Yes, we still have a cat...

She's adjusting nicely I think, don't you?

Family (Beery's, Liston's, and Yarnell's, oh My!)

Brian came to visit us this past weekend! We had a great time. He got to meet Lyla. Dick, Brian, and John got to go play video games at the Strong Museum. We all ventured out for some dinner at the lake at Cheeburger Cheeburger. We had a fun weekend..thanks Brian!The Listons/Yarnells stopped by for dinner on their way to Halifax to see Julia off on her Semester at Sea! We got to have some Thai food and baby time!The Queen and her loyal subject Lyla.
Oh yeah, John was there too.
This is a great shot. All Yarnell's really, but you have a Yarnell, Beery, Ballou, and Liston in this one. No, they did not call each other in the morning to ask what to wear...it totally just happened.

The Grandparents

Laura and I can't thank Sandy and Dick enough. Sandy stayed with us last week and cooked all our meals, did all our dishes, had some Lyla time, laundry....etc.etc.etc. She was elevated to "Greatest Mother-in-Law in the whole wide universe." Dick is staying with us this week and has large shoes to fill, but is doing a great job! We are keeping him supplied with coffee, and he is doing well. Thanks Dick and Sandy!

First few Days of Lyla at Home

Mom happy at home.
A nice gift basket from the Dean of Students Office.
Learning how to do belly time.
First sponge bath.
Flowers from Great Aunt Sharon, Uncle John, and cousin Julia.
Drying off after bath.

Lyla in the Hospital

Lyla's first outfit.
The Blowers family came to visit us in the hospital. Here's Lauren.
And Sarah with Lyla.
So peaceful while she's sleeping all swaddled.

Announcing the Birth of Lyla Rose Ballou

Born Friday, June 5, 2009, 12:04 p.m.
8 lbs 8 oz., 21.25 inches long

New York Letterbox Hiking Challenge Patch Info

Announcing the New York Letterbox Hiking Challenge! The NY Letterbox Hiking Challenge is a fun way to encourage hiking for letterboxes to improve health and spend more time in the great outdoors of New York. By logging miles on the trail while letterboxing in NY, we hope you will have fun finding, planting, and maintaining letterboxes and find more of our NY’s natural treasures.

The incentive? A beautiful 100% embroidered patch to commemorate your achievement. Patches will be released in 25, 50, 75, and 100 mile delineations, with 25 being the first launched at the end of April. Design for 25 Mile patch is pictured here.

The guidelines:
- Each foot mile you hike in NY while letterboxing counts. You keep track, and this patch is on the honor system. We won’t challenge your numbers, but you should challenge yourself. We recommend that you only count miles on the trail to and from letterboxes in NY, NOT miles driven to letterboxes…this is a “hiking/letterboxing” patch. We also encourage participants to make hikes that are at least one mile or more (i.e. 0.5 miles to a letterbox, and back)…yes, this is also a “challenge” patch. Miles can be counting finding, planting, and maintaining letterboxes.
- Challenge Patches will be available for both residents and non-residents completing a challenge.
- Start date for counting begins today, April 2 2009. Hikes while letterboxing before this date should not be included.
- Patches can be ordered by sending an SASE to Jackbear for a $3. Payment can be via paypal, cash, check, or money order. Your SASE can be mailed to John Ballou, 200 Hillside Ave. Rochester, NY 14610. Patches will also be available at gatherings in NY attended by Jackbear, Scout, or Sahalie.

Is this like the Treasure Hikers? Yes, this was inspired by the work the Treasure Hiker groups were doing in other states, and we are very grateful for the great ideas they came up with for such a challenge. Scout, jackbear, and Sahalie decided to go with a patch for New York instead of “pathtags” after a poll indicated that 3 out of 5 letterboxers preferred to earn a patch over a pathtag.

Again, our primary goal is to have fun and encourage hiking and letterboxing together! We hope that you will challenge yourself to get out and hike more this year, and enjoy what our state has to offer.

If you have any questions, feel free to contact Jackbear, Scout, or Sahalie and keep and eye out for more challenge patch designs as we release them in the coming months.

Now get out there and get letterboxing!

Baby Ballou

Well, I haven't updated my blog in a long long time. Well, I finally have news to share!

Laura and I are having a baby! Here is the ultrasound photo we got yesterday.

To answer your questions:
1) Due date is first week of June.
2) Gender will be a surprise.

THANK YOU Muckrace Sponsors!

A big THANK YOU to all our friends, family, and sponsors who helped the "Three Muckateers" birding team raise so much money for the Montezuma Wetlands Complex this year.

I am pleased an honored to announce due to your generous support, the Three Muckateers was the team that RAISED THE MOST MONEY!

Here is the email I received today:

Anyway - TATA!!! Your team was the top fundraiser, with $1430.20. Congratulations. The Capitol Cuckoos, came in second, with $1316.00, and the NYSDEC Crane-iacs came in 3rd, with $645.90. The FOTMWC matched the $3392.10 our three teams raised raised, and the total for the Muckrace was #12,286.50, well exceeding our $11,000 goal.

So I am very proud and very pleased, and we couldn't have done it with out all of you! Thank You!

Muckrace Fundraising Results!

Just a quick note! I have all of the Three Muckateers birding team donations totalled, and I am thrilled to report that Dom, Dick, and I raised $1,455.20! Our goal was 1K, so we blew that away. Thank you to all our friends, workmates, family members, generous sponsors for your donations! Your donations will help migratory birds like the threatened Cerulean Warbler pictured above. All this money will be matched by the Friends of the Montezuma Wetlands Complex if we are in the top three fundraising teams. Cross your fingers, and check back here!