Presidents Day Monday February 15th

For Scott & the kiddo's President's Day was a day off. Instead of going about our own routine we decided to do something to celebrate this special day. We celebrated Washington's Birthday!! About 15 minutes away we visited Washington's Headquarters State Historic Site in Newburgh, New York. From April 1782 to August 1783 General George Washington, Command-in-Chief of the Continental Army, made his headquarters and residence at the Hasbrouck family's field stone farmhouse in Newburgh. It was the longest he stayed at any headquarters throughout the 8.5 yrs of the Revolution. While headquartered here, Washington rejected the idea that he should be king after the war and he announced the cease-fire with the British that achieved America's independence. It was also here that Washington created & awarded the Badge of Military Merit (today's Purple Heart).

Off to the left in the distance is the "Tower of Victory", a limestone monument honoring peace, built in the 1880's.

Washington's Headquarters during the final months of the Revolutionary War.

I totally picture Scott & Maximus dressing up & doing fun re-enactments!

Minuteman Statue.

A Cigar Box guitar!! So so cool & fun!! Scott is so excited to finally know what to do with the
hundred cigar boxes we own! I told him he should make one for every lil boy we know!!

Zoom in to read about the Iron Chain. This is so amazing, they have a section of it on display at the museum. It was under a tarp due to some remodeling in that particular room.

Friday February 19th Marlena's first Semi-Formal Dance at West Point Middle School

I can not believe I have an almost 13 year old daughter. My sweet baby girl is looking far more than 13 years old!! Marlena is beautiful, funny & incredibly smart. She has the most contagious smile & just being around her makes you feel good about yourself. About an hour & a half before the dance we fixed her hair & added little clips off on the sides, I curled her long eye lashes & applied clear mascara, clear lip gloss to her lips & added my favorite bare minerals "celestine" eye shadow. Her cute lil spunky self was ready for her first semi-formal dance. I thought Scott was going to fall over when he looked at his baby girl & I of course kept running off to cry in secret. I look at her & I see so much of Scott, but I think I'm finally seeing me too. I hope so, because Marlena is full of only the best of Scott & I both!!

Marlena had a great time at the dance. Scott put it best, "at least we don't have a boy at the door." YET!!!!

Happy Valentines Day 2010!!

So much cheesecake, so little time!

Sunday February 14th 2010: This years Valentines Day was extra special!! Scott was not with us for our 2008 & 2009 Valentines Day. So..... we really made this one count!! We took the kids to The Cheesecake Factory for an amazing lunch. Afterwards, we walked around the mall & went to the Lego store & the kids rode the gigantic Ferris Wheel & Venetian Carousel.

Shawangunk Wine Trail Tour

On Saturday February 13th. My Valentine & I joined our sweet friends Marilee & Jamey Turner on a Wine Tour into the "Heart" of The Hudson Valley. The proceeds of the tour were donated to the WTU (Warrior Transition Unit-a unit that assists our wounded soldiers). The tour consisted of stops at 3 wineries. The first stop was my absolute favorite!! Brotherhood, named as America's Oldest Winery is rich with history & romance. Brotherhood is on the state & national registers of historic places. Our guide was very knowledgeable & we learned all kinds of facts about grape growing, barrel aging & wine making. We were given an extensive tour of the underground cellars-the largest in our country. Fascinating.... but the best part was the tasting!! Scott & I are by no means wine connoisseurs, but we very much enjoy paring that perfect wine to a delicious meal. I prefer white & Scott enjoys reds. We had the pleasure of tasting 6 different wines. Two of which I didn't taste at all because the smell was enough to knock me out & we still had 2 more winery stops. The following are shots I took while at Brotherhood Winery.

I wonder how many bottles one barrel can hold? Hum...? They probably told us!

This picture was taken at our second stop, Palaia Vineyards & Winery. It was a terrific day full of food, friends & great wine. Scott & I would like to give a special shout out to Marlena. Our fabulously funny daughter & live in babysitter!! We left the kids home with lots of junk food & they had a great day of playing with toys & not having to go anywhere.

Friday Feb 12th Delivering Valentines to Scott's office!!

Marlena & Maximus had a half day at school on Friday. Marlena brought home a rose for her brother & sister with a Valentine note attached. Maci loved on her flower so much it was wilting before we even put it in water. Maximus just looked at it & said, "oh thanks". After lunch I took the kids to Scott's work & we delivered Valentines to the people he shares an office with. We only stayed for a few minutes, Scott was headed to teach a class. The kids had a good time seeing where Scott works.

Thursday Feb 11 Valentines @ Max's School

"Orange you glad it's Valentines Day?"
Not that you could tell from my pictures, but Maximus did enjoy his Valentine party. The kids were saying the Orage joke & his teacher explained how in some cultures they do not celebrate Valentines Day. We also learned that the Chinese New Year begins on Feb 14th & a symbol of good luck is to give friends & neighbors oranges. Fascinating, huh? I didn't know that!

Can you see Maximus's black left eye? He hit his upper cheek on his sled the day before on the snow day. He looks a little rough in these pictures. I don't remember him being in a foul mood.

Snowday Feb 10th 2010

Valentines for Maci's Classmates

Before bed last night Maci helped with her Valentine's. I cut out hearts, wrote the saying on them & Maci used doublesided tape & stuck the hearts to the craisin packages. Little does she know that most moms will send in yummy candy, cookies & cupcakes!

Ok, so Maci is helping me with posting her pictures & asked about her pictures of her room. So... I showed her the pics & she said, "what happened to my picture you take of me with my poster." LOL, she loves her Gwen Stefani poster. This poster came with a Gwen (barbie type) doll she received from her Aunt TT for Christmas. Thanks Aunt Theresa! You rock. Oh & Maci's favorite Gwen Stefani song is "Sweet Escape".