Step by step visual: how to dress an 8month old for Christmas pictures

Holiday visits

We had an appreciated influx of visitors over the past few weeks.  It has been a lot of fun hosting and so nice to see people especially around the jolliest time of the year.  Gma and Pappy Butch came for a visit the last weekend of hunting season.  So while Daddy and Pappy Butch were in the woods; Grey hung out with his Mum and Gma.  I was able to run some errands unrestricted by a car seat which is always amazing.  Grammie even made us some homemade chicken noodle soup, which Grey slurped down like a little porker.  He loves him some pasta.

So comfy - snoozin' on Gma

Then we got a visit from my NY/TFA friend, Kelly and her husband Matt.  Kelly & I were roommates in Brooklyn and we haven't seen each other for three years.  So on their car trip down the east coast from MI, they did a somewhat out-of-the-way trip to stop and visit us for the afternoon!  It was so nice catching up and seeing them again.  Grey was a big hit and Bullet was the happiest of all to have a playdate all afternoon since Kel & Matt brought their lab, Maka.  Oh, happiness for Bully.

Then we had a visit from the whole Adams crew the weekend before Christmas.  The boys all got to go ice fishing (happiness for them), while the girls hung out and baked cookies, drank "loaded" hot chocolate (aka +kahlua), and laughed and giggled the weekend away.  Booboo got lots of loving from everyone.

Abba & Grey

Poppa Chum & Grey playing with the window decorations

Aunt Kitty, booboo, and Aunt Uch

Grey hanging with his bud, Jordan

We also got a visit from cousins Mallory and Stef over the weekend.  It is always nice to get to see my goddaughter and fav cousin.   

Grey and Mals played so nice and are too cute together. They both look just like their daddies - its like watching tiny Justin & Brandon playing together, it cracks me up!

Jordan was quoted as saying, "Oh God, the apocolypse with those three Adams girls together."  But seriously, we are a little much to handle when SCF all gets together.  None of us barely have to finish a sentence because the other two already know exactly what we're talking about, so the conversations usually sound like this:

tab:  did you watch that episode of animal hoarders with the lady
tasha:  who had 97 cats?
kayla: yea and then the one with the guy with the lizards
tab: and he (exaggerated hand motions)
tasha:  no i know!
kayla: did you see that one (exaggerated hand motions)
tasha & tab:  yeaaaaaa

so its a whole conversation of basically no one saying anything completely but we all understand...so everyone around us is either bored, annoyed, or amazed out of their minds.  haha, i love my sisters.  And so does booboo!  but he is going to need a whole lot of practice to keep up with us!

November Kindness: 2nd Annual CV Alumni Turkey Bowl

To the participants of the CV Alumni Turkey Bowl 2010,

Even though I don't live in Johnstown anymore, I still feel a strong connection to our community. I used to think that maybe it’s because our family still lives there or because you really just can’t get a snack as delicious as a sundowner at 2am anywhere outside of Jtown. But the truth is, there is something special about the people that come from our town; something that you can depend on.
So, for the second year in a row, my husband and I organized the Conemaugh Valley Alumni Turkey Bowl. We had double the number of participants this year, ordered all the t-shirts, coordinated the plans with the school, and printed all the programs. So, when Thanksgiving morning arrived and we looked outside, you can imagine my heartbreak. In a last ditch effort, I changed my facebook status to “the CV Turkey Bowl is on - no matter Rain or Shine,” and we made our way over to the field, sick in the stomach. After all that planning, who in their right mind would show up on Thanksgiving morning in this weather?

And then we pulled into the parking lot and to our extreme gratitude; we saw YOU…by the start of the game, there was 38 of YOU to be exact. That's not even including the volunteers who trekked through the weather just to help out OR the fans who showed up with umbrellas and ponchos just to cheer on the participants! Alumni from the graduating classes from 1977 to 2010 participated as either a player, a cheerleader, or a volunteer in the freezing, cold rain and mud. Maybe it’s been my time living away from our community, but I truly didn’t expect anyone to show up that morning. Thank you for reminding me why I am so proud of my hometown and my community; there is the solid truth that we can rely on each other. ..Even if it is 10am on a holiday and I’m asking you to play football in the freezing rain in old sweatpants and boots. There YOU were high-fiving and shivering with mud on your clothes and a smile on your face. I was thankful this Thanksgiving because of you.