The Leitz's

The best vacation of all... Visiting Family!!!

2010-02-20T17:35:00.001-08:00

We had a fun trip up to New Hampshire, it's always soo great to see family! I can't believe how fast Cameron and Lexi have grown up! They are so cute, and it was great to spend time with them and everyone else! I have put a few pictures on here, we only had one good day for picture taking, since Mom and I both got sick! :( That just means I'll have to take another trip up there soon! I miss everyone a ton! Enjoy the pics!

Party on Mammie's lap! I thought about trying to get on there, but who would take the picture?

Cameron gives such big hugs! I loved all of them!

What can we find in Aunt Amanda's purse?!

Light sabers!! Mammie is retreating!

This was so cute, Lexi and Cameron tag teamed on Uncle Jeff!

Sunday morning Breakfast! The cheerios are too bright!

Lexi was laughing SO hard. It was super cute!

How the trip ended.... I got sick... yuck! Thanks for taking advantage of a sick woman, Jeff.

I HATE this stuff!! I never want to see it again!

I had a blast... well at least for the first half... Thanks Emily for taking such great care of us!!

Nor'easter X's 2!!!!!

2010-02-10T11:53:00.000-08:00

We woke up to A LOT of snow! Ruger wasn't so sure about it, (it was as tall as he was) so he clung to the side of the house... We are getting dumped on again, it's been snowing since 6:00pm last night, and is still really coming down. (It's now 4:00P) Here are some pictures from both of our storms... I know to all of you in New England this isn't too much, but for here it's A LOT! On our first storm we got about 18 inches. This storm we already have about 18in, and like I mentioned it's still going!

Out back playing in the snow.. Good thing we got that winter vest for Roog'!

Okay, so maybe it's a bit late in the season for the hammock to still be up?

Okay... not for everyone, Jeff enjoying a beautitful day in the hammock...

The snow is as tall as I am!! This was our second time out shoveling today, We were throwing on any warm clothes we had left that were dry!
Jeff brought these home for me the other night. He made the arrangement himself... He loves to be creative with the flowers. It's always nice to come home to a surprise!

Rooogie at his finest...

2010-01-14T17:50:00.000-08:00

I just took these pictures, and just HAD to share! Ruger said he misses everyone from Thanksgiving and Christmas! This next one was taken a little while ago... see if you can find ruger in the picture. The first one is a little harder than the second... .

HAPPY THANKSGIVING/MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

2009-12-27T15:24:00.000-08:00

Sorry it's been a while since I've blogged. Things have been such a whirlwind, since Thanksgiving, as I'm sure you have all seen the post's from everyone's blogg, Thanksgiving was at my house this year. Make sure you ask Abby about elmo calling her! I am not going to comment on all of the pictures, since I love pictures, and had a hard time just picking a 'few'. ENJOY!
Macy's Day Parade:

This face is priceless, I LOVE it!

We got to watch it in Times Square!!

On our way to the parade, can you tell it was early??

Mav was tuckered out!

Such big helpers, they helped cook breakfast!

LOVE this picture, it was so great to spend time with Ada, since we don't get to see her often!

AMERICAN IDOL!!!

Mom was such a big help! She cooked most of the food, and it was sooo tasty!

Something most of us didn't get a lot of at Thanksgiving, but she looked so cute doing it!

Greetings, cousin to cousin...

It looks like Lexi really likes her present, however I think she was trying to keep it from Ruger!

Santa, I've been realllly good this year!

We got a little bit of snow, and Ruger loved it! He loves to eat it...

Ruger helped me wrap Jeff's presents..

Yummy choc. covered pretzels!

Thanks Grammie McLaughlin, Ruger loves this toy!

Ruger's new food and water mat, look real close.. His name is on there!

New Shoes for Christmas!! (Jeff knows the way to my heart..)

Aunt Donna

Nanny & Pop

My new hair doo... I'm finally getting used to it!

Happy Halloween!

2009-11-01T16:39:00.000-08:00

Here are a couple pictures of Ruger. His costume was a little small, he's grown A LOT since we brought him home. Luckily when we just took him to the vet the Dr. said he was a healthy weight! I will blog some more pictures when I have a bit more time. He LOVED 'helping' to hand out the candy. He loves people, and especially children. Today he was just laying, watching the door. He kept looking at us like 'where are the Trick or Treater's?' Lucky for us our neighbor came and knocked on the door... It got it out of his system, and he was back to normal. I hope everyone had a great Halloween!!!

Is he yawning or yelling 'Get me out of this thing?!'My guess is yawning, he was all tuckered out after the excitement! Can I pleassssssssse have some candy?? Pretty Please????

A couple of new things hung on the wall, and some pictures of Ruger!

2009-09-17T06:37:00.000-07:00

I've been meaning to put up some pictures of some items Steve hung up for me on our brick wall. I really love how they turned out, I was nervous at first, especially with the copper against the brick. But I am a big fan. Let me know what you think!

Ruger likes to "sneak" upstairs, when you catch him, he pretends he was just going to sit on the stairs... However, oddly enough, sometimes he does like to just sit on the stairs and stare out the front door.

This is how Ruger looks at you when you have something he wants... It's pretty tough to say no!

Jeff's 30th (!!!!!) Birthday Celebration! Canada eh?!

2009-09-03T06:17:00.000-07:00

It all started when last year I decided to plan something fun for Jeff's big 3-0.. He didn't want a party, so I decided to plan a trip. Jeff loves hockey so I planned a trip to Toronto Canada for him to see the NHL Hall of Fame. After talking it over with Dede, we decided that we would all take the trip together. Fast forward to the thursday before Jeff's birthday.. I convinced him to make it a long weekend, we would both take off Friday- Monday, and take some day trips through out the weekend. I told him his parents said they would like to take us out to dinner on Thursday night. Without him knowing I had packed both of our bags, and his mom had already picked them up earlier in the day! Right before we were "heading out to dinner" I asked him to open a birthday card I had got for him... inside it said something to the effect of, 'I know your birthday isn't until Sunday, but the party starts right here, right now! We are going to Toronto Canada!' The look on his face was shock, and confusion... He was like are you for real?! I have included a couple of pics of him opening his card, and one of him in the car, still at his 'I can't believe this is happening' stage.. The rest of the pics are from through out the trip. We also stopped in Niagra Falls for a night, which was a blast, I hadn't ever been there before, and it was beautiful!

Ready to take the trip!!

Downtown Toronto, off to the right is the Hard Rock Cafe guitar

The view from our hotel rooom

The face Jeff would make at me, whenever I would look over during our trip.. it was a mixture of cute and funny..

He could never take a good picture of me.. so I tried to myself.. haha

Dinner at Wayne Gretzky's

There was a bench made completely out of hockey sticks!!

It's a bit dark, because it's easier to not blink with the flash off!

This is the only pic I have from the NHL Hall of Fame, since Jeff and Steve went there, and Dede and I went SHOPPING!!!

On our way to the boat tour....

Waiting for the tour to start... This building is made from real gold on the outside, it's sooo cool!!
The CN Tower

Mighty, Mighty Sailors!

This was at the CN Tower, you could walk right up to it! I didn't, I used Zoom.. I am not trying to get bit!

This was actually taken at night, but came out pretty nice!! (The one above, and below)

We went to a Wax Museum, it wasn't as impressive as I thought it would be.. but it was still fun!

This was our view as we were on the bridge to leave Canada!

It was so nice to get away, however, we were really excited to get home and pick up Ruger! (Especially since Jeff didn't realize we were leaving him for a whole weekend!)

Ruger meets his Grandparents and Great-Grandparents!

2009-09-03T05:54:00.000-07:00

A few Sunday's ago we all had dinner together, so we brought Ruger over to 'meet the fam'. He is such a people lover, that it didn't take long for him to adjust. Here are some pictures from the dinner! On the way there...

We all had a blast at dinner, even Ruger... He never sleeps when he is in the car, but check it out.. this dog was TIRED!

Ruger's 1st Trip to the Vet... (and some other cute pictures)

2009-07-30T12:53:00.000-07:00

Ruger has had a lot of "firsts" with us lately since he is still so new to the family. Jeff took him for his first car ride with him in the front seat. He was just running a quick errand so I suggested he take him along. When I called him to see how 'the roogmeister' was doing he said "he's doing well" I said 'awesome, is he staying in his seat?' to that Jeff responded, 'yes, well for the most part anyway, I have him buckled in' (keep in mind Jeff has never had a dog before...) I was dying laughing, with the mental image I had. So I have to post a picture of what little bit of seat beat Ruger had left on him by the time they got home. Of course he took along his trusty chicken toy for the ride.

Today Ruger took his first trip to meet the Vet, get a check up, and some necessary shots. Of course when we went in he had to sniff everything!! He doesn't like climbing up onto things at all, for example when we take him for a car ride, we have to lift him into the car. Well at the Vet, they needed to weigh him... the scale was literally not more than an inch of from the floor, I think he may lift his feet higher to walk.. He wouldn't go on it.. I think the assistant thought I was silly when I had to pick him up to put him on this scale, one inch from the floor.. at least I can laugh at myself... Here are some pics of Roog in exam room, waiting for the Dr. to come in.

Every morning when I leave for work, Ruger looks out the front door at me, begging me to take him along. It's really sad, all you can see are his eyeballs, and ears looking out at you once you get in the car... Here he is one morning with his new sheep toy..

Here are a couple of cute pictures of Ruger...and also one I like of Ruger's raincoat hanging up with Jeff's coats... too cute..

Playing with the pink ball...

Playing with his new monkey, he loves the soft toys!!

Ruger is doing very well at being home alone during the day... He is adjusting well to life with two crazy parents!!

Ruger's in the house!!!

2009-07-22T18:37:00.000-07:00

We brought Ruger home on Tuesday!! Here are a bunch of pics from the day of arrival!

Last walk at the Humane Society!

Here he is ready to head inside

Checking out all of the important things!

Ruger had a little accident his first day alone...when I came home I found this.. I think he was trying to clean it up... :)

Ruger's super cool Rain Coat!!

We are sooo excited to have Ruger home, he's adjusting well... More pictures to come!!!

Trip to Hill Cumorah!!!

2009-07-22T18:05:00.000-07:00

Quick blog to document our trip to Hill Cumorah! We had a blast with our good friends the Pratt's... Here are a couple pics from the trip!! :)

A couple of pics of us all waiting for the show to begin...

Jeff and JJ hangin' out.. JJ being as quiet as always....(which isn't too quiet, but we love him)

This is one of my favorite pics, if you see the above pic, JJ is obviously screaming "cheese", then this next one is the effect on Jeff's eardrum...like his Rock music isn't louder...

What sharing is all about...

It didn't start out too cold... but by the end we were freezing!!!

As it was the last time, this was my favorite part of the entire show, Christ coming down from the dark sky...

We also made a pit stop to see the Aaronic Priesthood Restoration Site which was neat..

We had a ton of fun on our weekend in NY with the Pratt's! Can't wait to go again! :)

A new addition to the household (he's 4 legged)

2009-07-08T18:45:00.000-07:00

Introducing..... RUGER!

He's 2 Years Old, part Basset Hound, part Beagle.. (Adorable!)

We will pick him up in 2 to 3 weeks from the Lehigh County Humane Society!! More pictures to follow!!!

Oh, and also..

2009-06-14T19:00:00.000-07:00

We recently changed a couple things at the house.. Well, there have been a lot of changes since we moved in, but these are the one's I have taken pictures of so far...

First, I made a wreath for our front door, it turned out reallllly cute...

We also got a new storm door... I LOVE it! Unfortunately, I didn't realize was that it took so many steps. It was quite the project, but luckily with Steve, and his trusty assistant, Jeff.. they conquered the task at hand!

These flowers come back every year by our mailbox.. This year they are really full, and look pretty..

More updates to come....

Alright, Camera is up and running!

2009-06-14T17:50:00.000-07:00

Life has been a bit crazy lately, so honestly I've had the camera for a bit, but just haven't had the time to make good use of it. Some of the things we have been up to lately:

I went up to visit Jon and Emily, and the little munchkins. Unfortunately, I wasn't feeling well at picture time, but Emily still managed to get a cute picture of Lexi and I. I had bought her this adorable top, that said 'My Auntie <3's me'. Here she is looking, as cute as a button!

After my trip up there, next came memorial day, and we were able to get together with Jeff's family. Unfortunately, I completely forgot about having a camera until the end, so we didn't get as many pictures as I would have liked. However, here's a picture of Jeff and his parents, as well as the family of geese. They look cute, however they leave presents on the ground, that aren't so cute..

After Memorial Day, we had some special visitors!! Sarah, Josiah, and Abby stopped by for a brief visit. We had a ton of fun, which means there wasn't too much time for pictures... I did manage to snap a few..

The pink cowgirl hat is BACKKKKK!!

Abby wanted to take the picture herself, so I convinced her we could take a picture of ourselves...

This was the night they arrived, everyone was just kinda hanging out, and having a good time..

The one and only...GI-Joe

Alright, so I know this isn't the most flattering picture, but we were all tired... and it's the only I could find of her... she was good at avoiding the camera....

I let Abby take the camera, and try to take some pictures herself.. not bad.. this was her first try.. :)

She loved our red suede chair, I think it's because it was right at her height

Ya, I probably shouldn't be getting in here...pretty please Aunt Amanda?!

What did you expect? I'm a softie.... but really, who can say no to that face?

I had to take a picture of Abby's suitcase, it looks just like mine! Full of shoes!!

I think she may have gotten warm... when Sarah went up to go to bed, Abby had pulled her nightie as far down as she could.. she was too cute!

We had a ton of fun with their visit, can't wait to see them again!!!

What's been going on lately...

2009-03-30T10:08:00.000-07:00

Not a whole lot of Blog worthy things have been going on lately... I also decided to no longer carry internet on my cell phone, so any pictures I take on there, I have to then hook it up to the computer, then I can put them on here. So it's just a couple extra steps, that I usually don't have time for... Don't worry, for my 5 Year anniversary with Pier 1, I am getting a new digital camera, and I will be able to take a lot more pictures. I know some of you have been getting after me to get some up of the updates we have been doing to our house. There has been a lot going on in that department. I am so happy to say, we are almost done with our projects on the inside... Jeff if you are reading this, I said ALMOST done... :) He has been such a trooper, along with my father in-law Steve. They both have been so great in getting our house to where we want it to be. I know the house wouldn't be where it is today without either of them.. So I will get some of those pictures up once I get my new camera, and get everything figured out with it.. There are times when I wished I had just bought a new house, where I didn't have to change a thing... But really at the end of the day, I am happy that we've been able to make this our own. Also, Jeff has been able to learn so much from his Dad, the other day I came home and he had fixed the toilet all by himself, it was the greatest thing! He makes me so proud, with how far he has come... Don't get me wrong, we are still going to need some help... :)

Our trip to the place where everything is bigger...TEXAS!

2009-02-22T06:39:00.000-08:00

Jeff and I headed to Texas to visit my sister Sarah, and her adorable daughter Abby... I don't know where to start with all of the fun we had, but I know I wish I could go back! It wasn't just the high temps, or the tons of different things we did, but how much fun we had spending time together! It's really funny how much Abby and I are alike, I think it may scare Josiah a bit.. ;) But our instant bond came from our love of shoes.. I have included a few of the pictures of the fun things we did, and with us just acting crazy.. ( I know hard to imagine me acting crazy!) Enjoy!!

There were too many pictures to blog all together... If you would like to see more of the trip, click here to see Sarah and Josiah's Blog.. http://www.stinsonfamily27.blogspot.com/

Here are some pictures of our trip to the Zoo..

Sarah and Abby went down this really cool slide that went through a fish tank!!

Abby and I

Abby loves purses, as much as I do... here she is at the Zoo ready to go shopping..

Sarah and I

Our Trip to the Museums

Jeff and Abby, one of my favorite pictures from the trip..

Jeff in his "Special" Suit... We had a great time learning about the robots they use.. you would think he planned his outfit to match the suit! :)

Our Trip to the Alamo

Sarah and Abby... I got to do her hair and dress her everyday... So of course she looked like such a doll!

The girls in the car headed to the Alamo..

A couple of pictures from outside at the Alamo

Last but not Least the RODEO!! Yehaaawww...

Abby and I waiting in the car, while Jeff and Sarah ran into the store... she just looked so cute, I couldn't resist a picture!

Abby trying my Cowgirl hat on for size, we shared it during the Rodeo.. (You can't go to Texas and not get a hat!) I used it as a "Carry On" for my trip home, so it wouldn't get squished!

Some fun pictures from the actual Rodeo..

A Taste of Home...

2009-01-16T15:59:00.000-08:00

I haven't had too much to write about recently, but one thing I do know is it's FREEZING here!! I haven't seen it this cold since I don't know when. Negative temp's!! Then of course people say, 'Well you should be used to this, you are from Maine' Well maybe they are right, but I've lived here for over 5 years and I think my body is starting to adapt to the "warmer" weather.. But on a separate note, I also don't think anyone should be used to negative temps...it's really not normal. Most of the time I do like to be reminded of things from home, the occasional Maine license plate, or the way that the leaves smell in the fall... But...this cold weather can stay in New England!! :)

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

2008-12-31T06:41:00.000-08:00

I know it's a bit late, but I still wanted to wish everyone a Merry Christmas! This year was the year we spent it with my side of the Family, so we headed up to my sister's house in New Hampshire to start things off. We had so much fun with my nephew Cameron and my niece Lexi, that we didn't want to leave! Cameron is getting so verbal, it just cracks me up, and Lexi is starting to smile, and giggle. It really just melts our hearts! I didn't get too many pictures there, because I never seemed to have my Camera when fun things were happening (all of the time).. So I will have to take a couple of my sister's from her blog... We also spent some time in Maine with friends and family, and really had a great time. Oh, and of course we went to Marden's. What is a trip to Maine with no Marden's?? On our trip back to New Hampshire it was a bit dicey.. We had to go 45 MPH from Waterville, to the Maine border! Those of you who know Maine, know that is a killer! But the roads were really bad, and they had that sign lit up blinking Max Speed 45 MPH. Or it was almost screaming at me, you'll never get out of Maine! HAHAHA! (one of those evil laughs..) One of my most favorite parts of the trip was seeing Lexi get her baby blessing at church. She looked soo precious, and we are just so grateful to have her here with us! I have included some of the pictures I have from our trip, as well as a couple of pictures from when Josh and Shelby stopped by for a visit. It was great seeing them, and meeting our cute little niece Ada. She really is adorable! The pictures from that didn't come out to great, since there was too much light in the background, but here's what we got anyway...

Ada not sure what's going on...why is someone pointing a phone at me?

Ada opening a gift we got her, she loved the shiny silver ribbon

Jeff holding Lexi, he LOVED holding the baby

Lexi and I she was giving me hugs, she was such a snuggle bug!

Lexi and I again...

Not sure what can be said, I think the picture speaks for itself....

This was the sunset on the trip back to PA, it was really pretty so we decided to get a picture

Christmas is my absolute favorite holiday of the year, it's when we get to spend time with loved ones. It is always a great time for me to be grateful for everything I have, and my friends and family. The best of wishes to you and yours in 2009!

Our Annual Trip to Hershey Park

2008-12-31T06:24:00.000-08:00

Jeff and I make a trip to Hershey Park every year at Christmas time, to enjoy Candy Lane with all of the lights, the smell of fresh Kettle Corn, and rich Cocoa in the air! Here are some pictures from our trip, this year we met up with some friends of ours, and their two little ones, it was really fun to see them on the rides, however it was REALLY COLD!

The Roller"cow"ster was all dressed up..

Santa's Reindeer!

We did see Rudolph, however since he wasn't flying anywhere his nose was not glowing red...

We always stay by the "Kissmas" tree for a bit, since that's where Jeff proposed...

Jeff and I..we actually stayed pretty warm this year... We took this picture under this really bright light, it almost looks like it's during the day, however it was 9:30 PM.

I must say, I can't wait until next year!!

Getting back in the routine...

2008-12-31T06:06:00.000-08:00

Well Hello, Hello... It sure has been a while, but we've had lots of things going on. First things first, Jeff was in a car accident, he is fine (the great part), however is the car was not (the other great part, Whooops.. alright so I didn't like the car) :) The not so good part about it is, that we had to rearrange schedules so that we could car pool, and we are so lucky to have Jeff's Parents who are just completely awesome to let us borrow their car for a day or two. I have included a couple pictures as to what his car looked like the night we went to clean it out...

So, with that being said, the car was totaled out, and we had to go on the hunt for a new car. I have included a couple pictures of our new car as well....

Now it's just a matter of getting everything finalized with the old car...so good bye Ford Focus, hello 2008 Chrysler Sebring Limited!!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2008-12-07T10:49:00.000-08:00

I know it seems like Thanksgiving is sooo yesterday, however I haven't had a chance to blog with everything we've got going on... Here are a couple pictures we took at Thanksgiving. It was great to spend time with family, and of course miss those who weren't with us!

Dede and I (We were smiling so big because instead of saying "cheese" we said "shopping"!)

Jeff and I

Jeff with his parents (The bestest in-laws someone could ask for!)

The new addition to the family, and some crazy times with my Favorite Nephew!

2008-11-23T16:43:00.001-08:00

This was the day Alexia was born!
The hospital hat doesn't do her cute little Ralph Lauren outfit Justice!

I was so blessed to be able to go spend time with my Sister Emily, and her family while she had her baby last monday. I had so much fun, but let me tell you, it was tiring. Mom and I watched Cameron, while Jon and Emily were at the hospital and he is the cutest little thing. He is starting to become very verbal, and it's hard not to smile at him everytime he blinks his big bright blue eyes at you. Which brings me to the next ordeal of Mom and I not being able to say No... I think Emily knew we were in for trouble when Sunday night (the night of my arrival) Mom and I were "putting Cameron to bed". When all of the sudden picking out a book turned into play time, and Cameron had Mom and I laughing so hard, that Emily came into the room to see what was up...it's all fun and games 'til Mama arrives!! :) Bath time was another task, he has this squirt gun, that he has perfect aim with! No, one was safe...even after bath time, Grampa was laying on the couch downstairs and Cameron shot him from above...too funny! One of my favorite moments with him was when he was calling the dogs in from outside... 'Duess...Doey...T'come heyaa' He was really just too cute! Another thing I found adorable about Cameron was, he didn't like getting into the car...(that's not the adorable part, believe me, we ended up hauling his lawn mower to the hospital one day)...so he was crying the first day we put him in his car seat to take him to the hospital to meet Alexia for the first time. I was in the front seat, and he was in the back with Grampa. Anyway, he was not a happy camper to say the least, so I took out my phone, which he now recognizes as a camera, and I said 'Cameron say cheese' He stops mid-crying, tears and all, and says 'Cheese' What can I say he loves the camera, as much as it loves him!

Too cute for words....

Cameron seemed really excited to have a new little sister, he was trying to share his juice, and give her hugs and kisses. Really, it was all just priceless.

Cameron checking out Alexi How can you say no to that face????

Alexia Day 2, sooo precious with that little bow!

And last but not least, what's a trip without crazy Zeus... He is really just too funny... I'm not sure how Zoe escaped the camera..but next time...

As tiring as the trip was at times, I can honestly say, I CAN'T WAIT FOR CHRISTMAS!!! (Round 2 Cameron)

Leaves, Leaves, Go Away...

2008-11-11T12:44:00.001-08:00

I thought by having a front yard that is like 2x5, that I would avoid the whole leaf raking ordeal. (As much as I enjoyed raking all those years while still living at home, Dad blasting John Denver's four disc set) Apparently not! The interesting thing is that we really don't have any trees by our house, there is one allll the way at the end of the street. Unfortunately, the wind blows what seems like all of the leaves to our little patch of lawn, and takes over my shrubs and walkway as well. I have already gone out and raked it twice now, and am about ready to go chop down the tree myself.... I have included a couple pictures of the pile I most recently raked. I won't even look out our back door...that can wait for spring!!

Pretty as pie...

2008-11-07T17:09:00.000-08:00

My pie came out so pretty I just HAD to share. I had volunteered to make a pie for the senior dinner at church... of course the night before I didn't feel like making it.. haha Mum motivated me to make it, and I'm glad I did because it ended up looking pretty nice! (If I say so myself..)

Halloween!

2008-11-02T09:59:00.000-08:00

We normally have about a trillion kids come through our neighborhood, however this year it seemed to be maybe only half a trillion. This was my first year I actually had off from work and was able to stay home and hand out candy with Jeff. It was really fun to see all the different little cute kids, and costumes. Now for those older kids that came through, I wasn't as impressed since Mom made us stop "Trick or Treating" once we hit Middle School. We even had some grown lady come to our house, and let us know she used to live there, and that it still looked the same. I'm like 'ya maybe on the outside, but I can bet you big bucks, that teal and orange kitchen you left behind is NO longer there!' :) Crazy people! I have included a few pictures of Jeff from Halloween, he really had a great time talking to all the little 'Dudes' about their costumes, and whatnot.

Here is Jeff handing out the candy....

And here is Jeff eating some candy (well chewing)... One for you, two for me.... ;) I love him!

Only Me...Only Me...

2008-10-28T17:14:00.000-07:00

I know I just wrote a blog, but I forgot about putting on my pictures from my Business trip I was on a little while ago. I was staying at a Hotel, and of course I got this room where the darn privacy curtains didn't completely close. Those of you who know me well, know that I don't sleep well alone, and I am terrified of the dark...so that arrangement didn't work too well for me. What they want you to do is use this cheap little plastic clip to keep the curtains together...well since the curtains were way too heavy for the little clip, (you can see from the pictures below what the clip looks like) I had to resort to some materials of my own... I used about 10 bobby pins...not only did you have to jimmy the curtains to stay together, you also had to make sure they didn't block the air conditioner blowing out below them!....and here is what I was able to create every night I was there...

Almost Halloween....

2008-10-26T14:06:00.000-07:00

One of my most favorite things about Halloween is the fact you get to be a kid again and carve pumpkins!! We had a great time cleaning it out, and jabbing a sharp knife in and out 5,000 times. Here are the pictures from how "Frank" turned out...

On a separate note, Sarah and Abby just made their way back through on their way to Texas, and we had some good fun. So I wanted to include some pictures from that as well. We had soo much fun shopping, I did Sarah's hair (Crazy to see her with straight hair) and Abby loved riding this little 50 cent ride, she didn't want to get off!! Of course we followed the normal rules at Aunt Amanda's...There are NO rules!! :)

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!

My Trip Home! :) :(

2008-10-19T04:29:00.000-07:00

As you can see by the title of my blogg it was a fun trip home but also a sad one. My reason for going home was to see my "Little" brother Aaron off on his mission. Although I am filled with joy over his decision to go, I can't help but feel sad about not seeing him for two whole years! It was a fun FILLED trip, starting when I arrived around Midnight on Saturday all the way to when I left Wednesday morning. Sunday we had a family dinner, (as you can see Miss Abigail definitely enjoyed her meal.) and it was great to have Grammie Benner there, I hadn't seen her for a while so I loved having some time to spend with her. Of course I was thrilled to have my niece Abby, and my nephew Cameron there as well, they are so cute! I already can't wait to see them again!! I gave Cameron this big red flashy remote control car for his birthday, and he seemed to love it. ( So didn't his Daddy) We had so much fun just spending time together as a family, it was great. We wished Josh, Shelby, and Ada could have been there, that's the only thing that could have made it better! After our dinner we all spent some time outside, and it seems that both Cameron and Abigail love to be on your shoulders and run up and down the drive way. (See the pics with Uncle Aaron) I also have a great video of Mom running Abby up and down the driveway, but again you must ask her FIRST then I'll send it to you. :) (Just trying to stay alive.... ;)

I also put up a pic of "Grampa" with Abby, there were TONS of pictures taken, these are just some of the ones I have on my cell phone.

Monday we just spent some time shopping, and spending some quality time with Sarah, Mom, Dad, and Abby. Dad however, did start to notice a trend, whenever we would go out to eat, we put Abby's highchair next to his seat...was it intentional? Not sure.... :) Monday night I was able to meet up with an old friend and a bunch of us met up and went to the movies together. It was fun to be able to hang out and relax. Unfortunately, we stayed out too late, and Tuesday morning came before any of us were ready. Tuesday, we took a long trek up and down the eastern seaboard.... We were on the road at 7 am...stopped in Waterville to drop off Abby with the Stinsons, and were headed to Boston. I road shotgun, as it was the only place in the car where I don't get extremely sick, so Sarah and I jammed out to some good primary tunes, and then the young women CD which we listened too AT LEAST 7 times. (Since it kept playing over and over, and we were in the car until 10:30 that night.) We had such a great day at the Temple, we took some pictures outside, the ones I have of Aaron and I didn't come out so hot, so I only put a couple on here that I took myself.

Once we were done in Boston, we headed up to pick up Abigail in Waterville, and were on our way to Bangor for Aaron to get set apart as a missionary. (Like I said alllll along the seaboard)

It was such a special experience, and I was sooo glad to be able to be part of it. So many people were shocked that I "Came all the way from Philly" (It's really not that far) to see Aaron off, and my response time and time again was 'I wouldn't miss this for the world' So true, however I'm sure those were not my thoughts when I had to wake up at 3Am to head back to Bangor on Wednesday to see Aaron off. It was really tough to say goodbye, however, it was totally worth it. He was so ready to go, and even though it was hard, we were ready too. So, after some tears, and lots of hugs, he was off to security. By the time we looked back over at him, he was already chatting it up with someone in line! Yes, he will do fine, not scared to talk to anyone! Once we saw him board the plane, of course Mum and I were a crying mess at that point we headed home. He is in the Lord's hands now, and I know that he will do a great job! We LOVE YOU Aaron! Once back at my parents I took a brief cat nap and started the ride back home...and boy was it long....

What is fall without a Corn Maze?!?!

2008-09-28T14:17:00.000-07:00

So last night Jeff and I decided to head out and try out the local corn maze. It can't be that hard right? Well it had been misting off and on all day, so we called the site just to make sure that it wasn't too muddy to be walking around.... "Nope, it's fine, the rain barely did anything to the trails" GREAT! Our Saturday night plans won't be ruined after all! So we head out, grab dinner, and arrive at the maze sometime around 7:00 PM. They had no central lighting so you had to rent a flashlight for $2.00, however IF you returned the flashlight at the end you got a dollar back..believe me I probably would have lost money on the deal, had I NOT returned it, since it was def. from the dollar store. There were three different mazes to choose from, we go with the easeist first, and it takes us about an hour and a half to go through the 3 mile maze. Not too bad. We were a little muddy, and wet...but ready to try the next one. The maze was open til Midnight, plenty of time right?! Well we started out well on the second one, it was a 4 mile maze, and the theme was Noah's Ark. We got the first two markers pretty quick, however they must have held some type of sentimental value..since we went back to visit them TWICE! :) After meeting up with marker #7 twice, we decided to call it a night, only not to end up at the exit, but at marker #8 again! Finally, we made it out, alive, and returned the dollar store flash light, which at that point was only worth about 25 cents since it barely had any "juice" left. I have included some pictures from our trip in the corn field, you have to look closely, since our flash light was dying, it was hard for us to get some good shots. I also included a picture of our shoes and the rug by our front door... this was after we spent 15 minutes banging them together outside..I'm not sure the person that answered the phone had gone out into the maze to see just how much the rain had done to the trails.... you judge for yourself!

New Hair Doo :)

2008-09-28T14:12:00.001-07:00

Just wanted to make a quick post for those who hadn't seen my new doo..I got it cut pretty short! It really makes doing my hair in the morning A LOT easier! Here are some self snap shots with my phone!

Mum's Visit.... :)

2008-08-08T15:52:00.000-07:00

I had this whole great blog typed, and then of course the computer got crazy on me...so here's what I could remember....it's not as good but it will work...

So Mum just came for a verrry fun visit. It was soo great to see her, and we had a ton of fun while she was here. We went to a Reading Phillies Baseballl game, it went into 11 innings, we got a little crazy...the crooked hat pic...see the pics... Mum had a hard time with the game, I gave her a pink phillies hat, but the catch was we were playing the Portland Sea Dogs...so she was torn. Luckily the man who was a few sheets to the wind in front of us was also cheering for Portland so she wasn't alone! ;) Note: Mum had a really great picture of her in her phillies hat, however she wouldn't let me put it on here. So if you would like to see it, get her permission, and then I'll send it to you! :)

We also went to Green Dragon, that was really fun, but REALLY HOT!!! Mum and I did a TON of shopping, she couldn't even fit all of her new stuff in her suitcase!

We also took her for her first time mini-golfing. When we arrived, Jeff tried to pull out his putter from his "real golf" stuff, and we both agreed it was not allowed. It was soo much fun, we couldn't stop laughing. Of course Mom proved to be a pro by the time we were done all 18 holes..however Jeff beat us both, (note he also kept the score card as well) ;)

She also made some of my very favorite food, Jeff was introduced to Fried Dough, and Sweet Rolls. We also had homemade pizza, and swedish meatballs yummmm!

We miss her so much, especially since I had this typed Aug 8th and it's now September 28th! Can't wait to see her soon for Aaron's farewell :(

Ok so i'm not soo computer savvy....

2008-04-13T18:53:00.001-07:00

I had these pictures on my phone, but they are about as up to date as it's going to get! I'll put some nice one's on here when I figure out the scanner, and all that fun stuff.... But until then...this will have to do! :)

Now that we have one...it's finding time to keep up!!!

2008-04-12T14:25:00.000-07:00

Soooo lots has been going on in my crazy life as always! I'm finally not sick with something, no pains in my body (knock on wood) First I got a promotion at the bank, so I will no longer be based out of a branch, I will be a trainer for all new employees, and current employees looking for a new career. It came with a nice pay raise, and an extra week of vacation! Who would say no to that???? Next, our ward just got split up again, so there will be no more Sacrament meetings in Spanish, ALRIGHT!!!, Jeff got a new calling along with that and will be an executive Secretary to the Bishop. I haven't got mine yet, and I really am not too anxious about it, as long as I am not put back in primary AGAIN! Next, we finally got our hardwood floor finished upstairs, and the Guest Bedroom is finished as well....SO COME VISIT ME!!!! Then lastly on a scary note, the branch that I work for (my last day was friday) was robbed, morning glory robbery(when you are approached and the branch is taken hostage before it opens for the day) Luckily Heavenly Father was watching out for me, and prayers are answered because that was my day to go in late. Unfourtunately three of my close friends and co-workers were held at gunpoint, one of them 8 and 1/2 months pregnant. It really shook me up and effected me since I normally open Mon, Tues, Wed, and we were robbed on thurs. However the same Gunman attempted to hold up the branch 5 min up the street from us on Wed. Had he reversed the order in branches I would have been the one locked in the vault with this Guy. I've had some good cries but mostly am verrrrry grateful for answered prayers, and most of all that no one was hurt. This is the second time a branch I work for has been involved in a Robbery and both times it has been my day off, or like this time, I was closing. I'm finally starting to feel better, they were able to catch him, and get this he was NYPD!!! If you would like to read the whole story you can visit nytimes.com it's the article on Muhlenberg Pennsylvania, Sovereign Bank, it's pretty interesting! (Another reason i'm glad that i'm going not going to be in a branch!) Ok that catches us up for a couple months, i'll try and get some pictures on here! Things are going to slow down somewhat since I will only be working my second job on Saturdays! YAY!!!

OK WE FINALLY HAVE ONE!

2008-03-07T06:04:00.000-08:00

I know everyone else has one at this point, so I finally made myself sit down on a morning off from work and create one! I love looking at everyone's pics, but it makes me miss you all sooo much more!! I'll try to get some pictures on here at some point....