Happy Birthday Drew!

Happy 34th Birthday to my wonderful husband!!

Drew at 3 years old!!

Summer Time Catch Up

We had a fun and exciting summer this year! I have so much catching up to do from Drew going back to school to our vacation seeing family in Pa, NY and VA. I am hoping to get caught up in the next 2 weeks, so please bear with me ;)

Hope everyone had a happy and safe summer!

Meet Spirit

We welcomed a new member to our family this year! Meet Spirit, he is a 2 year old Husky.

Spirit is wonderful dog and is very gentle with the kids. Owen has claimed him as his dog or as he calls him "Wolfie". He loves to squeeze himself under Owen's crib every night. He has one Blue eye and one Brown eye. He is a wonderful addition to our family.

Happy Bunny Day ~ Easter 2010

The Easter bunny was here this year, so I guess the kiddies were good, lol.

We started out the day with gift from the Easter Bunny. The kiddies loved their baskets.

Ian and his Basket.

Autumn and her basket

Ethan and his basket

Owen and his basket.

After the gifts we started getting ready for our Easter cookout. The kiddies were excited that their cousins were coming over for a day of fun with them. We had a bunch of yummy food and some fun activities for the kiddies to do. We had a wonderful Easter Egg Hunt for the kiddies and also a cool crafting activity for them. Here are some pics from their Easter Egg Hunt and their craft that they did an awesome job on.

looking for Eggs.

I was helping Owen.

Autumn and Kandy painting

All the kiddies painted crafts....They did an awesome job!

The yummy Egg Cupcakes I made!


We had an great day and the kiddies had fun with their cousins.

Everyone have a nice Weekend!

Catching up.....More to come

Ok, so we have been pretty busy around here in the last 2 months. I have so much catching up to do. We heading out on a trip this weekend and when I get back I will try to catch up on my blogging. I am sooooo far behind.

Quote of the Day

My imagination is endless. Time is my energy. Freedom is who leads me. Love is my partner. Independence is my future. Loyalty is what I give you. Destiny is my heart.

Owen's 2nd Birthday~Jan 23rd 2010

Sorry everyone, still catching up!

Owen Myles turned 2 on Jan 23rd 2010. Our baby is getting so big!

We had an awesome Animals party for him. We started off BBQ on the grill and I also made a Rotisserie Chicken, Roasted Garlic potatoes and Broccoli and Cheddar noodles! They were all sooooo good!

Hamburgers, Hot Dogs and Yummy chicken!

Roasted Garlic Potatoes and Broccoli & Cheddar Noodles!

After Eating Owen wanted to Open his Presents! He was sooooo excited!!

Presents!

more presents!!!

Here are some pics of him opening some of his gifts...

He got a Froggy Potty from Mommy and Daddy!

Some gifts From Aunt Vicky and Uncle Rob

Learning My ABC's from Mommy and Daddy

And his Favorite Gift....His new "Beep Beep" Car, as he calls it.

Then it was time to Sing "Happy Birthday" and have some cake! We got him this very cute Animals cake, with toys on it that he can play with afterwards. The cake turned out so cute (Photo at top of this Blog) and it was yummy too! Owen loves cake and every year we give him a big piece and let him go to town! That he did, He was sooooo messy but enjoyed every bite of it!

Messy messy messy!!

After cleaning everyone up, the guys decided to put together Owen's new Car....Owen was soooo excited, he watched with a careful eye and waited.

How many guys does it take to put together a car? lol!

Owen was so excited, the car wasn't complete yet and he was already trying to drive it! lol!

The Completed Car!!

By the end of the day we were all exhausted. But all and all we had a wonderful day! My baby turned 2 and he had a awesome birthday party! I can;t believe how big my kiddies are getting. I am so happy to have them in my life! The are my world and I hope for nothing but the best for them!

I Love you Chunky!

A lesson about Pizza~ From my Cousin Sahira Studying Aboard in Italy

My awesome cousin Sahira Copenhaver has gotten the wonderful opportunity to study aboard in Italy this summer. She is studying Nutrition at the wonderful college of Penn State University. While she is enjoying her time exploring Italy, she has created an wonderful blog about foods and such . Her latest blog post was a very interesting and educational one for Pizza Lovers. So I thought I would share this Blog with you, Enjoy everyone!

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Hello! Sorry I have been MIA lately, but we are crazy busy right now with traveling, school work, etc.
This past week we did a Northern trip up to Pienza (Tuscany), Florence, Modena, and Parma. It was wonderful but very stressful and exhausting at the same time. While I had some down time in Tuscany, I thought I would catch up on reading my Awake magazines (literature distributed by the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society, Jehovah's Witnesses) that I brought with me. It amazes me that everytime I read the Awake, the information is always relevant to something going on in my life or current events occuring around the world.
And what a coincidence that while I am studying in Italy, I would find an awesome article about PIZZA in the AWAKE! I was so shocked, surprised, happy! So, since I was so excited about the information that I read, I wanted to share it with you! :)
Here is a picture of the article:


The story was titled 'A Penchant For Pizza'

What I learned from the article:

King Ferdinand I is said to have disguised himself as a commoner who visited a poor neighborhood in Naples. One story has it that he wanted to sink his teeth into a food that the queen had banned from the royal court...pizza.

If Ferdinand were alive today, he would have no trouble indulging his appetite. Currently, there are some 30,000 pizzerias in Italy, and each year they produce enough pizzas to serve 45 to each inhabitant!

Pizza may have originated in Naples (which is a really bad city by the way) about 1720. Back then, pizza was primarily for the poor, a "fast food" that was sold and consumed outdoors. Vendors would traverse the streets loudly calling out to advertise their tasty delicacies. The pizzas were kept warm in a scudo, a copper receptacle that was carried on the vendor's head.

King Ferdinand I eventually made his penchant for pizza known to the royal court. Before long, this street delicacy won such favor that even members of the wealthy elite and the royal class began flocking to pizzerias. Ferdinand's grandson, King Ferdinand II, went so far as to have a wood-burning oven built in the gardens of Capodimonte Palace in 1832. Thus, he was able to keep his aristocratic guests happy.

***

Fun Facts about pizza from the article:

- Pizza is best cooked in a wood-burning oven. The smoke that is released during cooking gives the pizza a delicate aroma, while the thin layer of ash on the bottom of the pizza gives it a delicious taste. Now I know why Faccia Luna pizza (in State College) is the best pizza around! :)

- The world's largest circular pizza was made in 1990. Its diameter measured more than 122 feet and it weighed more than 12 tons!

-The age-old custom of throwing pizza dough into the air and rotating it is not just for show. The centrifugal force that is created flattens the dough into a disk with a slightly raised border- a perfect base for a pizza!

Pretty interesting, huh? Now you know all you need to know about Pizza! :)

So, some facts that I know about pizza:

Pizza is favorite food of many many people and is often considered as an "unhealthy food." But can Pizza be nutritious? Yes! To be considered nutritious, pizza should be made from healthful ingredients that are balanced in carbs, proteins, and fats and that are rich in vitamins, minerals, and amino acids. Olive Oil is a recommended ingredient in pizza. It promotes the formation of HDL, which is the "good" cholesterol. It rarely causes digestive problems because the carbohydrates in the flour receive lots of hydration during the kneading and leavening process. The presence of complex carbohydrates contributes to a full feeling, which usually helps keeps even the most enthusiastic pizza lover from overindulging.

The next time you indulge your penchant for pizza, recall its humble origins and be glad that King Ferdinand did not keep his love for pizza a secret. :)

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Tomorrow I will update on my past adventures that have happened: Caprese salad creations, Pienza (Tuscany), Florence, Modena and Parma. Lots to say. We are in Rome tonight and tomorrow, then we are off for more traveling to Southern Italy and that will mean that I am half way until I come home!

I hope everyone is doing well! Talk to you soon! xoxo.

Ciao!

My Quote of the Day

Life isn't measured by the number of breathes you take, life is measured by the number of moments that take your breath away!

Swing Manager Graduation

After 2 months of Swing Manager classes and also ServSafe classes, we finally graduated! We had a great class and I learned lots of new things! Can't wait till my next class!

Our District Manager Tony, Me and our Store Manager Wolfgang

Our class and the Store Managers

My Diploma

Ian break's his elbow

On March 30th Ian was running in the neighbor's yard playing with his friends after school when he tripped and fell. As he fell he stuck his arm out to catch himself but, as he landed it twisted under him breaking the elbow!!! His friend walked him over to the house when he got to the porch we could tell right away that he was in more pain then from any other fall he's taken before. He was being extremely over protective of his arm pulling away from us when ever we would try to inspect it so Drew put him in the car and took him to the E.R. He was seen and X-rays were taken only to find that he indeed did break his arm! :(

We were upset that Ian's arm was broke but, on a brighter note he loves his neon green cast!

UPDATE: May 4th 2010

After about 4 weeks in a very itchy cast Ian went to his ortho at Blue Ridge Bone & Joint his Doctor told him his arm looked great and that he could come out of his cast he was so happy to be able to itch his arm!

Ian's Cub Scouts Blue and Gold Banquet

Ian's pack had their annual Blue and Gold banquet last month. Ian had a blast! This year Ian is a Bear scout and loving it. They had a nice banquet set up for them.

Ian and mommy

Ian and daddy

Ian earned 10 new belt loops, his bear patch, his Whittling Chip patch, 4 new red beads as progress to rank and a yellow arrow! He has been a busy boy. We are so proud of him.

The Belt loops, patches and beads Ian earned!

Next year Ian is moving on to be an Webelo, he is so excited! We are very proud of him and all his accomplishments!

Visit from Friends

Last month we had a surprise visit from a good friend. Cheryl has been a friend of our family for many years and also she was a Seabee with Drew. It was sooo nice to see her, even though we only had a day to spend with her. A blast from the past! We love you Cheryl and can't wait to see you again soon!

Curious George LIVE!!!

We were so excited when we won 4 free tickets to Curious George Live. All my kids are Huge fans of monkey's and, Ethan truly loves Curious George! Drew, Ethan, Uncle Rob and, Jacob went together and they all had a blast! Thank you Asheville Citizen Times!!!

Ethan and Jacob all ready for the show with their cool Curious George gear!!

I am so glad they had a blast!

Updates to come.....

Things have been a little crazy and busy around here.....i have lots to catch up on! Start looking for new post soon!