Life in Liverpool

Lia Sophia fundraiser

2011-11-28T20:30:00.000-05:00

Alana holding the door prize we won at the boy scout fundraiser:

Food art

2011-11-26T10:00:00.000-05:00

Matt depicted in breakfast food (by Alana) - the blueberries are his goatee:

Black Friday

2011-11-25T11:00:00.000-05:00

Park by community swimming pool:

Thanksgiving

2011-11-24T18:00:00.000-05:00

Larry prepping the fresh-killed goose he got from a friend:

Brothers cooking (making stuffing):

What a spread:

True love:

On the road again

2011-11-23T18:00:00.000-05:00

Over the river and through the woods, to grandmother's house we go! Alana spent the first hour of the trip studying the 1st Grade Brain Quest!

Gorgeous sunset at Clay Park

2011-11-19T17:30:00.000-05:00

Shabbat service

2011-11-18T18:30:00.000-05:00

Larry singing with the cantor:

Alana singing in the kids' choir

Pretty bit of snow in Clay Park

2011-11-17T16:30:00.000-05:00

"Extreme apple picking"

2011-11-06T11:00:00.000-05:00

This terrific photo was posted on Matt's girlfriend's FB page.

Cuddle girls

2011-11-02T19:00:00.000-04:00

Halloween

2011-10-31T20:00:00.000-04:00

Cal's costume came out great:

After an hour and a half in the neighborhood, Cal had a huge haul of goodies:

Vomit pumpkin!

2011-10-30T18:00:00.000-04:00

This is becoming an annual thing!

Alana helped! Here she is trying to look maniacal:

At YMCA Halloween party

2011-10-29T19:00:00.000-04:00

At school Halloween carnival

2011-10-28T19:30:00.000-04:00

Caleb's scout awards

2011-10-17T19:30:00.000-04:00

Caleb got a badge for attending summer camp, a fireman's badge, and a badge for swimming.

Alana's BD party

2011-10-15T17:00:00.000-04:00

What a terrific party! 10 little girls running around the house, terrorizing the cats and bunny! We had fun, though, and they loved the bunny theme and the bunny cupcakes.

Alana's BD party at school

2011-10-14T15:00:00.000-04:00

Giant chocolate chip cookie - I did the lettering and Alana did the decorating.

Alana in her classroom, about to eat her slice of cookie.

Alana at Upstate

2011-10-11T22:00:00.000-04:00

Alana came to work with me today because there was no school:

We had lunch at the Chinese restaurant nearby - sesame chicken seems to be her favorite thing to eat these days; I had pretty decent chicken and green beans with garlic sauce:

On the bus on the way home:

Paintball

2011-10-10T16:00:00.000-04:00

I bought discount passes online last spring, thinking Cal and Matt could go over the summer, but we never went. So Cal and Jake played today, the weather was amazing.

Alana spent the whole time collecting unexploded paint balls:

Amy and Ian

2011-10-08T17:00:00.000-04:00

After the concert (Amy in the middle, Ian far right) ~

Caleb and CiCi

2011-10-06T22:00:00.000-04:00

Abbott's Fall Festival

2011-10-02T15:30:00.000-04:00

The boys strike a gangsta pose.

Alana feeding the chickens

Mr Mouse pays a visit

2011-10-01T14:00:00.000-04:00

We rescued this cutie pie from our cruel kitty.

Alana shows off Mr Mouse

The mouse escaped (no surprise) but Rosie was on the prowl.

Rosh Hashanah

2011-09-29T13:30:00.000-04:00

Kids on the bima during the family service. Alana is left f the torah, in yellow; Cal is in the back, almost behind her, looking left.

Waiting for The Lion King to start

2011-09-22T19:30:00.000-04:00

The kids' first major musical theater performance. Larry on his phone, as always.

Temple Centennial

2011-09-18T14:00:00.000-04:00

Kids singing at the beginning of the rededication ceremony; Caleb in the middle; you can only see the very top of Alana's head on the right, below the neck of the guitar.

Westcott Street Festival

2011-09-17T13:00:00.000-04:00

After the library book sale

2011-09-16T18:00:00.000-04:00

Acts of Kindness weekend

2011-09-11T14:00:00.000-04:00

We wanted to DO something to commemorate September 11!

The kids jumped right in and got to work.

Beaver Lake Fall Festival

2011-09-10T14:00:00.000-04:00

At the petting zoo

Cider and donut

Bean bag toss

Gorgeous sunset in Clay Park

2011-09-08T20:00:00.000-04:00

Back to school

2011-09-07T08:30:00.000-04:00

Loving message

2011-09-05T15:00:00.000-04:00

Alana wrote me a message with a water pistol at the JCC swimming pool. So sweet.

New bunny!

2011-09-04T10:50:00.000-04:00

We bought Ricky for $20 (discounted fomr $25!) from the Old Timers Rabbit Club at the NY State Fair. He's about 6 months old; he's a Netherland Dwarf.

At the NY State Fair

2011-09-03T13:00:00.000-04:00

Back to school picnic

2011-09-01T18:00:00.000-04:00

Alana is showing off the pencil she just got.

Roxy is a wimp!

2011-08-29T11:00:00.000-04:00

It was raining and apparently she didn't want to go out in the rain - she sat in the doorway for a long time.

King and queen of the mountain

2011-08-25T17:30:00.000-04:00

Shot at the edge of the Wegman's (Taft Rd) parking lot.

Feast!

2011-08-23T19:00:00.000-04:00

For Matt's last evening before he heads back to college (for his senior year!), Larry and Matt created a homemade feast together, including bar b q pork chops, lime shrimp, and roasted brocolli.

Beauty time

2011-08-21T13:00:00.000-04:00

Alana getting her nails painted at the Natur-Tyme Customer Apreciation Day

Road trip

2011-08-19T11:00:00.000-04:00

Alana is cracking up because Roxy doesn't want to be in the way back so she's peeking over the seat.

Treats!

2011-08-18T17:00:00.000-04:00

Treats from the Liberty Science Center (NJ) gift shop

Language fun

2011-08-18T15:00:00.000-04:00

Cool exhibit at the Liberty Science Center - the kids learned a few phrases in a "Cockney" English, and while they learned, a video is shot - this is the playback of the video on a big screen outside the learning booth.

Surf's up

2011-08-17T13:00:00.000-04:00

Enjoying the waves at Belmar beach

Card shark!

2011-08-15T21:00:00.000-04:00

We saw another side of our lovely scout, Yael, when we played cards on her last night with us.

Pool party at Jack and Anne Werksman's

2011-08-15T18:00:00.000-04:00

Alana's waffle masterpiece

2011-03-20T09:45:00.000-04:00

Alana in jacuzzi

2011-03-18T21:15:00.000-04:00

Alana spent almost as much time in the jacuzzi as she did in the pool at the Hampton Inn in Binghamton.

Caleb sings national anthem at hockey game

2011-03-12T23:00:00.002-05:00

It was "Jewish Community Night" at the Syracuse Crunch hockey game tonight, and Caleb's youth choir, the Shira Shalom Singers, were invited to sing the national anthem! Unfortunately, you can't actually *see* Caleb in this video because of the way that they had the kids all clumped together (he's standing in front of the man in the back row).

Gaga

2011-03-11T21:15:00.001-05:00

Kids playing Gaga in the classroom after services.

Alana making lemonade

2011-03-08T19:45:00.000-05:00

Larry made lemonade for Alana yesterday, and now she's obsessed with it! Today I set her up to make her own.

Isle Alana

2011-03-06T13:45:00.000-05:00

Alana decorating a snow island in the park. She and I worked on this for almost 1/2 an hour. Really fun!

Cal in synagogue children's choir

2011-03-04T19:30:00.000-05:00

Alana at sushi bar

2011-03-02T18:15:00.000-05:00

We go to this excellent asian buffet restaurant, Kyoto, pretty regularly - it has regular buffet, plus sushi and hibachi. I get a huge kick out of Alana helping herself to sushi.

Tubing at Four Seasons

2011-02-26T16:00:00.002-05:00

We really had a blast. Here's a 3-way race down the hill - almost a photo finish!

Littlest Petshop Wedding!

2011-02-24T18:45:00.000-05:00

School Valentine's Day fundraiser

2011-02-11T19:45:00.000-05:00

Alana on doctor office exam table

2011-02-10T15:45:00.001-05:00

Squirrel vigil

2011-02-05T15:45:00.001-05:00

Squirrel in tree outside our house

Roxy stood in the snow for over TWO HOURS watching the squirrels

Playdate day again

2011-02-05T14:30:00.001-05:00

Cal went over to Joey's house to play and Lily came over to our house. I'm supposed to be packing for our trip, so what am I doing, wasting time on the computer???

Roxy and Lucy, part 2

2011-02-04T21:15:00.001-05:00

As soon as we started our walk, Roxy's hackles went up and she came and stood next to me - she was completely freaked out. I figured it was Lucy - it's exactly a week since we met her. Lucy didn't act aggressive at all this time, but I put Roxy in the car. The owner assured me that she has her shots, but he still didn't apologize. Once they left, I had to almost pull Roxy out of the car - what a cream puff. But after that minor crisis, we had a nice walk.

Pinewood Derby!

2011-02-01T19:00:00.000-05:00

Cal's car wasn't super fast, but he did well enough to come in 9th place out of 12.

Pass the Pigs

2011-01-31T19:30:00.000-05:00

Larry played this game at a manager's event, and enjoyed it so much, he got it for our house. It was a big hit with the kids.

Sunday afternoon

2011-01-30T18:30:00.000-05:00

After swimming at the Y, and taking Roxy for a walk in the snowy park, I was mighty tired.

Playdates

2011-01-29T17:15:00.001-05:00

Alana had a great time with Emily, while Cal was playing with Jake. The girls are behind the doll house - apparently this play date required getting out a LOT of toys!

Roxy and Lucy

2011-01-28T20:15:00.000-05:00

We've been going to that park for over 4 years and we've met dozens of dogs, but tonight, a dog that seemed friendly at first, suddenly attacked Roxy. I was shocked, but even more so by how quickly Lucy got the better of Roxy - I thought she would win a fight. She got a cut under her ear, and a few scratches - nothing major. She was more upset by my yelling, though I was yelling at Lucy, not her. I thought Lucy's owner could have been a lot more apologetic! Maybe he was distracted by concerns about a lawsuit, as well he should!

Cal's solo

2011-01-21T20:45:00.000-05:00

Children's choir performance

Alana at school PJ party

2011-01-18T19:45:00.000-05:00

Pinewood Derby time!

2011-01-17T18:00:00.001-05:00

Larry and Caleb working on Pinewood Derby car

Alana's snow woman

2011-01-10T19:45:00.001-05:00

This is a really fun school project - decorate the snowman with whatever craft materials you have in your house.

Youth group bowling

2011-01-09T13:45:00.000-05:00

Cal played 4 games with the synagogue youth group and he did really well - he got several strikes and spares! Here, he's just made it into the 100 Club.

Pajama Havdallah event

2011-01-08T18:30:00.000-05:00

We had a great time at this fun event! Alana is licking the frosting off a cookie, and watching The Muppet Movie at the PJ havdallah evening at our synagogue.

Playdate

2011-01-07T14:45:00.001-05:00

Alana and Lily had so much fun together - they played and played and played all afternoon.

Pretty snow

2011-01-05T07:30:00.000-05:00

Since we got slammed with 5 feet of snow in less than 2 weeks in December, we've gotten almost no additional snow, and what we've gotten has arrived in small batches of an inch or two. Overnight they were calling for several inches, but we got just enough to be pretty this morning.

Sledding at Highland Forest in Fabius

2010-12-19T15:00:00.000-05:00

It was sunny - I don't know why this photo came out so dark. We had fun, and we got tired - much bigger hill than Hafner's. Alana fell asleep in the car on the way home. Thanks to Meredith for lunch before and hot chocolate after!

Shabbat

2010-12-17T20:00:00.000-05:00

How cute is this photo of Mommy and Daughter??? Thanks to Mark Kotzin for taking it and to Ellen Kotzin for sharing it.

Cal singing in the Shira Shalom kids choir with his buddy Luke!

5+ feet of snow

2010-12-16T09:45:00.000-05:00

The Syracuse area is just a few inches shy of having the snowiest Decmber ever recorded! We've gotten 66 inches so far, and winter doesn't officially begin until next week (not that the arbitrary date is relevant to us anyway!) Here, Alana stands in front of our front walk - Larry did a great job getting the overnight snow out of the way.

Bunny is back!

2010-12-14T07:30:00.000-05:00

I hadn't seen any bunny prints so far this year, during earlier snow falls, but this morning, the bunny had clearly visited.

Swimming at the YMCA

2010-12-12T14:45:00.000-05:00

Our friends the Kotzins invited us to swim at the east area YMCA after Sunday school. Cal and Alana fought over the mask.

Glitter nails

2010-12-08T20:30:00.000-05:00

Alana decorated my nails with the kit she got for Hanukkah.

The snow keeps coming!

2010-12-08T09:30:00.003-05:00

This is Wednesday morning and it's not done snowing.

Alana sweeping the deck

2010-12-07T18:30:00.000-05:00

I have no idea why she wanted to do this!

Snow (so far!)

2010-12-07T07:00:00.001-05:00

The Weather Channel said it's been snowing for 72 hours straight. And there's more on the way.

Zhu Zhu pets at BK

2010-12-04T14:45:00.000-05:00

AlanaTown

2010-12-03T22:30:00.000-05:00

Alana created this tableau with new and old toys.

Playing dreidel on the first night of Hanukkah

2010-12-01T20:30:00.001-05:00

Cub scout puppet show

2010-11-30T19:45:00.001-05:00

Romeo and Juliet on the Titanic!! Cal played Romeo and especially enjoyed the sword fight with Paris.

Caleb and Noa

2010-11-26T19:30:00.000-05:00

After Thanksgiving dinner

2010-11-25T21:00:00.001-05:00

Alana on Grandpa's piano

2010-11-24T11:15:00.000-05:00

Cal at NJ hotel

2010-11-23T23:30:00.001-05:00

Shabbaton at Temple Concord

2010-11-20T13:30:00.000-05:00

FIRST SNOW

2010-11-19T07:30:00.002-05:00

Basically just a dusting of frosty rain, but pretty.

Cal's music class

2010-11-08T22:45:00.001-05:00

Harvest Fest bounty

2010-11-06T22:45:00.000-04:00

We were a little more restrained this year than last year.

Sneaker saga, part 2

2010-11-03T23:00:00.000-04:00

On Saturday, we were in the mall for the Borders Halloween party (which was lame), so we took the opportunity to run a few errands, since we don't go to the mall too much. We stopped by Payless, because their BOGO half price sale had just started. I wasn't optimistic, after the last fruitless search, but what do you know - Cal found some shoes he liked! His friend Jake was along with us, and they both assured me that cool shoes are very important in Middle School (without them, you're "nothing"!) The weird part is, Cal found some black high tops, not wide, but size 6 (his size is 4). But they're comfortable and meet the cool test, so everyone is happy.

Halloween

2010-10-31T22:30:00.000-04:00

Both Cal and Joey are Harry Potter!

Alana with her loot afterwards.

Shira Shalom singers

2010-10-29T22:00:00.001-04:00

First performance by Cal and the children's choir at Temple Concord.

2010-10-28T22:30:00.000-04:00

We had such fun checking out all the cool pumpkins here.

If you look closely, you can see Alana crouched down to Caleb's left.

Pirate ship in Auburn

2010-10-24T16:30:00.000-04:00

We managed to get there while he was "closed" but it was still fun to see this.