Fair time!

The rain messed with all my plans yesterday. Kevin and I headed down to the pool after work to kill some time before the fair opened. We plopped down in our chairs finished our convo and started on our books. Not more than a few pages in I felt a drop. I had specifically asked for it not to rain, so it couldn't be rain, could it? Then I felt another, and then another. Looking over at Kev, I told him I think it was time to go. He wanted to finish his page, so I started to pack up and put my skirt and tank on. By the time we left, it was steady stream of water. Did I mention that we live on the other side of the community? Yup, we probably looked like we had gone swimming by the time we got to our building.

After a quick change we started dinner (okay, Kevin started dinner and I continued with my reading). By then, the rain had subsided, and I was hoping for the night so we could hit up the fair across the street. After a few more on and off showers it looked safe enough to go play at the fair! Since Kev was still unsure we drove, just in case. I wanted to take some pictures, especially of the animals, but I didn't want to get caught in a downpour with it. Good thing, because after we made our way around to everything, we stopped at the stage to walk an Irish jig, and the skies let loose. We still had a nice walk back to the car, so for the second time in a matter of hours we were soaked. That's the nice thing about summer, it's warm enough to get wet and not care.

Animals are always my fave, but they only had goats and cows! Where are the piggies, and sheep?

This goat was in love with me scratching his head (probably because they cut the horn off the poor thing), but when Kevin stuck his hand out, he ran to the other side of the pen!


What?!?Baby moo moos!!!

I love cows, and how curious they always are. Even at my parents house, I just have to stand at the fence and they slow meyonder over.
Of course Kevin had to try one of the homemade dounuts...I was too stuffed from dinner to even take a bit. :-(
The Irish band, complete with a banjo! They even played the song that was in P.S. I Love!!!
Dancing a good ole Irish jig.
The dark sky ready to let loose.
Out the car window as we drove away. :-(
It was fun, although nothing like the fair I grew up in Lancaster. I think they should add a greased pig contest...that was always the best!

Gowing Older - Reminiscing my Youth

After reading Renae's blog I couldn't help but think about not only the youthful summers but just any highlight from being young. The two biggest things I always looked forward to as a little Kevin (yes, at one point in my life I was little) were weekends and the summer time. Since Renae took the summer time, I'll go the weekend route.

Friday was awesome, getting out of school and knowing that you got two stinking days off!!! As a teacher I am still able to relish that moment of my youth. Then it was usually home to hang with the friends, around 730 we would order pizza, and get it just in time to watch TGIF (is there such a thing anymore!?!?). It was Little Caesar's Pizza (one cheese for the girls and one with everything for the guys), a Caesar Salad, and some bread sticks.

To me nothing beat waking up on a Saturday morning to watch cartoons, which I totally understand is now strategically placed on Saturday mornings to give parents a little bit of a weekend. Everything was carefree. Mom had breakfast ready, dad was around the house doing some sort of project, my brother and I fought over the seats in the living room and the remote to the television, and my sister played with her Barbies. Then it was usually outside to play with the friends or basketball in the driveway. When you got tired of that it was usually just in time for a family dinner.

Finally, Sundays were the Church and infamous nap days. I don't know why I remember this, but I always remember sitting in the living room with my brother watching car shows or races (which I hated) and we would both fall asleep for a few hours. Only to wake up to the alarming realization that there is homework to get done before our night church service. It seemed that the weekend homework was always rushed because let's face it...the weekend is meant for fun, not work!

What happened to those days?

Now, as work would finish on a Friday during the school year I would be elated with joy. Renae and I will go work out, and then I would find myself barely being able to stay awake past 9pm!!! We still do pizza, but we make our own awesome homemade pizza. Saturday mornings were always filled with me doing lesson plans, grading papers, making worksheets, testing projects etc... The Sunday, as awesome as they are going to church and seeing friends, I could not shake it from the back of my mind that the next day would be Monday and that meant back to work.

Hopefully one day God will bless Renae and I with a house full of little kids who I can vicariously live through and recapture my youth.

Summers Ago

I miss my summers. :-( They still exist, it's still like a sauna outside, hazy, hot and humid. Thunderstorms still roll in after a long day. Kids still have off from school. Picnics and fairs and pool parties almost every weekend. Yard sales galore. But alas, I have to work.

I worked all summer in high school and college, but I had the job most teens covet. I got to sit high, looking down on the refreshingly cool, blue water, and yell "WALK!"
I got to see my friends, make a few new ones (most under 3 feet tall), watch my skin turn a deep, golden brown, all while earning my living. The life!

I also had the privileged to teach swimming lessons. There's nothing like teaching little ones to swim. The way they cling to you for dear life in the beginning, or are afraid to set foot off the stairs, to blowing bubbles, and going under the water. From realizing that kicking with a straight leg makes them go so much faster, to having them put their complete trust in you to help them float. I miss seeing their cute, little blue lips chatter after the half hour, but still want to jump off the diving board once before they leave.

Nothing beats the serene calmness of laying out on the picnic tables or diving boards after rushing around to see how fast we can complete the opening procedures so we can relax. Nothing beats being the first one to dive into a pool that is as smooth as glass. Nothing beats the surge of adrenaline every time you start the pool pump back up with a loud rumble and whoosh and praying that it won't explode. Or the stench of chlorine (excuse me, hypo chloride) when you check to see how much is left in the tank. Or the rush of cleaning up as a storm rolls in and mud/grass sliding as it passes. The joy on kids faces when they ask to open 'the pit' and we yell 'dives are closed', so they can play sharks and minnows, the movie game, and swim down to the depths.

I miss my summers.

Jim Thorpe

Saturday morning we loaded up our car with back packs, great friends, and a tray of blueberry muffins. Unfortunately the muffins never made it to the destination, as they were to tasty not to consume. :-) We found a spot and made a mad dash to the potty before we started our ascent. I guess it's true what they say about how good memories overshadow the bad, because I just remember all the fun we had the last we were there, and forgot about how horrible the bathrooms were.
They are environment friendly, which basically means they are a glorified outhouse. The stench could make even the strongest run from the building heaving. Oh, and the amount of flies buzzing around and landing on you didn't help either.

Let the fun begin!


Since we are too cool, and wanted to try something different we decide that we were going to hike up the falls instead of the trail. It was mid 80's and high humidity on the trail, and barely 70 on the falls, so that was a no brain-er.
It wasn't easy by any means, but it was def. good team building. Plenty of lending a helping help. :-)
Although there were times when we had no choice but to follow the trail. Not that the trail made it any easier. We were basically climbing straight up the mountain!

(Tree roots and rocks make amazing hand grips!)
The boys took a brief break to cool off under the one waterfall.

Absolutely gorg look out!

And the absolutely gorg couple we went with! Aren't they adorable!?!?!?

We might be too if we weren't so sweaty and gross :-P

There were so many different falls, both big and small. We were in the shade, but it was uber sunny out, so it was tricky to capture, plus it's impossible to put on film (or JPEG) what you actually see. But here's a little taste:
(notice Brent in the bottom left corner for size reference)
These flowers were EVERYWHERE! So beautiful!!!We also saw Kevin's mascot (Nitney) along the trail!
Even though we were all exhausted and beat we still had enough energy to jam out to Josh Gracin on the final stretch of the ride home. "Breaker, break one nine she's a big old flirt..."

Awesome time, with awesome friends!

Shopping Extravaganza

Kev and I decided that we were going to hit up the outlets in Lancaster immediately after work yesterday. I rushed home, we grabbed our list of 'needs' and headed out the door. We chatted along as we cruised down 202 to 100, slowed a little as we approached Exton, but what else is new. As we circled around on the on ramp to 30, we stopped dead in our tracks. Literally. It was nothing but bumper to bumper traffic. Uh oh... Now it makes sense why we passed a guy backing down the on ramp! Well a few (okay it was more little 10) minutes later we had creeped up far enough to the south bound traffic on 100 merges on and found ourselves follow a slew of others and backing down the ramp. So glad there weren't any cops around!

We cut over to Boot road, planning to take 322 to 30, hoping that would bypass the accident or whatever was slowing (stopping) traffic. Soon we are sailing along again, only to slam on our brakes as we cress a hill. What the heck!!!?!?!? Not sure if it was the one lane pass, or the stop light at Quarry road, but it took us 10 minutes to get through and on our way. Luckily, the rest of the ride out was uneventful!

Our first stop was Rockvale. Even though I grew up 5 minutes from there, I was a dork and printed out a directory map and we checked off all the stores we wanted to hit up while we drove up there. Yes, I plan things out a little too much sometime. I went to my stores, he went to his, and we met up starving and ready for Tanger. Kev got some great deals at Van Heussen and left with 2 new dress pants for school for just over $30. I got this super cute baby doll tube top at Ann Taylor for $8. There aren't any pics online and I forgot to snag one at home. It's pink and white and very summer.

After a 5 minute debate on where to eat we settled on Panera. Who doesn't love Panera? I was excited when our bill was over $10, because I had just read over at Steph's blog that you can register it online for a free ticket to the zoo! How sweet is that? I don't know if they've reached their limit yet, but it's totally worth a try!

Once again we parked and went our own ways. One thing I have been realizing more and more when I go shopping is that I have a hard time shopping. I can fit into the clothes at the teeny bopper shops, but I feel like I'm too old to wear stuff like that. Like I tried on one dress that I really liked, but something was off, and I think it was because it was slightly too short. Okay, does that make me sound old now? Plus, most of them are cheaply made and don't last long. A top or two are fun, but any more and I really look like I belong back in high school. My dilema is that women's clothes are too big. Sometimes I can get petites to fit, but most places lack much more than a little corner of selection. My stores are limited to The Loft, BR/Gap/ON, Express, and NYC (which sadly neither of the latter have an outlet). I really wish we could have more money in our shopping budget because I would seriously buy everything at Banana! I love that store!!! After browsing and trying on, and more trying on, and a tiff with the hubby, and more trying on, I walked away with a super cute pair of white shorts, very similiar to the ones below, but Berumda style, and a dark green blouse, again similiar, but not exactly like below.


These two typically retail for $102 (ouch!) but with markdowns and a coupon I only spent $25! Schweet!!!

We then swung by my parents house to surprise them since we were so close. I had talked with my one brother earlier and had planned to steal his big suitcase for Florida since my had a tear in it from the last time I flew, and I didn't want to risk stuff flying out of it. We didn't get home from our excursion until close to midnight, but it was a fun trip to make on a week night!!!

Weekend Fun

The weekend was jammed packed with fun with the in-loves, holding our first ever yard sale, a super awesome weekend, and Turks Head festival. Luckily I remember to whip out the camera to capture a few of the moments! :-)

The groom cheesing as he watches his bride enter...



Mr. and Mrs. Flanigan
Relaxing in the shade, what a gorgeous day for the festival!
Kev and his two leading ladies (his sister and wife)
Hula hoops must be making a comeback, because they were seriously EVERWHERE!
3 stages for all the bands.
Hot air balloon rides! You can just feel the nice weather and all the fun people are having lounging in their chairs and blankets.
Diggin' for treasure
Crazy rides they had for the kids. I don't think you would catch me spinning all around and upside down!
And what day would be complete without some oh-so-yummy FUNNEL CAKE!!!
Lots and lots of fun.

Friendships

I have a bunch of post that deal with friends. Everyone needs friends, and they are a huge part of your life.

I complain to Kevin all the time about how we don't have friends any more. I'm starting to realize, just because we don't have plans every night of the week, doesn't mean we don't have any friends.

I hung out with a very dear friend of mine last night, and after we finished walking Struble, we grabbed some Rita's and sat and talked some more. One of the things we talked about was friendship, and how people have changed over the years and how different it is from college. That's when I had an epiphany! Like seriously, everything just clicked in my head and I had a huge 'ah ha!' moment.

Different stages of life are just that, different. Things are going to change. In high school there were sporting events and different activities always going on, and if all else fails, there was the mall. It was easy to be social. College doesn't even need an explanation it can be summed up in one word, dorm. You have 30 people living within 30 yards of you! Guarantee someone is around to do something with! Walk out in the quad, and there would be at least 2 or 3 pick up games of frisbee, or football, or soccer going on that you could join in (at least until they built the mega dorms, but don't get me started). I got involved with Cru, and they were always having parties, or going to Philly, or seeing a show. It's easy to meet a new person every night of the week if you wanted to. It was so easy to make friends, and to grow those friendships because time and location weren't an issue. Heck, I lived with 2 of my besties (Tripleship!) and the 3rd was in my major so I saw her just as much. It was easy to have dinner night once a week, and late night talks and giggle fest. Now it takes effort. You can't whisper to the girl sleeping in the bunk above you, you have to pick up the phone and call, leave a message, wait for a call back... You can't decide to take a walk at midnight and have them come along, you have to make plans a month in advance. Life changes means changes with everything, including friendships, it takes effort, it isn't easy, but true friendships will win out.

I don't know if that makes any sense to anyone else (if anyone is even reading this), but it really clicked with me. There isn't anything wrong with me, life has changed and I just have to make more of an effort, as do they.

Beach Trip

Ahh, vacation...
So much fun, relaxing, playing games (sports and cards) with the family, endless hours of reading, browsing the boardwalk, dinners out, and the feel of the sand, sound of the ocean, and smell of the salt. Mmm, I miss it!

We rented a place almost right on the beach in OCMD, we could see the ocean from our balcony! So nice. While I'm used to having a beach house, which offers a little more space than a condo, it was nice being able to look out on the ocean.

Kevin's been editing the pictures, so they are on his computer, and it was breezy most of the week and I didn't want to risk getting sand in the camera and ruining it, so most of these are from my little Canon.


Early morning walks with momma
Riding the waves...which were HUGE by the way! The guard were off their stands making rescues ever few minutes.

One of the few from our nice camera...I think it'll be sweet once it's touched up.

Little bro skim boarding
Dinner at Seacrets...their side of the table...
Our side of the table...Looking back is making me want August to be here now so we can go on vacation with Kev's family!!!

Birthday and Anniversary Fun!

Ok, so I've been seriously slacking on posting. Not that anyone reads this anyways...

This past week was both our 2nd anniversary and my 26th birthday! Wow am I getting old!!! We didn't do anything big to celebrate, in fact, I barely even saw Kevin on our anniversary. About a month ago we bought a Wii from one of Kevin's student for a very reasonable price and decided that was going to be our anniversary and birthday presents to each other. Maybe that's part of the reason I haven't been on here as much...too busy playing a video game! Haha, I never thought I'd see the day where I'd actually like to play. For my birthday he got very creative and stayed within our budget by creating a scavenger hunt, making me dinner AND a super yummy double chocolate and mint cake from scratch! Yup, he's all mine. :-) I took pictures of the dinner/cake, but can't seem to find them. They must be on the other camera.

My sister-in-loves birthday is 3 days before mine, so we celebrated her 30th on the 4th of July. Since Kevin had to work a tourney, I went with him and we got to the party a little late, but were at least able to see everyone for a little, and enjoy some cake and other yummys.


Carol blowing out the candles.
Can you tell they are brothers?
Kevin corrupting Joey...
If only we were there earlier when it was hot and could enjoy the lovely pool...