Our 2010 Christmas Card

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Save Time with Shutterfly this holiday

It is that time of year again...time to mail choose the all important Christmas card. As many of you know we try and send out a Christmas photo card each year and this is especially important now that we have kids. This year we will be using Shutterfly to make these wonderful cards. We have ordered from Shutterfly in the past and have received excellent photo books and prints from this great company! We created a photo book of all of our family memories that took less then 20 minutes to put together and was just amazing. We just love the wide variety of products that Shutterfly offers.

Below, I have listed a few options that we are discussing for our Christmas cards and/or holiday shopping. They are just a FEW of the many wonderful things that Shutterfly has to offer:

1. http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/cards-stationery/scalloped-scarlet-ribbon-christmas-5x7-photo-card-5x7-photo?ff=1&sortType=1&fa=8&storeNode=93496.
I love the classy look of this card with lots of picture options.

2. http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/cards-stationery/lovingly-wrapped-american-lung-association-holiday-5x7-folded-card?sortType=1&storeNode=93491&fc=2
This card is also very cute, because of its unique style! :-)

3. http://www.shutterfly.com/calendars/wall-calendars
I love the idea of creating a calendar for family to enjoy ALL YEAR THROUGH!

So, if you are busy this holiday season (like MOST of us!), just put Shutterfly to work for you! It's stress-free. It's easy. It's affordable. Sounds great to me!!



If you're really interested, just follow the link below to get 50 FREE HOLIDAY PHOTO CARDS!!
http://bit.ly/sfly2010

Another week flies by...

We have been very busy for the last couple of weeks. I tried to start this entry about two weeks but the only half the pictures would load. We have been very busy with the summer winding down and getting ready to go back to school.

9/18/10-This is a page I started over two months ago and was having technical difficulties I am just going to post the pictures I have with some captions!

Lydia at the State Fair

Corinne was laughing at the Roosters crowing

The girls loved the fair this year!


Trying to get Lydia to smile!

Corinne was a little worried about the cows! Jeremy felt like he was home on his Grandparents farm!

The little artist (excuse the air, she just got up from a nap that she had to take to paint).


Pretty impressive!


Our little Princess

Fun Summer Days

If my last post seemed abbreviated to you it is because it was. I was changing the design of the page just for a little different look and after I did that I was having trouble loading any more photos so I gave up and just published what I had so this post should catch you up...

We have been keeping very busy with summer activities and are trying to see as many people as we can while we have the free time. Both girls are busy busy busy but especially Miss Lydia who is really giving us a run for our money. My sister kept telling me when I said how easy going she was to wait, well the wait is over. She is getting into everything and putting everything in her mouth. This is a really change for us because although Corinne got into cabinets and drawers we never had to worry about her putting things in her mouth but Lydia will put anything I mean anything in her mouth. She can also climb the stairs now and does so very quickly. The gates we never had to put up for Corinne are out of the closet and we are just praying that the extra extensions that we needed come quickly!! It has also been very hot here for the past couple of weeks so we have been trying to alternate our time outside and inside, although the kids never seem to notice either way!

The weekend of July 17-18 was the only weekend this month that we did not have anything so we took the opportunity to just spend some time at home..although Jeremy and Corinne ended up going to the Trail Festival while Lydia and I stayed at home. We also went to the new park three times that weekend. Corinne LOVES the new park by our house. It is working in our favor though because I can get her to do things, like take a nap, if I tell her we will go to the new park. We also just spent the rest of the weekend relaxing, catching up on yard and housework and playing.

Monday, the 19th, we had our usual play date with Jack and Elizabeth and we met at the, you guessed it, new park, so Corinne could show Jack around. It is so nice to be able to do these play dates just wish we could do them more during the year.

Tuesday, the 20th, we went with our girl playgroup to The Splash Pad in Powell and that was very neat. It is a park that has a little water park for the kids to play in plus a playground. We also had a little picnic with our girl friends then headed home.

Wednesday, the 21st, our friends Natalie and Madelynn came over so I could show Natalie how I set us this blog and the girls could play. It is so nice to have so many good friends to spend time with. My friend Karey was having surgery so we were watching her dog Nora for a few days and the girls had a blast playing with her.

Thursday, the 22nd, Jeremy was going to be at work a little later so we decided to head to Lancaster to spend some time with Grandma and Dominic and Carrie. As an added surprise my brother was able to join us for lunch and some play time at Rising Park. Like I said last year it is just so fun to see your kids play on the same playground that you spent so much time on...although it looks much different now then when we were kids.

Lydia chatting with my Mom while the big kids played.

Lydia was really trying to play with the big kids!


Uncle Curt helping Dominic on the monkey bars.

Corinne loves to the teeter totter, Dominic was not as sure!

After a long day on Thursday the girls were worn out but Lydia has not been sleeping great so she was up a lot in the night, so I sleep right through my Zumba class this week. I was a little upset about that because I only have two left but I take sleep when I can get it because most of you know that sleep does not happen at our house. Friday we just kind of hung around the house and took it easy after a busy week. Corinne and Lydia are playing together so well these days. Lydia is still pushing anything she can get her hands on around although half the things she pushes are not really stable so she is really walking.

Loving the tunnels

Corinne rolling in the tunnel

Saturday we headed to the Jazz and Rib Fest despite the fact that it was forecasted to be about 95 degrees. Our friends Natalie, Matt and Madelynn joined us. We only stayed about 2 hours because of the heat and need for naps but it was fun and really good ribs

Corinne was refusing to smile and we could not keep Lydia and Madelynn still but you get the idea.

Sunday was a very special day for our Goddaughter Elizabeth when she baptized in the same church where I stood as a bridesmaid for her parents wedding. It's funny how in those big life moments your realize how everything comes full circle! We feel so blessed that Todd and Tiffany chose us as her Godparents and we will take the job very seriously. I was telling Tiffany the other day if you would have told the two 15 year old girls who met in freshman choir that they would still be best friends 16 years and have amazing families we would have never believed it! We are truly blessed and have been through a lot together! My parents keep the girls during the baptism so we could do the things that we needed to do during the ceremony. The girls had a blast and Corinne really wanted to stay. We went to a luncheon at Todd's parents, the Armen's then headed back to my parents for a little time to play with Dominic. It was a long but pleased day. After seeing how well the girls did with my parents though I am thinking maybe a weekend away for our anniversary in October would be very nice!

Monday Tiffany, Jack and Elizabeth came up to the new park again and then we made homemade pizza for lunch. Lydia also really started letting go and standing today which I know she can do quiet well. After such a long weekend thankfully my girls took long naps in the afternoon but for some reason I have not been sleeping so nap for me and I have been not been able to sleep at night either.

Lydia so proud of herself for climbing in the chair. Like I said she is climbing this and everything else. Also look how much hair she has and it is so wild. Corinne had no hair at this age and I think we will have to start pulling Lydia's up soon!

Today we had a play date at The King's house. The girls had turns of fun climbing and swimming. Lydia also walked with me a lot with only one hand held which is a big step for us. I can not believe how big all of the kids are getting. The older girls have been playing together since they were about 7 months old and now we are talking about preschool. It is all just going too fast!! Corinne has been playing a lot with a Cinderalla Barbie that she has and it is so cute. I find her talking to Cinderalla and all her other babies on most days. It is true that girls just do these things. So when Corinne was playing this afternoon I told her that I had a whole bag of Barbie's in the basement from when I was a kid and that we would get them out when Daddy got home. You would have thought it was Christmas..she was so thrilled. Again, another one of those life's moments when you see your daughter playing with the same Barbie's you played with! Thank you Mom for saving them! All the memories came flooding back as I looked at all of them. Including the dressing my Grandma Hunt made for some of them. She went to sleep with them tonight! Now I just have to worry about Lydia eating Barbie shoes.

Hugging as many Barbie's as she could get in her arms, including a Gem doll!

What a mess but she was having so much fun!

Lydia was joining right in!

Going way to fast!

It has been another fun filled week for us! Even though we did not get to take a vacation this year I feel like we have done a lot with the kids! Last Wednesday and Thursday we kept it kind of low key and try to get some cleaning done around the house.

On Friday we went to the zoo with my friend Karey and her niece Lauren who comes every year from North Carolina to visit for a week. It was a hot day but the girls had a blast. Lauren loves to help so it made the trip really nice. We also went to dinner with Karey and Lauren and then went to the new park so it was a very busy but fun day!


Corinne and Lauren got to pet the flamingo's as soon as we walked in the zoo.


Lauren finally got Corinne in Habiat Hollow this year..she was still a little unsure because it is pretty dark in there.


We had skipped the petting zoo the last few times we had been at the zoo, this time we stopped and Lydia loved the goats!


The polar bear was sitting on top of the underwater viewing area..so funny..she kept sticking her face in the water to see the people down below her.


Corinne feeding the Larakets..she loved it despite the fact that she got nipped when she first went in..she is braver then me..birds freak me out!

Other busy week

After a very busy 4th of July weekend last week was much less eventful but still busy. Tuesday we missed our usually play date because the girls were asleep for once. Wednesday morning we went to a play date at our friends Becki and Hannah's and did a little swimming. Wednesday we stuck close to home in the afternoon and tried to catch up on things around the house. Wednesday night I went out to dinner with my playgroup friends to celebrate Becki's new baby that is coming in August! It was a nice evening without children which is rare with this group of friends.

Thursday we had a play date with Jack and Elizabeth and enjoyed some pool time. The kids had a blast and thought it was so funny when the hose rained on them! I spent most of Thursday night getting ready for our trip to West Virginia.

Jack and Corinne splashing away!

Lydia loves the water but does not enjoy the backyard pool as much!

She liked the baby pool a little better

Friday we headed to West Virginia to spent some time with family. Friday we ended up hanging around the house at Grandma and Pappy Miller's because Corinne loves the playroom they have. It was nice to just have time to sit and visit and not have to run from place to place like we usually do. We were going to try and take the girls to the Oglebay Zoo but it ended up raining most of the afternoon.

Saturday we spent the day hanging out and trying to get the girls all set so that we could head into Pittsburgh for the Dave Matthew's Concert. We were able to leave pretty early and head into Pittsburgh and get something to eat. Then we rode the "T" to downtown from Jeremy's old neighborhood which is always fun. Plus you see some interesting things on that train. Zack Brown opened for Dave and was very good. Jeremy and I had a great time at the concert although our seats were kind of weird (the sound was very muffled because of the roof above us) so we ended up going down about two levels and standing behind that level and could hear and see great. Jeremy and I both decided that we like the more open concert venue like Polaris or Post Gazette Pavilion to see a show like this. We were suppose to meet up with our friends Bill, Amy, Ross and Courtney and a few others before the show but ran out of time. So we were going to try and meet them for a few minutes after the show. We ended up running into them on the street believe it or not and were very glad to see them. However we could not stay long because we need to get home and had to catch the train before it stopped running. Overall, it was a very nice night out. Corinne and Lydia had a great time with their cousin Madison at Grandma and Pappy's. Thanks to them for watching the girls!

Beautiful view of Pittsburgh from our seats! (Don't let this foul you this was while Zack Brown was playing most of the Dave Matthew's were still in the parking lot tailgating)

Jeremy waiting for Dave to go on!

Sunday came very early since we did not get in till about 2:30 and both girls got up shortly after we got home for a few minutes. Then Corinne was back up at 7. That is the price you pay if you stay up late though. Sunday morning we packed up and headed for some breakfast with GiGi, Jeff and Pap Pap before heading out of town. It was a very nice weekend!

Madison and Corinne with there pig tails!

Madison loves her little cousin Lydia!

Monday we just hung out around home and tried to catch up from the weekend. Lydia was not herself but I think it is a combination of a very busy weekend and more teeth coming soon.

Today we had a nice play date with our girl playgroup at Becki and Hannah's house. They have lots of toys outside so it is like Disneyland for our girls.

Summer Fun 2010

It has been a crazy couple of months but we made it through the school year. Both girls are growing so quickly I can hardly believe it. Corinne is so active and just has such a zest for life. Lydia has been crawling for about three months now and is cruising on everything these days.

Corinne, Lydia, Kolby and Madison

Corinne likes to "play her game"-I think she learned this from watching the babysitters older son because he had not turned that thing on in years!

Lydia practicing for the Olympics one day

Lydia loving the grass

Both our girls love the outdoors-except for Corinne's new found fear of bugs! She must get that from her Dad becasue it is not from me. We have spent a lot of time at the park and in our own backyard this spring and early summer. We just have to watch Lydia because she will put anything in her mouth.

Crawling and laughing towards Mommy-she is a ham just like Corinne was and knows exactly what to do when the camera comes out.

We have made several trips to the zoo this Summer after not being there for a while. The zoo has a new Polar Bear exibit that is awesome. The girls love to see the bears swim. On the day below we got to see them swim a lot.

Lydia checking out the Polar Bears.

Corinne was so excited when she got so close.

The girls and I at the underwater observation area for the Polar Bears

Like I said we have been spending a lot of time outside and one of Corinne's new skills is to be able to sit on a big swing and pull to keep herself going. Pretty awesome for a two year old. She also can climb up almost anything at the playground. Lydia loves to swing too!

Corinne swinging on the big girl swing

Swinging and Grandma and Grandpa's backyard on Memorial Day

Corinne had fun in Dominic's new pool-of course she was not thrilled when I got our pool out and it did not have a slide like this one!


My sister took this picture and I love it!

Like I said Lydia is into everything and on this day she is showing us the pony piece that she has. When she knows she is not suppose to have something she shows it too you and then crawls away laughing. It is times like that when it is hard not to laugh!

Say cheese

Corinne finally got her first haircut and did very well with it. She loved that she got to choose what she got to sit in and what movie she wanted to watch.

Corinne flying a plane for her first haircut!

Corinne is now our little scooter girl. She loves to go up and down the sidewalk on this. I just think it is funny how far we have come from when we were kids. We would have never even dreamed of putting on a helmet to ride a bike let alone a scooter. Now I would be arrested if she was out front without a helmet.

Scooter Girl!

We have not had the pool out that much because we have been so busy but she did like it when we got it out. Of course about the time we got it all blown up and filed a huge storm blew in and we had to go inside!

On June 30th we went to have some family pictures taken at OU-L in Lancaster. Erin Riggs and I have know each other for a long time and she a photographer that specializes in Nature shots. Is it just a preview of some of the shots and I could not be more in love with them! She made the tutu's the girls are wearing and no questions asked Corinne insisted on wearing the hat even though it was 90 degrees at 10 in the morning.

If you can not see we included Zeus and Corinne is hugging him. She loves that dog so much!

Probably my favorite picture of Lydia ever!

Lydia is growing up so fast and she loves to eat! She is still a peanut but the only thing that we have given her that she would not eat was brocolli. She does not really want to be fed baby food anymore and would before to feed herself. So we have just been grinding up what we are having for dinner and she loves it. I love it too because then I know we have to fix a well balanced meal. Jeremy and I have really been trying to get back into shape and I have been taking a Zumba class a the Rec. Center at 6 a.m. on Friday mornings. It is early but I love it and I usually get a lot done of Fridays because I am very full of energy.

Lydia loving her food!

We celebrated the 4th of July in Lancaster on Saturday and Corinne was so excited at the parade. We went with my sister and Dominic, Tiffany, Todd, Jack and Elizabeth, Kasey and Tiffany's sister and her kids. The kids had a ball and they all loved the bands and all the candy as you can see below. Jeremy said while we were at the parade it is funny you tell your kids not to run in the street till it is a parade then you tell them to run out there and pick up candy from strangers. We stayed at my parents all day and the girls were very worn out. Of course Corinne did not nap and Lydia did not nap very well. Corinne is terrified of loud noise so I figure the fireworks were out. The 4th of July is my favorite holiday so Jeremy told me to go on over to the fireworks. I ened up standing in the front yard with my Mom and we could see them great (for those of you that don't know my parents live across the street from the fairgrounds so we have a front row seat every year). The girls feel asleep even with all of the loud noise. Maybe next year for them to watch!

Miss America

I could not be happier with these beautiful girls and a wonderful husband!

Lydia loved it too! She has no fear of loud noises of crowds!

We try and get this picture every year but Lydia would not sit still!

Since the 4th of July celebration was on the 3rd we were free to do what we wanted Sunday so we decided to go to the zoo. It was a hot day but not very crowded so it was nice. Jeremy has not been able to go with us to the zoo for a while so it was a really nice day. Corinne has never been able to ride on the Merry-Go-Round so it was both girls first time on this day. She was a little shared and would not get up on a horse but she said next time she is going to. The only problem is everyday she is asking if we can go to the zoo to ride the Merry-G0-Round! Since it was pretty hot most of the animals were not doing much including the Polar Bears so Jeremy did not get to see them swim. However when we went to the underwater observation area that was another Polar bear down there. Corinne gave the moving one a high five and even took a picture with him which is a big step for her.

Lydia loved it, Corinne was a little nervous. I rode on the horse beside the bench so Corinne would see it was okay.

A little nervous at first but then she loved him!

4th of July Outfit-forgot to take the picture before the zoo so they are a little messy!

Corinne is kind of a hot mess but still cute!

Tried to get them to sit together but they were not having it!

Daddy was also off for most of the day on Monday so we just hung out around the house and took it easy. It was a very nice holiday weekend for all of us!

Lydia walking with a chair!