The famous Myers family washboard

Just looking over photos from last years Christmas party and the topic of conversation in the pics became immediately obvious - even 10 months later.....

Kitchen work

Primary ignition of jimmy's new disha-washer

Friends and Family camping 2

We trekked down to Jones Pond again this past weekend. Kristin and Carolyn joined us for a fun [ somewhat rainy] weekend. The patchy weather did not manage to stop the fun. Cathy and i remarked that we are very good at entertaining each other. I know not everyone can appreciate such a Vintage of Humor - but you can see that we really can make each other laugh.

a kitchen tradition

After 10 years of a nasty kitchen it was time...the big rip down tear out dust everywhere new everthing kitchen renovation.

Here's the crew on the last day after some pretty long hours/ Work looks good...just have to finish it now.

Thanks to Mot, Pop and Joe.

the whole gang

Tis a lovely thing to do get together with your family...especially the hard to find ones.

So here's some pics to commemorate our 2008 reunion...thanks to Carolyn's post to remind me to post something.

Family Reunion Guest Blog

Our first write up for the reunion with today's guest blogger - Carolyn

THE FAMILY REUNION WEEK SCHEDULE .
Thursday, July 11th : After an hour and a half we make it to Clifford Pennsylvania, where we’ll be staying in the Mountain View Motel. After at least an hour at the motel, we decided to go on a historical trolley ride to see the iron furnaces.










It’s our first day in Pennsylvania, and we’re on a historic trolley ride that goes about two miles.










From there we go to Aunt Catherine’s to throw her a surprise party.











Here we are at Uncle Gerard’s house, we’re just about to take a hike to the apple orchard, dump, and the huckleberry patch.











YIKES!!! Grace and I are standing right next to a stuffed bear, we should watch out for any “Snapping teeth”. This is at the house where the Myers cousins are staying.










Is she not so cute! Keira is in the middle of Anna and I having fun with the video tape we’re letting her use for a toy.












Finally the reunion has come! We’re at McDonnell’s grove for the party! Right now everyone is just checking in.











CHEESE!! Time to make a funny face! We are just getting ready to swim. - Carolyn

Breakfast at Belgard

Weekends with Dad usually mean something fun for breakfast, Lately its been the well reviewed (PopPop Press) Everything Bagel with butter, turkey and Helluva Good Cheddar well toasted.

Well last weekend was no exception. We hit the Bagel place after church to get the real fresh stuff...they make them extra stinky...but they are good.

A guy passed out in line in front of us at the bagel place. I put my stuff down told the cashier to call 911 and got on the floor and sat him up...he was conscious and doing ok...I asked if he was a diabetic he said no...he said he was having an anxiety attack (waiting for everything bagels can do that to ya). So me and another patron helped him up... we sat him in a chair...I got back in line then he passed out again...finally one of the owners came out to help and they finally called 911. He was well attended, ambulance was a couple minutes away so...we checked out our smelly bagels.

So we get home and I toast them just so...and enjoy, enjoy we did....the best things in life are sometimes the yummiest. Don't believe me? Perhaps a few pics will help convince you.

Dancing Queen

Lots of dancing, lots of costumes and rehersals and lots of driving. I think this is her 5th or 6th year at Denise's Dance Connection. It shows. She dances with amazing poise and confidence. She really is a natural leader and it's amazing looking back at all the work.

She did a great job and it was fun to watch.

Here's what the Nikon saw....You go Goosey!!!

The Jack Rabbit

Ahh yes...the end of the year trip to Seabreeze with the entire school and half the schools in the county.

Grace has decided to make the solemn and exciting rite of passage known as the "Jack Rabbit". The Jack Rabbit is a Rochester icon. A 80' high, 50 year old wooden roller coaster that everyone that lives here must ride as part of growing up.

This was my first time as well.

So we are in line and Grace is prety brave...but the line was 20 minutes so by the time we got there she was not doing to well... hence the post...the poor kid is shaking...just look at the pic!!

I tell her she will be fine. She believes me and barey makes it through...at one point during the ride she is puffing her cheecks in and out... I was sure she was going to blow chow on me...

But we survived and here we forever immortalize that triumphant first Jack Rabbit ride.

Way to go Grace.

I cant keep up with all the crazy end of year stuff...receitals , dress rehersals, soccer, plays, events....all that stuff. So here is something...

The talent show...Grace rocked...she sang a tough Vanessa Hudgeons song and did a great job....she will be getting some professional coaching I think...

She also sang a duet with her buddy CeCe...again ....nailed it...Wow. It was one of the High School Musical tunes so everyone knew it....talk about no fear.






I have the video of this so someday I will upload. Still to come : Fun at Seabreeze, Dance and more dance. Benefits and fun pics.

Loud Family Camping

The fleet made it's summer debut this past weekend as we trekked down to Jones Pond campground for a family camping weekend. The campground was sponsoring their "Friends and Family" weekend and the Rochester based Prato and Myers clan came down to Angelica for a summer camping kickoff. Cathy and Joe spent considerable time trying to get their van all refurbished in time for the weekend, while I tried in vain to finish grading and landscaping our seasonal site in preparation for the weekend. Suffice to say, neither of us quite made it, but we did not let it get in the way of a good time. Jim, Grace, Joe and Thomas met up with us Saturday afternoon just in time for pot luck dinner. Cathy and I whipped out the dutch ovens and cranked out some awesome baked beans and BluCherry cobbler. Earlier that morning, Cathy, in our regular experimentalcampcooking mode, pulled off some perfect corn bread in the dutch oven for breakfast as well. I think she was atoning for a 1974 incident where she poisoned the whole family with Corn bread she made in 7th grade HomeEc.

[ i did not eat corn bread for 20+ years after that.. ]

We hit the ice cream social on saturday afternoon as well and enjoyed many beverages waiting out the rain sun rain sun rain sun rain sun. Jimmy arrived with his new tent that attached to his Honda. While it was not quite a westy, Jim can easily brag about the countless hours he has NOT spent underneath his vehicle, unlike the Pratos and myself. We all gathered around to help set up the new tent. While I supervised GrandaPa Myers style










A great weekend - hopefully we can get the entire clan here in september.












The end of the weekend saw a small lesson in "How to flatten your tent for roll up"

The nieces tried first to my disappointment







A few more shots of the weekend

Tis' Spring it tis

Just in case your allergies did not remind you that spring is here....

at least the grand kids can read

Grace and some of her classmates are in a voluntary reading program at school. They read books and take tests on the computer afterwards. There are 8 levels and Grace made it through al of them. I think she is the 2nd second grader to do it since they began the program.

They had quite the competition...it was , infact, a little unnerving how they all wanted to be the first one to master level.

Slainte Grace...MomMom would have a big smile, hug and kiss for you. In fact she would probably have a little bit of a cry and then tell me something like "oh she's a beaut' James"

Maybe heaven is really in cyberspace and MomMom is loving these blog things.

grace wants a rainbow too

Can't let mot have all the fun...here's rainbow face 2.

thesis boy

Wow how time flies....it seems like just yesterday I was hanging out with Mot in his RIT studio thinking it would be fun to sorta revisit that phase of my life and only to find it wasn't that much fun to stay up past midnight working on other peoples projects....anyway it was a long time ago that Mot was doing his RIT gig and that whole Masters thing... so Mot stopped by (about 12 years later) for a visit and I was handed a black book which I assumed to be a sketch book and some clever kitchen drawings from the newest Lowe kitchen creator.....NO!

Could it be?

Is it?

Gold embossed lettering in a black binding with the frontace page containing arcane academia nut language about the importance of the document and the system which produced it?

My God...it is signed....it ....IT IS!!!!!!!!

Mot finished his Thesis!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

In celebration we painted some magic thesis finishing colors on his face.

Congrats Mot. I won't say the phrase that I think of next.

the florida trip

This is the first time I took Grace to FLA. A long time coming I guess. I was fairly excited about the whole thing despite the stress of travelling with a 8 year old and all the transplant accessories. I think it was the potential for hilarity...

So here's the pics with comments.

Grace and I have fries during the white out and I get to explain "deicing"...a very Rochester way to start a trip...

I was also looking forward to the plane ride and all the fun questions and stewerdesses and the extra yummy snacks....

darn....I seemed to have lost the picture of me with the mask...the flights went well...we rode the subways back and forth a few times in atlanta and raced up the escalators...basic, silly good times.

We got to the lovely purple parrot and it was just lovely....good weather....

and my friend JD came up all the way from Naw-o-lanz. We had a nice lunch...the waitress asked Grace if she wanted aaaa-netthherrr SSSpppriiitte Sweeett peeeea?

we had fun swimming at Pops and we visited his big beach.

We packed up sunday morning and headed to Destin so Pop could head north to see UG. We made a quick stop by the Hernquist Homestead South and got a quick pick or two with my favorite Godmother.

Pop took us over to the fabulous Destin area and we moved into the Boehlert Pad. Time for water aerobics with grandma Rose...

....and of course some beach time...

...Grace was brave enough to try the surf...once....

it reminded me of the Seinfeld episode where George does the story about the whale..."The sea was angry that day my friends".

...we had a lovely time...Grace loved our day go carting and shopping.

Here's the obligatory palm tree behind yor daughters head shot. Hopefully will come down next year Pop and we can have some more fun.