Look closely and you'll understand.*Alternate post title by Cory: "Tis Better To Be Peed On Than Peed Off"
Spicy Lemon Pepper Vinegar
3 months ago
Friday, July 31, 2009
{A Picture is Worth . . .}
a Thousand LAUGHS. Nuff said.
Look closely and you'll understand.
*Alternate post title by Cory: "Tis Better To Be Peed On Than Peed Off"
Look closely and you'll understand.*Alternate post title by Cory: "Tis Better To Be Peed On Than Peed Off"
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
{3 Months!}
My baby boy is three months old. How on earth did that happen? When you are pregnant, time goes by so slowly. Every day feels like a week. But once the baby is born, the complete opposite happens. You wake up one morning and your baby is six years old. Oh, wait. I'm not talking about Sasha (who is about to turn six! Gah!). But time seriously flies.
When Clara was a baby I took a picture of her every month on the yellow rocker in the nursery. I put a black teddy bear next to her, so at the end of the year I could see how much she grew from month to month. I seriously LOVE those pictures, so I'm doing it again with Dixon. This time I'm using an elephant that his great-grandmother gave him.
The chunker-monker was hammin' it up for the camera! He's getting to be such a big boy!
Man, I love my babies. I wish I could have a dozen of them. Well, I wish I could have four. But that's another story.
When Clara was a baby I took a picture of her every month on the yellow rocker in the nursery. I put a black teddy bear next to her, so at the end of the year I could see how much she grew from month to month. I seriously LOVE those pictures, so I'm doing it again with Dixon. This time I'm using an elephant that his great-grandmother gave him.
The chunker-monker was hammin' it up for the camera! He's getting to be such a big boy!
Man, I love my babies. I wish I could have a dozen of them. Well, I wish I could have four. But that's another story.Yesterday Cory came home and asked me to take some headshots of him because he's going to be featured in another dairy publication. We went outside and got some great shots, and the whole time Dixon was sitting in his lap. When we were both satisfied that we had a good headshot, I had Cory hold Dixon closer to his face for some photos. I adore how this one turned out! Dixon is a bit blurry because he was fussy, but I don't care. It still is a cute picture.
Daddy loves his little boy.
Daddy loves his little boy.Today I took Dixon to a studio for professional three month photos. He was great! He smiled and was his regular adorable self. I wanted some pictures of the two of us, so we gave that a shot. Mind you, Dixon had his diaper off for the majority of the photo shoot because I love the naked baby pictures, so what happened shouldn't be that big of a surprise.
I held him up above my head and . . .
yep. He peed. All over me. I felt it on my neck first, and then it went down my shirt, onto my skirt, and on my leg. He continued to pee on the backdrop on the floor. The photographer and I just laughed and laughed! It was one of those situations that was simply priceless. The best part is that the photographer got a picture of the exact moment Dixon peed on me. I have a look of total shock on my face and you can see the stream of pee shooting out and nailing me. She asked if I wanted that picture printed and I said, "Heck, yeah!" It will probably end up being my favorite shot of the whole bunch simply because it's so real. Know what I mean? I can't wait to get the proofs tomorrow! I'll be sure to post it here for the world to see, so stay tuned!
Sunday, July 26, 2009
{Swimmers}
Summertime with kids means one very important thing: swimming lessons! I've always been a horrible swimmer despite the years of lessons I had as a kid. I just don't have the swimming gene. Don't get me wrong - I love being in the water. Just don't ask me to do anything more than doggie paddle or swim underwater. I can do a mean dead man's float, too.
So I'm determined that my kids will learn how to swim better than I did. Both of them have fallen into a pool unnoticed only to be "rescued" by their cousins, and I have a horrible fear of that happening again with not so good results. I want to know that if they fall into water, they will be able to swim well enough to get out on their own.
Last year Sasha took lessons at Memorial Park . . . and learned nada. I don't know what the "teachers" there do, but they certainly don't teach the kids how to swim. Several of my friends took their kids to the Country Club and gave those teachers rave reviews, so that's where we went this year. The ironic thing is that this is where I took lessons all those years ago and failed miserably, yet I'm expecting my kids to have a completely different experience.
I signed both Sasha and Clara up for the Level 1 class since Sasha learned so little last year. Mark Shoap is in charge of the lessons, and he is amazing. He coaches the swim team at the high school and several of those swimmers teach at the Country Club with him. Each day Mr. Shoap met with the kids in the grass for a pep talk before getting in the pool. He stressed how important it is to try, even when challenged to do something difficult. I was so incredibly happy to hear him talk about trying each day because Sasha tends to get upset and quit if she doesn't do something right the first time. She really needed to hear this lesson from someone other than Cory and me.
Here are some of the kids with Mr. Shoap on the first day of lessons.
In Level 1, the goal is to put your head in the water, blow bubbles, float on your back, glide and do "puppy paws" (freestyle). The kids need to be comfortable in the water and do some things independent of the teachers. Sasha and Clara were both willing to put their faces in the water and blow bubbles, but the rest of the lesson was more of a challenge. They tried to do everything they were asked to do, but they clearly needed a LOT of practice. Mr. Shoap and Olivia, another teacher, were very patient and explained how to do things in very clever ways that made sense to the kids. Here is Sasha trying to do the puppy paddle.
And this is Clara's attempt. I know she isn't in proper form, but I just love the little pointed toes popping out of the water!
The kickboard was a favorite of mine as a kid, so I couldn't help but smile when I saw it. The idea is to lay your body flat on the water and kick with your face down. God love her, Clara is trying!
Even though we had gorgeous weather, the water wasn't very warm. Each day the girls got out of the pool with purple lips!
Yet they were always happy to get back in for the next lesson. The kids were instructed to stay on the wall while waiting for their turn to practice, and I often saw the girls smiling and practicing their moves along the wall. Sasha especially liked to go under water while waiting.
Check out Clara's form here! Mr. Shoap told them to spread peanut butter on top of one hand and jelly on the other and then put them together to make a sticky sandwich. Then they could glide through the water. Clara understands sticky sandwiches!
At the end of the week I was hopeful that at least Sasha would pass to Level 2. I really didn't expect Clara would pass because she is young and not as comfortable in the water as Sasha. As we dried off on Friday I awaited some kind of report from the teachers, but none came. I saw some other kids get cards stating they had passed their levels, but none of the teachers approached Sasha. Oh, well. I would have really liked to hear what the girls need to work on but I guess they don't give reports at the Country Club. 
Check out those puppy paws!
To show you just how much Sasha learned in just over a week, check out these videos. The first one was shot during her first week of lessons. Mr. Shoap is teaching her how to do puppy paws.
So I'm determined that my kids will learn how to swim better than I did. Both of them have fallen into a pool unnoticed only to be "rescued" by their cousins, and I have a horrible fear of that happening again with not so good results. I want to know that if they fall into water, they will be able to swim well enough to get out on their own.
Last year Sasha took lessons at Memorial Park . . . and learned nada. I don't know what the "teachers" there do, but they certainly don't teach the kids how to swim. Several of my friends took their kids to the Country Club and gave those teachers rave reviews, so that's where we went this year. The ironic thing is that this is where I took lessons all those years ago and failed miserably, yet I'm expecting my kids to have a completely different experience.
I signed both Sasha and Clara up for the Level 1 class since Sasha learned so little last year. Mark Shoap is in charge of the lessons, and he is amazing. He coaches the swim team at the high school and several of those swimmers teach at the Country Club with him. Each day Mr. Shoap met with the kids in the grass for a pep talk before getting in the pool. He stressed how important it is to try, even when challenged to do something difficult. I was so incredibly happy to hear him talk about trying each day because Sasha tends to get upset and quit if she doesn't do something right the first time. She really needed to hear this lesson from someone other than Cory and me.
Here are some of the kids with Mr. Shoap on the first day of lessons.
In Level 1, the goal is to put your head in the water, blow bubbles, float on your back, glide and do "puppy paws" (freestyle). The kids need to be comfortable in the water and do some things independent of the teachers. Sasha and Clara were both willing to put their faces in the water and blow bubbles, but the rest of the lesson was more of a challenge. They tried to do everything they were asked to do, but they clearly needed a LOT of practice. Mr. Shoap and Olivia, another teacher, were very patient and explained how to do things in very clever ways that made sense to the kids. Here is Sasha trying to do the puppy paddle.
And this is Clara's attempt. I know she isn't in proper form, but I just love the little pointed toes popping out of the water!
The kickboard was a favorite of mine as a kid, so I couldn't help but smile when I saw it. The idea is to lay your body flat on the water and kick with your face down. God love her, Clara is trying!
Even though we had gorgeous weather, the water wasn't very warm. Each day the girls got out of the pool with purple lips!
Yet they were always happy to get back in for the next lesson. The kids were instructed to stay on the wall while waiting for their turn to practice, and I often saw the girls smiling and practicing their moves along the wall. Sasha especially liked to go under water while waiting.
Check out Clara's form here! Mr. Shoap told them to spread peanut butter on top of one hand and jelly on the other and then put them together to make a sticky sandwich. Then they could glide through the water. Clara understands sticky sandwiches!
At the end of the week I was hopeful that at least Sasha would pass to Level 2. I really didn't expect Clara would pass because she is young and not as comfortable in the water as Sasha. As we dried off on Friday I awaited some kind of report from the teachers, but none came. I saw some other kids get cards stating they had passed their levels, but none of the teachers approached Sasha. Oh, well. I would have really liked to hear what the girls need to work on but I guess they don't give reports at the Country Club.I will say that I saw a drastic difference between what the girls could do on Monday and what they could do on Friday. They learned so much in just a week! So I asked them if they wanted to take lessons again and they both said yes. I signed them up for the following week!
Clara definitely continued to improve during the second week, but it was Sasha who made the biggest improvements. Just being in the water each day made her feel more confident, and she barely stayed along the wall at all during the second week. All she wanted to do was swim.
Check out those puppy paws!
To show you just how much Sasha learned in just over a week, check out these videos. The first one was shot during her first week of lessons. Mr. Shoap is teaching her how to do puppy paws.The next one was shot on Wednesday of week two. Amazing!
Once she learns how to keep her legs straight behind her, she'll be flying through the water! I'm so impressed by how fast Sasha picked up this skill.
Level 1 was taught by two different gals the second week, and they did something fun with the kids: After they swam across the pool, the teachers let them sit on a noodle and bounce back to the other side. The kids loved it!
The hardest skill for Sasha is definitely floating on her back. She feels like she's going to sink, so she bends at the waist and flails around. I kept telling her to just relax, but she really struggled to do that. But by the end of week two she was doing much better. Her teachers even taught them how to "zip, T, pull"! (At the end of this clip you'll hear a nasty sound. That's just Clara choking on some water. No worries, she was fine!)
The second week of lessons flew by and before we knew it lessons were over. Sasha and Clara learned so much, and I will definitely be bringing them back to the Country Club next year.
And guess what? Sasha even passed Level 1! Cory and I are so very proud of her! She was quite proud of herself, too.
The hardest skill for Sasha is definitely floating on her back. She feels like she's going to sink, so she bends at the waist and flails around. I kept telling her to just relax, but she really struggled to do that. But by the end of week two she was doing much better. Her teachers even taught them how to "zip, T, pull"! (At the end of this clip you'll hear a nasty sound. That's just Clara choking on some water. No worries, she was fine!)
The second week of lessons flew by and before we knew it lessons were over. Sasha and Clara learned so much, and I will definitely be bringing them back to the Country Club next year.
And guess what? Sasha even passed Level 1! Cory and I are so very proud of her! She was quite proud of herself, too.
Friday, July 24, 2009
{Beans}
Our garden has been gloriously producing veggies over the past few weeks. In fact, it is so full of lush green plants that there is hardly room to walk in there! I have to part the vines in order to find a spot to plant my feet to pick all the goodies. Next year Cory and I will definitely rethink our planting and place the big spreading plants outside of the garden fence so there's room to get around in there. And if the groundhogs and bunnies DARE to help themselves to our greens, well, I don't know what I'll do. But it won't be pretty! :)
We've eaten our fill of yellow squash and zucchini. Seriously. We've had:
grilled squash and zucchini
squash and zucchini cakes (like crab cakes - delish!)
zucchini lasagna
chicken and zucchini pizza
fried cheesy hot zucchini sticks (a personal fav)
chocolate zucchini bread
zucchini and chicken casserole
On one day alone, I picked 17 zucchini and eight yellow squash! Cory grated up a bunch of the zucchini and we now have enough frozen zucchini to make 32 loaves of zucchini bread during the winter. Or we can use it for other yummy recipes. Who knows. We've also given arm loads of zucchini to our family. And the squash and zucchini are still growing.
We're ready for something new. Green Beans!
Today I barely beat a massive thunderstorm and picked a basket of these gorgeous beans. They are just beautiful, if I do say so myself. I want to plant more of these goodies next year so I have enough to can for the winter. But tonight we are going to enjoy them in Green Bean and Ham Slippery Pot Pie. I can't wait! The aroma is driving me nuts right now; I need to wipe the drool off of my keyboard.
It's so much fun to watch our garden grow and to eat the veggies that we've cared for over the past few months. Right now we have pumpkins that are the size of bowling balls, little watermellons that are about four inches long, green peppers, jalapenos, broccoli, tomatoes, corn, carrots, and all kinds of herbs just going gangbusters outside.
Home-grown veggies. One of the great thrills of summer. Now I'm off to dig in to my Pot Pie.
We've eaten our fill of yellow squash and zucchini. Seriously. We've had:
grilled squash and zucchini
squash and zucchini cakes (like crab cakes - delish!)
zucchini lasagna
chicken and zucchini pizza
fried cheesy hot zucchini sticks (a personal fav)
chocolate zucchini bread
zucchini and chicken casserole
On one day alone, I picked 17 zucchini and eight yellow squash! Cory grated up a bunch of the zucchini and we now have enough frozen zucchini to make 32 loaves of zucchini bread during the winter. Or we can use it for other yummy recipes. Who knows. We've also given arm loads of zucchini to our family. And the squash and zucchini are still growing.
We're ready for something new. Green Beans!
Today I barely beat a massive thunderstorm and picked a basket of these gorgeous beans. They are just beautiful, if I do say so myself. I want to plant more of these goodies next year so I have enough to can for the winter. But tonight we are going to enjoy them in Green Bean and Ham Slippery Pot Pie. I can't wait! The aroma is driving me nuts right now; I need to wipe the drool off of my keyboard.It's so much fun to watch our garden grow and to eat the veggies that we've cared for over the past few months. Right now we have pumpkins that are the size of bowling balls, little watermellons that are about four inches long, green peppers, jalapenos, broccoli, tomatoes, corn, carrots, and all kinds of herbs just going gangbusters outside.
Home-grown veggies. One of the great thrills of summer. Now I'm off to dig in to my Pot Pie.
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
{New Pages}
I've been trying hard to scrap more pages recently. That can be tricky with three little ones and tons of activities on our calendar! But I'm trying!
Thankfully, I was selected to be on an awesome digi designer's Creative Team (CT). Jady Day Studios has wonderful kits that are so much fun to work with! Here are three layouts using her stuff:
http://www.scraporchard.com/market/product.php?productid=18488&cat=0&page=1
Then next layout uses the kit "Springdipity". And guess what? This kit is FREE right now when you make a $5 purchase at Scrap Orchard! What a sweet deal!
I've had this photo hanging on my wall for years but I've never scrapped it. At least I don't think I have! :) This kit was perfect for the picture.
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And finally, this layout uses the kit called "Button Nose". Even the name of the kit is cute!
Thankfully, I was selected to be on an awesome digi designer's Creative Team (CT). Jady Day Studios has wonderful kits that are so much fun to work with! Here are three layouts using her stuff:
The first one uses the kit "Hoppity Dee".
http://www.scraporchard.com/market/product.php?productid=18488&cat=0&page=1We had a lot of fun dying our Easter eggs this year!
Then next layout uses the kit "Springdipity". And guess what? This kit is FREE right now when you make a $5 purchase at Scrap Orchard! What a sweet deal!I've had this photo hanging on my wall for years but I've never scrapped it. At least I don't think I have! :) This kit was perfect for the picture.
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And finally, this layout uses the kit called "Button Nose". Even the name of the kit is cute!Can you believe how young and impish Clara is in these pictures? It's hard to believe she's about to turn four in a couple of weeks!
Go check out the goodies at Scrap Orchard, especially those of Jady Day Studios. Some serious fun awaits you there! 
Finally, here is a layout of one of my favorite beach memories. Yes, it's from 2007, but you know I'm never going to be caught up with all my photos!
That's it for now! Go get creative and preserve some memories!
Go check out the goodies at Scrap Orchard, especially those of Jady Day Studios. Some serious fun awaits you there!
I've also done some layouts that aren't for the CT.
A couple of years ago a friend and I took our kids to Hershey Chocolate World and Hershey Gardens. Of course, those photos and memories had yet to be scrapped until last week. And there are more to do! But at least I got them started.
Finally, here is a layout of one of my favorite beach memories. Yes, it's from 2007, but you know I'm never going to be caught up with all my photos!
That's it for now! Go get creative and preserve some memories!Thursday, July 16, 2009
{Our Anniversary Staycation}
*I apologize for this late post. Our internet service was down from Friday until Tuesday night, so I've been playing catch-up with everything!*
So last Friday was our anniversary. The big 10. I remember when Cory and I got married we said that we would take a special trip for our tenth anniversary. Maybe we'd go back to the Bahamas where we'd honeymooned, or maybe we'd go to Hawaii or Europe. It's funny how things don't always work out the way we hope they will. Here we are at ten years of marriage and there are no plans for a fancy vacation anywhere in our present or future. But that doesn't mean we can't have fun!
Sasha and Clara absolutely adore a gal named Clara who works at our church child care room during Bible Study. We call her "Big Clara". Big Clara came to our house Friday night to play with the girls so Cory and I - and Dixon - could go out and celebrate our anniversary. I believe this was the third time we've hired a sitter to watch our kids since Sasha was born almost six years ago.
The girls had a blast playing with Big Clara while Cory and I took Dixon to a new little restaraunt downtown called Bistro 71. We ate awesome surf & turf outside on the patio and even splurged on a slice of heavenly peanut butter chocolate pie. And Dixon slept through the entire dinner!
We finished eating around 7:30 and debated about what to do next. We thought about going to a movie, but the two that we'd like to see didn't start until 9:30. We'd have to kill two hours and then we'd be out super late with a baby. That didn't sound like a good idea. But we couldn't go home at 7:30! How pathetic would that be? So we considered going to Totem Pole to see if they had any tickets left for the theatre. But I wasn't so sure the theatre would be a good place to bring a baby. Scratch that idea. In the end we headed over to Wilson College and walked around the equestrian center. It was a gorgeous evening and perfect for a leisurely walk. Here we are on the bridge over a bubbling stream. I realize you can't really tell we're on a bridge or near a stream, but trust me, we are.
Walking around the barns and pastures brought back so many awesome memories. I started riding horses when I was nine years old, back when Wilson's equestrian center was located where the retirement homes now sit. I rode there until I graduated from college and got married. And I loved every single moment of it. I often think about starting lessons again, but now that I'm a mom I'm reluctant to get involved in a dangerous sport. Someday . . .
The sad thing is that none of the horses that I grew up riding are there anymore. I didn't recognize any of the critters at all. :( But as we walked through the pastures I looked at the pasture names: Bucky, Dakota, Reveler, and many others. Those are the horses who taught me so much, the horses that I absolutely loved. Now they are just pieces of my past and names on pasture plaques.
I'm hoping that at least one of my kids gets bitten by the "horse bug" like I did. It just may be this guy! Dixon wasn't at all afraid of the horses; in fact, he seemed quite interested in them! This has got to be one of my new favorite photos: a horse kiss.
We went home around 9:30 with plans to watch a movie "on demand". I guess we're getting old, because both of us were too tired to stay up late and wanted to get a good night's sleep to prepare for the busy weekend.
It seems like everyone is cutting back on vacations lately and doing fun local activities instead. Cory and I didn't plan on having a "staycation", but this weekend turned out to be just that. The original plan was simply to go to the Penn State Arts Fest on Saturday and come home that night. But our plans kept getting bigger and better and we ended up having a fun weekend staycation!
The first thing we did once we got to Penn State was go to the Nittany Shrine for a traditional picture. The is the third time the girls have had their picture taken on the lion, but it was obviously a first for Dixon and our new family of five.
Do you see some future Penn Staters here?
Then we hit the Arts Fest. Neither of us had been to this event before so we weren't sure what to expect. We go to the Virginia Beach boardwalk Arts Fest every year, so we assumed it would be like that. Well, it was like the VB festival only about ten times bigger! The art tents lined the streets for miles. There were literally blocks of streets closed down for the event. There were musicians on stages performing concerts, water play areas for kids and grown-ups alike, food vendors selling all kinds of treats, and of course, artists displaying their amazing work.
It was a hot, muggy day. At one point the skies opened up and we got caught in a downpour. The girls whined from the moment we stepped foot outside the van: "Why can't I ride in the stroller? My feet hurt. I'm tired of walking! Why does she get to ride on your shoulders? I want to ride. I want to ride. I want to riiiiiide!!!!" I seriously needed a huge block of cheese to go with all the whine. Cory and I had to do our best to ignore it and laugh it off so we wouldn't be tempted to leave two little girls inside an art tent while we took off without them for some peace and quiet. It was definitely a lesson in patience!
There were some bright moments, though. Some pretty cool artwork and sculptures put a smile on the rugrats' faces from time to time.
And our one purchase of the day was pretty cool. We got Dixon a train set (the one on the top shelf on the right hand side) for his first birthday. I think Cory and the girls will be playing with it as much as if not more than Dixon.
Finally we had enough. We went to my grandparents' house to freshen up (we stayed there overnight instead of in a hotel since they were actually in Chambersburg for the weekend) and then we went to my Aunt Sandy and Uncle Danny's house for a cookout. They had a delicious spread of food including my favorite creamy peach pie. Yum! The kids went swimming but had to get out pretty quickly when a thunderstorm rolled in. Bummer.
When I think about my childhood trips to visit family in State College, one of my favorite memories is horsing around with my uncles. So it was sort of like deja-vu when my Uncle Danny started playing with my kids and his grandson the way he used to play with me and my sisters. I think the kids tired the old guy out. :)
I was super excited to meet my cousin's kids for the first time. Her son Liam just turned two and I had yet to meet him or his brand new baby sister, Lydia. Here she is snuggling with her grandma. Isn't she a cutie?
Lydia is actually a couple of weeks younger than Dixon, but you wouldn't know it by looking at them. Dixon isn't so sure he wants to have his picture taken with this chick.
Nope, he definitely isn't feeling the love.
Thanks, Sandy and Danny for having us over for the evening! It was awsome seeing you and all the family!
The next morning we went to a State College landmark: Ye Olde College Diner. This place is known for their grilled stickies, which are essentially grilled sticky buns. We pigged out!
Check out the stickies. 
Once we had full bellies we journeyed on to the next stop of our staycation: Penn's Cave. Cory and I had both been here before when we were kids. We watch a lot of Planet Earth and the girls love it, so we knew they would enjoy seeing a real cave in person.
Here we are walking into the mouth of the cave. Once we got to the bottom of the hill we got on a small boat for the tour.
Our tour guide told us all about the history of the cave and pointed out the stalactites and stalagmites, especially the ones that look like the Statue of Libery, a diving hippo, "cave bacon", and other cool objects. It was a really cool tour and the girls were quietly amazed by what they saw.
There is also a wildlife tour at Penn's Cave. You can see big cats, buffalo, and other exotic animals. We opted out of that tour so we could do a different activity: ride on the East Broad Top Railroad!
It was a race to get to the railroad on time, that's for sure. The last train leaves at 3:00, and according to our GPS we would make it there with about six minutes to spare. We crossed our fingers that we wouldn't run into any traffic and off we went. Fortunately we made it there at 2:55, got our tickets, and hopped on the train.
The East Broad Top Railroad was the last narrow gauge railroad operating East of the Mississippi. It's a steam train run on coal which is hand shoveled to this day. And I believe it is run totally by volunteers! Can you imagine volunteering to shovel coal on a train?
What a relaxing way to spend an afternoon. We saw lots of gorgeous country while enjoying a piece of history. I don't think Sasha sat down at all. She was way too busy looking out the windows. The only downside to this ride was the looooouuuuud train whistle and the equally loud sound of the steam as it periodically shot out of the engine. Poor little Dixon was so startled every time even though I covered his ears. So here's a tip: if you ever have the chance to ride a steam train, sit in one of the back cars!
We ended the weekend at my mother's house. She brought four giant cupcakes from Crumb's bakery in NYC home for us to try. Ooooh, baby, were they ever tasty!
So last Friday was our anniversary. The big 10. I remember when Cory and I got married we said that we would take a special trip for our tenth anniversary. Maybe we'd go back to the Bahamas where we'd honeymooned, or maybe we'd go to Hawaii or Europe. It's funny how things don't always work out the way we hope they will. Here we are at ten years of marriage and there are no plans for a fancy vacation anywhere in our present or future. But that doesn't mean we can't have fun!
Sasha and Clara absolutely adore a gal named Clara who works at our church child care room during Bible Study. We call her "Big Clara". Big Clara came to our house Friday night to play with the girls so Cory and I - and Dixon - could go out and celebrate our anniversary. I believe this was the third time we've hired a sitter to watch our kids since Sasha was born almost six years ago.
The girls had a blast playing with Big Clara while Cory and I took Dixon to a new little restaraunt downtown called Bistro 71. We ate awesome surf & turf outside on the patio and even splurged on a slice of heavenly peanut butter chocolate pie. And Dixon slept through the entire dinner!
We finished eating around 7:30 and debated about what to do next. We thought about going to a movie, but the two that we'd like to see didn't start until 9:30. We'd have to kill two hours and then we'd be out super late with a baby. That didn't sound like a good idea. But we couldn't go home at 7:30! How pathetic would that be? So we considered going to Totem Pole to see if they had any tickets left for the theatre. But I wasn't so sure the theatre would be a good place to bring a baby. Scratch that idea. In the end we headed over to Wilson College and walked around the equestrian center. It was a gorgeous evening and perfect for a leisurely walk. Here we are on the bridge over a bubbling stream. I realize you can't really tell we're on a bridge or near a stream, but trust me, we are.
Walking around the barns and pastures brought back so many awesome memories. I started riding horses when I was nine years old, back when Wilson's equestrian center was located where the retirement homes now sit. I rode there until I graduated from college and got married. And I loved every single moment of it. I often think about starting lessons again, but now that I'm a mom I'm reluctant to get involved in a dangerous sport. Someday . . .
The sad thing is that none of the horses that I grew up riding are there anymore. I didn't recognize any of the critters at all. :( But as we walked through the pastures I looked at the pasture names: Bucky, Dakota, Reveler, and many others. Those are the horses who taught me so much, the horses that I absolutely loved. Now they are just pieces of my past and names on pasture plaques.
I'm hoping that at least one of my kids gets bitten by the "horse bug" like I did. It just may be this guy! Dixon wasn't at all afraid of the horses; in fact, he seemed quite interested in them! This has got to be one of my new favorite photos: a horse kiss.
We went home around 9:30 with plans to watch a movie "on demand". I guess we're getting old, because both of us were too tired to stay up late and wanted to get a good night's sleep to prepare for the busy weekend.It seems like everyone is cutting back on vacations lately and doing fun local activities instead. Cory and I didn't plan on having a "staycation", but this weekend turned out to be just that. The original plan was simply to go to the Penn State Arts Fest on Saturday and come home that night. But our plans kept getting bigger and better and we ended up having a fun weekend staycation!
The first thing we did once we got to Penn State was go to the Nittany Shrine for a traditional picture. The is the third time the girls have had their picture taken on the lion, but it was obviously a first for Dixon and our new family of five.
Do you see some future Penn Staters here?Then we hit the Arts Fest. Neither of us had been to this event before so we weren't sure what to expect. We go to the Virginia Beach boardwalk Arts Fest every year, so we assumed it would be like that. Well, it was like the VB festival only about ten times bigger! The art tents lined the streets for miles. There were literally blocks of streets closed down for the event. There were musicians on stages performing concerts, water play areas for kids and grown-ups alike, food vendors selling all kinds of treats, and of course, artists displaying their amazing work.It was a hot, muggy day. At one point the skies opened up and we got caught in a downpour. The girls whined from the moment we stepped foot outside the van: "Why can't I ride in the stroller? My feet hurt. I'm tired of walking! Why does she get to ride on your shoulders? I want to ride. I want to ride. I want to riiiiiide!!!!" I seriously needed a huge block of cheese to go with all the whine. Cory and I had to do our best to ignore it and laugh it off so we wouldn't be tempted to leave two little girls inside an art tent while we took off without them for some peace and quiet. It was definitely a lesson in patience!There were some bright moments, though. Some pretty cool artwork and sculptures put a smile on the rugrats' faces from time to time.
And our one purchase of the day was pretty cool. We got Dixon a train set (the one on the top shelf on the right hand side) for his first birthday. I think Cory and the girls will be playing with it as much as if not more than Dixon.Finally we had enough. We went to my grandparents' house to freshen up (we stayed there overnight instead of in a hotel since they were actually in Chambersburg for the weekend) and then we went to my Aunt Sandy and Uncle Danny's house for a cookout. They had a delicious spread of food including my favorite creamy peach pie. Yum! The kids went swimming but had to get out pretty quickly when a thunderstorm rolled in. Bummer.When I think about my childhood trips to visit family in State College, one of my favorite memories is horsing around with my uncles. So it was sort of like deja-vu when my Uncle Danny started playing with my kids and his grandson the way he used to play with me and my sisters. I think the kids tired the old guy out. :)I was super excited to meet my cousin's kids for the first time. Her son Liam just turned two and I had yet to meet him or his brand new baby sister, Lydia. Here she is snuggling with her grandma. Isn't she a cutie?Lydia is actually a couple of weeks younger than Dixon, but you wouldn't know it by looking at them. Dixon isn't so sure he wants to have his picture taken with this chick.Nope, he definitely isn't feeling the love.Thanks, Sandy and Danny for having us over for the evening! It was awsome seeing you and all the family!The next morning we went to a State College landmark: Ye Olde College Diner. This place is known for their grilled stickies, which are essentially grilled sticky buns. We pigged out!
Check out the stickies. Once we had full bellies we journeyed on to the next stop of our staycation: Penn's Cave. Cory and I had both been here before when we were kids. We watch a lot of Planet Earth and the girls love it, so we knew they would enjoy seeing a real cave in person.Here we are walking into the mouth of the cave. Once we got to the bottom of the hill we got on a small boat for the tour.Our tour guide told us all about the history of the cave and pointed out the stalactites and stalagmites, especially the ones that look like the Statue of Libery, a diving hippo, "cave bacon", and other cool objects. It was a really cool tour and the girls were quietly amazed by what they saw.There is also a wildlife tour at Penn's Cave. You can see big cats, buffalo, and other exotic animals. We opted out of that tour so we could do a different activity: ride on the East Broad Top Railroad!It was a race to get to the railroad on time, that's for sure. The last train leaves at 3:00, and according to our GPS we would make it there with about six minutes to spare. We crossed our fingers that we wouldn't run into any traffic and off we went. Fortunately we made it there at 2:55, got our tickets, and hopped on the train.
The East Broad Top Railroad was the last narrow gauge railroad operating East of the Mississippi. It's a steam train run on coal which is hand shoveled to this day. And I believe it is run totally by volunteers! Can you imagine volunteering to shovel coal on a train?What a relaxing way to spend an afternoon. We saw lots of gorgeous country while enjoying a piece of history. I don't think Sasha sat down at all. She was way too busy looking out the windows. The only downside to this ride was the looooouuuuud train whistle and the equally loud sound of the steam as it periodically shot out of the engine. Poor little Dixon was so startled every time even though I covered his ears. So here's a tip: if you ever have the chance to ride a steam train, sit in one of the back cars!
We ended the weekend at my mother's house. She brought four giant cupcakes from Crumb's bakery in NYC home for us to try. Ooooh, baby, were they ever tasty!It's really amazing how many fun activities are in our own backyard. Cory and I both want to spend more weekends going to local actractions. It's so much fun and very affordable. Who needs to go to Hawaii when so much is right at home ready for you to enjoy?
Happy Anniversary, Cory!
Thursday, July 9, 2009
{Looking Ahead}
Have you ever felt like absolutely everything in your life is going well? That there's nothing at all to be upset about but lots of things that bring you joy? That's how I feel right now. So I thought I'd share a few of the things that I'm looking forward to that are making me smile right now.
1. Tomorrow Cory and I celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary! Woo-hoo! We have actually lined up a sitter who isn't related to us so we can go out to dinner and maybe catch a movie afterwards. I can't wait!
2. On Saturday morning we are heading to State College for Arts Fest. We've never been to the Arts Fest before and we both love artsy-fartsy things like that. It should be fun! PLUS, we are meeting family there for a cookout. My cousin just had her second baby a month ago and I have yet to meet the little gal OR her big brother. In fact, I see my dad's side of the family very rarely, so I'm really looking forward to spending some time with them.
3. On Tuesday I found out that I was chosen to be on a Creative Team (CT) for a digi designer! I'm very excited about this and can't wait to start scrappin' with her stuff. More details will come once I know more . . .
4. Dixon has started doing lots of new things: he is finally figuring out how to get his thumb in his mouth, he holds his head up on his own, and he smiles and coos a lot. He's so darn cute! It won't be long before he'll be bouncing in the exersaucer, something Cory really looks forward to. (I really don't know why.)
5. The girls are gearing up for a busy remainder of July. Next week they have swimming lessons, the following week they have Tinkerbell Dance Camp, and the week after that is Vacation Bible School. I love seeing them doing activities that are fun and make them happy. I especially love knowing that Cory and I are giving them happy childhood memories.
6. After almost three months of not doing a Tastefully Simple party, I'm anxious to start partying again. My first post-baby party is next week and I can't wait!
7. Speaking of Tastefully Simple, in a month Dixon, my mother, my sister and I will fly to Minneapolis for National Conference. Yippee! This conference is SO much fun and so motivating. I can't wait to go again this year! I'm very blessed that my mother is able to come along to care for Dixon while I'm in session. She did this two years ago when Jen brought Kari along so she knows what she's in for!
8. I've set a goal to lose 15 pounds by Christmas and I'm going to do it. I am! I'm ready to get back to my fit shape and get rid of my soft belly. And I'm really ready to start wearing all the cute clothes in my closet!
9. A brand spanking new HP laptop is being built for me as we speak! My current Dell laptop is almost six years old and is slower than molasses. It takes for.ev.er to do anything on it! I finally broke down and ordered a new HP with a super fast processor. I can hardly wait for it to get here!
Life is good and it's going to get better each day. I hope you have lots to look forward to, too!
1. Tomorrow Cory and I celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary! Woo-hoo! We have actually lined up a sitter who isn't related to us so we can go out to dinner and maybe catch a movie afterwards. I can't wait!
2. On Saturday morning we are heading to State College for Arts Fest. We've never been to the Arts Fest before and we both love artsy-fartsy things like that. It should be fun! PLUS, we are meeting family there for a cookout. My cousin just had her second baby a month ago and I have yet to meet the little gal OR her big brother. In fact, I see my dad's side of the family very rarely, so I'm really looking forward to spending some time with them.
3. On Tuesday I found out that I was chosen to be on a Creative Team (CT) for a digi designer! I'm very excited about this and can't wait to start scrappin' with her stuff. More details will come once I know more . . .
4. Dixon has started doing lots of new things: he is finally figuring out how to get his thumb in his mouth, he holds his head up on his own, and he smiles and coos a lot. He's so darn cute! It won't be long before he'll be bouncing in the exersaucer, something Cory really looks forward to. (I really don't know why.)
5. The girls are gearing up for a busy remainder of July. Next week they have swimming lessons, the following week they have Tinkerbell Dance Camp, and the week after that is Vacation Bible School. I love seeing them doing activities that are fun and make them happy. I especially love knowing that Cory and I are giving them happy childhood memories.
6. After almost three months of not doing a Tastefully Simple party, I'm anxious to start partying again. My first post-baby party is next week and I can't wait!
7. Speaking of Tastefully Simple, in a month Dixon, my mother, my sister and I will fly to Minneapolis for National Conference. Yippee! This conference is SO much fun and so motivating. I can't wait to go again this year! I'm very blessed that my mother is able to come along to care for Dixon while I'm in session. She did this two years ago when Jen brought Kari along so she knows what she's in for!
8. I've set a goal to lose 15 pounds by Christmas and I'm going to do it. I am! I'm ready to get back to my fit shape and get rid of my soft belly. And I'm really ready to start wearing all the cute clothes in my closet!
9. A brand spanking new HP laptop is being built for me as we speak! My current Dell laptop is almost six years old and is slower than molasses. It takes for.ev.er to do anything on it! I finally broke down and ordered a new HP with a super fast processor. I can hardly wait for it to get here!
Life is good and it's going to get better each day. I hope you have lots to look forward to, too!
Monday, July 6, 2009
{Playing Catch Up}
What a week! My family has been super busy lately - and not just busy going places and doing important things, but busy with everyday life. It's so beautiful outside so the girls have been spending a lot of time in the yard playing and splashing in their little pool. I've also been cleaning and organizing so that's taking up a lot of my time. I've finally taken the plunge and started going through the bins of baby clothes that have been in my attic for five + years. It's very hard for me to do this. Getting rid of my baby girls' clothes is a ridiculously emotional activity! I'm saving my favorite outfits for them, setting aside lots of clothes for my sister-in-law's baby girl who is due in September, marking other piles for yard sale, and loading a bin full of clothes that have stains so they can be made into a quilt. I guess this means I really am done having kids. *weep, sniff, sob*
So I've been meaning to blog every day for the past week and something always happens that makes it impossible. This is my "catch up" post!
First, here are three layouts that I've done recently. The first is for Dixon's first year album. He's growing so fast!
The next one is for the family's 2009 album. This picture was taken on Valentine's Day and I love it. I think it's one of my favorite family shots.
And the third layout is simply documenting a fun day in February. Yep, the girls were bike riding this Februry!
I have high hopes of scrapping some more today. I've got to keep plugging along!
So I've been meaning to blog every day for the past week and something always happens that makes it impossible. This is my "catch up" post!
First, here are three layouts that I've done recently. The first is for Dixon's first year album. He's growing so fast!
The next one is for the family's 2009 album. This picture was taken on Valentine's Day and I love it. I think it's one of my favorite family shots.
And the third layout is simply documenting a fun day in February. Yep, the girls were bike riding this Februry!
I have high hopes of scrapping some more today. I've got to keep plugging along!This past Friday was First Fridays in downtown Chambersburg. Lots of the local businesses are open and have special sales and activites, plus there are street vendors, music on the square, and a kiddie area. The girls wanted to get their faces painted, and while we waited in line a magician approached them to do some tricks. I think he took a liking to Sasha because he kept coming back to her with more tricks even though there were LOTS of other kids around. The girls loved it!
The magician's wife was the face painter, and she did an incredible job! Most face painters just do simple cheek pictures: footballs, doggies, rainbows and the like. But not this lady! She did very detailed paintings, the kind you see at Disney World. Her paintings were intricate and she even added glitter paint and jewels! Sasha choose the princess "do" and Clara opted for the butterfly. They were freakin' gorgeous! I even let them sleep with the paint on, it was so pretty. It's hard to see the detail in pictures, but trust me when I tell you the girls were sparkling.
Saturday was ridiculously crazy. I took Dixon down to the Prime Outlets in Hagerstown because I realized that I never got the girls 4th of July outfits. Oops! I went to every children's store and found very little that fit the bill. Clara ended up with a simple red dress and I had to go to Target to find a blue one for Sasha. I'm glad the dresses aren't emblazoned with stars and stripes, though. This way they can wear them over and over and not look like flags.
The fireworks were beautiful as always! I was glad that the "show" was a bit shorter this year because the noise was a bit loud for little Dixon's ears. He didn't cry, but I had to keep my hands over his ears to protect them.
And now for an update on our garden. Cory was really bummed when we first planted everything because it didn't look like we would have much of a garden. We lost a lot of plants when we transplanted them and what survived didn't look so hot. But guess what? With a lot of tlc, our garden is now the Garden of Eden that Cory envisioned! In fact, it is overflowing with goodness!
The magician's wife was the face painter, and she did an incredible job! Most face painters just do simple cheek pictures: footballs, doggies, rainbows and the like. But not this lady! She did very detailed paintings, the kind you see at Disney World. Her paintings were intricate and she even added glitter paint and jewels! Sasha choose the princess "do" and Clara opted for the butterfly. They were freakin' gorgeous! I even let them sleep with the paint on, it was so pretty. It's hard to see the detail in pictures, but trust me when I tell you the girls were sparkling.
Saturday was ridiculously crazy. I took Dixon down to the Prime Outlets in Hagerstown because I realized that I never got the girls 4th of July outfits. Oops! I went to every children's store and found very little that fit the bill. Clara ended up with a simple red dress and I had to go to Target to find a blue one for Sasha. I'm glad the dresses aren't emblazoned with stars and stripes, though. This way they can wear them over and over and not look like flags. While I was shopping, Cory took the girls to the farm in his "fast car". They visited with MeMe for a while and then went wild raspberry (or are they blackberries?) picking. When I bathed them afterwards I found a tick on Sasha's head! Ew! Cory got it out and all is well.
Then we all headed over to my mother and Jim's house for a picnic. We pigged out on steak, corn on the cob, awesome fresh fruit, veggie pizza, macaroni salad, rum cake, and cupcakes. Yum! Cory had to leave early to go Municipal Park and play in the Mercersburg Community Band prior to the fireworks. This has become our 4th of July tradition: eat, Cory takes off, and we meet him at the park.
The fireworks were beautiful as always! I was glad that the "show" was a bit shorter this year because the noise was a bit loud for little Dixon's ears. He didn't cry, but I had to keep my hands over his ears to protect them.
And now for an update on our garden. Cory was really bummed when we first planted everything because it didn't look like we would have much of a garden. We lost a lot of plants when we transplanted them and what survived didn't look so hot. But guess what? With a lot of tlc, our garden is now the Garden of Eden that Cory envisioned! In fact, it is overflowing with goodness!We have so much growing and flourishing: corn, tomatoes, squash, zucchini, cucumbers, green beans, green peppers, jalapenos, carrots, broccolli, watermelon, pumpkins, and all sorts of herbs.
We know now that certain things need to be planted outside the fence. The pumpkins and watermelon are trying to take over the place! Actually, the pumpins weren't supposed to be there to begin with. They sprouted there because we had placed last year's pumpkins there and they self-seeded. Cory has been thinning them, but they are big and sprawling.
We know now that certain things need to be planted outside the fence. The pumpkins and watermelon are trying to take over the place! Actually, the pumpins weren't supposed to be there to begin with. They sprouted there because we had placed last year's pumpkins there and they self-seeded. Cory has been thinning them, but they are big and sprawling.The dirt you see in the picture will soon be green as well. Cory has planted all sorts of things there and they are just starting to sprout. So trying to actually harvest all the produce is going to be tricky. There's nowhere to walk!
Speaking of harvesting, we plucked the first three veggies from the garden last week: two yellow squash and a zucchini. I made a delicious dinner with them: sausage and squash stir fry over pasta.
Yesterday afternoon Cory came in the house with three more zucchini and squash, so we made Paula Deen's zucchini squash cakes. They were sooooo good! We're anxious to try lots of new recipes with our home-grown goodies. Next up is squash hushpuppies!
Speaking of harvesting, we plucked the first three veggies from the garden last week: two yellow squash and a zucchini. I made a delicious dinner with them: sausage and squash stir fry over pasta.Yesterday afternoon Cory came in the house with three more zucchini and squash, so we made Paula Deen's zucchini squash cakes. They were sooooo good! We're anxious to try lots of new recipes with our home-grown goodies. Next up is squash hushpuppies!
I think that's it for now. The girls have a friend here and they are playing with Barbies upstairs while Dixon is sleeping, so I'm going to try to start a new layout. Gotta take advantage of the peace and quiet!
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