Flat Stanley

Now that we are recovering from the storm, we have time to spend with Flat Stanley, Weston Edwards' 3rd grade school project. Weston is Jann McCombs' grandson (Ashlyn and Lynn's Son). We took Flat Stanley to Niagara Falls yesterday and photographed him enjoying a romp through the rapids. We'll be sending him back to North Carolina soon for Weston and his classmates to discuss where he's been!

Flat Stanley at the Horseshoe Falls.

Flat Stanley in front of Canada!

Flat Stanley in front of the statue of Nikolas Tesla.

Flat Stanley in front of the American Side of the Falls!

If You'd Like to Know the Sex of the Baby...

Click Here

Bionic Barb

Barb came through her surgery with flying colors! She had both knees done and is doing great! She's been moved to the nursin... I mean rehab facility today, where she'll stay to recuperate for at least a couple of weeks. Pretty soon, she'll be running a marathon!

It's A Girl!

Most Likely...

We had a sonogram on Thursday and the nurse said she was pretty sure it was a girl. We didn't get a good printed picture, but the image on the sonogram machine was clearly dark in our offspring's special area. There was NOTHING but two open legs! Even though we didn't get that picture, we did get a new pic, but it's not a great one. If you look closely, you can see the nose. Also, we went to the furniture store today and bought the baby furniture. We chose the "OMNI" furniture, the one in the picture below with the straight lines, instead of the sleigh bed looking ones. We bought an upright dresser and a short wide dresser to go with it. Once we add the new recliner, the room will be complete! It's going to take a month or so to come in, but I'll post pictures once the room is set up!

More Storm Pictures!

Update...

We are back in school today, but the computers are running a little slow. I'll add more pictures once the computer at home is up and running.

One of the pictures below is featured on the Weather Channel's homepage today (see link to the left) and will be featured on television tonight between 4 and 6 pm!

More to come...

Major Storm!

I'm adding what I can now...we still don't have power and I'm using someone else's computer. These are just a few of the pictures of what's being going on. We heard early last week that we may get a few flakes. Then, on Thursday afternoon, the blizzard started. It snowed non stop for almost 24 hours with almost an inch every hour. We got close to two feet of snow. In the pictures I took, some of it had already melted and it still looks like a lot! I have NEVER seen anything like this! We've had no power since Thursday at around 5:00 PM, and we aren't expecting to have it back until next weekend--October 22nd! We ARE going back to school tomorrow as there was no damage there and they still have power. 10 miles north of us got NOTHING! It's incredible. I'll write much more once we get power again, and I've taken a couple of videos that I'll upload hopefully over the weekend.

We're HALFWAY There!

Today marks the 20th week! Only 20 more weeks to go! We've been looking at baby furniture. We've got the room cleaned out that we're going to use as a nursery and hope to get the furniture in sometime in the next couple of weeks. We have one more ultrasound next week to try to see if it is a boy or a girl, then I think we're done with ultrasounds until the end of the pregnancy in February. Below are some of the cribs we're considering. We know we want Cherry Furniture, and a traditional appearance--but we're also looking for affordability. We DO NOT want to end up paying $2,000 for furniture! Tell us what you think by leaving a comment!

SNOW IN THE FORECAST!

We could have a little snow on Friday! Though, today, its going to be 72. Shorts on Monday, Coats on Friday.

Floridian Fan Club...

Some of the family is in Florida this week and are showing the sonogram pics to family down there...so HELLO to Aunt Chris and Uncle Andy! Hopefully we'll get to see you sometime in the near future!

One of my pictures on Weather.com!

One of my pictures has been chosen to be in the "Autumn Splendor" slideshow on the Weather Channel's homepage. I don't know how many they will be adding, or if the order of my picture will change. My picture currently is placed at number 17. It's the yellow leaves with the tree trunk picture that I took at Barb and Doug's house 2 years ago. When you log onto Weather.com (link on the side...) scroll down to where it says Daily Weather Pic and then look for the link for the "Autumn Splendor" slideshow, or Click Here to see it.

Update: Evidently, sometimes the "Autumn Splendor" slideshow will be on the Weather Channel's front page, and other times it will on their "Fall Foliage" page under "Fall's Finest Slideshow." You can access the Fall Foliage page up at the top under the tab called "In Season."

Tonawanda Creek at 6:30 in the morning. (On the way to work...) 

I was standing on a bridge to take this picture and almost died when a tractor trailer almost sent me over into the river. 

As the mistress of the Universe, Liz decides to pluck the moon from its lofty perch. 

I got the whole moon, in my hand. 

Over The Hill...Finally!

My sister has finally joined the rest of our family over the hill. A humped back and chewing tobacco can't be far away! (I should have sent her chewing tobacco for her birthday...the best ideas always come to me way after the fact...)

Anyway, Happy Birthday, Old Fart! It's time for you to start looking and acting the part: might I suggest a bright blue polyester suit with the scent of Ben Gay. You could add a wide brim wicker hat to help avoid those pesky sun/age spots.

AARP should be contacting you soon for early admission. (Because I called them and told them how old you are.) I might have fudged the number just a little. But that's okay, think of all the discounts you'll get if you can start eating dinner before 4:00 pm. That way, you should be able to get home just in time for Wheel of Fortune and an Alka Seltzer tonic before bedtime at 7:30.

Not Much Happening...

Liz has been having a rough time with nausea lately. Other than that, we don't have a whole lot to report. We tried to find out the sex of the baby, but Cletus DID NOT cooperate. As soon as the sonogram started, things looked promising, but the baby pulled his/her legs up and tucked them under...so there was no chance of sneaking a peek. We've got another one in a month, hopefully we'll find out then.

Happy Birthday Dad!

Meant to get this posted earlier...but:

Happy Birthday Dad! You're only a few short years away from earning another Latin Belly Dancer for an Over The Hill celebration! (Remember Fatima?)

Mother Mantis

At first, I thought it was just a leaf that had blown under the car, but upon closer inspection, I found this. I've never seen a mantid up here before, though they're crawling all over the south. This one is about half the size of the ones I've seen in North Carolina, and it cooperated nicely when I captured it. However, I noticed it was with children, probably 200 or more, and I couldn't bear to keep it in its present condition, so I grabbed the camera and set it free on our spruce trees in the front yard. It is VERY with children and did not even attempt to fly away. It maneuvered itself underneath the branch, out of sight of any predators. (Except for me with the camera.) I wouldn't be surprised if she laid her egg sac tonight. I'll check tomorrow afternoon. I just thought this was cool. Liz was NOT HAPPY when I brought it into the house.

Sylvia Brown

We sent to see famous Psychic Sylvia Brown (the one on Montel!) this afternoon in downtown Buffalo. She correctly predicted several years ago that we would be moving to New York in 2004, but neither of us were chosen today to speak to her. Her message during her lecture time was mostly political and religious, not just spiritual psychic stuff. This was Liz's birthday present from her mother back in July. (Use the links on the left to see the video in the July archive.) We had a good afternoon and topped the day off at The Moon Chinese Buffet, where we enjoyed our own personal platter of coconut shrimp, my new favorite food. Liz's mother Barbara would have joined us, but she went to her high school reunion tonight to see some of her friends that she hasn't seen in years. Next up, Liz and Barbara will be seeing the Dalai Lama on Tuesday. I opted out and Fran is going in my place. After the Dalai Lama, we'll be seeing David Sedaris and some of the cast of "Last Comic Standing" in October. If we are to keep up with all of these social engagements after the baby is born, we're going to need some of you to volunteer to babysit...OFTEN!