Rocket vs. the Duck

This is an older video we have of Rocket "talking" with a rubber duck we got from a March of Dimes event. It's just something cute he's done before. Poor little guy is always on edge...

a project revisited

Well I came home today to find Daulton on the couch, surrounded by legos. He and Chris had started this big project back during the holidays. I think it must have been a Christmas present? So today Daulton felt like getting back to it...he actually made quite a bit of progress. We left for a short time to get some ice cream, and when we got back he went right back at it again. It sounds like it's going to live on the living room floor until tomorrow morning when he plans to resume building...

luck, finally

Daulton and I had a little adventure on Saturday. We drove 45 minutes to Meadville only to find we had missed the St. Patrick's Day parade! To be sure we hadn't wasted the trip, we bought some goodies and something called a mashmallow gun at a local shop, got footlong hot dogs for lunch, and then finally headed back to Erie.

I realized we were getting back to Erie just as it was time for that parade to start. So we found a great parking spot and enjoyed the 35-minute parade, complete with llamas, clowns, floats, and plenty of candy. The sun stayed out long enough to keep us warm in the chilly weather, and there were a lot of people out. Daulton was nice enough to agree I had redeemed myself!

bruce?

I walked inside the other night and found Daulton sitting on the couch. Of course I had to remind Daulton who Bruce Springsteen actually is, but it was fun to find a photo of him so we could compare.

the end of 08

here are a few more pics from 2008. the scrabble is from new year's, we had a serious game night before watching the festivities in nyc on tv. for another year we were able to say, "hey, we were just there!"

a familiar site

Rocket & Rudy have taken to hanging out with us in the living room. This first photo is just the two of them on our chair. But the second shows Rudy in her favorite spot, the red pillow on the back of the couch, Rocket standing watch because he doesn't like Chris being so close, and Chris protecting his ear from impending attacks.

Christmas 2008

Penny's Christmas Photos 2008

the big apple

NYC

proud parents of an honor student

So we knew Daulton received all As and Bs the first quarter of this year, but today he came home with his Honor Roll certificate! I had to capture the moment to share. His name is also listed in the most recent school newsletter that came home a few days ago.

I asked him if he was going to do as good this second quarter. He simply answered, "I'm gonna try!" He's had some tough years, but something clicked this year and he's been working really hard. I'm so glad to see him get this kind of recognition for it.

a celebration

Daulton's last grades came in with a wonderful report—all As and Bs! We had to celebrate his huge accomplishment. We took him out to eat at Damons, where you can play trivia while you eat. We all enjoy it, so it was a great time.

do not disturb

This is just a funny picture of Rocket and Rudy. Rocket likes to climb down into the 'caves' we build for him out of pillows, and Rudy stands watch. He goes into some sort of protection trance when he's in there, so you can NOT mess with him. It's funny though, if you call his name, he'll shoot up quickly to see what's going on, then slowly slink back down...strange birdies.

halloween

So I'm afraid this might be the last year Daulton goes trick-or-treating. About ten minutes into it he was less than thrilled to be out. I'm afraid he was a little self-conscious, there were many small children out, but we didn't see many kids his own age. We encouraged him to keep going, and he had a good time. We always stop at my stepmom's sister's house, so it's fun to see them each year. Michelle stays back to pass out candy, so we stopped in at her place before we headed home. Daulton's Ninja and Chris's Soldier were good, I felt a little bad I hadn't dressed up this year.

how things change...

We drove to the dock after Chris's birthday brunch, it was chilly but very sunny and always worth a stop. We got out to walk around, and Daulton started climbing on this dolphin statue. I had a flashback to several years earlier and dug out some old photos when we got home. Here are 'then' and 'now' photos, I think the early one was in 2002.

the birthday season

So here's a double-post. Since my birthday is in September, and Chris's is in October, it seems to be more like a "birthday season" of sorts...



The photo of Chris and me is at the comedy club. Friends of ours met us out and brought me cupcakes for my birthday, they were yummy! Chris and I also had our own dinner at a wonderful Mediterranean restaurant a few days earlier.



The photo of Chris and Daulton is outside the Pufferbelly Restaurant, where we had brunch for Chris's birthday. It's an old fire station, complete with brass pole. That week I got the most delicious apple caramel cheesecake for his 'cake', it was so rich we never finished it!

at the fair

The Crawford County Fair is held close to where I work, and it's quite the event around here. We managed to find a night that Chris could drive down with Daulton after work, and my friend Heather met us there, too. It was pretty fun, we paid 50 cents to see a 100 lb rat! (a capibarra) and ate fried cheesecake.

This is actually one of the ONLY photos I have of all three of us, I love it!

okay, so we matched...

We attended yet another friend's wedding reception this fall. Love this picture! (We didn't mean to match each other!) :)

welcome to 8th grade

So Daulton is now one of the oldest kids at his school. He'll finish eighth grade at his middle school and move on to the intermediate school next year. The pic on the couch was actually the first day, the photo in the doorway was not long after. You'll notice his bookbag is HUGE. He actually doesn't have to carry as much as he did last year, because they now have lockers at school. But I guess he wasn't taking any chances when he picked this one out with Chris...

creating landscapes

So Daulton attended a 3-week-long day camp this summer, which is held at Allegheny College every year. This photo is of him tie-dying a shirt, the same one he's wearing in the photo on the stairs. He drove in with me each morning. I saw him several days during lunch time. After their afternoon sessions they got to swim, so I usually picked him up after swimming at the sports complex. At the end they had a great performance day, where all the kids did music, dance and theater performances. He took home a CD of music created by the campers, including two or three numbers he was the drummer for.

summer 08

So the rest of the summer went by very quickly! Here are some highlights...


Erie Jazz and Blues Festival


Celebrate Erie - the chalk walk


Daulton with his Tae Kwon Do master, Master Park. They had a promotional day at the beach, so I caught Master Park for a picture. Daulton actually told him that same day that he was going to be taking a break from TKD for a while, he's moved on to drum lessons now.


Daulton helped with our garage sale, we actually had a joint sale with my parents.


Erie Arts Festival


Daulton in our driveway, he bought this scooter with his own money. Our driveway is finally repaved, so it's smooth blacktop—much better!


Discover Presque Isle—our "glow" is from a giant bonfire. Every summer they let the park stay open late, bands perform all day, and a huge bonfire is built. This was the first time we were there in years.

happy father's day

Chris and I were on vacation again this year for Father's Day. Last year we were in Oregon for my sister's wedding. So this year I had Daulton record a father's day video message on my camera and played it for him that morning. They did talk that day on the phone, and Chris got a present when we returned.

1 year (for anyone who's counting)

Chris and I celebrated our one-year anniversary this past April. We had tickets to see Alicia Keys in concert, but it was cancelled the morning of. So we spent a few days hanging out in Erie and had a wonderful dinner at a local sushi restaurant. The week before (on our actual anniversary) we had dinner at another restaurant, complete with some local wine. That night we headed to the casino and made a little money on Blackjack. That might not be part of an official anniversary tradition, but it was fun!

clowning around

This is a catchup post, some random pics from the last few months...

the paintball party

Daulton chose Pentagon Paintball as the location for his birthday party this year. It's on the outskirts of Erie, just fifteen minutes or so from our place. He and three of his friends played with me, Chris, Chris's friend Daryl, and Michelle's roommate Koreen. Michelle seems to like thrills related to motorcycles and skydiving—I'm beginning to think she has the right idea! Most of us survived the whole day, but we all earned some bruises along the way.

Michelle got a great "paintball" cake and we grilled burgers and hot dogs in between dodging paintballs and running from bunker to bunker.

happy 13

So Daulton is now a teenager. He was with Michelle all day, so we just did presents and cake and then headed to our friends Mike and Jessi's place to watch fireworks. They live on the bay and have a great view. Daulton spent much of his time playing the video game Rock Band, but I think he saw some of the fireworks from the living room.

Saturday we spent the day at my parents' house. My sister Nicole and her boyfriend were in town, and some of her friends came by, along with a few neighbors, too. Daulton was, of course, one of the first and definitely the last in the pool. We finally made him put on a shirt because he had gotten so much sun. His freckles are out in full force.

relay on...

I participated in the Relay for Life again this year at my high school. The event, held all over the country every year, benefits the American Cancer Society and their fight to find a cure for cancer.

My best friend and I organized the entertainment as part of this year's committee. We had a great band, Mambo Jazz Band, singer Sean Benjamin, inflatable toys, crafts, temporary tattoos, track bingo, local team mascots, banner competitions, and more.

My stepmom made our team banner this year, it was wonderful! Daulton came with me for most of the Friday portion. He was a huge help with temporary tattoos, making signs, and more. He got six or seven temporary tattoos himself, and Chris got his own when he came after work that evening. They went home that night and my friend and I stuck out the night through the next morning.

Our team raised about $600 this year, and the nighttime luminary was beautiful. They line the track with white paper bags and light candles inside. Each bag has the name of a person either in honor of their survival or in memory of the fight they lost to cancer. The names are read at dark in a beautiful, reflective ceremony.