First Day of School

First day of school, Riley first grade, Ethan 4th grade.

Mrs. Jones is known for all her pets in class...that made Ethan very excited.

Riley got Mrs. Gire this year. She is known as being the sweetest teacher in the whole school...just what Riley needs! We are so blessed!


Riley was very sad to leave Mommy. She cried, hung on, and didn't want me to leave. Put tears in my eyes. Good thing she ended up loving school. As for me I still miss my baby girl being at home with me.

Penny

A new addtion to our family is Penny.
She is a Visla puppy. They are great with kids, and can go for runs and bike rides next to you. With our big back yard and active life we hope she will fit in well. She is adorable and loves to chew everything...espeically the expensive furniture. She is Ethan's dog and he has totally fallen in love with her and takes great care of her. Now Fluffy our cat is not to fond of her , but still loves to torment her in the evenings.

Ethan turns 9

Ethan celebrated his birthday at his Grandma Black's house in PA. Then a few weeks later he had his "party" with his favorite friends. They went to see Aliens in the Attic, did the pizza buffet at Cici's, then on home for cake, ice cream and a sleep over. He got mostly Star Wars Legos this year... as that is his obsession!!!

MAUI 2009!!

This summer our big vacation was to Maui. We had the best time and can't wait to go back. Truly you can see God's glory in the Hawaii islands. The kids loved theHUGE waves...(at one point the 15 foot wave nearly took them both out!) and pool with the super huge slide. My favorites were the submarine riderelaxing at the pool and the snorkeling. Riley loved the laua with the hula girls and fire throwers.

Look out for the waves!

A Hana Coast trail...double waterfall at the end. When you start out there is a stand to get just cut pineapple and sugar cane smoothies and warm banana bread. This part of the island was so beautiful. I could have built a hut, given up shopping and lived out in the wild off of the bananas and pineapple here.

Tooth Fairy here's my first tooth...

Riley finally lost her first tooth!
She was so excited to be able to use the adorable Tooth Fairy pillow Aunt Sandy made her.
Inside the pocket it says "thank you".

Ethan's Art

Ethan's art was chosen to be on display at the county library from among his elementary school. His art teacher had liked his rendition of a totem pole. His inspiriation was his favorite stuffed animal Puff Dog. Ethan LOVES art and has a great talent for it.
Way to go Ethan!!

Easter 2009

This year we got to spend Easter with my parents who drove from GA to see us. The kids love having grandma and grandpa come and visit. I especially liked the Turkey and Dressing dinner my mom made on Easter for us.


Riley loved picking out her dress this year. I think she picked this one because it was pink and it had a doll dress ("kitty" dress in her case) that matched her dress. We had several Easter egg hunts this year. We have enough candy to last us the whole year. Besides candy in their baskets they got Star Wars Legos, video game, Easter Barbie, and an outfit from Justice store. (riley's latest shopping obsession).

No, I didn't plan to match us...it just happened that way.

Egg Hunt at the Country Club 2009

At our neighborhood's country club we had an Easter brunch/egg hunt. The kids had a blast! They had filled over 1,200 eggs and there were only about 30 kids that attended. (because SPring break stared and EVERYone leaves town.) So you know we got way too much candy! The kids loved getting so many eggs though as you can see by Ethan's basket.

Hunting eggs on the gold course.

The Easter Bunny made an appearance. They also had a petting zoo and Riley loved the baby chicks and bunnies.

Pittsburgh Museum

We had a great time at the Pittsburgh museum. The kids favorite parts were the fossil dig. Ethan loved all the geology and gems on display. SA he is big into rock collecting. The dinosaur exhibit was great as well. Shawn's mom came along with us. So that is why for once I am not behind the camera!

It is nice being so much closer to Shawn's family...just a 5 hour car trip.

Riley's 6th Birthday Party

For Riley's 6th birthday she wanted to have a party at home with party games. The girls first played with Barbie's until everyone showed up. Then they decorated purses to put all their goodies/prizes in. They then played musical chairs, hot potato, doggie who has the bone, and pin the crown on the Barbie. After that we had cake and ice cream, pinata and presents. They all left with a Barbie as their "goody bag gift". Riley had an awesome time!