity area. Love it!

September re-cap

Here's September's recap---

Time at Treman State Park, Carlea started pre-k and Maysie started Gymnastics.

Beside that, about a billion others things happened, it's just hard to blog them so much later-- My next goal for October is to post a picture a day-- however it's already the 4th-- we just got our cable back yesterday-- so I'll try to post date.

Um...Is it summer yet?

Ok, I guess I have to face it, summer came and went, and I was no where to be found.... How could I have missed it? I'm still waiting for the weather to turn warm...

Well, here's some photos from our short short summer... Most of you know that I like to take pictures every day and would you believe that I have NO family pictures for the month of July. That's why I'm missing my summer....there is no proof it was ever here.

Here's the gang at the beach in August. Maysie's mantra was "Get me outttttaaaa heeerreeee!!" She must have said it 50 times that day. She loved the sand, hated the waves. Carlea loved every minute of it!

We also enjoyed a trip to the Land of Make believe with cousins Allyssa and Andrew.











































Also, while in NJ visiting Pop Pop, he let us be the first ones to pick blueberries from his patch in the back yards. Yum yum!













Later in August I had Camp Davis - a week long adventure camp for some of the cousins. This year we had my brother's two girls visit for a week-- Bridgit and Katie. We had a great time, visiting lots of places.

We made cake pops, a recipe courtesy of my friend, Wendy. They were messy but great.














We went to The Strong National Museum of Play in Rochester and it was AMAZING! Carlea is such a character! She loves to play along with whatever character is around: note the grumpy look for the troll.
































We went to Darien lake one day and also enjoyed the August mild weather with the sprinkler and slip and slide outside.



















We also enjoyed lots of time at the natural parks around the area.



























Finally we ended out the month with a yardsale and the kids had a great time selling lemonade. They made over $13 with .25 cups of lemonade. i think they got a lot of tips....

Strawberries and Birthday Parties

I can't believe it's been over a month since I last posted! A lot has happened and hopefully now we are slowing down a bit for the summer.

May sped past with tons of year-end activities at Cornell. Senior Week went well and most really enjoyed their last week at Cornell. Convocation with David Plouffe was interesting. It's the first time I have hosted a speaker younger than me. I knew this would happen eventually. They keep getting younger and younger!

This past week I went to visit my Dad in New Jersey. I'm always a little anxious when I go alone with the kids because there's so much maintenance involved in traveling with two young ones. Beds, blankets, pillows, diapers, sippy cups, etc... it's overwhelming. But from the moment I got there, it seemed so relaxing. On Friday we went to the Crayola Factory and saw the movie "Up" and visited with my brother and his family. "Up" was great, but the kids were actually really scared. And for a kids animated movie, I cried four times. I mean, come on, in the first five minutes the wife dies. It is kinda sad.

Saturday was the most beautiful day! We did nothing but pick strawberries from my Dad's garden and swing in the hammock in his yard. I love strawberry season at my Dad's house. It reminds me of some of the fondest memories I have growing up. I am so glad that my children get to experience it as well. They are so sweet right off the vine, there is just nothing better!
My Dad enjoyed rocking the kids in tha hammock and beamed with pride as Maysie fell asleep for her nap there.

Sunday was Carlea's birthday party. I was a little worried because not many people RSVP'd but in the end it was just fine. We all enjoyed the ball playground structure and Scooby Doo theme.

Now it's time to relax a little. We start construction this week on the downstairs and hey, I might even clean the house! Nah... summer is here and I gotta be outside. The sunshine is calling my name!

Enjoy!

It's getting busy around here!

Well it's May and it's getting busy around here. Last week was slope day at Cornell. It was a fun-filled day with lots of planning, set-up and execution for our office. The Pussy Cat Dolls were entertaining and if throwing a concert for 15,000 beer-filled college students weren't enough, we threw in an evacuation for an impending storm. Fun times I tell ya! It actually was kind of exciting.

This weekend flew by with a 9 hour conference call on Saturday with SIG. Even better times... Actually it wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it was going to be. It's always nice to reconnect with old siggers and plan the summer away. I love going to summer camp. And this year, for the first time ever, I get to spend camp with my friend Debbie who got me into the SIG thing 13 years ago! whoo hoo! I'm really looking forward to a great camp this year.

On Sunday, Carlea performed in a sing-a-long at church. Although her daycare gave her low marks on keeping a tune (she needs improvement--as well as in hopping), I thought she did well. The song was 12 Disciples, but she thought the words were 12 recyclables. I'm not sure anyone else noticed, but Scott and I thought it was funny in a green sort of way.

Later that day Carlea was telling Scott what a great daddy he is. "So strong" she'd say. "So funny" "really nice" kind" and "always taking care of me" I asked what she thought I was good at and she replied, "counting." Hopefully I can at least help her score well on the SAT!

Tonight was the class council end of the year banquet - I love this time of year! It gives me a chance to tell my students how much I appreciate them. Following dinner I went to the Meet the Candidates Night for our local school board. Six candidates for 3 seats....it's going to be interesting. It's nice to see interest in our community!

Well, I only have 103 events left to do in the next 19 days. This week isn't bad with the Class of 2010 picnic on the quad tomorrow and Duff Ball on Saturday night....then a few days off till the real fun begins.

Spring is here....

It's been awhile, so I thought I'd update with a few happenings in the Davis household. hmmm, where do I begin? A couple of weeks ago, we went to Arkansas to surprise Scott's Mom and Dad for their 50th Wedding anniversary. We had a great time. We went a couple of days early to set up the party. It was fun sneaking around hoping they wouldn't see us. My sister, Marylou went with us to help out and it really was nice to have her around. The first full day we were there, as we were decorating the church, I was telling everyone how whenever we come to visit Mimi and Pops we always end up going to the doctor for something. Then it happened. Carlea fell and hit her head on the leg of a chair. It was pretty bad...blood, her screaming, me screaming...actually that was just in my head, but there was blood and she did cry at first. My gosh, it was a huge cut! Right on her forehead! So we rushed off to the hospital to get it checked out. They were so nice. (Everyone in Arkansas is nice) The nurse, in a thick southern accent and spelling out the words so Carlea wouldn't be afraid, said that she would have to get S - U - R - G-- I was shocked! really? surgery? My gosh, was her brain falling out of the cut? I called Scott to tell him and he was clearly as in shock as me. When the nurse came back, I questioned her again. Really? Surgery? I mean I thought it just would be stitches or something. I must have looked pretty pale at that point because she started to laugh and tell me that she was spelling S - U - T - U - R- E - S. Whew! So Carlea ended up with 6 stitches in her head. She was a real trooper and didn't cry at all. After all she earned herself a whole candy bar. That's pretty good for a kid who only gets 5 m&m's at a time. They had to wrap her head so she got A LOT of attention, which of course, she loved.

The party was great. We usually talk to them in the evenings through a computer video cam and we staged it to look like we were at home on the computer talking to them at the party. Then we came out and surprised them. It was fun and the kids had a ball.

For the next week we toured Arkansas hitting all the hot spots. Clinton Presidential Museum, (he was there the day after us) Mount Magazine (highest point in Arkansas) and a bunch of other places. It was nice weather and the kids love visiting their Mimi and Popsy-boy.

This week we went to the Sciencenter. We normally love this place, but this season's exhibit is blood sucking insects. Not really good for a kid who just bumped her head and bled a lot. She didn't sleep for days.

I'm glad spring is here! We can finally go outside and have a little fun. Maysie is starting to talk up a storm and we've been really loving this stage in her life.

This week we are starting senior week ticket sales, so I'll be busier than ever. Lots of events and great offerings. And to balance things out, I have another school board meeting on Tuesday. As we delve further and further into the budget, things are getting tougher and tougher in terms with making it all work out for the best with what we have. I went to a boy scout lasagna dinner on Saturday night and sat next to a really nice older couple. The kids were hungry, it was dark and they were fussy. As I sat down after getting up for the umpteenth time, the woman said "Oh, two young children, I feel sorry for you". Then the conversation turned to community stuff and I mentioned I was on the local school board. She put her fork down, looked me straight in the eye and said, "Oh, now I feel *really* sorry for you".

Have a good week everyone!

We've been played!

It's been a crazy day~ it started with church. We all got up early, an extra hour in fact, and was actually in church on time, something we haven't done in months! It was all good until the collection plate came around and Carlea dropped it on the floor spilling out all the envelopes and money. Under the pews, under the kneelers, etc...kind of embarrassing. Luckily the priest likes us so he pretty patient with the kids. Carlea loves Father Scott and is always writing him letters and making him cards. During communion she walked up holding her little sister's hand (so cute) then saw Father Scott and ran back to her seat to get her letter for him, but couldn't find it so ran back up front and couldn't find us, then started yelling for us...it was...at best... comical. I was annoyed! And Maysie only talks in church. She's 2 and doesn't really make any noise whatsoever except in church. Then she finds her voice. It's a circus. Thank God people accept us there.

It was about 15 minutes before dinner and Carlea approached me and asked for a blueberry muffin. I told her "Sorry Carlea, it's almost dinner and I don't want to ruin your appetite." She then disappeared for a minute and came back and said "well, Daddy said he would give me one if you said it was ok." I replied, "really, Dad said that?, Well, I guess if he's ok with it, it's ok with me." And off she ran. Later at dinner, I asked Scott why he would let her have a muffin right before dinner and it was then that we figured out we had been played~ after he said no initially, she went back and told him that I said it was ok if it was ok with him. PLAYED! By a three year old! I can only imagine it's going to get worse. When we asked her about it, her only reply was Yum! (with a smirk)

Whew, what a day! Happy daylight savings time!

There's always one bad apple in the bunch....

Kids say the craziest things! Tonight we were eating dinner and Carlea and Maysie wanted an apple for dessert. I started to peal the apple and Carlea said, "Make sure you take the whore out, Mommy." Ok, then....

I am so tired of the cold weather and snow. Today I was driving home and it was a nice 42 degrees out according to my car. You could see the ground, the sun was shining, it almost made you feel like Spring really might be coming. Then I started driving into Dryden. Down the hill into snow land. We still have several inches of snow and again the wind has blown the snow across my driveway. I get out of the car and I'm sure the temp has dropped at least a dozen or so degrees. I am so tired of the wind and cold and snow. Will Spring ever be here?

Maysie's birthday was filled with lots of fun making cupcakes and visiting Pop Pop and all her aunts, uncles and cousins in New Jersey. She got a new pizza making kit (play food) that she adores and plays with constantly.

Well happy Ash Wednesday everyone! I haven't decided what I'm giving up yet, it may have to be those whore apples I've been buying...

Dryden's own...Southworth Library Sale

I love living in this town-- this is amazing...

Lincoln speech sells for 3.4 million

Snowman and stuff

Yesterday we went outside and made a giant snowman....I am so sore today! It was fun, even though I can barely walk today. Carlea and Maysie and our neighbor Ryan helped in the building. And Carlea even made a baby snowman for the big snowman. Here's the kids sledding and eating a big meal after a day of fun outside. Side note: Carlea is saying "ouchy" because I made her sit with her sister.....

The week in review

It's been a long week here at the Davis household. Scott has been working day and night on budget predictions for his work at Cornell. He's not in a good mood. Looking back over the week I can't really remember all the stuff we did although I know we did a lot. The pacifiers are gone. Whoever said it'll be over in one night was wrong...it took the girls about 4 nights and 5 days to get over it. But since about Thursday, they haven't mentioned it a bit. It makes me wonder though, that something that we thought was so big and important in their lives...they just got over it in few days. That's sad. How can that be? What else would they get over in just a few days of not seeing it? I know they don't get over some people-- Ms Helen babysat last night while Scott and I ran Bingo for our church and they remembered her as if she were here yesterday and they haven't seen her in six months. Mimi, Pops and Pop Pop are always remembered. I wonder what they will really remember about this time of their lives years from now. Probably not much. I hope they will remember being happy.
We had a snowday on Wednesday and yesterday we got another 3 inches even though our forecast was only a 15% chance of precipitation. When I looked at the radar - seriously, I kid you not- there was a cloud cover just over my house! In Ithaca the sun was shining and no one believed me that it was blizzard like conditions here for about an hour. I actually had to shovel the driveway! Maysie and Carlea helped, but all I could find for them to help me was some old dustpans, so it took awhile. Today the temp is up a bit allowing us to get that great slushy-good-for-building-snowmen-type of snow.

We are renovating our downstairs bathroom and have been getting some great layouts and estimates. I cannot wait to have a bathtub downstairs. And a full size laundry room. I think we'll decide this week and hopefully that project will be done in March. About the time that the new carpet is installed.

Have a great week everyone!