Doing cross-rails...

Another from the Weedsport Show...

Approaching a jump at the last Weedsport Show.

We went hiking at Watkins Glen, which is at the southern tip of Seneca Lake.

More waterfalls...

Under a waterfall...

In the Finger Lakes wine region...

We hiked in Tremain State Park along the gorge trail.

We visited Cornell (a wealthier version of UW).

We picnicked with Sarah at Green Lakes State Park for the 4th of July.

Tsuki likes the 4th of July.

Three Years Already!

Here are a few pics from the wedding, just because I'm feeling nostalgic. What a great three years it's been so far, with many more to come!

(Photographs by C&N Photographers.)

Happy Three Year Anniversary!

At twilight...

At the church...

In front of Bascom...

R & B

Last weekend we flew back to Wisconsin for Rachel & Joe's excellent wedding--congratulations again! We stayed with my brother Matt and got to poke around Marquette's dental school (and eat Kopp's custard). I also met my parents and Grandma for a great dinner at the Chop House in Milwaukee on Thursday. The wedding in Kenosha on Friday was wonderful. We spent the whole night chatting with college/Cardinal friends, some of whom we haven't seen since graduation. The whole wedding event was full of the creative and thoughtful details this couple is known for. Then we met up with our families in Madison for two days, and enjoyed food, talk, and board games. A good time was had by all (as I used to write in my 4-H meeting minutes).

All Cardinal staff members at the wedding. (Yes, there's 34 in that picture.) And thanks to Sarah for the picture!

Rachel & Joe's first dance.

We stole Rachel and Joe for a quick photo...

Joe, Braden, Mike, and Eric.

Close to the whole family...

With Mom and Dad...

Dad and the girls...

Mom and the girls...

A close recreation of our wedding cake from Craig's Cake Shop in Verona.... so good.

Aw yeah, a lab coat with his name on it. (Plus very trendy eyewear.) Matt, feel free to use these shots in your office when you have one, just to prove you did in fact go to dental school and learn stuff.

Now picture this room full of the noise of dental drills... truly frightening.

Matt showing off some of his homework.

Horse Show

I participated in my first horse show (since my 4-H days) over the weekend. It was a two-day show sponsored by the barn I ride at and took place at some fairgrounds about a half hour from our house. We trucked 8 horses over on Friday, and the show was Saturday and Sunday. I rode Ariel (registered name: "Dance at My Party"), who's a Quarter Horse owned by the farm. She and I did very well, despite the 90-degree weather both days. On Sunday we even managed reserve champion in both divisions we were showing in, and weekend reserve champion for the lower division. It was a really good time, and I learned a lot. Here are a few shots Braden took from Saturday...

Ariel and I at the show.

Walking around...

Trotting around...

Cantering around...

Going over a crossrail.

Ribbons...

Fishy Heaven

Sadly, I was informed by my parents this week that Sherbet the goldfish had gone to fishy heaven, also known as the Francis Creek sewage pond. She was about six years old, and died either from old age or the chronic results of a tragic cleaning accident several months ago. (Moral of the story--never get between my mother's scrubbing pad and a dirty glass tank.) I got Sherbet at the beginning of my junior year of college, from my sophomore-year roommate who loved fish and was done using Sherbet (the 19-cent fish) to balance the pH of new tank water for her real fish. Sherbet lived in Chadbourne for two years and then the shady Frances St. apartment. Instead of moving to Syracuse, she moved in with my brother (and his questionable tank-cleaning abilities) and finally wound up receiving the good care of my parents for the last several years. Sherbet was preceeded in death by five small fish, "The Sprinkles," who were her indistinguishable tankmates.

RIP, Sherbet.

New England Weekend

We started with a plan to take in the U.S. men's soccer team's last friendly match before the World Cup, in Hartford, CT. We ended up with a fantastic long weekend in the good company of Leeny and Brian, in addition to the weekend with the "best all-around" food we've ever had while traveling (thanks in large part to the purchase of a Zagat guide--entirely worth the investment and never steered us wrongly). We met Leeny and Brian in Boston on Thursday, went shopping/browsing on Newberry St., and ended up at the harbor to have Legal Seafood for dinner. An evening at the Black Rose (an Irish pub) finished the night. On Friday we began with Mike's pastry, walked the freedom trail, and toured a bit of Harvard. Rain drove us in search of dinner, which we found at Bangkok Blue, an amazing Thai place off Newberry. Saturday was our last time with Leeny and Brian, so we had a big breakfast at the Trident Bookstore and Cafe. (The French toast stuffed with lemon and ricotta and topped with blueberries was great.) Then Braden and I spent the afternoon in the Harvard area relaxing, with a nice dinner at Tanjore (Indian). We drove down to a hotel outside Plymouth. Then on Sunday we decided to tour a bit of Cape Cod, as we've never been there. After walking the beach, we found the "Brazillian Grill," which was probably the most interesting culinary experience we've had to date (see below). Still meat-stuffed, we arrived (somewhat late--thanks CT) at the U.S. soccer match, where they defeated Latvia 1-0. Then we drove home. We fear that our tastebuds will never be the same.

The vet where we boarded Tsuki is closed today, so we're going to spend the day putting stuff on the floor, placing food on low tables, and leaving doors open and gates down. Happy Memorial Day!

The four of us by the harbor...

Braden and his giant bowl of shellfish and seafood--"cioppino"--at Legal Seafood. Our seafood-filled weekend was in part to celebrate Leeny's partial return from the vegetarian realm.

Sunset at the harbor...

On Friday, the four of us hit the "Freedom Trail" to take in some history. (Here is Braden carefully following the trail.) Before that we fueled up with some wonderful pastry from Mike's in the Italian neighborhood.

Brian and Leeny by the Paul Revere monument.

The U.S.S. Constitution on the left, some kind of battleship on the right, and the Bunker Hill monument in the background.

We took a tour of all three decks of the U.S.S. Constitution, "Old Ironsides." She is not in fact made of iron, but a "sandwich" of oak, with live oak in the middle.

Braden shows off one of the big guns.

The many old gravestones...

Studying the graveyard map...

At Harvard... we spent a fun afternoon wandering, browsing bookshops, and sitting in coffehouses. We had dinner at a wonderful Indian place in Cambridge called "Tanjore," which according to the Zagat guide is known for its "regional diversity."

We took a trip along the Cape Cod national seashore. We stopped at Marconi Beach to wander a bit.

Braden...

At the beach...

The lone photographic proof of the wonder that is the "Brazillian Grill" in Hyannis on Cape Cod. Braden and I can't decide if a franchise of this place in Wisconsin would go broke immediately or be a smashing success. You pay one price for a buffet of side dishes and unlimited meat. Men in Brazillian dress wander the restaurant, each one carrying a giant skewer/sword of some kind of spit-roasted meat (every kind of steak, prime rib, bacon-wrapped filet, several kinds of chicken, chicken hearts, bacon-wrapped chicken, salmon, and roasted pineapple). You tell them whether you want some, and they slice off some, which you grab with the above-shown tongs. They keep coming until you turn the card on your table from "green" to "red." We still haven't really recovered.

Happy Mother's Day!

In honor of Mother's Day (and because we were in need of pastry for Sunday morning), I made my first attempt at Grandma's butter horns and coffee cake. They came out great, except for a few misshapen ones, but they all tasted the same. (Not quite as good as Grandma's, but give me another 40 years...) And the upside of making them yourself is that you don't have to battle about 18 cousins for seconds :) .

Butter horns! (Eaten approximately 2 minutes later.)