2010-09-25 Brian's birthday pig roast

For his birthday, Brian wanted a pig roast.  So I contacted my friend Gretchen who's family owns Adventure in Food and Brian contacted his friend Rob who has the roasting box and we set up a Pig Roast!  It started cooking around 10am and we were chopping up the piggy around 3:30pm.  Many friends and family were able to attend and it was a lot of fun.  A memorable occasion!

A baby bump?

Steph, Sair and I are getting ready for Amanda's bachelorette party festivities and Kristi snapped this picture. It's my first picture in maternity clothes---how fun! I kind of look like I have a bump going on---I'm pretty sure I'm sticking out my belly to hold my bag up a little, but still I kind of look bumpy. Yay!

Here is a group of 4 pictures from our very exciting 12 week visit on September 14th. The baby measured at 13 weeks, 4 days, but the doctor's are still going by the original calculation that my due date is March 25th, based on the date of my last period.  Brian and I had a great time watching the baby move all over the placetoday. This baby loves swimming (makes us glad we have the pool now!) because he/she was moving their arms all over, kicking his/her legs, and changing positions frequently. I am happy that this is happening during daytime hours as it may predict that the baby will keep the same schedule during the rest of the pregnancy and post-delivery...but I realize I'm probably dreaming!!  Anyway, notice the first picture in the second row....this a 3D shot looking down on the baby all nestled in my womb. You can see the face, hands and feet pretty well. Our doctor was hilarious because he noticed the baby's feet were crossed in the "Buddha pose" and he was so thrilled because in Chinese culture this is very good luck! He was exclaiming, "Oh you are so lucky!" And, he made Brian take out his cellphone and take a picture of the computer screen. He directed Brian to get a really good picture by moving in closer to get a goodshot with good color---it was pretty freaking funny!

Caitlyn turns 3!

Happy 3rd birthday, Caitlyn! She blew out the candles and decided to lick the icing off of each candle on her cupcakes.

Caitlyn's Birthday Party

Caitlyn had a "Dora the Explorer" themed 3rd birthday party at her house.
She had lots of fun in the Dora bouncy house with all of her friends!
Photos

Brian's Charter Boat Fishing Adventures

Brian and Kevin had adventures of fthe coast of MA on a charter boat fishing trip at the end of August.

They caught Blue Fish and Stripers and then Brian's friend LaCrosse grilled up the delicous fish and we feasted.  It was fantastic. 

2010-08-21 Grammy's 90th party

click here for Party Pictures!
It was a wonderful time celebrating Grammy's 90th birthday with everyone!
She was so happy and kept saying how lucky she was to have such a caring and loving big family. She truly loved seeing everyone. I'm sure she will be thinking about the day and talking about the party for a while.
She has a special attachment to the Red Lion Inn, so it was a fitting location to honor her and her 90 wonderful years.
And, we missed the family members that were unable to attend. Next time!

For those that were stuck in the lovely airshow traffic which delayed arrival by at least a couple hours, we could not be more sorry. Ugh! We are just glad everyone arrived safe and sound.

From Grammy, THANK YOU!

Pets are smarter than their owners

Well, the cats were trying to tell us something for a long time. We often wondered why they would go into the pink Living Room and just stare at the electrical outlet. Well, we found the answer buried in the wall this morning. Can you guess? We found a family of mice! Adorable? I think not. Turns out our electrical box is attached to the house by a piece of wood on the outside of the house on this wall. Overtime, the wood widdled away and mice found a home inside. When we removed the electrical outlet cover, we saw this cute family. And, at 3:30 this afternoon, an exterminator will come and find the mice a new home. We anticipate this will be the last time the room is pink as we will be forced into renovation---not a bad thing or a complaint; just a little motivation I guess. Lovely story, huh?!

Durian Tasting

Well, Brian has finally tasted Durian! His mom brought some over for the adventurous tasting. Even Allison and Nancy tasted it---brave girls! Honestly, it wasn't THAT bad. Brian attempted to make a coconut smoothie with it, but it didn't really taste fantastic. Mission accomplished though!

Swimming

Caitlyn loves swimming with her froggy in our pool! We've had some great weather for it too.

4th of July Wedding Weekend in NYC

On July 3rd we headed to Hell's Kitchen for Brian's cousin Jeff's wedding.  Jeff and Michelle planned a gorgeous ceremony in Central Park followed by a lovely reception at the Central Park Boathouse.  It was a great time....and perfect weather.

Here are some pictures and of course, we took pictures of our hotel room too....we don't get out that much, so hotel rooms are exciting these days...he he!  Hotel was fantastic....a most excellent rooftop bar that we checked out during last call.

Allison was also able to use the Seattle Weekender, the latest addition to the collection of Madison Handbags (her fantastic second job).  www.madisonhandbags.net/AllisonFuller

Pictures:  http://picasaweb.google.com/allisonm129/20100703ValentyWedding?authkey=Gv1sRgCKDOyPTs8YOSLw&feat=directlink

Peonies!

Photos:  Peonies Progressing

A nice "little" Sunday project!

We decided to replace the deck stairs after getting some helpful feedback from guests at our pool party on Saturday!

Of course it turned out to be a bit more of a hassle than we anticipated as the deck was built in the late 70's and therefore, the paint that covered the screws made it hard to find the screws.  And, then the champion wood cutter at Lowe's did not cut our boards 3 feet exactly. 
But, we did it!

Enjoy the before and after photo album!

Before:

After:

05-31-2010 Peonies progress

2010-05-30 peonies

Photo Album
Peonies were discovered in the backyard....don't remember them from last year, but perhaps they were there!
Anyway, it's exciting to watch them bloom.

our house

Stay-cation update....finally!

We were on vacation and stayed at home in the middle of May and got a bunch of things done around the house.  We are proud to have replaced the screen door to the basement from the pool and planted some annuals around the yard.
Photos: New screen door and flowers planted
BEFORE:

AFTER:

The Boat has arrived!

Now that we have the new Xterra, we can tow a boat! So, Brian brought his neglected boat and trailer over from his mom's house. It's been a long time since we had a vehicle with a hitch and were able to use the boat. Let the fishing begin!

The first to go in the pool!

We had some ducks visit our pool....Bailey really wanted to jump in and retrieve them!

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day!  Surprise:  LOBSTERS!
Photos:  http://picasaweb.google.com/allisonm129/20100506BoatMotherSDay?feat=directlink

Mother's Day!

 Kevin teasing the lobster!

Bailey is very curious about these fun guys crawling all over the floor!

2010-05-05 tulips

Albany Tulip Photos

Downy Woodpecker....or so I think he's called!

2010-04-03 yard work

Finally, thanks to Kevin, we can see the bushes as separate from one another!  Hours and hours of work with Kevin and Brian's brother AJ---thank you guys!

PHotos:  http://picasaweb.google.com/allisonm129/20100403YardWork?feat=directlink

Pumpkin loves the comfy snuggle blanket!

New Deck furniture assembled!

Brian and Kevin found this wonderful deck furniture on clearance at the end of last summer.