Manny Trade (?)

Well, they traded Manny. Part of me thinks this is great for the club. Papi will lose a close friend, but the rest of the clubhouse will breath a sigh of relief. Manny should like to see his former teammates (Nomar and D Lowe) in LA, and they really need a bat.

Pittsburgh should enjoy all the prospects they get. Clearly, the Sox were EAGER to see Manny leave. They will say goodbye to two great player (though not top shelf player, both major league ready ones) in Mose and Hansen. LA Dodgers threw in two other prospects as well, including LaRoche, who has had better years, but will help out the Pirates.

We will welcome Jason Bay (from the Pirates) with open arms, and I think he should do pretty well here. He is young, like much of the clubhouse, and has a bright future ahead of him. He will bring power (though not as much as Manny) to the lineup. With three errors this year, he is NOT a gold glove, but he's NO Manny. He has more speed on the bases than Manny, though he will certainly NOT be leading the team anytime soon. He also appears to have lost a step as compared to a few years ago. Really this is the closest thing to replacing Manny there was on the market.

I look forward to seeing Bay in front of the Green Monster.

Jen's Wedding

Stacey, Gary, Shelly, and I had a great time celebrating the wedding of Jen and Doug last night. It was a beach-themed reception, and it was lots of fun. Jen is one of Stacey's friends from preschool through high school, and they have remained close. They were in the band together. Jen went to the University of Delaware from college and met Doug there.

I did not get to take any pictures, but I will try to add some once I get some photos.

Baseball Game

We went to a minor league baseball game this afternoon. It was really exciting, because the Portland Sea Dogs (BOS affiliate) were beating the Trenton Thunder (NYY affiliate) 6-0.

We had luxiury box seats (Gary's employeer, PETRO, has a box there), and it was really nice. The box was air conditioned and had comfy seats down the first base line.

Then the rain came, and the game was delayed. I took pictures of the impressive lightning storm, while we waited for the game to resume. We left the ball park after an hour of waiting.

New Apartment?

So it looks like we might have to find a new apartment. Our current landlord is thinking about moving to California, and that would mean he would sell the house (and the apartment we are living in).

We won't know for a while, but that only means our month-to-month lease is not going to guarantee our housing. Stacey and I are looking into other nearby apartments--we might even find something cheaper!!

New Couch!

Check back for photos of our new couch.

Happy Birthday, Aaron!!

Happy Birthday, Aaron!!

I hope you are having a great day. I am sorry I can not be with you on your Birthday, but I still hope it was a good one. Enjoy your Sox DVD, and I hope you like your Klean Kanteen.

I love you, Billy!
-S-

Happy Birthday, Shelly!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SHELLY!!

Shelly is Stacey's mom, and today is her birthday (27, last I checked).

Hope it was a good one, Shelly! See you soon!

Peace,

-S-

Home Again

I made it home safe and sound. I was able to take an earlier flight to surprise Stacey and arrive a little early from Minneapolis. It was a really nice vacation, and I hope to have some photos up soon. It is even better to be home with Stacey on her birthday!

Good night from Boston,
peace,
-S-

Happy Birthday, Peter!!

Happy Birthday, Peter!!

Congratulations; you turn 23 today! Here's to many more.

I love you, Pete!

-S-

Happy Birthday, Stacey!!

Happy Birthday, Stacey Ecott!

You turn 23 today--here's to many more. I hope you have a great day. I will see you soon!

ILOVEYOU!
-S-

PS: Hope you enjoy all your presents!

Fair Hills - Day 7 (Friday)

Day 7 -Friday 4 July 2008

Today is Independence Day in the United States of America. The Lane Family reunion is on its last day at Fair Hills Resort, and it has been a pretty good day. It is also Dan's birthday, so we celebrated his birthday. Peter, Aaron, Matt, and Gramps also have birthdays this month; so, we celebrated their's as well.

This morning was the last day of walking. The boat was extra crowded, because they have a tradition of providing sticky buns on the last day of walking to those who walk. Also t-shirts were given to those who walked at least 5 mornings. The shirts were black this year, so many of the family members opted to get last year's brown one.

After breakfast, Jim and I hung out in the hot tub and chatted, while Mom, David, Jonathan, Jennie, Mary, Ben, and Peter went to water aerobics. After that, I went back up to the cabin to change for yoga with Mom and Bobbie. It was the final day of three for yoga, and it was also the easiest. It was a nice relaxing and stretching routine today. I needed it very much for my aching legs from running.

After lunch, which was a cook-out on the sundeck, Aaron, Peter, and I went to the 9th hole on the FH's golf course, to practice for speed golf. Aaron practiced his drive, since we was the final person to tee-off in the round. For the actual competition, I did not really have to do anything, so I took pictures. I was ready with a club, if needed, but Dan and Aaron heped on the 5th hole--Gramps helped on the green and Ben chipped Aaron's long drive on the 9th. The whole course was completed in 6:55 minutes. A pretty quick time. The second round actually took longer to complete (7:10). A fun, new activity at FH this year.

After golf I went back to the cabin to read my chapter in the family book club book (Bill Bradley's New American Story). I had the chapter on "Why Republicans Can't," which really just bashed the conservative party for the "wrongs" of the Bush Administrations. It was a nice meeting with 16 members of our family participating. From their we went to dinner.

After dinner we played sharades in the big cabin until the fire wires went off. Hopefully, I will be able to post many of my firework pictures. Check back next week for photos.

The last day went well. Tomorrow we leave FH for at least two years. We will see if the Lane Family Reunions return to Minn.

Peace,
-S-

Fourth of July

Happy Fourth of July!!

Enjoy the Fireworks.

PS: Happy birthday, Dan

Fair Hills - Day 6 (Thursday)

Day 6 - Thursday 3 July 2008

This morning I ran the long route with Jim and Matt. Aaron and Peter slept in, because they were playing the scramble at the Wildflower. Matt and Jim ran the highway, while I ran the opposite route through the back road to meet up with them. Then I ran the short way back to the cabin.After breakfast I took a nap until lunch (oops). I mistakenly did not turn on my alarm clock after I set it.

After lunch, I helped Dad install Adobe Reader, then went to the pool to play basketball with Uncle Jim, Matt, Ben, Ange, and Mark. We played for quite a while, and I must admit, it seems Jim is losing a step or two on his much younger (and stronger) nephews. Aaron and Andrew went wake-boarding, while Sam went on the Torpedo for a little while. Many family members sat on the sundeck watching and eating malts and milkshakes.

This afternoon, we prepared for the boat cruise tonight (bought our beverages and loaded the cooler). Then we loaded the boat for dinner. Below is a picture of the whole family taken on-board the "Big Pelican." We were celebrating Gramps' birthday and thanking him for (once again) providing an enjoyable and memorable family reunion.

Another great day at Fair Hills. Only one more to go. :(
Peace,
-S-

Fair Hills - Day 5 (Wednesday)

Day 5 - Wednesday 2 July 2008

Today was the first day I did NOT run in the morning. I still walked, but my body hates me right now for pushing it too hard. Evidentily Fair Hills is WAY more exercise than I get normally. The walk was nice; I walked with Aunt Jennie. We talked about how humans are animals, instant gratification, and gardening. The weather cooled a lot from yesterday, so it was a brisk morning boat ride on the lake.

After breakfast, I played golf on the Fair Hills course (9 holes) with Aaron, Jim, and Peter. We played best ball, and it was quite fun. The course is fairly easy, with shorter holes and slower greens, but it was fun to show how poor my golf game is. I ran from there to yoga. We did more poses that worked the core compared to the number of balance poses that we did last time. The yogi (instructer) seems to be pretty knowledgable and skilled at yoga, so that is nice. The last class is Friday.

After lunch, we had a large contingent play Frolf (frizbee golf). Aaron, Dad, Jim, Andrew, Mark, Sam, and I all played the 9 hole frold course here at FH. It was new two years ago, and it is a nice thing to have around. It took the 8 of us only 40 minutes to complete the course, even though some holes were quite long. I took a short nap before dinner.

After I woke up I went to the Cooktail Hour on the sundeck. They "made" (poured from the pre-mixed bottle) Margaritas and served beer and wine--this is certainly a new activity at FH and a pretty fun one. After dinner, I watched Aaron participate in closest to the pin with the many other golfers here. Then I played cribage with Aunt Jennie and Mom. I finished the evening with a great conversation with Stacey to close the evening. Overall, another great day.

More later!
-S-

Fair Hills - Day 4 (Tuesday)

Day 4 - Tuesday 1 July 2008

I ran again this morning with Jim--Matt joined us today (yesterday he ran with Aaron, but Aaron slept in today). I did the reverse loop from them, but we met in the middle and I ran back with them. I took the "Big Pelican" (the Fair Hills boat) back, instead of running this morning. After breakfast we had the softball game, which we played kids verses adults. It was fun until one of the kids had the wind knocked out of him and he passed out for about a minute. He seems to be fine, nothing broken or too injured. After the "organized" game, the Lane's had a little homerun derby.

After lunch, we went down the water slide. It was lots of fun, though it is quite hot here today (81 degrees). I am sure I will attach photos here later, but I do not have a computer cable to use right now. After showering and cleaning up, we had the Smörgåsbord (buffet dinner) and the Hootenanny. This is one of my favorite days, though , it is becoming less fun--as the "talent" and "enthusiasm" diminishes from the staff and the guests here.

Overall, a good day, though.
Peace,
-S-