Friday, July 24, 2009

Cousins Week 2009!

In June I invited my niece (Mya who is 4 days younger than Allison) and nephew (Derek who is 6 which is 2 years younger than the girls) to come and stay with us for a week. We all had a great time! I hope you enjoy our week in pictures.

The girls went to Vacation Bible School at our church for three hours a day while Derek hung out with me. Derek and I went back for the last 1/2 hour every day to watch the daily closing program.
They got to try a lot of new (to them) foods this week. They both liked the raw baby carrots. We won't talk about Mya and the bite of cucumber!
They got to help Aunt Cindi do some cooking. They really enjoyed this as they have never done this before.
There were lots off kitty bonding.
Hmm...Nintendo DS...what would they do without them? They even taught me how to Pictochat...I hope I spelled that correctly!
They loved playing on the computer and Simba loved the attention.
Our big, beautiful "Kid's Zone Playground" was a big thumbs up for them.
Derek especially liked the rock wall.
They all liked this thing that they had to hold onto and we pushed them back and forth.
Mya did really well on it.
Even Uncle Curtis got into the fun.
Allison liked scooting up the poles.
Sibling love...or was he trying to pull her down?
Did you know my daughter had frog-like legs?
Mya took a different view of the world!
How many people does it take to help one little girl grab the handles?
There were many trips to Rita's Italian Ice.
Yum!
Silly kids!
We took a field trip to Build-a-Bear and here they are with their un-stuffed new friends.
Filling them with stuff!
Dressing them in their new outfits!
Picking their names...
and registering them for their birth certificates.
Derek with his black lab, Nick.
Mya with her snow leopard, Spotty.
Allison with her snazzy kitty, Diamond.
I had planned a night to cookout with the kids but Curtis had a different idea of a cookout.
He wanted to take us to his parents' property and cook out there. So I packed up everything and off we went.
We walked through the woods to the edge where there is a clearing in the middle of nowhere. They call it "Allison's Wonderland" since Allison loves to hike through the woods to there.
Here the girls are helping carry everything from the van.
Derek helped Uncle Curtis gather wood.
Uncle Curtis got the fire started with just one match. I think the kids were impressed...so was I. :)
Don't they look excited and proud?
Derek helping to add wood to the fire.
Yeah! Fire!
Allison made roasted me the most perfect marshmallow for my s'more!
Having a little fun with Uncle Curtis.
Derek loved his time in the woods!
Mommy and daughter!
Gal pals!
Grandma met us in the woods for our cookout.
While we were up in the woods one of his parents' neighbor stopped by to check the temperature and wind conditions. He and his son have these one man flying machines. They use Grandma and Pa Pa's clearing as a starting and stopping point. Fortunately for us the conditions were favorable so he went and got his son and we had our own private show.

Here is his son with this huge metal circle on his back trying to get a running start. His leg muscles must be rock hard to be able to do this! At least once he's in the air he gets a break because it has a little motor on it that powers him in the sky.
Here he is almost directly above us...
...and here he is coming in for a landing.
We enjoyed lunch in the park.
I also planned some crafts for them. Here they are anxious to paint their shirts.
They all did so great with their designs.


So proud with their finished projects.


The girls had a camp out on the living room floor because that 6 year old boy snored!
They had a balloon fight to keep cool!



Another craft they did was to paint and decorate the first letter of their name.


Another great way to keep cool was water boats!






Here they are on the last day wearing their finsihed shirts and...
...holding their finished letters. They loved that they spelled "MAD!"
One last craft they did was picture frames. They got to pick a picture from the week and then painted and decorated the frame to acompliment the picture.
I can say that we all enjoyed the week and hopefully my schedule will allow us to do it again next year!
Have Fun!

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Sunday, July 12, 2009

You Would Think...

...that now that I'm off the whole Summer, I would have time to blog!

I also thought that I would be cleaning out closets, downsizing our stuff, redecorating our home, doing the umpteen projects I have planned and tending to my perfect container garden.

Ha! NONE of the above has happened but I am SO enjoying my time off with Allison, family and friends!

It's truly what life is about...the people that you love!

I don't have much time right now either but rest assured that I've been taking pictures. I'll sit down one day soon to document our fun. I also have a few recipes to share on my cooking blog. Hopefully, I'll get to those soon because one is a SUPER EASY ice cream dessert that will certainly make your guests say "WOW! That's amazing!"

Before I go, here are some pics of us enjoying a beautiful Summer day at Susan's (my BFF) camp last week. It was a wonderfully amazing relaxing perfect day!

I don't know why the first two came out with a blue cast but oh well.

Allison hasn't had much experience with swimming but I was really proud of her that day. She doesn't like water in her face AT ALL but she worked through it and did pretty good. Maria, my Goddaughter, is wonderful with her! She is so patient with Allison. Maria was teaching her how to kick her legs, how to paddle and even got her to go under water with her...once!

She has such LONG legs!



They have this huge mushroom in the middle of the pool. Allison wouldn't go under it by herself but I took her there a couple of times and let her get out on her own.

She's getting brave here!

Allison and Maria!

Susan, Maria & I. I can't believe I'm even posting this! Please ignore my gray hair and my make-upless face!
Allison and I under the mushroom.

Allison and Stephanie (Susan's daughter) hanging out after swimming.


Have Fun!

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Thursday, June 25, 2009

Fun Times!

I've got my niece and nephew here for the week. I love that Allison gets have her cousins here to create memories. My goal is to not hear "I'm bored" and so far it hasn't come out of their mouths. I've been keeping them busy and tiring them out. Thankfully they are still sleeping right now or I wouldn't be able to blog.
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Monday, June 15, 2009

A Picture Says a Thousand Words!

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Sunday, June 14, 2009

A Lovely Young Lady Goes to Nashville!

This is Spencer Bartoletti. She is one of the young girls where I work...well as of Friday, where I used to work. Her Mom and Sister work there as well. But anyway, Spencer is a college student and an aspiring singer. She makes up one half of Harmon Creek. You can check them out online here and here. While you are at the second link, check out "The Pittsburgh Song." Spencer's Dad wrote it and if you are from Pittsburgh, you will definitely be able to relate. You can also check them out on "Can You Duet" on CMT (Country Music Television) on this Saturday, June 20 at 8/7c. Yes. She made it onto the show! We are all so proud of her! Good Luck Spencer!

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Sunday, June 07, 2009

Planning!

I only have two more weeks left at my job and then I'm off for the Summer!

In the meantime, I'm making plans. I've been wanting for so long to make some changes in this home but that dang job kept getting in the way!

Allison and I have a full Summer planned but I am hoping to get some of my home projects completed. It's been over 8 years since we've painted and besides the walls needing it, I need the change! I've been collecting ideas and inspiration for several years and now I'm ready to get started!

Of course I'll be sure to document everything right here on my blog. I'll show the befores, the afters and the mishaps along with the good, the bad and the ugly. Let's just hope it's all good!

I'll be starting in a few weeks so be sure to check back to see what I've gotten myself into! Below are some of the colors and items I'm planning on using...I think. You never know when a creative thought hits me and I change directions! :)











Have Fun!
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