New York Trip Part 2

While Joey and Ashlyn were in upstate New York, my parents and I were in New York City. I have never been before but I always have wanted to. I fell in LOVE with NYC. It was unlike any place I have ever been. We had a great time sightseeing all over the city. We only spent two days there, but made plans to come back some time soon.

After we all spent time in parts of New York, we met up and headed to Pennsylvania. This is another place I had never been before. It was beautiful. It was very neat seeing different parts of the country. We spent one day at Sesame Place and one day at Hershey park before heading to my cousin's wedding. My cousin Sally's wedding was the whole reason for the second part of the trip. I forgot the camera so I didn't get any pictures. It was a beautiful wedding and reception and I am so happy for Sally and Trevor . Ashlyn had a great time seeing her second cousin Molly.

It was a long, but great trip. We were all very sad to leave the east coast and head back home. We had a wonderful time!!!




Ashlyn and Joey riding the teacups at Sesame. She loved this one and asked to ride it again later.

This was a flying Elmo ride we went on.

This ride is one that takes you up and then drops you. It is the much, much milder version than the adult one. While we were standing in line a lot of kids were crying and screaming while on it. Ashlyn insisted she wanted to ride it. She is my brave girl. She was laughing the whole time.

She looks so tiny!

Having a blast on the ride!

Waiting in line with Daddy.

Fun ride with Daddy and Papa.

This was this climbing area. Joey and I agreed to go with Ashlyn and quickly realized it is not very easy for adults.

This was called Ernie's Bed. It was like a bounce house. Ashyln loved it.

Bouncing away

Of course we had to ride the carousel.

I'm happy to report that Ashlyn is no longer afraid of people/animals in costume. She was at ease with Burt and Ernie. Gives me hope for Santa this year.

One of the highlights of Sesame Place for Ashlyn was getting to see Elmo Live. They have created it to look just like the t.v. show. Ashlyn LOVED it. She even got to explore the set.

Big Bird wasn't scary either.

This was another one of Ashlyn's favorites. She is such a monkey and loves to climb. She would climb to the top....

and slide back down. Too bad adults couldn't do it, it looked liked fun! We were impressed with how fast and high she could climb.

This was the beginning of our day at Hershey Park. Joey absolutely loved this park. There were a lot of amazing roller coasters to ride. They also had tons of great rides for kids Ashlyn's age. We ended our day by taking a tour of Hershey. You get free chocolate at the end which is great. We have definitely decided to come back to Hershey Park.

Feeding the ducks

Here is a pic we took from the Ferris Wheel. It is a huge park.

Clearly Ashlyn found the Ferris Wheel more amusing then the rest of us!

Riding the horses.

Ashlyn got to ride her first roller coaster. It was very mild, and she had a great time. She is such a brave, adventurous girl!

Here is part of Pennsylvania. It was just beautiful and exactly how I imagined.

I know you're not supposed to, but we had to take a picture of the Amish.

New York Trip Part 1

This is part one of Ashlyn's and Joey's trip to New York. They left bright and early on Friday June 4th. The flights went well and Ashlyn slept through most of them. They arrived to upstate New York to lots and lots of family. Joey said they had a wonderful time seeing everyone. Almost all of Joey's family lives up there, so there is a lot of people to see. Ashlyn had a blast. She had so much fun showing everyone how much she has grown in 2 years. Joey said their time there went way too fast. I can't write too much more because I wasn't there, so I'm not exactly sure what they did each day. All I know is Joey is a terrific dad. I don't know too many other dads that are willing/able to fly across country with just their 2-year old daughter. Ashlyn is blessed to have such a great father.

The pictures are out of order because Blogger kept messing up!



Ashlyn playing with her cousin Madison. (I guess Ashlyn called her Medicine. Too cute.)

Ashlyn, Madison, and Shayne

Ashlyn cuddling with Great Grandma

Ashlyn, Great Grandma, and Jeremy

On the plane on the way to New York. She looks so comfortable.

This is the same bike that Joey and Adam used to ride. Ashlyn LOVED it!

Ashlyn playing with Pop

Cool girl with her shades.

Ashlyn and Jeremy

Ashlyn giving Grandma Vicki a kiss.

Holding Grandma's angel

Riding on the tractor with Pop

She even got to steer.

Checking out the tractor with Pop

Sitting with Ashlyn's Great Aunt Shayne

In front of the barn

She loves being thrown in the air

Jeremy pushing Ashlyn. She had a great time with him.

Always likes to swing no matter where she goes.

It's upside down Ashlyn

Ashlyn with Pop's cat

Picking flowers for Daddy

Taking a walk with Great Grandma

Update

Its taken over a month, but I have finally gotten around to blogging!!! As usual, we have been so busy. My computer also has been having problems. I really do hope to be better this summer about it. We will see! I thought I would give a quick update on everyone.

Ashlyn: Ashlyn continues to grow and entertain us daily. She is such a vivacious little girl. She is so full of life and energy. She is so talkative and verbal. She loves to sing! She doesn't sing quietly either, she loves to really belt it out. She had us in stitches the other night. We were trying to teach her her "Mary Had a Little Lamb". She was trying so hard to sing it. It was kind of a tongue twister. She started singing "Mary Had a Little Man". It was hilarious!

She is learning so much in school. Her teacher is always telling us how impressed she is with Ashlyn and how much she has grown this year. She loves going to school and I think she will really miss it this summer. It has been a great experience for her. Ashlyn is such sweet and affectionate girl. She is always giving me hugs and kisses. She loves her family and spending time with her aunt, uncles, and of course grandparents.

Ashlyn has been saying she is looking forward to spending summer with her mom. We have lots of fun things planned. We are going to go to the zoo, the North Pole, and the Denver Aquarium. We have a big trip planned for the first part of June. Ashlyn and Joey are heading to New York to see Joey's family. We are meeting up in Pennsylvania to go to Sesame Place and my cousin's wedding. Should be a great trip! I finally decided to join a nearby gym. The main reason I joined is because they have an amazing pool! They have an indoor and outdoor pool with splash areas and water slides. The kids area is as nice as the one in Disney World. They also have a great kid's area where Ashlyn gets to play when I workout. She went for the first time last Sunday, and the first thing she said when I picked her up was, "I had fun Mom". She went swimming and that kid could have gone down the little water slides a hundred times. It should be a great summer of swimming and fun!

Brianna: I have only 2 days of school left. This school year was challenging for many reasons, but I did enjoy my class. I had a really sweet group of kids that I will dearly miss. I was hired in the beginning of the year for just this school year. Teaching jobs are hard to come by here. They listed 3 job postings at my school and over 500 people applied! Our 3rd grade state reading test scores came back early. I am very proud to say that my class scored the highest of all 4 classes!!! I had to interview at my school all over again for a position next year. I received word last week that I would be hired back for 3rd grade again next year. I am excited to teach the same grade, at the same school, in the same classroom! No scrambling to get my room ready 2 days before school starts. I look forward to getting things ready this summer and being very prepared for next year. I truly think 3rd grade is the best grade to teach and feel as if I finally found my niche. I pray for a good group of kids next year.

Joey: Joey is gearing up for softball season. He is playing on 4 different teams this summer. He is just too good and everyone wants him on their team! We will spending a lot of time this summer cheering him on. Ashlyn loves watching her dad play. She now shouts "Go Daddy!" I pray that he has lots of fun and remain injury free with all of this softball!

I have posted 3 different blog posts with lots of pictures. Make sure that you look at all of them! Since I waited a month, I figured I better include lots of updates!

Mother's Day

I had another great Mother's Day. Joey and Ashlyn surprised me with a Canon Rebel camera. I have been wanting a really nice camera for a long time. We have had out digital point and shoot for a long time and it takes nice pictures. I just wanted something that takes amazing pictures. The only problem is figuring it out! I have never used anything but a point and shoot, so I have a lot of learning to do. I hope to take a class this summer. Joey has figured out some of the basic features. Here are some of the pictures he took Mother's Day. The computer really doesn't do the pictures justice.


Ashlyn with her best buddy in the whole world.

Ashlyn sitting by her Grandma Vicki's tulip garden. It was as beautiful as usual. I just wish they lasted all summer.

My sister had someone at work make us a cake. It was divine!

The tulips

Ashlyn making a silly face

The gorgeous roses my parents got me

School Carnival

Last week, Ashlyn's daycare had a school carnival. It was so much fun! All of the proceeds went to TESSA and a reading charity. When we first arrived, we saw a big firetruck outside. Ashlyn was so excited to see a firetruck close-up. The firefighters were so nice and they let her get inisde. I went inside with her. It was also my first time in a firetruck. After the firetruck, we headed inside for lots of fun! We purchased punch cards and got to pick which activities we did. Ashlyn did a cake walk first and won some cookies. We then went to her classroom and she got a special paper hat made by one of her teachers. She then got to go outside to the bounce house. That girl would live in a bounce house if we let her! Then, we stopped for a lunch break. Ashlyn was very hungry. After lunch, Ashlyn decorated a cookie and decorated a picture frame. Before we left, Ashlyn got her face painted. She picked a mermaid of course. It was a great day. Her school did an AMAZING job putting the whole event together. It was so organized and well planned. Ashlyn loves her school so much and I'm glad they do such fun events.

Wearing her adorable hat. It was made out of a newspaper. Such a good idea!

Showing off her tatoo.

You can tell how excited she was to be in a real firetruck.

In front of the firetruck

Taking a picture facing the sun makes for some funny faces!

Eating her yummy pizza!

Ashlyn decorating a picture frame.

Working hard. I love how she has her tongue out. She gets that from my Mom.

Isn't it a nice picture frame?

A nice family picture

The wonderful bounce house