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!

Spoiled Rotten!!

Well... I am completely spoiled! Ray bought me a Canon Rebel T1i. I LOVE IT!!!!! He also got me an external flash, awesome lens, bag, memories cards, and extra battery packs. It was so hard to be at work knowing it was at home! I have a LOT to learn, but here are a few of the pics I took playing around with it...

I cannot wait to use it outside! The zoom lens is going to be amazing for Katie's soccer games!!! (good thing she has 7 games this weekend! I will get a lot of practice!)

It's the most wonderful time of the year....

I can honestly say, this is one of my favorite times of the year... I get to watch my Flyers AND my Phillies!!! The Phils clinched the NL East on Wednesday and the Flyers start the regular season tonight! Anyone who knows me can tell you that I am extremely PASSIONATE about hockey. It all stems back to my childhood and watching games with my Nana. Some of my best memories are when we were watching the Phillies or the Flyers together. I miss her terribly!

We have a busy weekend ahead of us. Tonight we are going to Kauffman's Chicken and back to our best friends' house to celebrate Michele's birthday. Tomorrow Katie has 2 soccer games (back to back in different locations!! this should be interesting! hopefully there are no cops at that time!). Then we are off to Mom's to celebrate her birthday. Sunday, Katie has a game in downingtown. Hopefully Kelly, Patrick, & Olivia will be able to make it since it's the same place Olivia plays Lil' Kickers.

Hope everyone has a terrific weekend!

WOO HOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 3-PEAT! NL East CHAMPS, again!!!!! (and with 4 games left in the season!) and where are the Mets - at home watching sports center?!?!?!?!


We miss our VOICE, but he is looking down on us with a smile. How sweet was that! The entire team paying tribute to Harry.

They don’t call him the FLYIN’ HAWAIIAN for nothin’!!!!!!

Mini Vacation - Ocean City NJ

We had an amazing weekend! We spent the weekend at the Jersey shore with our family. We couldn't have asked for better weather!!! Katie and I built a sandcastle only to have it sacrificed to the ocean... I thought the water was cold, but Katie still went in!!! It was so nice that she could use the boogie board and we just had to sit by the edge of the water. It was a bit windy on Saturday so Katie had a blast flying a kite, Boompa and Nana even got into the fun! We got to see a perfect sunset from the top deck at Uncle Mark and Aunt Sherri's house. It was amazing!!!

Katie and I got up early on Sunday morning and went to the beach to see the sunrise. I think this is going to be our annual tradition. It's a very special time the two of us get to share with each other. It's so peaceful and serene at that time of the morning. We even saw a few dolphins!! It looked like 1 adult and 2 babies. We had another amazing day at the beach. The boys tried some surf fishing, but had no luck. Olivia doesn't like the ocean, so she wouldn't go in, but I think that's a blessing in disguise! Kel didn't have to worry about her in the water. We played a round of trivial pursuit - Boys vs. Girls... all I can say is that we did have fun. There was an air show in Atlantic City so we got to see some really cool planes.

oh.. by the way... even though it's September, you can still burn...

This is a great group shot of us all.

crazy month

well... it's been an absolutely crazy month!
I have been working non-stop on soccer for the club. This is my first year as registrar, so it was a learning experience, to say the least!!! I think I finally have the hang of it. I spent a LOT of days at the soccer field trying to gather the paperwork/pictures I needed to get the players registered.

Katie started playing soccer for FC Revolution. The difference is absolutely AMAZING even after only 2 weeks of practices. Coach Skip is incredible! He has the girls doing drills and they think it's just fun tricks. They don't realize how much they are learning! She will also be a secondary player for the club U11 and U12 teams.

We celebrated Katie's 10th birthday! I can't believe my baby girl is 10! I no longer have any kids in single digits... this really makes me feel old! We went to Tailgaters after her soccer practice for dinner. It was fun cooking the steaks at the big grill. We will be having her family birthday party on Labor Day. She also wants a kids' party at Laser Quest. We will have to schedule that on a Friday night in September. I have been watching WAY TOO MUCH 'Cake Boss' and 'Ace of Cakes'... I decided to make Katie a Beluga Whale. Not too bad for my first time. the body should have been a little bigger, but you get the idea.

We were at Nicole's Red Belt Testing. It was so cool to see her put all that hard work into action! She did very well and received her Red Belt. We then went to her 8th birthday party. It's amazing how time flies!!!

We went to the Old Fiddlers' Picnic at Hibernia Park in Chester County. What a great day!!! We went with Mom, Dad, Kelly, Patrick, and Olivia. It was such a beautiful and relaxing day.

Anyone who knows Ray, knows he is a jokester! He always teases us that we are witches with flying monkeys and brooms... He was teasing Katie one day that she is just a witch in training. She responded by saying she is not... She doesn't have a spell book. I turned to her and said, "We give that to you on your 10th birthday!" I can't believe I thought of something so quickly!! I was able to get an old leather bound book from the Gently Used Bookstore in Douglassville. Ray and I had so much fun shopping for things to decorate it. I am so happy with how it turned out!!! When we gave it to her, she had a nervous laugh, like it could really be a Spell Book!! After I told her it wasn't real, she laughed! This is going to be a fun tradition to hand down to future generations!!!!

I got to spend a weekend at the Hamburg Hideaway with some old and new friends. I had such a nice time... didn't get much done, but what else is new!!! I did work on Katie's spell book and the September Kit from Scraptacular.