In the duration of 4 days we have gone from snow
and ice on the pond.
to no snow and ice and blooming crocus.
Spring, finally.
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Alphabet Stories from Pre-school
Each day at pre-school the kids learn and practice letters of the alphabet. Wednesday night at dinner I asked Eric how school was. Eric said “Not good – we did the letter Y. It’s not for me”. Apparently he had problems drawing his Y’s.
Friday when queried about school he said “Yahoo! Dad – guess what? We did the letter Z and we are done with the letters”. Kathryn reminded him that now they move on to the numbers. “Oh yeah”, Eric said in a lowered voice.
I think Eric was under the impression that once done with the alphabet he was done with school as he told Kathryn he was skipping kindergarten. “Oh”, she said, “you are going right to 1st grade?” Eric replied, “No, I am skipping them all”.
Eric’s Power Rangers
Playing Power Rangers is one of Erics favorite games. He has male, female, all sorts of colors and special powers. Here are some of them on display.
Ballet for Pre-Schoolers
A few weeks ago, on a Friday, Kathryn picked up Eric and Trevor from preschool. Driving home, Eric says, very calm and serious, “I’m not going to school on Monday, Momma.. I am going to stay home and take care of you, because you are not over your cold yet.” Kathryn thanked him for his concern. How sweet, she thought.
Then Trevor says, again very calm and serious, “Yeah, and I am not going to school on Monday either. I have lots of chores to do at home.”
At that point Kathryn knew something was up and said “Then you boys will miss the field trip your class is taking on Monday.”
In a voice an adult would reserve for discussing something like the preparations for having a colonoscopy, Eric says “That’s ballet! I hate ballet!” Trevor adds in that voice little boys use when discussing anything feminine “Yeah, ballet is for girls!”
Over the weekend we talked to them about keeping an open-mind, and how some ballet moves look like Power Ranger moves. It seems Eric thought he would have to DO ballet and not just watch it. The boys went to see Aladdin and allowed afterwards that it was pretty good.
Canoe Trips Planned for 2008
During the winter we brain stormed ideas on potential canoe trips to include:
- May 1-4 Delaware River 4 days / 3 nights Port Jarvis (Mile 255) to Portland (Mile 207) or Phillipsburg (Mile 184)
- Fawn Lake – Needs scouting trip. Fawn Lake also has Lake Trout, smallmouth bass and pickerel. Fawn Lake can be reached via a 1/4 mile hike.
- Fall Stream to Vly Lake
- Hudson River – from Newcombe (Rich Lake or Harris Lake) access to Gooley Club at the junction of the Indian River spending 1 overnight at Cedar River junction
- Indian River (needs further research) – The Indian River Canoe Route begins in Antwerp, NY and runs north extending more than 100 miles with some minor interruptions and portages until it reaches Rossie in St. Lawrence County. The route takes paddlers on a scenic and slow paced trip which offers campsites and parks along the way. Paddlers can also try their luck at fishing for small-mouth bass and northern pike. Map
- Fish Creek
- Mohawk River (evening trip) from Oriskany to Utica
- Bazine River Canada late August
- Algonquin Park Sept 13-15
Living in Holland Patent
Demographic data for living here.
|
Statistic |
Holland Patent |
Oneida County |
NY State |
|
High School |
22% |
21% |
19% |
|
Some College |
14% |
12% |
10% |
|
Bachelors Degree |
9% |
8% |
11% |
|
Graduate Degree |
6% |
5% |
8% |
|
No. of Households |
1,389 |
91,787 |
7,156,765 |
|
% of Households with Children |
38% |
32% |
34% |
|
% of Households with No Children |
62% |
68% |
66% |
|
Avg No. of People in Household |
2.61 |
2.39 |
2.62 |
|
Median Household Income |
$51,123 |
$39,369 |
$47,658 |
|
Median Household Net Worth |
$46,114 |
$39,276 |
$40,591 |
|
Total Crime Index |
3 |
33 |
67 |
|
Annual Precipitation (Index) |
50.85 |
N/A |
N/A |
|
Total Population |
3,646 |
234,252 |
19,348,846 |
|
Male |
50% |
50% |
48% |
|
Female |
50% |
50% |
52% |
|
Median Age |
38.7 |
38.6 |
36.4 |
|
Caucasian |
98% |
90% |
67% |
|
Black |
1% |
6% |
16% |
|
American-Indian |
0% |
0% |
0% |
|
Asian |
0% |
1% |
7% |
|
Other |
0% |
1% |
7% |
|
Hispanic |
1% |
4% |
17% |
|
Non-Hispanic |
99% |
96% |
83% |
April Fools Dinner
It has been a family tradition to celebrate April Fool’s Day with the kids by having a “crazy dinner”. We dress up weird, eat our meal in reverse order (dessert 1st), and use kitchen utensils instead of normal silverware. For a 5 year old boy this is one notch below Christmas as a holiday and at least as fun as a someone’s birthday.
Jello is the perfect food to hone your kitchen utensil eating skills.
Our second course was, can you guess?, of course, spaghetti.
A good time was experienced by all. Afterwards we took a short walk. Nothing beats stomping in the puddles after an April Fool’s Dinner.
Kathryn shows off her dinner attire.
Sledding
This past weekend (29/30 March) we still had considerable snow. It was a little depressing coming back from Melbourne, FL to arrive in Syracuse and see the ground covered with snow. There was relatively little snow until I left Route 365 and proceeded up our hill. We still had a lot of snow. Kathryn went skiing on Saturday and Eric and I went sledding on Sunday.
The temperatures climbed into the low 40s in the afternoon. I cut up the limb of our shad tree that was blown down during the week.
We saw a big (red-tailed?) hawk circling above our house taking advantage of the warm winds.
Eric’s 1st SU Game
Kathryn and I have been going to Syracuse basketball games for the past 3-4 years as we share season tickets with 4 others. Eric has expressed an increasing awareness and interest in the fate of Syracuse basketball. Last year we took him to a couple of Holland Patent High School basketball games, but, of course, it just isn’t the same spectacle.
Last night we took Eric to the Syracuse vs. Maryland NIT game which Syracuse won 88-72. We chose this game because we could get extra tickets, there is no alcohol sold at the NIT games and the schedule permitted a pre-game nap. We were joined by friends Skip & Bob and nephews Mark & Matt who are shown below.
He enjoyed the whole affair: pizza and a soda,
watching the cheerleaders, looking at fans with orange wigs, and he paid special attention to Otto the Orange. He hollered and cheered during the game. A good time for a 5 year old.
Rochester Crew
Dad’s skin looks really good, the best in a long time. Kathryn took him in to have casts made so they can make new legs. The prosthesis lady is making these a little different since he is really not able to walk anymore and needs the legs more to stand/pivot. He should get them next week. He is really really looking forward to it. The transfer board is hard for him. Even with his legs, he is much more wobbly than he ever was. He has probably lost some strength by not being able to exercise/walk. Still, he is eating good (his blood sugars are great) and sociable as ever.
Ed & Izzabella followed Kathryn and Eric out on Sunday and spend the day before returning home. A group shot is below.
