Happy Birthday

Happy FIRST Birthday ELLIE :)

Can't BELIEVE it's been a year!

We love you!

Just amazing how much things change in 12 short months.

Auntie D and I were just talking the other day about how it seemed like forever between when we heard SnL were expecting and when Ellie was born and then this last year has FLOWN by!

Party on Sunday so more pictures then :)

Apple Picking

Saturday was absolutely GORGEOUS! We picked up the van from the garage (it's all fixed and cost $100 less than the estimate - Yippee!) dropped off the truck we had borrowed from Auntie D (THANKS Auntie D - yer the best!) and then went apple picking :)

Lots of choices...we went with McCoun, Cortland & McIntosh...they're ALL delish!

Our cute little worm.

Catching a ride from Daddy :)

All morning she kept asking if she would be able to sit up in an apple tree.

Hubby took this one...what a good photographer he is!

Sampling the goods :)

My fave picture of the day!

The best of the family self-portraits.

We finished the day off with steak for dinner and apple crisp (of course!) for dessert :)

Just to Remind You...

Please take note that I've replaced the countdown to Wicked ticker from the bottom of the blog and replaced it with a countdown to *gulp* Christmas ticker. I did this because I was brutally reminded last Friday that the holiday season is fast approaching when I checked my email and saw a "100 Days of Holidays" message. What?!? One hundred days???? This is something I signed up for a few years ago through Better Homes and Gardens and they're great daily emails from September right through New Year's with all sorts of recipes, crafts, decorating tips and more! Go HERE if you want to sign up :) However, the announcement that the emails would begin soon was quite the shock to my system....less than 100 days 'til Christmas? That certainly puts things in perspective. I need to get myself in gear. As of today, Halloween (my FAVE!) is only 37 days away, Thanksgiving is 62 days away and Christmas is 92 days away. Yipe! Gotta go! :)

Have a great weekend!!!

Field Trip

When I dropped Iz off at school the other day there was a paper in her mailbox announcing their first Field Trip of the year. On the way home I told her about it.

"Where are we going?" she asked.

"Apple picking," I replied.

"Ugh! Apple picking! That's not a field trip!" she groaned.

"Well, it's not just apple picking," I said. "You'll be going on a hay ride, visiting with the farm animals, going apple picking AND building fairy houses!"

Her reply?

"Now THAT's what I call a field trip!"

Me too! We both can't wait! LOVE that girl :)

Be a Good Friend

I was lucky enough to be serenaded on the way home from school today....this is what Iz was singing:

This one's for my teachers!

Be a good friend.

Be a good friend.

Mrs. S & Mrs. W are the best teachers in the world.

Be a good friend.

This one's for my Mommy!

Be a good friend.

Be a good friend.

Mommy's the best mom in the world.

Be a good friend.

This one's for my whole family!

Be a good friend.

Be a good friend.

My family's the best in the world.

Be a good friend.

This one's for the world!

Be a good friend.

Be a good friend.

Earth is the best planet!

Be a good friend.

This one's for the trees!

Be a good friend.

Be a good friend.

Trees are great and trees are green!

Be a good friend.

Ahhhhh....no need for a radio with my little songstress along for the ride :)

WICKED

Ah, the story of Wicked....at least it has a happy ending :)

It all started so well. L&R came down Friday night and L and I were up and ready on time Saturday morning and headed out to pick up Auntie D, L (of SnL), WW & VG. We all piled in my van, swung thru DD for coffee and hit the road.

Twenty minutes later my van crapped out :( Just died.* It was a flurry of cell phones as I called Hubby, Auntie D called S to bring us a new vehicle and then AAA to tow the van.

Luckily, WW's van was available and running so, when it arrived, we transferred our stuff, piled in and hit the road...again.

We made it to the city with time to find the venue, and grab lunch.

WW & VG

Auntie D & L

Me and L :)

The Boston Opera House...GORGEOUS inside and out!!!
The show was amazing (naturally!) though the seats weren't as good as they were back in January. It ended up being a great day out with the girls!!!

*Found out today the van IS fixable...for a few hundred bucks....ugh!

One More Day

Tomorrow's the day! Off to Wicked :) L&R are coming down tonight....then everyone's piling in my van in the morning for the trek to the show....CAN'T WAIT!

Have a great weekend everyone!

Universal Truths

Saw this on another blog months ago and thought today would be a good day to share it. Sadly, no idea where I saw it so no credit :(

Universal Truths

1. I think part of a best friend's job should be to immediately clear your computer history if you die.

2. Nothing sucks more than that moment during an argument when you realize you're wrong.

3. I totally take back all those times I didn't want to nap when I was younger.

4. There is great need for a sarcasm font.

5. How the heck are you supposed to fold a fitted sheet?

6. Was learning cursive really necessary?

7. Map Quest really needs to start their directions on #5. I'm pretty sure I know how to get out of my neighborhood.

8. Obituaries would be a lot more interesting if they told you how the person died.

9. I can't remember the last time I wasn't at least kind of tired.

10. Bad decisions make good stories.

11. You never know when it will strike, but there comes a moment at work when you know that you just aren't going to do anything productive for the rest of the day.

12. Can we all just agree to ignore whatever comes after Blue Ray? I don't want to have to restart my collection...again.

13. I'm always slightly terrified when I exit out of Word and it asks me if I want to save any changes to my ten-page research paper that I swear I did not make any changes to.

14. "Do not machine wash or tumble dry" means I will never wash this - ever.

15. I hate when I just miss a call by the last ring (Hello? Hello?!?!), but when I immediately call back, it rings nine times and goes to voicemail. What did you do after I didn't answer? Drop the phone and run away?

16. I hate leaving my house confident and looking good and then not seeing anyone of importance the entire day. What a waste.

17. I keep some people's phone numbers in my phone just so I know not to answer when they call.

18. I think the freezer deserves a light as well.

19. I disagree with Kay Jewelers. I would bet on any given Friday or Saturday more kisses begin with Miller Lite (or wine or Margaritas) than Kay Jewelry.

20. I wish Google Maps had an "Avoid Speed Trap" and “Avoid Bad Neighborhood” routing options.

21. Sometimes, I'll watch a movie that I watched when I was younger and suddenly realize I had no idea what the heck was going on when I first saw it.

22. I would rather try to carry 10 plastic grocery bags in each hand than take 2 trips to bring my groceries in.

23. The only time I look forward to a red light is when I'm trying to finish a text.

24. I have a hard time deciphering the fine line between boredom and hunger.

25. How many times is it appropriate to say "What?" before you just nod and smile because you still didn't hear or understand a word they said?

26. I love the sense of camaraderie when an entire line of cars team up to prevent an ass from cutting in at the front. Stay strong, brothers and sisters!

27. Shirts get dirty. Underwear gets dirty. Pants? Pants never get dirty, and you can wear them forever.

28. Is it just me or do high school kids get dumber & dumber every year?

29. There's no worse feeling than that millisecond you're sure you are going to die after leaning your chair back a little too far.

30. Even under ideal conditions people have trouble locating their car keys in a pocket, finding their cell phone, and Pinning the Tail on the Donkey - but I'd bet my behind everyone can find and push the snooze button from 3 feet away, in about 1.7 seconds, eyes closed, first time, every time!

31. Sometimes I'll look down at my watch 3 consecutive times and still not know what time it is.

School

A hectic, stress-filled morning. Not nearly enough coffee in my system. Running late. Iz crying when I dropped her off. ME crying when I dropped her off. Spending the entire time she's there being completely lazy and unproductive. An equally stressful pick up time with lots more crying, bad reports from the teachers and walking out the door with our heads hung in shame/exhaustion/disappointment.

That's how I dreamed the first day of school would go...

Here's what really happened.

Iz got up at 7am (early for her) and announced "Today's my first day of school!" Then she immediately grabbed her checklist and started working her way through it WITHOUT BEING ASKED! By 7:30 she was 100% ready for school and posing for pictures (see yesterday's post). She was able to relax for a little while, watch a little PBS and then we were off.

We arrived at school, walked in and Iz was all smiles. She put on her slippers (no shoes in class!), hung up her backpack, lined her shoes up underneath and was off like a flash! Her teachers, Mrs. S and Mrs. W were wonderfully greeting everyone and showing them what to do, where to go and what was coming up in the day that I actually had to pull her away for a quick hug good-bye! No tears for either of us! I was impressed with myself :)

I spent the 2-1/2 hours she was at school taking a walk, knitting and listening to a book on cd (a FINE way to spend a couple hours, BTW!).

Pick up was just as easy. When I walked in all the kids were lined up in a row of chairs, ready to go. Mrs. S told me I was a "Big Cat" and had to find my "Little Mouse." Seriously cute! Iz skipped to the van and exclaimed "My first day of school was a BLAST!"

She talked about it all night. Talked about how her job for the day was to ring the bell, and that she can't wait until it's her job to feed Bubbles, the fish. Showed off the 2 art projects she did, showed us the pencil and special treat her teacher sent home with her and kept remembering more and more of what happened during the day.

We had a special dinner of chicken, mac'n'cheese and fresh green beans followed by an outside tubby and gold cake with chocolate frosting. An absolutely amazing day!

Today's agenda? Ballet!!!

The First Day of School

The countdown is complete.

All the morning "chores" done & checked off the list.

The paper "Me Doll" assigned at last week's open house is done.

Ready and HAPPY about Preschool :)

The day was finished with a special dinner, cake AND the last outside tubby of the year!

More details coming....

Flashback Friday - Old E-Mail

Lately I've been feeling a little nostalgic and I'm a bit of an e-mail "pack rat" so it's been easy for me to look back at some of the lovey dovey e-mails Hubby and I have sent to each other over the years. This is one thing he wrote to me back in June 2007 that I rediscovered the other day. I've since made it the background on my desktop and just keep reading and rereading and rereading. It's so touching, and sweet, and seeing those words from him make me realize I still feel the same way after all this time :)

"I can honestly say that no one has touched my heart the way that you have. I have never wanted to be with anyone else the way I want to be with you. When I wake up in the morning there is a certain wonderful feeling that I have inside that no matter how good or bad a day I have there is someone who truely loves me with me. I really feel that way all the time. You make me feel that way ...all the time. That's part of the unconditional love aspect I believe."

Let's all say it together..."Awwwwwwww!"

Happy Birthday!

Short but Sweet

Sorry the last few posts have seemed harried and unorganized but, well, that's what they are...because that's what I am. Since my last "real" post on August 23rd I feel like I have just been straight out. I finally took a little time the other day to edit, organize and upload pictures but by the time that was all done I didn't have it in me to type much about what we did.

Today is Iz's open house at school. Her first official day is Monday. FIVE days away! I'm freaking out...excited but seriously freaking out. So, if the next few posts seem distant then that's why - my mind is on Monday and nothing but Monday. After we get past the first day hurdle I'll try to go back and fill in the blanks....until then, I'm keeping things short and sweet :)

ANOTHER Party!

HC's annual Party was Saturday....the weather was great, the food was great and LOTS of it!, there was a ton of people, a ton of kids and we had a great time!

Did you know horseshoe players have groupies? LOL!

Iz actually had another GIRL to play with! Not easy when the crowd starts with HC's 3 boys and their buddies!!!

Water baby!

Another typical Hubby picture.

HC and her neighbor. Thanks for throwing another great bash HC!!!

Iz needs a family picture to bring to school with her next week...this is the best we could do :)

Too Hot...

...for Storyland, which was the original plan for yesterday with Auntie D and Ellie.

So, instead, we went to Chuck E. Cheese!

Ellie was not too thrilled with this ride...

...but she liked the next one MUCH better!

Iz's favorite was the horse racing game!

A fun day in the AC!