Well, it's almost done!

I moved almost all my things (except some clothes and last-minute items) upstate over Labor Day weekend, and am now staying in a faculty member's empty one-bedroom apartment while I finish out my job here at Stony Brook. My last day is September 15th. After work, I'll be driving up to Dad's house, and then going to Chris' house on Saturday for the kids' birthday party.

Then it will be done! All I'll have to do after that is drop my Lawng Island accent. *Ü* Hmmmm... after 19 years on the Island, I wonder how long that will take?

Republishing blog...

Well, I wanted to just add a link to my list of links over there →
But... it wouldn't show up until I republished my blog. I'm not sure HOW to republish my blog without doing a post, so here's the post so I can republish my blog.

Someday, I'll get the hang of this whole thing. :)

Some pics from the Benjamins - July 2006

We took a day trip up to Old Forge (in the Adirondacks). Isn't it gorgeous?

Laurel with Camryn on the boat.

The boat's owner lets all the kids take a turn piloting the boat when they get into the Second Lake, because it's much more private (fewer boats). So, Cory got a chance to pilot the boat! (There's Daddy behind her.)

Cory drying off at the pool. What a cutie!

I think having a pool at the house is one of her priorities now. :) She loves the water!!

Camryn... about six months old. How cute is she? She loves sticking her tongue out! :)

The Decker Five!

From Left to Right, this is: Elizabeth, Heather, Matthew, Adam, and Erik. This was early in July. The quads are three (will be four in September), and Matthew just turned eight. This pic was taken after playing in the sprinkler and taking a bath. I got ALMOST all of them looking at the camera and smiling at the same time. :) 

More July 4th pics (well, eventually there will be more...)

OK. I have a bunch of other pics to upload, but it's almost midnight, and the software's acting buggy, so it's going to have to wait another day or so. Sorry!

Fourth of July Trip 2006 - Decker Portion

Well, I started the week at Chris' house, then went to Laurel's. Somehow, I missed pretty much all fireworks shows. I kind of missed the fireworks, and was hoping to get to see them. I saw the tail end of the show in Rome, NY, but it was from about two miles away. Not quite the best seats in the house.

When I got to Chris and Gina's, I saw (left to right) Elizabeth, Adam, Heather, and Erik watching some tv. It's not the norm to see all four of them sitting still. They are SUCH busy kids. I just loved seeing this moment of peace. Drinking their morning juice. :)

It was, after all, Matthew's birthday on July 6th, so I was able to be there for his birthday party. It was SO nice! Lots of family around, an enormous cake (with PILES of icing), and a happy birthday boy who happened to eat NONE of the cake that he had specifically requested.
Ah... the joys of being eight.

Now, Chris and Gina's goal was to put in the flag pole quickly. Heck, with an aunt and grandparents around to help, it should be totally doable! Well, they didn't count for their own kids' deep-seated interest in what Mom and Dad are doing.

I think they did a GREAT job! It looks fabulous.

Grandma and Grandpa Decker... playing with Adam.

Locks of Love!

I decided to cut off a hunk of hair and donate it to Locks of Love. They're a wonderful organization who make wigs for kids with alopecia areata and other diseases that cause them to lose their hair with no cost at all to the kids.

Wow. It's AMAZING what five years of procrastination and lack of decisionmaking can do. My hair had grown WAY past my waist, and it really was time to cut it. But I really love having longer hair, so I decided to just cut about 12-14 inches. Here's the before picture. I took it really quickly before I left work today:

And... here are the "after" shots:

Me with my disconnected ponytail at the beauty salon. :)

My self-portraits in the bathroom mirror:

OK, so it's not earth-shatteringly different, but it's not bad, is it? :) I know it'll be easier to put in a french twist or a bun! And my head feels like about 10 pounds of drag has been removed. (hee hee!)

I'm just going to have to get accustomed to the shorter length -- my mannerisms still go with the super-ultra-long hair. It's not as hard to push it off my shoulders any more. And it's SO much healthier!

The storefront

It's not much to look at, but the bikes are awesome! 

The logo, close up!

OCC on an orange bike. :-) Seemed... right, somehow. 

Military Bike

 

Cory and the Christmas Bike

Well, Cory looks thrilled, doesn't she? She couldn't get out of there fast enough. 

Laurel and Camryn with the bikes

 

The Christmas Bike

it was too long of a bike to fit in one photo, but you get the idea. 

The Yankees Bike

 

The Livestrong Bike

This bike was built for Lance Armstrong. I think it looks like a yellow jacket wasp! 

How cool is this bike?

 

OCC!

Orange County Choppers' showroom is a few miles away from Laurel's house in Walden. We made sure to visit them! 

Gotta love Midtown!

On our way back to Madison Square Garden, you look left and boom! Empire State Building! Isn't it beautiful? 

Rachael in Forrest Gump's Shoes

They had some fun with these shoes. :-) 

Dad & Jeanette at Bubba Gump's

Dad and Jeanette on the bench at Bubba Gump's. Don't you love that they display the suitcase and box of chocolates? :-)