Happy Father's Day, Dad!

Yesterday was a bit of a hard day. It was the first father's day in which I could not physically call my dad up and wish him a "Happy Father's Day". Traditionally, ever year we would be at my parents' house and cook out and celebrate the day. We did the same yesterday, only it was missing one special person. My brother, Annie, the boys, John, my Pappy (my father's dad) and I hung out poolside, cooked some steaks and salmon, and enjoyed the 90 some degree weather. My mom actually got to go to the Tim McGraw and Faith Hill concert in Hershey!

If I could tell my dad something today I would tell him how much I miss having him around and enjoying his sense of humor. My dad was the kind of person who would light up a room with his wit and charm and the first person to lend a helping hand to someone who needed it.

I can't say how many times John and I joke about things my dad "would've said" in situations we've been in! It's the way we keep memories alive.

Happy Father's Day, Dad!

Lost Photos...

I'm not quite sure if everyone has heard this story, but last year John and I went to Key West on Spring Break. Yes, we still try to go somewhere on spring break like we are a bunch of 21 year olds in college. The year before we went to Niagara Falls. Unfortunately, this year we were in St. Louis on John's work trip. Thanks to Erin, who once lived in Key West with her sister-in-law Wendy we were able to find out where all of the hot spots and nude beaches were. We were told that if we stopped by Captain Tony's we might be able to see a picture of Erin on the wall (it's where she used to work). It was then John's mission to do so! We hit every bar on that block - Sloppy Joe's being one of them and finally found Captain Tony's. We played a few games of pool in the dungeon like game room and once our eyes were glazed over enough to see good we began the hunt for Erin's photo on the wall. It wasn't long before we found one, then another, then another! Here is the proof


So, as you can see, it is the proof to the water gun story that you might have seen on the KC5 blog!

ps, as John says, it's all you need - beer, butts and booty (Bone Island Bob's)!

Last Weekend

On a lighter note, for whoever read the previous post, last weekend with Aiden and Riley was a blast!! I have to tell you these kids are the best and it is so much fun to be around them! On Saturday we went to John's Uncle Patrick's house to celebrate his two year old (Ryleigh's) birthday. Here are some pictures of the fun...



Unfortunately Riley had too much fun so he passed out in the car on the way to our house

Computer Woes

I am seriously about to smash my brand new Dell computer along with the wireless router, the Comcast modem rental and my work laptop. I feel like the guys in the movie Office Space when they took out the copy machine. Electronics, computers, phones - just not my thing. I like to use them but it's almost as if these things are built with glitches just so people can have jobs repairing them. How is it that if you have a cable modem once a month you have to take the time to call Comcast because your internet does not work, wait on hold for what seems like eternity, and all the person on the other end tells you to do is unplug it - they "send a signal" to your modem then you are up and running. Why, why, why? I had to call Comcast 3 times yesterday and I still could not use my internet. Miraculously, this morning I was able to get online just long enough to check my e-mail. Then I go in to work and try docking my laptop only to find that my monitor and my mouse do not work. I had to work off of my little laptop screen all day. Ugghh!! Anyways, please let me know that it is not just me (except for all you iMac users, I know no viruses, etc., etc., etc.) and that this happens to other people!! ANd if it doesn't, I want to know what kind of desktop, laptop, wireless router, modem and internet service you use!!!

Alright Already!!

I promise an updated post with pictures tonight!

Stuff

Unfortunately, there hasn't been much going on for me to blog about in the last week. We had a really nice relaxing weekend only to be swamped with a ton of work on Monday. I have been trying to work on my wedding invitations and compiling everyone's addreses, I feel like it is taking me forever! This weekend we are going to hang out with Davey and Annie on Friday, then go to Aiden's last baseball game Saturday morning. John's cousin Ryleigh is having her 2nd birthday party Saturday, then it is the Slawter family get together in the afternon at Philadelphia Park Race Track. We are going to take the kids for the weekend. It should make for an interesting blog entry on Monday!

Aiden's Pearls of Wisdom

A few things I learned from my five year old nephew this past weekend:

- There are three types of milk "in the world":
Chocolate
Regular
Bunny (aka Strawberry milk)

- Five year olds do not like to hang out with their family when there are other kids around

- Swimming in the pool is better than swimming in the ocean

- Onion Rings are considered dinner when you get to sit at a table with Uncle John and order for yourself

Memorial Weekend

Our little vacation this past weekend was a much needed one. On Friday I got my hair done, picked John up from the airport (he was away on business) and we were on our way to his parents' beach house in Wildwood. Davey, Annie, my mom and the boys were staying at a hotel in Avalon, so it was nice that we were able to spend time with them.
The weather couln't have been any more perfect than what it was - about 80 degrees every day, nice sun with a slightly cool breeze. It's funny how you realize that you are getting older when you're in Wildwood and in bed by 11 pm - that's what drinking all day does to you! John had fun with his birthday gift from by mom - the Brew Keeper,which is similar to the beer towers that they have at Chickie's and Pete's.
Needless to say, John was the only one who came home without a tan (he doesn't like the beach) Unfortunately, it was back to the grind today and we all had to go back to work!

The Noo-Noo

For all of your amusement, I posted these pictures that I found in my computer while I was purging it this morning. When John and I moved in to our house last year, we used our Shop Vac as a vacuum for everything. We had our nephews Aiden and Riley for the weekend and they associated our blue Shop Vac with the Noo-Noo from the teletubbies.


Riley spilled his Rice Krispies all over our dining room floor and was like "get the noo-noo", so, we got the noo-noo, aka shop vac, and they happily cleaned our floor. My brother actually thought that we were putting the kids to work when he first saw the picture!

Quick Updates

- My Aunt Jerri collected an additional $175 for Team Pink, which brings our grand total to $613!!

- I updated my Stampin' Up! Blog, so whoever is interested, check it out!

- I will be in Avalon and Wildwood, NJ this weekend (Friday to Monday) so you will not get a blog update until Tuesday, hopefully with pictures from the shore - this is for you Erin!

Work, Work, Work

I have had so many thoughts going through my head over the past couple of months between getting engaged, losing my father and starting a new job. It made me really think of what I want out of life and what measures I am going to take to achieve these goals. One thing that I find most difficult at this time is balancing work and family. I think it is one of the hardest things for someone to do, especially a mother. There are many women in my life whom I praise for the inspiration that they given me through their work as wives, mothers and career women (and students). I have decided that I will never be one of those people whose life gets totally consumed by work. I would actually choose to make less money if it meant being able to be there for all of my kids' school plays, baseball games, dance recitals, etc. Life is too short to let the good times pass you by! I see too many people who live, breathe and fantasize about work - it is kind of ridiculous, you need to find a balance. That is definitely something I want to work on before the kids come (next year - hee hee, we'll see) finding a balance and not losing touch with the important things in life!

Happy Birthday Baby!!

Today is John's 29th Birthday, 1 more year 'til he reaches the big 3-0! I have to keep reminding him of that! He doesn't want to do anything special today (no surprise to the people who have known him his whole life) so we are just going to hang out and maybe hit one of the local bars tonight with Joe and Katy.

Here are some of the famous people that Jah shares his birthday with:
















I hope you enjoy your birthday John!!

John's Hair Take 3

Well, he may be a ways off from looking like Ben, but here is a recap of John's haircut experience at Salon Zen (where his sister Danielle works - she's the one on the left) last night. Danielle was proud to mow her brother's mess of a head! Let me remind you, his last haircut was last July.






























It was a sad goodbye to the mound of hair that fell from his head...













John was in his glory, considering the fact that they serve beer and wine while you get your hair cut!

There was one picture...

It's Vinnie Barbarino with his baby!!!

Just kidding - it's actually John holding Amaya - practicing...







Hopefully we can go back to the John hair days when everyone said he looks a little like Ben Affleck instead of having Chachi hair!!

He's supposed to get a haircut tonight - we'll see...

Race For The Cure - UPDATED

Unfortunately I forgot my camera yesterday, so I don't have any pictures of us at the race :(
My Aunt Jerri did however take a few shots with her regular camera, so if I can get copies I will scan them in (I didn't just want to wait to "blog" until I received them!)
We had so much fun!! Here are the participants, their races and a list of friends and family who supported us:

5K Walk ---------------------------- Donations Received
Kristy Jones ----------------------------Jeff Whitmore
Pat Quinn ----------------------------Cathy & Brian Whitmore
Jack Quinn ---------------------------- Joy Kerr
William Sutch ---------------------------- Rob & Liz Philippi
Debbie George ---------------------------- Robin & Natalie Distler
Jodi Duschak ---------------------------- Joe Bohr
Jerri Vanage ---------------------------- Shannon & Kip George
--------------------------------------------------Gloria Jean Mullen
5K Run ------------------------------------Shaun & Wendy Casey
John Quinn III ----------------------------------Joline Casey
Sean Quinn --------------------------------------Barbara Nacci
Dave Jones III ----------------------------------Nip & Barn Thomas
Annie Jones ------------------------------------Lou & Pat Stanicki
Fabrice Lamide
Mathieu Turpault

1 Mile Fun Walk (with Kids)
Sandy Jones
Aiden Jones
Riley Jones
Erin Moore
Amelle Moore
Amaya Moore

**Thank you to everyone who helped make this happen!! You can still donate to our team even though the race is over. So far we raised $438 total!

To everyone who participated yesterday, I has so much fun being with all of you! Especially the train ride - what an unforgettable day!

Resolution

I am committing to a new resolution today that I will update my blog at least every other day!! I have noticed that my regular "blogger" friends have stopped checking my blog (and commenting) on a daily basis because I do not keep up with it! I have to admit though, it is frustrating when you constantly check someone's blog and it is the same entry over and over again!

To all you (slow) bloggers out there, and yes I am including myself, BLOG, BLOG, BLOG...even if you don't have much to say, come up with something!

Susan G. Komen "Race for the Cure"

I am now realizing that I should have published this post well over a month ago! I have been trying to get donations for the team that I have created to walk downtown this coming Sunday (Mother's Day) in a fight to cure breast cancer.

I know that many people are skeptical of some of these fund raisers and wonder where the money "really goes". If we really think about it, where does all of the money go in the world that you donate? I am more skeptical of dropping my coins in a fish bowl that has a picture of a child in a wheel chair on it that says "find a cure" or calling one of those sad commercials that you see at 2 am on TV when you can't sleep and giving your credit card number. I remember once that my Memmy, God rest her soul, felt bad and sent some money and never received a picture, letter or anything. I would like to think that in an organized race like this, where so far there is a total of 21,527 participants that my hard earned money is going to a good cause or even to help someone who is sick.



I do know one thing though, I HATE cancer and whatever I can do to help find a cure for it or help victims that fall into its trap I am willing to go the mile!!



Please help us to find a cure and donate to our team!

Click here to donate


Thanks!!

I'm watchin you

Hee hee....

Easter Blessings

I am so thankful to be marrying in to a family that is so much like my own! This Easter my mom invited John's family to come up to her home for Easter dinner.
We had a full house - My mom, John and I, my brother Dave and his wife Annie, John's parents (Pat & Jack), his brother Sean, my Pappy (my dad's father), the two little munchkins, Aiden and Riley, and two of my aunts dropped by (Aunt Brenda and Aunt Jerri).
It felt so good to have everyone there - and the kids had so much fun hunting for eggs, eating/wearing chocolate, and playing basketball/baseball!

St. Louis

Last weekend I was fortunate enough to accompany my very important fiancé on his business trip to St. Louis, MO. I figured since none of his co-workers were accompanying him, I would tag along for the ride, and since it didn't cost much for me to go, it was a very doable mini-vaca.
Our hotel was actually in the middle of a shopping mall, and surprisingly enough, I only spent $20!! I spent most of the time lounging around in the room enjoying my time off from work. We did do some sight-seeing, we toured the famous "Arch", saw the brand new baseball stadium and attempted to walk to the Anheuser-Busch (Budweiser) Brewery (which was supposed to be only 3 miles away) but ended up walking through a ghetto, so we turned around!