Happy Feast Day

Yesterday the girls had Feast Day at their schools.

Gianna was happy at first...

Until she noticed the food...
In her words..."The food is yucky!"

Julia liked her food of course. She's a happy pilgrim!

Twilight: The Movie

Well....drumroll...it was AMAZING! It absolutely did not disappoint me (or Shirl for that matter). In fact, I'm simply giddy right now. I want Edward to fly in my window tonight and BITE ME!!! Oh my goodness. He was THE perfect Edward. I kept telling myself that the movie was no way going to be as good as the book. But honestly it was! The movie stayed true to the book which I loved. It was funny too! I can't wait to see it again...and then again and again on DVD! Oh what fun!!! Can't wait for New Moon to be out now! It made enough money so they can make the next one! YIPPEE!!!

I told you...I'm simply giddy over Edward right now. Sigh...

not so LUCKY

Our poor little baby boy. And we're not talking about Nicholas. We're talking about our baby #1, Lucky.

We're not exactly sure what happened although it was probably a cat fight.

The other night he jumped off the couch and limped away. We thought it was his leg. He hid under our bed all night and wouldn't come out in the morning. We finally got him out with some cat treats. Upon further inspection, we discovered he had these horrible wounds on his side. Poor kitty! He ran back under the bed. I somehow got him out later on in the day and took him to the vet. They had to put him out and sew up his wounds.

He came home last night with one of those cones around his head. What a nightmare that was! He was freaking out. He had two "accidents" in the house last night too which has never happened before. We weren't angry at all because it was the first time in over thirteen years (since we found him) that he's had an accident in the house. He was just confused and really out of it with that thing on his head. The vet said to keep it on for a week but there was no way that was happening. We finally took it off this morning. He seems a lot better with it off and not licking his wounds at all. Poor kitty cat.

I Will Be Here

Tomorrow morning if you wake up

And the sun does not appear

I will be here

If in the dark, we lose sight of love

Hold my hand, and have no fear

'Cause I will be here

I will be here when you feel like being quiet

When you need to speak your mind

I will listen

And I will be here

When the laughter turns to cryin'

Through the winning, losing and trying

We'll be together

I will be here

Tomorrow morning, if you wake up

And the future is unclear

I will be here

As sure as seasons are made for change

Our lifetimes are made for years

So I will be here

I will be here

And you can cry on my shoulder

When the mirror tells us we're older

I will hold you

And I will be here

To watch you grow in beauty

And tell you all the things you are to me

I will be here

I will be true to the promise I have made

To you and to the One who gave you to me

As sure as seasons are made for change

Our lifetimes are made for years

So I will be here

We'll be together and I will be here

Lyrics by

Steven Curtis Chapman

Happy Happy Birthday Mom!

She's happiest when surrounded by those she loves...

She looks better with each passing year. How is that possible you ask? Because she knows the secret to staying and feeling young. She spends her time doing what she loves to do. Her hobbies, her interests, her music, her family, her friends, her animals. That's the key to looking and feeling WAY younger than you are.

She's one happy camper that one.

Smiles for a Gloomy Friday

A door and a bed...

The door dance...

The bed dance...

They actually didn't do this dance which was a bummer...

Joshua and Katee were magic as usual...

He was simply fantastic....and adorable.

The show was so good, worth every penny, and very funny too!

Happy Halloween

Somehow I didn't make this post back in 2008...so here I am on Halloween in 2025 making this post and setting the date back to 2008...time warp! It may have been because we did the costumes in Disney? I guess I thought that post would cover Halloween, but now in 2025 I'm thinking that wasn't the best idea. I don't want to forget all their cute neighborhood friends and the neighborhood Halloween traditions. 

Hannah Montana...Julia always wanted blonde hair...haha! 

My little cutie pie as Scooby Doo...this was Nicholas' costume too a few years earlier. Such an adorable costume...

and Nicholas as a Power Ranger...oh my heart...he was the sweetest little boy...

My three babies...

We all would meet down the cul-de-sac...Gianna & Kassie...

Kassie, Gianna, Nicholas, Clay and Julia...

Then after trick or treating we would go back down the cul-de-sac to count and trade candy and have pizza. So much fun! What great memories. 

Nicholas and Kyle...

Samantha, Stephanie, Lizzie, Julia, Kyle, Nicholas, Sandra and Kelsey aka "Gorgeous"... 

Awwww me and Gianna...look how young we were...oh my goodness...

Fast forward to 2025...Nicholas is in his senior year at Univ of Louisville, Julia's home for her first Halloween in 4 years...now a nurse. She and her boyfriend Joey dressed up and handed out candy. She was thrilled! And Gianna Mae is away at Endicott in her junior year. She had 3 hours of dance practice tonight. Ugh. But still she and her roommates dressed up as rappers. They'll have fun tomorrow night celebrating. They're all dressing up as mermaids. Halloween at college is always a blast!

We had a lot of kids tonight because it's a Friday night and the weather was really nice. Let me tell you...17 years went by in a flash! I remember it like it was yesterday. I wish time would slow down. 

My Funny Little One

Oh Gianna. How she makes me laugh. Yesterday we were driving in the car. Just the two of us. She was commenting on how the trees were so pretty with all the different colors. We passed some horses and she shouts from the back seat, "Mom, the horses are changing colors too!!!" Then a man was walking on the side of the road and she yells, "Hey Dude! Get out of the road!" Everything is "dude" lately. Must be from Scoobie Doo.

This morning at school was Farm Day. This was my 4th farm day so I'm a pro by now. I knew enough to walk very quickly to the pony ride first thing so Gianna was first in line! Then I knew to quickly make our way over to face painting and then quickly over to the craft table. No lines = happy child!

Being as expressive as she is, I'm not sure why she looks exactly the same in every one of the pictures above.

How I adore my funny little one! She is pure simple joy that one.

Circling

Nicholas and Gianna are loving all the Christmas catalogs! And we are getting TONS of them. (That is probably due to the fact that I do a lot of ordering on-line around the holidays.) Gianna is so cute. When the new catalogs arrive in the mail, she grabs her pencil and starts circling. And I mean circling EVERYTHING! Toys for babies, toys for boys, toys for girls. She doesn't care. As long as they are colorful and look like fun!

Nicholas has been taking this to school with him everyday:

The first catalog was looked at so much it was destroyed. Luckily (?) we got a new one in the mail the other day. It has been circled to no end. Nicholas has his heart set on a bunch of toys but they are so expensive! I don't think one of them is under $40. Why on earth does this stuff cost so much? Most of it breaks anyway.

And then there is Julia. My good girl that doesn't ask for anything! She simply doesn't care about getting gifts. She's grateful when she does get presents but never, ever asks for anything! Isn't that wonderful?!?!

Funny stuff

The other night Nicholas was out with a friend and still not home at bedtime. Julia, who doesn't like to sleep alone, shares a room right now with Nicholas. She started to cry at bedtime saying she wanted Nicholas with her because she was scared. Gianna looked up at her and said, "Julia, I'm not afraid of DUDES!" (Instead of monsters.)

As I tuck Julia and Nicholas in at night, they like to compliment me and Danny by saying we're as beautiful or handsome as this or that. They get quite creative. My favorite one recently was Nicholas when he said, "Mom, you're as beautiful as a flower in a field of weeds."

We're baaack

This year was even better than last year. We did 7 parks in 7 days. Crazy but fun! We visited the Magic Kingdom twice, Animal Kingdom, Typhoon Lagoon, Hollywood Studios, Universal and Epcot. I did all the coasters by myself as I'm the only one who loves them. The best was the Aerosmith roller coaster in Hollywood Studios. So fun! We went to the Not So Scary Halloween Party at the Kingdom again this year. That parade is my favorite part. Here we have a storm trooper, Scoobie and Hannah Montana...

joined later by Indiana Jones (aka Justin) and Spiderman (aka Zach). Our favorite place to be ever...Typhoon Lagoon. Everyone has fun here!

Running off to what Gianna called "Gianna's castle" or the kiddie water park...

Meeting Minnie Mouse...After the picture was taken Gianna said, "Oh Mommy. She is so beautiful!" Now for the big drama during our vacation. Julia lost a tooth. I knew there was going to be drama when it fell out but it was WAY WAY worse than I ever imagined. I was in the bathroom when it happened. As I was walking back to our stroller, I saw a crowd around it. Then I realized it was Julia who they were all circled around. She was crying hysterically holding a tissue to her mouth. I thought she fell and knocked a tooth out. After realizing it was her wiggly bottom tooth, I had to get in her face and tell her to get a grip (as she was hyperventilating). We quickly left that area as she had created quite a scene. The crying and sobbing lasted almost an hour (but felt like four). Ricky was the one to snap her out of it thank goodness. We met lots of characters. We had lunch in the castle at Cinderella's Royal Table. I had to call 180 days in advance to get the reservation. It was pricey but very fun. The kids got in line to meet Cinderella and had their pictures taken with her. Then we went upstairs in the castle and had a sit down lunch. They rang a bell and all the princesses entered. The kids met Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, Jasmine and Belle. After this picture was taken Julia whispered to me, "Mom. I felt her glove on my shoulder!" So cute!

Gianna enjoyed her chocolate dessert...

Others we met...

And Gianna's absolute FAVORITE...Scoobie Doo!! Afterwards, the mystery machine drove by with Shaggy in it. She yelled to Shaggy that she just saw Scoobie by the pumpkins. It was priceless!

Some short videos...





I also have to say thanks to my adorable brother Ricky and sweet Chieko for spending so much time with us and treating us to two yummy meals! I wish I got to spend more time with Tyler who is such a wonderful handsome young man now. Hopefully he will come here to visit soon!

Vacation time

We're off to Disney. I'm looking forward to seeing my brother and his family. We have lots of fun stuff planned for this trip. It will be exhausting I'm sure but I'm ready for it. At least Gianna is potty trained this year so that's a plus! We'll have lots of pictures to post when we get back! Bye for now!

P.S. Thanks for caring Ann e!!! You're so funny!!!

Phantom Farms

It's become a family tradition for us to go apple picking at Phantom Farms. It's a great apple orchard only a few miles from our home. The kids love the hayride. They also have a great country store with a yummy bakery. This year we got whoopie pies.

Julia reaching up high to get the good ones...

The trees were full of beautiful, crunchy, sweet apples this year...


My three cute, cute babies who are all getting way too big way too fast...

My little dancer who loves to pose...look at those Jazz hands Auntie!

Julia took this picture...

Crunch...

And tonight I made a delicious lazyman apple pie which the kids, once again, turned their noses up at. But Danny and I loved it!