Lunch Dates!

Today Dan went to school and picked up Sarah!  She was so surprised to see Uncle Dan at school!  Donny brought Molly over too, for lunch and we had a really nice lunch date.  Sarah looked really cute with her little headband in her hair....
well, for a while anyway.  Here she is sporting a newer look and riding her sisters little bike!
She is a funny, funny girl!
Bridget and Cayden came over too!  Cayden is getting so big!  He is talking up a storm!  He loves to walk around the furniture and he loves his girly cousins too!  Molly loves to give him high fives, but Cayden would prefer a kiss~  "No Way," says Molly.  "He slopers"
I got a nice surprise in the mail today!  A card from Kelley and Tegan!  They are so thoughtful!  Thanks to my darlings in Colorado for thinking of me!!  I love and miss you both... so much!  Teg, I wish I could post that video... you have to email it to me,  OK???

"Is there a troll living under your bridge?"

I was subbing at school again yesterday, so Beckie asked if I would take Sarah to her 4 year checkup at the peds offfice.  No shots... just a well visit to have the medical for school signed off.

To get to the building you must cross a bridge.  Once in the little room, the doctor came in and Sarah asked the question, the one weighing heavy on her mind since we crossed that bridge.  Dr. Schollenberger told Sarah she had seen ducks, geese, and maybe a turtle or two, BUT never a troll!  Big smile for Sarah...  on to the exam.  I was really proud of her this time!  Since her mom is a school teacher, she can't always make these appts and I remember taking Sarah last year.  At 3, your mind just goes to the shots!  You cry, your scared, and boy was she!!  No matter how many times I told her NO SHOTS... at 3, your not listening to a thing anyone says, your are just watching for the needle!  She was asked to draw a square, something she could do at 3... no way.  Draw a picture of a person, yep, she could, but no way.  Say your ABC, oh yeah, but, again, no way!  This year was such a different, pleasant experience!! Sarah did not stop talking.  

Dr.- Can you count?

Sarah- Oh I can count all the way to 100!

Dr. -Can you draw this?  (She draws a square)

Sarah- I don't really think so, I'll try... (Sarah draws a square)

Dr.- Draw a person please.

Sarah- Sure! (draws a stick figure)

Dr.- Who is that person?

Sarah- (takes pencil back and writes) SARAH  B

Dr.- WOW that's a first!!  No one ever just writes the answer to my question!!!

Now those of you who know Sarah well, know that she is really kinda smart.  She is "hooked on phonics" and doing some reading, she writes everything.  She spells out words in the car to have you guess them.  Really clever in so many ways... just one question you might have?  The B- not her middle initial, she knows she is a Rose, not her last name initial, she knows she is a Walton. 

Meme- what is the B for Sarah?

Sarah- nothing... I can just make them really good now!

Oh, and the troll thing?  "I just really wanted to see one!!" 

       This girl is ready for Kindergarten next year, for sure!!

Big Night!

That's right, it's a big night around here.  Dexter season starts anew!
                   I really love this show.  And Michael C. Hall!

 Oh and those Desperate Housewives, of course!!  (I love the Housewives of Bay Cedar too!)  Enjoy your Sunday!

Shop Talk...

Dave is back to work in his wood shop!  Roxi will be happy to see these shelves, once stained and varnished like the original one!!
 Dave is looking to start some fall/winter projects.  I would love a blanket chest for my family room!! Hint, Hint!  We have some Christmas ideas to start to work on as well... can't share those!

I have started taking pilates and I am loving it so far!  It truly works your core... I am so very sore in my abs that I can barely move every other day!! Ha!  It's good... I need to find something I like to do in order to stay focused.  This just might be it... let's hope so!

Dave has surprised me with a trip to Vegas for our 30th anniversary.  I know we are seeing some shows but he won't share which ones!  I am very excited.  Dave had to tell me about the trip since I am starting Music In Motion and he saw the sign up sheet and realized I would need to change some dates so he told me about the surprise!  I love surprises!  I can't wait to tell you all about it when we get back!   I also want to plan a trip to Colorado to see Tegan and Kelley... still working on it!  

Have a good weekend!

You Capture~Happiness!

Happiness... 3 little gems!  Did you think it would be something/anything else?

Sarah... squealing  with delight!

Molly... bursting with excitement!
Cayden... giggling with HAPPINESS!

They make me happy! See much more happiness here!

Miss Magillacutty... the substitute teacher!

I had the opportunity to sub for Miss Gloria at Best Beginnings today. I surprised Sarah in the car pool line. When I opened her door to get her out, she took a double take look at me and SMILED!  I did the work sheet with the kids today and Sarah was the first at "my table".  Once she was done though, she was off and didn't give me a second look.  She is loving her new classroom and her new teachers this year.  I had a fun time back in my old "Stars, Too" classroom today~ do I miss it enough to go back~ no, sorry, I don't.  I am loving having the chance to spend time with my gems right at home and that's enough for me!!  That and Music In Motion, of course!!
                           Have a lovely Thursday!

Sarah and her little ballet class!

Sarah takes ballet from the very teacher that her mommy took ballet from, Miss Tracy Vedda.  Miss Tracy's studio looks exactly the same, and Miss Tracy is still just as sweet as ever.  She is so good with the kids in the class.  This little group of girls are 4 years old.  Miss Tracy does fun little games to keep their interest peeked during class.  Some are better at listening than others and I was happy to see Sarah being a good student!!  She sat right by Miss Tracy and listened to her every word!

Just look... (Sarah with the green pompoms)
She was working so hard to follow directions and...
In this picture at the bar, she is the only one who is!!
She kept looking over at me and giving me the thumbs up!  I am proud of this little ballerina!

Did You Know...

Sarah, Molly, and Cayden, did you know...

When I met Papa, he had a little brown car.  A Pinto.  It was a very fast Pinto, though most Pinto's were not fast at all!  Papa made the engine faster, added a hood scoop, and raced that little car at Norwalk Speedway. 

 Meme ONCE, only ONCE rode down the track with Papa.  I was very nervous about this and I decided to never go down the track again!!  I would drive the Pinto to work and at red lights, I would gun the engine and show off... people thought it was a funny little car until I would burn rubber, oh I could peel those tires!  Just imagine that for a minute.  But wait, I do recall a time when on 71, Meme was pulled over by the highway patrol with you girls, Sarah & Molly in the backseat.  Oh my goodness... I was mortified.  Speeding ( going 10 over the limit) with my grand children in the car.  Once the officer took my license back to his car, Sarah, you said to me... "Mem, who is that boy?"  He did look to be about 18!! Oh, so bad. So you have an idea already how Meme can drive crazy, right?  Anyway... Papa was the only one who got tickets for peeling tires, back in the day.  Non - moving violations! 

Hey, Sarah and Molly, this is a picture of your Mommy with us when she was just a little girl.

  Beckie even liked to pretend to drive the Pinto too!!  I think I can see some Molly in this picture, can you?
If you look closely at the picture with Meme & Papa, you will see another car next to the Pinto and in the garage, a FULL SIZE VAN.  Yes, we had a FSV!  We sold the Pinto shortly after Bridget was born because we were doing the "suburban shuffle" and needed to act like adults... or so we told ourselves.  Papa still wonders what happened to that little car of his after he sold it, and so do I.

And now you know!

Edith Ann....

Remember Edith Ann? Here's my version!

Molly Carolyn at Crocker Park!

Molly and Sarah, posing for the camera.  As I try to get them to smile, making funny noises, snapping my fingers, etc.  
I work so hard and what do I get? 
They cannot keep a straight face and just keep bursting out laughing!

We realized, that night, that the sprinkler park comes to life in color at night.  See, you can learn something new everyday!!  

Did You Know...

Sarah, Molly, and Cayden,

The first house that Papa and Meme bought was the very house Papa grew up in, yes its true, the very same house.  Great grandpa John, Papa's Dad, sold it in 1974 to a family and then we bought it from them in 1979, 6 months before our wedding day.  Meme lived there by myself until we got married in October.  It was the cutest little bungalow in  Fairview Park.  I worried about buying it, since they had lived there, because I worried that I would forever hear about how "when we lived here this and that"!!  When the neighbor called GG to tell her that it was for sale, she of course, told us.  Dave wanted me to see it so we went and I just loved it.  GG always made me feel it was just our FIRST house!! I love the big tree and fence in front as well as the little porch.  3970 was really a cute little house, perfect for our first home.  Your Mommy's were both born while we lived here, and so was Uncle Dan!  We moved when Danny was 6 months old.  We made so many good friends, friends who we love to this day, especially the Bacha's!  Beckie and Katie Bacha were babies together and Kathy, Katie's mom, and I just had the best time spending our days together.  They lived 2 houses away!  The guys were good friends too, so it was just one fun time after another on West 226th street!
Here is a picture of 3970 W. 226th Street, as it looked back in our time... My precious girls, Beckie on the fence, and Bridget standing next to fence is almost like looking at Sarah and Molly today!!  You can click on the photo to make it larger, then click back arrow to return to blog!

So, now you know!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SARAH ROSE!

~New born Sarah...
Sarah on her 1st Birthday...
Two years old...
Three years old...
4 years old... Happy Birthday Sarah!

Looking alot like Glenda, the good witch!  Party on Saturday!  Sarah says we will play hide and seek in the corn field!   Meme said "WHAT????"

Party At School and the first of my "Did You Know?" series!

Sarah celebrated her upcoming birthday at school today!!   Isn't she just the sweetest thing?  
   Can you tell this Meme just loves her??  Make your wish... Meme wants all your dreams to come true! * (UPDATE 7:14 p.m.) Sarah just informed me, as she looked at the above picture, what she wished for: "That me and Molly would always be friends and sisters!"

Hey Sarah, Molly and Cayden... Did You Know?...

I wanted to tell you a story about how Meme met Papa.  Meme was 18 years old and I was invited to the Lesjak cottage, at Holliday Lakes, with my friend Sally.  Sally was so excited for me to meet a friend of her boyfriend's, who name was Dave.  Guess what?  It was Papa!  I knew I liked him right away because he was so tall and so very cute!  Papa was so nice to me that day and we had a really fun time going on his boat to water ski and we played lots of volleyball.  We had a big campfire too!  Papa took my phone number and called me again in a few days to go out on a date.  We had a lot of fun together whenever we went out and soon enough ~ I knew I was in LOVE!  How will you know... (the song from Enchanted) ~ he loves you? ~ You just know!  We met on September 10, 1977.  We got engaged on October 3, 1978.  We got married on October 13, 1979.  We added the two dates together and got 13!  October 13th was also GG's and Great Grandpa's wedding day!  We got married on their 28th wedding anniversary and guess what, Cayden?  Your Mommy and Daddy got married on October 13th too~ on Meme and Papa's 28th wedding anniversary... that is some kind of magic, don't you think?  Meme was 21 and Papa was 22 years old.  Meme and Papa are about to celebrate our 30th wedding anniversary!  That is a BIG DEAL.  When you get married, its so important to remember that it is a FOREVER COMMITMENT to each other.  I am hoping for many more years with Papa because I still love him so, so, so, much! 

Some pictures to share with you, my little gems...

This is Uncle Mike giving a wedding toast to Meme & Papa.  Aunt Patty is next to Papa!
Meme and Papa, with Meme's family!

Meme and Papa, with Papa's family!

 So... now you KNOW!