We lucked out with a great weather day and a day when none of us had anything on our calendars so we took advantage of the boat being repaired (or so we thought; but that's another story) and drove down to Ithaca to bring it up to the cottage. It was our first time doing this without Stu, so it felt meaningful and important for Jeff and Joan and I to do it together. It could not have been a more perfect day.
After a delicious brunch of homemade cinnamon buns, bacon, and eggs (a team effort) and Beckett's hockey game we went for a hike at Three Falls in Manlius, where we had taken some lovely hikes this winter, including one a few days after Christmas that was magical, with snow falling on icy ponds. Grandma Joanie and I were grateful that our boys indulged us in a hike in the wild.
The fairgrounds hosted a mini-fair a few weeks ago. We were lucky to be able to go right when it opened Friday afternoon at 2:30 because it got busier later in the afternoon and apparently it was nuts on Saturday and Sunday. We had some fried oreos, fried dough, and cotton candy. After a year of no carnivals and no NYS fair, it was a really awesome treat.
Beckett has started playing a spring/summer hockey league that is 4 on 4 and only half ice, with no off-sides and basically no penalties. He played left wing this winter during regular season (when he was playing) but this 4 on 4 creates lots of opportunities, mostly on offense. He played on Mother's Day and my mom and I got to watch him really turn it on. I am not good at getting goals on video but I got the final one (his NINTH) goal on video!
On Reed's birthday Jeff and I both had the day off so we planned a spa excursion together. Bad luck intervened and we had to cancel when we got a flat tire on the way. But we made the most of the day, overcast and cool though it was, to take advantage of the awesome creekwalk bike path all the way from our house through downtown and to Onondaga Lake. It was a really neat ride and a great margarita downtown afterwards!
Our sweet kitty Eliza disappeared May 1 and hasn't been seen since. We keep hearing stories of cats who disappear for days, weeks, or months and then return, but we are very sad that she is gone and really hope that she is safe and warm and dry and well-fed. We miss her! We go out every day to look for her, call for her, shake her food bowl. One day when Reed and I went out, the neighborhood's friendliest cat, Mr. Norman Cats, came with us. He trotted right along for about a half hour as we called for Eliza.
The day before Reed's birthday we invited several of his friends and their parents to join us at a private movie screening of Raya and the Last Dragon. It was cute to hear the kids talking and giggling during the movie and to see some of his friends from school that we hadn't known before.
Tara's daughter Ellery turned six the day before Reed, so we got to celebrate Reed's birthday again at Green Lakes with them after soccer games.
