Once there was a snowman...snowman...

We had our first snowfall and Nicole and Ryan could not wait to get outside to build a snowman. Katie was a great big sister and took them sledding down the little hill in our back yard. She also helped them build a snow fort while Jim and I finished shoveling the drive. Then we all built our first snowman of the season. The only thing that could tear the kids away from all of the fun in the snow was some hot chocolate and marshmellows! It was a perfect Saturday.

A visit from Santa!

We had some surprise visitors the other night!

Gingerbread Houses 2009

The tradition of making gingerbread houses at Christmas time is always a favorite of mine. Actually I think it is everyones favorite. Who doesn't like an unlimited supply of icing and candy! This year I decided to make enough gingerbread for two houses. I had spyed a picture of a gingerbread stable in a magazine and said "I can do that!" My sweet husband was very nice and let me decorate it all on my own while he helped the kids decorate their house. I had a great time! It was not long after we had finished the gingerbread houses that I found all of the reindeer, snowmen, elves, santa... the whole gang piled into the stable. Someone had stuck them all inside. I guess it got cold out. Ryan also took a particular liking to the Christmas trees next to my stable. Each day he would take one little bite out of a tree and then carefully place it back into position. I should have taken a picture of the half eaten tree. It was so cute!

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.