Olive Oil

First Day of School

2009-09-03T21:50:00.005-04:00

The first day of school this year was very new. This was the first year Alexandra and Isabel went to public school and they were very very excited to ride the school bus and be in the same school as all of their neighborhood friends.

Alexandra's first day was a success!

Alexandra: Wyatt from my old school is in my class.
Me: Thinking to myself, wow their new school 20 mins away from their old school. What are the chances but that's great!
Alexandra: Yeah, but the funny thing is, he doesn't remember me. ( Just a side note - their were only about 11 kids in her classroom last year)
Me: Really?
Alexandra: Yeah! He doesn't even remember any of the other kids or the school.
Me: Thinking this can't be the same kid.
Alexandra: Oh, and mom, he even changed his name to Tyler.
Me: Laughing hysterically trying not to make Alexandra feel bad.
Alexandra: Looks at me strangely.
Me: I don't think it's the same kid.
Alexandra: Yeah it's him. It looks just like him. He has blonde hair and blue eyes!

Alexandra is still sticking with her story! She really thinks he is suffering from a mental illness!!

I can only imagine what he thinks of her!
Isabel's first day, which was the following day, did not go over so smoothly.

Isabel: I get to ride on the bus! I get to ride on the bus! I get to ride on the bus! (This goes on for about 1 hr and the whole walk to the stop.
Me: Seeing the bus stop up the street and leaving.... OOOH NOOO!!!! Ummm... Isabel, I think we missed the bus!
Isabel: Whahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!! I didn't get to ride the bus... I wanted to ride the bus! Whahhhhhhhhh! (This really was an understatement of her reaction)

To make matters worse, a parents comes walking down from the stop and says, " Uhh, I think you guys missed the bus!

What a beginning!

Isabel came home and told us she had a restroom in her classroom.
Isabel: The potty was too small so I stood up and peed.
Me: Thinking.. oh my gosh, I feel so bad for the next kid who had to use the potty!
Another funny:

Isabel: I shouldn't wear heel-has to school. We have recess and I could get hurt! ( First off, the kid owns all flats and secondly, it was way too funny.. hi heels interpreted as heel-has)

Day 2 making it on the bus successfully!

That sums up our first day of school! Can't wait to hear yours!

Randomness..

2009-09-03T21:36:00.004-04:00

Dorney Park

Fun in the Tub w/ Helena

Angela b-day bash - Happy B-day Angela!

North Carolina Cousins

2009-09-03T20:34:00.007-04:00

So this summer we had the chance to stay a few days with the N.C. Crew! It was just like a regular BLT Reunion minus the beach house. We had some great meals, competitive games of whiffle ball, and lots of outdoor activities for the kids. Fun as always!

Chow Time

Chow Time continued

The Big Daddy's
Serious riding..
Going fishing for tadpoles... ring leader on the right!

Great times in the pool

Jamie w/ Abric

NYC

2009-09-03T20:17:00.007-04:00

Our favorite The Hyatt Regency on the Hudson! You've gotta check this place out if you're headed to NY. After going to NYC annually it has become a must stay! It is actually situated on the NJ side but has breathtaking views of NY without the price or hustle and bustle. Best of all, directly beside it is the PATH station which takes you to NYC.

View from our hotel

If you know anything about our family it is that our girls are singing, dancing, and dressing in costumes NON-STOP! This year, Michael and I took a leap of faith and hoped our money spent in NY would not be a waste.

The girls were so excited to see our hotel and how plush it was. As we prepared for the big show, Michael locked his wallet and such in the safe. One minute later, our little "techie" Isabel unlocks the safe and pulls out the wallet! This girl is not to be trust :P

Alexandra were amazed at the NYC lights. We quickly grab a bite to eat, find out JEN AND KEVIN ARE EXPECTING>> YAY, and then made a quick dash for The Little Mermaid on Broadway. Our kids could hardly wait. I had been brainwashing them for weeks watching the broadway previews on youtube and watching the Disney Movie. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3RdrQy0j39EThe girls loved it!! As characters began filling the stage and special effects began, Isabel turned to me and said, " Mom, i'm crying because I like it so much." It was overwhelming and hopefully something the girls will never forget. We were so happy to taken them as this summer was the last summer showing. We're hoping to go yearly and next on the list are The Lion King and Mary Poppins!

Big Apple

Anxiously awaiting the show

A and I could not believe their eyes when they stepped into this 4 story store full of American Dolls and accesories.. every little girls dream and every Daddy's nightmare or atleast by the looks of Michael's face I would guess so. Don't go here if you don't plan on spending money.. we spent entirely way too much but atleast Alexandra finally has a doll that looks like her right... I could pry make one myself for 1/4 of the price!

Waiting in line at Central Park to ride the Merry-Go-Round

I think our family has rated this trip one of our most favorite vacations of all!

NY with Dan and Martha

2009-09-03T19:46:00.006-04:00

So we decided to leave late in the day so the kids could sleep most of our trip to NY. Alexandra is obviously in a different class than our family. This is the sight we saw when glancing back. She made a make-shift sleep mask!

Our first stop was to meet our good old friends at Niagra Falls. I know that one typically gets wet when taking the boat tour but I didn't anticipate how wet we'd get when it poured on top of it!

Family photo in front of the Palmyra Temple
Isabel, Lydia, Alexandra, and Annabelle

Dan, Martha and Family in the Sacred GroveVisit to the Sacred Grove

Visiting the sites
What a cute pioneer she'd be eh?

Posing w/ the actors at the pageant. Isabel looks a little too happy!

Lake Ontario

Watkins Glen

A Hop Skip and Jump Away

2009-07-20T19:52:00.004-04:00

Relaxing at the Sculpture Garden

The Mad Scientist
In front of the museums

Can we say Night at the Museum?

Striking a pose

My favorite painter.. Monet!

Super excited at the Zoo

We have wanted to take the girls to D.C. for some time and finally managed to do so! We had one busy day where we took a few hours to visit a few of the art galleries, the sculpture garden, the Smithsonian, and even the Washington Zoo! This may seem super crazy to many of you but in fact, it worked out well. We spent 2-3 hours at each place and as the kids got sick of one sight we'd move onto a completely different one.

Alexandra's favorite part of our trip was the museums, Isabel's was the zoo, mine was losing my purse and having it turned in at the Smithsonian with all of my belongings, and Michael enjoyed it all!

We are so lucky to live so close to all of these wonderful, free places!

Some miscellaneous pictures..

2009-07-20T19:43:00.004-04:00

A's new haircut and missing teeth

Girls can ride bikes in dresses?

Pool fun!

Family Shots

2009-07-20T19:04:00.004-04:00

We figured we'd try to take a few family shots while we were all together at our family crabfest celebrating Dad's, Meno's, and Michael's birthdays! Happy Birthday guys!

Dutch Wonderland

2009-07-20T18:41:00.005-04:00

Luckily, we went to Dutchwonderland when rain was forecasted. We practically had the park to ourselves. The kids went on almost all of the rides within 2 hours.. yippee and spent a good chunk of the time at the awesome water park!

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Camping with the Gagons

2009-07-20T18:32:00.004-04:00

Our hike w/ a scenic view

Testing the water s

Climbing at the rock garden

Jumping from rock to rock

Family shot

Teage

Jeri and Teage

Making smores

Time w/ Aunt Kim, Uncle Meno & Aunt Heather

2009-07-20T18:22:00.003-04:00

Lake Tobias

2009-07-20T18:04:00.004-04:00

You must go if you've never been. Lake Tobias is awesome! You see animals close up and get to experience a safari ride similar to the one in Disney. We make Lake Tobias a yearly event and this time spent a few extra dollars to go to the reptile show which was totally worth it. We got to see a sloth, porcupine, many snakes, parrots, and more! Check out pics from this year!

Alexandra at the petting zoo

Isabel admiring the ponies and donkies

Daddy and Isabel on the safari ride looking at buffalo

my personal favorite - a ZeeDonk

ye yep, that's me!

one of the camels looking for grub

sloth above

Isabel

2009-07-07T00:37:00.002-04:00

While Alexandra is picking out a bathing suit... Isabel yells, " I don't want to wear that one next year!" The joys of hand-me-downs!

Alexandra

2009-07-07T00:36:00.002-04:00

"Mom, is our yard big enough for maybe one horse?"

Dance Recitals

2009-06-14T19:14:00.008-04:00

It was soo fun to finally see what we have been paying for this past year. Alexandra and Isabel starred in their very first dance recital with Greater Dance of York. I knew ticket prices were on the high side but underestimated the production. It was pretty darn spectacular! Alexandra and Isabel did an amazing job and looked pretty fancy in the process.

Isabel is on the left

The BIG 5!

2009-06-06T18:58:00.006-04:00

We were all relieved when Isabel made it to the BIG 5! She asked us every day, multiple times a day for a month, when her birthday was. We were very excited Isabel told us she couldn't suck her thumb at the age of 5.. that held true for maybe a day or two! We had a great, low key party this year (a request of my hubby) with just immediate family and Isabel's pick of a friend, Micah, whom she considers to be her cousin anyways. Isabel really hasn't changed much over the years. She has always been a vibrant, outgoing, determined, loving little girl which could all be summed up in two words -> BIG PERSONALITY. Happy Birthday Isabel!

During the party we had one major accident which resulted in a massive goose egg and one knocked out tooth. Feel free to view our precious moments enhanced at

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DuAZVDnQ9rs

Aunt Lindsey made Isabel a rockin' Hannah Montana Cake

Waiting to break the pinata

With the help of our good friends The Gagons, we managed to make one awesome pinata!

Aunt Angela thought it was hilarious when she found Isabel on the potty with her helmet.. she didn't want to waste any of her precious party time to remove the helmet?

The After Party

Alexandra Graduates

2009-06-05T20:42:00.007-04:00

Wow, how time flies! Alexandra graduated from Kindergarten this past week. She once again impressed us all making Principal's Honor again with straight A's for the 4th marking period in a row! She learned so much this year including reading big kid books, addition & subtraction, many new bible verses, and how to play the bells and chimes. She has definately matured into one fine young lady - she was voted all around best kid for 3 marking periods. And for graduation, Alexandra and her class moved the crowd with their "3 Piggy Opera" performance and 3 songs they mastered on the chimes! What a year and hopefully many many more to come! Congratulations Alexandra!

Afraid..

2009-03-24T22:16:00.002-04:00

So I went to pick up Alexandra and Isabel from school last week. Typically they are in the school gym playing tag, games, etc. Alexandra happended to be playing checkers and happened to be sitting next to another little boy Cole. I thought nothing of it.

Usually the girls are excited to go home and play with neighborhood friends, but today was different. Alexandra insisted on staying. Once I finally got them into the car, Alexandra makes the remark, "i'm afraid of Cole." I am thinking this is really odd. Cole is not a scary kid and she was sitting right beside him. I asked her why? A, " I dunno. I just feel scared." I ask, " do you think he is going to hurt you?" A, "no, I just feel scared in my stomach." Finally I figure it out.. SHE HAS BUTTERFLIES! Anyways, just thought it was a funny way of putting it!

NO!

2009-03-24T22:00:00.003-04:00

At the moment I am supposed to be studying for yet another exam. I am sooo sick of studying that I have done everything in its place from washing dishes, watching music videos on youtube, playing the guitar, and yes even blogging. Who really gives a crap if an item is categorized as red, orange, or yellow right?

Anyways, you are listening to the person who cannot say NO! I think all of my friends and family know that about me. Well usually it just leads me to frantically making a meal when I have a gazillion things to do, or working on an art project for someone when I have about 50 to do myself, or watching kids when I am supposed to be somewhere else. Well today, I have way too much to show for my not saying No!

Our next door neighbor passed away a few months back. His sons have been working on and cleaning out his house. They had actually grown up in the house so alot of furniture and items had been collected over the years. One son came over to our house and conned me into accepting a hutch for the dining room. He said his father would have loved to see us get this furniture and he would feel so much better knowing it was right next door...blah blah blah, blah blah. What was I supposed to say right? Me, " Oh thank you soo much. Sure we'll take it" So then he points to the rest of the set... 2 more pieces! Dang! He continues to give me way more than just this hutch. I ended up with 2 desks, a hope chest, a bookshelf.. i think?, 2 dressers, a 3 piece hutch, and 3 dressers if I want them!!! Ahhhh!

What am I going to do? Michael hates clutter and this was much worse. I couldn't even walk through the dining room and living room w/out doing some major rearranging.

Would it be ok to sell it on Craigs List.. i'm sure it's all antique? Should I keep it in case they happen to want to see it? Maybe i've learned my lesson?

(the massive hutch)

(desk and dresser)

(and if you can't tell, this is two rows of furniture)

I think I need to go to therapy to get over this No thing!

Fireproof!

2009-03-24T21:50:00.002-04:00

I just watched the movie Fireproof lastnight and was soo impressed that I thought I might pass on the recommendation! This was a fabulous movie for you and your hubby to watch. It was very uplifting and as always a good reminder :)

Christmas Highlights

2009-01-27T11:35:00.011-05:00

What a wonderful Christmas season we had this year. We spent alot of time with family and friends. The family was all in good health, no sick kids, or trips to the ICU on Christmas day.. what a contrast from last year! Below are some pictures highlighting the season.

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Baking Christmas Cookies w/ Aunt Angela
We ended up with tons of sprinkles and very little cookie!

Visiting the Temple
This time we managed to run into our good friends Sua, Em & Micah :)

Girl's Christmas Program
This year Isabel was chosen to recite a scripture from her class and did a perfect job. Alexandra and her class played the chimes.

Christmas Morning

Our new puppy Ella!

Feisty and fits right in. We taught her to ring jingle bells when she needed to go out but are still working on her playful puppy biting.. any suggestions?

(an unusually warm day in PA - we were planning on sending this picture out as our card but that didn't happen)

Christmas Dinner with Papoo and YiaYia

Christmas at the Coys'

(anxiously waiting their turn to open gifts)

Aunt Linda's Christmas Dinner

Seth Michael

2009-01-13T14:06:00.011-05:00

Halloween

2009-01-04T23:05:00.004-05:00

This year, the gang joined us at my parents house to do some serious trick-or-treating. Anya, being on bed-rest came w/ a wheel chair compliments of Lindsey.. I really wish I had some pictures of her. We pushed Anya around the neighborhood as kids ran house to house trying to get as much candy as possible. As is tradition, the kids all made their way back and dumped their candy to see what sort of treats they made out with. They are not yet at the stage of counting out each candy to see which cousin made out with the most. I'm sure that will come it a year or two :)

Star Student!

2009-01-04T22:53:00.002-05:00

We are soo proud of Alexandra! This year she was picked as the star student in KINDERGARTEN!! This is the highest award that can be given. Alexandra received this award as well as a $25 gift card to Toy R Us for making the honor roll as well as was deemed the most helpful, obedient, and grasped concepts the most. GREAT JOB ALEXANDRA!

Our Magical Disney Vacation

2008-12-23T00:09:00.002-05:00

A few years ago, my dad and mom decided to take Alexandra to Disney. They promised the younger grandkids that they would take them all a few years later when they got a bit bigger. So me, trying to be helpful,offered to help them w/ this excursion..hehe.. sly I know. They thought that would be a good idea as they knew it would be a lot to handle 3 kids by themselves. I thought.. hmm.... I can never get enough of Florida. As weeks passed, Angela offered her services so Helena and her were added to the itinerary. A few weeks later, Michael and Patrick were asked to join us for a quick trip of 4 days since they weren't able to miss much work. Our trip became one BIG family vacation and what a great time we had!

(in front of the castle)

Sarah, Mom, and Angela

Isabel, Addison, YiaYia, Alexandra, Helena, & Papoo

esides the guys, we stayed in Florida for 7 days. My parents managed to find one awesome house for us all to shack up in. We all had our own bedrooms and bathrooms.. yay! Also included was one fabulous pool, a hot tub, game room equipped w/ a pool table, air hockey table, and lg flat screen tv w/ surround sound. Can't beat that! We wish we would have had more time to just lounge around the house and enjoy the amenities.. however our week was far from lounging around!

The Meraklis Clubhouse

Princess Suite

Race Car Room

Party in the Jacuzzi

Our first full day, we hit Magic Kingdom. When you think Disney World.. you think Magic Kingdom. We really had no idea what we were up against with 4 kids, no naps, 1 stroller, no plans, backpacks to carry, coolers to carry, etc. Around midday kids were whining, then crying, then screaming and kicking histarically (need I mention name... uh umm Isabel), 4 of us carrying coolers- backpacks- and kids back and forth across a massive park. Not fun! The parks at Disney are huge. You probably couldn't go to everything in even 3 days, much less 1 day w/ screaming kids and too much to carry. The one thing we did have the right idea on was packing lunch. Tickets alone for the park were $75 a day.. you could only imagine how quick you could become broke after buying $5 waters and expensive lunches! We ended our day much earlier then we had anticipated.. however we figured we'd be prepared the next day by putting kids to bed early!

The Crew

train ride to take us to the other side of the park
Princess Alexandra on the Merry Go Round

1000s of Princess pics.. i'll spare u w/ just 1!

Girls getting pumped up for the race

Thursday we decided to go to MGM Studios, the park we thought we'd like the least and thought the guys wouldn't mind missing. To our amazement, I would rate this park as being at the top of my list. We still had not understood the importance of mapping out the rides and shows we'd try to hit that day, as not all rides are kid oriented, shows were only held a few times a day, and the rides are very far apart. Kids were in much better shape. We made mad dashes from 1 side of the park to the other trying to hit shows in time.. some of the shows we did see.. Mickey's playhouse, an amazing.. can I say amazing car stunt show, a broadway grade Beauty and the Beast play, Pirate of the Carribean Adventure, a Ride through the history of movies, A Bugs Life 3-D show, and more. Every park has a parade with all of the characters.. this one was the pry the most amazing. There were acrobats on spring shoes doing CRAZY stunts singing and dancing.. fabulous!

stunt show

Honey I Shrunk the Kids Play Ground

In Front of the Set

MGM Group Shot

Beauty and the Beast Play

Beginning to get the point - 1 rented double stroller by days end

You hear the expression "A picture can say a thousand words". Words cannot even begin to give The Animal Kingdom the justice it deserves!! Every experienced Disney goer recommended The Animal Kingdom.. I now know why. This place is unbelievable! Yes, they have the usual zoo-like/ aquarium exhibits. For us who grew up going to the National Aquarium or the Baltimore Zoo several times a year, these exhibits did not even phase us. Not to worry, there was much much more!

Our daily tram ride.. no kiddos on the ends

Breathtaking views no matter where you were in the park

A normal chow time - adults ate while kids watched the parade stroll right by

Animal Kingdom Parade

Parade continued..

Somebody needs to eat their Wheaties.. hehe

Cool huh? Waiting for the Mermaid 3D show

Mad dash in attempts to make it to the next show!Finding Nemo Puppetry Musical

Yet another train to take us across the park.. hmm not smart to put the two of them together

tired..

On the Kilimanjaro Safari ride, we were able to climb aboard an open sided safari vehicle to watch animals roam freely about the savannah, rivers, and rocky hills. Let me tell you, it was a strange feeling not having a fence between us and the Lion, Rhinos, and other wild life! We even aided the park in catching a poacher!

Safari continued.. giraffe behind Helena's head

Lion King Show was the final show of the day. It consisted of singers, dancers, robotic animals, and acrobats. This show was better than any circus i've ever been too. What a way to end the day!
Acrobatic monkey from the Lion King Show

Fire breathing..

Revisiting the Magic Kingdom..

We had the opportunity to go back with the guys to one park and so we chose the Magic Kingdom. Due to our inexperience on the first day and lack of planning, we decided we needed to make good w/ the Magic Kingdom. There are only a few amusement park type rides.. the only ones you see on tv (tea cups, dumbo, and magic carpet ride) and we had not even had the chance to get on those. In case you're wondering, a majority of the rides are what I would compare to the Chocolate World in Hershey. You sit on a train type ride and ride through a story. At Disney, there are tons of robots, lights, illusions, etc.This visit was so much better. We had everything planned out and hit a ton of rides and shows!

when exiting, the castle changes colors every few seconds.. sort of like Princess Aurora's dress in Sleeping Beauty

On a mission

snow white ride kids attempting pull out the sword from the stone - just in case ur wondering, it remained stuck in the stone even after our departure

meeting the princesses - this was Addison's favorite part - he really knew how to win them over
It's a Small World Ride

the famous tea cups.. I really thought I was gonna lose it on this spinny ride.. ehh!

Epcot was the last park we visited. We only had a few hours to spend there since we had to get the guys to the airport. It was the least interesting place for the kids. The theme covers different countries of the world and different terrains. We did take the trip into space (the ride in the big silver ball) and the kids loved it. They all really think we ventured into outerspace! They also really liked seeing the different fish in the aquariums and interacting w/ Crush, the animated turtle from Nemo.

Conversations with animated Crush

Our family vacation to Disney was a truly a magical one! So long!!

Alexandra turns 6..

2008-11-04T22:41:00.000-05:00

Wow, how time flies when you're having fun! I can't believe Alexandra is already 6! She has been our pride and joy. We couldn't for a better kid!

Jason and Lindsey's Wedding..

2008-11-04T20:35:00.000-05:00

Ok, so I was asked to help coordinate Lindsey's wedding, as well as, pretend to be a photographer for the day! I was super nervous about this task. I am far from professional and did not want to miss the perfect shots.. After looking back, I think I managed to do ok. I am hoping to get some lessons from Heather or my Aunt Christine one of these days but hey, what can you expect from an amateur. Below are some of my shots.

The wedding was picture perfect! It was my first time attending a beach wedding and the weather was fantastic. Jason and Lindsey couldn't have picked a better day!

Knoebles

2008-11-04T20:22:00.000-05:00

Our annual Knoebles trip was fun as always! Because we decided to go much later in the day, the crowds had died down by the time we got there. The kids got to ride on so many rides. Morgan was definately not fond of the "faster" rides. Fun times as always! Anya was exhausted by the days end.

The Big Apple

2008-11-04T19:46:00.000-05:00

After a few crazy months for Angela and I, I insisted on taking Angela away to NYC for her birthday! She needed a break from the daily pressures of life and I needed to spend some time with my lil sister.

So.. I managed to snag awesome awesome Lion King tickets via my company. We could not believe we were only 7 rows back! You have got to go see this if you haven't already! I can't wait to take the girls. It is breathtaking. The day of Angela's birthday we hit the show, went to eat at an authentic Greek restaurant in the Hell's Kitchen district, and the kicker.. got a text message that my new nephew had arrived! Needless to say, we forgot about all of our many responsibilities back home and were riding on clowd 9! We had soo much fun that weekend! Life seemed so much more bearable after a long relaxing weekend! Thanks Angela!

Our Little Soccer Players

2008-10-30T18:22:00.000-04:00

We gave the girls the option to take a break from gymnastics and play soccer for the season. They were up for the challenge. My guess was that with Isabel's "aggressiveness", she would do well in this sport. My theory proved right! It is pretty entertaining to watch the littlest on the team knock down the oldest on the other team. Isabel is a little allstar. She does not let anyone intimidate her and aggressively takes the ball up the field! Alexandra, on the other hand, is our more timid gal. She reminds us of her Aunt Lindsey. She is a solid player and does extremely well defensively. We often times find her lingering in the back ready to defend!! And Daddy has been an awesome coach. He does so well with this age group that I wonder if he would ever consider teaching the elementary aged kids. He's had so many of the parents compliment on his "teaching" skills. It has been good times :)

The Renaissance Fair

2008-08-17T17:46:00.000-04:00

This weekend, we decided to take the girls to the Renaissance Fair. I had always heard very good things and was told that our girls would absolutely love their time there. Lindsey and Morgan decided to come along which made it even more exciting. Alexandra and Isabel were in aww to see a whole land of kings, princesses, and fairies. No questions were asked when we gave them the ok to wear their "dress up" clothes and they got quite a bit of attention for doing so. There were a number of shows.. some of the highlights were the acrobats, gypsies, dirt fighting, and even a jousting match! The jousting match was very action packed as it got very bloody! Alexandra did not want to leave! We practically had to drag her out of the park at closing time. It definately made for a fun filled day.. it was like being in a different world for a short time!

Eww la-la.. guess who?

Maidens with the pirate

Jousting tournament w/ the Queen! One part of the match req'd the horse and knight to jump over a circle of flames. Alexandra turns to us and says, "wow.. they were almost incinerated"!

These acrobats were amazing.. remind me of the Chinese

We couldn't resist this picture. This gentleman clearly couldn't deny the beauty of fair maiden Lindsey!!

Family Fun!

2008-08-13T21:26:00.000-04:00

What would we do without family fun? This past weekend we were with family almost every minute of the weekend. We ventured to Chambersburg on Friday to help work on houses, Saturday drove to Maryland for a birthday bash, rushed back to PA for Jason & Lindsey's fiesta, and finally on Sunday drove to Maryland again for a crab feast..yum yum! What a weekend! Our family is so blessed to be able to visit all of our family in one weekend!

We had a wondeful time celebrating Lindsey's graduation along with her engagement! The food, company, and weather couldn't have been an better!

Roderick, Aunt Lisa, & the bunch

What's up w/ those Lyons kids? They love lotions!!

2008-08-12T19:23:00.000-04:00

Fun in the Sun

This past weekend we celebrated Elana's birthday at the pool. Talk about fun! Although the weather was rather mild, the girls took full advantage of swimming. They absolutely loved playing with family and only wish they lived a bit closer!

A Punishment to Fit the Crime..

2008-08-06T11:10:00.000-04:00

Don't ask me why, but this summer our girls seemed to have forgotten how to flush the toilet! Seems like a no-brainer ehh? Yeah, that's what Michael and I thought. We finally had enough and thought long and hard as to how we could put this bad habit to an abrupt STOP!

So this is what we came up with.. every time A or I forget how to flush the toilet, not only are they asked to flush the toilet but also clean the bathroom. How nice it was the first day to have a clean bathroom the whole day.. you can't beat having the toilet cleaned every time it is used! After two days, we have not had to remind the girls to flush..

I guess the punishment really did fit the crime :P

2008-08-06T10:44:00.001-04:00

* A Visit from the Tooth Fairy *

Alexandra has been working very very hard this past week to pull out her 2nd loose tooth. She absolutely had enough when we decided to have corn-on-the-cob for dinner. By this point, she was determined to pull it out that night.. and she did!

When it came to putting her teeth under her pillow for the Tooth Fairy.. she came up with her own idea! She preferred to keep her tooth rather than giving it up for money. The Tooth Fairy managed to still pay a visit for all the effort put into pulling out her tooth.. but we shall see.. we may have yet another person in our family join the dentistry field.

Isabel insisted we post her smile as well..

Ropa!!

2008-08-03T15:11:00.000-04:00

Many of you ask, "Why aren't you going to the Greek Fest in York this year?" My response, "You haven't experienced a real Greek Fest till you've gone to Maryland.. the York festivals are always so commercialized"!! Check out the small churches.. that's where you'll find a diamond in the rough!

Alexandra, Isabel, and I were visiting Papoo and Yia Yia and had the chance to go to their annual church fest. It was awesome! There was a live band, dancing, games for the kids, a moon bounce.... and get this...... real Greek food! The food you get from the local commercial festivals are canned, frozen, and lack the important ingredients which is usually meat!!

Our menu for the day consisted of Calamari, Greek salad, spinach pie, Greek fries, and honey balls. It was delicious and even more important, the girls loved it! Alexandra and Isabel were entertained by the school aged dancers. They spent the whole time practicing their Greek dancing skills and showed major improvement by the end of the evening! Thanks Papoo and Yia Yia for taking us!

Lake Tobias

2008-07-15T22:57:00.000-04:00

Angela and I decided to take the crew to Lake Tobias. This park is far more entertaining than the Baltimore/ Washington Zoos. The animals are all sooo close as well as in close proximity. You don't spend the whole day walking from one exhibit to the next. The kids enjoy a real safari ride where they can feed the wild animals and even enjoy a petting zoo and reptile show. Oh and the best part.. it's 1/2 the price of the Zoo!!

Trek

2008-07-15T22:31:00.000-04:00

Our Trek Family!

We were asked to be a Ma & Pa on trek this year. For those who don't know what that is.. the youth and some leaders imitate the pioneers traveling west pulling handcarts. It's like survivor!It was a trecherous journey but we managed! The kids in our family were truly amazing. There was not one complaint.. surprising after 14 miles of uphill hiking just the first day! Bro. Bennie said we were one of the most awesome groups he had seen. We made it to base camp about 2.5 hrs early and that was after an delaying us for another 1.5hrs. Along the journey we learned how to kill chickens, make honey taffy, and survive w/the bare essentials! Fun huh? It actually was! We learned alot.. and felt alot..

assembling the our handcart

all hands on deck

one of our team building games

what a handsome young fellow

Sarah plain and tall

Summer days driftin away...

2008-07-15T22:15:00.000-04:00

Celebrating an engagement w/ fireworks!!
Sparkler fun!
Uh oh.. what's Papoo doing?That's one tough little girl
HHeather & Meno 4th of July
Ward picnic
Swimming fun
Catch!

Sisterly love.. sometimes!

Wow.. summer is flying by! I can't believe we are already in the middle of July. Our kiddos have a had real blast this summer. Here are some pics from our summer madness..

2008-07-15T22:04:00.001-04:00

Isabel's Birthday! Isabel had a wonderful time celebrating her 4th birthday. She loves spending time with all of her cousins. This year Michael insisted that we just make Isabel a cake.. so that meant Sarah had to make the cake.. It was nice to work on something creative and Isabel was absolutely thrilled!

She has turned into quite the captivating young lady. People can not resist talking to her wherever we go. She is always so energetic.. sometimes overly energetic and seems to capture everyones attention with her singing and curls!! Now she is counting down the days to be 5 so that she can go to Kindergarden just like her big sister.

A Poem for Michael..

2008-07-08T22:33:00.000-04:00

Just a disclaimer.. I don't come remotely close to being a poet but here goes nothing.. HAPPY BIRTHDAY MICHAEL!!

Roses are red,

Violets are blue,

I am so lucky to be married to you,

What a good person you always have been,

You fit in the category of "exceptional men",

You are always so giving and have a BIG heart,

And there's one thing for sure, you certainly are smart,

Things haven't always been the easiest for you,

But there hasn't been anything you couldn't do,

You work so hard to be a good Dad,

It's very rare to ever see you mad,

Alexandra and Isabel remain the center of your life,

And I am honored to be your friend and your wife,

You are a great leader for your students at school,

It is reaffirmed every time you hear them say,"Mr. Coy is so cool!"

At church it doesn't matter what call you receive,

For you have the faith to always believe,

You know what it means to truly magnify,

Because your standards have always been high,

Every year you may get a little bit older,

But remember this much, you're an amazing father,

husband and priesthood holder.

i Te amo mi amor!

Washington D.C.

2008-05-02T20:09:00.000-04:00

This week has been quite a whirlwind. The girls took off of school the beginning of the week due to the reunion and the end of the week to go with Papoo , YiaYia, and Addison to Washington D.C. I have been wanting to take the girls there for quite some time but just haven't been able to fit in. Growing up in Maryland, we took many trips to Washington to visit the Smithsonian, art galleries, The Holocaust Museum, Aeronautical Museum, and Washington Zoo so I really wanted the girls to get the experience to go as well. Alexandra had just learned about the capitol, George Washington, and Abraham Lincoln so she was thrilled to visit. Her class asked her to bring back post cards which she can't wait to show off. Out of all of the many sites they went to, their favorite part was the "train" which was actually the subway. They thought that was so neat! What a fun week!

BLT Reunion

2008-05-02T19:53:00.000-04:00

Sorry, I didn't take many pictures from our annual reunion. This year we had the best weather for the beach. We had a really nice sneak peak of how those hot summer days are going to be. The kids absolutely had a blast playing in the sand. Typically, Isabel hated the sand. She would not even walk on it. It's amazing what one year can do. We were also joined by Jason this year. He put together a work-out for Andy and Lindsey.. it was hilarious! I think Lindsey trained ahead of time because she acted as though the exercises didn't affect her. Poor Andy could barely make it up off of the ground after each set of push ups and jumps. It was very entertaining and I was very happy I wasn't the one asked to do it! As always, a great weekend to get away from it all!

Art Show

2008-05-02T19:42:00.000-04:00

Alexandra and Isabel could not wait for us to go to their art show to see all of the creative projects they had done throughout the school year! They were pretty awesome. Alexandra made a very cool sunflower using beans, wire, etc. Isabel managed to get 1st place on her sponge painting.

The Unexpected..

2008-05-02T19:34:00.000-04:00

Well, we thought we were done making some major home improvements, atleast for a little while until.. THERE WAS NO HOT WATER! Boy, nothing wakes you up faster than a cold, I mean very cold, shower. Luckily my Dad was willing to come over on a Sunday and help us install a new one. The only downside was that we ended up buying a smaller size water heater. Now it's a race for all of us to take a shower w/out losing hot water :P Isabel kept coming down to supervise and make sure things are being done right.. she is just like her MOM!

Must See!

2008-04-11T14:34:00.000-04:00

If you missed ABCs program on RANDY PAUSCH check it out on YouTube Diane Sawyer Randy Pausch for the preview and then Randy Pausch Lecture: Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams for the actual speech. He is very very inspiring! A few thoughts I took away from his speech:

Your critics are the ones there telling you they love you.When you're screwing up and nobody is saying anything any more that means they gave up on you!

The brick walls in life exsit for a reason. They give us a chance to prove how badly we want something. The brick walls are there to stop those who don't want it badly enough.

Dream BIG!

Anger has never helped a situation get better.

2008-04-08T21:05:00.000-04:00

This is sort of random but you know how us Mom's can be.. in aww that our kiddos can read and write. I encouraged Alexandra to keep a journal and this is what her first page consisted of.. hopefully she doesn't get upset that i'm posting her journal publicly but it didn't sound too private! HEHE!

I asked her why she wrote what she did. Her response," These are the games we played today in school. You told me I can write about what I did." That made a bit more sense.

Spring Program

2008-04-08T20:31:00.000-04:00

Alexandra and Isabel had their Spring Program this past Sunday. They practiced their poems, songs, and memorization sets for weeks. Daddy and Mommy were very excited when the practicing came to an end! They did an outsanding job when it came time for the real program.

Isabel held her letter "I" that Daddy made her and sang her favorite song.. "Stop And Let Me Tell You, What The Lord Has Done For Me".

Alexandra recited lines all by herself and did a wonderful job. She also impressed the crowd when it came time to add some dance moves to a song. She has really changed from a very quiet and timid little girl to quite the performer:) We are so very proud of how much they have accomplished this year in school and are looking forward to the years to come!

FHE

2008-04-08T20:13:00.000-04:00

For Family Home Evening this past Monday, we decided to have one of our favorite meals from Spain.. nothing to fancy.. just fresh tuna on a bed of greens topped w/ olive oil and vinegar. It is awesome! We were surprise that even the girls loved it. After our lesson we had a "painting session". Like me, Alexandra LOVES art.. painting, drawing, etc. Her teacher tells us she is such a perfectionist when it comes to art time that she never ever finishes her projects. Sound like someone we know? Umm.. Angela :P Anyways, we had such a fun night. Even Daddy participated in the painting!

You know that song, "Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer:..

2008-03-12T22:31:00.000-04:00

Yeah, I used to love that song :P Not anymore! Michael got run over by a reindeer on his way to school this week.. Of course he is completely fine or i'm sure I would not be making light of such a matter. Our new car, one we've had just a few months.. yeppers smashed in. I will be sure to post pics. We're waiting to see if it will be considered totalled or will be repaired.. ehh. Anyways, our family will sure have a new appreciation for Grandma who got run over by that reindeer!! Watch out for those reindeers!

Mexicanos

2008-03-12T22:19:00.000-04:00

Our upstairs floors are a nightmare! Alexandra gets a splinter on a weekly basis. Although our bathroom remodel is still in need of cabinet doors, I just couldn't wait any longer to tackle floors! Meno, my brother was offering to help out with them, so I took him up on his offer. We began finishing the floors upstairs with the exception of our bedroom, hence the reason for my title. Not only is this Michael's and my room, but we have now been accompanied by our beautiful daughters! Boy are they in heaven! We don't have any excuses for them to go to bed now.. they can't possibly scared with Mommy and Daddy a few feet away! Michael says it reminds him of Mexico where families lived in one room huts. Needless to say, it really hasn't been all that bad. It's sort of like a sleepover that doesn't end.. hehe! Here are some pictures for now. It makes me so happy to check another repair/ remodel off the list. It's gonna sure make us appreciate our next house!

A First...

2008-03-12T21:56:00.000-04:00

It is sort of odd not having little babies running around anymore.. you feel like you don't have a first very often. With infants every month seemed to be a first! However, i've been able to experience different firsts.. seeing my girls in their first school plays, in their school programs where they recite lines themselves, Alexandra reading a book to Isabel for the first time, first report cards (especially when the teacher has very good things to say), being able to have a very intelligent conversation, watching your kids help a stranger to stand up on skates even though they are half the size of her, and the list could go on.

This past week, Alexandra begged us to take her training wheels off of her bike. Michael and I were very hesitant because we really did not want to have to put them back on if Alexandra changed her mind. But our daughter who is very determined and was trying to keep up with her many neighborhood friends, was riding her 2 wheeler within 2 days. Wow, what a first! We were soo proud of her. Now we'll see how long it takes Isabel to do the same. She definately isn't the type to be left behind!

Cruisin' Together..

2008-02-29T10:58:00.000-05:00

My parents have made roller skating a weeklyritual.. they keep us informed of the discount days so that we don't miss any opportunities. It has probably become A and I's biggest passions even over gymnastics and pretending they are princesses.. and that says alot! This week we were informed of $.28 day so we jumped on that deal! We decided to take Harrison and Zane along. To our surprise, everyone came! We had Meno, all of his friends, Angela, Addison, Yia Yia, Grandma Coy, and Aunt Kathy tag along. It was great fun.

It was really interesting to observe Harrison's reactions to skating. He is super athletic so it was very difficult for him to understand why there were kids much younger than him cruisin' around the rink with no problems. By the end of the night, Harrison could skate around the rink by himself. Zane was also a trooper. He would not give up and really enjoyed this new sport! Meno and his friends put on a great show while Addison kept asking for a snack bar break! Harrison is determined to become good at skating. He went so far as to even borrow Isabel's skates to practice!!

Cool Runnings!

2008-02-29T10:27:00.000-05:00

This past weekend Michael joined the scouts in their annual sledding events so us girls were left to fend for ourselves. Regardless of the snow, we couldn't just waste a perfectly good weekend in the house. Yia Yia and myself decided to take the girls sledding.. something we did quite often growing up! The best hill in the area for 2 little girls was the York College Hill.. woohoo! Isabel and Alexandra had been tramatized when they have went sledding with Daddy! He would send them down our hill in the backyard which was very very steep and it always ended in disaster.. so Yia Yia and I should not have been surprised that the whole trek up this large hill was whining from Isabel. When we finally reached the peak, an older man noticed Isabel was screaming and refused to go down the hill so he pointed to one of the less steep areas of the hill.. he was pretty surprised when I continued with my plan to go down the steepest part. Isabel screamed the whole way down the hill.. scream for fear or fun i'm not sure.. however when we came to a holt she yelled, "That was fun can we do it again!" Needless to say, we had the best time! We spent most of the time bob-sledding in one sled.. it gave us much more momentum and distance!

A Little Thought..

2008-02-19T20:21:00.000-05:00

This week I was doing alot of thinking about our little ones and why there are times that bad things happen to them. I thought alot about how I would feel if something happened to my little girls and felt uneasy the more I thought of this. I picked up one of the great books we happen to have in our little library.. When Times Are Tough by John Bytheway. I felt inspired to share two thoughts that put me to ease. John shared this thought, "The Lord takes many away even in infancy, that they may escape the envy of man, and the sorrows and evils of this present world; they were too pure, too lovely, to live on earth; therefore if rightly considered, instead of mourning we have reason to rejoice as they are delivered from evil, and we shall soon have them again.The only difference between the old and young dying is, one lives longer in heaven and eternal light and glory than the other, and is freed a little sooner from this miserable, wicked world. Only through mortality can we achieve immortality."

And why are some little children sent into homes where they are beat, molested, abused, and neglected?
"They are the ones who volunteered in the preexistence to be a savior on the Mount, to come to a family drowning in sickness and sin and to be the means of purifying that lineage. Before them in that line were generations of ugly, destructive, family relationships. Downstream from their purifying influence every generation would be blessed with light and love. The role of a savior is to suffer innocently for the sins of others. There can be no higher calling."

This is a good book to have. It helped to shed just a little bit of light for me and was actually a talk prepared for those youth who attended the Columbine Seminary during their tragedy.

Home Improvements..

2008-02-10T15:48:00.000-05:00

Where have we been.. many have asked?! With us now both working full time, weekends are gold! Along with just trying to get the normal stuff done around the house we have been making home improvements. Our biggest improvement yet has been our bathroom. It has taken months and much help from my Dad and Meno! Thanks so much!

The biggest eye sores of our house were both the bathroom and kitchen. With remodeling being a hobby of mine, we decided to buy our house anyways and take on the projects. So here we are with our most recent home improvements. Our next tasks are refinishing the remodeling the kichen!

Before

After

Before

After

Before

After

Roller Skating..

2008-02-10T15:10:00.001-05:00

One of my favorite things to do growing up was rollerskating. We roller- skated in our basement, outside, at the park, at the rink, at the school parking lot.. let's just say it was a family favorite! Last year Alexandra received rollerskates from Grandma Coy and this year she has really begun taking interest in roller skating. So, when my parents heard about this new interest, they asked us to go to a rink. The girls thought the roller skating rink was the coolest thing. They even ran into a few school kids having a birthday party there! Isabel was able to skate with the help of one or two of us! Alexandra took YiaYia down once but by the end was able to skate by herself. We had a fabulous time! Practice Practice because I see a roller skating party in the future!

Christmas 2007

2008-02-10T14:31:00.000-05:00

Christmas this year for our family was a whirlwind. Isabel was ill on Christmas Eve so we had to forgo our plans of spending time with extended family. Our big Christmas feast consisted of Chicken Noodle Soup.. wooh..i'm being sarcastic :P Luckily the next morning, Isabel woke up feeling pretty darn good. We found a huge gift out on our doorstep from a dear old neighbor we think. Seconds later we noticed the house across the street was on fire with the owners standing outside wrapped up in blankets. It was very hard to get into theChristmas Spirit and focus on gift giving knowing that there were people across the way watching everything they had burn. Everyone did make it out of the house safely.

When our street was no longer blocked off we ventured out to have breakfast with family at Andy and Jamie's house. It was very nice to finally get out of the house and see everyone. After a very enjoyable time there we received an urgent call that my Mom was in the hospital and was critically ill. So, much of the night was spent in the hospital. We had a lot of time to think about the Savior and Family.

I have never been so glad to start a new year! I quite honestly never want another one like this! Christmas was a real eye opener. I learned how material Christmas is! It doesn't matter how much you have, how much you receive, and how many gifts you give.. it never will make up for health, safety, and time lost with a loved one. The only thing we will take with us after this life is the knowledge and memories we have gained here on earth. My Mom is doing much better however, it was very difficult to have come too close to losing a best friend! It's amazing how much more our family now cherishes our time with family and dear friends! God Bless!

Christmas Nativity..

2008-02-10T14:14:00.000-05:00

Our family has been so blessed to have the girls attending a Christian School. Their teachers have been great examples to them. Alexandra and Isabel are so excited to come home sharing the bible stories as well as scriptures they learn every day. The school also holds a Christmas program in which Alexandra was asked to be Mary and Isabel asked to be a lamb during the Nativity Story. Everyday they practiced and memorized their parts, scriptures, as well as poems. We were so very proud of them and all that they accomplished.

A Pirate Party for Spencer

2008-02-10T14:04:00.000-05:00

What a nice break!! It was such a relief to spend time with pirates rather than princesses for once. Alexandra and Isabel were so excited to be invited to Spencer's birthday.. and quite frankly, I was too. I got to see my very good friends whom I don't see very often. The girls almost didn't know how to react to the very masculine boys when they arrived! Bridgette as always was quite creative.. we really liked the sailboat hotdogs! He enjoyed listening to the talking parrot as well as watching Pirates of the Carribean :)

2007-11-29T12:41:00.000-05:00

Thanksgiving~

This Thanksgiving we had been blessed to see alot of our family! We began our day at the Great Coys House in Chambersburg where we enjoyed food and planned out our yearly Black Friday Plans. You've got to have a serious plan to be successful on Black Friday!! lol! Alexandra and Isabel had a blast jumping in the leaves with their cousins.

The next half of the day, we spent with the Meraklis Family. The kids were forced to eat another meal.. which they were not thrilled about :P It also happened to be YiaYia's birthday so celebrated that as well. She got some very very nice gifts.. a new guitar with flower engraved on it, Amy Grant's new book, as well as Amy's new cd.. I am super jealous!

Saturday, we headed down to Maryland where we ate Italian Food and spent time with my Aunts, Uncles, and Grandparents. Alexandra and Isabel are always sooo excited to play with Angelica, Melina, and Elana. If only we lived a bit closer!

Thanksgiving Activities..

2007-11-15T22:47:00.000-05:00

Today, I was able to spend time with Alexandra and Isabel at their school. They were holding their annual fall feast and parade. Food was great and we had a great time spending time together!

AMY GRANT!!

2007-11-15T22:39:00.000-05:00

Growing up, Amy Grant was a household favorite. We rollerskated to her music, we all cleaned to her, we sang along.. we loved Amy Grant! So when Angela and I found out she was coming to town.. yes 7 minutes away, we jumped at the opportunity to surprise Mom with Amy Grant tickets for her birthday! As always, we started our girls night off right with Round the Clock.. gotta support the Greek diners out ther :P And after our usual onion soup, we headed downtown where we saw Amy Grant! She was amazing! Sorry Aunt Lisa.. we will call you next time! HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!

Glow Bowling..

2007-11-15T22:34:00.001-05:00

The kids had a great time bowling.. but they had an even better time dancing!

Halloween

2007-11-15T22:14:00.000-05:00

Every year, my family gets together to go trick-or-treating.. it's been a tradition since we were kids! This year, we were fortunate enough to have Michael's side of the family join us as well! We had a great trick-or-treating experience in our new neighborhood!

Harvest Festivals..

2007-10-13T20:51:00.001-04:00

Alexandra and Haley

A's class' decorations!
Alexandra and I headed out to her schools annual Harvest Festival this weekend. It was full of fun and games. Alexandra rode one of the ponies, went on the hay ride, bobbed for apples, jumped on the moon bounce and enjoyed yummy food! Her favorite part, however, was spending time with KYLE.

After recently celebrating Harrison's birthday, the whole family made it a point to ask about his new acquaintence Helen. We thought that was bad.. here we find out our daughter is by far worse! Alexandra has recently been talking alot about Kyle but I did not realize the extent of it!Because I was the one monitoring the Moon Bounce at the event, Alexandra stayed with Kyle and his mom Sheila, whom I worked with at Allfirst Bank. Sheila made it a point to tell me that Kyle told her, " I have a girlfriend named Alexandra and she is hot!" From a distance I actually caught a glimpse of the two eating french fries and holding hands!! I was completely floored.. this happens in Pre-K? They went everywhere together and Kyle even gave Alexandra a kiss on the cheek when leaving.. should we be worried?! Anyways, the day was quite entertaining for the onlooking parent!

Kyle and Alexandra.. yeah she's taller than he is!

My Homies at Countrywide..

2007-10-13T20:41:00.000-04:00

Every year, RAYAC sponsors the affiliate fair which includes anyone who is involved in the real estate business. Each company is supposed to decorate their booth according to the theme given. This years theme was children's books so.. our group decided on Robin Hood! With very little thought put into it, I think our booth turned out to be a hit. We had a constant line of realtors visiting Sherwood Forest.. which was obviously our goal! We really had a lot of fun dressing up and mingling.. above is a picture of just a few of my homies from CW :P

Alexandra's 5th Birthday!

2007-10-13T18:45:00.000-04:00

Wow, it's hard to believe that it was 5 years ago when we found out we were expecting our first child! Alexandra has brought so much joy to our lives and we are so blessed to have such a wonderful, sensitive, smart, and happy little girl! Isabel is sure lucky to have a such a good example! Just some tid bits about Alexandra that you may not know...

1. She loves to dance, SING , practice gymnastics, and put on a show---> she thinks she's Shirley Temple (too many movies with Pappoo)
2. She likes to look nice (one morning she was crying because the outfit I picked out for her was not stylish)
3. Alexandra loves learning. Her teacher tells us she is very bright! One of her favorite questions recently is "Where did that come from?".. and no not babies thank goodness and please don't mention it! lol! She sat with me and watched with me the process of sugar being refined and has been talking about it ever since!
4. She is quite the artist. Mrs. Johnston says she is very meticulous about her coloring, drawing and painting!
5. Her pretend name is always "Jen" when playing with Isabel.. i'm guessing after Aunt Jenni!
6. She is very determined. Nobody stands in her way when she decides to do something.
7. She knows how to burp! I can't even do that.. yuck!
8. Alexandra wants to be a princess when she grows up.. I told her she may have to move to England :)
9. She really enjoys taking walks around the neighborhood.. what do I mean by that.. Daddy and Mommy walks, Alexandra drives Isabel around in their electric car.. she likes to think she is a very good driver.
10. She is very likeable and makes new friends very easily.
11. She is health conscious..or at least before she eats something she asks "Is this healthy?" she had to have gotten that from her Aunt Jamie because everyone knows it's not from me!

Anyways, below are some pictures from her birthday party. She had a fabulous time with friends and family! Thanks for coming!

Camping..

2007-10-13T18:28:00.000-04:00

After much debate, we decided.. let me rephrase that.. I decided to suck it up with two little girls and go camping! We had a great time spending time with our friends Sua, Em, Lindsey & Jason. I decided to take an air-mattress to sleep on, and my luck, it had deflated during our first night due to a hole. Luckily, Lindsey brought an xtra! During our trip we also made a stop at Del Groso, a local amusement park where they were holding their annual fall-fest! The kids had a fantastic time. On our way home, we decided to picnic on the highway.. oh what fun!

Labor Day

2007-10-13T18:18:00.000-04:00

Labor Day was great! We took it easy and hung out with Patrick and Angela and enjoyed ourselves as their neighbors entertained our kids! Can't ask for anything better than that!

What's in a Name?

2007-09-12T17:38:00.001-04:00

Yia Yia decided to ask Addison, Alexandra, & Isabel a very hard question, obviously..

What is your teacher's name?

Isabel responds to the question, "Do you know my teachers name?" (reverse psychology)
Addison responds, "My teacher doesn't have a name!" (good thinking-he'll cover it up)
Alexandra says, " My teachers name is Mrs. Johnston." (she was actually right)

I thought the responses were quite entertaining! Maybe you should ask if your child knows their teacher's name?

Kevin and Jen's Luau

2007-09-03T09:12:00.000-04:00

I wasn't going to post pics from the luau but i've had a few people inquiring about the turn out so.. here we go. Angela and I helped decorate early that morning. We simply had a pineapple on each table with a flower stuck into it and a lei wrapped around the bottom.. it looked very hawaiin! The roasted pig was pretty cool however you might take note that no kid ate pork that evening! Kevin has a huge Italian family which created quite the dance atmosphere. We actually had to drag Alexandra off of the dance floor at about 11pm that night. She danced the night away and had no intentions of leaving anytime soon! The luau was a great idea.. people really seemed to enjoy a change from the typical same-old reception!

NASA Visitors Center..

2007-09-01T18:38:00.000-04:00

Because my Dad programmed satellites for NASA, I remember going to the NASA Visitors Center many of times and really really enjoying my experiencex. I have been really wanting to take the girls to visit NASA but have not seemed to have very many free Saturdays sooo.. we decided to go regardless of having 5 kids! I even had a few people ask if they were all ours! They kids had a blast! They looked around at the many pictures of planets, played with some of the interactive games, and enjoyed activating every possible movie in the center. They really enjoyed dressing up as astronauts and sitting in the space shuttle along with climbing on and seeing some of the shuttles and rockets that were previously sent out on missions. Heck, maybe one of them will make it to the moon one day?

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Couldn't Pick a Better Day for the Zoo..

2007-08-18T21:08:00.000-04:00

This weekend our family took our annual trip to the Baltimore Zoo and boy we couldn't have picked a nicer day! It was gorgeous and because we went down during the very last 2 hrs, there were no crouds whatsoever! The girls favorite animal was the giraffe and favorite thing to do was to go down the tree-house-slide and hop across the lily pads.

After our trip to the zoo, we headed to the harbor where I had all intentions of eating at my favorite restaurant, PHILLIPS, however lines were too long for two little girls to wait. We ended up in Little Italy where they were holding a street festival. We decided to eat at a little restorante chosen because of it's name, Isabella's which was muy delcioso! What a fun time, not to mention it only takes us about 45 mins to get to B-more now that we've moved..woohoo!

Jen & Kevin's Wedding!

2007-08-12T11:06:00.000-04:00

(Heather, Jen, Alexandra & Haley)

Jen and Kevin have been together as long as Michael and I, so when they announced they were getting married and wanted Alexandra to be one of their flower girls, Alexandra and I booked our tickets for Vegas! We decided to stay at the Excalibur where the other little flower girl Haley was staying and was known to be the best resort for kids. Alexandra loved the castle, it looked alot like Disney Land she said.

The wedding was awesome.. definately the highlight of our trip. I went to Vegas with preconceived ideas of how the wedding would be.. however it exceeded all of my expectations. It was one of the nicest weddings i've been too. And Jen was ecstatic that Alexandra was able to be there on her BIG day! Directly following the wedding ceremony at the Paris, we headed downstairs to one of their famous restaurants where the reception took place. I have never had soo much food! And all of the servers were amazing singers.. Jen and Kevin danced their first dance to the waiters singing.

(The Paris Hotel - where the festivities took place)

(Alexandra & Haley)

The next evening some 30 guests from the wedding all met us at our hotel for a Jousting Tournament which the kids really really enjoyed. Haley and Alexandra had soo much fun hanging out and cheering for our prince, The Prince of Romania!

(Haley & Alexandra at the tournament)

Our trip was hot but alot of fun! Our flights were another story! The next morning we had to be at the airport by 3am. We checked out, took a cab, waited an hr at the airport until Delta even turned their lights on. The first thing they told us was that our aircraft and crew never made it in the night before. I was soo MAD! I could not believe they didn't call us as they usually do! They could not get us on another plane until 1 pm which would put us in BWI early the next morning if there we no other delays.. not to mention this was the day of our settlement! Needless to say.. the crazy part.. we take a cab back to Kevin and Jen's honeymoon suite because most of our family members already had flights out of Vegas. Not only do we have to wake them up at 4:30 in the morning but Jen feels so bad that I am laying on the floor that she insists on me sleeping with them on their king size bed ON THEIR HONEYMOON, luckily it was the 2nd night after their wedding! AHHH! So here I am on the bed next to Jen and her new husband! LOL! A few hours their honeymoon breakfast is delivered.. the lady said she had never seen so many people in a honeymoon suite.. Amber was with us and Mike Kevins brother also crashed on their couch. We all enjoyed the breakfast and had a fun time waiting for our plane!

TALK ABOUT WEDDING CRASHERS!!

(A in the pool w/ Kevin, Jen and Mike)

(Amber and A)

(G-L-A-M-O-R-O-U-S.. A loves this song!)

Our Vacation to Maine

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Michael and I were very impressed with how well behaved Alexandra & Isabel were during our drive to Maine. On the way up, we stopped at a hotel in Lowell, MA which was absolutely gorgeous with views of the waterfall right beside it. The girls really really enjoyed the pool and cookies we were given. They seemed to think the hotel was the Lake House we would be staying at?

The Lake House on Green Lake

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We were all absolutely thrilled to finally make it to the lake house! You could see the water from almost every room in the house. Upon arrival, the main activity of the day was fishing. Meno was the very first person to catch a fish and the kids had quite the lesson on scaling, filleting, and deboning the fish. It became one of the entrees for dinner that evening. We also celebrated Pappoo and Michael's birthdays!

(Isabe'ls 1st Sunny!)

(Pappoo w/ the 3 amigos)

(Meno fishin) (Michael's 1st fish 12'' not bad!)

Our Weekend Warriors..

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One of Meno's favorite activities during the trip was playing with his paint-ball-gun! All of our warriors went to battle and we had no problems bidding them farewell. Every time the guys came back, they tried to convince Angela and I that we should join in. We weren't stupid.. they came back with new battle wounds every game. The most adventurous battle the guys had was the time they insisted we drop them off at an island so that their game would be more confined.. they had a great time!

Some miscellaneous pictures..

Meno's 21st Birthday..

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Meno's 21st birthday starts off with a bang. The whole family went to Stewman's, a famous seafood restaurant in Bar Harbor. We all were sure to taste their famous lobster and other seafood. Angela and I asked if a server could bring out a piece of pie for Meno's birthday.. and that is exactly what they did. A young server dressed up in a Red Lobster outfit came to sing to Meno! It was hilarious. Meno tried to looking the other way in hopes that it wasn't for him! We had a great time and the food was excellent!

Thanks Angela.. I used this pic from your blog!

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Meno on jet ski splashing Michael on the kayak
Angela and I on the jet ski

Our little hike/ nature walk with the kids

Every night we heard what we thought were coyotes.. turn out they were loons (look like ducks)

Cruisin' Together..

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That'd be us!

Maine was soo relaxing. We were able to enjoy all of the luxuries of being right on the water. It brought back memories for Angela, Meno & I. We did alot of fishing, swimming, crabbing at Grandma's house and with Pappoo.. fond memories we had growing up! So we really enjoyed teaching our kiddos how to do many of these things. One day we rented a pontoon boat for the day and went swimming. Surprisingly, the kids jumped right off the boat into the water! They also really enjoyed taking their turn on the kayak.

YiaYia w/ the amigos

Chillin w/ Uncle Meno

Jumping off the boat

Angela & Helena

Indian Echo Caverns

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2007-07-08T22:39:00.000-04:00

Michael turns the BIG 30!!

Wow, it's hard to believe that Michael has already hit the big 30! We had a fabulous day celebrating his birthday. Family and friends joined us for dinner and Michael received an awesome gift from his parents.. a fire bowl.. something we have completely missed since we've moved. So, in the middle of July we were all roasting marshmallows.. i'm sure the neighbors thought we were loco!

Anyways, i'm definately not the mooshey type but it's tradition to share a few thoughts about birthday boy, so here it goes..

-Energy. Even at the age of 30, he has so much energy. He is so much more productive than I am and probably ever will be.

- Awesome Daddy. He is very involved and loves to take Alexandra and Isabel to all sorts of creative places, he cooks the girls pancakes practically every day during the summer, and even has done a good job dressing the girls and fixing there hair :P

-An amazing teacher. Spending time w/ some of his students on the Spain trip, I could see how much he truly is loved. He definately has a gift for teaching and connecting students. He is truly valued as a role model and friend.

-Athletic. He is very well-rounded when it comes to sports! The first time I saw Michael was playing basketball. He was an awesome baller then and still is, whether it be b-ball, soccer, football..

-Spiritual. Michael is definately a spiritual powerhouse here in our family.

-Service. He is one of the most giving men I have ever known. He always put others before himself and is such good example to our girls!

My list could go on.. I am very lucky to have a husband who helps me and supports me in anything I do. Happy Birthday!

2007-07-08T22:20:00.000-04:00

**4th of July**

4th of July has brought a whole new outlook on the neighborhood we are currently residing in. We have never seen a neighborhood that shoots off soo many fireworks! We're talking they put on huge shows themselves. Every night you can anticipate a display from another neighbor. The girls love it!

Anyways, we were rather lucky to have taken the girls and Addison to a fireworks display a few days prior to the 4th. A local park put on a very large show and the kids absolutely enjoyed themselves. 4th of July we celebrated at family picnic where the kids played on the slip and slide and the adults enjoyed company as well as games and swim at a neighbor's house. That night, it rained and poured however we have been very lucky to see fireworks every night following the 4th.

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Daddy - Daughter Camping!

Michael decided to take the girls camping to a nearby site. They really enjoyed their alone time as well as a visit from Grandma and Pappy. Some of the highlights were cooking over the fire as well as swimming at the beach!

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Our Trip to Spain..

I couldn't resist getting a mission look-a-like picture.

Fountains in Cordeba

Town from Don Quixote

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Morocco..

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Morocco..

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Africa - Morocco

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Flamenco Dancing..

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Valley of the Fallen..

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The Bull Fight..

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2007-06-15T07:35:00.000-04:00

Alexandra and Meno

Amber in the center

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Michael and I were totally impressed with the girls school.. but after going to the Kindergarten Graduation we were completely amazed! My old manager's son conducted the whole graduation. They children shared short stories, songs, and many of the concepts they had learned throughout the year. They also had a slideshow of the kids throughout the year. I would totally recommend this school.. Awesome! Alexandra and her class were invited to sing two songs and did an unbelievable job. I thought the cap and gowns were super cute!

2007-06-15T07:19:00.000-04:00

A night at the Circus..

This year our family went to the Circus for Isabel's and my birthday. It was definately something we had never experienced before. The acrobats were incredible.. the girls were completely amazed due to the fact that they are learning some of the same techniques at gymnastics but on a much smaller scale. I would have never imagined seeing elephants performing this trick but they did it!

Isabel's Big 3..

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This year we had an actual party for Isabel. We seem to always have parties for Alexandra and never for Isabel, I think because the summer is always so busy! Anyways, we had a great time. We also celebrated Morgan's first birthday so we had some family and close friends.
One of the highlights of the party was the double slip and slide. It was fun to see the kids racing!

Isabel absolutely loved her castle cake. And no, I can't take credit for making it. It even tasted good!

Fun at Knoebles

2007-06-14T19:58:00.000-04:00

Oh what fun it is to ride..
... on the rides at Knoebles!