Time flys....

The older I get the faster the world seems to spin. It has been forever since I have posted anything on my blog. This past summer and the beginning of the school year flew by! I can hardly believe Halloween is here and the Christmas shopping season is upon us! Ugh! My favorite holiday has always been Thanksgiving. Nothing is required other than giving thanks, filling your belly and taking a nap!

Fall is a great time of year here in PA. I have posted a slide show of a couple of our outings. Hope you can see some of the beautiful trees in the background. We went camping right after school started. It was a great time. We picked a local campground. We drove out Fri. evening and had a little campfire with hot dogs and smarshmellows. Then Nicole, Ryan and I drove home and slept in our nice cozy beds while Jim and Katie enjoyed a brisk evening under the stars. Nicole, Ryan and I joined them the next morning for pancakes and playing in the park. That's my kind of camping!

We also took a trip out to a historical farm this fall for their Fall Festival. It was a perfect day and we all had a great time.

Here Piggy Piggy!

Katie had been begging us for a pet. So, like all good parents we finally caved in! We did lots of research and decided that guinea pigs would be a good pet for our family. They are small, quiet, and they live in a cage and so does their mess. We decided to get a pair of guinea pigs so that when our child lost interest the guinea pigs would not be lonely. Katie and I had a great time building the cage and researching about guinea pigs. We found a local shelter that had a pair of bonded guinea pigs and adopted squeaky and scratchy into our home. Now we did a lot of research on the animal and no where did it say that these animals are pooping machines! It is amazing that for such a small animal they can produce so much waste! It doesn't really matter what kind of bedding you use it still stinks. We also did not factor in our daughter and her friends carrying the pooping machines around the house. Needless to say, by the end of summer we decided that our family was not really prepared to have guinea pigs.

A is for Achievement

I started back to school this summer with a lot of hesitation and not a lot of confidence. However, I had a lot of support from my sweet hubby. I am so grateful that Jim has been and continues to be so supportive of my schooling. I could not do it without him. This summer I took both Anatomy and Physiology. My guidance counselor thought I was crazy. It may have seemed a little crazy to start back to school with two difficult classes that were condensed into less than half the time given in a normal semester. That being said, I really enjoyed both classes and realized that my dad has alway told me still holds true. "If I set my mind to it I can accomplish anything!" Not only did I go back to school this summer but I also decided that I was going to run my first race. I am not a runner. At least that is what I have told myself all of my life. Let me just tell you picking up running in Pennsylvania is not easy. There are no flat areas to run in PA! But again I was determined that I was going to run a 5K at the end of summer one way or the other. My mother happened to be visiting the weekend of a local 5K race. She watched the kids and Jim and I ran the 5K through a local state park. It was a great race. I even finished before the lady with the broken leg! Ha No Joke! After the race I started having crazy ideas like maybe I could run a 10K! Who knows what next summer will bring!

First Day of School 2009

This year we have 2 of our 3 kids in school. Katie started 3rd grade and Nicole started Pre-school. Katie's is really happy with her teacher and is loving 3rd grade. Her classroom moved to the second level of the school building. It was evidently a bigger move than I had anticipated because Katie was a little anxious and worried the first day. Once we got past the first 5 minutes she started talking to her friends and I think all of her worries were forgotten.

Nicole was very excited about going to school like her big sister Katie. She has a rolling backpack just like her sister. She loves riding the "Mommy bus" as we affectionately call the van on Tues. and Thurs. of each week. Nicole had no issues with separation her first day of school. Ryan, however had some separation issues. He did not want to leave Nicole's classroom. They always have a lot of cool toys out when we drop Nicole off. It is very hard to understand why he can not stay and play. It is getting a little easier for him. I really enjoy the special time that Ryan and I get to spend together.

Memorial Day

I am a little behind on my posting. I started back to school this summer and studying takes up most of my free time. The good news: I am halfway through my first class! Yeh!

We took a family trip down to Williamsburg, VA over Memorial Day. It was a long trip getting there but we had a good time once we arrived. You can see all the pictures in the slide show at the right of the screen. We went to Jamestown the first day. I highly reccomend it for anyone with kids. It was a lot of fun. There were many hands on activities for the kids. They had a great time checking out the fort, ships, and indian village. We also spent lots of time at the pool. The weather was beautiful. We also had an opportunity to visit Yorktown and the little beach at Yorktown. After driving for what seemed forever to get to Williamsburg Jim and I were not excited about driving any distance for the beach so we took the kids to the small beach in Yorktown. They got to play in the sand and water and they had a blast! It was a great trip and I think the kids might have even learned a few things about American History. I hope!

Happy Birthday Ryan!

Ryan turned 2 at the end of April. I can hardly believe that my baby is 2! Ryan is so much fun. He is all boy and with two big sisters there are not a lot of "boy" toys to be passed down. I found a lot of old beat up tonka trucks on ebay and he loved it! We made Ryan a little teddybear cake for his birthday. I wanted to try and make a truck but I decided the bear would be easier given the time constraints. I think it turned out pretty cute and everyone enjoyed the chocolate frosting! Happy Birthday Ryan!

A Conversation with my 3 year old...

Today we went to Walmart and bought some birthday wrapping paper for Ryan's birthday gifts. We are a little behind due to our trip to Williamsburg. More on the trip later. Nicole really wanted to play with the wrapping paper for some reason. I said "No, that is for Ryan's birthday."

Nicole: "Ryan's birthday?"
Mom: "Yes, we are going to have a party for Ryan's birthday this weekend."
Nicole: "A party!?"
Mom: "Yes, you will have to help daddy make a cake for Ryan."
Nicole: "I love cake! We can make a princess cake!"
Mom: "Do you think Ryan likes princess cakes?"
Nicole: "Yes!"
Mom: "Well, Daddy was thinking of making a bear cake."
Nicole: "I LOVE bear cakes! They're round and yummy and sweet and look like a bear!"
Mom: "Nicole, I love you!"

Maybe I am biased but it was the cutest thing and it really made my day. She is so darn cute sometimes.