Hudson River Valley

Today I went to the Vanderbilt Mansion, the Home of Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Val-Kill, Eleanor Roosevelt's home after her husband passed away.  It was a beautiful day and it was really fun to go see something I've wanted to see for a long time.

 You can see why they choose this piece of property.  The views of the Hudson Valley were incredible!

 This home was the smallest of the 43 mansions built by Vanderbilt children.  Hard to imagine the bigger ones isn't it!

Just down Route 9 a little further South is the home of Franklin D. Roosevelt. This is the home he was born in and the one he died in.

Because we were there the day after Memorial Day there were still all these wreaths by FDR's grave.

Nancy Crapo and I

This is Val-Kill, Eleanore Roosevelt's home after FDR passed away.

 The Parks Service person said that they have preserved this home because of Eleanore's work with the United Nation. She met with many really important leaders of countries here.

Flute Recital

Lauren was in a flute recital of Brittany Feuerstein.  She was in a flute quartet with her at Schenectady County Community College.  They had a week long music camp last summer where they learned about chamber music, then they gave Professor Brett Wery some ideas for the kind of music they'd like him to write for them.  Mr. Wery spent his sabbatical semester writing the piece "a tough and resilient town" about the Boston bombing.  The quartet got to debut the piece at a performance in January. 

Brittany asked if the quartet would come perform the 

piece again for her recital, which they did. 

They also played an arrangement of the

 "Stars and Stripes" that Brittany had arranged.

   In the piece Lauren gets to play the alto flute for parts of it.  

 L to R: Samantha Burgess (she played a duet with Brittany) 

Brittany Fuerstein, Alex DuMont, Graham Wolfe, and Lauren.

Memorial Day Weekend

Glen, Lauren and I went to the cemetery Saturday to put flowers on Glen's father's grave.  As we were turning in there was a funeral procession ahead of us turning into the cemetery.  We had taken the weed whacker to clean off Merrill's headstone, but the graveside service was just up the hill from where we were and out of respect we didn't want to use a loud power tool.

So we put the flowers in the vase along with the flag and then just wandered around for a bit pondering on the sacrifice of so many who had served in the military. 

The funeral was for a military person.  There were two men in uniforms and another who played taps on the bugle.  It was a touching and sobering moment. 

 

By the time we were done walking around, the graveside service was over and we were able to clean-up the headstone and put our flowers in the vase.

I can not begin to express the gratitude I feel for those who have fought and died to keep us safe and free.  May we always honor those who have given their all in defense of our country and our freedom!

BH-BL Honors Night

 May 21st was BH-BL Honors Night. 

 It's the night where all the scholarships and 

awards are given to the graduating class.

Lauren got the President's Award for Educational

Excellence and Academic High Honors.  

She also got the Friends of Music Scholarship

 and the Jane Coffey Music Scholarship Award. 

We're very proud of her!!!

Lauren's Prom

 

Prom at Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake High School was held at the 

Hall of Springs in Saratoga on Friday, May 16, 2014.

Lauren is a class officer and helped arranging the Prom.  

She got Erin to design the Prom Invitation.

We went to Paul Mitchell Beauty School to get Lauren's hair done.  

I think they did a fantastic job!

 

Lauren went to Prom with Daken Broadhead, a friend from church.

This is a wide shot of the Hall of Springs.  

It is a beautiful building built in 1935.  

It was a place for people from around the world 

to come and sample the water from the 

springs on the property.

 

Here's what the front of the building looks like.  

The kids don't enter here - they go in the side door below.

It is an amazingly beautiful building.
I wish I'd been able to go inside to take pictures.

All the couples line up and walk down the long promenade.  

All the parents line up to take pictures.

This is the picture from the Times Union newspaper.  

Unfortunately the day of Prom was a rainy,

 so we didn't get any pictures outside.  

Lauren wore her dress to church the next day
 and when we got home we took some pictures outside.