Back to the Lake

After the kids have been away for 8 months, they have returned to the lake for Memorial Day weekend. We really enjoy being able to all be together as a family again, living in our cottage with my folks and Gram McEntee.


Today, Pap Pap took the kids out and showed them how to row the boat. Liam took to it quite well. Gillian and Tristy also took a try and enjoyed being out on the water. Tristan braved the 52 degree water temp, and went under water on a dare from his brother.

All told, it was a nice clear spring day.

LETS GO PENS

It's been 16 long years since the Pens tasted the "bubbly" from Lord Stanley's cup. The most coveted and hard won trophy in all of professional sports. You better believe the family's TV set will be tuned in for the cup run next week, as the greatest player (currently) in the world, #87 goes out to show why he's worth the price of admission.

Go for it boys!

Aunt Pat

This is my Aunt Pat in the center of this photo. She is a cancer survivor and this past Mother's Day she was able to march with her sisters & daughters in the Race for the Cure march along with the cancer survivors at Schenley Park, Oakland.


It has been a really tough year for her, as some of you already know. She is a real trooper who continues to battle over obstacles and is now cancer free!! You are an inspiration to the whole Farrell family. We keep you in our thoughts and prayers always. This is a shot of the rest of the family before they walked down the street of her old neighborhood in celebration of Pat's victory. You go girl!!!!

Tristan's Day out...

Sorry, haven't been blogging lately. End of the school year makes that really hard sometimes. Anyway, last week I had a day off so Sam & I took Tristy to the museum to see the new dinosaur exhibit at the Carnegie. Here we see him at his favorite exhibit, the hall of gems.

It was a very fun time, and of course we had to stop at our favorite family restaurant, Lulu's noodles on Craig Street. While there Tristy had trouble using chopsticks, so one of the ladies came over and helped show him how to use chopsticks. He really caught on fast. (with a little help)

After that I took him to Wholeys to see the fish, and we walked around the strip district downtown. He really enjoyed the sights and smells. We rounded off the trip with a stop at Borders at the Mills, where Sam & I turned him loose inside the bookstore. It was a nice day.

Trip Down Dixie Way...

Those of you who know me, might realize that one of my hero's in life is Thomas Jefferson. Of all the founding fathers, he embodies the best that era in American history had to offer. He was also a true Renaissance man, and a lover of learning of all subjects. I have been an avid listener of the Thomas Jefferson hour for over 2 years now, and have always wanted to see Monticello, and walk the grounds which are often referred to week after week in my Ipod programs.

Sam and I got a chance to do that this past weekend. We fell in love with the Virginia countryside. Driving through its many horse farms and historical towns, we found our way down to Charlottsville. We were able to stay at a friend's house one night, which helped save on the overall cost of the trip. (Thanks Andy)




The mountain behind us in this picture is the larger mountain that overlooks Monticello. In the background is a sloped path that leads down to Jefferson's grave. They wouldn't allow us to take pictures inside the house, so most of my pics are around the outside grounds area. In addition to Monticello, we also toured the University of Virginia which was also very impressive.




After lunch, we also got a chance to travel along the Skyline drive National Park, and saw some breath taking views of the Shenandoah river valley. The road was quite long and winding, but well worth the trip. We only saw about 1/4th of its length, since it would take an entire day to drive and we were running short on time. Here are some other pictures.









Sunday morning we woke up and toured Harper's Ferry, which has many park museums and little town houses that are open to the public. The river valley is quite beautiful. It was the location of John Brown's raid, which basically led to the US Civil War.

Thanks especially goes out to Mom & Dad for watching our kids for the weekend. Despite Tristan running away and hiding inside the car, there were no major problems and the kids had a great time spending the weekend with their grandparents.