Thanksgiving?!

Thanksgiving was the day after Grant's birthday.  We had planned to go to Lara's parents but the forecast was for snow & freezing rain.  Since we were closing on our new house the next morning, we decided to stay home and not risk missing the closing.  Our closing was supposed to be the previous week but the huge snowstorm forced it to be delayed.  So Thanksgiving morning Lara cooked a chicken in the crockpot and made a nice Thanksgiving dinner for us here.  My Dad was coming up to help us move and so he came up earlier to avoid the weather and also had Thanksgiving dinner with us.  It was a great decision by all because the roads were bad and the Grand Island bridge had a 50 car pileup that day.  The next morning Dad watched the kids while we closed on the house.  Then we started moving and on Saturday my brother and his family and Jenny and Jed came to help us get moved in.  So our first night in the new house was that Saturday, 11/29.  I didn't take any pictures those days, but here is a pic of our new house from the real estate listing.  Thank you everyone for helping us move!  It was a lot of work loading and unloading everything we own in a day. 

We all love the house!  Grant was most excited that it had a laundry shoot and that it had a 2nd story with bedrooms.  Gracie loved that her room was already purple.  I was worried that the kids would have a difficult time going to sleep due to the change but they haven't had any trouble at all.  Our cat Lily who is always scared for at least a few days after a move was also acting comfortable the first night.  We realized Gracie is 2 yrs old (almost 3) and this is the 4th house she has lived in!  Hopefully we will be here awhile!

Happy Holidays...and a Birthday Post for Grant!

It has been a busy holiday season here.  The first thing that started this festive time of year was Grant's birthday party back in November.  Unfortunately the day of his party I-90 was only open to emergency personnel following the big storm, and for those not traveling in that direction the forecast also called for a chance of freezing rain.  Lara and I decided to still have Grant's party since that time of year is so busy for everyone, and who knows what the day would have look liked had we rescheduled.  Happily, the Fiscus family braved the trip north.

Grant wanted a penguin party and so Lara delivered with lots of penguin decorations and an iceberg cake.

Grant really enjoyed his party but even with a small party and us singing quietly, he still didn't want to hear us sing Happy Birthday.

The other exciting event was that evening there was a light parade on Grand Island.  It was a bit chilly but I think everyone enjoyed.  

His party was the weekend before his actual birthday.  On the day of his birthday, we started off with some penguin pancakes and then went to the aquarium to see some real penguins.

When we got home, Lara and I gave him his gifts from us.

It is hard to believe the little bugger is 5.  Happy Birthday Grant!

Happy Halloween!

We had a blast this Halloween.  Both the kids were very excited for the holiday and since "Papa Jimmy" came to trick or treat with us, it made it even better.

 

 

 

 

Fall

The past month or so has been pretty busy with lots of things going on.

The kids have been going to a zoo class once a week.

Beth came for a weekend visit.

Lara ran a 5K on the island that supported veterans.

I ran a 5k in Ellicottville, NY.  The added bonus there was we got to ride a ski lift to the top of the mountain and walk around.

We went to Edinboro's homecoming and met up with the Law, Hetrick, and Fiscus families and my friend Ben and his wife Shannon.  Unfortunately we were running a bit late so we didn't get to watch the parade with everybody but we did have a lot of fun throughout the day with them.  We were at the beginning of the parade so we got tons of candy!  

Lara and the kiddos took a trip to Grandma and Papa's (while I was stuck working) to celebrate Grandma's birthday with her.  I don't have any Grandma pics but Lara did get a few photos of the kids on a 4-wheeler ride with Papa.

Other than that, time was mostly spent playing at the house, hiking the local parks, playing at the playground, going to the library, and house hunting.  Here are just a few other pics from the last month. 

 

Grant has been riding without his training wheels since the summer.  Grace is good on her bike with the training wheels, but now seems to prefer the Power Wheels car since she can drive it by herself.

Are You Mighty???

On Saturday, Jeff ran in the the Mighty Niagara Half Marathon.  He hasn't run one in a few years so he was very excited for it to finally be race day.  The day was beautiful and maybe even a little too nice.  It got a little hotter then he was hoping for but it was still a great day.  The course ran through some small towns but stayed mostly along the Niagara river.  As a spectator the views of Lake Ontario were amazing and there were a few different spots along the way that we were able to cheer for him.  Mom and Dad were here visiting so they got to come along and help cheer him on.