My baby is 10!

Yep, Ryan is 10 years old, double-digits!  He has been so excited for this birthday to come! We started the day with the usual tradition of pancakes, yep on a school day at 615am, spelling out his name.

 

 He wanted a pair of aviator sunglasses, I have to say he looks so cute.

We went out to dinner and met mom and Terry, Ryan's choice of restaurant course.  They even rang the gong and gave him a free brownie sundae dessert!  Yummy!  All Ryan wanted was cash, he is saving for either a tablet or an ipad, he has yet to decide.  So grandma gave him a wad of cash, look at that smile!

We painted the school rock for his 10th!  By the time we finished it was dark because of daylight savings and Ryan was covered in paint, that is because he and Justin were spraying paint on either other and then Ryan was dipping the roller into the paint and then holding the roller in front of him and rolling it really fast so that the paint was flying everywhere!  Really?!  But we finished and I think it came out really good!

Happy Birthday Ryan!!  Party to follow on Friday!

Moving on

Nick made it through boot camp in Fort Leonard Wood, MO.  He says it wasn't that bad, we are proud of him for following his dreams.  Don went out to be part of Nick's special day, graduation from boot camp!

Nick has now been bused 17 hours to Ft Benning, GA. Good Luck to you Nick!

Halloween's Past and Present

I know all parents say this but where has the time gone!  My sweet little boys are growing up right before my eyes.

2005

 2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!

He's on his was to 2nd Degree Black Belt...

My little guy, or not so little any more had another successful testing and ceremony.  He now has 6 silver strips on his 1st degree black belt.  Only 2 more strips and he will be testing for his 2nd degree black belt!  That is about 5-6 months out.  Still a bunch of work ahead but he is up for the challenge!

 

We miss our Nick!

So Nick has been at boot camp now for over 3 months.  We have gotten letters and a few calls here and there.  They do not have phone privileges that often but he calls his mom and dad when he can.  He sent the picture below.

He has gotten past the homesickness and seems to be doing very well and made some friends along the way.  Don will be flying to Leonard Wood, MO this week to see Nick graduate from boot camp.  Such a proud moment.

Chicken Pot Pie

Justin likes the idea of cooking.  He likes to help with dinner and decided that he wanted to make dinner all by himself.  He found a recipe, Chicken Pot Pie and decided that was the one!  I shopped for the ingredients.  He chopped and diced and sauteed and put it all together. 

The recipe made 2 pies, one for now and one for the freezer!  They were so yummy and the best part was I didnt have to cook.  Now I need to work on his cleaning up skills!

What is going on?

My poor little guy has had strep throat 7 times in the last year.   We went to see an ENT.  Tonsils and adenoids coming out.  He also recommended allergy testing.  I think we counted 30 or so injections.  Can I tell you what a brave guy!

 

Tubing the New River

I missed this one.  We went up to the mountains with our friends the Basiles and decided to take all the boys tubing done the New River.  We thought August would be perfect water would be nice.  Well we were wrong, the water was freezing, I think our guide told us it was in the 60's.  After the shock of getting in wore off, it was the perfect afternoon to float down the river.

 

 

 

 

 Afterwards a little football, corn hole and some beer can chicken!  Good food, good friends and good fun!

 

First Day of School

I have fallen way behind on blogging....first day of school was over a month ago but here I am writing about.  Justin is in 7th grade this year.  He decided not to continue with band.  He likes middle school and has been doing well.  He also likes the social aspect of it as well, which we try to keep that in check!

Ryan in 4th grade and he actually was looking forward to getting back to school, I think it was more about seeing his friends.  This year he is in advanced math and reading and I know the workload is about double from last year so it will be a big adjustment for him.  I know he is up to the challenge!

 

College Friends

After college I lost track of all of my college friends, totally my fault.  I drifted away for a long time.  But through Facebook I have been able to reconnect with them again!  And it has been absolutely incredible!  I remember why I loved them and how they made me feel so special.  Last year we decided to plan a girls weekend for the first time in over 20 years.  Jennifer Jolley now Hamilton and Michele Fisher now Smith all met in Red Bank, NJ.  So awesome to spend time with them again and reconnect.

This year we decided to go to our 'ole stompin' grounds West Chester, PA and walk around the campus.  Maren was having knee surgery and Megan couldn't make it.  But Jen, Michele and Allison Giannetti now Casas made our way to West Chester University (WCU). It was so incredible to be back and walk down memory lane and the streets I use to call home. Words can't describe how incredible this weekend was and to share it with my friends from college who were my roommates.  It was like there had never been a huge gap in time.  We didn't miss a beat and conversation was never lacking.  We of course had to catch up on our life's, families, husband's, kids, jobs and what we have been up to the last 20+ years.

It was incredible to connect with these special women who meant so much to me so long ago. I can absolutely say I will never lose touch with them again!  They mean too much to me and I have grown up and matured so much since 1989.

We all couldn't believe how much West Chester has changed.  The downtown area was bustling with activity.  Tons of restaurants with outdoor seating, beautiful stores.  Friday night after walking and walking we found a restaurant that had a table outside.  We talked and laughed.

The next day we walked the campus, found our old dorms.  Allison's dorm was gone and a new building was being built. Jen and I found Wayne hall, where we were roommates freshman year and met.

SO much excitement just walking the campus and the town and remembering and reminiscing.....

 

 

The Rat (now a papa john's), Little Man's Deli and Nield Street Deli are no longer there...the building are there but the owners have changed.

 

One thing that didn't change from the 80's is Jake's Bar.  Had an awesome time hanging out there and playing shuffle board then and now. They don't serve food so you can smoke at the bar. Crazy, the place was so smoking made my eyes burn.  We went next door and got orders of french fries and onion rings.....so good!

 

 

RamsGate Apartments, need I say more.....so many memories!

 

Such good friends after all these years!  We are all mothers, wives, daughters and have so many responsibilities but the most important thing is that we REMAIN FRIENDS!  Thank you for such a great time!