My College Graduate

My 16 year old is officially the proud new owner of an Associate degree!! A whole month before he finishes high school (a year early mind you) he walked the stage for his diploma from Genesee Community College and was acknowledged for Honors and dual enrollment.

We are beyond proud of him! 

In true proud parent fashion, I planned a big party for him afterwards. We had friends and family drive in from all over including out of state to celebrate with him. I am very thankful for the kindness and generosity everyone showed just by showing up to support him!

I made things of good foods, all approved by Brad himself. Strawberry filled cupcakes, fruit and chocolate board, cheese ball, charcuterie tray, veggie tray, ham cheese sliders, BBQ Smokies, deviled eggs, and punch.

This is a bowl that Brad handmade in art class a couple of years ago!

This is Brad's great Uncle Gary and Aunt Jocelyn who drove from Connecticut just to see him!

His one remaining high school class is winding down and finishes in about 3 weeks. Then high school graduation is June 26 on his 17th birthday! This summer will fly by and then my little bird leaves the nest.

Enjoying Spring

We've finally had some nice weather so I've been getting outside with the boys to enjoy the sunshine! 

The best place to go for a nice walk around here is actually at the cemetery in town! We love going up the big tower to have a look around. It's actually the highest point in our county. There's also a nice fish pond that we like to feed the fish in as well.

For some of the clubs Brad is in he's had to help with special events. At this one for senior citizens he got to eat lunch with them and visit! He enjoyed it since he doesn't get to talk to his own grandparents. 

Every day the school features a senior, and finally Brad got his day! He also got his picture on the digital sign outside. 

As the school year is winding down, Brad has several Award dinners and ceremonies to go to. Last week we attended a special dinner with him just for the top 20 Honors students in the senior class. He received a certificate and cords to wear at graduation. We are very proud of him!

Jacob has also been having some fun at school. When the weather is nice he gets to pay outside for PE. He's also taking his last swimming lessons as well. Here he is playing kick ball.

Me and him like to go walk at the cemetery as well. He likes to climb the trees there in the forest.

We had a nice view at the top of the tower on Mother's Day!

You can see Lake Ontario in the distance.

Jacob also helped me cook our annual dandelion fried blossoms. They are so yummy!

This Saturday Bradley graduates from Genesee Community College!! Stay tuned for my post so about that....

Devil's Hole Trail and Niagara Falls

The weather is finally improving here in the NE so a friend and I ventured over to the Niagara gorge for some hiking and sightseeing. First we hiked 4 miles on the Devils Hole trail along the river and saw the whirlpools and the cave. The water level was pretty high and turbulent!

And since we were so close, why not head over to Niagara falls? We parked and walked around the park to see the falls from different views.

Even caught a hint of a rainbow

Mud season is my least favorite time to get out however it's a necessary evil to get myself back into shape after hibernating all winter! Time to start planning summer hiking trips ...

Jacob Turns 11

Yesterday my sweet boy Jacob turned 11 years old! We had a small family party at the house with his favorite cake (lime jello cake) and ice cream (cookie dough). He requested homemade butter chicken and naan for dinner, so that's what I made! I also made everyone a big brunch for the afternoon.

He opened his presents in the morning because why not? His dad built him a fancy new gamer computer with all sorts of flashy lights, so he loved that and immediately had to set it up. After brunch we did cake and ice cream, with more after dinner that evening! He had a fun day of relaxing.

His uncle Eric sent him a Minecraft Lego set as well. No word from any grandparents.....

Once the weather warms up a bit, he'll have a party with friends for more fun!

Check back soon for an updated post on Bradley's college journey ....

Marching Into April

April is here and we are officially already 1/3 of the way thru 2026 if you can believe it! My days are starting to go more quickly now with spring craft shows, gardening, summer outings, and getting ready for Bradley's graduation and move to college. Wow!

I started my seedlings on Feb 28 and after much TLC they are popping up and happy. I just turned off the warming mat since germination is complete, and now just have them under the grow lights. Hopefully soon the days will get warm enough that I can start hardening them off to go into the dirt! My sunflowers have gotten so tall already that I had to move them into my sunny bay window.

In the quest for fun side hustles I sent in a short audition video for a commercial (I didn't get it!) so I took advantage of pretty hair and makeup since I don't usually do the selfies.

Jacob has had a couple Science Olympiad competitions for 5th grade, and in the Marble Maze he won FIRST place for his marble race track he built!

I participated in the elementary school's first Career Fair and had a booth about being a nurse! It was fun to explain to the kids about what a nurse does and all the options there are for a job. Jacob enjoyed going around and of course seeing the video game guy.

In preparation for my spring craft shows, I've been busy pouring new limited edition candles in these beautiful jars I got! They smell SO good (shop any time online on my store website but these specific candles are just for my shows).

This weekend I got Nick and I tickets to see a comedian Des Bishop in Rochester. We made a date night of it and first got an appetizer and coffee before the show. After the show we grabbed some dinner then headed home. He was a great comedian!