Roller Skating..

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

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..

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

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 :)

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..

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!!

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..

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

Halloween

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..

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..

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!

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..

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

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!