Family Fun Fair!

Tonight was the AWANA Family Fun Fair. The kids have literally been counting the days down just waiting for today to arrive!


The evening turned out to be a really fun night! The fair was packed full of lots of activities, inflatable, games, food and lots and lots of fun! We started out our evening with hotdogs and lemonade. Then we moved on to the inflatable obstacle course, some games, the velcro wall, the Awana store, and slushies, popcorn, cotton candy, and lots and lots of candy! Wow!!!!! The kids thought they were in Heaven!!! :o)

The evening ended with a great take home prize which I'll tell you all about later!!!!!

AWANA Awards Night

Tonight was the official closing ceremonies for AWANAs. The kids were really excited to be recognized in front of everyone for their accomplishments. They both worked very hard all year to say their verses and work their way through their books! They will both really miss AWANAs!
Great job, Jacob and Allison! We are really proud of you both!

Wow! Am I Getting Old?!

Last night Eric and I had a few hours to ourselves as the kids had their last night of AWANAS. We went to a local restaurant for a quick bite to eat. After a very relaxing dinner, Eric decided that he wanted some icecream and suggested an old favorite, Coneheads. It's been YEARS since we have been to Coneheads! We walked in and absolutely nothing has changed - nothing except the prices - yikes!

Anyway.... while we were sitting there eating our icecream, it occurred to me that I've been visiting Coneheads for a really, really long time! There is no way that I'm old enough to say just how long I've been going there - in fact - it's a little scary! I've been going there for 20 years! Is that possible?! Unbelievable! So I start recounting in my mind memories of going there with high school friends. Then I start thinking - WOW - have I really been out of school for that long!?

Just like that 20 years have passed by in what seems like just yesterday. Then there are times when those days seem like a lifetime ago when I look at my life now... a stay at home mom with 2 great kids and a wonderful husband!

All this over a bowl of icecream!

A New Summer Toy!

So here it is.... the long awaited kayak. Eric has been dreaming about this for a very long time and now he is the proud owner of his very own kayak!
The idea was for Jacob and Eric to use it and that ocassionally Allison would want to join them. That's not exactly how things are panning out. Jacob vows that he won't even sit in it until we can prove to him that it won't sink! Allison on the other hand got right in it and wanted to know when we can put it in the water!

I Wish I Were A Squirrel!

The other morning as I doing Allison's hair before school we had the following conversation that was too cute not to post!

A: Mommy, I wish that I was a squirrel!

M: You do, why?

A: If I was a squirrel, I could climb all the way to the top a tree and when I got to the top, I could see Heaven and then I could see Jesus!

M: Do you think it would be fun to see Heaven and Jesus?

A: Yes, and if I could see Jesus, then I could see GG because she is in Heaven with Jesus.

Opening Soccer Day!

This morning was opening day for our township recreational soccer teams. Allison is the only one playing this year as Jacob's travel team is still playing their spring season. Allison was very excited about her season beginning! She is on the same team as one of her good friends, Jenna as well as one of her classmates.

We've determined that Allison is going to be the social butterfly of the two kids. Upon arriving at the field and walking to the field, everyone we passed was calling out, "Hi Allison!". Everyone seems to know her!

When we arrived in the parking lot, I felt like I was in the circus and seeing how many people we could get into our minivan! You see, we are watching my friend's 3 girls. So add my 2 kids to her 3 girls and Eric and I are terribly out numbered. As I was unloading them, I found myself counting to make sure that we had all 5 children!

The 4 kids that weren't playing all did well keeping themselves busy with bubbles and some soccer balls that we took with us! Unfortunately, the sky got black just as we were done with soccer so we were unable to make it to the playground as we had talked about. They were all good sports though and were having a good time running between the rain drops as the sky opened up!

Photo Shoot!

Today my mom and I took the kids and my neice Abby to get some pictures taken. I tried a new photography place I've been wanting to try, Portrait Innovations, and loved it!!! The pictures were primarily for my Mom and Dad with all 3 grandchildren together. They were offering a package deal that I couldn't pass up - you all know how cheap I am! The kids did really well for the photo shooting part. After the pictures were taken and we had to view all the shots and make our selection was a totally different story - being that they took 113 photos!!!!!

Here are few samples of the day! Hope you enjoy! (Sorry for the sideways pics... these are unedited versions and are a read only file)

Roller Skating!

Today the kids had a roller skating party. Besides skating out front of the house, the kids have never been roller skating at a rink! Jacob did quite well with his roller blades. He was pretty much independent and would pass by occasionally and wave. Allison was a bit of a different scenario! She was quite wobbly on the rink and was hanging on to me as if her life depended on it! We stayed with regular roller skates for her and we asked for the wheels to be tightened. By the end of the day she was getting the hang of it!


If you ask them both - they would both agree that they had a blast at the party!

Squirrel Proof?!?

So I posted a few weeks ago that we got a new bird feeder. I wanted it to be a bird feeder and not a squirrel feeder. Up until now, we have been pretty successful. And then we come home to this! How on earth can I compete and outsmart these creatures! To interpret this picture, the squirrel is actually sitting on the ledge above the spring activated bar to keep the likes of him out! He then leans down and eats out of the trough - fully outsmarting the squirrel proof part of this feeder!

Hanging With Friends!

This afternoon we went over to our good friends for an afternoon of riding bikes and playing! It was good to get outside and feel the bright sunshine! Looking for a little warmer temperatures! We are so greatful to have such good friends to just hang out with!

A Choir Field Trip!

Today the kids went on a sort of field trip for choir. They participated in assisting with a service run by children at a local church. They sang 2 of their favorite songs and had a great time! After the service, the church provide a great lunch for everyone!

A Day With Nana & Grandpa

Today was an entire day that the kids spent with Nana & Grandpa! I was sick in bed with a very bad case of the flu so although there are no photos to document the day, we wanted to remember the very fun day!

The day started first thing in the morning with a trip for 2 to the dentist! The kids are still at the age where they think that this is a treat! After the dentist, they took Nana & Grandpa to visit their school and walk around outside. The ended up of course at the township playground.

They then went on a little shopping spree to Target for a few fun pieces of clothes! Then lunch at Chick-fil-a where they ran into some friends!

After a brief stop at home and a snack, they were off again for an afternoon of bowling!

It goes without saying that EVERYONE slept really well!

And me, well, I was so thankful that they were entertained for the day and I could rest and recover!

Thanks Nana & Grandpa!

I Love This Picture!

Too cute for words!

Easter Sunday!

Despite our spring attire, it was a very chilly day to be hunting for Easter eggs!


Our day started out at home with the discovery of our Easter Baskets! After a quick once over on the baskets, off to find our eggs! It seems like every year there is 1 egg that is troublesome and difficult to find!


Once we were all dressed we left for church and had a great Easter service. We met up with my friend Melissa from college there. She joins our family every Easter.


After church we stopped at my mom and dad's for a photo shoot before everyone put their "comfy" clothes on! With the chilly weather, all photos were inside. It's hard to believe that some Easters it warm and all trees are in full bloom - not this year! :o(





My mom and dad hosted Easter lunch. It was very relaxing! Then another egg hunt - this time outside! Again - 1 egg unaccounted for and then after much searching - found! Abby really got into searching for the eggs - she is an old pro now!

It was a perfect day for a Grandfather/Grandson game of pool! Jacob is getting to be quite the pro!

Easter Eggs!

Tonight we dyed our Easter eggs with Abby. Suzanne stripped her down to her diaper in case of a curiosity fiasco. Abby showed minimal interest this year and was content with me just "helping" her to dye the eggs. As long as we moved fast, things were great!



We had a full house with both sets of grandparents and Suzanne and Abby here!

Before dying the eggs, the kids had fun playing with the boxes that bar stools came in! Amazing what fun kids can have with plain old boxes!

Our Annual Trek!

The day before Easter is an annual tradition for our family - one that was started by my mom when I was little! Every year, the day before Easter we head down to Ocean City to buy our discounted amusement tickets. You know that I love a deal and to pay full price for our amusement tickets would be unheard of! So whether rain or shine, cold or warm, we head down. Today, no exception! The forecast looked grim but reality was much better than predicted! We packed our lunch and loaded up the car and hit the road after Jacob's indoor soccer game. Once there, we divided and conquered all the ticket options. The boys took off to Playland, and the girls went to Wonderland.

Some Johnson's popcorn was a must!

And to end our day of tradition, a couple of rides to hold us over till warmer weather!

A Good Friday!

Eric's parents are here visiting. They arrived late last night. Although it's a pretty day outside, it's really windy so we opted for a short trip to the local park/playground.

After dinner, Nana helped the kids make "Ressurection Rolls". They had a great time rolling out the dough and getting them ready to bake!

A Complete Kitchen!

Finally! After months of waiting... and negotiating with Eric our bar stools have arrived for our newly enlarged island! We ordered them in January and finally they are here! I love them. It's a little weird getting used to the new look in our kitchen. After 4 years w/o anything in that space, it's taking some getting used to.

Sick Again?!

So much for a short 24 hour thing! Jacob was not feeling well over the weekend and even had a low grade temperature. I thought he was better yesterday so off to school he went. Right now his chief complaint is that his legs hurt and he is really having quite a bit of difficulty walking. After down playing it yesterday and seeing no improvement today, in fact he's feeling worse today, we kept him home and took him to the Dr.

Turns out he has what the Dr. is calling "a really really bad case of the flu". The leg pain is causing myalgia due to the flu (simply muscle aching as a result of the flu). Although his asthma is flaring again, his lungs and chest are clear. So Motrin and rest and lots of fluid! No school today or tomorrow! UGH!

After I questioned whether or not he really ever got over what he had in February, the doctor responded with this little formula....
The average child gets 6-8 respiratory illnesses each year. Each illness tends to last on average 10 - 14 days. So... we are well under average at this point! Scary figures though!

A Bird's Eye View!

Since we have moved into our house over 4 years ago, we have taken notice to a large variety of birds. I've never really been much of a bird "lover", but throughout the years, we've seem some quirky little birds most of which we've come to love! I think the fact that we back to some woods, increases the amount of birds that we get. We get everything from large wild turkeys to little sparrows and everything in between. For several years, I've wanted a bird feeder - a good one - and a squirrel proof one! We've had feeders before and seem to feed not much more than all the squirrels! So, I've been on the lookout for a good one! Yesterday we got one! I love it! It's so cute and sits right on a tree that you can see from the entire back of the house! So far we've had only a bite or two from the little Nuthatches that frequent our trees but I'm eagerly awaiting to see a huge variety. Some birds that we have seen in the past are 2 different kinds of Woodpeckers, Cardinals, Blue Jays, and Blue Birds, just to mention a few. Good friends gave us a bird book a while ago and we pull it out frequently - it's fun to figure out our new little feathered friends!