A Birthday Celebration On Roosevelt Island

My niece Jillian will turn thirty on September 7, and last weekend her husband Rudy had a surprise party for her, it was held in the community room of the apartment building they live in on Roosevelt Island.

Many people who live on the island use the tram as their mode of transportation to and from the city:

Understandably, they don't like a lot of traffic on the island, and parking spots are at a minimum, so we parked in a garage and walked about a half-mile to their building:

Katie and Jayden were out in front.  It was a perfect day weather-wise and otherwise!

The party room was very big and very nice.  And it had a lot of separate areas with little conversation pits here and there (do people still say 'conversation pits'?) and a pool table that the kids had fun with:

And the rooftop was big and beautiful too, and the views were amazing!

 (Through the girders of the bridge you can see the new tower going up where the Twin Towers used to stand.)

And because it was such a beautiful day we got to enjoy it outside a lot:

(The rooftop flowers and plants were so pretty and a nice backdrop for Sophie!)

(And I love the 59th Street Bridge and the city views behind Baby Ray!)

Here's Susie and her granddaughter Zoe:

'Love this little one!  She truly is a real live doll!

Here's the Guest of Honor now!  Surprised and embarrassed!

We all had lots of fun and enjoyed lots of delicious food!

Here's the Birthday Girl with Ellie:

We walked back to the car along the water and got to see a little more of the island:

Jayden and Katie stopped along the way to enjoy the park:

We spotted a black squirrel (I thought at first that it was a rat)!

And while the rest of us walked, Eóghan got a free ride on Grandpa's back!

It was a wonderful day!

Okay, This Is Just An Annoyance, Carr's Crackers!

Has anyone else noticed this???

I love these Carr's Whole Wheat Crackers:

But now the company is shorting customers crackers and they don't even have the decency to change the cardboard carton to fit the package inside:

What's up with this??

I don't get why a company wants their customers to feel duped.

Okay, my little rant is over.  Now I'll move on to brighter subjects!
I had my friends Barbara and Jan over the other day, and Barbara had brought her camera along to take some pictures/memories to take along with her when she moves to Delaware this Fall.  So I asked Jayden to take a picture of the three of us and this is what we got at first:

Jayden: "Umma, I think it's too blurry!"
Me:  "Okay, try again."

After much zooming in and zooming out, and refocusing, this is what we got:

(Well, it's better.)

"Give it one more try, Jayden."

Jayden:  "Now it's perfect!"

Well, we beg to differ, but he did get it perfectly focused!  

This past weekend we had the family over and I had to laugh at the boys so engrossed in their hand-held games:

Both the little boys AND the big boys!

Hey!  Baby Ray!  How'd you get under there?!!

Doesn't he look like he was caught with his hand in the cookie jar?

Have I mentioned how crazy I am about this little guy?  He's really just the cutest, sweetest little thing!

Busy Summer

Ray and I have been busy with kids, grandkids, and extended family and friends:

(I don't know what I did wrong with these mosaics, but I somehow 'double-pictured'.  Oh well.)

(I am really not very photography or computer savvy at all!  Below are two pictures that should have been included in the mosaics instead of the doubles.  And these were meant to be the large middle pictures.  So I guess it's good they get 'showcased' on their own!)

Here is Miss Zoe ~ The Black Swan:

And here is Helena with her great-grands:

We have family over almost every weekend, and we get visits during the week sometimes too.  And we've been out on Long Island to visit friends, and we had a visit from my youngest brother Joey and his youngest son Jake (from Florida), and Ray & I took an overnight trip to Delaware to meet my best friend Barbara and her husband Dave there and see the new house they are having built in a new community near Bethany Beach (oh, my, am I going to miss Barbara!).  
And Ray and I are busy purging, with the hope of moving ourselves further south sometime next year if all works out (Millville, DE was very nice, but Myrtle Beach, SC is still calling out to Ray!).
The Summer is flying by!

'Hope all is well with everyone, and 'hope you are all enjoying your Summer!
Love and Prayers,
Eileen