Fun on Black Friday

This year I had the fun of participating in shopping on Black Friday with my Mom, Aunt Linda, & cousin, Nancy! I spent the night at my Mom's last night, slept about 3 hours, & shopped ALL day - It was GREAT!!! We hit Best Buy first, then Target, the mall, Kohl's, & Lakeshore Learning Center with breakfast & lunch squeezed in there somewhere. We got some great bargains & I got a good deal of Christmas shopping done, which is fantastic! We didn't see any crazy people, but we did hear a few horror stories about Wal-Mart though - thankfully we didn't go there.... One interesting sight was a camp-out in front of Best Buy. The line we were in starting moving and the people asleep in the sleeping bags did NOT move! They picked their heads up, looked around, then went back to sleep! Makes you wonder why in the world would you campout in front of store in the freezing cold just to sleep the entire time and buy nothing??? Here's some pics from our shopping adventure:

Mom & Aunt Linda looking cheery outside of Best Buy at about 4:30 a.m.

Campers at Best Buy.

Posing with all our bargains.

Nancy & I very happy with our deals!!

All of our loot!

And more of our loot....there was ALOT!!

I am exhausted, but would do it all over again!! Craig was wonderful and hung out with the girls all day so I could do some Christmas shopping! If you have never gone out on Black Friday, you need to do it at least once! Ok...now I'm off to bed....Good Night!

Happy Thanksgiving!

What a wonderful holiday! We were so blessed this year to be surrounded by family and we definitely have much to be thankful for!! This year we enjoyed a delicious turkey dinner at my Aunt Linda & Mom's house. We arrived early so Kylie could "help" Mom-Mom get ready for Thanksgiving - that lasted about 5 minutes and she was back to playing with the toys. After everyone arrived we enjoyed delicious turkey, mashed potatoes, corn, green beans, cranberry sauce, & scrumptious rolls! We had our fill before diving into pumpkin pie & apple honey cake....YUM! We laughed till we cried, watched football, had some wine, & loved every minute! It's so wonderful to be home for the holidays!

Jillian checking out one of the turkeys.

What a good looking bird!

Playing ball with Mom-Mom.

Jillian chomping down on an ear of corn & sitting with Nana.

Kylie, Haley, & Jillian watching "Cars".

Playing with puzzles - the same ones I used to play with when I was their age!

Ending the day playing with Playdoh.

Daddy helping Jillian roll out her dough.

We hope that your Thanksgiving holiday was filled with family, fun, & happiness! May God bless you now & always!

O Christmas Tree!

The day before Thanksgiving the girls, my Dad, & I drove to Valley View Farms to buy a small, but beautiful Christmas tree for the house. We had bought ornaments & a star days before and all we needed was the tree. The girls loved looking around Valley View Farms at all the decorated trees and the twinkling lights! They couldn't wait to see their own tree up in the house!

When we got home, and while Jillian was napping, Dad, Kylie, & I put up the tree and began decorating it! Kylie loved helping out and even putting up the garland with Dziadzi. Once Jillian got up from her nap, she got to hang up her Elmo ornament and Kylie put up her "My Little Pony" one. They LOVE the tree! It is a definite temptation to touch every single ornament, but they are doing well with steering clear. They can't wait for Christmas!! Thank you, Dziadzi, for the beautiful tree and for helping to start off our holiday season right!

Kylie & Dziadzi starting to decorate the tree.

Kylie's "My Little Pony" ornament.

Dziadzi's Ravens ornament!

Jillian, well rested, & ready to hang up her ornament.

Jillian hanging up her ornament - she didn't want to let go!

Our Christmas Tree star!

Our beautiful Christmas Tree!!

Jolly Dziadzi with his Ravens Santa hat on!

I love this season!! And this is just the beginning!! Happy Holidays!!

Craig & Dad's Excellent Adventure!

As many of you know, Craig & his Dad traveled on the "Anna Suzanne" down to Charleston, SC this past week. After a mix up with flights, Craig made it home yesterday afternoon with a CD full of pics from their adventure! They had a great time and Craig said he loved driving the boat! They passed lighthouses, saw the ships at Norfolk Naval Base, got into a few "traffic jams", & met lots of nice people! Even though he was sad to see it end, Craig was glad to be home & the girls couldn't wait to see Daddy!!

Craig on board sipping some coffee before heading out of Annapolis.

One of my favorites...Craig driving the boat

Craig's Dad, John, at the helm.

A beautiful schooner that they passed on the way to Norfolk.

The ships at Norfolk Naval Base.

The Port of Norfolk

Red Buoy #36 - Mile marker 0 for the Intercoastal Waterway.

A view of Downtown Norfolk - A cruise ship & the Battleship Wisconsin.

A great view of the "Anna Suzanne" while in the marina in North Carolina.

Camp Lejune, North Carolina - if the lights are flashing that mean they are conducting gunnery exercises and you may be in the line of fire!!

Can you find the camoflague boats parked by the pier??

Gorgeous homes along the coast in Myrtle Beach, SC.

Foggy days on the water...

Traffic jam on the Intercoastal....

The Sunset Beach Swing Bridge - cause of the traffic jam.

A railroad swing bridge.

Craig enjoying a beer on the back on the boat.

A two car ferry boat.

A shrimpin' boat - I wonder if Forrest & Lt. Dan are on board???

The shrimp boat graveyard. :(

Huge beautiful boats in SC!

Believe it or not, those are tram cars taking golfers from the clubhouse to another part of a golf course!

So, for the time being, the "Anna Suzanne" is making Charleston home. Then, it's off to Georgia and finally to Florida at the beginning of the new year! What a great & excellent adventure for Craig & his Dad! They had a great time and I know will remember it always!

Haley Turns 3!!!

On November 10, our cousin, Haley, celebrated her 3rd birthday! (It was also Uncle Mark's 29th birthday, too....one more year in your 20s!!) We had the pleasure of celebrating with her TWICE! Once at Poppy & Nana's with just our family and again at her birthday party last night at the Ultimate PlayZone!

The party at Poppy & Nana's was complete with yummy sandwiches, cheese puffs (Haley, Kylie, & Jillian's FAVORITE!), & of course, ice cream, & a cake made with lots of love by Haley's Mom-Mom (Aunt Linda). The girls had a blast playing with each other, watching "Sleeping Beauty", & eating at their "Dora" table. Haley gots lots of great gifts and was so sweet each time she said "Thank you!" after opening one of them. And of course, I took LOTS of pictures!

Haley - The Birthday Girl!!

The girls eating dinner at their "Dora" table.

Nana cheering for Haley's hole in ONE!

Jillian "chatting" on the phone!

Haley holding up her new Barbie!

Haley super excited over her new outfit from Mom-Mom!

Kylie & Haley checking out Haley's new laptop from Poppy & Nana!

Kylie & Haley playing a matching game with Aunt Jen.

Haley's yummy "Tinkerbell" cake!

Haley giving me a cute smile with her cake.

Haley blowing out her 3 candles!

Haley picking the candles off her #3 cake

Jillian digging into her piece of cake...the icing is her favorite!

Uncle Matt & Aunt Jen pose for a cute pic!

Haley posing with her cupcake!

Last night was Haley's birthday party at the Ultimate PlayZone in Cockeysville. It was a BLAST!! It was two zones where the kids could play in HUGE floor to ceiling bouncy houses, plus two playground houses that looked like a dollhouse & a pirate ship! We stopped for cake, ice cream, & presents, much to Kylie's chagrin....she kept looking out the windows and asking why they turned the lights off! Jillian was a little apprehensive of the bouncies at first, but after awhile she warmed up and was jumping in all by herself! Parents could participate too and myself & Aunt Nancy were climbing in with the girls and going down the slides! It was so much fun! It was a workout too! Walking through those things is NOT easy! It was the coolest place and definitely wore the girls out who passed out in bed as soon as we got home!

Kylie climbing up the "rock wall" in one of the bouncy houses.

Wheeeee.....................!

Jillian loving the toddler area!

Jillian clapping for Kylie as she came down the slide.

Believe it or not...she LOVED the slide and wanted to do it over & over & over again!

Kylie grabbing a red tube on her way down the slide...

Jillian checking out the pirate house.

Steering the ship...

Jilly playing with the ladybug's antennas

In short, we had a wonderful time celebrating Haley's 3rd birthday!!! I still cannot believe she is 3 years old already! For that matter, I cannot believe our girls are almost 5 & 2! Time flies by quicker than we think! We love you, Haley, and are so glad that we could celebrate your special day with you!