Our Family Grows

Here's to Rachel and Jason!!! A new baby will be born in November, bringing the University of Rochester Family baby count to 5. Woo hooo!!! All the best to you guys!!!

Zoe

My family adopted Zoe from the MSPCA in Brewster, MA in 1995. Zoe is 13 now. She is a fine looking dog (this is what we thought my aunt was calling her - in actuality, she was saying that she is a "funny" looking dog). She thinks that barking is a sport and loves to feign deafness when called. Despite her quirks, I still love her. She has been sick for the last week. Things seem to be improving, but I am posting this to send her strength and good health.

Boston

I went home to Cape Cod, Massachusetts this weekend to visit my family. It was Spring Break at SBCC - a perfect time to skip town. After a red-eye on Tuesday night (through which I slept like a log, thanks to my "gear" - eye patch, ear plugs, hooded jacket and neck pillow), I landed in FREEZING cold Boston (it was around 30 degrees - in Rochester I would have thought that was balmy).

I took the bus back to the Cape, but the fun began before we even left the terminal. The bus driver attempted to pull into the next designated bus stop at the airport, but couldn't because of a fancy, sleek black car which was parked right in front of the bus stop sign. Our don't-f%#k-with-me driver (who looked like a very normal, boring person) laid on the horn. Nothing happened. He laid on it again. Still no sign of life from the car. Someone wondered out loud if it was even occupied. The bus driver then pulled up and angled himself next to the fancy, sleek black car. He laid on the horn again, this time for at least a full minute. Still nothing!!! We could see that there was a guy in there, so the driver opened his door and yelled, "You can't stop here!" The driver rolled down the window and said in the most pathetic whine I've ever heard (better than any of my preschoolers), "But I'm waiting for someone." The bus driver obviously did not give a crap and told him to pull up. The bus driver then proceeded to pull into the bus stop - which was void of passengers! He concluded the show by telling us that on the day he retires, he's going to knock the mirrors off everyone who gets in his way.

Emilie

This is Emilie, my little cousin (first cousin once removed). She is the daughter of my cousin Mina. She is two years old and quite possibly the funniest person I know. She's absolutely adorable and such a ham. I think these pictures say it all:

Slippery Rock Ranch

This morning, Oz (our landlord, but also part of our adopted family here) took us to see Slippery Rock Ranch, about five minutes from where we live. With some investors, Oz is buying the ranch and will place it in a land trust. The investors get the tax write off and the land gets protected. It's an incredibly beautiful piece of property. There are a bunch of guys here from the Chico area who are working on the property - they're making the roads usable and safe, digging a pond and having a grand old time driving around big ass pieces of equipments like D9s and motor graders. And, they get paid a hell of a lot to do it.

Here are some shots of me, Eric, Oz and Rosie exploring the "Rock Garden".



That's a manzanita tree behind us.

Kailana and Kaelyn

My wonderful friends Karen and Kevin have two little girls. Kailana (3 1/2) and Kaelyn (4 months) are two of the cutest kids in the world (and I'm not just saying that because I'm their Hannah). They live in Sacramento, so we don't get to see each other like we used to when they lived in Santa Barbara. The four of them went to Karen's friend Mariel's wedding in Malibu, so we met up in Ventura at the beach today.








Kaelyn looking at
her Daddy,
who is
calling her
"Burrito" because
she was all wrapped
up in blankets.