Twins

Wow! I am steel reeling over the news that Marchelle and Tyler are going to have twins. Actually, I'm not even sure if they've recovered from the news yet. I just hope that she starts feeling better again soon and the vomiting stops. The doctors did all sort of tests and basically said that she has a condition called Hypermesis. This is an extreme form of morning sickness that occurs in 1% of pregnancies. It's very weird that she's having twins b/c they do not run on my side of the family. Her father's side of the family has no twins and Tyler's family has no twins. I guess it was pure "luck"! LOL It figures too, b/c M&T had decided that this was their last baby - that two was enough. I guess she really needed to follow in her mother and sister's footsteps.

January. Where did December go? I didn't even post any pictures from Thanksgiving in Florida! I haven't even thought about blogging in over a month! First, Happy Birthday to Benny (1/10). I can't believe he's 28.

Hope everyone had a good Christmas and Happy New Year. Ours was very quiet. Benny was able to drive up this year. He arrived on Christmas morning at the same time Al & Jean arrived at our house. We had a nice visit then went over to Chris and Randy's for a wonderful prime rib dinner.

The end of December was also sad as we had to put down our beloved dog, Scout. She was such a good dog and we miss her terribly. She was so spoiled and definitely had us wrapped around her paws!

Corine and the kids moved into a new house. It's a nice 3 bedroom ranch. I hope 2009 brings better things for Corine and for certain other people to grow a sense of responsibility and maturity. Thanks for everyone's support - she couldn't get by without you.

January has been a whirlwind. Last week was my first week back to work and I couldn't believe how hectic it was. My boss is traveling this week so things should be a little quiet.

Well here's hoping January is quiet for you! Spring is right around the corner!!

Thoughts

I hope everyone had a nice Thanksgiving. I surely have so much to be thankful for.

We had a nice time in Florida. We couldn't have asked for nicer weather. Warm during the day and cool at night (for FL). Jodi and Richard have a beautiful home and it was wonderful of them to have us all there. Although crazy at times, it all worked out. It was nice to see Jamie's brother and nephew, Mark and Danny, who drove over from the East coast to visit for the weekend. We had a great Thanksgiving dinner and Richard's father brought some outstanding desserts.

Happy Birthday wishes go out to Chris, Robin, Tyler, Julianna, Amber and Ellie! Happy Anniversary to Chris and Randy!

I'll post some pictures from Florida hopefully this weekend.

Birthday's and Anniversaries

So many Birthdays in November!
Stacey, LeeLee, Bubba, David, Richard and Corine!

And Happy 3rd Anniversary to Jodi and Richard!

November

I have just not been as good with writing on my blog as I used to. I guess I just don't have as much to say as I think I do!

Jeana and Chris are busy making wedding plans. Next September they're planning on getting married. They just set a date for Sept. 26, 2009. They're doing alot of remodeling and the reception will be at their house. Some of the before and after pictures have been amazing.

Corine is making huge strides in her new single life. She is happy and seems content. There will be rough times ahead but she is growing confident in herself every day. She's a whole new person. She's in the process of looking for a new place.

We're headed to FL for Thanksgiving. Jodi, Rich and Chase invited us to their new home. Marchelle, Tyler, Jacob, Corine, Tay, Bubba, LeeLee and Benny will head down too. Can't wait to see everyone. We have a few days before the rest of the kids get there and Jodi decided we needed to see things while we're there this time. Not sure what's on the agenda and I'm not going to ask. I'm just there to relax and enjoy.

Here's a few updated pictures of the kids.

Jacob

Julianna

Gabe and Chase

Bubba

TayTay

LeeLee

Middle Age

Yup, I've finally been able to admit that I'm MIDDLE AGE. Yuk. I don't like it, not one bit. I still can't believe that this has happened to me. I'm feeling all the affects. A few more wrinkles, some more grey hair, a body that is taking on a life of it's own and no matter what I do, it doesn't seem to be getting better. I've been exercising twice a week with Chris (my sister-in-law) and try to do two nights at home by myself (although this is extremely boring!). My instructor, ironically, is my ex-husbands cousins' wife. She is good. I love her class. She pushes us just to the breaking point then lets us off the hook! I'm hoping to take all three of her classes beginning in January. I'm frustrated that I don't feel like I've lost any weight. Matter of fact, I still feel like I'm gaining! It's driving me crazy.

New Sheets!

Ok, I've never seen anybody write about sheets before, but I have to tell you about these new sheets we have. They're bamboo sheets. Jodi bought some and loved them and told me about them. So, I just had to go and get some and sure enough, they are comfy. Softer than cotten (although they're a cotton blend) but still cool like cotton sheets. Put that on top of the new mattress and I can tell you that I could stay in bed forever! I just love them.

Fall

When I think of fall, I think of shorter daylight, leaves changing, cooler temps, blooming mums, apple cider and doughnuts, school starting, fall sports and football! Well today it was almost 90 and very humid. What a great fall day but really, it's still summer since fall doesn't officially start for awhile. In my mind, summer is June, July and August.

Today would be the day we would close the pool. This decision was made last weekend. Who would've guessed it was one of the hottest days of the year? At least it made the water feel "good" to Jamie when he got in to clean it. So sad to see that cover go on. If it weren't for the leaves that get in there, I don't think I would put the cover on till around late October.

I even turned off the air in anticipation of a nice breeze and fresh air blowing through the house. When I turned it off, it was 74 inside. About an hour later I checked the temp and it was 79. I immediately turned the air back on and closed the windows! Tonight is supposed to be windy but still humid so I guess later this week I'll open those windows.

September

I just can't believe that September is here! So many birthdays and anniversaries this month. So, to everyone that has a celebration this month...cheers to you! I'm not going to name everyone since there's so many but know that I'm thinking of you.

We've begun the fall process. Jamie sealed the driveway this past weekend. The garden is dying off but the tomatoes are coming fast and furious. They are so yummy. Tonight we had fresh tomato and cucumber salad - it was outstanding. We've started to cut down the orange and spearmint and I even cut back some of the ivy around the pool. I really hate seeing this time of year coming cause you know what follows is going to be COLD! I'm already looking forward to next spring!

Jamie also started the new landscaping for the front. The first thing to do was to remove all the hostas. We gave them to my boss whose wife was thrilled. As it turned out, a couple of their neighbors were the happy recipients too. Jamie outlined the design with yellow spray paint and is now in the process of killing the grass. We're going to do around the trees too. For this year, he'll till everything up and next spring lay the paver sidewalk, we'll plant perennials and then stone. I think its going to look really nice. Once this is done, I really think everything will be done and hopefully, Jamie will learn to relax! Not!

Las Vegas

We had a wonderful time in Las Vegas although our time there was too short. Next time we visit we'll go for at least a week. Our focus this trip was only Jeana, Chris and Gabe. We did go to the Rio for a wonderful seafood buffet. Afterwards, we drove through the strip and it was really nice. We went to the Red Rock Casino which is probably less than a mile from their house. I won a little bit of money and I think we ended up even or losing just a little.

Congratulations Jason and Alana

On Saturday August 2nd, my cousin Jason married Alana. It was a very nice wedding held at the historic Belhurst Castle in Geneva, NY. It was also his grandparents 61st wedding anniversary (my Aunt Hope and Uncle Jack). It was a great evening.

John and Linda (parents)

Jodi Frank (Jason's sister)

Jason and Alana

Mr. and Mrs. Frank

Michael, Jeff and Laurie

Aunt Judy, Aunt Hope and John

Al and Jean

Carnival

Random Vacation Pictures

Pool Time

Niagara Falls

Monkey Bike

This is the monkey bike. It was hysterical to see everyone trying to ride this mini bike. It was actually perfect for Michael and Corbin although Corbin can't ride a bike by himself yet.