Hannah's Special Day

On Saturday September 12, 2009 Hannah had her special day with me.

Here we are before leaving for what could be a long day. You never know with Hannah. She likes to look at just about everything in the stores before she decides on what she wants. That is OK with me. That is why I like to take them on a special day. It is their day to do what they want.

She is saying "Let's go, I am ready". I asked her where she wanted to go. She said she wanted to go someplace different. Everybody goes to Valley Dairy she said so I want to go to Pizza Hut. I said OK. So it was off to Pizza Hut before shopping.

We decided to get a LARGE pizza and split it. All she wanted on hers was sausage, pepperoni and black olives - so I got 1/2 with what she wanted and on the other 1/2 I added green peppers and onions. As you can see it didn't take us long to dig into the pie.

Hannah really enjoyed her pizza. It was a little hot as you can see. I am glad she picked Pizza Hut. Pizza is one of my favorite foods. I think it is Hannah's too. After lunch we went to Big Lots and Wal-Mart to do our shopping. She looked at many different things before deciding on what she bought. If I had bought everything she liked the store would have been empty. After shopping she wanted to get dessert. Guess where she wanted to go Aunt Tammy????? You guessed it.

EAT YOUR HEART OUT Aunt Tammy!!!!!!!!! This cone is for you. Strawberry Banana. Jordan's has to be the favorite ice cream stopping place for everyone. Especially the Texas vacationers. I got my usual baby vanilla. It was so good.




Here is Hannah showing off what she bought. She got a 2010 wall calender with pictures of dogs and a new water jug at Big Lots. At Wal-Mart she got a set of 2 tank tops and a pair of legging to match and Blendy Pens - I'm not sure what these pens are - but she really enjoyed them. She told me that she had a good day. I know I did and can't wait to take all 3 again some day. Caleb lives to far away to take him. Maybe next summer on their vacation he will want to go with me.

Cole's Special Day

On Monday September 7, 2009 Cole asked me if he could have his special day. I said absolutely. He said all he wanted to do was go to Wal-Mart to buy a toy and then go to Jordan's for ice cream. So, here he is sitting in the car ready to go and have a really fun day with me.

Our first stop was of course - Wal-Mart. He is fun to take shopping. He wanted to sit inside the cart. The first thing he wanted to go look at was the glitter balls. When he saw the one that Paige had bought on her special day, he decided that he had to have one also. After he picked out his ball we went looking at the toy section. I had to push him close to the shelves so he could get a closer look at what he wanted to buy. After looking at every toy (almost every one) he decided that he wanted a double barrel shot gun - (not a real one). I was a little hesitant at first. I wasn't sure if his mom & dad would approve. He insisted that was the only thing he wanted. So I said OK - but I told him he will have to be very careful with it and listen to his dad. He said he would.


Shopping is done and I asked him if he was ready to go to Jordan's now. He said the he decided that he didn't want to go anywhere else - just go home. I said are you sure you don't want any lunch or ice cream? He said no - "I am ready to go home". I was disappointed - I was looking forward to a Jordan's ice cream cone. But it was his special day so we went home. I'll take him on a special day any time. He was a cheap date.



Here he is with his gun and glitter ball. He said he had a good time.




Here we are - Grandma with her special oldest grandson - Cole. He was fun to take. It is amazing how many questions can come out of a 4 year olds mouth. The sad part is - I really had to think of how to answer most of his questions. He really had me thinking.

Paige's special day

Last winter I took the girls one at a time on their special days. Cole didn't want to go at that time. I thought that they would only want to go one time. But as luck would have it they asked me a few weeks ago if they could each have another special day - I said "absolutely - let me know when you want to go". Paige said that it was her turn to go first since Hannah went first the last time. I asked Cole if he wanted to go this time and he said OK. So Sunday
September 6, 2009 Paige ventured out on our Special Day.

So here we are - a proud Grandma and her Special oldest granddaughter - Paige - on our way to have a very special day together. Our first stop is to Valley Dairy. You have to have the proper nourishment in order to shop.

This picture is out of order - I must have zigged instead of zagged when uploading the pictures. OH well. Anyway this was her dessert. She couldn't decide if she wanted the small sundae or the large. Well as you can see she ordered the large. Peanut Butter Cup Sundae. She told me that she didn't think she would be able to eat it all. Well let me tell you she ate every bite and I was afraid she may eat the dish too. She enjoyed every bite.

For her meal she got her usual cheeseburger. She couldn't decide whether to get fries or something different. She said she wanted to try a salad with ranch dressing. I am very proud of her she is trying new things lately. When it came she kept asking me what different things were in the salad. I told her they were different types of lettuce. It didn't look like the lettuce she is used to seeing. She tried it - but didn't eat much of it. I think I ate most of it.



After lunch we were off to Wal-mart to do our shopping. She is such an easy person to go shopping with. We looked around at many different things - toys - clothes - books. She would have been happy with just about anything. It didn't take her long to decide.

She settled on the blue & black stripped dress with a pair of black sparkly leggings to match. A tank top with a skort and a glitter ball. The ball is one thing that she has been wanting for a long time. It was great to be able to talk to her and she to me. We talked about what she is doing in school. We had a wonderful time. It is such a rewarding experience to be able to communicate with her one on one.

MORE ZOO PHOTO'S

The Zoo has some beautiful landscaping. These flowers are planted near the entrance to the zoo. These beautiful girls are not part of the landscaping. Hannah & Paige. They belong to my family.
This baby sea lion was one of a few babies born at the zoo this year. It was really cute. It is amazing to see the size difference between it and its mother.

This is a live bear trap on display at the zoo. You never know what you will catch. Fortunately we were able to take this live catch home.

I think the rain forest was one of my favorite displays to visit at the zoo. This picture shows how there is a mist falling which keeps the temperature cool at all times.

The silver back gorillas were by far my favorite exhibit at the zoo. I could sit a watch them all day. They are like little kids at play. Very sneaky and mischievous at all times. For example while we were watching them play one broke away from the rest and ran behind them and smacked one of them on the tush and took off. You could see him standing and looking around as if to say "What was that". The sound was so loud it could be heard all around us. Typical kid.

SUMMER RECAP PART 2

On July 11, 2009 we took a trip to the Pittsburgh Zoo with Cole's preschool. This was their end of the year field trip. I hadn't been there for a long time. I knew there would be alot of walking but didn't know about all the hills you had to walk up and down. Despite the heat and all the walking we had a good time.This lion is a gorgeous animal. While we were watching him he started to make some sort of sound. It was a cross between a cough and a roar. Hannah asked me what that was - I said to her "He is coughing up a fur ball". Can you imagine the size of that fur ball!!!!!!!. I guess if you are the king of the jungle you can cough up any size you want. The sound was so loud we heard him on the other side of the park.
NICE KITTIES - How would you like to have these cats go in your litter box? Not me. These Bengal tigers are so beautiful. The rocks must have been the only cool place they could find.

The snow leopard is another beautiful animal at the zoo. I would like to go back someday when it is cooler so that I could see them moving around.

The elephants were one of my favorate exhibits. I couldn't believe how close this elephant was to the fence we were standing next too. It was soo neat to see him playing in the water. I wouldn't want to be the one to scrub his back!!!!!!!!!!!

This polar bear exhibit was about the halfway point in our tour of the zoo. It was mostly downhill from here.

SUMMER RECAP IN PHOTOS

I can't believe that summer is over and fall is just around the corner. I will try to sum up the last 3 months with a short blog - WISH ME LUCK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It started out with a weeks visit from Tammy, Steve & Caleb the 2nd week of June. They came for a memorial service for my mom. She passed away December 28, 2008 in Florida. My sister brought her ashes to Sharon, PA and had a memorial service for her family and friends. It was great to see relatives I hadn't seen in years. I also took my weeks vacation while they were here. We had a great visit with them. Below are some pictures of the fun time they had. Caleb waiting to get into the pool - not sure what is on his mind - it looks like he has nothing but mischief on his mind "OK Cole - you are going down!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
Cole - Mr. Hollywood himself - doing his thing. He loves to swim and does it quit well for his age. He is only 4 years old and is not afraid of the water.

Paige, Uncle Stevo and Caleb enjoying the pool.

Caleb enjoying his lunch in the outdoors. He loves his food as you can see from his face. He is such a happy little guy. I really missed him when they went home.

Aunt Tammy and her special little nieces - Paige and Hannah. Hannah and Tammy are really close. They are like Siamese twins joined at the hip. We all really missed Tammy, Steve and Caleb when they left after a week.

Where did Summer go!!!!!!!!!!

I can't believe that summer is over and the kids are back in school. Where did the summer go? I will try to give you a quick recap of the summer. Before you know it the snow will be flying and Christmas will be here and gone. We did have a fairly busy 3 months. The first week in June Tammy, Steve & Caleb were visiting for a weeks vacation. We all went to Sharon, PA for a memorial service for my mom - she passed away December 28, 2008 in Florida. My sister brought her ashes up to PA for burial. We had a very nice visit with family I haven't seen in alot of years. We stayed over night in a motel and the next day we went to visit Uncle John & Aunt Susie on their farm in Edinburgh, PA. The kids had a great time seeing the animals. Before Tammy's family went back to Texas we went to a Japanese Steakhouse in Pittsburgh. It was wonderful. After dinner we stopped at Fox Chapel and did some shopping, after that we stopped at the Pittsburgh Mills and did more shopping. We had a great time. Very long day but worth it.

On July 4th 2009 - Ray & I took a road trip to Smicksburg. I hadn't been there for a long time. It was great to see the Amish country. They have a cheese factory with the best cheese you will ever eat.

July 11, 2009 we went on a trip to the Pittsburgh Zoo for Cole's field trip from pre-school. It had been a long time since I had been to the Zoo - I knew there would be alot of walking but didn't realize everywhere you walked there were hills. Despite the heat and the walking we had another great day.

The last weekend in July our church had their annual retreat. The kids spend 3 nights sleeping in tents - have bible lessons - swimming - boating - tubeing - kayaking - singing - crafts - chapel - campfires - eating - snacks. I think the highlights of the whole weekend was the dunking booth and a giant slip n slide. The kids look forward to the retreat all summer.

August 7, 2009 Gracie - Chris & Heather's miniature schnauser had 5 adorable pups - 3 boys & 2 girls. Sampson, Zeke, Alex, Izzee & Bella. They are now 4 weeks old. The father is the neighborhood romeo beagle. I am getting Bella when she is old enough. In case you don't know Bella means beautiful in Italian. Paige named her before I even saw her. She did a good job.

August 12, 2009 Tammy, Steve & Caleb were home for a short visit. Ray's dad passed away June 4, 2009 in Texas. We had a memorial service for him here August 15, 2009. It was a short visit but nice to see them.

The girls went back to school August 31, 2009. Paige is in 5th grade & Hannah is in 2nd grade. They are growing up so fast. Cole's first day was September 2, 2009. This will be his last year for pre-school. Next year he will be in Kindergarten.

I will add pictures and more text soon it is pretty late and way past my bedtime. Who knows what I might post as tired as I am.

They're here

As you can see the long awaited arrival of Gracie's babies has arrived. There are 3 boys and 2 girls. She had 3 on Thursday and 2 on Friday. The kids have named all of them. The girls are - Izzi and Bella. I can only remember one of the boys - Alex. That is the one that Cole wants to keep. 4 of them are mostly black and the last one born looks like it may have Gracie's coloring (that is the one the girls said will be mine) it is a girl and her name is Bella. I took these pictures this morning before I went to work. They weren't even 1 day old yet.

I will post more pictures when they get older. I am sure that Steveo will want weekly updates.

2009 Retreat

Hey Dad - you wanna race?

Hey Dad - which lever is which? I want the one that makes me go faster than the wind. How may RPM's does this engine have? Do you think that I could pop a wheelie?
OK - I think I have this thing figured out. Are you ready for the race of your life? I think I might like to race these 4 wheelers for a living when I get bigger. What do you think Dad?

OK Dad I'm ready - how about you? Everybody better stay out of my way if they know whats good for them. I'm a maniac when it comes to racing 4 wheelers - (if you know what I mean)!!!! You better stay far behind me or you might get hurt!!!

OK Dad - 1----2------3------GO!!! Boy am I leaving you in a cloud of dust. I'm going at least 100 mph - You look like you are riding like a sissy. You will never be a professional rider like that. See you at home.