Alaska

Wow! I haven't posted in over a month!! Well we have been pretty busy. The girls and I went to Alaska with mom to visit Michele, Justin, Maggie, Casey and Indie. We had a great time!!
The plane trip was too long and exhausting, but we all agreed we would do it again in a heart beat!! We had so much fun visiting with everyone, sight seeing, and (for the girls & Maggie) watching HSM2 100 times. Casey is the fastest, lovingest k'nubber around and Indie is THE BEST BABY EVER (Blog entry to come on him)

Pic of Maggie and the girls at Portage Glacier.


Here's a pic of everyone next to the Tram on top of Alyeska Mountain in Girdwood, AK


And this is the moose calf we came across when the girls & I went for a walk to the park behind Michele's house.

Mike wins it!

Congratulations Mike!! Check it out! My cousin Mike Acord won the co-anglers division of the Capitol Clash, a Bass Masters Elite tournament.
Way to go Mike!!!

Indio James Ireys

His time has come, Little Indie is here at last!!! Michele & Justin had their baby boy yesterday, Indio. According to Mom and Michele he is absolutely beautiful, but I think they are a little biased, eh? We haven't rec'd any pics yet (My sister who is hardly recognizable without a camera blocking her face hasn't sent me one. She's just lying in the hospital bed, doing nothing, you think she could send ONE picture, jeez!!) Independent, Self-determination, Freedom, Liberty, Unconventional, Unconstrained, Separate, Individual, Objective, You get the idea, liberated, unfettered, etc, etc. It's also like Indiana Jones and that's just cool anyway you look at it.
I can't wait to see him, hold him, kiss him!!! I am so 'cited!

Summer has Begun

Wow! It has been crazy these last few weeks. We had end of school, end of Girl Scouts, end of Gymnastics Showcase and end of Ballet Recital. Then we had the start of summer camp, start of summer hours, start of summer gymnastics and start of summer ballet! Crazy, crazy, crazy!! After all of the "end of year" stuff and before all the "start of summer" stuff, we slowed down to spend some time together at home. That's when Quinn honored me with her song about the 50 States. Check it out - It is very cool!




I also have some video of Gabbie's recital, she is a little too far away and the camera is shaky, but you get the general idea.






We had the Sanders in for a brief but fun visit the last week end in June. They swung by on their whirlwind trip across America. They were weary from the road and their long trip so they welcomed a break to sleep in and we welcomed their visit.

As we turn our thoughts ahead to the summer, we are very excited to have the MacDonalds in from Kentucky-town for the entire summer!! I even promised the girls I will go to the beach, if Andi goes that is!!

Camping Trip

Quinn and I went camping this weekend. Don't be too impressed, we went Girl Scout camping. It was a blast! We went with my co-leader, Eileen, and her daughter Emily. Friday night they had a bon fire, where we got to make S'mores (the only reason to camp) and sang camp fire songs. (I actually remembered a couple of these) The next day they took Quinn and Emily off and Eileen and I did our Out Door Training. While we learned about SWAPS, how to make fires and pass knives, the girls went hiking, boating, did archery and crafts. They had a blast and made lots of friends (Pickles, Raven & Rocky, in particular) Oh, that's right, we all had to pick camp names (Quinn = Rainbow; Emily = Bear; Eileen = Luna; Kim= Clover) The four of us slept in a platform tent. The girls loved it!! It started getting cold around 3 am, and we kept waking up throughout the night, but the girls loved it. Now that Eileen and I have a clue, we can't wait to bring the Brownies out for an overnight.

Disney pictures

Pictures from our trip to Disney last November.

Disney Pictures

More pictures from Disney.

The Scrapblog

OMG - combining blogging with my most favorite hobby, scrap booking!! This is way cool! I don't know how to edit it so it fits in the space below, but I am working on it. I am adding a link to my scrapblog site for you to check out new layouts, right now these are the only two I have.

My new scrapblog

Easter in OH

We had a great (though too short) trip to OH for Easter. The Ester bunny followed us to Grandma's house. Check it out, Quinn heard the front door open in the middle of the night and then the sounds of something big hopping around downstairs!! Too cool! The girls had a great time playing with their cousins and seeing everyone. We drove out on Good Friday, April6th, and hit white out conditions west of Columbus!! It was crazy! The whole weekend was snowy, nothing really stuck, but it was cold!! It was all good though, we spend most of the time inside making Mii's for everyone and playing Wii all day and night!! We are back home and getting back into our groove, waiting for our next big trip. Yup, you got it....Gina-re's Birthday Party in May!!!!!
(oh, we are also going to swing by Michele's in September for a bit)

Back Home

Back home from PA. We had a great time! On Saturday Meg and her family came to over for dinner. It was nice reminiscing and catching up with them. Dylan and Reid have gotten so tall!! On Sunday we celebrated Pop Pop's 71st birthday! I was happily surprised that other friends and family were coming to visit as well. My mom's sister, Aunt Andy, My Dad's sister and brother in law, Aunt Edna and Uncle Fred and their two close friends, Aunt Loretta and Uncle Bill. (Its funny, the last time I saw Aunt Edna and Uncle Fred was when I was visiting PA. I have to go out there to see them when they live in NJ!) It was wonderful seeing everyone. Aunt Andy and Aunt Loretta (two of the most marvelous cooks my stomache has had the pleasure of meeting) discussed some of their favorite recipes. I told them they need to have a cooking show - They are both a pair of characters who could develop quite the following...
The girls loved seeing Sammy and Teddy. All of the kids were so good. They played and played and (for the most part) got along great. Quinn & Gabbie told me they were sad when we got home last night, that they missed Sammy and Teddy! We signed up on Club Penguin so they can talk with Sammy more often.

Upcoming Trips

Hi everyone! Just a post script to my St. Patty's day note - it is very difficult, nay, impossible, to find a corned beef in a supermarket at 3:00 pm on March 17, 2007. Hence, the new tradition of Mexican Fajitas in honor of the Snake Eradicator on the Isle of Eyre. However, we were able to track down a piece of meat from one of those corn fed cows (personal joke) on March 18th!~~

Next on the agenda, a trip to PA next weekend to say hi to the world traveler, Regina, Happy Birthday to Pop Pop and big ol' What UUUUP! to Uncle Kirk and Aunt Alex and the rest of the crew. Then the following week we pack up the car and head on out to Ohio for Easter. Unfortunately, due to construction scheduled to take place at Quinn's school this summer, we are getting out early and starting next year late so we have an abbreviated Spring Break, in other words we are off Friday and Monday! So it will be a very short visit, but at least we will get to see our cousins and family.

Top o' the mornin' to you!

Happy St. Patrick's Day to all. Yes, its that time of year again when we ask ourselves "why don't we make corned beef and cabbage more often? Its so good and so easy!" Of course, one would have to actually go to the grocery store to buy the corned beef and since I absolutely hate grocery shopping, I don't know how I am going to swing the traditional St. Patty's day feast. Usually I can count on my mom to come in from PA carting all the fixins' (as well as that giant pot to cook it in) but she already made her St. Patrick's dinner while visiting her first born (and obvious favorite) child last month. Just kidding mom (We all know I'm your favorite). Don't worry, I'll suck it up and make it myself and I won't whine any more!

May the road rise to meet you.
May the wind be always at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face.
And rains fall soft upon your fields.
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the hollow of His hand.

I posted a pic of the girls from Valentine's Day. Maybe I will get the St. Patrick's day pics up by April Fool's Day.

PS- For those of you wondering - Ode to KY was a shout out to my peeps Andi and Ross - Halla!

Ode to Kentucky

What can we say about this 15th State to join the Union? Kentucky, nicknamed the Blue Grass State (due to the fact that bluegrass grows abundantly throughout the State) is considered a Southern State, however, it is also often included, geographically and culturally, in the Midwest. Kentucky is well known for its thoroughbred horses, horse racing, bourbon whiskey distilleries, bluegrass music, and college basketball. (Welcome to March Madness!!) Kentucky has 120 counties, third in the U.S. behind Texas and Georgia. The original motivation for having so many counties was to ensure that residents, in the days of poor roads and horseback travel, could make a round trip from their home to the county seat and back in a single day.
The largest city in Kentucky is Louisville Metro, with a 2005 census estimated population of 556,429. Wait, make that 556,433.
Here are some interesting facts about Kentucky:
Its official State Bird is the Cardinal; State Butterfly is the Viceroy Butterfly; State Dance is Clogging; State Drink is Milk; State Fish is the Kentucky Spotted Bass; State Fossil is the Brachiopod (Of course, what else would it be??); State Flower is the Goldenrod; State Fruit is the Blackberry; State Gemstone is the Freshwater Pearl; State Grass is Kentucky Bluegrass (I believe we may have covered topic this previously in this post); State Latin Motto is "Deo gratiam habeamus" ("Let us be grateful to God"); State Horse is the Thoroughbred; State Mineral is Coal; State Outdoor Musical is "The Stephen Foster Story" (known as the "father of American music," Mr. Foster was the pre-eminent songwriter in the United States of the 19th century and wrote songs, such as "Oh! Susanna", "Camptown Races", "My Old Kentucky Home", "Old Black Joe", "Beautiful Dreamer" and "Old Folks at Home" ("Swanee River") it is not my friend Steve Foster who lives in Oceanport as I originally believed.); State Instrument is the Appalachian Dulcimer (a fretted string instrument of the zither family, typically with three or four strings. The body extends the length of the fingerboard and traditionally has an hourglass, teardrop, triangular, or elliptical shape); State Rock is the Kentucky Agate; State Slogan is "Kentucky: Unbridled Spirit"; State Tree is the Tulip Poplar; State Wild Animal Game Species is the Gray Squirrel (makes for a good stew); State Song is "My Old Kentucky Home" (revised version); State Silverware Pattern is The Georgetown Pattern (Every Kentuckyite has service for twelve); and State family is the MacDonalds.

My Girls

I have two beautiful girls, Quinn, 6, and Gabbie, 4. Even though they look alike, their personalities are polar opposites. Quinn is very shy and apprehensive when you first meet her. Once she is comfortable, her true personality comes out, she's a bit of a clown. She is very competitive and can focus all of her energy into completing the task she is working on. This comes out in her gymnastics. She practices relentlessly! Her intensity when she is concentrating on her routine is that of a much older person. She loves gymnastics and I love that she loves it. We will keep doing it as long as its fun and she enjoys it. Once it becomes a "chore" for her, I will want her to ease back or stop it all together. She's just a kid and sometimes I have to remind her of that!
Gabbie girl is out going and charming. She's 100% girl! She loves pink and purple, dressing up, ballet and doing her hair. She is four going on 17. Randy and I often look at one another and say that we are in for big trouble when she's a teen ager! Two days ago she put curlers in her hair before she went to bed. Unfortunately, they didn't work and when she woke up her hair was just as straight as ever. She was so upset, she stamped her foot and declared "I am not going to School with my hair like this!!", turned on her heel and marched away! She definetly has her own opinion!
I am very lucky that I have two cuddle bugs - they love curling up with me in our big chair and watching TV. We share lots of hugs and kisses and smiles!

First Entry

OK, I'm new at this so give me a break while I try to get my stuff together. I am starting this Blog to stay in touch with my family. I have a sister in Alaska, a brother in Pennsylvania, and my Parents-in -law and Sister-in-Law in Ohio. We can't get together as much as we would like, but I miss them something awful and want them to know I think about them a lot. The girls talk about their cousins and are always asking when they will be able to see them. It breaks my heart!
I am also starting this blog to show my sister that it is not that heard to up date your blog and there is no excuse why the last pictures on her blog are from November. I have not seen a picture of my niece or nephew since then and I would like to know what they look like!
Just Kidding Michele!!