Glass Houses

Last weekend we took a drive about 90 miles south of here to the lovely little (really, really little) town Corning, NY. Corning is where they make these:







They also have a terrific museum there called the Corning Glass Museum, and that's what we were there for. We left on Thursday morning & it was a beautiful day for a drive through southwestern NY. Spring was definitely in the air as we walked from our hotel to the museum.

Inside the museum, we found many really cool glass sculptures and artifacts.



I know - you're probably thinking, "Glass? Big whoop. Got it all over the house" or "Glass? Half empty or half full?" But really, after spending a couple of days in Corning - at the museum and at the glass-working studio (more on that later), we really gained a great respect for glass. And we had a lot of fun too.


We'd aften talked about going to Corning, but the deal was sealed when Lisa found a great offer by the Staybridge Hotel. For $170, we got admission to the museum, admission to the Rockwell Western Museum (more on that at 11), breakfast, a $30 voucher for dinner and a suite with a full kitchen.

The prospect of being away from home for a night was great, but once we got there, we quickly made the decision to stay an extra night - and we were very glad that we did. Corning is a great family getaway and we'll have more on the fun in our next post. In the meantime, we hope you enjoy these pictures. Bonus points to anyone who can figure out the Corning Museum of Glass logo that Thompson is hugging and Choddie is holding up.


Also - don't be afraid to add comments to this (and other) post. We love to hear what everyone thinks of our blog project. Take a look at our links (over to the right there) too - they are lots of fun, mostly.

Blinded by the Light (Deafened by the Music)

Two weeks ago, we went to Choddie's sixth grade dance. As you probably tell by the pictures, a tropical theme was the rule of the evening.

The young lady with the pink Hawaiian shirt seen in the picture below is not a student (she just plays one on TV). No, dear readers, that young lady is Choddie's English teacher, Ms. Bovenzi. Yeah. I feel old too.

I think she's showing Choddie & Chris "The Cabbage Patch" in this picture.


Not to be outdone, here's a picture of the Iroquois Middle School principal, Chuck Miller (not to be confused w/singer, storyteller and former pharmecutical saleman Charlie Miller) cutting a rug (or is that cutting a parquet?) with the kids.






Yes, Mr. Miller, we now have evidence of your bunny hop technique. Choddie gets straight A's this year, right?

At the end of the night, they released balloons from the ceiling, played the beginning of Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody" then decided that was too slow and switched to some poprockin' stuff I was completely oblivious to & the kids all went home happy, yet exhausted and sweat-drenched with hoarse throats.

Yeah. I feel old too. Old, but happy.

Aquakid

Thompson has always loved the water. For instance, when he was just a tyke, we really had to keep an eye on him down the shore, because he would take any opportunity to head for the waves. Or for a girl in a bikini - but that'll be the subject of another post.

At any rate - Thompson and the water have always been natural together. He loves the pool in the summer and the ocean and the lake. He loves his bath - much more than a shower. Still, up until last week, he never really had any formal swimming lessons.

Lisa felt he was definitely ready though, especially after he did so well without his floatie wetsuit in Mom Mom & Pop Pop's pool last summer. So, she signed him up for swim lessons at the high school. He went from being a little nervous ("I'm going to wear this swimsuit? Where's my wetsuit? Can I touch the bottom?") to asking when he can go back for more lessons.

To the right, you can see Thompson with one of his coaches. Here in West Irondequoit, there is a swim club called The Gators. It is mostly made up of middle school and high school swim team kids. Many of these swimmers have been swimming competitvely since they were younger than Tug. The older kids dedicate their time to teach the younger ones, two weeks at a time, half an hour per night. And the little kids have a blast; splashing around in the pool and looking up to the older kids, some of whom they might know from the neighborhood.

When we first moved to West Irondequoit, signing Choddie up for swimming lessons was one of the first things that we did. And it really felt like a tradition taking Thompson to lessons last week. West Irondequoit is such a terrific place to raise our boys and we are still very happy to live here. Taking Thompson to swimming lessons, and seeing that the high school swim coach (the guy who runs The Gators and the swimming lessons) lost about fifty pounds, and seeing neighbors & Tug's friends from school, and even seeing the cranky lady that seems to show up at every sports/school function, just reinforces that feeling of "home."

Thompson did a great job. By the end of the first week, he was jumping off the "high dive" without any assist from The Coach. Even though the water was cold, even though Thompson walked kinda funny with sweat pants pulled over his swim suit at the end of his lessons, he still ahd a blast, learned a little something and wondered when he was going back for more lessons.



Lisa says she has a plan in mind for when he's going to next attend Gators' swimming school. I question not her infinite wisdom.

Jeff's Monster by Thompson Miles

Behind the Music: Sugar High

I got a sneak peek into the lives of rock's newest sensations - Sugar High - this afternoon. Holed up in guitarist Rebecca's basement studio, the Sug-sters were working on their latest hit single - a cover of Pat Benetar's Hit Me with Your Best Shot.

The group were in fine form as new member, Chod "Lord Bassworth" Miles hammered out the killer bass line. Drummer Chris "I Never Miss (the Beat)" Ford slammed the rhythm out on the electromotronic skins (Rebecca's dad has some righteous gear, yo), while cousin and lead guitarist Rebecca "British Invasion" Ford soloed like Townshend on her custom Union Jack strat. Lead singer Elizabeth "'Rock ON!' is My Motto" Amato belted out the lyrics with reckless abandon, leaving no doubt that Sugar High are truly a force to be reckoned with.

Their debut gig is coming up this summer, and all that this reporter can say is that the rest of the Iroquois Middle School Talent Show participants better check themselves, because this Sugar High comes on like a full force gale.

Choddie Knocks 'em Dead!

Last night was Choddie's Jazz Show Choir Concert. At the risk of sounding like a gushing parent, may I just say that Choddie did an outstanding job! We always knew that he liked to be onstage, but we never realized what a terrific voice he has. He doesn't like to sing around the house - or in the shower (though he does enjoy a l-o-n-g shower), so we were amazed by the angelic sounds coming out of our Chod.


His solo was a few lines from a "Phantom of the Opera" song. Unfortunately, his teacher, Mrs. Zingo forgot to bring the cape that she wanted him to wear. Still, he brought the house down.

The reviews were overwhelming positive.


If you forward $10 w/a self-addressed, stamped envelope, I may be able to wrangle a genuine Lord Chodsworth autographed photo for your very own.

NCAA, IAA and CYO

I'm loving that the Gators currently have a double digit lead against UCLA (10:11 on 4/4/06). Though I didn't go to UF, I have a really good friend who did, another guy I know who did & I went to Gainesville for the Auburn game a few years ago (which I'm told is a pretty big deal). Besides, Choddie is a Florida native - the only one in the family as he likes to remind us - so we're rooting for the Gators all the way, baby!

Meantime - check out some pix of some future All Americans:

Choddie "Baby Shaq" Miles and his best friend Chris "Nothing Runs Like A" Ford after a "character building" season on the St. Margaret Mary's CYO squad.


Thompson "The Hype(r)" Miles working on his three point shot at the Irondequoit Athletic Association Basketball camp.

Jazz Show Choir Concert

Tomorrow night, Choddie will perform selections from "Phantom of the Opera" in the Jazz Show Choir Concert. This will be Choddie's second solo this year, the first being at the Annual Winter Concert where he sang the opening to Elton John's "Answer in the Sky."

The picture above is from the Winter Concert. Lisa & I did not really know what a terrific voice Choddie had until this night (it was about a month & a half ago) because Chod doesn't sing much around the house. We're really looking forward to tomorrow (4/4/06) night to hear him in action again.

It was crazy tonight as we had to take Thompson to swimming lessons and then run over to the high school for a Middle School Orientation. Chod's going to seventh grade next year. It seems like just yesterday that he was The Gucker Don.


Thompson likes to draw. On himself.

Our boys are so talented.

Making Lisa Laugh

There's nothing more fun during the long work days than sending Lisa funny pictures & stories. Here's something I made for her a couple of weeks ago when she felt that there weren't enough cats in the pictures that I'd been sending. This is currently our home computer's wallpaper: