Emma Summer Lucyk - 6.18.2000 - 9.26.2010

Our beloved family dog, Emma, went to doggy heaven yesterday. It was so sad to see her go but just reminded me of all the great times we had with her.

Like the time I put knit gloves on her paws and made her walk on tile floor. This was the beginning of her phobia of glossy flooring whereby she refused to walk over it unless there were rugs spaced at regular intervals to give her some traction.

You can't really argue that I wasn't Emma's favorite, since I'm the only one that walked her regularly. Here we are cuddling on the floor before I left home last year. I always made sure to say goodbye like it might be the last time because she was getting older...

Ok, maybe Dad is her favorite...


I have no doubt that there was promise of food in order to get this photo.

Here are some photos of her yesterday right before they had to let her go:



She really does look like she's in heaven in this photo.


Miss you, Emma girl!

18 Miles and counting!

Hey there friends. Sorry for the 2 week lapse in posts. I should be more diligent. Just wanted to share with you the fun run that Taylor and I did last weekend. You can see from the map below that we ran the entire perimeter of Manhattan, about 18 miles! We did the run on Friday night, so since it was September 10th, they already had two spotlights out in honor of September 11th. So that was pretty cool.

A perfect Coney Island Friday

Since the summer is winding to a close (blasphemy, I know!), Taylor and I decided to spend Friday night checking another item off of our New York Summer Bucket List. We went out to Coney Island to eat some yummy food, ride the cyclone, and watch the Brooklyn Cyclones (minor league team of the Mets).

Despite some trepidation due to the potential of Hurriane Early to hit on Friday, the weather and experience actually turned out to be perfect. Here are some fun photos!

First things first, Nathan's Hot Dogs! Nathan's is home to the annual (and now infamous) hot-dog-eating contest. We managed to down 2 in just over 15 mintues, do you think we qualify?
After filling our tummies with all 5 food groups (hot dogs: meat; bun: grains; fries: veggie; cheese sauce: dairy and beans: the magical fruit, right? I crack myself up), we headed over to the game. I was pumped because the giveaway for the first 2,500 fans was Brooklyn Cyclones Silly Bandz. I had not yet hopped on the silly bandz-wagon, if you will, so I figured what better time than when they were free! We got there just as the game was starting and even though they hadn't run out yet, the Beach Bums (that's what the cheerleaders for the Cyclones are called....I guess because the stadium is on the beach) were leaving with the remaining bandz just as we arrived. But my loyal husband was kind enough to chase down the retreating jail-bait for some silly bandz, isn't he sweet??

Here are a few of them:
From left to right, a batter, MCU (the stadium name), and this thing, the Coney Island Parachute Jump.

Here are some photos from the game:

Those clouds in the background are Earl...and despite the fact that it never rained, they cancelled the planned fireworks due to high winds. But, we did get a consolation prize: running the bases!! Taylor was so excited when they announced it. I told him we could go if there was anyone else over the age of 12 lined up to do it :) Turns out EVERYONE wanted to run the bases, kids and parents alike. So here are some photos of Taylor's first running of the bases at a baseball game (that he can remember):

The excitement builds as we head toward the field...
Heading for second...
Approaching home plate (sliding was strictly prohibited or he definitely would have done it)...
We scored a run!
And of course, any good run must be followed by...FUNNEL CAKE (we actually had ice cream before this too, full disclosure)...