That seemed to be the theme this weekend as we continued our streak of having people over on the weekend this summer. Every weekend in July we have entertained. Not sure how it ended up that way, but it did. This weekend was a double whammy as we had Deb’s family here on Sat. and our friend Barbara and Sandford (with their kids) on Sunday.

Saturday saw an amazingly beautiful day here in NY for a family BBQ. Deb’s Aunt Claire was up from Georgia and we decided it would be a good opportunity to get several members of her side of the family together. It had been a while since we did somethign like this so it was a big deal. In addition to Claire we had Jen & Scott, Mike & Alana & Jarett, Betty Ann & Jimmy, and Mike & Cathy, along with us (Deb, Mona, Dylan, Marissa, and me). The two bigt peices of news that came out of the day is that big Mike and Cathy are engaged, and Mona and Betty Ann are talking again, though that started when Deb’s grandmother passed.

A good time was had by all and I have some pictures that I will post soon. And Jen, if you are reading this send me your pictures!

On Sunday it rained. Then it rained some more. However, this did not surprise us or put a damper on things since it seems to rain every time the Selzick’s come in from Tuscon, so why should yesterday be any different. The kids all got along great and played together on the Wii and the computer. Lilly even played Lego Star Wars with Dylan! Sandford played Wii for the first time and almost broke our ceiling fan (and his writs) while playing tennis. Everyone had fun and we pigged out on some good Chinese food (thank you Sandford!). It was sad to see them go, but they will be back, hopefully without the rain.

Well, it’s been a few weeks since i last posted an update so I figured it was time for one.

Dylan has been in camp since June 30th and is loving it. He get’s to go swimming twice a day and do all kinds of fun things. Deb has been workign part time at the camp to help defray the costs of Dylan attending full day and, well, let’s just say she doens’t love it quite as much as Dylan does. She has a group of toddlers that are as young as 22 months, which really, IMHO, shouldn’t be left at camp for 2hrs a day.

Marissa is getting steadier on her feet every day and even walked all the way around the block on her own last weekend! She can stay upright while running, at least for short distances. She has begun identifying the parts of her body like hear, eyes, nose, and toes. It is just mind boggling how fast she learns stuff. And her vocabulary is expanding on a regular basis.

On the 4th we had our good friends the Kranidis over for a little BBQ. They all got time to really get to know Marissa. I think Hope had been the only one to meet her until then to be honest. As is always the case when we get together everything was wonderful and all had a good time. How can you not with friends like these? Dylan and Elias played in the pool most of the day and then played Lego Star Wars together while the rest of us ate, drank, and had a good time.

This past weekend we played host to the Ramoindi family: Nelly, Joe, Samanth, Robert, and Jordan. It was an amazing day on Sat with the weather being about as perfect as on can ask. Jordan and Dylan played together all day long in the pool, on the Wii, and, you guessed it, Lego Star Wars. Sam and Robert also played Wii Fit, trying and succeeding in breaking the few records I had set. Now I need to go back and re-claim my crown. Sam was going to drive home but Nellie was all worried about her driving on the parkway, it was to be her first time, so I took Sam out for a quick spin on the Wantagh and Southern State. She handled them like a pro.

Dylan is also getting very creative with his Legos. He built this model of WALL-E, even though we haven’t seen the movie yet. Pretty cool, eh?

And the hosting will continue it seems with Deb’s cousin Mikey coming over this weekend, than Babs will be in town. I think the first Sat in August we have nothing scheduled, yet. Dylan’s birthday party will be the 23rd and the Saddle Lane block party the 30th.

Earlier today our good friends Brett & Emily, along with their son Oliver, welcomed a little sister, Lilly, into the world. For more info check out their family web site (which I assume Brett will update later).

Today is our dear friends Jen’s birthday and since I know she checks out the site once in a while I figured I would give her a big Happy Birthday shout. See ya soon JC.

Now that Thanksgiving is almost over, and people are starting to come out of their turkey comas, I thought I would share with everyone what I am thankful for.

• Debbie, Dylan, and Marissa: They are the three most important things in my world. They are why I get up in the morning, why I work, why I am constantly striving to do better in everything. To be a better father, husband, and friend. If it wasn’t for them I would be wandering through life aimlessly.
• My health: I may not be the picture of health, being overweight and all, but I am relatively healthy and a great deal better off than many others.
• Grammy  aka Mona aka my mother-in-law. I know most people hate their mother-in-laws, but I got lucky and got a pretty good one who is always there when we need her.
• Friends. I may not get to spend a great deal of time with them, and most of them are far away and we only get to hang out on-line, but I know that I can rely on them when the shit hits the fan.

Of course I could list a bunch of not so serious stuff, but I won’t.

My buddy Tom Lillis has finally “escaped” from CGS. He handed in his notice last week and will be leaving on Wed Nov 21. Congrats Tom!

Here is your very own Countdown Timer that is counting down to 5:30pm Nov 21