Happy, happy birthday, Jennifer! Why are you not on the blog calendar? We,re definitely not too old to celebrate. Hoping you have a grand day.

Happy Birthday Jim
I know You have had some tough years, but I will bet this past one ranks right up there. You can celebrate its end as you celebrate a new beginning. I have a feeling 2011 will be one of the good years!

Jim
HAPPY BIRTHDAY
All these years and you still share your birthday with Christmas, what a bummer! Have you ever thought of changing your birth date. It should be a law, for every son or daughter born within three days of Christmas, parents are required to look at the calender and pick a summer day where their child would get the attention. Once your have passed the half century mark it might be better to have a date three days after Christmas(less people notice, who cares anyway). Heck, make the law so your birthday reverts back to its original date on your big 50.

After the gift exchange at our Christmas celebration Vicki thought it might be nice to have a game of Gavett Trivia. She left me in charge of coming up with the questions because she claims she has blocked out the first twenty years of her life. She claims she had an overload of responsibility in aiding and abetting the rearing of her siblings. I didn't quite understand what she meant but she sounded serious so I didn't question her. Getting back to the trivia game; an example of a question and the rules. There will be two main teams divided into two person teams, I will explain the teams at the house, every question will have three clues. Points will be awarded based on how long it takes you to answer the question; 3 points after the first clue, 2 points after the second, 1 point after the third. An example of a question: 1. Early spring was as good a time as any. 2. The earliest blossoms from the railroad tracks were his way of saying "I love you." 3. May 1 st. 1949 was the date it all began. That's an easy set of clues, they do get tougher. Since my clues will tend to be on the earlier side of life I'm welcoming submitted clues pertaining to and from the third generation. Of course, when your clues are given we ask that you refrain from answering them. Please e-mail me with your clues or questions by the end of the evening on Thursday. My e-mail address is bagels97@aol.com. If I get enough questions from the third generation the second generation (mother added) may challenge you.

Happy Birthday, Jim. Hope it's a relaxing, happy day.

A happy belated Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night. I may have heard that somewhere before but with my memory problems I'm allowed to plagiarize, (disability act, enacted May of 2001) look it up if you don't believe me. Anyway getting back to this Christmas thing; Nancy, a few days back you mentioned something about not wanting to be wishy-washy. Again look up the definition of wishy-washy and then look in the mirror. Also, I may have given you more credit than you deserved as to being a part of the second generation. Read my short expose under Vicki's comment about games and gifts. Some of use are smart and courageous enough to let go of the tired old and usher in something new and exciting, (sort of fits in with the end of the old year and fresh start of a new one.) Anyway, do you remember what I was trying to say? Things are getting rough, I thought Christmas was next week, thus I didn't do my shopping yet and now I forgot what I was saying. Well, maybe I'll remember when I see you all Sunday. Good Night

Sounds like everyone on the hill had a Merry day. Andy and Tracie helped us celebrate with gifts, games and dinner. Today they are braving zero windchills to tailgate with friends at the Bill's game.
Connected with the Petula clan through Skype to see what Santa brought. One computer got picture and no sound, the other sound but no pic, but finally we managed to both see and hear them. Isabel's new microphone inspired great renditions of Away in a Manger from Isabel, Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star from Connor and a medley from Dylan. I hear they will be showing home movies from their Christmas Pageant performances next weekend at Mom's.

Merry Christmas to all. Had a great Christmas Eve with the Lupos, Mom, Jim, and Molly. Ham dinner, gifts, games, and relaxing fun. A great morning with just my hubbie and a few phone calls and then up to Mom's for homemade pizza and games with her and Molly. Molly and I got the same game for Christmas - Scrabble Flash - so we'll be practicing our moves. Mom beat me in regular Scrabble, but that's OK, too. I set up my Wii Fit this morning and had fun with that. Even though I wsill always and forever register on the obese scale, it did give my fitness age as 41 - I'm happy. That's it. We've just snuggled in for some sappy Christmas movie. Hope you enjoy the rest of this wonderful day.

Hello Everyone! I just want to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and to also say thank you for the lovely Birthday wishes! I have not been on here in a while, but I do want to wish a Happy Belated-Birthday to all of us December babies!

Happy Birthday, Joe! Seems like we have a lot of late December birthdays - hope yours is peaceful and fun.

Gift exchange for those who bring gifts to exchange (as always) AND a game just for fun.

Happy 60th Birthday mom!!!

I was talking with Skip and he is about as enthusiastic when it comes to gift exchanges as I am, but he has promised to come up with an alternative group game or activity that will get everyone involved. If there are those who really want to exchange gifts I am sure there will also be like minded souls to exchange with. Thank you, everyone who helped with the calendar, I think Mom will really enjoy it.

25 pictures
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I have scanned our old slides and uploaded them to Shutterfly. I can also make anyone who wants a DVD of the photos. You can view them and order any prints you would like at about 10 cents each by clicking on the photo which links to the Gavett photo site.

Speaking of belated...I meant to post a rousing shout to David over the weekend, but then the thought vanished (it's in the genes). Very happy very belated birthday, David.

Just wanted to let everyone know I had a fantastic birthday all thanks to my wonderful mother. She helped watch the kids all day so I could do some shopping for myself and Christmas gifts. I hear she did an excellent job keeping the kids entertained in the car while Nathan changed the tire that blew out while they were driving on the highway. She also did an excellent job taking our Christmas card picture which you will all see soon. Can't wait to see everyone for the holidays!
Deanna

Happy Birthday Deanna (34) - Enjoy your special day

Happy 30th, Alex. Hope today was wonderful for you.

It was nice to see everyone at our post-Thanksgiving meal. Final count 19 attendees with 3 take-outs (force of habit - I guess I don't have to take a count to get funding for this event). I was thinking about Nancy's idea for a gift exchange (with a tie-in to Mom's calendar) and came up with this:
Everyone can come prepared with a small gift to exchange and a story of their most memorable gift. Each person starts out holding their own gift which is handed to the next person at every mention of the word gift. Please let me know what you think.

Thanks everyone for a wonderful meal. We were glad to see you and look forward to the next holiday gathering.

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone and Safe Travel to Mom's. Hope to See you on Friday- and if you think to bring your camera with pictures of things Mom and Dad have made for you I will transfer them to my computer for her Christmas calendar. Thank You

Happy Birthday little Brother. Approaching 50 - seems sooo young to the one looking 60 in the face. Enjoy your youth!

Happy Birthday to Ben. I can't believe how close you are getting to the turn of the century. I'll try calling sometime after the dinner hour, as I'm sure yours will be special.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JESS!!!!
Though belated as it may be...
WOO HOO FOR YOU!

Hi everyone,
Just wanted to say we survived Connor and Izzy's crazy birthday party weekend. We had a great time at the gymnastics party with over 20 kids there. I even decided I was going to be extra ambitious and make the cakes instead of buying this year, inspired by May's delicious wedding cake. I ended up making cupcakes in a princess tower for Izzy and light sabor shaped for Connor. They turned out pretty good, will post pics when I figure out how. I wish we could make the after Thanksgiving party but I took time off for New Years weekend at grandma's instead. Happy Birthday to all the November people. I think this is the biggest birthday month for the Gavetts.

I am digging up potatoes, cooking a vegetable, and hear rumors that Skip is making the rolls.

Happy Birthday Bill. Hope your day is special and includes a good meal. Are you going to be in this part of the state for Thanksgiving? You are invited to the Gavett event on Friday the 26th
From Grandma and Vicki

Happy Birthday to all the Novembers. Sylvia, I hope your party was awesome!! I would have loved to be taking pictures.
Sounds like we might all be sharing a meal the day after Thanksgiving. We are eating at 1:00.
I am bringing veggies and dip.
Jess said she'll make sweet potatoes.
Do y'all want to post what you are bringing?
See ya soon,
Sal

Another year older already - You are making us feel old
Happy Birthday, Sylvia
Aunt Vicki

Sylvia

Happy Birthday!!! What are you doing to celebrate? You and Grandma should do something together. I've heard that only smart people are born in November. Tell your father with every assumption there is an exception.

Happy (belated) Birthday to Jane - I almost got it on the calendar in time!.

Brendan and I broke up tonight. Please don't call me to talk to me about it or console me... I've been though many breakups before and I will handle this just fine. I really DON'T like talking about it. Though we had, in my mind, an awesome relationship, he told me that he "just wasn't feeling it". And I know (better than most) that you can't make someone feel something they just don't.

Mom... FYI, Jess's Birthday is in November also... the 15th ;)

Thanks to everyone for coming and sharing a wonderful afternoon with us! Time flies when you're surrounded by sooo many friends and family, and I definitely didn't get to visit everyone as much as I would have liked to :) So just many, many thanks to everyone!!!!

Click on Sahara on the calendar if you need an address and map to the party. Isabel and I can't wait. (She is spending the week at Grandma and Grandpa's). Today is bulb planting.

Happy Monday! I'm looking forward to seeing everyone this weekend! Thank you to Sahara and Luke for getting married so we have another excuse to get together and have a party!

Fun on the Hudson - The fun started when Mom spotted the Camels on the way to Cairo. Then there was the Applefest pig that jigged to the Macarena. We heard tales from the lady who lived in a lighthouse in the middle of the Hudson, drove to the top of a mountain to see how an artist creates a living landscape, and climbed up to Pratt's rock (Mt. Rushmore wannabe). I think the best pictures, though, are the ones of the pond. On Friday we counted 100 geese and today Mom and I walked through the woods to admire the last colors before we see white.

Happy Anniversary, Ben and Jennifer. What number is this?

Happy Marathoners - 26+ miles and still able to smile.
Tracie achieved her goal of running the distance in under 4 hours while her
boyfriend, Brendan, qualified for the Boston Marathon with a time under 3hrs. 10 min.

Just to let everyone know - I am planning on taking Mom on a mystery bus trip on November 12 for her birthday. I haven't told her, but I want to keep that date open on her calendar. If anybody wants to join us, it is a day trip to parts unknown, holiday-themed, cost $129 through Oneonta Bus Lines. I booked today and they still have seats available.
Hope you're all enjoying the great weather.

Spent a great weekend with the grandkids. Dylan invited me to go with him on his birthday train ride and watching the absolute awe and joy of a two-year-old experiencing one of the highlights of his young life brought back memories of his Uncle Andy's train ride for his own second birthday. Though Andy's ride was followed by a Twinkie treat while Dylan opted for ice cream with sprinkles. Nathan got to celebrate his birthday too when Deanna took him out to dinner (and Penn State won its football game.)

Just an update... I will not be running a marathon this year... my body is not letting me... will try for it again next year :)

Greetings from Northampton, Mass. - the home of Smith College and Calvin Coolidge. Sally and I walked the streets of historic Deerfield (1700's buildings) Wed. and spent yesterday in Boston starting with a bus tour - which we seem to have abandoned half way through to strike out on our own. Highlights were Paul Revere's home, the old North Church and the cemetery dating to the 1600's. I took lots of pictures of the Public Garden with the swan boats (operated for over 100 years by the same family) and the island for ducks that was the inspiration for McCloskey's story, Make Way for Ducklings. Next time we eat lobster rolls at Quincy Market! Jess gave us some good directions for getting around, though using the train system was still an adventure, esp. when Sally lost her all-day pass and tried to get through the turnstile on mine.
Scrabble score: 2 games Sal, 1 game Vicki

Hey Vicki!

My birthday is not on the calendar! lol... its on December 22... wink wink... haha

Happy Belated Birthday Tracie!

Happy Birthday Molly!

Happy Birthday to all the September babies!!

Happy birthday Tracy. Boy, time flies, not long ago you ad Deanna and me were dancing at your place in Oneanta when you all were little tykes.
Your favorite uncle Cristobal, "Cris".

ess: first time here-I played golf with Al and Toby. Al played superior , 4 0ver par for a 76, frantastico.I also had my best round of the year. Toby played average, 84.
Aex made me feel good staying there aren't many sons that play an afternoon of great golf with there Pa.

Happy Birthday Tracie!

Today was my first day as a clinical intern at Northcharles Institute for the Addictions (aka: the meth clinic). It was an incredible day..which began with me biking 6 miles to the placement in slacks, and my converses of course. I was welcomed by extremely warm and friendly staff and a ridiculous amount of mtgs, of which I will be doing my own rounds in as early as next week! I'm will be building up to carrying a caseload of 8 opiate dependent clients and co-facilitating 3 groups. I'm extremely excited and a little anxious, but for the first time my anxiety is unaccompanied with paralyzing fear..which is huge :) Hope you are enjoying the start of the school year as well for all the teachers out there- there sure are a lot of you! Jess

Hi all,
Hope your first days of school have been a lot of fun for teachers and students alike.
Happy Birthday to all the September partiers! (love that calendar).
Enjoyed the last I think, celebration for Toby's wedding, a cocktail party at Mere's Mom's house.
We met many of the people the boys have talked about caddying for over the last 10 years.
Alex spent the night networking as usual, wish I was as good at it.
Monday Cris and I drove to Saratoga to the raceway to meet up with some friends. He has wanted to visit ther for years. It is a unique place in that they try to cater to families. You can bring your chairs and a picnic in. There is entertainment along with the racing. We had a really nice day.
Yesterday I got a job selling for a studio in Westport, the job doesn't actually start until Nov. 1st.
In the meantime, I am creating small niche web sites for a $975.00 4-hour photography service.
So far I have published the first one, purpleunionphotography.com. This caters to the gay and lesbian community, where much of my event business is coming from. To advertize I set up free links on related sites.
Now I need to hit the garden. We are not getting rain and so I water every day. We have a new crop of cukes and lettuce. I just planted carrots, scallions, broccoli, cauliflower and peas.
Still picking and canning tomatoes, frying up lots of eggplant with more coming on. New beans blossoming along with pie pumpkins. Tomatillas are loaded so I have been making verde sauce for Cris' enchiladas.
Our biggest crop is acorns, more than I have ever seen. I try not to park under the trees???
Bye for now

Best wishes to all of our educators as you return to school (yes, you Connecticut folk have been back). Hope the year goes well and that we can touch some lives. Vicki, do you retirees go out for breakfast and watch the schoolbuses roll by? That's what I'll do when I'm old enough.

Tracie ran a hometown half marathon, 13 miles in 110 minutes, this weekend in preparation for the big event - a full 26 miler on Oct. 3 between Bath and Corning. I managed to walk about 4 miles during her run. No medal for me.

Just to spread the word - I got my test results from the doctor today and was given a clean bill of health, no further procedures required. I'm smilin'.

Joe, it's nice to hear you go by - it means you're getting paid (I hope).

Sahara and Luke's Wedding

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Toby and Mere

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To Mr. Luke and Mrs. Sahara Lupo;

I just wanted to wish you both congratulations on your wedding! Luke, welcome to the family! I hope you both enjoy your new life together and I pray for a fruitful and happy life for you both!

I do want to apologize for not making it to the wedding... Since the accident, I have been out of work and have been anticipating the time we started to repair my truck so that I could work with the mechanics and make a little money for Jen and myself until the truck is finished and I can get back on the open road... I was planning all along to make the wedding with Jen and Molly, but we started the repair project on friday and it carried through this entire weekend, and I have to be back up to the shop by 7am again tomorrow so that work on the truck can continue to be done... do to my absence I asked Jen to give my love and best wishes to you both...

I do look forward to the post wedding party so that I can congratulate you both in person! Maybe we can get a group photo of you both with Jen and me as the two of three newly weds in the Gavett family.

Well thats all for now... But Congrats on your special day!

Love;
Joe

Thanks to all
who made the haul
to Niagara Falls!

(Thought you'd like the rhyming, hahaha....!)

Luke and I enjoyed sharing our special day with you... the weather was beautiful and it was lovely to be surrounded by friends and family. Can't wait to enjoy the reception with everybody! I've got a party to plan! :) Thanks again and much love to all!

Hi Everyone,
We had a pretty exciting day at our house as far as days go here so I thought I would fill you all in. First Connor crossed the monkey bars by himself for the first time twice. Then I cleaned the twin's old little potty and Dylan was so excited to have his own little potty that he pooed 4 times right in a row just so he could be the one to empty it into the big potty and flush. One time he missed the potty he was so excited. Then Isabel decided today would be the day she learned how to ride her bike without training wheels. By the end of the day she was riding up and down the sidewalk. I was very proud of her and she was proud of herself. The only hard part was explaining to her that she can be proud of herself without specifically pointing out to all of the other kids in the neighborhood (including her brother) that she can ride a bike without training wheels and they can't. And last but not least Nathan went to a car dealership in Lebanon, PA today and I told him not to bother coming home unless he is driving a new car. They supposedly have the car he wants but he is not home yet so we will see. I hope everyone heading to the wedding this weekend has a great time. I really wish we could be there!

Hey Everyone~!

First off, Congratulations to Toby and Meredith~! Sorry we missed your big celebration but heard it was a wonderful time. Enjoy the married life. I have to say it gets better everyday~! We wish you much happiness~!

I also wanted to take this time to apologize for not making the last few events~! Life has been a whirl-wind around here. I lost my job in December and took that time to look for a job that better suited me, Luckily I found one at SUNY Brockport, teaching preschool and UPK~! Bill's business has been picking up like crazy. Every time he finished a project, someone else needs him. Right now he is finishing up is last big project for a while~! Woohoo~! Good news though.... He applied to Grad school at the UofR and we are waiting to hear the news about that. Believe it or not, life will be slowing down when he starts school, so we are hoping to make it to more events.... We will be seeing some of you this weekend for the big day~!

I think I could yap on forever but Ill go for now. Hope this finds you all well and cant wait to see everyone this weekend~!

Hey everyone,
Just wanted to say we had a really great weekend visiting with everyone and celebrating Toby and Mar's marriage. It was so nice having Bri and Molly around to help out with the kids too. It was a long trip home becausse of tons of construction on 81 but we made it home by 5PM which gave us plenty of time to locate and clean all of the cat puke, poo, and pee located at various locations around the house. We were looking forward to picking up Nathan's new car today but he got a call from the dealership saying it was mistakenly sold to someone else over the weekend. Nathan is pretty mad since it was aparently the only dark blue manual shift Jetta wagon in the north east. I think now he has decided to try to get a salvage title and get his old car fixed instead. Tonight he decided to spend some time trying to located the nearest "micro" pot bellied pig dealer so it is good to see he has moved on to focusing his energy on more practical matters. So that is the news here. Sahara, Nancy and James we hope you all have a wonderful wedding weekend. I wish we could be there but am sure someone will take lots of pictures for us. We look forward to seeing everyone again in the fall!
Deanna

Hello everybody!

I am not sure if everyone has heard by now but I will take some time to let everyone know the latest news...

I was involved in an accident early Monday morning around 5:15am. I was driving on the Long Island Expressway (495) heading east when I came around a blind bend in the right most lane, I hit 2 parked cars in the right lane. There was a tractor trailer in the middle lane to my left and another to his left in the fast lane. I was doing 50mph which is the speed limit for tractor trailers on the expressway. I came around the blind bend with no warning from the radio or on the C.B. radio, and by the time I was able to see the 2 vehicles I was only 100-150 feet away from them. With no out to my left I stood on my brake pedal and began to fishtail... to prevent going to my left and hitting the trucks I steered the truck into the right concrete wall. I hit the pickup truck which then was pushed into the car in front of it. My truck then ricocheted off the right wall and then t-boned the center concrete wall separating the west bound and east bound traffic. The little pickup truck caught on fire and the small car had its rear bumper and trunk smashed. The two men were able to jump over the right wall onto the grass for safety. I was the only person injured, but I was able to walk away with minor injuries to my neck, lower back, and left arm. Come to find out that one of the two men owned both vehicles and that they were illegally parked. They were stopped there to change a flat tire when the next exit was only 200 feet away. Because the two men were illegally park and did not provide sufficient warning, I was found NOT at fault and to my knowledge they were charged with the fault of the accident. Nobody was hurt besides me, but both vehicles were totaled and my truck suffered severe damage but is savable to be put back on the road once the proper repairs are made.

I am home now, resting under doctors orders, but I am only out of commission for this week and should be able to return back to work come Monday.

Family news - Sonja made it safely back to CA, though not without a hassle at the Syracuse airport. I guess she was unlucky enough to be "helped" by an agent-in-training.

Mom is still picking blueberries everyday. It's a good thing Nancy has a big freezer too.

Skip was ushered quickly out of the hospital after last week's surgery and doing better after a rough weekend. They decided he was ready to go home - without taking into consideration that it might be more difficult to navigate on crutches than it is for most people. He was looking OK though - and doing well enough for a cart ride around the property. His pears trees are bending under the weight of abundant fruit. I tried to help him out by taking a few bags of pears, hot peppers, zucchini, squash and tomatoes.

Sahara's bachelorette party was this weekend. Haven't heard much about it but I guess there is probably a reason for that.

Gearing up for Toby's big post-wedding party this weekend. I made cookies and cinnamon rolls - hope I remember to bring them.

Hey ho!

Anybody have an address for one Mr. Alex Alvarez? Thanks!

Sahara

The link to Cheryl's obituary is below - Leave a message to the family at:
www.dufresnefuneralhome.com


Cheryl A. Savaria

Hello everyone!

Despite being very tired and literally falling asleep while I am trying to write this post, but I feel like enlightening the family with a little update from this end...

I started my new trucking job on Monday this week. Monday I picked up garbage in Long Island, Tuesday in Canaan, NY near Albany, Wednesday through Friday in Long Island... I clocked a little over 3,300 miles this week averaging 103,000 lbs (average 32 ton of garbage). It was a successful week and my boss is happy for my hard work on my first week. I pushed myself hard so I could prove to my boss the type of driver they have hired. I averaged only 3-4 hours of sleep per night so that I could make my timing perfect for both my pickup and deliveries. I only had to pickup a load Friday morning because I had to report to a garage near Walton on 206 to have my A/C looked at. Then Saturday morning Jen and I went up to Seneca Falls to dump the load. When we got back I dropped Jen off at the house and went up to Donny's shop to help him work on some problems... I didn't get home until 7:30 last night then I was back up there 8 this morning to finish up on some more maintenance issues until 12... now its time to relax, shower, get some chow, then off to bed before I have to get back to work at 2am...

With how successful this first week went and with the financial upgrade, Jen and I will now be able to save and prepare for our future family and endeavors...

I hope everyone is having a blessed day and everyone at the Gavett/Spencer household sends out there love and prayers!

From Skip: Enjoyed not having to drive to a Gavett event. We appreciate everyone driving the distance to get here. This was the first time in ten years of our graduations, anniversaries, weddings, ect. that we haven't been rained on. What a beautiful day to host such a wonderful family; all enjoying each others company. Even though Mom is the GRAND MATRIARCH of our clan I found it quite fitting that our first anniversary get together was on Dad's birthday. All that was missing was his maraschino cherry birthday cake. Jane, I, and our kids, with their spouses, thank everyone for their help in making it a perfect day. We are sorry Jim and Sally were unable to attend and missed their company. Hopefully this is the first of many reunions.
August 5, 2010 9:07 PM

Apparently, there are some who remain out of the loop. I am sorry to pass on the news that Bob and May's daughter Cheryl passed away last week. She fought hard. Jim, you may or may not know that Denny DuMond lost his son in a diving accident last weekend. That's all from me.

Gavett Gathering July 2010

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Thanks Skip, Jane, and family. The Reunion was just what I hoped for - an opportunity to chat and watch the kids get to know each other. I enjoyed every minute and appreciate everybody's contributions. I'm all for making it an annual thing.

Paul"s Grad Party

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Hi All,
I believe Aunt Sal is ordering tickets for the demo derby for the friday before Toby's party. If you're interested... let her know ASAP! Tickets are $6 and they are assigned seats. Derby starts at 7pm.

Hello everyone!

I have some news updates that I thought I would share with my new family...

The new job opportunity that I have been patiently, yet anxiously, fighting for has finally come to be. I called in at my previous job Friday morning so that I could take a load opportunity that would offer me some more seat time under a full load and in the truck in general. My new boss (Don Tweedie) and I left early in the morning at 2:30 for Long Island, NY. We arrived at our destination at 5:45 AM in Hempstead, NY. We had to wait four hours before we even started to get loaded and then it took an hour just to get loaded. So by the time we were able to leave there, we would not be able to make the dump in Seneca Falls, NY in time before they closed for the day. So Don and I decided to proceed back to Walton for the night. Saturday morning we left at 5:30 for Seneca Falls, dumped the load and then cam back home to Walton. After I helped Donnie fix a couple problems on the truck and trailer, I finished filling out my logs and took my paperwork and logs up to Donnies house. While Donnies wife Lynn was taking care of my paperwork, Lynn asked me if I knew anything more about if I have the job or not... I told her that I didn't but it would be nice to know so that I could start making the necessary preparations. Thats when Donnie came up and asked me when I wanted to start the job... and with a short discussion, it was decided that I will start my new trucking job on Monday, August 2nd. I am very happy and relieved about the news and Molly, Jen and Jim are excited as well. I do want to thank everyone who offered prayers and support for me and this opportunity.

Ok now... enough with that... Jen and I will be joining Gram and Molly this Saturday for the Gavett family reunion... I do apologize that Jen and I missed the Thompson reunion a couple weeks ago because we had to help my dad and mom with moving stuff into storage... due to my dads health problems, he and my mom could not have done it themselves.

As a little side note... we took Molly up to the little animal farm on upper East Brook today to see the 3 week old baby kittens... while we were there I was talking to the lady who owns the place and found out that they offer horse rides along with horse riding lessons if necessary. I told the lady that I have never been on a horse in my life and that it has been my life long dream to do. Well thats when she made me get on the horse and gave me a quick ride (while Molly and Jen were watching)... so I did have an amazing time and was like a little kid on Christmas morning... I am definitely going to take some lessons now!!! hahaha...

Well so long for now!

It was a nice few days with Deanna and kids, Sonja, Sally and Mom at the pond. We had a good time in spite of the weather - though a little sunshine might have turned good into great. The kids had fun on Sally's new "beach" and Dylan is a definite fan of the golf cart. Isabel came home with grandma while the boys spent the night with their Mom and Dad in a hotel with Binghamton. She is very proud of her first sleepover experience!

Hola.

Exciting news from the land out east...I harvested about a pound of spinach from my garden today! It was so exciting. I also picked one cucumber and a green pepper (well, i touched it and accidently broke it off - its a lil' guy). And theres a baby eggplant on its way. After not checking on it for three weeks I thought for sure I was done with this whole gardening thing, but nope, the tarp for the weeds and the community watering schedule is keeping it alive :)

Hope the summer is treating everyone well..
How are all your gardens doing? Trace...?

I'm having a good time, swimming two or three times a day (or night). The moon in waxing, the water sublime!
Vicki and I were swimming the other night when we had a delightful surprise. I heard Canadian geese flying towards the pond. The eight birds were directly over my head when three decided to lower their landing gears. They could see the glow of the moon on Vicki's silver hair and hear my stealthy. Up they lifted to complete the others' V. Vicki was worried about possible aerial bombardments. They circled three times, waiting for the populace to vacate their abode. All 8 finally lit on the side of the pond and silently passed into the night. Animal sightings on the hill so far:
One red fox, one yearling deer, a black duck with five little ones, 8 Canada geese and 5 young partridges.
Tally Ho -
Sonja

So here is the update... please spread the word to all who are not on the blog!
The wedding will be held on Saturday, August 28th, 2010 at 12PM at Niagara Falls. Everyone is invited to that, though it is short notice and a long distance. If you're close or don't mind to travel, we'd love to see you there! We will be having a reception on Saturday, October 23rd, 2010 at 12PM at the Rainbow Lodge in Walton, which I expect a few more of you to be able to make it to... :) There are some very pretty invitations that will be coming out shortly! Ask if you have any questions, or for more details about Niagara Falls! Hope everyone is having a wonderful week! :)

Well, after giving Gram her due time to spread the news via the olden-days of phone gossip, I am now ready to post... that Luke and I got engaged on my birthday! Probably most of you have already heard, but I thought Gram was feeling left out of this new-fangled gossip loop :) But that is all, quite exciting....! Luke and I are both extremely happy... Have a great day!

Alright, here it is, for all those who have been long awaiting my first post..

The Meredith Moody - Toby Alvarez destination wedding is off to a spectacular start. I started the day meeting the boys and Mere's brother in law for a trip on a speedboat for the bachelor party. We went wakeboarding - which was soooo much fun - any guesses who got up the quickest?? yup, you got it, your's truly; and my brothers weren't even going to let me try because they said it was too hard and I wouldn't be able to do it. Bad decision making letting Alex drive the boat - i was on the tube and he decided to pull a hard and fast u-turn while I was on the tube - tossing me in the air off the tube - mildly scary, but fun. We arrived at the Mountain Top Inn and Resort to find that we were upgraded from a rustic 2 bedroom cabin to a luxury cabin with 7 beds, jacuzzi tubs, and steam showers! Crazy - Alex and I were running around like small children when we first got here. Gram says, "the house is beautiful and I have my own bedroom, living room, bath, and kitchen, but i'm being spoiled too much, I miss home." Merediths family is staying across the dirt road in what looks like a multimillion dollar mansion - its pretty insane. Last night, we had a lobster/clam bake over at their place outside overlooking the lake and mountains. We played ladder ball, which they insisted on calling "lawn golf." -what is that?!
We played some washer toss, and had a fire with smores. Everyone was fascinated by the idea of making smores - it was pretty funny. I think they ordered the, "s'mores package" - it was probably $500 - and leave it up to my father to use the wooden s'mores stick to try to get the fire started - Mere's mom was freakin out, hah. It was a nice little evening - everyone looked fabulous in our "nantucket-esque" outfits. Ooooh, and there was a surprise slideshow that was awesome - Molly even made an appearance dancing w/Toby at Bills wedding - super cute.

Today's the big day. The boys are out playing golf this morning. We're hosting a barbeque for lunch and then we're off to wedding. More details to come...

Haven't heard to the contrary so I assume Sonja made it "home" and is with Nancy today. Welcome back Sonja, ENJOY - the pond is warm and the blueberries are ready to eat.

Happy Birthday to Sahara today!!

I enjoy visiting with my uncles for the stories they tell - and last Saturday was interesting as usual. I just wish I could tell them the way they do. Dug finally got a visit from the building inspector and had to confess he didn't have a building permit for the new house he built. After much discussion he offered to bulldoze and level the whole thing, but reminded the inspector what a tax loss that would be. After the inspector decided to "work with him" on it, he did apply and decided to get a permit for a garage at the same time, when they offered a deal price for both. The required architectural drawings were only in Dug's head so they had to "work with him" on that also. Of course, what they don't know is that neither building will be finished to the point of being taxable anytime in the near future, but I guess they didn't ask for a projected finish date.

Mike had a story from a telephone call to their stove pellet plant that morning. They have been selling pellets for animal bedding. A geezer called and said that his horses weren't eating the pellets. Mike was a bit confused so just said "That's good." The man said, "You don't understand, they really won't eat them at all. Mike finally got it and said, "They are not supposed to eat them, they are supposed to piss on them. The pellets are bedding." "Oh" - end of call.

Rural humor

Just hear about an interesting program for the quilting members of the family. It is a program called quilt for kids sponsored by Downy which supplies quilts for hospitalized kids. Go to www.quiltsforkids.org/volunteer and click on order a kit. You get the squares and backing to create a quilt (you need to supply batting) and send the quilt back to them - they request the quilt be finished within 6 weeks. If you have a quilting group you can order multiple kits.

Hi Family,
I'm catching up on anything I can do from my bed in front of the AC.
1-Invites to a super celebration.
2-Paul's party pics (such a great party!)

Just a note for Gavetts only about our party.
I NEED ALL THE HELP I CAN GET!
Jen, I will give you a call about dishes, etc.
Food, we are ordering chicken.
Vicki is bringing baby potatoes for salt, also is doing breakfast breads.
Nanc is making tortellini salad.
We need items that will hold up in hot weather.
Need volunteers for other things as well. (like manning the DJ set-up.)

8 days and they'll be hitched----yeah!!

It was great reading all the July 4th updates. We had a fun time here with some friends in from out of town and hosted a picnic. Of course Nancy's cabbage salad was the biggest hit. We are just starting a heat wave here. 100 degrees plus for the next week. This means it was a really bad time for our air conditioner AND water heater to break last night. Luckily a guy was able to come out today and fix everything and the temp in the house didn't get above 88 degrees. Now Dylan has a fever so good thing at least the house is cool. Other news, Dylan got all of his adorable curls cut off Friday and really looks like a big boy now. Looking forward to seeing everyone soon.

Gosh, I can't get on this blog every day like you mom! Yes, I was at Jess's for the 4th.... saw her newly painted and decorated room and was VERY impressed! AND THEN she took us to her garden plot in the community garden and was EVEN MORE IMPRESSED as she had the nicest plot in the whole garden despite being in the shade! "My mommy taught me well" was her explanation :)

We also made it to a Red Sox game Saturday night, and went to a concert of the famous "Boston Pops" with special guest Toby Keith for the 4th. Oh and the fireworks extravaganza certainly was something, even though we were on the wrong side of the trees...

Thanks for an awesome weekend Jess! I look forward to seeing everyone for the reunion next weekend! (Though I might be a little late since I have a race in Utica that morning... definitely looking forward to a swim in the pond also!)

A nice, relaxing Fourth here on the hill. The water is warming up after the cold spell we had, but the bottom layers are still refreshing. The gardens and lawn are very dry - wer're just trying to keep the veggies alive. I finally got the trail partially groomed today - I'll go out again maybe tomorrow. I'm not cutting wood this year so I am having a tough time getting in a groove - no focus. But maybe that is what vacation is supposed to be? That's it for me. Have a great week.

Hello everyone! I guess that now Jen and I are now married I am apart of this family... so I can share some news when available! Haha...

Well the Gavett/Spencer front down on North Street is going well... this past June 28th was 2 months at my current job and that is a blessing in itself! However that may be, I do have another strong opportunity flirting with me now. Don Tweedie located on upper East Brook, near the horse farm/across the Buffalo farm, is looking to hire me to drive tractor-trailer for him. Jen and Jim are really pushing me to follow my heart and go for what makes me happy. I have gone on 3 ride-alongs thus far, with 2 of them I did a considerate amount of driving. The plus side of this opportunity I will be making with 1 load a day for 5 days (Mon-Fri) close to the same amount of money that I would make in 2 weeks at my current job. A lot like my current job I will not be provided health insurance, but I will make enough money to pay the bills, put money away, and get insurance for Jen and myself. The only possible down side to the job will be possibly not making it home every night, however that may be, I will have every weekend off.

Jen, Molly, and Jim have been offering up many prayers along with constant support with the hopes of me landing this potential job opportunity. I would welcome any prayers from anyone who wishes to take the time to say one. I know I am praying for this opportunity to happen.

Well thats enough for my first blog! haha... I hope everyone is having a wonderful and relaxing 4th of July!!

For some reason the "new post" part of the blog wouldn't work, but I found a setting to use the "old editor". I am thinking maybe others were having the same problem as there haven't been any recent posts. I talked with Mom and she enjoyed reading the blog on Jim's computer. Molly liked knowing she was mentioned too - even if it was for a broken arm!

Mom tells me Sonja and Lindly are spending the holiday in Lake Tahoe (with dogs I am sure.)

Tracie is visiting Jesse for a Boston 4th and I am enjoying my new patio with a good book.

Sally is making plans for Toby's party and will be sending out invites for a head count soon. She is going to send me some pictures of Paul's special event for posting. Supposedly, she has proof that Skip was able to navigate a steep hillside and cross a stream on crutches three weeks after his back operation.

Mom says her blueberries are already ripening - can't wait so I plan to go raid Skip's bushes tomorrow.

Hope everyone is enjoying the beautiful weather and wishing I was by the pond, though I will be in a week or so and it should be all warmed up for me by then.

This Grandma and Grandpa had an enjoyable weekend with such enthusiastic guests.  I am sorry the time was cut short, but those 3 Petula kids can pack a lot into a couple of days.  Dylan showed off his new potty skills and we were all duly impressed.  Tracie worked the grill for some good meals and we managed a couple of walks and a couple of movies.  I almost beat her at a game of mini golf, but we were rained out after 9 holes.  The raspberries are ready so it has been a picking, eating and freezing day

It sounds like everyone had a fun, exciting and eventful weekend! The kids and I had a great trip to grandma and grandpa's farm with aunt Tracie too. I think all of the raspberry picking, tractor driving, egg gathering and fish feeding was a little much for Izzy though. She got a fever on Sunday and we had to cut our trip a little short and return home Monday morning. We are already getting excited for our next visit though. Right now our plans are GG's house July 21-23 for some pond swimming, then off to grandma's for the week and Skips the 31st for the big Gavett gathering. We can't wait to see everyone! One quick story from our car ride (for you Jess), we were driving and it started to rain. Isabel said, that's okay because cars can get wet right? I said, yes with rain but they can't drive through lakes or anything like that. Connor said, yeah but they can go in the car pool. Hope everyone has a great week!

What a busy weekend! The Gay reunion went off very well. Mom made cinnamon rolls for early arrivals, and we nearly had a cat fight over the leftovers. The food was good and southern, the people happy and loud. I think they were all gone or in bed around midnight.
Sunday morning flew by and it was soon time to send James to the airport with Tina and Payton, then get to Paul's graduation party. And that was some party! Jennifer, you really should be an events planner - you know what appeals. The grounds looked nice with the different colored lilies and the promise of a bonfire looming overhead. The food was colorful and tasty - the most tender roast beef I can remember. Young and old alike enjoyed the walk in the woods - I would do it again, even knowing all the answers. I think I'm hanging a mirror of my own, anyway. If this makes the rest of your curious, just ask Paul the next time you see him. To top off the evening, the best fireworks display I've seen in awhile. I nearly fell asleep driving over, but was wide awake and revitalized for the drive home. Congratulations, Paul, and thanks for the invitation.
Now I am off to a 2-day math class at Norwich and spending the night with Sahara. Have a great week.

It's official!  Paul graduated from high school today - Advanced Regents Diploma with Honors.  He received a couple of scholarship awards too!  Right now he's enjoying a relay of graduation parties while Ben and I cook up the offerings for his party tomorrow and keep our fingers crossed for good weather.  So glad we'll be seeing many of you and sorry to be missing those that can't make it - but we'll catch up later in the summer.

News from the hill: Molly broke her arm (Again). Gets the cast on next week. Thats a bummer for the summer.

Did everyone feel the Earthquake!? That was exciting!!! Good thing I was in CA when the last one hit so I knew what one felt like...

I tried this yesterday, but I guess I was just able to review and not post. This time should work. This week is incredibly busy, finishing school, hosting the Gay family reunion, having James' daughter and granddaughter here for the weekend, celebrating Paul's graduation...summer is off to a grand start!

I did not have my surgery because I was having trouble with my blood. I'll see the doctor again on Monday and make a new plan. Thanks for all your thoughts and prayers.

Good Afternoon dear fam o' mine!
Here's my news: four more days of school until the lovely summer break I've been waiting for, and I got accepted to an on-line grad school program through Boston University for Music Education, which I will be starting July 6th. Now Jess and I will both have our Masters' through Boston :) I think that's all... See some of you at Paul's grad party and some of you at the reunion! :) Peace out cub scouts!

Vicki's Summer Fun Mystery Trip? Just noticed it on the calendar... wondering what it was and who's invited... Should I be saving money? finding a dog sitter?

 Deanna.gets the honors for creating the first post.(Tracie and Jess and Jennifer for comments)

 Just talked with Mom/Grandma and she is excited about eating grilled avocados at Paul's party and wondering what to put in the time capsule.

Father's Day:  Molly orchestrated a surprise Father's Day dinner for Jim, enlisting her Grandmother's kitchen, potato salad and homemade rolls. She assigned Jen the rest of the dinner.
Nathan got an impressive photo book created by Deanna, Cris had an evening of fishing with family and Ted feasted on pudding-filled cake with strawberries and whipped cream.

Tracie came in first in her age group in a recent race and was motivated to buy new sneakers and start thinking Marathon!

Jim and I had a large black bear cross the road in front of my car on 206 last week - I stopped and Jim got out to make friends, but the guy seemed to be looking for a different species.  Of course my camera was in the back seat.

Jen, Joe and Molly rescued a baby fawn from the pond with the paddle boat - it had fallen in and found it could swim, but couldn't get back up the bank.

Skip and Jane are traveling via train to Chicago so he can meet his new granddaughter.  

See Jen Gavett's, now Jen Spencer's wedding pictures here.

I recently made a website for the aquaculture assoc., created a powerpoint for the class he is teaching and published his book.  ( Incentive for Ted to build me a sunporch - we each use our different talents).
Scroll down to read more from other family members.

Hi Everyone,
Can't say I have ever "blogged" but I am really excited about this. I will enjoy hearing what everyone is up to first hand. Happy fathers day to all of the Gavett dads. I can't wait to see everyone in July and August!
Deanna

Let's Blog

Keep the family updated about the important events in your life - or your thoughts, words of wisdom, memories, hopes whatever you want to share. 

Congratulations to Paul on his graduation from High School and plans to attend SUNY Albany.