Edwin Makes the News

NEW ORLEANS: I knew it would happen, just not this soon. Edwin is a local celebrity in the New Orleans area, helping Daddy-o cover a story on Newman students planting trees in a nearby park.

Get the full story here.

Plain Ketchup -- New York in December

December was hectic; as it always is. Gearing up for Christmas and making plans to send things out, see people you have to see, and do all the things you want to do is always just beyond your ability. But we did our best. So we are playing catch-up with December's events. Thanks to my job and Sutton's leave, we had a lot of time to travel, so it was the perfect time to head up to New York and introduce Edwin to my family. He got to meet everyone in the immediate family except for Paul and Sally. We wish we could have got them too, but we'll have to do it next time.

We flew into Syracuse, and then drove out to Buffalo for a night. Flying was not so bad. We traveled light. No stroller and no car seat (we rented that with the car), so we were lean and quick in the airport. EG went in a snuggli/bjorn. Security was a breeze - no bottles of suspicious liquid to explain. Edwin did not like the pressure changes, and cried on the landing of the first flight, but Sut nursed him so the swallowing eased the pressure. Plus his cry-hole was otherwise occupied. We brought earplugs to hand out to other passengers, but we did not hand them out... yet.

We arrived in NY at 11:30pm or so, so no one was up at the big house when we got there. They were after I accidentally hit the rental's panic button, though. Oopsie daisy. Liverpool had just seen 70 inches of snow, delivered over 95 straight hours. It was compacted a bit by the time we got there, but we got to show Edwin a VERY snowy New York, which made for good pics.

In Liverpool we got to visit with Guy & Cindy, Alan & Patti, Martha & Marty, Pat, Eric, Dan, Julia, Tommy, Leo, and the cats! Special props go to Cindy who basically held Edwin the whole time, even when he projectile puked over her shoulder while we were hangin' around the fire in the back yard (Sutton's favorite NY pastime). Before we left we even had some of my famous cheesesteaks which Sut said was the best batch yet.

In L'pool we also made a side trip to American Legion Post 188 (where Mom and Dad were fixtures for many years) to see Santa Claus. This was Edwin's first Santa visit, embettered by the fact that it was the same Santa I sat on when I was his age. Santa said EG wanted a rattle. Sure enough, he got one. Sutton said she wanted Black Star to sell out the roof. We explained to Santa that BS is a session beer. He said that he and my dad had many sessions together. Who knew that Santa and my Dad were drinking buddies!

Then it was off to the city of good neighbors -- Buffalo. We stayed with Seth & Colleen (and Matthew & Meghan), but we also visited with Keith & Anne and Bill & Jesse, who had Landon and Benjamin in tow. We all milled around the kitchen dining room and living room, catching up and sharing stories. The next day, we went over to Keith's and visited with Andrea, before heading off to Duff's for wings and Duff's Beer. D'oh!

It was great to see everyone, and we appreciate the hospitality. it was great to see all the Hibberts and other kin, and the snow was a big plus. We hope to go again soon, maybe in warmer weather. The album below has some of the best and worst pictures of the trip! Some highlights are Cindy and Guy (what?) holding Edwin, many snow pics, Seth and Col's kids, Bill and Jesse's kids, cats, old pictures of Mom and Dad, and more!

	New York Trip Album

Next up, the Trip to the Sip!