Kennywood 2007

Our annual trip to Kennywood

We were off again to Pittsburgh, PA to visit Kennywood Amusement Park.

This time EVERYONE came:

Melinda, Adria, Jessica, Lauren, Matt, Chris, Alex, Helena, David, and Me!

The whole gang all together. That NEVER happens!

We were having a BLAST, riding every ride with hardly any lines.

We hit all the coasters right in the beginning since it was overcast and rainy.

That was a good thing because most people stayed away because of the weather.

We ate and rode our way thru the day. I watched Helena while the others rode coasters. She had more fun splashing in the puddles!

Enjoy these pics for now and I will post more soon!

I'm off to bake brownies with my beautiful granddaughter!

YUM!

Homecoming 2007

Helena's Tea Party

THEY'RE COMING HOME!!

So here's the latest news: Jessi, Helena, AND MATT are coming home for a week.

Matt has never flown before, but he seems really excited. I can't wait to see him!

He left for Arizona in October, 2006 and hasn't been home until now.

He was accepted into a school in AZ that teaches you how to make custom guitars.

I AM SO PROUD OF HIM!!

So they will be flying into Cleveland on Saturday June 16th and leaving on Sunday June 24th.

Sunday the girls will be going out to celebrate Adria's Birthday.

(I get Matt and the Baby to myself!)

Sunday is Father's Day, and they will be spending the day with their father's family.

The rest of us will be at the campgrounds with Rob and Sal (FIL & MIL)

The rest of the week is still up in the air.

But on Friday June 22nd we will be having a picnic at Lakeshore Park for anyone that would like to come and visit. Bring FOOD!

More details to follow.

All tired out!

I can't wait to hug them all!!!!

Helena was home in April with Dan, her Dad.

I had her for two of the days.

She even went to school with me to help!

Following are some pics.

Note the good habits her uncles are teaching her!At school with Grandma

Uncle Chris and Helena under the blanket

SURPRISE FROM SURPRISE

My SURPRISE from SURPRISE...

Sunday Feb.18th was to be our wedding dress shopping day. My youngest daughter Lauren is getting married in Oct. Having such a large family makes it easy to decide who will be in your wedding. SISTERS! One sister in Cleveland, no problem. One sister in Pittsburgh, two hour drive, no problem. One sister in Surprise, AZ....problems. Ok, so we all have cell phones that take pictures. We can do this. Speaker phone, text messaging, picture messages....it will be almost like being there!

BUT WAIT....THE SURPRISE! Jessi and Helena flew in on Friday night to go shopping with us!!! I came in late from work at about 7:30. Lauren and Adria (Pittsburgh) were there waiting for me. As we were greeting each other, I barely had my coat off, from around the corner came a little person and her Momma. Helena and Jessi! I was speechless at first. Then, first thing out of me mouth, " If I knew you were coming I would have cleaned my house." Ok, who won that bet? Then, "Did you bring Matt with you?" They all knew that would be one of the first comments. Then, while jumping up and down, "YOU GET TO GO DRESS SHOPPING WITH US!!!"

Now the shopping. Lauren is super organized for this wedding. She had a stack of pics of the kind of dress she wanted. Strapless, mermaid style, no beading, no veil.....etc.. We had three appointments at different bridal salons. The second dress Lauren tried on, the girl that was helping her came out with alarm! "She's crying in the dressing room." My comment,"That's OK. That just means that is 'THE DRESS'!" She came out looking like a princess! We didn't have to look any further. Guess what, the dress has a sweetheart neckline, and beading! And she is wearing a veil. Sometimes we don't really know what we want! I will put a picture on this site, but you have to promise NOT to show Greg!

Monday we went sledding at Lakeshore Park. The sun was shining, but it was cold down by the lake. We sledded for about an hour and a half. I even went down the hill with Helena a couple of times. Not bad for a Grandma! She LOVED it. I think the hot chocolate I brought was her favorite part. We came home and warmed up while we watched Wayne's World. It was a pretty close to perfect day. Finished up with a big pasta dinner around the dining room table! My kind of day!

Tuesday they left. Alex and I drove them to the airport. Traffic was awful, but it did give us more time together! I miss them SO MUCH! Hurry home, and thanks for my wonderful surprise from Surprise!!

Snow pics

Snow Days

Whoever is saying "Let it Snow" needs to stop NOW! Thanks to what is affectionately know as "Lake Effect" we have about 2 feet of snow on the ground right now with another 4 - 11" expected this weekend! On top of all that snow, we are going to be COLD. They are saying a high of 10 degrees. That's right I said HIGH of 10 with windchills of about -12 degrees. Bring me some hot chocolate, I am not going anywhere on Sunday. Gee, maybe I'll actually get bored and watch the Super Bowl. Whose playing anyways??

Happy New Year

Happy New Year to all!

For Christmas, I received a webcam. I wasn't too sure about how it would work, but after a few technical difficulties, like no sound from our end. (Can anyone read lips?) We had our inaugural web chat on New Year's Eve. Me, Alex, and an occasional drop-in from David in Ohio; Jessica, Helena, and Matt in Arizona. It was AWESOME! Me, who barely makes it until midnight, reluctantly signed off at almost midnight Arizona time! (OK...so I was tired.....I'm not as young as I used to be!)

The best part was the one-on-one Alex had with Helena. That child knows LOTS of aminal noises. Future Vet maybe. So much more personal than a phone. It was almost like being there.

What a great way to start 2007! Can't wait to do it again. Call me Jessi, when you want to chat again. Or maybe something more regular. How about dinner on Sundays? I just can't get enough of that beautiful face! Of course Jessi and Matt are an added bonus! I miss them SO MUCH! Maybe Spring Break in Arizona is calling!

OK so it's been a while.....

OK so it's been a while...Life gets away from you some times. Helena was born April 2nd. Healthy and beautiful! What do doctors know, anyway. Some thing are just out of our hands.

She is now 20 months old. And probably the smartest toddler ever born! Not that I am prejudiced or anything. How about potty training herself!

Well since the last post, they have been here to Ohio a couple of times and we (me and Chris and Alex) have been to Arizona twice. Adria came along once with us. A lot has happened since then. Some of which I get into at a later time. This post is about Christmas 2006.

Christmas 2006
Not our typical holiday. With seven kids, everyone home makes things a little crazy. (Just a little??!!) But this year, Jessi could not come home with Helena. Last year EVERYONE was here. And to make matters worse, Matt has moved out to Arizona too. That makes three of my family not home for Christmas. It weighs heavy on my heart! Plus Jessi was not sure how much she would have under the tree for Helena. Money is tight. (Note to self: Stay off the Target website while you are on the phone with your daughter who is lamenting the lack of presents for your granddaughter under the tree.) Needless to say, there was plenty under the tree for all three of them. And while it helped me to feel somewhat better, I still missed them terribly!

We spent most of Christmas Eve and Christmas Day on speakerphone. Helena got to hear me read The Polar Express and The Night Before Christmas. I got to hear Matt make comments about "nougat" and "breast" from the stories. They got to hear Adria and Alex fight. All in all a typical not-so-typical Christmas.

That's all for now. I am off to try to connect my new webcam so I can see my daughter, son and, most of all, my beautiful, brilliant granddaughter more often.

P.S. Alex is already planning his spring break to Arizona. Donations accepted!