Happy 30th Birthday to Me!!!

A few of my close friends got together and threw me a SURPRISE birthday party!!! All I knew was that Brianna was picking me up and taking me out for dinner, but I had no idea who all was going to be there.  I was surprised when I walked in to El Ranchero in Hagerstown Maryland., and saw so many familiar and dear faces smiling at me.  It made me cry. . .surprised?

We ate our dinner and visited for awhile then they brought out my cake and plopped this huge sombrero on my head!!! They kept pounding it down on my head while singing to me and I couldn't stop laughing.  I was also laughing because the one guy took icing and put it on my nose.  They were singing so loud and they also placed a beverage in front of me and then took it away.  That was weird. ahhaha.

Also, notice they placed the numbered candles backward and so I was only 3 years old instead of 30.  I am not sure if that was good or bad, but it was funny.

My Mom and I . . .She is amazing and I am gonna miss her as she lives 1,000 miles away.  However, I know this is what God has for her.  I am glad she was here to celebrate with me though.

Brianna had the idea to put together a scrapbook for me and this also made me cry.  It was great.  Everyone put together a page with pictures, or poems, or letters and memories.  It was beautiful and Michele even scrap booked her first page ever to go in my book.  This was a gift that was right up my alley. I also received cards, cake, and an adult best friends necklace from Michele.  I got a gift certificate for coffee at Starbucks and a massage too.  I can't wait to use both of them. 

The Whole Gang left to right

Back row: Erin, Teasha, Vicki, Mom, Angel, Michele, and Michelle

Front Row: Brianna, Michelle, Jessica, and Courtney.  Fun group.

Thanks to all, this was a great night.  The food was great too. 

Afterwards we decided to go bowling in Chambersburg and off we went.  Brianna went to her house to pick up socks for everyone.  Wait until you see the outfits with the coordinating socks.  Best comes first. . .

Michelle Florh and her newest fashion statement.  Wear it with Pride!!!

Bowling was a fun activity and we then finished off the night with hugs.  I love my girls!!!

Day with Steelers and the Stifflers

We headed over to the Stifflers, to hang out, eat lunch and enjoy some Sunday afternoon football.  Of course, the kids don't really watch the game, so Heather helped me run after them all afternoon.  We always have a blast when we go over to visit them.  They have an awesome dog that they got from a shelter and the dog is so sweet and well behaved.  Her name is Mocha and she is great with little kids.  In fact, I do believe my children tire her out and she often finds a place to retrieve to and rest after we have been there for close to an hour.  I believe she just needs to get away from the hyper energy.  However, she does such a great job with them and tolerating them all up in her face and her space. :)

The kids wanted to go back outside, so Christian took his socks and shoes to Heather and Ava took hers to Charlie, formally known as Eric.  :)  Ava and Christian love Eric and Heather and I think the feeling is mutual.  They are going to make great parents someday. :)

Ava's Explanation of Why She is Growing Up

I was feeding the kids lunch today and I overheard this conversation while I was cleaning up. . . .

Ava- "Hey Christian, you know why I get to have so many birthdays and you don't? It is because I eat things that are healthy for me and that is why I grow up faster than you."

Christian- "why?"

Ava- "see, I eat carrots and dip and broccoli and peas and I drink lots of water and I eat things that are warm so they make my body grow.  That is why I have my birthdays before  you and I am growing up faster than you."

Hmmm, I was always under the impression that she had birthdays first cause she was born first.  Oh well, her plan worked, it persuaded him to eat all of his peas on his plate and he said to me, "I growed up now?"  :)

Princess Ava's Princess Fondue Party!!!

Ava, as you can see by my past posts, loves to be dressed up like a princess.  She would wear her princess dresses all the time if she were allowed to do so.  I of course can not let her do this, but I secretly am so excited she likes to dress up and be girly. I love that about her.

So, our dear friend, Erin wanted to take us out for Ava's 5th Birthday.  We have been planning this for awhile and our plan was to dress up as princesses and to go to the Big Oak Cafe for a fondue and some coffee.  Ava, as you can see, chose to wear her Cinderella dress and she was loving it.  Erin and I dressed up to and I have to say I need to borrow Erin's dress sometime.  Too cute.

So, when we got there, Ava chose the Chocolate Caramel Fondue and then we waited with full anticipation.  They fondue came with Strawberries, Pineapples, pretzels, gummi bears, cheese cakes, brownies, angel food cake, and so many others.  It was delicious and of course there were lots of laughs and pictures taken.  It was a great party.  Ava thoroughly enjoyed herself.

You may be able to dress her up, but this is what happens when you take her out.  Ava was so extremely excited and we couldn't get her to calm down and act proper etiquette of a princess.  Oh well, it is her 5th birthday!!

Erin Telling Ava how to eat Fondue. . . Ava didn't actually like the Chocolate Caramel Fondue but Erin and I love it!!

Ava took pictures of us in our princess dresses too.  :)

Two of the three princesses.  Ava was having so much fun.  At one point someone asked her if she was Cinderella, she said, "no, I am actually Ava, I just dressed up like Cinderella."  hahahah.

Erin and I had to throw this Official Princess Pose in.  I was so excited.  We couldn't stop laughing. 

My son, the charming dancer, dancing in his swimming trunks and obviously clashing shirt.  He came up to Erin when he saw her looking so pretty and asked her to dance with him.  This was all on his own.  He loves her. :)  Also, as Erin pointed out, he didn't like the fact that because he was the shorter one, he had to be twirled instead of twirling Erin. :)

We had so much fun and then after, we came back to the house to visit and hang out some more. :)  What a great night.  Ava says she wants to do this again sometime.

Guaranteed Greatness for Letter G Week

My most favorite ever thing we did for Letter G was something I found on line.  It was a Homemade Gingerbread Man made out of paper bag and stuffing with glue.  We used staples. The kids had so much fun with this and after we were done making him, Ava drew the face and the G shaped buttons on him.  Then we read the Gingerbread story and acted it out five times.  They were squealing and that was the high light of the week for them too.

We also were asked to be Guests as a friends house, Lilly.  We had a snack that was delicious and consisted of Grape Gatorade, Grapes, and G-shaped PBJ sandwiches.  I am so sure the kids didn't enjoy this near as much as the kick we got out of it.

For our service we Took Groceries over to the Gardners since Alexis had been in the hospital for a week and we wanted to Go and see her too.  We also took Alexis a Glittery Get Well Card and some flowers.  The kids got to stay and play with her for awhile and then we had to leave to head on our way to Christian's appointment. Notice, Christian has on his Green sweatshirt.

Getting ready to drop Groceries at the Gardners.

We also got a call from Daddy in Frederick., saying his car bit the dust and was dead.  He needed me to pick him up so off I went.  Grandma called and offered to take the kids for the day so they ended up getting a fun Day with Grandma.  She took them to buys some Gourds and then they practiced writing the letter G at her house.  They had a blast, while I had to go and say Goodbye to our car. :(

One of the activities the curriculum offered was to color and cut out some GOLD pieces and then hide them.  The kids then went on a hunting trip to find them.  They were Gathering Gold.  They loved this.  They played this longer than I ever expected.  Lilly loved it too. 

 Look mom, I found Gold

Some other activities and surprises were Grandma made a Ginger Cake for Daddy's Birthday party and we had Generous Goulash for dinner.  We got on the computer and Googled Gorillas, Geese, and Gummi Bear song.  We made collages with things that start with the letter G and then glued them together.

Our verse was John 4:2

God is spirit and his worshipers must worship him in spirit and in truth.

We also discussed and watched the movie of David and Goliath.  Talking about how God is bigger than all and with him on our side, we can beat Giants like Goliath. :)  It was a Great Week!!

Fabulously Fun Letter F Week

We had so much Fun with F week.  It was another crazy week and lots going on but a few of the activities we participated in were as follows: Watching the movie the Princess and the Frog and talking a ton about Frogs.  We also practiced writing letter F which was not so hard considering that it was one line less than Letter E. . .so the kids did well with that one.  We actually got two calls that week for foster care placements, neither one ending up being placed, but it gave us a chance to discuss what it meant to Foster a child and all about Foster Care in General.  We discussed Fire and if there was ever a Fire in the home, what our plan was to escape.  We talked about what to do if the fire got on you, and how to Stop, Drop, and Roll. 

For our Food ideas, we had fish for dinner one night and then we had Fruit Loops for Breakfast almost everyday that week.  We also had Goldfish for snacks numerous times.  We ate some of Grandma's Fudge that was meant for the bake sale and we ate fruit, of course. 

The kids and I came up with a list on things that start with F and then Ava went with her Nana to get "Fabulous Flowers for her Funny Family."  They were weeds, but she was so proud of them.  We also spent an evening playing Go Fish Game with our Family of Four.  The kids really loved this. 

We spent a day on a Farm and went for a tour.  This was a blast and I will be doing a whole write up on this part alone. 

A few other activities were coloring pages of Fish and learning to wash our fingers and feet.  For our service we made Fruit Loop Necklaces for the Bake Sale.  This was a rather fun activity

Another thing we did was taught Little Man a little of the basics of Football.  Daddy was trying so hard to teach him "hut - set - hike!!" and in the middle of the lesson, Christian, looked up and smiled and said, "mommy, take my picture?" hahaha.  I have created monsters.  Of course, I had to go get the camera to take a picture of him playing Football for F week.  :)

At the end of F week, Ava came to me so excited.  She said, "hey mom, guess what, fumb starts with F, see F-f-f-fumb."  She was so excited and then i realized she was holding up her thumb.  Darn speech issues.  The English Language is just too Hard. :)

Christian and His Special Wardrobe!

Our son has chosen a few select items in his wardrobe that he prefers to wear all the time.  In this process, he has also decided to place a name with each item so we understand which one he is asking for.  The funny thing is we have no idea where some of these names came from, but he is funny when he says them.


The first and most hilarious item is the wife beater undershirt tank tops, or as he calls them, his "Hu-Ha"  Yup, we have absolutely NO idea where this came from and it sounds a little odd when he is going around talking about his Hu-Ha and yet he loves them and has to wear them all the time.  They are his favorite.  In fact, he threw a royal fit when I had to pitch an old dirty one at the beach.  He was so angry at me for throwing away his Hu-Ha.  I just bought his daddy some and now they both walk around in the evenings with their Hu-Has on.  So cute.  Ava informed me she now wants some Hu-Has.  :)

Our Mighty man and his HU-HA

The second item is what is referred to as "my candy bar nightdown".  As you can see, this shirt is simply an over sized T-shirt that was given to him by Faith and it has God's Construction Bars on it.  He must think these are candy bars and that is how he refers to it.  He loves to wear this to bed, and would wear it out if I allowed him to.

Thumbs up mom, my Candy Bar nightdown is COOL!!

Another famous and very popular item in this wardrobe of Christian's is his "Hunt Camp Pants" which are a pair of army camo sweatpants that he has had for years.  HE loves them and he thinks this along with his "Car shirt" are the perfect combo to impress whoever he is in the mood to impress.  He often chooses this outfit when wanting to see our friend Erin Berry.  :)  I love it.  He wants to wear this outfit, spike his hair and put some of Daddy's cologne on.  :)

One of the items he chooses to name is a pair of wind pants, black, and they are two sized to big.  However, he calls these his "shiny pants".  So funny.  He complains they are too big on him but he insists on wearing them.  He also has a tank top his aunt Brianna got him with Drums on it and he calls this his "drum" shirt. This is a shirt that he talked about and wanted to wear every night at the beach.  He talked to Pappy all week about how he wanted to wear his Drum shirt. These two Items I am not showing, for sake of saving myself some time, but you get the idea.

Another popular item in his wardrobe is his "football shirt." we totally get why he calls it this, but it is still cute. He runs around saying, "I wear my football shirt." and we know he means his Penn State Jersey. He also got matching Penn state shorts that he calls his football shorts, or his jogging shorts cause they look similar to his daddy's shorts that he wears to job. :)

Last but definitely not least, he has an old t-shirt of his daddy's he calls his "goofy nightdown."  We know where this name came from.  We tell him it is a t-shirt, but sissy wears night gowns and so must he. :)