A Proud Uncle

This coming July, believe it or not, Erin, my oldest niece will be turning 10 years old. Yes, it makes me feel old and it seams like it was yesterday when I held her for the first time in the hospital. But what makes me more proud is a e-mail I received from Erin's mother (my sister, Laura).

The e-mail basically told about Erin's field day at school today and how she placed 2nd of all the 4th grade girls in the softball throw and 3rd in the 50 yard dash (which means she gets to go to the district meet on Monday, 6/4 for both events). Laura also wrote how Erin's relay team didn't place because the girl running next to Erin tripped and fell and Erin tripped over her. Rather than keep running she stopped to help her friend and see if she was ok. So Erin did get an award for best sportsmanship of the meet.

At this point in the e-mail I smiled and thought how proud I was of her. But then I continued reading about a homework assignment that she wrote tonight, and not only was I so proud of Erin, but I was truly amazed about how good it was...how mature it was. The assignment was a ditto that said several phrases such as I worry... or I understand... or I cry and Erin had to fill in the blanks.

This was Erin's response:

I am an American
I wonder why there is a war
I hear fire works booming
I see smiles on all the kids faces
I want equality
I am an American
I imagine that there is a day of smiles with no tears
I feel all of the soldiers protecting my families lives
I touch my heart that holds all of my love
I worry about my families lives
I cry when I hear that a soldier died
I am an American
I understand that war is wrong
I say "Stop all wars!"
I dream of everybody becoming one
I try to help in every way I can
I hope I do a good job representing my country
I am an American

Maybe I'm getting to be a softee in my old age, but this is good stuff.

Great Job Erin!!!

Charlotte's New Hair Style

This past Christmas while in Ohio, Chris visited one of her friends, Jeri. I guess the girls got a little silly with Charlotte. Jeri recently forwarded this pictures of the afternoon with the girls.

Extreme Makeover Comes Home

Tomorrow is a big day for the Town of Colonie. It's the day that a lot of people have been waiting for . No, I'm not talking about some anniversary or a big sporting event or even someones birthday. No, it's bigger then that!! It's the Season Finale of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.

For those of you who have never watch this show, you should watch this one. Basically the premise of the show is to choose a family who is down & out, send them on a vacation and then rip down their house and build a brand new one all within 7 days. The finale is about a family in Colonie.

What's really great about the show is that everything to build this house is donated. The labor, the materials, the pool, the landscaping, the food to feed the workers...is all donated. And boy did people show-up to volunteer. The producers of the show were amazed about how many wanted to help out...over 3,000 people showed up to do everything from serving the workers to controlling the crowd, to holding tarps over the foundation for 12 hours, protecting it from the rain while it dried. It was amazing. It was the talk of this area back in March when the house was built. It was on the front page everyday and all the TV channels (except for one) covered it. It was completely insane and all for a good reason. I'm still amazed that they can destroy a house and rebuild it all within 1 week...Crazy!!!

You can read more about it on the Times Union web site or you can watch the finale tomorrow night on ABC.

Happy Mother's Day!!

For the first time in a couple of years, the weather was great for all the Mothers yesterday. As with tradition, everyone came to our house for some food, cake & fun. After dinner and devouring Chris's cake, it was out to the backyard for some fun in the sun.

Happy Mother's Day!!!

Check out more pictures from our day in our family album.

Jib Jab The Great

Here is another great video from the boys at Jib Jab. This time they go after the media...How dare them!!

Steps, Cake and Thank You

If you have ever visited Chris and I, chances are you noticed the big step you have to take out the sliding glass door and into our backyard. Well Last month, my dad installed some normal steps. Yeah, I know it only took me 9 years, but with Charlotte walking the old steps had "a trip to the emergency room" written all over them.


As a big THANK YOU to Dad, Chris baked him a cake with his favorite activity as the Theme. Thanks Dad.

Yeah Baby!!!

It's official...Austin Powers 4 is in the development stage. Although no filming or release dates have been set, Mike Meyers has assured there will be a 4th and it will from Dr. Evil's point of view.

Chris and I are hugh fans of these movies. We were just talking about this and wondering if a 4th would be made. The Austin Power franchise is one of a few where every movie was actually better then the last. I personally thought Goldmember was the best.

We can 't wait for number 4.

A Marriage Horse Race

Remember when the Internet was new to everyone and the big thing was to send jokes around? Well, a colleague of mine recently sent me "The Marriage Horse Race". I had laughed hard when I heard this many years ago and I laughed again when I heard it today... An instant classic.

Warning, there is a lot of swearing in this one. Content may be offensive to some.