Christmas

We spent Christmas Eve with our good friends, John, Shari, Kate and James Peterson. Shari happens to be Mason's babysitter and I can safely say that Kate is Mason's best friend. John served us Ratatouille and we all decorated ginger bread houses.

Christmas day was very quite and somewhat lonely. The good thing was that there was very little pressure and lots and lots of time for Mason to focus on his new toys.
Surprise! I didn't cook a nice Christmas meal... instead we ate at Greek Peak, the nearby ski-resort. The first time Mark left the house since his second surgery.

Merry Christmas!!!

We don't live in New Jersey, just visited- but this picture seemed festive enough to be our "Merry Christmas" picture. We love you all and hope this message finds you happy and healthy! (Hopefully next year we will be on the ball enough to get some actual picture cards sent out!)

Merry Christmas and may your New Year bring much adventure and happiness!

New York City at Christmas

Rockefeller Center, The Radio City Christmas Spectacular and the Charmin Sponsored Restrooms were just the tip of our fun filled Christmas trip to "The City." We also saw over 100 million pennies, Saks Fifth Avenue window displays, several shops, lights, taxis, the World Trade Center Memorial, and my sweet friend, Scout, and her family. What a wonderful couple of days happily spent with the Crook grandparents!

The Perfect Tree!

Thanks to Grandma and "Papa" Crook we were able to find a tree, cut it down and get it home even with the close call at getting stuck and the half inch layer of ice on top of the snow. (Mark and I were not much help since I was busy taking pictures and Mark was still somewhat disabled from his first surgery).

Let it Snow!

Here is Mason trying out his new ski gear! He seems pretty excited but we shall see what happens when he takes a ride on the snow.

Mark is ready and willing to get Mason on the slopes. Unfortunately our December adventures have been limited by Mark's surgeries. (Double hernia repair... laproscopic the first time... when that didn't work they had to slice him open three weeks later).

Thanksgiving

We stayed in Ithaca over Thanksgiving. Gratefully it was not as lonely as last years Thanksgiving. Mark's cousins that live in Scarsdale (mentioned previously in our blog) came to visit our tiny little townhouse. It was cozy and very nice to be with family. The morning of Thanksgiving we all went on a hike to Taughannock Falls. It was a chilly morning but ended in a beautiful view. (The tallest waterfall east of the Mississipi).

Thanksgiving dinner was made completely by Mel, (despite my struggle with cooking). We were about an hour and half late eating- but the meal ended up tasting OK.

The Slavens' Blog

By publishing this blog we are hoping that it gives us the motivation to continue our adventures- just so we have something cool to post. Thanks to all of our friends out there that have pushed us to the point of actually taking the time to do this. Hopefully we will not let you down!

OCTOBER FUN

Adventures for October included a beautiful weekend on Racquette Lake in the Adirondaks. We were there during peak "peeping" season. (Peeping refers to seeing the changing leaves during the fall). We stayed in a quaint little cabin on the lake and did a couple hikes which produced some amazing views. Mason enjoyed both his first pony ride and train ride during this trip.





























We spent one weekend in New York City to visit Mark's cousin, Julie, her husband, Bill and their three sons. Not a typical adventure for us- but anytime we drive more than three hours we consider it an adventure. We had a great time at the Bronc Zoo and our delicious chocolate desserts afterwards were adventurous in and of themselves.













October also brought about pumpkin hunting, carving and costumes. Mason was so into Halloween this year. Half the time we had to relate his food or activities to Halloween in order for him to try it! He dressed up as a gorilla and as of today (11/14/07) our carved pumpkins are still decorating the outside of our house.

September in Ithaca

During September we stuck close to home. Mark was still getting into the swing of things with school. Mel was still trying to feel comfortable in her new job. Mason was finally beginning to enjoy going to the babysitters 3 times per week. We did take a couple hikes to the nearby waterfalls and gorges and spent our weekends taking turns enjoying road bike rides (which, in Ithaca, are really great!)

THE AIR OF AUGUST

The beginning of August was spent at home, in Wyoming. Mark's brother, Andy, married a fabulous girl, Cynthia. We were so happy to be home for their big day. We were also just happy to be home. We love and miss our families and Wyoming. (I have to note that this photo was found at carriepattersonphotography.com. I don't want to get in trouble for publishing someone work!)




We spent a day with Grandpa and Grandma Cioffi at String Lake where Mason experienced his first canoe ride. Grandpa Cioffi also took us and cousin Spencer for Mason's first raft trip down the Snake River.
8 month pregnant, Beth, and her husband Kyle joined us for a little hike and boat ride to Hidden Falls. We enjoyed every second outside that we could. (I realize no one wants to see Mason's bare bum- but this picture was too hilarious not to post)

OH JULY...

Mark had to start his reseach at Cornell at the end of June- which is also when we moved from Delhi, NY to Ithaca, NY. Even with everything new- we found time for adventure! Mel insisted on a hike for her 30th birthday despite the rain. We spent a wonderful week in the Outer Banks of North Carolina visiting Kitty Halk and playing in the ocean (thank you to the Cioffi family!) And the last week of July was spent with the Crook Family including activities such as the Hogle Zoo and Mason's 2nd birthday!