summer (fun) - in - review (june)

we hope everyone had a great summer. of course it went by waaaay too fast! we had a great (read: busy) summer and wouldn't trade it for anything!!

now, where did i leave off several months ago?

oh, right...catching up with old friends...

in june we were lucky enough to be able to take a day off of work (and school for t) to spend some time with my friend rebecca and meet her family! you might remember me talking about rebecca in this post here.

we met up at her grandparent's house in wyomissing and drove up to the crayola factory for the day. following the crayola fun, we headed out to dinner and then back to their hotel for some swimming in the pool. tony and rachel hit if off like i knew they would as did ronnie and john, and it gave rebecca and i time to catch up on what we've been up to!

l to r: john, me, anthony, rachel, rebecca & ronnie

tony the caterpillar

rachel, rebecca and anthony - pool time at the hotel

it was ah-ma-zing to be able to spend time with this family...we hope to be able to visit face-to-face again soon and not wait another 20+ years to do it!

you can view picture from the rest of our crayola factory fun here.

uh, is anybody there?

hey guys! yes, it's really me. as you can tell, i've been hard at work today updating the look of the blog...which can only mean one thing...i didn't forget about it!

i think part of my problem was i was sooooo over the old look and just hated to log on and see it.

so i went with something fall...my fah-ah-vor-ite time of year and spent a little time playing around to create the headers and some new thinga-ma-gigers for the side bar over there --->.

i will be updating before the end of this weekend (if it kills me) by doing a "summer-in-review" post...look for it soon...and please stay tuned (if there's anyone left reading this dusty thing)...more fun stuff to come!!

wordless wednesday

"not me" monday - deep creek lake style

seeing as how we're on a week-long family vacation, this is going to be a family effort for nmm!

my brother-in-law bryan, whom we've always referred to as the renaissance man, arrived at the lake and realized he certainly did not leave pennsylvania without his shaving kit containing his toothbrush, razor and other toiletries and we definitely do not now refer to him as encino man.

yesterday while out boating, we stopped for a swim in the lake...tony and the hubs hopped out and the boat drifted slightly away...tony in is floaties and john treading water and getting a little nervous, asked us to throw a rope...sue throwing the rope, realizing it's too short, jumps into the lake...fully clothed. it was at this moment, that my husband did not put his feet down to realize he could actually stand and was able to walk himself and tony back to the boat.

last night while enjoying some peaceful alone time in the hot tub part of the house by herself, my sister-in-law sue, after her strenuous rescue efforts earlier in the day, did not swear she saw and heard something in the woods (you know, like freddie krueger-ish, or mike myers-ish) outside the house and frantically, heart pounding, most definitely did not throw the cover to the hot tub back on, not bothering to secure it and run through the door and up 2 flights of stairs to avoid her [imaginary] assailant.

we awoke this morning to some nice weather and all gathered our belongings to head out on the boat...my father-in-law gary and sister-in-law missie headed in the car to go over to the marina. the plan would be for john, sue, tony, and bryan and i to drive the boat over and pick them up there. they left and we headed down the backyard to the dock. it wasn't until after we were down there that we certainly did not realize that gary took the boat key with him to the marina. nope, not us...we're professional boaters.

oh, and i was just given orders from my mother-in-law to make sure i tell you all how sweet she is! i certainly did not just type that while crossing my toes and fingers...just kidding.

head on over to mckmama's blog to read more funny (ok, funnier) not me mondays.

sorries and prayers

i've been mia...i know. i'm sorry. i will catch up soon. in the meantime, a small, sweet boy needs your prayers.

you've heard me speak of stellan before. he's the sweet little man, (baby #4) belonging to mckmama.

stellan's svt has started up again and he as well as the rest of his family are in need of some major prayers. he and his mama and daddy will be flying soon to boston in an air ambulance to consult with his dr.'s there as the dr.'s in his hometown just don't know what to do for his little heart right now.

mckmama is updating her twitter page more frequently than her blog. you can follow along here.

the final moonwalk

today will go down as the saddest day in my non-reality world. it's the day mj will be memorialized by his fans and buried by his family. i am still not sure how i will ever complete my "bucket list", now that the #1 thing to do, see/meet mj, has gone and kicked the bucket.

what i wouldn't do/give to be in la right now attending this memorial. ah, nevermind, i'll watch it on tv...it's gonna be a madhouse there!

do you have a special memory of mj? have you been lucky enough to meet him or see him in concert? have something thrilling you just want to say or get off your chest about him? here's your chance. say what you have to say in the comments section here! it will be fun to see what others are thinking about him.


in other news...ok, well in other michael jackson news...

that's right, a crater on the moon will be designated in memoriam of the legendary "moonwalker".

according to the lunar republic society, the crater, previously designated as posidonius j, is located in the moon's lake of dreams (lacus somniorum). it measures approximately 22 kilometers (about 13.5 miles) in diameter, and is located adjacent to a 1,200-acre parcel owned by michael jackson in the lake of dreams.

the moon has always been symbolic throughout michael's life. in fact, did you know mr. jackson was among the largest private owners of lunar property?

of course here on earth, we will always remember michael for his trademark "moonwalk" dance move.

"not me" monday!

pretty sweet new logo mckmama has got herself, huh? it's been a few weeks since i did a "not me" monday post...either i've been really "good" or really lazy...not sure which, and if you think you know...please keep it to yourself!

and i'm off...

i did not seriously entertain the notion of flying to california for the michael jackson memorial service. so much so that i actually looked into flights/airfare and hotel accomodations...and signed up to be entered into the drawing for the tickets to the staples center to attend the memorial. nope, not me...because i didn't like him that much! and i certainly will not be a complete and total mess watching it on the tv tomorrow.

i definitely did not laugh when my son told my sister-in-law that "we don't go to church in july". not sure where he heard that. i mean, yes, we were camping this past weekend and we did not go, but i don't know where he came up with the entire month of july thing...even going as far as saying "pastor john misses me" too! i know i shouldn't have laughed, but i did. and to redeem myself, we will only miss church 50% of july. bad still, i know.

i certainly am not so obsessed with the twilight series books (read the first 2 in 2 weeks and am on the 3rd now) that when the alarm company for my husband's office called him this morning at 3 a.m. and he left to meet the police, that i did not grab my mini-maglite and the eclipse book and continue to read for the 45 minutes he was gone only to hurry and put the book away before he ascended the stairs back to bed. nope not me. i was sooooouuuuunnnndddd asleep.

so who's gonna jump on the mckmama "not me" monday bandwagon with me? bobbi? luci? come on...you know you want to!!