Allison Update

Just spoke to Allison on the phone, she is helping out in the Houston Convention Center. She actually seems to be having a satisfying trip, helping people... some people are strange like that, I guess.

I found some pictures of the damage on-line... wow, she is going to be busy.
http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2008/09/the_short_but_eventful_life_of.html

Allison in TX

Since I can't remember who I told what and when, here is a quick update on what's going on in my life. Allison volunteered to go down South to help with Hurricane relief. We thought it might be right around Labor Day in Florida, but that wound up being no big deal. Instead she finds out on Friday September 12th that they need her on Sunday. We had a nice time at the annual Raytheon trip to Canobie Lake Park on Saturday, then Sunday I brought her to the airport to head down to Texas. Here is the email she sent out from there:

Hi Everyone,
I made it fine to TX though my luggage, with all my clothes, didn't. Delta took off my luggage in NY when they shouldn't and it got left in JFK. Good news is that it came in today. I haven't done much yet. I've been assigned a team of 5 others and we're waiting for assignment. I did go on an errand to Marshall, tx - 2 hrs away, to deliver some supplies for a shelter. So that was nice that a few of us were able to do something besides sit around.

Hopefully tomorrow will bring something. They plan on opening shelters in the disaster area and we'll have sporadic everything so I may not be able to keep you posted besides this. I'm staying in a staff shelter in Dallas today and it's not bad - group sleep area,etc. The most exciting thing is that they have phones we can use for calls and there are red "Incredibles" phones! :) Anyway I hope you are all doing well.
email me at allisonuccello (at) gmail.com
Stay well!
-Allison

McGuire Uccello and the Chipped Toilet

The timing really is quite perfect: he's going to be 11 this year, the same year as Harry Potter when he started at Hogwarts, and now he has his very own forehead scar in time for school! Luckily for me, the scar had nothing to do with evil wizards, a dying parents protection or flying motorcycles, but it is a good one.



The version of the story I heard was that McGuire was getting ready to go see an animal display at the library while visiting his grandparents in Maine, and before they left, he needed to brush his teeth. Being 10, and stubborn, he was watching a TV show while brushing. So when his grandfather turned off the TV and made him go into the bathroom, he didn't like that. Solution: sneak back to the TV as soon as Grandpa's back is turned. Of course, he knows he'll get yelled at when the volume notifies the adults of his addiction, so he runs into the bathroom to hide. The tile-floored bathroom. The slippery tiled bathroom. Can you guess what happened?



Note the chip on the tank. That was not there before the tooth-brushing.

McGuire is fine, despite a trip to the ER and a CT scan. He got 6 stitches and might wind up with a thin scar down the road. For now, it is just a red line on his forehead, healing nicely.



Kids....

August Birthday Parties

So, better late than never?
It was a weekend of birthday parties, both of which went quite well. Carrie was first, hosting us on Mom's birthday at her house. Us, in this case, was my family, Kurt, Carrie's family, Dad and Joanne, Mom and Don, John and Laura (it was also John's birthday)

Pictures...
My boys with both paternal grandparents at the same time!

World War 2 Memorial

Just wow.

Such a beautiful monument, and a great time to appreciate how intelligent McGuire is.  We spent a long time talking about the Second World War, things like Isolationism and making hard decisions like dropping nukes.  Pictures are found in my picasa Web Album.

WW2 Memorial

August Wedding in DC

8/8/08 marks the wedding of Allison's second oldest sister. 


Boys in Tuxes


At the Church

On the bus from Chapel to Reception

Ring bearers and Flower Girls


McGuire Dancing




Archer Sleeping

Taking Care of Business

All quiet on the home front, for me anyway. It's been a crazy mix of crunch time and vacation time at work, so for the last three weeks I have been doing the work of anywhere between two and four people, obviously none of it as well as two people would do it, so I've been working my butt off, putting in all kinds of overtime, and not spending more than the occasional weekend day with my family. I have been able to swing the extra time such that I still have two day weekends, which is great, it just isn't quite as nice as the two/three day weekend cycle I'm used to.

The next few weekends should be crazy, birthday party at Carrie's for her little ones, then one at my place the next day for Archer. I can't believe he's four already! He certainly makes the most of his inherited stubbornness, I think he just might be the most stubborn person on the planet, and he is willing to argue with you that he isn't until you both pass out from hunger.

I tried to get Dad to come to John and Jane's house this past Saturday for a party, I didn't know it was to celebrate Jaime's college graduation and landing a job with "The Magic Treehouse: The Musical"! Major congratulations for that one, she is on a first-name basis with the author of the Magic Tree House books, so I thought that was pretty cool. Dad decided that he didn't want me driving all over CT just to let him socialize, which is silly, I never would have offered if I wasn't willing to do it. Jim was making fun of him, but most people were just bummed that he didn't come up.
It was a really fun time, Archer and McGuire were busy playing with Tucker, John and Jane's half-lab dog, and Keira, Josh's lab/beagle mix. I got to spend some time with James, who is a gamer like me and Josh (complete with the M-rated violent games!) and talk to Jaime for a bit too. It was a really nice time, me and the boys stayed until like 9:30, so Archer was a total mess when we left - just a bit overtired. I also got to show off my Rock Band skillz, which was awesome. I've turned some kind of a corner on the drums, and now I can play most of the songs on Medium without too much trouble, just the occasional shin cramp.