Vacation: Strong Museum of Play

On Thursday, the plan was to go to a baseball game and spend the afternoon walking around downtown. We woke up to pouring rain, which obviously changed those plans. So, we all headed to Strong Museum of Play. Gavin and I had been there before, but it was a first for Jarrod and the rest of the Peters family.

Gavin visiting Sesame Street :)

Daddy and Gavin on Sesame Street talking to Elmo!

Big Bird's nest is HUGE!

"Hey, is that my friend, Zoe?" (Hi Tori and Zoe! When you come visit, we'll take you guys to the museum so Zoe can have fun on Sesame Street, too!)

Visiting the Post Office with Grandpa, USPS employee for a loooong time (What is it, dad? 26 years???)

Doesn't Gavin look so excited to be working at the Post Office?

Exploring the rocks in the construction zone

Gavin and Mommy

Vacation: State Parks

We took soooo many pictures on vacation while my parents were here, so I'm splitting them up so you don't get too bored. :) Today's pictures are from the state parks we visited.

This was a giant chair near the entrance of Letchworth State Park. This place was beautiful. We saw Upper, Middle, and Lower Falls and were able to see a baby deer. We're looking forward to going back in the fall and seeing all the gorgeous colors.
A "waterfall" at Letchworth

I think these were the Middle Falls

With Grandpa and Grandma

Upper Falls and the railroad bridge

Love the family smiles :)

Mommy and Gav...Upper Falls in the background

Watkins Glen State Park - Mommy and Gavin stayed in the car during this hike. We learned at the second state park (Treman State Park in Ithaca) that Gavin isn't a hiker. (Which is why there aren't any pictures from that park. We weren't there very long!) So, when he'd just falled asleep about 5 minutes before getting to Watkins Glen, I opted to stay in the car while Jarrod hiked with my family. I have to say...I really enjoyed the hour of quiet time to read my book! :)

Taughannock Falls State Park - we didn't actually go to the state park, but instead went to the falls overlook. This is the highest waterfall east of the Rockies...215 feet tall!

Ok, forget Wordless Wednesday and Flashback Friday this week. To get you updated, I'm going to post a little each day for the next few days. :)

Where's Gavin??? This is one of his new favorite games. He loves hiding behind the curtains at the apartment. So silly...

At our first "meet-up" with our new playgroup. He was in the Berenstein Bear area at Strong Museum of Play. He loved it there. And so did I! :)

Love the curl!

Hanging out in Daddy's truck!

Heidi and Anthony were driving through after visiting her sister so we met them for coffee. It was great to hang out for a little while. Wish Gavin had been more cooperative for a picture, but oh well! I can't wait to see her again! August 22! :)

Been gone for awhile...

Sorry I've been bad about updating the blog lately! Last week, my family was here in New York to visit with us. It was so fun to see them and I have tons to tell about and pictures to post. Now, Jarrod's working in Albany this week and I decided to join him. I'm going to work on getting the pictures on the computer and start updating soon! :)

Flashback Friday

Feeling sentimental today after watching A Baby Story on TLC... I shouldn't be allowed to watch that anymore :) These were taken exactly 16 months ago. Crazy, huh?

Wordless Wednesday

Wobbly Walker

We're slowly getting there. Gavin's been taking a couple steps at a time for a couple days now. This is the first time I was able to get it on my cell phone camera though. Sorry for the horrible sound.

Cute pictures

Well, for a few short weeks, I had a Blackberry, but decided to exchange it. Anyway...here are a few pictures I'd taken on that phone before I returned it. :)

Playing outside, waiting for Daddy to come home

My little daredevil...He pushed the ottoman to the door so he could climb on it, and play with the lock on the patio door.

After months and months, he finally figured out what I meant when I'd ask, "Where's your nose???"
No, those aren't molars. Those are coming in, but not that much yet! Those would be waffles you're seeing in his mouth :)

Great weekend

It was a really nice weekend here in Rochester. Gavin and I ran errands yesterday while we waited for Daddy to come home from Albany. When he got home, we hung out at our place, made dinner, watched Friends and drank some wine. Nothing special, but still so fun. We took Gavin to Lollypop Farms today, an animal adoption center to see some animals. Of course, everything was a dog to him...it didn't matter that we were really looking at horses, sheep, goats, pigs, and cats. He really liked the dogs! Then we were lucky enough to meet Heidi and Anthony for coffee! They were driving through after a visit with family in Syracuse. It was great to sit and catch up with them. We ran a few more errands afterwards, came home for a quick dinner and more Friends. I love family time like that!

Flashback Friday

Well, I wanted to add pictures from Lauren and Jeff's wedding since it's their anniversary. But, that wedding must have happened pre-digital camera days for me! Or, they are on some CD that still packed up. So, I'll paint the Flashback Friday pictures with words.

Imagine a hot, Ohio July day...
Us girls wore long black dresses with beautiful backs...
Lauren's dress was absolutely fabulous...she looked amazing!
My favorite picture...I was fanning Lauren by lifting the train of her dress up and down while we were outside taking pictures. Such a cute memory...

Happy 5th Anniversay, Lauren and Jeff!
(And, Happy 5th Anniversay, Sara and Clint! I didn't know Sara on her wedding day, so no pictures, but still a milestone to celebrate!)

New site to visit

Check it out...
www.toddlertreatsandmore.blogspot.com
I'm not sure how I came across it, but this site has some cool recipes I'm going to try with Gavin.

Wordless Wednesday

Gavin's first trip to the park

I know by 14 months, most children have visited the park. But, with Jarrod being gone, I waited. Maybe it's just because we're first time parents, but I really like for us to both be there for these milestones. So, we finally got Gavin to the park! He loved it :)

The same park has a "sprayground" area. The water was a little much for Gavin, but he loved splashing in the puddles on the ground and watching all the kids run through the water. It was such an amazing day!

Are you noticing his hair??? :)

Client Appreciation Day

Tomorrow is the lucky day for Tastefully Simple clients! Check out the amazing deals!


Client Appreciation Day!
I want to take a moment and thank you for being a special part of my Tastefully Simple business and let you know I appreciate you as a client! The truth is – without you, I wouldn’t have a business! Thank You from the bottom of my heart! In honor of YOU, I am giving away FREE products on July 7th ~ my First Annual Client Appreciation Day! See the details below and I look forward to being your Tastefully Simple consultant in the years to come!

On July 7th, the time you call (or email) me with your order will determine how much you get for FREE!
Tuesday, July 7th is THE DAY!

Phone your order to me at 937.901.4291 or e-mail your order to me at mrspate22@yahoo.com
(if you order online from my web page it won’t qualify for free products!)

Orders received from 8am – 10am receive 25% in additional products
Orders received from 10am – 2pm receive 15% additional products
Orders received from 2pm- 6pm receive 10% additional products

The Details
**If I am not available when you call, just leave a message and I will call you back as soon as I can. The time you call will be recorded on my phone!

**You can pay with a Credit Card or Debit Card or check made out to Jennifer Pate and sent to 901 Jorpark Circle Spencerport, NY 14559. Once your payment is received your order will be placed and should arrive to you within 2 weeks!


Give me a call if you have any questions!!! Thank you so much for being a part of my Tastefully Simple business!

Even More FREEBIES!!

The July Hostess Incentive allows hostesses to earn a Tiki Mai Tai™ Drink Mix, a Pomegranate Blueberry Margarita Mix, and a Drink Bucket Cooler with $500 in sales.
With $900 in sales, the hostess receives a Tiki Mai Tai™ Drink Mix, a Pomegranate Blueberry Margarita Mix, a Drink Bucket Cooler, Strawberry Sundae Chiller™ Drink Mix, White Mousse Chiller Drink Mix, Single-Serve Mini Blender, and a Set of 4 bubble glasses! Wow!
When sales for our Lucky Day reach those levels, I’ll put all names in a drawing. One lucky winner will be designated as “hostess” for Tuesday’s sales and will win the Hostess Incentive!

4th of July Fun!

For the 4th of July this year, we took advantage of our new location and went camping with some friends from Sam's along the shores of Lake Erie. We drove a couple hours west toward Buffalo, just past where Lake Ontario becomes Lake Erie. Jarrod's GM, John, has been going there for years, since his college friend's family owns a cottage there. We enjoyed the gorgeous views, grilled hot dogs and hamburgers, Curtis set off fireworks, and we slept in a tent...all 4 of us! (Jarrod, myself, Gavin and Shirley!) It all went better than I expected, even though it was really chilly and windy.

Here's Jarrod and Gavin checking out the waves The view down the beach

Me and my hubby, back together again!

What do you mean we're sleeping in here???

Getting ready for fireworks on the beach. Thanks, Daddy, for letting me wear your hoodie, too! The wind was crazy :)

I'm in the red with Gavin (he's in there, I promise!) and we're with Julie and 4 month old, Evan, and John's girlfriend, Erin, with her baby, Duncan, the hyperactive dog! :)

Gorgeous sunset

Passed out, during the fireworks! How can he sleep through it??? Notice he's still gripping his glow stick :)

Pretty cool shot

We met some great new friends and enjoyed all the babies and dogs :) There were 6 little boys under the age of 3! Happy 4th of July from New York.