The night we got to "meet" Good Time

This is Good Time.  

A beautifully restored carousel horse at Midway State Park in the greater Chautauqua, New York area.  For several summers now, Adelaide and Cora have shared many smiles and laughs at Midway.  And the first ride on nearly every visit to the park is the carousel.  

Last winter, the 1946 Herschell Carousel roundhouse shelter and the horses underwent a major restoration.  To help fund the restoration, local community members and businesses could sponsor a horse.  And thanks to Grandpa Johnny and Zee Zee,  Adelaide and Cora now always have a seat on the carousel.  

To commemorate the fully restored carousel, the park had a special evening event for the first rides on the horses with their sponsors.  Of course, we were there.  Adelaide was Good Time's first rider, while the rest of the family happily tested out the benches.  

Then it was Cora's turn.  A smile so big her eyes were closed!

The horses were all beautiful and full of detail.  Right down to their shoes.  Good Time has a nice shiny, silver one.

Until our next visit, Good Time!

Boulevard Art Show

Adelaide's class, artistically represented through their own self-portraits.

Which one is Adelaide, you may ask?  This one!

Or as depicted in chalk...

But Adelaide's favorite part of the night?  Portraits are great, but friends in person are even better.  

Cora's Class Picnic

"Your sense of humor is delightful..." going on to quote Cora's favorite joke -
          Q: How do you clean a tuba?
          A: With a tuba toothpaste

"Your cup is full of smiles and hugs!"

"You are a sweet, independent little girl and a great conversationalist!"

These are some quotes from Cora's preschool teachers that I got to read recently.  And I think it describes Cora's preschool experience.  She has enjoyed nearly every minutes of her time at Carol Nursery School, and especially with her teachers, Cheryl and Joanne.

We recently took the class on a picnic and got to watch all the friendships that formed between the classmates.

Graduation Day!

After three years of hard work, graduation day is here!

We started the day with a delicious brunch at the Provenance in the Art Museum, where Cora thoroughly enjoyed her french toast (this was probably the fanciest restaurant the girls have been to, and they were well behaved, but Cora could not resist the deliciousness of the 4 pieces of bread soaked in egg, cinnamon and Grand Marnier!  She just picked it up and devoured).

Our mini-photo shoot in the atrium quickly became the subject of laughs.  And resulted in some of my favorites pictures from the day.

(I think we nailed the classic Facebook "arms" aside shot, right?)

But then we moved on to the serious business of the day, the ceremony.  Here are the law graduates, making their way from the law school to Severance Hall.

We were fortunate to have some special box seating where some of the family, including the girls got to sit.  From the main level, I love that I got to capture the sheer joy on the girls' faces as they saw Daddy walking into the hall.

We were all so proud to learn that Graham had made "Order of the Coif," meaning he graduated in the top 10% of his class.  It's one thing to get some of the best grades in your class, but do so while also being an amazing husband, father, and keeping up with all his community activities!

We were so lucky to have so many family there to celebrate with us, from Grandma Sherry, to Grandpa Johnny & Zee Zee, and my parents, Grandma Carol & Grandpa Russ.

Cheers to the graduate!

Cora as "The Thinker"