2nd Place

The girls took home a prize - again (insert best Forrest Gump voice).

G (age 9) and A (age 7) got 2nd place in the 9 to 12 age group at the Chalk Festival this past weekend. We just found out because the award ceremony was cancelled due to tropical storm Barry dumping about 4 inches of rain on us, and our newspaper only comes once a week. It's one of the charms of smalltown living.

If you scroll down you can see the pictures.

For Lauren

Chalk Fest '07

This weekend was the first ever Chalk Fest in Gloucester. It cost $10.00 for a spot and the chalk was provided. The girls decided to share an area. Tony and I were happy about that because it was 90 degrees with no shade in sight. The theme was Pocahontas. The girls chose to draw Pocahontas swimming with two turtles, some fish, and a hot pink crab. The animal on the grass is a beaver. G & A had so much fun they don't even care if they win a prize. Next year we will bring an umbrella.

The second pic was done by some world famous chalk artist. I forgot his name.

Senior Skip Day

As some of you may know the last Friday before finals is senior skip day. To celebrate this great tradition Tony took the day off and we headed for Busch Gardens (without the girls) to ride the new roller coaster. It was awesome! If you'd like to get a better look go to www.buschgardens.com and there is a video you can watch.


I'm not sure if we were having old paranoia about skipping school or what but when we got to BG a helicopter was flying circles over the parking lot.

We really didn't think too much about it on the way in but when we left BG there it was circling our car in the parking lot. Have you seen the movie Good Fellas?

We had a good laugh and headed home not thinking twice about it. But, as we crossed the York River Tony noticed another helicopter!

Coincidence? I think not.

1st PLACE

Gracie won 1st prize and a check for $75.00 at the "From Whence We Came" art show! She recently learned to quill at the local art school. To quill you roll thin strips of colored paper and manipulate them into whatever you want to. It's hard to see the detail in these photos but if you look close you can see a horseshoe crab, starfish, and snails on the seaweed. Gracie is planning on investing her winnings in a new Littlest Pet Shoppe and Tamagotchi. Gracie also has the chance to win $200 in September for the peoples choice awards.

Small Town Living

Living in a small town is great but sometimes your choices are limited, case in point, choosing a tanning salon. The only tanner in town is at the Gloucester Barber Shoppe. I would have never put the two together but...

After paying for my visit the woman takes me out the back door into an alley. I'm getting a strange feeling.

Then she directs me up these rickety old steps. She tells me "don't worry, they feel a little wiggley but there are support boards underneath." Up the wiggley stairs I go.

When I enter the room it looks like I'm in someones house. There's a table and chairs, a desk, a tv, and giant ashtray. What am I doing? I start looking for hidden video cameras. Then I get a look at the bed. OMG!!!! This thing is as old as I am. It has a dial for a timer and no glass protector for the top bulbs, only some type of chicken wire.

The whole thing turned out to be a wash because the bulbs are as old as the bed. I think I walked out paler than when I went in. Next time I'm going to the beach.

Welcome Home!

After spending a few relaxing days in Philly we
came home to this. A small tornado had hit our neighborhood. We were not totally taken by surprise. The school secretary called and told us the bus driver noticed we had some roof damage. A friend from work drove out to check out the damage. When she got close to our house she said there were police everywhere. As she turned onto our street she saw two news vans parked in front of our house and a helicopter flying in circles above it!
Our house was on the news but since we were out of town we didn't get to see it. You can check it out at www.wvec.com.

The pictures speak for themselves. We lost about 15 trees by the house and who knows how many out back. The good news is no one was hurt, Bruno was at the kennel and the hamsters didn't seem any worse for ware.

So, here's the big question. If a tornado hits your house on your 40th birthday does that mean the worst is over?
Here is the news link: http://www.wvec.com/news/topstories/stories/wvec_local_042707_gloucester_wind_damage.13ecf8ae.html