just a bunch of water loving pyros...

greetings from the best western parking lot in penn yan, ny, where i currently sit stealing wireless. it is virtually impossible to get any sort of wirelss connection at my grandmother's (no cell phones, no blackberries, no internet) so my communicative cousins have scoped out all of the possible wireless hot spots within a thirty mile radius of the house and this seems to have been the winner.

since i forgot to take care of a couple of things at work, i am taking advantage of their research and dropping a quick blog hello while here.

we arrived saturday evening and enjoyed time with larry and the girls who have been out from utah for the last week, and with scott and judy and fam, who came down from rochester.

after scott and judy took off on saturday (they will be back on wednesday to play with us), mom, dad, larry, angie, christy, sam, and i headed to geneva to check out 'lady in the water.' i've heard varying reports but for the first time since '6th sense', i loved a shyamalan film. and unlike many, i was totally okay with him featuring himself. if you haven't seen it yet, check it out.

sunday morning brought the first of many annual traditions--breakfast at the b&b. my grandmother is the owner/operator of a pretty sweet b&b and usually when we come we will be invited to go up the hill to have a gourmet breakfast with the guests. usually it happens on the tail end of the trip, but since larry and the girls were here, we did it yesterday morning. it's how breakfast should be done. main course (this time a ham and cheese concoction in a pastry shell, tomatoes and mozzarella, and spiced hash browns) followed by dessert (a brownie sundae). mmmmm.

of special note, i learned that my cousin is getting married on 7-7-07, and if it's a saturday, i'm stealing that as my new wedding date. afterall, she is out west, so the liklihood of the same family members wanting to attend is unlikely.

the rest of the day yesterday was spent in complete and total relaxation. with the entire 2nd season of 'entourage' in hand, i took my dvd player and my towel and camped out on the dock for a large part of the day. also got some reading done, and some napping. hard work this vacation thing.

last night, it was time again for another long honored and well-loved family tradition. larry had picked up fireworks in wyoming on the journey out, and we spent the evening ooohing and aahing. as it turned out, we weren't the only ones as neighbors and night boaters came out and paused to watch. one boat in particular enjoyed the festivities and we found ourselves giving them a play by play of the upcoming festivities. 'okay, now we are going to do a few small ones.' 'we don't want small ones!' came from across the dark lake. this group of onlookers also developed a rating system of sorts--1 honk=acceptable but not exciting, 2 honks=mildly entertaining, etc. the most we heard was 8 or 9 honks, and the fireworks that elicited them were well worth the 'applause'.

needless to say, a good time was had by all. we do love our fireworks. there were only two minor injuries, and no hair was set on fire, as in previous years.

today is hot. really really hot. it is supposed to be cooler up here, and maybe it is, but it's still hot and humid. i spent some time reading down by the water, and hanging out with the girls before they headed off to start their return drive to utah.

mom and dad are off to pick up dylan and kelly, and after a nap i headed into penn yan, where i now sit. perhaps a stop at the grocery store before i am back to the house, and the water, as i hate being away to long. this may well be my last update this week, since dylan and kelly's arrival will likely bring lots of boating and lots of waterskiing.

kelly is determined to teach me to slalom. in all my years of skiing i've never been able to pull off one ski. apparently she learned on one, and i can't help but wonder if our parents did us a disservice starting us with two, in our formative years. at any rate, since the wakeboard didn't not make the journey from portland, it would seem that if i'm looking for a challenge, this is the logical next step. wish me luck!