Tick Off Tuesday

Dear Mr. Icecream Truck that comes to our neighborhood,

My son and I came out to visit you several times last summer and really enjoyed your products. However, this year seems to be a little different and we haven't been to visit you yet. Will you PLEASE tell me why on earth you are so unbelievably screwed up!?!? First and foremost, you comes at the WORST times of the day. Literally, everyday, you stroll through the neighborhood, either during naptime or right before dinner around 5-5:30pm!! So, please tell me how you expect to make any money in a neighborhood FULL of kids when you come while most of them are probably sleeping or when they are all not allowed to have icecream because they will be eating dinner soon? Perhaps a better time for you to come would be, I don't know maybe, later in the evening after the usual dinnertime? Or, even right after lunchtime? I GUARANTEE you will make a whole lot more money that way. Because, we all know you just stroll through the neighborhood, not getting any business at the times you come anyway!! Oh, and while you are taking my advice...you may want to find some new music to blare out of your speakers...the Christmas carols just aren't cutting it in the middle of the summer!!! Yes, I hear it everyday as you pass by my house...Joy to the World, Deck the Halls, and Jingle Bells over and over and over again! I promise you aren't luring any of us out of our homes with those little diddies. Your choice of songs are really getting kind of old and redundant. Not to mention, just silly, given we are not close to Christmas time at all. Should I remind you that you are selling ICECREAM...not candy canes!!! In case you haven't noticed, it is HOT outside and we are still 6 months away from being ready for that kind of music. These are just some friendly observations I thought I might point out to help boost your business! I promise my son and I will be ready with money in hand if you choose to take my advice!

Sincerely,

Your Baffled Patron

Proud of my friend!

One of my best friends in the whole wide world, Amy Cooper, is following her dreams and has started her own business, Miamy Clothing and Accessories, using her crafty talents. This has been in the works ever since I have known her and she has always done little odds and ends, but never a full line of items. Now, she has really gotten things going and is doing really well, especially with her line of adult and children's belts, as modeled above!! This was part of my birthday gift, along with another Miamy original, a really cute monogramed bag (which you can see on HERE! I think this entry was done before she sent my gift to me and she didn't want me to see the letter, giving it away that it was for me, which is why you only see part of the "B") for carrying re-usable grocery bags! I LOVE both items!! I will use the bag for so many things, not just for my re-usables....like the Lake, the beach, the pool, perhaps as my purse from time to time!! Anyway, Amy is so talented and really has some awesome talent! She can make all kinds of baby items (including but not limited to, grocery cart/highchair covers, bow holders, and crib bedding, just to name a few), clothing, accessories, home decorations, and the list could go on and on. She also does alterations and custom clothing! Please check out her BLOG and be on the lookout for her Etsy site coming soon!!! Amy, I love you and am so proud of you. I pray that Miamy will be everything you could ever dream it to be! As always, I miss you like crazy!!

It's a Miracle!!!

I cut the grass for the first time in my ENTIRE LIFE!!! It is something that, growing up, I never had to do. Cutting the grass was my brother and my Dad's chore. I focused on the inside with my Mom. It is just how it was. Don't get me wrong, I rode with my Dad all the time. But, actually doing myself was not something I ever did. And, then, I never lived anywhere that I needed to do it once I was on my own until Randy and I got married. He enjoys doing it and we agreed early on that I would take care of the inside of the house and he would do the outside. So, once again, it is just how it is, I don't have to do it. Nor, have I ever wanted to learn. There have been several times when Randy has wanted to teach me and I have refused because I just don't want to know. I guess I just never had any interest. He always said he was worried about what I would do if anything ever happened to him. Well, I told him that I would just hire one of those lawn care services, so don't worry!! ;) But, let's face it, cutting the grass is something I should just know how to do. However, I needed to make that realization on my own terms and not because he wanted me to. So, on Tuesday, as I was standing in the front yard, chatting with Dorsi, I realized the grass was kind of tickling my ankles. Randy had been out of town most of last week and then we left for the Lake on Friday. We returned Sunday evening and he left at 5am Monday morning for another work trip. Needless to say, the grass was in desperate need of some attention. And, poor Randy wasn't even around to tend to it. So, knowing that Dorsi had cut their grass from time to time, I asked her to show me how to get the thing started and I busted it out while she watched Owen for me. I have to say that I thoroughly enjoyed myself! Actually, I would go so far to say that I loved it! Maybe that is just the newness of it all, but whatever the reason, I will probably cut the grass for Randy from time to time when he is out of town and it needs to be done. Don't expect to ever see me on the riding mower, though. I can see myself riding right through the fence and keeping on going. The mere thought of that thing really overwhelms me! (And, yes, just so we are clear, those are pee stains in the backyard. What can I say, our dog is HUGE and has some extremely potent urine!! We tried containing it for a while, but that was just too much trouble and not worth it. Yes, we are aware it looks bad, but there is really nothing we can do about it at this point!)

Lake trip with the Pughs

To celebrate our Anniversary and Father's Day, we headed up to the Lake with the Pughs. We had a blast just enjoying the relaxation that is the Lake and the wonderful weather. Although it did rain a little bit, we made the most of the sun that we did get and spent our time on the beach. We ordered dinner to go each night from the White Village because it was just easier that way with all of us and the 2 kiddos. For a Father's Day breakfast, we headed into town to Bob Evans. It was a wonderful weekend enjoying our time with the Pughs!

The Daddys taking the kiddos to see Pulpit Rock

The Pughs at Pulpit Rock

Us at Pulpit Rock

Owen chasing his Daddy down the beach

He caught up with him and I was able to capture their hug on camera...sweet!

Dan and Gabriella making their way down the beach

The Pughs gathering treasure on the beach

"What are you doing, Daddy?"

"OK, my turn!"

Owen playing catcher during a little homerun derby between Randy and Dan

Owen and Gabriella on the hammock (she looks terrified, but I promise she was having a blast)

All of us together

Dan and Gabriella at Bob Evans on Father's Day

Dorsi and Dan at breakfast

Happy 5th Anniversary to us!!

It has been 5 whole years since we said "I Do!" I simply can't believe it has been that long. Time sure does fly by. I still remember the whole day as if it just happened and we were only newlyweds. So much has happened since that day five years ago...a baby who is quickly turning into a big boy, a big move to a new (to me) state, a few new jobs, a new house, a few unexpected surgeries for me, and a bunch of other up and downs and twists and turns along the way! I wouldn't have wanted to share any of that with anyone else! Thank you, Randy, for being the best husband, father, bestfriend, and partner I could ever ask for! I am looking forward to many, many more years and anniversaries with you. I LOVE YOU, BUNCHES!!!

Love,
Munchkin

Updated...

I FINALLY did a post with pictures from my surprise party! It took me forever to get them uploaded, in the right order, with the right spacing, and captioned. Sorry for the delay. Because of my A-type personality, I needed my posts to be in chronological order. So, you will have to go back to May 23 to view the actual post. I have also moved my post about our engagement day back as well. Anyway, that is the anal retentiveness coming out in me...sorry! I hope you enjoy the pictures :)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DADDY!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO THE BEST DADDY IN THE WORLD!!! I am so proud to call you my Daddy and I feel so blessed that God chose you for me!! And, before I forget...Oh my goodness, Daddy! You are 29!!! (you like that I added my newest catch phrase to your Happy Birthday wish?! hehe) Oh, and Mommy says to say, "Happy Birthday to the best Husband in the world", too! and she LOVES you!!

I Love You to the moon and back...

Love,
Owen

Miss Saigon

For my birthday, Ms. Holly took me to dinner and to see Miss Saigon! We went this past Sunday night and it was amazing!!! We attempted to go to one place for dinner that was clearly supposed to be a "high class" restaurant. However, everything we tried to order, they were "out of" and then we were having trouble getting our server to return to our table once we decided on alternatives. So, we got up and left and moved on to a much more friendly atmosphere where we were able to order just what we wanted and get great service...the Seventh Street Grille in downtown Pittsburgh. We were able to enjoy ourselves together and have great conversation, which we were not able to do at the first place. the Seventh Street Grille was delicious and just what we needed after such poor service at the first place, which only proves that "high class" establishments don't always offer the best food/service!

Anyway, Ms. Holly was so sweet and got us Orchestra seats for the show! I have never sat that close for any musical before and it was breathtaking! If you haven't seen Miss Saigon, I highly recommend it. However, I also recommend taking a box of tissues! I only thought I knew what the sad story line was, but WOW, that ending hit me like a ton of bricks!!! I can't say for sure, but I may have actually blurted out, "NOOOOO!" during the show, followed promptly by sobbing and tears streaming down my face. I had tissues with me, but I was way too sucked into the show to reach down and grab them out of my purse! So, I was a blubbering mess when the lights came on and the curtains closed! Miss Saigon is by far one of the most moving stories ever and definitely worth seeing! Thank you Ms. Holly for a wonderful evening! I Love You!

Wordless Wednesday

Daddy's new ride...

No more minivan for Randy! Last Friday, he picked up his new car, a Chevy Traverse, after waiting for about a month for the perfect one to be available. He is very excited and I have to say that it is really nice! It isn't quite the manly Tundra that he will probably always long for after having one a few years ago. But, it definitely suits him very well, I think! Don't you?

And, while I'm at it...

THIS is another video made by our amazing video guy at the church. They play this one a lot during communion and it always makes me cry. So powerful!! And, by the way, our friends Joslynn and Hayden are at the beginning of the video :) The video guy at church does some incredible work...his name on YouTube is actionJones if you are interested in checking out some of the other videos we have had the privalege to see at church.

Parents in Da hood by Big Wayne (AKA Pastor Matt Kaltenberger)

...was part of Pastor Matt's sermon this morning...quite hilarious! He has been doing a series called "Parenthood" for the past few weeks and today he spoke to the teens in the church about respecting their parents and obeying their parents' authority. Well, he told them that when in doubt they should remember to RAP (Respect Appreciate Play by the rules). He kept getting them to repeat the following, "Respect and appreciate day and night, obey your parents for this is right!" He wanted them to eventually say it with "swagger" so I had a feeling he was heading somewhere funny with it, but it didn't dawn on me until later. At the end of the service today, right after the RAP part of his sermon, he said to us, with a smirk on his face while leaning on his podium, "I am not sure if many of you know this, but my middle name is Wayne?!" Immediately, there was a realization across the congregation of where he was heading and we knew (well, at least I knew, and it seemed that others could tell as well) he was going to do some kind of rap for us....he then introduced us to his counterpart, Big Wayne on the video screen (you know, like the rapper "Lil Wayne"?). It was just too funny! Our Family Pastor, Bob Zontz, and Matt's wife, Dana are also in the rap video. And, yes, we have the coolest Pastor EVER!!!!!!! (For some reason, I can't get it small enough to see the entire screen on the blog page, so HERE is the link)

Memorial Weekend 2010

We spent Memorial Weekend this year at the cottage on Lake Erie. We had a blast as we always do up there. It is definitely one of the best places on earth. A few pictures of our weekend...

Just arrived and headed straight for the beach!

The girls hanging out...no clue where all of the boys were, but clearly they were nearby given the overabundance of tractors :)

Owen's first time in the canoe...fishing with Pappers! Randy is pretty proud of this artistic shot he captured with the lure hitting the water ;)

Sweet Ry-Ry!

Bestbuds "fishing" in the Lake

She is stylin'...she'll be on the catwalk one day for sure!

An adult evening out to the White Village for dinner...thanks for keeping the kiddos for us Grammy & Pappers!

Beautiful sunset...we never get tired of seeing this scene!

Father and Son time fishing in the canoe.

Only at Van Buren Point can an almost 3 year "drive" the car down the street!