The Big 3-0!

My sister is officially old (sorry Andrea...the truth hurts.)

She turned 30 last month and had a small family celebration at my parent's house. She requested my mom make chicken parmigiana and pineapple upside down cake. It was all very yummy.





Chris and my dad requested small pieces of cake. Because the rest of us wanted a whole pineapple, they ended up getting the leftovers. I found their pieces quite humorous at the time...hence the pictures...





Andrea received some cool presents...that we all have enjoyed...

Andrea kept closing her eyes right when I would take the picture...see below...so she over-exaggerated the final picture. What a cheese.

Happy Birthday Andrea! I hope you had a great day!!!

Governer Strickland

I'm not sure how it all worked...

-drawing straws

-flipping a coin

-sympathy

-a district in need

...but Governor Strickland came to my high school mid February.

I could feel the excitement in the air! Everyone was looking their best and the windows at the entrance were even cleaned minutes before he arrived.

He spoke a little about his State of the State address, all of his educational proposals, and finished his speech by reminding everyone of his sheer awesomeness...

When he was finished he took questions. One of my students was bold enough to stand up and ask a very intelligent question. I was quite proud of him (although I can not for the life of me remember what he asked!)

All things considered, I truly enjoyed the experience. I didn't get the greatest pictures (if I would have had Beth's camera, my pictures would have been as awesome as the governor himself) but here's proof that I'm telling the truth...

Go Waynesburg!

Our good friend Sam Jones is the head women's basketball coach at Waynesburg University. We decided to attend an away game at West Minster last weekend. The girls played very well and ended up winning the game. Sam is an awesome coach!

Ruth-Ann brought the kids so we were able to catch up during the game. After the game we went out to dinner together (including the team...)

It just so happened to be Sam's birthday that day so he was serenaded at Eat 'n Park (gotta love those cookies!)

I was sad when the evening ended.

We only live around two and a half hours away...Why don't we visit more?!!

The Roadtrip From...

We reserved the last Saturday in January to visit our friends in Central Ohio. With only a day trip planned, we wanted to get the best bang for our buck...

Our day started at the Cheesecake Factory for a late lunch. Late because I had to stop somewhere and take a gander at something...Sorry friends! After a ridiculously long wait at the restaurant, we were able to eat lunch (linner, lupper, ect.) Things were a bit hairy but we managed.

The next stop of the day was Magic Mountain...

I would like to take this opportunity to preface my next few sentences with the fact that I love my friends...

I have never felt so claustrophobic or dirty in all my life. It was super hot, super populated, and super germy. I was stressed the whole time and even had to go outside to take some deep breaths of fresh air...Except that there were people smoking outside. Nice.

I think if we would have had to stay another minute I might have started to cry. On our way out the door Beth and I made a pact to never NEVER go there EVER again. Then we all piled into our cars and bathed in hand sanitizer...

After the afternoon from you know where, we headed to Caribou for coffee. We all thought that a nice relaxing time there would be good for our souls. Who knew that having five children in SMALL coffee shop wouldn't be relaxing???

We ended our time together with a trip to the mall then dinner at Wendy's. I think Wendy's was the highlight for me. Who would have thunk it?

I think Beth and I both agree that next time we'll just have a relaxing visit at the house.

Augh! I felt like I needed therapy for a few days after our visit. I had to call Beth multiple times the following week to be certain we were still on speaking terms.

The following pictures are from our day. Clearly the kids had a great time and were oblivious to my panic attacks...

I think this picture is truly worth a thousand words.

I'm afraid some day my boys will actually have a fist fight (or two...) over Brooklyn, although I think her heart belongs to Jonathan. See below...

Friends Forever!

The kids had fun and sometimes that's all that matters...SOMETIMES!