More Family Fun in PA

Here's a few more pictures from our time in PA.

Jenn with Madison & Drew

Liz & Madison

Drew after waking up from his post-wedding nap

Drew having so much fun with Aunt Elizabeth and Aunt Jalene that he barely notices Mommy and Daddy are at the reception and not there.

Drew and his beloved new guitar. Grandma Mary and Aunt Jalene found this during their trip to Mexico in August and just knew it would be perfect for the little boy who couldn't get enough of his Uncle Ryan's guitar the last time we visited. They were right--he hardly put it down the whole time we were there.

New day, same game. You can't really see, but Drew is pointing at the big tower, telling Madison to go for it.

Aunt Elizabeth, Drew, & Madison

Aunt Elizabeth, Cousin Madison, Drew (and his stylish hat), and Uncle Ryan.

Apparently all the play time and picture taking has left Madison too tired to even hold on to her sippy cup. Here she is with it just dangling from her mouth.

The trip also included a trip to Aunt Elizabeth's soccer game, helping Grandma and Grandpop in the kitchen, various other family visitors, and too many hugs and kisses to mention. Unfortunately the camera didn't capture them all.

Wedding Day

On November 1st, Bill and I were very happy to attend the wedding and reception of one of Bill's oldest friends Joe and his new wife, Nadia. They were actually married in the same church in Wilkes-Barre in which Drew was baptized.

I decided to bring Drew to the church for the wedding since Bill's friends would otherwise not have an opportunity to see him. Here Drew and Grandma wait for Daddy to walk down the aisle. Fortunately he didn't feel the need to shout out "Daddy!" or anything like that. He was fairly well behaved, though his entertainment during the homily was pulling all my hair in front of my face. Really should have had a photo of that.

Unfortunately the majority of pictures I took in the church turned out very dark or with an odd yellow-orange hue. Here's a not-very-high-quality photo of the newly married couple.


Family shot outside the church

Drew, Grandma, and Uncle Mark outside the church. Since Bill and Joe have known each other for so long, their families obviously have too, so Grandma and Grandpop, and Eric and Liz were invited to the wedding as well.


Unfortunately Eric missed being able to attend the wedding by about a month. As I mentioned in the previous post, he is in the last month of his tour in Afghanistan. Since Bill was occupied with wedding party stuff for the whole day, Liz and I spent the day together. There was a few hours between the wedding and reception, so we headed back to Bill and Mary's house. I changed my dress and Jalene, Elizabeth, Liz and I spent most of that time having girl bonding time over hair and makeup. Here's the end result of our primping.

Jenn & Liz at reception

Jenn & Bill at reception

We took advantage of Bill's sisters' babysitting and stayed at a hotel near the reception hall, even heading out to a bar with other wedding goers after the reception. We stayed out way past our normal Saturday night bedtime, but had a great time (we're not so old after all)! It's always nice to have a date night out.

Our best wishes to Joe & Nadia and our thanks for a great party.

A Belated Recap of our Halloween Fun

I can't remember if I mentioned it or not, but the reason we flew to PA at this particular time was because Bill's buddy Joe, from back in the days of Cub Scouts, was getting married and Bill was in the wedding party, just as Joe was in ours. It worked out well that it was the same weekend as Halloween and Bill's family was able to see Drew in costume in person. Especially nice is that Aunt Elizabeth is young enough to still be of trick or treating age and Drew had a built-in Halloween pal.

So Halloween began with a trip to Aunt Elizabeth's school for Daddy, Drew, and Grandma to watch Elizabeth march in the Halloween parade. You can't see her sash in this picture, but she was dressed as a homecoming queen.

Aunt Elizabeth, Halloween 2008

They returned around lunchtime, just about the same time that Bill's brother's wife Liz and daughter Madison arrived from Delaware (Eric is currently finishing up his National Guard Tour in Afghanistan). We had not seen them since last December just a few weeks after Madison was born when we flew in for her christening.

Liz, Madison & Eric at Madison's christening, December 2007

Godfather Bill, Madison, Jenn, & Drew at christening

While Drew enjoyed seeing his cousin then, he found her to be much more fun this time around. As soon as they arrived Drew requested to hold the baby, something he could not be trusted to do by himself last year.

Then, after a little lunch, Drew discovered Madison is big enough to play now. They quickly developed a routine. Drew builds up towers of blocks, cups, etc., Madison knocks them down, infectious giggles ensue.

Mid-afternoon on Friday someone asked Drew whether his Halloween costume had a hat. Very excited to show off, Drew ran upstairs to get all his firefighter gear and returned with it all in tow.

Here's Drew listening to a radio call. He loved that the radio, which he referred to as a phone, played real fire siren sounds. He stayed dressed in his costume for an hour or so. It's too bad we couldn't have taken him trick or treating at that time. Later on, he wasn't thrilled about wearing his hat. With the time zone difference, Drew was a little out of sorts for the whole trip and we tried not to push it with him when it wasn't necessary.


Finally, it was trick or treating time! Here's a very excited firefighter getting ready to head out!


Grandma, Grandpop, Cousin Madison and Drew

Grandma, Aunt Jalene, Madison, Aunt Elizabeth, Drew, and Grandpop

Aunt Jalene, Madison, Aunt Elizabeth & Drew

Just prior to this picture, Drew very adamantly declared he did not want to wear his hat anymore, and suggested instead "Mommy, you wear my hat." I obliged for the first house or two. No pictures with Bill because he had already left for the wedding rehearsal at the church.

Drew at Grandma & Grandpop's neighbor's house. It was here he realized his fire extinguisher would spray real water and politely asked Mrs. Hart if he could have some water. She agreed and we spent the next 5 minutes laying out the ground rules for the spraying of water (not inside, not at Mommy, not at baby Madison, etc.). The second we stepped outside he sprayed over and over again, all the way down the street, but not at anyone.

Mommy was only able to stick around for the first part of trick or treating, as I had already skipped the church rehearsal and had to meet Bill at the rehearsal dinner. We got back too late that night to hear about the rest of trick or treating, finding both Elizabeth and Drew sound asleep in our bed with a stack full of bedtime stories. The next morning we got the full report about how Drew and Aunt Elizabeth came back, had a few treats, and sorted the remainder of their candy and money. Yes, money! Drew not only collected coins from several houses, but even got dollars from a few folks. "Mommy, I got lot of pennies." Drew tends to refer to all money as pennies, but eventually we were able to get him to at least refer to just the coins as pennies and the bills as dollars. Fortunately Drew received some non-candy treats and didn't get too much candy that Mommy wanted to sample.

All in all, Drew enjoyed his Halloween adventures and remembered his manners when receiving treats. I've never been a huge Halloween person, but it's definitely fun to watch through a child's eyes.

Flight to PA and our Visit to New York Friends & Cousins

Last week the three of us flew back East in shifts. Drew and I headed out on Tuesday, and then Bill joined us on Thursday night. The reason we went a little early was that I have family and friends that are within a 3 hour drive from Bill's parent's house, but that's a little too far to visit when we're only there for 4-5 days. And since he's been in command, Bill doesn't like to take much more time than that off at one time.

The flights were a little rough. Despite having what I was sure was a fully charged portable DVD player, it wouldn't turn on. Also, Drew was not happy about wearing his seatbelt, especially when it was time to land. Needless to say, I was quite relieved when we finally arrived in Pennsylvania. Standing in line for our rental car I tried to get Drew to put on his winter hat, since the captain had said the temperature in Scranton was a whopping 35 degrees when we landed. He maintained he didn't need his hat, until we walked outside and started being snowed on. Then he quickly requested that hat, saying "Mommy it's raining." Poor kid doesn't even recognize snow!

We spent Tuesday night at Grandma and Grandpop's catching up with everyone, and left Wednesday afternoon for my friend (from Geneseo & Penn State) Rachel's house. We saw plenty of snow on the sides of the interstate but fortunately didn't encounter any snow or ice on the roads. I think the West coast weather has permanently spoiled me.

We arrived at Rachel's shortly before she got home from SU where she works. We gave ourselves a tour and introduced ourselves to Rachel and Jim's two cats: Lucy & Simon. Drew is such a huge fan of cats, but Bill and I are both allergic, so visits with kitties are few and far between. Rachel arrived with ingredients (and wine) for dinner and we had a great time catching up.

Rachel, Simon, & Drew dancing a little

Drew playing on Rachel's staircase. Poor kid misses stairs so much with our one-floor house. He slid down the staircase at Grandma & Grandpop's at least a dozen times.

Rachel & Drew


Since Rachel & I couldn't really ask Drew to take a picture of the two of us I thought I'd post a couple pics from this past February when Rachel and Jim flew out and met us in Las Vegas for a weekend visit.

Rachel & me at Red Rock Canyon


Rachel, Jim, & Drew at the Santa Fe Casino

From Rachel's, Drew and I headed west a little to my cousin Sarah's house outside Utica. We arrived just before 10 and were treated to a mid-morning snack of juice and goldfish (Drew's favorite). After snack time, it didn't take Ava and Drew long to decide that we'd be spending most of the morning playing in Ava's room. First they tackled the blocks, building tower after tower and, of course, knocking them down in between.

Then they moved on to the play kitchen set, which Drew was very enamored with. Blocks we have, but play food, microwave, pots, pans, and a shopping cart were all new for him. Guess we know what's on Drew's Christmas list.

After quite a while of structured play, Ava and Drew decided it was time for some serious running around. They began sprinting back and forth between the bedroom and the living room, and then got the biggest kick out of hiding behind the door to Ava's bedroom. I'm not sure if they were hiding from each other or us, but it thoroughly amused the two of them for about a half hour. I really should have taken video of their giggles.

Finally we decided we should head out to lunch. We went to Ava's favorite: Applebee's. On the car ride over the two cousins were thrilled to be able to sit next to each other in the second row of Sarah's van. They were giggling over every little thing and that continued through lunch. Ava laid down in the booth and proceeded to kick her feet up on the wall and two seconds later Drew did the same thing. Drew dropped a crayon under the table and then he and Ava had a little pow-wow under the table for a few minutes. These pictures are from the end of our meal when the kids were enjoying their ice cream. Drew started spinning his cup around with his hands, and two seconds later, Ava started doing it. They were like two peas in a pod. Couldn't tell they hadn't seen in each other since last summer. Also particularly cute was that Ava continually referred to Drew as "Cousin Drew."

Unfortunately we think we may have waited to leave for lunch for just a little too long, because by the end of the meal both of the cousins were starting to get a little punchy (not listening, talking back, typical tired 3 year old behavior). Both children wanted balloons, but both Sarah and I didn't feel their behavior warranted it, so we tried to explain that to them. Ava seemed to understand, saying to Sarah "Cousin Drew's being fresh with his Mommy", and then Sarah asked her what she was doing. Ava, with a completely straight face and in all seriousness, said "Ava's being a good listener." Sarah and I burst out laughing.

Here's a few last shots of Ava and Drew before we headed back into the car to pick up Daddy at the airport in PA. They were really just too cute hugging each other and saying goodbye.

Though our visits were brief, a short visit is better than no visit at all. We were happy to be able to catch up with everyone.

Daddy & Drew go to the Fair

The weekend before we left for Pennsylvania, Daddy & Drew time took Bill and Drew to Phoenix to check out the Arizona State Fair while Mommy finished up work and packing. Yes, I know, a state fair in late October? Most states are not warm enough for a fair at that time of year...just another advantage of the balmy fall weather in Arizona.


Arriving around lunch time, it didn't take long for Drew to find something yummy to eat.


Then he thought it was the animals' turn for some food. Here he is feeding a deer and a goat.




Then they headed for the rides, including a Skyride that traveled atop the sights and sounds of the fair. Here Drew checks out the view. When they got back home and were recapping the events of the day for me Drew got to the part about the skyride and said very proudly "I not was scared Mama."


Drew also enjoyed a few of the more traditional fair rides, but apparently couldn't be bothered to smile or even look at Bill's camera.


Finally, Drew had his first horseback riding experience. He thought this was very cool and again reported that "I not was scared."




The boys were even kind enough to bring me back a souvenir of their fair day...homemade fudge! There's a ton more posts coming as I have time.

New Posts Coming Soon...

We've been busy, preparing to travel to PA, then traveling to PA, and now I'm in Phoenix for work for a couple of days. We have a ton of pictures and stories to share. Stay tuned...