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Posting from a mobile device... from Greg and Diane's.

Bon Voyage!

We're heading to Boston for a few days before we set sail. I'm not bringing my computer since we won't have internet access on the ship. (I'm not paying that crazy price!) We intend on having a fabulous, relaxing and fun vacation. And I will post photos of our adventures when we return!

Have a great week!

Yellow Brick Road 8k

Today Alex ran the Yellow Brick Road 8k in Chittenango. For those of you who aren't familiar with the significance of The Wizard of Oz to Chittenango, L. Frank Baum, the author of The Wizard of Oz was born in Chittenango. The town is very proud of this and they hold an "Oz Fest" each year. And even have yellow brick sidewalks down their main street.

Alex ran a great race. It was an absolutely perfect day. Not a cloud in the sky, temps in the low 70s. No humidity. It was beautiful. He also said the course was great. Part of it ran through trails next to the Erie Canal.

He finished 7th overall, out of about 200 runners with a time of 32:15. (8k is roughly 5 miles)

He also came in 2nd place for his age group and won this hat. I like the t-shirts for this race, very colorful!

He was SO disappointed he didn't come in 1st for his age group. He would have won an engraved Yellow Brick. They were kind of neat.

The race started and ended at the corner of "Race St." I thought that was a good name for that!

The start/finish line was also at the Chittenango Fire Barn. I snapped this photo during the awards ceremony. Thankfully there were no emergencies during the race!

Mini Reunion

I had a chance to get together with my old friend Maureen today. We went to High School together. She was driving from Maine to Chicago (where she now lives) and we were able to get together for a quick dinner. The last time I saw her was almost 12 years ago when I was in her wedding. We're hoping not to go another 12 years between visits! Maybe a nice road trip to Chicago could be in our future??... 

Chase Corporate Challenge

Yesterday Alex and I volunteered to help at the local Chase Corporate Challenge race. It was a fundraiser for his Cross Country team. Almost the whole team, and a lot of parents showed up. I caught a picture of Alex and a few of the kids collecting garbage along the Parkway.

These are a few of the other parents. We were given the black t-shirts, which on an extremely hot day, made it even hotter...

There were almost 8,000 runners. Which consisted of local employees from all over the area. One of the teams was from Wegmans. I liked their t-shirts. Tops Markets had over 400 employees in the race. Which turned into a 2-mile "Fun Run" due to the extreme heat. (The "serious" runners were pretty annoyed about that!)

I think I had one of the best jobs of the day. I was on water duty. I got to pass out ice cold water to the runners as they crossed the finish line.

This was the finish line, the local fire department had a nice sprinkler going for the runners. It looked quite refreshing!

Birthday Parties and Swamp Rats

Sorry it's been awhile since the last blog update. We've been a teeny bit busy! Today we hosted a fun afternoon party for Sheila's birthday. Gary and the girls made this yummy cake.

It was such a beautiful day, we got to eat outside. Laura and Kelly tended the Tiki Bar.

Aren't they sweet?

We all sang happy birthday to Sheila.

And Kelly helped to blow out the candles.

Then she helped clean the candles.

We all got some cake and ice cream.

Then Sheila opened her gifts.

I think she liked the Ginger Beer!

Kelly's in trouble!

Earlier in the day Alex ran the Swamp Rat 5k. He was officially finished with his PT this past week. He took a little over a week off after the track season ended, and ran a few days this week. Then he ran a pretty decent race today.

He finished in 9th place overall (out of 400+). His plan is to run a couple of races each month over the summer. Next weekend is the Yellow Brick Road 8k in Chittenango.





The Other Hayden House

Gary & Paula's new house is progressing right along. Not as quickly as I'm sure they would like, but they have come so far in just 5 months. This is the new addition on the back of the house. Isn't it grand!?

This is the "Great Room" from the master bedroom balcony inside. I love how bright it is. The new windows are all in.

Laura showed us her new room.

Paula was explaining the new bathroom layout. The tape on the floor is where tubs/showers/vanities are going. I think she's standing on the toilet.

This is the new kitchen, looking from the Great Room. The garage is to the right of the kitchen. (The truck might give that away.)

Paula was showing me the Great Room. I love the open floor plan. The new kitchen will be able to see the Great Room and the new dining room. So whoever is cooking dinner won't be left out of all the fun. And will even be able to watch TV.

The front of the house is looking good.

The new front door is installed.

And Eric took advantage of life in the country.