Mt Hood

Just had to share the photo that Alex just sent to me via his phone. This is a miracle for several reasons... First of all, he never texts me. Unless he needs a ride. (He rarely texts anyone, really.) And this is also the first photo he's ever taken with his phone. Oh, and it's also the first I've heard from him in 3 days... I can't wait to hear more about his trip and maybe get more photos along the way!

Week in Review

We've been busy this week and put many miles on our cars! Our weekend at the Jersey Shore was wonderful and went by far too quickly.

It was nice to get away, just the 2 of us and spend time with friends.

When we got back, Eric had to turn around and go to Long Island for work. Alex was at Cornell at cross country camp and so I was left all alone for 3 days. And what is a girl to do when she's all alone?? Get a pedicure of course!

And have a girls "evening out" with Paula!

Today I took the day off of work and went to pick up Alex. Cornell is a lovely, but HUGE campus. I'm thankful I didn't get lost too badly.

We had to meet the campers for their end of camp "race". Alex is always so serious...

He's finishing the race here. He took is easy... there was no reason to go all out.

After the run, the coaches had a nice talk. (The camp coaches are also the Cornell Cross-Country coaches, which is a nice bonus!) It seemed that all the kids had an amazing time, they worked hard, learned a lot and got a lifetime of memories. (I still remember my week at Brandeis University Track Camp when I was in High School!)

I think Alex made a lifetime of memories as well...

This was the dorm he lived in. Looks nice from the outside.

It had the look and feel (and smell!) of an old beaten up Frat house inside. I think I envisioned nicer rooms for an Ivy League college!

On our way home from camp, we stopped at the A&W and got car-side service! What a nice treat.

Busy Times Ahead

This coming weekend, Eric and I are taking a little ("Mini") road trip to the Jersey Shore. (I'm really hoping Snookie won't be there... ) This will be the house we're staying in. It's in Barneget Light. Which is apparently on the northern end of Long Beach Island. I had to look this up. I've never been to the Jersey Shore! Eric's friend Chris (from HS) is having a 50th Birthday Bash, the house we're staying in belongs to his wife's family. Win-win for us!

This is Barnegat Lighthouse. It looks like such a beautiful place. It will be nice to get away for a couple of days!

And speaking of getting away, Alex will be quite the little traveler over the next few weeks. Thursday he leaves for NH for a few days. He returns in time to go to X-Country camp at Cornell University. The day after he returns from camp, he's off to Oregon and Washington with his Grandparents. I think this trip will officially put him ahead of me for states visited...

Beaver Lake Bug Fest

It seemed like a good idea at the time. To head over to Beaver Lake Nature Center for a nice evening run.

It's a beautiful area, with lots of trails for walking and running. Lots of wildlife to look at.

Flowers to enjoy.

But tonight, there were bugs. Thousands of bugs, swarming our heads. Alex tried to run the 3-mile loop. He ended up sprinting the whole way to avoid being eaten alive. I did the .5 mile trail, and sprinted the whole way too. It was crazy. They were everywhere.

As I stopped to take this photo, I realized what a mistake that was. I've never been so covered with bugs so quickly. It was such a shame... such a beautiful, peaceful place. It almost made me wish for colder weather when the bugs were gone. Almost.

Four Square, A Divided Neighborhood and Guilt

Some of you already know all about FourSquare. And have been doing it a lot longer than I have. Some of you are probably annoyed by people posting the "FourSquare" updates on Facebook. I'll tell you though, it's kind of fun! I've debated on whether I should have it go to my Facebook, but so far I'm going to keep doing it. Even if it annoys some. They can hide the FourSquare entries if they want.

With FourSquare, you check in at various places you visit. And you are awarded with points, mayorships and badges. You have "friends", just like you do with Facebook. Anyway, if you're not doing FourSquare, you should be! It's fun. It's the "next big thing"...

So this is a photo from our neighborhood. They are doing some road work and have closed the thru-street right in the middle of our neighborhood. It's almost been a month and I have to say it's about the most annoying thing in the world. This was usually our short-cut to work, to shopping, to school, to everything. Now we have to take the "long" way around. We have no idea when they will re-open the road, but it won't be soon enough!

------------

Because I was dismissed early from Jury Duty, it has been driving me crazy that I didn't know the outcome. So I searched online and found some information. It seems my thoughts were the same as the remaining members of the Jury. He was guilty on 5 counts. And for the charge of Grand Larceny, he was given the lesser charge of "Unauthorized Use of a Vehicle". It also looks like the Jury decided that afternoon. He is currently in custody, and was not granted bail. He finds out his sentence on August 4th. I'll be sure to re-visit the Inmate website to find out about that! Here's some information from the Inmate Lookup Site regarding the defendant:

GUTHRIDGE , ROBIN 24
4B041 RECKLESS DRVG
4B041 RESIST ARREST
4B041 FLEE OFFICR-3RD
4B041 UNAUT USE VEH-3
4B041 RECK ENDANG 2
001 COUNTY COURT 08/04/2011
ONONDAGA COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE - CUSTODY - NO BAIL J/FAHEY 071311

Kelly's Birthday

This evening we celebrated Kelly's 6th birthday! Sheila made these adorable cookie monster cupcakes and giant cookie cake.

They were so yummy!

Paula posed with the birthday girl.

Gary lit the candles while Sheila looked on. Kelly waited very patiently... while sneaking cupcake frosting on her finger.

Blowfish picture!

Paula helped Kelly read the cards. Cards first, presents second!

Eric gave the play-by-play to Greg on the phone. And told Greg that I took this picture and that I would post it to the blog tonight. So here it is!

All the kids were playing so well together. At least for a moment.

Clem and Marilyn were at the party too.

As was their sweet granddaughter, Audrey Elizabeth Amanda. :)

Then out came the super soakers!

Alex got in on the fun.

Kelsey ran away while Laura tried to soak her.

Thanks for hosting the fun event, Paula & Gary! Always a good time when we all get together. And Happy Birthday Kelly!

Dismissed

Jury Duty is officially over for me. Today I was dismissed. After the closing arguments and the instructions from the judge, he let me go. Apparently I was an alternate. We think they didn't want us to know who the alternates were so that we'd all pay attention! (I really don't know why they did it this way or if it's normal.) The other alternate and I left and were then able to discuss the case. He was on the same page that I was. And I'm pretty sure the rest were as well. I'm hoping they post the verdict on the courthouse website eventually, I feel like I need some closure!

In case you are interested in the case, you can read the news story about it here. And the reason I thought he was guilty so early was not because of how he looked. But because the lawyers stated the charges and mentioned that police officers were the witnesses. The charges included stealing a car, leading police on a car chase through the city, causing 2 accidents, and then running away from police on foot after he crashed his car into a house. And then after all that, he resisted arrest after they tackled him. They had to taser him twice. I could not imagine how you could be innocent of all that, especially if the police were the witnesses and they were the ones who chased him down and eventually arrested him. Why would someone run away from the police if they didn't do anything wrong?

Even the guys own lawyer said he was guilty during his closing arguments. I guess the whole trial was about the "degree" with which the crimes were that he committed. Sure, he stole a car. But, was it Grand Larceny? Or did he intend on returning it? It was afterall a car of an acquaintance that he took without permission. Apparently there's a BIG difference between stealing something and taking something without permission. (Who knew!?) That charge was my sticking point, but today the judge offered a lesser degree for that charge. I'm pretty sure I would have gone with that. But guilty on the rest.

I feel shortchanged that I didn't get to vote with the rest of the jury or see how that end of the process worked. It was overall a good experience, although very boring at times. I am glad I did it, and kind of sad that I didn't get to finish what I started. But I'm happy I don't have to do it again for 8 years.