Friday Fave Five

WOW! This week of Spring Break just flew by.
I got lots done tho....spring cleaning (didn't do as much this year as I've kept up on my house during the school year), shopping trips, a fun day trip to the Lake George area for a mommy-daughter date with my youngest, (visiting my sister Jill and her 2 little girls and we even got to see Uncle Mike briefly!,) power walks with my hubby, all the windows washed and curtains washed and rehung, closets organized, reading completed, and entertaining friends and children. We even have plans for tonite to visit our former church in Troy, NY and attend a play about the Columbine Tragedy. We are bringing teens from church and high school.It will be fun to reconnect with old freinds.
It has been a busy but productive, and even relaxing, week!

Here are 5 of my fave things from the week:

My youngest!
Taking a nap!!

Claire went to a movie date/sleepover birthday party on Good Friday evening. She spent the nite with her new friend (via HizKidz Praise ministry!) Annalise and her family. She and Annalise get along great and both girls love to dance. Claire had a blast at this party but was exhausted. Keep in mind that this is a child who normally goes to bed at 8:30 pm and rarely past 9 pm. She also normally is up at the crack of dawn and has been like this since about 6 months old. She likes her sleep but only sleeps for 7-8 hours. She outgrew naps at about 18 months old. She said the last time she looked at a clock at Annalise's it was about 1:45 a.m.!!
To see her, on Saturday afternoon, fall asleep in our family room was truly one of my fave moments of the week. This was about 2 pm and she slept until dinner at 4 pm (yeah, we eat early on Saturdays due to the teen's Life::Redefined events). That nite she was in bed by 8: 30. Tired, but happy! Aren't they just precious when they are sleeping???!!

One of my very fave flavors
of salad dressing!
from one of my
very fave places to shop!

My childhood friend, Rachael C. brought this to me as a gift when she visited on Good Friday. We had a blast hooking up again via Facebook. We grew up together in the Herkimer Free Methodist church. We both lived in Herkimer as children and she still does, actually! She had no idea this was one of my very fave Fly Creek items. I LOVE this dressing. Fly Creek is in a little town west of us and I don't often take a trip out there. If I want items from the cider mill/store I order them online. This was a great surprise. We enjoyed a day of shopping and stopping in to the Shaker Shed (a local farmers market/greenhouse/cafe) for lunch. I am hoping she can get back out here to Latham, soon. She is a blast to shop with and we found some designer duds for wicked low prices!! Truly one of my fave moments from the last week!

High Rock Park
Saratoga Springs, NY

We arrived early to the Olde Bryan Inn and before my sister, so Dave and I and the girls took the stairs down to this little city park to view the gazebo and show the girls the sulphur spring water that people used to flock to Saratoga to drink. (ick..the smell of sulphur was strong this day!) I have drunk from the springs before but didn't have the nerve to do it again. The girls were just grossed out. My husband is the handsome dude off to the left. The restaurant is in the background, on the right, up on the hill. Easter was a beautiful, but chilly, day!

The Olde Bryan Inn
Saratoga Springs, NY

A great place for Easter Dinner! This historical restaurant is one of my very favorite "nicer" establishments. Check out their website!
The menu is a bit on the pricey side (i.e. we only eat here once a year or less) but it is phenomenal. The service is impeccable and the atmosphere is just delightful. The 6 of us (my sister, Joy, her son Luke and the 4 of us) sat right in front of the fireplace in our Easter finery. We enjoyed a delicious meal complete with decadent desserts and a wonderful time of fellowship. My sister Joy and I are only 2 years apart and have always been good friends as well as sisters. She attends a Christian Missionary Alliance church so our core beliefs are very similar. It is great to get together on such an important day!

Cousins! Luke (nephew, age 16)
Courtney and Claire

My sister (Joy) and I have an Easter Tradition that we have engaged in, for most of the last 15 years, every Easter Sunday. We go out for Easter dinner after attending our own church services. Joy lives just about 45 minutes to the north of us, near Lake George, and her son is just 6 months older than my oldest. Joy is a single mom so it is important for us to spend time with our nephew. He and Dave talk baseball, the latest i-pod downloads, etc. You can see by this picture that this year, although Easter was in mid-April, we were cold! We wore fleece jackets. Last year in March, we only needed a light sweater on Easter day...go figure. This is one of my faves this week because it is important to my husband and I that we continue to engage in holiday traditions and keep the cousins together as much as possible before they flee the nest for college!


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What are your favorite things from this last week??