Thank You

As many of you know, the last several days have been, well, pretty emotionally draining for us here. My step niece passed away suddenly, committing suicide. It has really been hard for our family to deal with this, and we've been through a lot. Not only to lose such a beautiful light in our lives, but having to also deal with the horrible manner in which she left this world. We buried Rebecca yesterday, and that in itself, was very emotional.

I just wanted to take a minute here to personally thank all of my wonderful friends who have been there, in one way or the other, for me during this time. There are many times in our lives when things get tough, and those are the times when you really know who your true friends are. These are the times when those true friends shine. When they offer you kind words of support, send you supportive emails, as well as phone calls. And there are all the little things that mean the world, as well. Just knowing that you are thinking of us at this time is huge. Thank you so much for blessing me and my family, with your friendship.

xo
Holly

Updates, Updates!

Well, I officially have a Middle School student! Hannah started Middle School on Monday. Though she was excited, it was a bit bitter sweet for her. This is the first year that the whole redistricting goes into effect, so many of her friends are now going to a different Middle School. She'll meet back up with them in High School, but she was sad to go to MS w/out them. It also affects Rebecca. Her best friend, Jenna, now goes to a different elementary school. Like Hannah, she'll meet back up with her in High School. Regardless, both girls had a great first day.
Hannah was worried that she wouldn't know anyone in her classes, for she knew she'd be in Advanced core classes, and many of her friends would not. But, as it turns out, she has two good friends in all of her core classes (Language Arts, Math, and Science), as well as many other friends in P.E., Art, and World Language. She was very happy about this, and it made the transition to Middle School much better for her!



Above is Hannah, and her good friend, Tina, on their way to the bus stop on the first day of school. Hannah was excited to ride a bus to school for the first time! The first day was only 6th graders, so it wasn't bad. We'll see what she says today!


Rebecca also had a great first day of school. There were two teachers that she was hoping to get.. either of them she would have been thrilled with. One was the 4th grade teacher that Hannah had (loved her!), and the other was actually a 5th grade teacher who dropped down to 4th grade this year. The later is the teacher Rebecca got. She was also hoping that one, if not both, of her remaining good friends would be in her class, but sadly, neither of them are in there with her. However, she does know quite a few of the kids in her class, including two girls who live up and down the street from us! There are also some new kids that she quickly made friends with. She's such the social butterfly!



Above is Rebecca sporting her first day of school outfit. She's had this outfit planned for several weeks now. She's quite the fashion guru these days! lol

This past weekend, we had a big Field Hockey Play day for the girls. It turned out to be a hot day, but the girls had a lot of fun!! Later that evening, we all attended a joint birthday party for my friend, Donna, and her daughter, Gabby ( a friend of Hannah's). Let me tell you, this was the birthday party of all birthday parties! Donna rented a HUGE water slide, and girlfriend got her money's worth out of that thing! My girls were on it just about the entire time! It was crazy!!! Donna even took a few slides down it herself! There was also a moon bounce and karaoke... professional karaoke! This was the other hit of the night, next to the Adult game of Drinking Jenga ;) I even was talked into singing... not alone, mind you. It was a lot of fun! Amanda lasted until about 11:30, then had had enough. I took her home, but Steve and Hannah stayed and partied a bit more! Here are a few pics from the evening...

The Giant Water Slide... Hannah's the one with her hands in the air! LOL

Hannah and Christine about to go for one of the best slides of the evening!

My little angel... having a rockin' time!

Rebecca on karaoke.. most likely singing a Jonas Brothers song!

Okay, so here's the grown up side of the party... jello for all! :)


The birthday girl sings her heart out! Happy birthday , Donna!


Took this last night... Amanda was so tired, and ready for bed, and big sis Rebecca was trying to comfort her.. so sweet. :)

So much going on!

I apologize for not being around here and blogging lately. It would be an understatement to say that it's been a bit busy around here. One often hopes that Summer is full of lazy days, and free time, but lately, our summer has not been like that. Don't worry, we've been having fun!!

So let's see, the last entry I posted was about when we went down to Breezy Point, in Calvert County. That day was a lot of fun, and we had hopes of getting back down there this summer, but I don't think that's going to work out... unless we find time this week (which doesn't look likely).

One of the highlights of the girls' summer was going to see the Jonas Brothers in concert. They rocked the house at the 1st Mariner Arena in Baltimore, on Aug. 6. Hannah's friend, Brittney, received 4 tickets for her birthday, so she was able to invite 2 friends along. Hannah got invited, and was thrilled. We had her keep it a secret from Rebecca, for we knew she'd be upset. Rebecca LOVES the Jonas Brothers!! Little did she know, we had tickets for her and her best friend, Jenna. We didn't let them know they were going until the very day of the concert! Thier friend, Kara, was also going, and actually sitting in the section next to us. So, we surprised them, and we all went together! It was a lot of fun!!

Since we hadn't planned any big vacations this summer (due to adopting the puppy), we decided to opt for a couple of day trips, so off to Hershey Park we went! Hannah brought her friend, Brittney along, as a birthday present to her :) We had a great day! The weather was awesome.. clear and warm, but no humidity, and a nice breeze blowing. Perfect. We actually bought 2 day passes, so that we could go another day, which we did last week. Heidi was going up, so we decided to join in the fun! Another great day in Hershey!!!

We also joined Rick and Heidi on their boat for the day. That was fun, as usual. The girls had a blast. We left Amanda with Steve's father, for we weren't sure bringing her along was the best idea. The girls had a blast on the tube! Unfortunately, as we were heading in, we got stuck on a sandbar, and Steve actually had to get out of the boat and push us!!! Crazy! Can't wait to go again :)

So Field Hockey season is here! Both girls have begun practices. It's nice to be getting back into some sort of routine again. School begins next Monday, which will be a real shocker for Hannah, who will have to get up even earlier than last year. She is not a morning person.. at all! lol I think she's looking forward to Middle School though. It's an exciting year, that's for sure. Rebecca is looking forward to meeting a bunch of new kids this year. Our school was redistricted last year, so many of her friends won't be returning to her school, but a new bunch will be coming in instead.

We are in the middle of several home improvement projects. We recently pulled up the carpet in the livingroom, and laid a laminate wood floor. It looks great! Next up, Steve has been working on replacing the facia board outside. Already, the front of the house looks so much better. He also covered up the posts out front.. took off all the rotting wood,and wrapped them. He's in the middle of sanding down our bannister, in the hopes of refinishing it to a lighter color. The next big project is the kitchen/dining room. We're going to take down the wall that seperates them, making a big, country kitchen. I can't wait for it to be done...the house is a complete mess right now! I don't have any remodeling pics yet. Would you believe we forgot to take before pics! Grrr! Anyway, here are a couple of the girls from our quick trip into Baltimore for lunch!

Wow!

I know I've been absent... LOTS going on around here.. I promise to post a new entry SOON! :)