Sea World

Why most people know better than to go anywhere near Orlando during Christmas!

This was an absolutely wonderful show and they make it look so easy and

not at all dangerous, which we all now know is not the case.

Magical Memories!

Ghosting

This year, the girls and I discovered the fun and thrills of ghosting. Ghosting is a fun way to spread the Halloween spirit amongst friends and neighbors. Simply gather a little bag of treats, a picture of a ghost and a copy of the ghosting letter. Then, you sneak over to your neighbor's house, leave the treats on their front porch, ring the door bell and run for your life! The trick (and the fun) is to not get caught!!!

The girls and I had a blast being all sneaky and stealth-like! As if taking a walk in the dark wasn't fun enough, add a little "ding-dong ditch" to make it a memory of a lifetime!!!

You've Been Ghosted!!

Late last night, we left you a treat.
The tradition is fun, one we hope you'll repeat.

Take the ghost and pin it on your door,
to let others know, you need ghosting no more.

Now it's your duty to pass on the surprise,
to two more families, we must advise.

Gather some treats and deliver them soon,
within two nights, under the light of the moon.

Include a ghost with each package you give,
along with this poem for the tradition to live.

Give Me An "L"

Football season has taken on a whole new meaning in our house now that Lauren is cheerleading...our autunm weekends are no longer spent running errands on Saturday so that Sunday can be spent in front of the big screen! Rather, you'll find us at the field shading our eyes, sitting on metal bleachers freezing our buns or working the concession stands.

2009 Steelers Cheerleading Squad

Half Time Stunt

Lauren in her Glory!


Watch the girls in action...

Country Bumpkins

Each year we look forward to the local 4th of July Jamboree. It's a little bit small, and a little bit rural and maybe even a little bit redneck, but the truth is, we love it!

It's one of those things that we discovered when Megan was little and 10 years later, we find ourselves still doing. Like my grandmother's banana bread, it will most likely be a fond childhood summer memory for our girls.

After the one marching band and a few fire trucks and model T's, the kids get to decorate their bikes and march in the parade.
Lauren and Megan enjoy tossing candy to those watching on the sidelines (specifically, Katie)

Hay rides anyone?

Best pocket change ever spent!!

Fireman's Water Polo...being a fan has it's perks.

The Very Merry Month Of June

The girls and I spent most of June with our girl scout troop working on our camping skills, earning badges and enjoying the outdoors.

We started in our backyard with building fires and learning how to set up our tents and by the end of the month, we were living large at the Girl Scout Camporee!

Here are some pictures from the Camporee where all of girl scout troops from our area get together to camp. This year's theme was "Pocahantas' Trail" (read Native American). We learned about different foods, symbols, clothing, dwellings and music. We even had a totem pole contest and our troop won 2nd place!

Fun at the water hole

Drying out our sneakers after a VERY rainy night

Making our own flashlights using lady bugs

Letterboxing 101

"Letterboxing is an intriguing “treasure hunt” style outdoor activity. Letterboxers hide small, weatherproof boxes in publicly-accessible places (like parks) and post clues to finding the box online on one of several Web sites. However, clues to finding some of the most highly-sought boxes are passed around by word of mouth. There are about 20,000 letterboxes hidden in North America alone. Individual letterboxes usually contain a log book, an often hand-carved rubber stamp and may contain an ink pad. Finders make an imprint of the letterbox's stamp on their personal log book, and leave an imprint of their personal stamp on the letterbox's logbook."


A few months ago, a co-worker told me all about her weekend searching for letterboxes and proceeded to tell me all about this great past time! Since then, in addition to spreading the word, our entire family has been scouring the hundreds of letterboxes in our area alone!! It's great exercise and offers a great adventure, not to mention the endless scrap booking opportunities!!

See that tricky box hidden off the path between a few fallen logs?

Click to enlarge

It's amazing to me that this great activity has been all around me and it's taken me 9 1/2 years as a parent and 5 years as a girl scout leader to finally learn about it's existence!!

Conveniently, it didn't take both Lauren and Megan long to earn this:

Relay for Life

My first ever Relay for Life walk was a wonderful, albeit very rainy, experience. I was amazed at just how many people in my little community have been touched by cancer...I simply never knew.

It was a great learning experience for my daughters, my girl scout troop and I to learn and be part of, and I'm confident it will be an annual event for all of us.

Thank you to everyone who financially supported me...I hope the girls and I did you proud by walking and walking and walking for such a great cause!

Survivor Balloon Release

Lauren fell in love with our friend's newborn nephew

Katie enjoyed the kid events

Megan and Lauren doing their laps at night

The entire track was lined with these luminaries purchased and dedicated to loved ones. We personally purchased them for:

For Dan's dad, aka Papa!

Judith Johnson (the sister of our family friend John Galvin)

Kerri Angelo (Lauren's kindergarten teacher)

In Loving Memory of Paula Murphy (the mom of our dear family friend Ellen)

Jennifer Kidder Goodwin (the good friend of our dear friend Hilary Wheeler)