Guie Family Picnic 2007

Some of you long-time blog readers may remember THIS POST from last year, where Jake and all of his new cousins gathered at my Aunt Bunny's house for the annual Guie Family Picnic. The kids were all spread out on a big beach blanket, and were pretty much all still in that stage where they would stay where you put them. Not this year! This year, all of the little cousins were completely independent and mobile! We gathered all the available kiddies and put them in an old cart that was at the farm. It is pretty darn hard to photograph all the cousins in close quarters, facing forward, smiling at the camera. In fact... it's impossible. Even for a professional. :) In my editing of the images, it turned out that THIS ONE was my favorite:


My eye just kind of dances around this picture. So many little scenes going on here. No one is looking at the camera. No one is smiling. All the kids are really doing their own thing - being kids! There is something else catching each of the kid's attention - their parent or grandparent snapping their picture, a discarded toy they can't wait to play with, something more interesting in the bottom of the cart, their other cousin's adorable face that needs to be squeezed... I love this picture because it is truly a snapshot of what it is like to be a kid. No one is posing, no one is stiff, no one is caring about getting their picture taken, no stupid backdrops, no bright studio lights... just cute kids in an old wooden cart.

More pictures from the picnic:

Jake and Kyler. We were trying to figure out who was taller.


Jake in the back of the cart.


Brett, Olivia and Madison in the cart


Olivia, Brian, Ethan and Brett.


Brian was having a good time haming it up for my camera :)


Ethan and Jake


The whole gang


Kyler by the pool (love his shoes!)


Madison, much to her father's dismay, kissing Jake :)


Mwu-ahhhhh!


Ethan in a pose that reminds me of a pic I took of (his look-alike) Kyler


Ethan is just too cute - my lens was loving him!

Going, going...GONE!

I am super-happy to report that the house in Delaware is no longer ours! We had an offer within a week of having the house on the market, and after a lot of negotiating with the seller, we accepted his offer - mostly because he wanted a very quick settlement date. This morning, we took out all the last little things, waved goodbye, signed the papers to the new owner, handed over the keys, and got a nice big check! Woo-hoo! Now if only we could spend that money on something fun, rather than having to do boring adult stuff like pay bills and invest the money... lol

Okay, we might have bought ourselves a celebratory 32" LCD flat-screen TV for our bedroom... But it was our last big tax-free purchase from (sales-tax-free) Delaware, and we had a 12% off coupon from Best Buy...tee hee hee.

Swimming at Grandma's

Now this pool isn't quite as cool (pardon the pun) as the one that cousin Kyler has been enjoying all summer, but Jake really seemed to have a good time in his new pool at Grandma & Grandpa's house last weekend. (Grandpa Jim sent this from his cell phone!)

If our family went to Springfield...

Design your own at the Simpsons Movie website.

Reminder - please visit my Pancreatic Cancer Walk webpage.

Pancreatic Cancer Walk 2007

As you may know, my family and I have been deeply affected by pancreatic cancer. My grandma Jeanne Valentine passed away from a short but brave battle with pancreatic cancer in 2000, and Ralph's grandfather Paul Mancuso passed away from pancreatic cancer in 2005. Any one who knew Gram Valentine or Papa Paul knew that they were two of the coolest, kindest, sweetest people you could ever meet. Both were funny, active and vibrant -- well into their seventies! They passed away too early, but truly lived full lives while they were here. I miss them both, but I know they are looking down upon Jake with huge smiles every day.

The Lustgarten Foundation organizes fundraising walks each year, one of which happens right here in New York on on Sunday, July 29th. I am planning to walk this year in memory of my Gram Valentine and Papa Paul. If you would like to donate to this special cause, please visit my team page, Paul's Pride, or my individual page in honor of both Gram Valentine and Papa Paul.

The mission of The Lustgarten Foundation is to advance the scientific and medical research related to the diagnosis, treatment, cure and prevention of pancreatic cancer. Some facts about pancreatic cancer:
• The five-year survival rate for pancreatic cancer is less than five percent
• Despite improved survival rates for many other cancers, pancreatic cancer's survival rate has not changed in 30 years
• Research is our best weapon in the fight against pancreatic cancer.
• For too long, funding for pancreatic cancer research was virtually nonexistent

Jake Me Out To The Ballgame

Jake took in his first Yankees Game on Sunday, and even though the Yankees took quite a beating from Oakland, we still had a great time. Jake was was incredibly well-behaved and was his usual flirty self.



Wearing Mama's sunglasses...


Can't believe the Yanks are doing so bad!


You can buy a cookie with A-Rod's face on it. Or perhaps you're hungry for a Jorge?

I figured I might as well make an appearance on the blog for once... (thanks Laura for taking the pic!)






Jeter going 0 for 3...but we still luv him.


Taking a short nap on the lap of Cousin Mike (who has Sunday season tickets next to ours)




Judging from the score, you can see why Jake decided to nap...


High-fiving the lady behind us when the game was going a little better...


Dancing the YMCA...


Waving hello to the camera...


One last big smile before the trip back home.