Wordless Wednesday

Katie & Joel's Wedding

We had a wonderful time on our trip to Hilton Head for Katie and Joel's wedding.

We arrived Thursday evening around 5.  We should have gotten there around noon, but our original flight was cancelled.  A huge pain, but we realized it could have been much worse!  As soon as we opened the door out onto the balcony of our condo and saw the view, we pretty much forgot about all our travel troubles.

That evening, everyone met at the Salty Dog Cafe.  There was a guy playing guitar.  I had DELICIOUS crab soup and enjoyed catching up with lots of friends that were also in Hilton Head for the wedding.

Friday morning we had breakfast at a cute little cafe and we loved it so much we ate there every morning during our trip.  We usually ran into at least five other people that were also down for KT's wedding.  After that we rented bikes and began to explore.

We loved eating out for almost all our meals.  We could finish our sentences.

We stayed in Sea Pines Plantation and the entire area is covered in paved bike trails.  Unfortunately, our bikes were pretty old and on our way to the beach, Mike's chain came off and he flew off his bike and completely bit it.  Normally, I would have died laughing, but it was a hard fall and I was actually afraid he hit his head or broke something.  He ended up being OK.  He had a badly bruised foot (which we think could possibly be from a small break, but we're not sure), scraped up back and elbow, and he reinjured his bad shoulder again, but the worst part of the fall... he got mud and grass stains all over his Flyin' Hawaiian Phillies t-shirt that he was wearing in preparation for the BIG game that night.  Maybe that was a bad omen?  Thank goodness he was able to fix the chain because we were very far from our place and it would have been a looooong walk back.

It's hard to see in this picture, but there are two alligators sun bathing on the bank.

We visited friends at the beach for a bit.

The beach is amazing.  The sand is as fine as powder and the beach is very long.  The sand is so compacted by the water that you can actually ride your bikes on the beach.  I really wanted to do that, but it was so windy that we didn't stay too long.

Friday evening we had our rehearsal for the wedding.  Katie was married under the Liberty Oak in Harbortown.

Katie and her family have been going to Hilton Head for vacation ever since she was a little girl.  There is a little stage under the oak tree that Katie would dance on as a little girl.  It's such a meaningful place for her, not to mention beautiful!

After the rehearsal, the Long's had a welcome party for all the guests at the Yacht Club.  We were on the top floor which had a huge balcony overlooking the harbor.

Sara & Wes... a super fun couple!!!

Loved spending time with Marybeth and Aziz.  Wish I would have had more time to hold their babies :)

 The sunset was incredible.  Tori, Katie's sister, gave a wonderful speech which had everyone in tears.

After the welcome party we went back to the Long's house for a BBQ.  The house they were staying at was incredible.  Just picture the largest, most beautiful house in a Pottery Barn catalog and that's what it looked like.  We had yummy Southern comfort food and watched part of the Phillies game.  I was having a really hard time staying awake, so I was glad we left and went back to our place to watch the rest of it (well, I slept, while Mike watched the grueling game).

Saturday morning we had breakfast at our same spot, rode bikes for a little while, but didn't go too far, thank goodness, because Mike's bike chain came off again.  Thankfully, he didn't crash again like he did the previous day.  Friends of ours rented bikes and they weren't far when Sara stopped because she ripped her toe nail on a metal part of the bike (we think that's how it happened).  There was blood all over the sidewalk.  Mike ended up having to take Sara (and Julie) to a medical clinic while I got ready for the wedding.  They had to completely take off her nail!  Yuck!  Needless to say, they ended up not renting bikes.

At noon, I headed over to the Long's house for some major pre-wedding pampering.  A sweet lady washed, dried, and styled my hair.  Then, another lady that works for Channel did my make-up.  Ahhhhh...... it was heavenly.  We had a great time getting ready, drinking champagne, and looking forward to Katie and Joel's wedding.

Katie looked beautiful.  Her dress was so classic and elegant.  It was completely Katie.  In fact, everything about her wedding was classic.  No frills, nothing cheesy or over the top.  Just simple and elegant... just like Katie.

We had pictures taken at the house before heading over to the harbor for the ceremony.  Everyone agreed that the ceremony was one of the best we've heard.  The pastor was really good and so invested in Katie and Joel.  The best part was at the end of the ceremony, after the pastor announced them as husband and wife and they were getting ready to walk back down the aisle, all the boats and yachts in the harbor honked their horns.  I think everyone had goosebumps.  Definitely a sweet memory.

The best part of our trip was probably the wedding reception.  It was at the Plantation Club.  The venue was beautiful, but also very simple.

They had an 8 or 9 person band with three singers.  They were amazing!  Everyone was up dancing the entire night.

all graduates of Susquehanna University

I think he was doing the pregnant belly pose... definitely not pregnant!

Thankfully, our flight home was fine.  We flew direct from Savannah to Philadelphia.  We ran into about an hour of traffic on the way home and I was going crazy because all I wanted to do was see my boys.  I missed them so much! Probably much more than they missed me.

We were so grateful that Aunt Beth and Eric were able to stay with our boys.  They took such good care of Owen and Adam and I knew they were in great hands while we were away.  My parents helped out a lot too which was very nice.  I can't wait until I can repay them and help watch my nieces and/or nephews one day :)

I took the day off today.  I really needed to just be at home with my boys.  We took a trip to the park and playground, but spent the rest of the day playing at home.  I think I've been overloading them with kisses.

Four and a half

Dear Owen,

Today you are four and a half years old!

I can't believe in 6 short months you will be five years old and starting kindergarten.  I find myself having to think harder and harder about what you were like as an itty bitty baby.  Thank goodness I took about 4,000 pictures to help me remember :)

 Owen, here is what you are up to at four and a half:

- You weigh 38 lbs. and wear size 4T clothes.
-  You started wearing glasses at 22 months old.  We were told that since you started so young, your eyes could improve to where you wouldn't need them anymore.  Well, that day came this past week when you went for your eye exam and we found out you no longer need glasses!!  Yippee!!!  I have to admit, I sort of miss you wearing them... when I look at you, I feel like something is missing.  You go back again in two months to make sure your eyes have not regressed at all.  We're crossing our fingers!
- You are a picky eater.  Your favorite foods and snacks are yogert, applesauce, apples, bananas, fruitsnacks, pancakes, popscicles, pork, noodles, and chicken. 
-  You love going to daycare to play with your friends.
-  Many many months ago, you read your first book, "I Went Walking".  We were so proud of you, even though you weren't actually reading the words.  You were just looking at the pictures and had the sing-songy rhyme memorized.  Still, it was a big step towards actually reading.

Well, a few weeks ago daddy was cleaning out a closet at his school and came across an old Reading Mastery book.  He taught RM when he was a special education many years ago.  I have never taught it and to be honest, I don't quite get it and it seems a bit boring.

But, you LOVE it and daddy  is so good about doing a lesson with you almost every night.  He even got a copy of the kindergarten sight word list and made flash cards for you.

 

After just a few weeks of Reading Mastery, you are decoding!  I was blown away when I went into your room and watched daddy doing a lesson with you.  Lately, when we pass signs, or you see a word, I hear you saying the sounds of the letters and blending them together to try to figure out the word. 

I am telling you this because when you get older and you wonder who taught you how to read...it was your daddy.  You're very lucky to have such a wonderful dad :)

-  You LOVE playing soccer.

-  You also like super heros and GI Joes.
-  You love to watch Scooby Doo and crack up laughing almost the entire time.  I love to hear you laugh so hard!
-  You will nap once or twice a week, but that's about it.  When you don't nap, you go to bed around 7:30pm and wake up around 6:30ish.
-  You are such a good big brother.  You are always trying to help Adam and figure out what he wants when he's fussy.

-  You still suck your thumb and love your blue blankie.
-  Our favorite thing about you is your kind heart.  You have always been so caring towards others and we hope that quality never leaves.

We love you oodles and oodles!
Mommy

Wordless Wednesday

Two Special Celebrations

This past week we celebrated two very special people.  The first one was Owen's friend Tyler.  Tyler was in the hospital for many many weeks with a serious bacterial infection (ecoli) that turned into other life threatening complications.  Mike and I spent a lot of time praying and crying for this little boy and his parents (who we think the world of!).  Owen and I prayed for Tyler every night and if I happened to forget one night, he would remind me.  He would also remind me that we needed to pray for Tyler's brother, Matty, who was missing his brother terribly.  This family has experienced unbelievable heartache, but never gave up hope.  Throughout the entire time Tyler was in the hospital, Jenny (his mom) tried her best to find something positive in each day and never lost faith.  Amazing.  They wanted to have a little get together to celebrate Super Tyler's return home. We were so honored that Tyler wanted Owen to stop over.

It was the perfect little gathering with only a few people since that's about all Tyler could handle at the time.  I know his parents are going to be planning a much bigger celebration once Tyler gains a little more strength and adjusts to being back home.  Seeing Tyler and Owen ride around in Tyler's jeep was priceless.  Owen has a special place in his heart for his buddy.

Daddy took Owen for a ride in Mr. Szajda's Go Kart.  They "accidentally" went through some muddy puddles.  Owen was not happy!

This past Saturday night we celebrated Papa's 60th birthday.

Owen had a countdown all week to Papa's special day.  He kept pointing to the number 60 on his number chart.  He couldn't believe Papa was going to be that old!  ha!

We had a delicious dinner, played trains and fuse ball, and ate chocolate cake with peanut butter icing.  Yum.

On a completely different note...

I've been so busy lately.  I have friends that I've been meaning to call and haven't been able to find the time and I feel badly about that.  This week I am going to try REALLY hard to make time to call my friends that I have not talked to in what feels like ages!  I have also decided not to check Facebook on a regular basis anymore.  I really enjoy keeping up with people and seeing pictures of friends' kids, but it is not a good use of my time.  Instead of going on Facebook, I should really just call my friends.  Lately, I've found myself being a little shocked by what people write on FB and then sharing it with Mike.  I could think of 99 things that I could do with my time that are much more positive and more productive.  Instead of watching the news at night, I've been checking FB.  Pathetic.  I may have to stop on now and then to see if Mike's class in Lancaster is cancelled since FB is the only way we know, but that's all for a while.  So, if you happen to be one of the 5 people that sill read my blog and you send me a message over FB or an invite to something and I don't respond, please just send me a good ol' fashioned e-mail.  I think I will receive a message to my e-mail when someone contacts me through FB, but I'm not sure. 

Goodnight!!