Things That Go Bump In The Night ...

Or at least Little Bats that like to fly around saying "Boo!"

This morning Dave and I, Aunt Barbara, Lesley and Andrew, Jessica and Will, Glennys, and brother Dan got together at Lakeside to visit mom and have some Halloween treats. Little did we know the "trick" was on us!

When Dave, Glennys, and I arrived upstairs to see mom and grab a room we were informed that the hospital had mandated that no children under age 18 could be allowed on the floors due to the H1N1 virus. Of course, we knew that Andrew and William were already on their way.

Thankfully, the nurse at the desk called down and got permission for us to meet in the cafeteria. Actually, I think that worked out better as we were able to all gather around a table and had a place to set out the cider and donuts!

Here are a few pictures to remember the day. William loved his new books and his box of animal crackers. He especially liked the donut holes!

Mmmm ... donuts

First we have some donuts ...

Cousin Andrew is missing some teeth!

Chatting around the table ...

Did someone just eat a sugar donut?

Tickling Cousin Andrew!

William gets a new book and it's DEAR time -- Drop Everything And Read!

Reading "Duck and Goose Find A Pumpkin" ..

Aunt Barbara knows how to make Will giggle -- just say "Boo!"

Even Little Bats know how to giggle!

Tonight William is going to go to Trunk or Treat at The Father's House church in Chili. Then I suspect the Little Bat costume will be retired for another time. But the bat ears may stick around -- Jessica says Will loves to wear it around the house!

Daniel's New Library Decoration ...

It's amazing the things you'll find on the shelves in the library ...



Silly dog!

Halloween Sneak Peek ...

William (a.k.a. Little Bat) went to "Trunk or Treat" at church last Sunday. Auntie Bree joined in the fun and snapped a whole bunch of adorable pictures. So -- here's a sneak peek of our sweetie pie:

In the bounce house ...

Another bounce house pic ...

Our favorite Little Bat ...

Flap your wings Little Bat!

So you hold your pumpkin out ...

mmm ... donuts

Such a fun day ...

Stay tuned for more pictures of Little Bat visiting the great-grandmas on Halloween!

The Magic of Motown ...

Dave and I started off the weekend by attending the first of the RPO's POP series concerts -- The Magic of Motown.

It was hurry up and get out the door since I had to work until 6. We had a fast dinner and then headed downtown so we could arrive early enough to walk around the new Kodak Hall at the Eastman Theater and see for ourselves what has been going on behind closed doors since last spring.

We were not disappointed! The new Kodak Hall is fabulous -- it is so much more intimate than before. The boxes on the sides of the hall certainly add to the "concert hall" atmosphere and provide a sense of class that was missing. The new seats are wonderful and comfortable and the new halogen lamps in the chandelier are brilliant!

On to the music -- lots of favorite Motown tunes sung in the style of The Four Tops and The Supremes by Spectrum and Radiance. We were entertained with song and dance for 2 hours and it was a fun and lively concert.


I have to admit that the vocals seemed to overpower the orchestra ... while I enjoyed hearing the harmonies of 4 - 8 voices they were a little much when combined with the instruments. I really enjoyed the selections where a solo or duet was featured and the orchestra was able to be heard.


Still -- it was a good show and, while not my favorite of all we've been to, it was a great way to start the season. And of course, anytime I can get out for a fun evening with Dave is all right by me!

Another Pleasant Valley Sunday ...

Here we are -- back to Sunday. What a week it's been!

First, I've been sick. I came down with the beginnings of a cold last Saturday (a few days after babysitting William who was coming down with a cold at the time) and by Sunday evening it was officially in the works. I spent Monday (the Columbus Day holiday) on the couch trying to see if I could nip it in the bud. No luck.

I spent the rest of the week trying to convince the folks at work that I was well enough to be there. After all, what would they do without me? LOL. Seriously though, it's pretty tough to call in sick (I'm not even sure HOW to call in sick there!) when you've only been working there a few weeks. So I toughed it out during the day and came home and crashed in the evenings.

By Thursday I felt the worst was over and on Friday I actually felt almost human. I still have a stuffy nose and a lingering cough but I think it's fair to say I've put the "cold" part of it all behind me. Thank goodness.

So I had to work Saturday morning which made my short week feel especially long for some reason. However, we had dinner with Pat and Steve to look forward to. We ended up going to The Arlington and had lots of fun chatting about the most recent goings on. Pat and Steve recently took a cruise of New England (Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Maine, Boston ....) so we heard about that and got the name of a great Irish pub in Quincy Market that Steve says we must visit. It's called The Black Rose and they feature Irish music and a lucky atmosphere.

Back to the Ayers house we sampled some ice wine while we watched Tailgate Warriors with Guy Fieri from The Food Network as the Buffalo Bills tailgaters competed against the Chicago Bears team in a tailgate throwdown. One of the team members from the Buffalo CBNG (Conklin's Bar and Grill) group was Hilton's own Brian Bartalo.

Sadly the Buffalo team lost (we think they got robbed!) but what was interesting was that even though it was filmed in August, they shot two endings. One ending had the Chicago guys winning, the other had the Buffalo team winning. They had to wait until last night when the show aired to see who actually won!

Anyway, we headed upstairs to play a fast-paced game of Mexican Train. As Dave and Steve battled back and forth for first place, Pat and I traded off third and fourth place honors most of the game. Ultimately I was the big loser when I managed to rack up over 500 points in one round (I hate it when you don't have a 3 to open up with!!) Thank goodness I don't take this stuff seriously (grrrrr .... )!

Home by 2 a.m. and we crashed on the couch. We finally got up, had a wonderful brunch here at home and now we're preparing to go visit the mothers and do some "Sunday" stuff (which means grocery shopping, laundry, picking up, yada yada ...)

All in all, it was a fun week. I was hoping to see William but with my cold that wasn't possible. I guess I'll have to get my William fix by enjoying this adorable picture:


This was taken on September 12th when we all got together to celebrate Will's first birthday. He was determined to eat the balloon!

Football, Dinner, and William

We had such a nice afternoon. I was worried we'd have to cancel since I'm feeling a bit under the weather today (sore throat, headache, and all the other yucky stuff that comes with having a cold ...) but some sinus tablets helped and off we went.

It was so nice to just relax a bit and watch football. William was sleeping when we arrived and so we all just hung out and chatted about the cruise we have booked for next July and the excursions that might be worth signing up for.

But once Will woke up the fun really started. He was full of energy and had us all laughing ... he has added "go" to his vocabulary (which currently consists of "all done", "again", and "NO" ...) Dave caught this picture of him wearing his dinosaur hat ...


We struggled through the Bills game, watching them lose to the Browns 6 - 3 ... but had a wonderful dinner waiting for us when it was finally over. Jessica made a pork loin stir fry with sugar snap peas that was just delicious and we had rainbow sherbet for dessert. Fantastic.

Tomorrow Dave and I are starting a diet (we have 9 months to get in shape for the cruise)so it was a nice way to end the week. Hoping that sometime this evening we can watch "The Wedding" episode of "The Office" again ... it was so great, it really needs to be watched twice.

And of course -- since it's Sunday night -- it's DEXTER!!!

Nice to have a fun evening of TV to look forward to after such a nice afternoon!

Potato Chowder and Chat ...

Dave and I had a wonderful evening catching up with Mark and Mary last night. Mary went to town and made a pot of chili AND potato chowder. Comfort food at it's best!

I opted for the potato chowder (what good Irish girl wouldn't?) and it was superb. Dave had a bowl of each (no surprises there either!) I brought my camera with me thinking I would take some pictures but it was forgotten next to my shoes (and is still sitting there as I type this. I'll need to stop there on the way to JJ&W's today to retrieve it!) So -- this picture is a somewhat fair representation of what my taste buds experienced (but I'm sure it isn't nearly as good!)


We had fun chatting about all the latest news -- Dave's decision to accept the job transfer, our anniversary trip to Gettysburg, William, and all the new TV shows. I think we've been convinced to give "GLEE" a try. Must remember to set the DVR for Wednesday night to record it. We have some catching up to do before jumping in.

And since I forgot to take any pictures, I'm going to steal a recent one from Mary's photo album on FB and include it here ... just because it's so nice to see those smiling faces :)


A wonderful evening with friends.

My Feet Hurt.

Gosh, working 6 days in a row, most of the time standing up has really taken a toll on my feet. They really ache tonight! I am in great need of a foot massage (I am so hoping that Dave reads this soon!)

Still it was such a beautiful fall day that even with throbbing tootsies I find it hard to complain. The trees are starting to turn. The rain that threatened the weekend all day Friday was long gone today (good news for the Apple Fest people) and the air was crisp. I am LOVING it!

Tomorrow will be a busy day with a birthday cake to bake, lasagna to prepare, the house to clean and laundry to finish up. It's a short weekend after working today but I have a 3-day weekend to look forward to when next Friday comes. Woo Hoo! I love paid holidays.

AND -- we had exciting news today -- Meghan competed in a 10K race (6.2 miles) and she came in THIRD for the women and SEVENTH overall (out of 250 people). Who knew she was a runner?!!! And she did it all in 46 minutes -- YES -- 46 MINUTES!!! (and in crummy shoes too.)


We are so proud. And she didn't even train for the race. She was planning to walk but when she saw all the "older" people running (you know, the ones in their 30s and 40s) she decided to pick up the pace.

So I guess I shouldn't be complaining about my achey feet. I have a feeling that tomorrow our Meghan is going to not only have achey feet but an achey body!!

WAY TO GO MEG! Dad and I are so proud of you :)