Christmas Cheer

The kids singing Jingle Bells.


Cole singing Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree.


Jack singing Christmas is Coming.


Lily singing Have a Holly Jolly Christmas.

Thanksgiving 2008

Another Thanksgiving has come and gone. We went on a road trip with Matt's parents to visit Gettysburg, Hershey, and Lancaster Country. Gettysburg would have been MUCH more enjoyable if the kids weren't around, but the kids had fun at Hershey World and Lancaster. Santa made an appearance at Hershey World. Only Lily and Jack would sit on his lamp. I guess that means Cole doesn't get any Christmas gifts. We ate Thanksgiving dinner at a really nice hotel in Lancaster County. Have you ever been to Lancaster County? It's so charming. We took a buggy ride, went in way cute shops, ate good treats and food. I needed at least 3 more says there without my kids.
Here are some pictures of our trip.

In the hotel where we ate Thanksgiving dinner

Winter Has Officially Arrived

We've already had our second big snow storm of the year. Lily's school has been delayed once and canceled once, the snow blower is in full use, and our new winter coats and jackets are already looking worn. We had a sunny day between storms, so we headed out to play in the fluffy white stuff. It's deep enough to make our own small sledding hill in our front yard, build a snow fort, and throw Jack into the air so he can land in the middle of it all. Fun stuff!

My Handsome Boys

I decided I needed some updated pictures of my boys that I can frame. We've had unbelievably beautiful weather here in the Northeast, so we headed to the park for pictures and fun. Jack and Cole are great posers...when they want to be, and we got a few good pictures of them. Aren't they handsome kids?

Halloween 2008

Another successful Halloween. We had a great time trick-o-treating with some of our best friends here in Erie. The weather was great, the kids looked cute as ever, and they came home with a whole loot of goodies.

My Life With Power Rangers and Yummy Raspberry Jam

Mimi is in town and we found a great deal on Raspberries, so we decided to make some jam. This is the second time I have made jam. It's so fun and so easy. We made 10 jars of jam in just over an hour.




Mimi bought these AWESOME Power Ranger costumes for the boys. They are actually for "dress up "so that they will have "boy" dress ups instead of Lily dressing them up as princesses or girls. They had so much fun in these. I bought them other Halloween costumes, but I won't be surprised if they decide to wear these instead. Here they are doing a few kung fu power ranger moves and being fearless catching HUGE grasshoppers.

Happy Fall!

Just wanted to post a few fall pictures. I love this time of year. Watching the leaves change color, visiting pumpkin patches with the kids, and anticipating the holidays is so much fun for me. The leaves are in full autumn color. Those of you who have been or lived in the northeast at this time of the year know just how beautiful it is. Happy fall!

P.S. I admit, I didn't do my kid's hair this day. I just had to comment on this because Matt was making fun of their hair in these pictures, and me not doing it.

Completed Marathon...Check

One more thing to check off my list of things to do before I die. The marathon was AWESOME. It rained the entire time I ran, but I can't complain. I hoped and prayed for a cold day to run in. I run much better in the cold than in the heat. My time was slow (4:39:58) which averages out to about a 10 minute 40 second mile, but I finished. I started out doing around 8-9 minute miles, but when the pain set in around mile 20, I slowed to about 12 minute miles. Matt of course killed it again. Another Boston qualifying time of 3:15:40. Matt's sisters Heather and Joanna also ran and kicked butt! You girls are awesome! The day after the race I hobbled around like a little old lady, but it was worth it. Would I do it again? 100% yes...BUT, I need a running group. I'm tired of doing long runs all by my self.

The rest of the St. George trip was fun as well. We were not stop with fun, fun, and more fun. The kids loved hanging out with my mom's horses, swimming in my grandma's pool (Omi, as the kids call her), fishing, and and visiting with good friends. We were able to get together with Matt and Haley Hammons. We didn't get any pictures with them, dang it! And then we saw Laurie for our annual visit to the Olive Garden for Millie's birthday.




We also got to see and visit my grandpa. He is 86 years old and lives in an assisted living. He has dementia pretty bad and doesn't remember me too well, but we love him and enjoyed seeing him. Jack took a particular liking to him, and had no problem sitting on papa's lap. I know my grandpa enjoyed seeing the kids. As the adults talked, Lily, Jack, and Cole found entertainment with my grandpa's walkers We had to put a stop to it when they started taking other old folk's walkers as well!

Here are just a couple of pictures of Jack and Cole on our trip that I liked.

Fun times and good memories.

St. George Marathon or BUST

Most of you know that I am training for the St. George Marathon which is in 2 weeks. Those of you who don't know, guess what, I'm training for the St. George Marathon which is in two weeks! Anyways, as my training come to and end and my long runs are tapering, I thought I'd share a few thoughts about training in Erie, PA. Training in Erie, PA is...interesting. Here are some of my favorites things about my runs:
1. the wind- it doesn't matter which direction I'm running, I'm always running in a head wind.
2. humidity- gotta love feeling all wet within a few feet of the beginning of a 10 mile run.
3. hills- yup, up hill both ways. I never knew Erie was so hilly!
4. road kill- how do I make the time pass on the long run? Count road kill. Living out in the
"county"I have seen dead raccoon, Canadian geese (an entire family), squirrels, muskrats, ground hogs, cats (sad), frogs, snakes, skunks, mice, birds, and probably more, I just didn't know what they were after being run over so many times.
5. dogs chasing me-these country dogs sure protect their property.
6. dog bites- Yes, one of those dogs chasing me finally got me. It actually just happened this past Tuesday. I think it is the first time I have cussed in... well, several years. It did draw blood, but I am fine.
7. Dodging grasshoppers-Where do these things come from? They breed like rabbits. There are days that I spend my running making sure I don't step on grasshoppers. I DO NOT want grasshopper guts all over my new Asics.

Yes, running in Erie is very eventful. But there have been many highlight too like running in the Presque Isle 1/2 marathon, finishing an 18 mile run and feeling good, and getting in shape (I didn't say lose weight, just getting in shape).

Ready or NOT (emphases on the NOT), here I come St. George. What's my goal time: just to finish. Here's a look at the marathons elevation map. I'm LOV'IN the down hill!

Halloween...ALREADY!

We've got the Halloween spirit around here...already! It's hard not to when the stores start selling Halloween stuff 4 months early. We changed our blog header to fit our spirit and enjoy it for a month or two. I will admit, I do love Halloween. It means fall weather, fun decorations, and candy. My kids have already decided what they want to be...until they change their minds tomorrow. I promise, I won't start talking about Christmas until after Halloween!

Erie County Fair

We decided to head out to the Erie County Fair last night. It had a very small town feel to it, which is what I like when I go to the fair. The kids enjoyed animals, rides, corn dogs and cotton candy. Here are a few pictures of the evening.