queen elizabeth 1

this is aftie's ipad presentation from the 5th grade biography bash.

enjoy!

the spoils

the girls and i hate it when ryan has to go away for work, but we always enjoy watching him unpack his suitcase after one of his journeys.

we sit on the bed and watch.

out come the dirty socks,

smelly shirts,

wrinkled pants,

scuffed shoes

and we won't mention the underwear!

but then the magic begins...

 bars of milk chocolate..

bags of pasta...

bottles of olive oil...

tapenade...

more chocolate!

more pasta!

boxes of chocolates!

a beautiful hunk of parmesan!!

we run our hands through the chocolates and toss them in the air as we laugh and shout with glee!

our beautiful treasures!

we feasted on the italian spoils for sunday dinner, and i prepared a chocolate tasting plate for ryan's co-workers. 

it's always nice to share.

even if you want to hoard it all for yourself.

thank you ryan!



she's a gymnast!

saturday was ella's first gymnastics meet.

(last year was just a "show")

she performed routines on the

vault

bars

beam

floor

  a practice run on the vault

 those two legs belong to our monkey!

 the uneven bars are her favorite event.

i would just look up at them and say, "no thank you".

ella's a brave girl!

ella placed

6th in floor

4th on bars

3rd on vault

3rd on beam

and then 4th place overall!

 celebrating afterwards at red robin with an oreo milkshake!

great job little monkey!!!!

5th grade field trip

i was able to join in on aftie's 5th grade field trip!

we went to niagara falls and rode the maid of the mist.

the maid of the mist is the boatride that takes you right up close to the horseshoe falls.

i am proud to say that i took full advantage of my pretty blue poncho/trashbag and didn't get a single drop of water on myself!

a true accomplishment. 

 aftie and friends

 mr roche's ela class

aftie had a pulled tendon under her knee and was really hurting, but didn't want to miss out on the big event.

so, she limped along and was able to do almost everything but climb the stairs right next to the american falls.

we'll go another time and climb those stairs, little love!

thanks for inviting me, aftie!

it was a very fun day!

queen elizabeth 1

the 5th grade biography bash was held tuesday night.

afton was assigned to report on queen elizabeth 1.

we found a gown at the costume rental store, a golden sceptor, some jewels and a tiara. 

i thought it would be a great idea to fashion a large collar out of coffee filters, but afton would have nothing to do with it.

so she reported sans collar.

  the bible, sceptor, tiara and jewelry represent facts about queen elizabeth 1.

the parents walked around the cafeterias to hear about the lives of many people who have contributed to the world throughout history.

here's our own qe1 and her loyal subject, lady ella.

the students prepared short videos on the ipads to share with their families.

a fun night and great prep on the students part.

milestone

hooray for ryan!

our very own genius inventor had 3 more patents granted this year, which brings him to a grand total of 5 granted patents!

the awards ceremony was held at pearl street grill & brewery.

it's always a nice evening for all of the inventors to be recognized.

the current record number of granted patents is 122, and is held by ryan's boss, rajiv!

one interesting patent fact...

after a patent is filed, it usually takes 3+ years to be granted. 

many patents ryan filed in his first year or two of work are now being granted. 

he's worked for honeywell for 9 1/2 yrs!

way to go super inventor!!!!



forest lawn cemetery

each memorial day we wake up early and head to forest lawn cemetery in buffalo.

this is a beautiful cemetery where some famous people are buried.

president millard fillmore

rick james (of super freak fame)

kristen pfaff (bass guitarist for hole)

sara hinson (founder of flag day)

among others.

 many of the people buried here are not famous, but they served our country and many died while doing so. 

these are the people we come to commemorate each year. 

it's a beautiful sight to see, once all the flags are posted at each grave.

 we usually meet up with friends and work together.

we are grateful for the truly brave men and women who serve our country throughout the world.