Matthew Perron Alexander- St. Michael's College, Class of 2009

Today was Matt's graduation from St. Michael's College. It was a fantastic day- we enjoyed every minute of it and are so proud of Matt.

We started the day by dropping Elijah off at daycare, there is NO WAY he would have sat through a graduation ceremony! Then we continued into St. Mikes, on a much less eventful drive than Susie and Dennis were having around the same time (they got a flat tire in Dennis' truck on Lime Kiln Rd, and with no time to change it for fear of being late for Matt's graduation, ended up driving the rest of the way on a rim- what a way to start the day)!

The stage, before the ceremony began:

The bagpipes played beautifully to signal the beginning of Commencement:

Matt entering the gym, where the Graduation ceremony was held:

The address was given by U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan- that's him, seated in the center- he is a TALL man, which you cannot tell from this photo. He gave a very nice speech, and later we were saying how fun it was to think that this man (who is only 44 years old!) regularly sits around a table discussing American education policy with President Obama...and we were only 1/2 a gymnasium away from him!

Senator Patrick Leahy was present, as his wife was one of 4 people receiving an Honorary Degree. Maybe he had something to do with SMC landing Duncan as its fabulous commencement speaker?

A Birds-eye view of the grads:

Matt, heading up to the stage:

Getting ready to accept his diploma:

Here it is!

Now an Alumnus!

Matt with (as he calls them) his "Biologicals"

Super-Proud Dad:

Dennis, Matt and Susie:

Ed, Matt and me (desperately to prevent my skirt from blowing up in the strong winds!):

The Graduate:

Matt had to be out of his campus apartment by 6:00PM, so after the ceremony (around 2:00 or so), we all went back there to finish packing him up (he had already done the lion's share of it). Susie and I packed up most of the remaining items in Matt's room while Ed and Dennis changed the tire on the truck and Matt hauled the last of the biggest items out to the trailer.

Finally- Ed, Matt and I had a delicious celebratory lunch at Sweetwater's in Burlington.

Congratulations, Bobcat...we are SO proud of you! Looking forward to seeing everyone at the graduation celebration on Saturday!!!!!

Our April Vacation

We've had a nice week off...the weather got progressively better each day, culminating with 86 degrees today! Elijah and I had 3 play dates planned this week- Monday at Kathy's (Toby), Wednesday at Shannon's (Aaron & Ivy) and Friday morning at the playground with Beth (Dianna).

We advertised our Baby Jogger Switchback on Craigslist and sold it to the first person who saw it, which was awesome! This was a jogging stroller/bike trailer hybrid that was VERY expensive. We bought it last year because we truly thought we would use it for both purposes- in which case, it would save $ over purchasing two separate items. HOWEVER...it turned out to be a gigantic piece of equipment, we could never have really jogged with it, and Ed claimed it was like pulling an open parachute behind him when we biked. So we were thrilled to move it along to someone who could actually use it, it's too nice of an item to sit in our shed with the mice!

Here are some pic's from the day it arrived (April 29, 2008) and we set it up in the living room. Before even hooking it to a bicycle, we were horrified at how HUGE it was! Look at what a peanut Elijah was (only 5 months old)! Here he is, hanging out in his "Cadillac":

And some pics of us biking on the Missisquoi Valley Rail Trail last July. Ahhhh...summer vacation!

We're hoping to get one of those toddler bike seats that attaches right behind the seat of Ed's bicycle...Saw one on Craigslist for only $75...Yes, I am officially addicted!

Ed has been working hard on our landscaping. Our front yard has been one giant sandbox since our addition was completed last Fall. We ran out of time (and money!) to haul in topsoil and seed it to grass. It's like living in the cottage in Maine- sand SEEPS up from nowhere, no matter how much I sweep or vacuum. So this week, Ed has been grading the lawn (by tractor and by hand), and last night we had a huge dump truck of topsoil (Craiglist again) delivered. Lots of work still ahead, but maybe it will be seeded and mulched within the next few days. Grass will be so much better than sand.

Today was "Big Truck" Day, hosted by the Fairfax Success by Six Program. It's sort of like a rite of passage, to take a little boy to "Big Truck" Day. By the look on Elijah's face, he's taking after his big cousin Kyle, who loves cars and trucks!

A little shy at first...Then he got into it...checking out how everything works!
I warned the army guy that if it could be broken, Elijah would find a way! He gave all the knobs, buttons and levers in the Jeep a real shakedown. Thankfully, nothing broke! We spent the rest of the morning at the playground with Beth and Dianna, thankful for hats and sunscreen!

Back to work on Monday...only 33 days of school until summer vacation!

Not My Fault

Last night, Ed picked up a meal from Junior's and brought it to Ellie and Jake's house. He reported that all of Ellie's children were present, as well as some of her grandchildren. Ed felt at peace, and was comforted by the fact that Ellie was able to come back to her home and that he had the opportunity to visit her, tell her he loves her, and say "goodbye". We learned that Annie had her baby (a girl, Olivia) yesterday morning, John had headed to Maine to be with them.

I'm sure it must have been a bittersweet day for Debbi.

We've been thinking of them a lot.
I thought I'd re-post this lovely picture from this past winter. Happier times:

Today I decided to cut Elijah's hair again. Actually, this time, it's Not My Fault. I can hardly take blame for the "hack" job when Ed was barking orders at me in a way that I'm told was characteristic of Wayne Henry...

"Cut it shorter. You didn't even cut anything that time. Shorter!"

Well, it's shorter, alright!

Here are some pictures.

Between the new haircut and his Army fatigues, he looks ready to enlist!
The haircut IS pretty cute. What you're not seeing, of course, is the quarter-sized bald spot at the nape of his neck!

Well, I guess he can always wear a hat!Here are some pics from yesterday. Eli stayed home sick with an ear infection and a fever. As you can tell from these photos, though, he wasn't THAT sick!

I Love Craigslist...and Easter Pics!

My greatest Craigslist score yet...A Fisher Price kitchen set for only $5!

Elijah loves it, and I am VERY proud of my "find!"...Of course, we don't have any of the plastic food items, so it's not unusual to find Elijah's sippy cup in the "fridge" and a stuffed animal puppy in the "oven"...Should I be concerned?Hanging out in the Salmon rocker...A prime car-viewing locale.
When we are blessed with the good fortune of a car driving by, Elijah will scream, "Da CAR!!!! Da CAR!!!!" Kind of reminds me of "Tattoo" on Fantasy Island....On Saturday, we colored Easter Eggs, in anticipation of the Easter Bunny's first visit to our home:The Finished Product... The Easter Bunny DID come this morning!
Elijah could hardly believe it- presented with gifts before even getting out of his crib in the morning!
Hanging around outside waiting for Matt, Tyler and Aimee to arrive for Easter dinner.
We had a nice Easter meal, great food and lots of nice visiting! Today was the last day of Aimee's final visit to Vermont- the next time we see her, she'll be a resident!

Tyler, Aimee and Elijah:
Matt:
Happy Easter!