SUNY Geneseo

Today we took a trip to SUNY Geneseo. It was a MUCH nicer day today than it was on Tuesday when we went to Rochester. Not a cloud in the sky and the temperatures were in the low 50s.

Geneseo is about 30 minutes south of Rochester, basically in the middle of cow country. It was a lovely little town that reminded me of New England. The campus was very nice. 

This was an interesting tree, there was some story that went along with it, something about an ice storm years ago and a student protest to keep the tree. It's now some sort of symbol of the campus. I thought it was neat.

The campus is sort of on a hill. If Alex goes here, he'll be getting a workout going from the dorms to the classrooms! It's quite a walk up the hill. This was a great view of the countryside beyond the campus. The building to the left is the student union. 

This was the science building, it was newly re-done. The wall has the periodic table on it, which was kind of neat. Alex was fascinated with it. 

This was a shot in student union. The flags have to do with the countries where students come from.

It was interesting going from an expensive private college to a less expensive public college. There are definitely differences. But in the end, you get a diploma from each of them. The question is, where will Alex feel most comfortable and where will he thrive? I asked him on the way home if he had to make a decision right that second, where would he go? He picked Geneseo. 

It'll be fun to see where he ends up, he has several more campuses to visit. One thing he has figured out is that he doesn't want to go any further than 2 hours from home. So that narrows it down quite a bit! Although I did say that we'd be happy to move our home to where ever he'd like to go... like maybe somewhere on Cape Cod??... 

University of Rochester

Alex and I went on our first College visit yesterday. Rochester is a nice city, not too big, not too small. Not too far away...

The campus was beautiful. These photos will not do it justice. They were taken on my phone.. and it was also a very over-cast, on-off-snowy, windy day. But take my word for it, it was lovely. If you'd like to see more, feel free to do an internet search.

George Eastman apparently donated a great deal of money to the Univ. of Rochester. The Quad (the Eastman Quad...) had a big statue of him in it. We learned that George Eastman wanted every building on campus to allow eating and sleeping. We saw several students catching some z's in the library... 

This was our tour group heading over to the freshman dorm. I loved this school, and I think my love for it started when I learned about their curriculum. They don't require students to take all those ridiculous "core" classes like all the other schools. Like basic English, a language or basic math. They also don't want students to declare a major until their 2nd semester, sophomore year. They want the students to take classes that interest them and take time to figure out what suits them best. A lot of students get to have double majors since they don't have to waste credits on basic core classes. It's also apparently also a top Research College and a big engineering school. Who knew! 

Oh and they had a great outdoor track. They also had an indoor track, but we didn't get a chance to see it. Alex liked the school, I think he's going to hold off forming any opinions until after he sees more campuses. Which is probably a good idea. Me on the other hand, am ready to pack my bags and give college life another whirl! What should I be this time??

Snowed Out

This is a photo from today's track meet. Doesn't that look like fun?? These 2 girls were from Liverpool. They came in 1st and 2nd. Shortly after this, the team left. Alex didn't get to run. He was pretty disappointed, he could easily have won his events. It did eventually stop snowing, although the temperatures dropped and the winds picked up. It was not a nice day to be outside. 

I still managed to enjoy my day off, I went shopping and then watched the Red Sox beat the Yankees in the season opener. It was a great afternoon!

Easter 2013

Today we went to the Fulton Hayden House for a lovely Easter Dinner. Gary & Paula's dining room set was back from being re-finished and it looked wonderful! This was their first time hosting a family event since the fire. It was so nice to be back and so nice to be sitting at that table again.

Paula and the girls did a very nice job setting the table.   

No caption necessary. (Except that the bottle was only half full when we started!!)

Paula, Laura, Kelly and Arlene chatted before dinner. The island is a great spot to hang out.

This was the gorgeous ham we had. So good.

Ivan, Arlene and the girls were playing an Easter egg game. Perfect floors to spin an egg! 

Arlene and Paula were hard at work cleaning up after dinner...

While the boys watched...

And Alex retreated to the other room to watch basketball. 

Jenny enjoyed her first visit to the new house. 

Dessert.

Gary & Paula have been busy making maple syrup.

This is their new pantry door, I thought it was really neat!

And here's their finished pantry. Paula is so excited to have a place to put her food again! (This was finished just last night...)

Busy Time Ahead

I think is going to be my first post ever without pictures. I just wanted to give an update about all the fun things we have coming up in April! First off, the first Track Meet of the season is Monday. Yep. Already. It's still cold and snowy. Crazy. I'll be there, I have Monday & Tuesday off this week. I'll be wearing 8 layers of pants and sweaters and I'll still be cold.

On Tuesday, Alex and I are going on our first official college visit! I think I might be more excited than he is. He's been quiet about the whole college process so far, I've been trying to encourage some involvement and get him excited. Maybe once we visit a school, he'll start to perk up and realize it's really happening. Our first visit will be the University of Rochester. Home of the Yellow Jackets. We don't know a lot about the Univ. of Rochester. It's small and private (aka: expensive)... but they have a great academic program and are a Division III school for Cross Country & Track.

On Saturday, we have a visit at SUNY Geneseo. Home of the Knights. Alex likes Geneseo. The track coach has already contacted him. It's a smaller state school, that is fairly affordable. They also have a great Div. III Cross Country & Track Team. (An Alex must-have.)

On Sunday, my cake decorating class begins! I can't wait. After that, Alex has more meets, Tel Auc will get underway for 8 nights, and more college visits will be happening. (On April 27th we go to Ithaca.) I think it will be May before we know it!

Random Things

This is what we woke up to yesterday. Yes, 3 days after Spring officially started. I think it's safe to say the Groundhog had no idea what he was talking about.

Today we went to the Regional Market and picked up some donuts... I feel like we hadn't been there in forever. I actually wanted to get some fresh baked good from the Amish folks, but they weren't there... such a let down. But the donuts made up for it a little.

I've been thinking lately that I want to learn how to decorate cakes. Not just throwing on frosting and sticking on some candles, but really decorating cakes. Like my mom used to do. I always remember her making fancy cakes when I was growing up. I learned a few trick from her (always keep the frosting ahead of the knife...) but I want to learn how to make flowers. And fancy borders. And fancy decorations. So I signed up for a class at AC Moore, which starts April 7th. I have my Beginner Kit ready to go. I can't wait! And just think, if you know me, I'm sure you will enjoy some "practice" cakes very soon... 

Birthdays and Ceremonies

We went to Gary & Paula's house on Sunday for dinner and a birthday celebration. Paula made her first real dinner in the new kitchen. Isn't it gorgeous?! And yes, of course that's a giant glass on wine on the counter.

The view from the new sink...

Here's a view of the kitchen from the entry. Notice the old ice box in its new home!

We also had a joint birthday celebration for Diane and Paula. Diane was there via Skype... it wasn't the same as her being there in person, but it was still nice to share the experience! 

In other news... Alex was inducted to the National Honor Society tonight.

He even posed AND smiled for a photo when we got home.

Congratulations, Alex! What a great honor and accomplishment!