A huge chapter closes....waiting for the next one to begin! Well our little boy is no more....I'm sure that happened a long time ago while I wasn't looking but it became official this past Saturday when he graduated from Livonia HS, Class of 2009. He just beamed as he accepted his diploma and smiled for the camera....all the while his mother and father were dabbing away the tears of joy and pride. I cannot tell you how difficult this journey has been for Danny and for us....but more for Danny. But the past is behind us and now he moves ahead....to MCC majoring in Business Administration to start, then we'll see where he goes from there. Way to go "Budders"; we love you!

A Day of Celebration!

As I mentioned on Facebook, Danny's last day of High School classes was yesterday. As usual we had to memorialize this big event with photos (my kids are not fans) so here are a few pics we took yesterday morning before Danny left for school.

Then Meghan and I went to school and decorated Danny's car (which he has lovingly renamed from "Sasha" to "The Enterprise"; don't ask) with balloons & writing on the windows. I did this for Meghan two years ago after hearing about this great idea from my friend Karin Manning, and she loved it. We weren't sure if Danny would love it or hate it (because of his Asperger's he sometimes doesn't react the way we hope he will) but....tada! He loved it. He even gave me an unsolicited hug when he came home yesterday. I can count on one hand how many unsolicited hugs my son has given me over the past 17 years.....so this was very cool....almost had a tear. Here are a few pics of the dolled up "Enterprise".

Now one final to go (Eng. 12) tomorrow morning and he'll be all set for Graduation on Sat. June 27th! Thank God! Way to go Danny!

On a lighter note....I love weddings!

Dan and I attended a beautiful wedding on Saturday afternoon at the Crescent Beach! It was the marriage of a dear friend and former RPD partner of Dan's, Mark Mariano, and his beautiful bride Jane. It was small, intimate group of about 65 people, and the wedding ceremony itself was held outdoors under a gazebo overlooking Lake Ontario. Everything was beautiful, especially the bride....see for yourself! We had a great time!

Goodbye Cottage!

In 1967 my parents borrowed $1,000 against their life insurance policy to purchase a plot of land overlooking Black River Bay in a sleepy little historic village in upstate NY called Sackets Harbor. They recruited family and friends and hand built "the cottage", which has evolved over the past 42 years by the hard working hands of both my father and mother, into a beautiful home.

Growing up we spent every possible moment at "the cottage"; every vacation day my Father earned from working shift work at Kodak Park was spent there....and every summer my mother, brother and I would spend extra time there enjoying the sun and water and the many "Suzy B" boats that my parents bought over the years.

Fishing was great back in the 60's so we all enjoyed many fish dinners which were prepared in the big electric frying pan after my father hand filleted (sp) each fish by hand. WOW, this brings back so many memories it's unbelievable. And we had the best vegetable and flower gardens you could imagine.

Not to mention all of the friends that we all made and kept over the years....we had our annual picnic for all the people who lived on our road....food, drinks, games, oh boy, those were the days!

But time doesn't stand still as we all know, and my parents are at the point in their lives where they need a year round home where they don't have as much maintenance and they don't have to worry if there will be too much snow for them to get out of their little seasonal road. So it's time to go; it's time to end one chapter and open another...for every season....you know the drill. And if there was any question as to the timing of this change; it sold in less than a week and my parents are moving in 1 1/2 weeks....it was time!

It's very sad on one hand, because we grew up there and so did our four children and my brother's three children. They have wonderful memories of spending time there with Grandma and Grandpa....the big tree fort my father and brother and nephew built; watching the sunsets over Black River Bay; going to town to shop in the little boutiques or occasionally go out to dinner at The Boat House, The Barracks, 1812, Tin Pan Galley, or the many other restaurants that have come and gone over the years.

On the other hand, my mother is extremely excited about her new 3 year old ranch style condo that they bought in the village. It's perfect for them. My mom can walk with her walking group every day, she's a hop skip and a jump from her church where she volunteers a lot of time and the museum where she's head of the volunteer committee. They can walk out their back door and go to the Legion for their Friday night fish fry....you name it, it's right around the corner.

So this is it; goodbye cottage; you were good to us and we'll miss you!

2100 Bricks on the Wall, 2100 bricks, take one down and pass it around, 2099 Bricks on the wall!

Ok, so I have a few ideas that turn into BIG PROJECTS for my family...this Summer is "The Summer of the Bricks". Last Spring I was reading Debbie Shuh's blog about how she decided to edge her garden with bricks; I loved the look and have been looking for cheap (wish they were free) bricks to do the same...Well lo and behold a few weeks ago on Craig's List I got a hit and was able to buy 2100 bricks for $245! We thought it was a great deal....but what a job to borrow a trailer, make 4 round trips to Honeoye Falls to pick them up and bring them home, and that was just the beginning! Not only do we have to line the gardens with the bricks but I want them to be level with the ground so I have to move the mulch to expose the dirt underneath, dig a trench and remove all of the rocks and tree roots that are in the way, then lay each brick one by one, and level it to the ground and to the bricks on either side! Needless to say this is a very time consuming process and it will probably take me all summer to do because we have over 20 pretty big berms/gardens in our yard. I'm a glutton for punishment and not one to give up on anything, so if you need to find me this summer you know where I'll be.......

Last Teachers Gifts EVER!

bittersweet actually; another season passing....with Danny graduating in June I had the last opportunity to think of semi-creative Teacher's gifts for Danny's Special Ed. teacher(s) and the school psychologist who have all contributed to his success....so when I was shopping in Weggies recently I came across these candle holders covered with yellow pencils...they wanted some outrageous amount (like $14.99 or something close) for each and I decided to try making them myself...so here are a few pics of how they turned out. I bought the candles and pencils at the dollar store and just hot glued the pencils to the glass candle holders. Then I tied ribbon around each and tied a Class of 2009 tag with the ribbon...They weren't perfect, but they were OK and the teachers seemed to really enjoy them when we handed them out yesterday at Danny's LAST IEP meeting....yippee!