updates

Well, we lucked out and only got 8 inches of snow. Our streets are already plowed and clear! We cleared out our cars so now we can really enjoy this snow. Katie was out for most of the day yesterday and today playing with friends in the snow. I hope to get some good pictures today ~ no luck... I did get all the presents wrapped!!! I am ready for Christmas!!

We were supposed to spend yesterday with Kelly to celebrate her birthday, but because of the snow we cancelled. We ended up chilling out all day and watching movies. I got some cute shots of Sean and Brianna.

Ray just got a new shop vac which has a detachable motor for blowing leaves. Well... he decided to try it on the snow. It worked pretty well!

We are almost ready for Christmas. All the shopping is done, the cards are out. We have to bake cookies but the wrapping is done. It's not that same having no little ones in the house (if you know what I mean... HO HO HO), but it is nice being able to wrap ahead of time. No more 2 am Christmas Eves!!!! I think everyone will be pleased this year with their gifts. I have been using mine for a few months already... my new camera!!!

We spent last Saturday with Mike, Michele, Nicole, and Tyler. We had a great time, as usual! The girls made chocolate caramel chex mix. We chilled out watching Christmas movies all day. The kids made puppets out of pom poms and put on a play.

We decorated our tree last weekend. I always get so sentimental when decorating the tree. We get the kids ornaments every year, so when we get them out, it's like taking a trip down Memory Lane. I really can't believe how fast the time has gone.

We went down to the zoo with Kelly, Patrick, and Olivia at the end of November. We finally got to see Batu, the baby orangutan, who was born on October 2nd. They were finally able to examine the baby and find out it's a GIRL!!!! She is absolutely adorable. Tua has really taken well to being a mom.

Katie and I went to see Olivia in her Little Kickers Soccer Program. She was more adorable than ever!!! Katie really got a "kick" out of seeing Olivia playing soccer. She can't wait until she can show her some tricks.

It was a rare occasion, but the 4 of us went to Philly for the day on Nov. 13th. We just walked around for a while seeing some of the sites. If you go down, don't forget to get tickets to see Independence Hall at the Constitution Center. Our guide was absolutely FANTASTIC! He was a small man, but had an extremely booming voice and he was extremely knowledgeable! It was a great day.

We have been VERY busy with Katie's soccer and basketball. She usually has practices 4-5 nights a week. I haven't been scrapping as much I would like, but I figure I will have plenty of time to do that when the kids are older and out of the house. Right now I am just trying to enjoy having them home.

congratulations seth & christina!!!

My cousin Seth married his soul mate on Saturday. Welcome to the family Christina!! They are so perfect for each other! The day was gorgeous. They couldn't have asked for nicer weather in November. I think I was most impressed by how calm they both were and how much they each seemed to really enjoy every minute of the day.

The reception lasted well into the night. The music was great! We were all dancing throughout the night. Katie and Sean were really cutting a rug! It was so nice to have so much of the family together for such a beautiful occasion.

Travel Basketball

We are so proud of Katie. She made the 5th grade travel basketball team!!!! YEAH KATIE!!!

Scraptacular Fall Fest Crop NOV 9th-15th

Announcing our Fall Fest Online Crop! This crop will a whole week long running from November 9-15th. We will have lots of challenges, make-n-takes and games plus LOTS of prizes. There will also be TWO winners this time for our grand prizes!
Mark your calendars for this awesome event! You won't want to miss it! More details to follow soon…

http://www.itsscraptacular.com/main/?page_id=204/online-crops

catching up...

Maybe one of these days I will be able to write in the blog every week...
We have had a very busy month!!

Katie's U11 club team won the Wilson Tournament!! This is the first time they have ever won a tournament. I am so proud of how they played. They all seemed to work together and play as a team! Katie's skills have really improved since playing with FC and she really showcased them in these games.

We got to see Nicole play in a game as well. She is really turning into a great soccer player!!! Keep up the good work! and... it turns out that Katie's homeroom/science teacher's daughter plays on Nicole's team. Mrs. Kline got to see Katie play and was very impressed.
Katie's U12 club team came in 2nd. It's disappointing because they broke down for a quarter and lost a game which caused them to come in second. Some of the girls on that team are VERY selfish and are not team players... Katie played incredible soccer against girls 2 levels above her. The U11 girls that played up for them played their hearts out and never gave up!

I was away at the crop for a cure that weekend. (Luckily it's local and I got to see 5 out of the 7 games she played) It's an amazing crop which raised over $5000 for the American Cancer Society. (i even won a snuggie!!! it's a joke between me and Katie, so i entered the drawing for it and actually won!!! i must admit... it's very warm!) i had a great time with some good friends.

We went to Roadside America with Mike, Michele, Nicole, & Tyler. I wasn't sure what to expect, but it was really neat! I thought it was just going to be model trains on display, but they have a HUGE village set up. There are buttons for the kids to push to make things move in the display as well. I was surprised how intrigued Nicole and Katie were with it. I knew Tyler would love it! It was adorable to see his face light up when he saw the trains!

Katie had basketball tryouts for 5th grade basketball. They have an intramural team and a travel team. I think she is going to make both teams. She has really matured as a player and makes good decisions! She, of course, was very aggressive which doesn't hurt! I overheard her old coach make a comment about how coachable she is all the time! We are so proud of her!! During a scrimmage she went against the teacher who was running that station. She didn't back down and really guarded her well. The teacher actually came up to me and commented how impressed she was with Katie's intensity. Again... another proud moment!

We had girls night out and saw Cirque du Soliel with Mom. We were lucky enough to get tickets on the floor at the Sovereign Center in Reading. What an amazing show!!!! Katie LOVED it!! My favorite part was the acrobatics and Katie's favorite part was the clowns.

Katie's school has a neat event for her grade... The 5th grade sleepover. She had a BLAST! They had activities for the kids, but Katie's favorite part was being with her friends. They even made a coffee cake for the breakfast on Saturday morning. She was a bit tired the next day... They went to bed around 12:30am and were up around 6:00am. Ray and I took the opportunity for a childless night and went to dinner at Austins and then watched The Proposal.

We went down to the Franklin Institute with Randall, Michelle, Jonathan, Monica, & Mikey. We had a great time! The Body World exhibit was a bit revealing... but it was cool. They had skeletons with muscles, cartilage, etc... AND they were anatomically correct! There were a few male and female skeletons. The males looked like they had 3 penises because there was no sack around the balls... Katie kept pointing it out to Mikey. He came up to me and told me he thought I needed to have "THE TALK" with Katie. I just love what kids come up with!! After I explained the sack was missing, she understood. She still thought it was gross... Wheewww... I have a few more years of innocence!

We missed out on 2 opportunities to go pumpkin picking because of this horrendous rain we have been having lately, so we had to jam it into last Sunday since Halloween is tomorrow! We went to Wilcox Farm in Boyertown again this year. I like supporting local farmers whenever we can. We picked a few gourds and a few pumpkins (Katie said we had to have 4 since there are 4 of us in the family). We went on a tractor ride with Mr. Wilcox driving. He would stop it throughout the ride and tell us some stories. I didn't realize he bought the farm in 1946!! I love listening to him. He seems like such a kind soul, a genuinely nice man.

We left just enough time for Katie to get make it to her FC game. She was supposed to get changed in the car... one problem... she left her clothes at home! We had to go from Boyertown, to home, to Fleetwood. (We were originally only 15 minutes from Boyertown to Fleetwood.) Oh well... we made it in time and Katie had a phenomenal game! They won 3-1!!!

After the game, we ran down to the zoo to try to catch a glimpse at the new baby orangutan. NO LUCK... they are still keeping momma and baby in seclusion. They said probably a few more weeks. Since it wasn't too warm out, most of the animals were very active!! This was also the first time at the zoo with my new camera!!! I got some incredible shots! The tigers were extremely spirited! They were constantly on the move. I could just sit and watch them all day!