colorado 9/17-24, 2011

at the zoo

red rocks amphitheater

top of rocky mtn np

at the wild animal sanctuary

amelia got to meet the

"plane drivers"

4:30am, newark hilton after

mommy got out of bed!!

so, we went to colorado for a week to visit some family and friends and it was a blast!!

little miss a was a total rock star through security at the newark airport and on the plane ride out to colorado...it's 4.5 hours!! we spent some time with my cousin and her family and then some time with karl's aunt. we went to a wild animal sanctuary where the rescue mainly large animals, lions, tigers, bears oh my!! they also have some wolves, sheep, goats and a camel!!

we went to rocky mountain np, and boy was it cold at the top!! saw elk and marmots, but not mountain goats (well, we saw them at the zoo!). i went to a rockies game for my birthday with my cousin and her friend and had a blast!

we went to a dinosaur place and saw fossils and footprints and then on to red rocks amphitheater. spend the day at the denver zoo, which is awesome!!! had dinner in downtown denver at bd's mongolian bbq and my friend, bryan (from camp and psec-ucc) met us there.

karl's aunt watched little miss a for 2 days, so that we could go and do some shopping and sightseeing on our own. spend the afternoon in boulder, on pearl st shopping and the next day we went to estes park, did some more shopping and sightseeing and did a little wine tasting on the way back.

it was a jam packed week and by the time we got on the plane to come home, the rock star had left and we had a very cranky 3 year old!! BUT, looking back on the week, she did awesome!!

PS - sorry, but i loaded the pics backwards to my story again!!

the beach 8/21-8/25 2011

so, we went to the beach last week. second year that we took amelia to long beach island, nj. had fun again this year.....until we had to evacuate due to hurricane irene. BUT, it's okay, because we had our week in already :) we arrived home safely at 11:30pm on thursday, 8/25 and it was an exhausting trip home! waited 20 minutes in line for gas, and we were off the island by this time. here are some random shots of our week.....enjoy!

amelia and tiki fred (tiki bob's new friend)

amelia's first game of mini golf


amelia getting ready to climb to the top of the barnegat lighthouse

amelia and karl at the top of the lighthouse


amelia showing off her certificate for climbing to the top

amelia enjoying the beach

her favorite thing to do at the beach!


hanging out on the rocks

brag

okay, up until recently not too many people knew i was doing weight watchers. well, i have been doing it since january and i am down 29.4 pounds. last night i was able to put on my size 16 GAP jeans and other GAP pants that i haven't been able to fit into in about 4-5 years!! i am freakin' excited! i'm not stopping here, i have a long way to go, but this is huge for me!!

r.i.p. jeffrey zackon

once again i find myself writing about another loss in the oley valley. dr. jeffrey zackon, superintendent of the oley valley school district passed away today while on a trip to germany with many of the oley german language students, their teacher and other chaperones, including his wife. he was 62. he was the high school principal until 1995, when he was hired to replace the retiring superinentendent. he was a fixture in the valley.....he knew every students name, came to as many sporting events and other school events as possible, and even remembered you years after graduation. i feel like i lost a friend. his door was always open if you needed something or just someone to talk to. even after he left the building as principal, you could still find him roaming the halls during his "free time". he was passionate about oley, he was passionate about education, he was passionate about the students. he was a great man, and will be greatly missed. my thoughts and prayers go out to his family and to everyone who had the pleasure of knowing him!!

wow!

wow! i can't believe it's been almost a year since i last posted! i'm really good at checking in and catching up with everyone else's blogs, but not so good at posting my own. here are some recent photos, just to get you caught up.....






happy karl

happy me

crazy amelia, with her crazy haircut

yes, that is my husband and his friend sam dressed up as women
it was a drunken idea, but they went through with it sober

my nephew and amelia on the playground

it's our new, nice weekend thing....try new playgrounds

amelia will be 3 in about a month and she is all signed up for pre-school in the fall. 2 days a week and i think she will have fun! now, if we could only get her potty trained!! she honestly wants nothing to do with it....i've tried all the coolest "big girl" underwear, bribing her with m&m's, letting her go on the big potty and not her little potty, she just doesn't want to do it. hopefully this summer we can get it done, because i'm tired of changing diapers!

other than that, not much else is new. karl is still at the greenhouse and i'm still at aaa. hopefully i'll get better at posting on the blog, but if not, i'll try to do it at least once a year!!

pictures from the party

fun was had by all at amelia's 2nd birthday party. it was a tad chilly outside, but i don't think anyone seemed to mind, too much :) she had lots of fun with family and friends, and received lots of great gifts. we're working on the thank you cards, i promise! onkel cory was even there, and that made it extra special (since she only sees him a couple of times a year!) i guess now we'll have to go visit him in baltimore!

two years old

oh my, she was 2 yesterday!! i can't believe it! this past year has been full of great things! walking, running, talking, learning new things each and every day! she has the marks of an active todder.....scabs on both knees, and dirt under the fingernails. she is a daddy's girl all the way and wants nothing more than to be with daddy all the time.she had her 2 year check up, and she is 32 1/2 inches (25%) and 22 3/4lbs (5-10%). that's normal for her, since that's right about where she's always been. my little peanut! party on sunday, i'll post more after that! love you baby!!