More to come....

I know, I know, I have certainly been a slacker on my blog the past few days! This week I have been solo as Dave is on travel for work so I haven't really had much time to blog. But..I promise i've got some fun things lined up when I get a little more free time! :) For now I will leave you with this...

WE ARE.....PENN STATE!!!!

8-0!!!

(I realize it I didn't go to PSU but hey, my hubby did so that's gotta count for something, right?)

I'm Yours

October 26, 2002

Dear David,

It's hard to believe that this Sunday will be our 6th wedding anniversary. The day that I became Mrs. David Engel was one of the happiest days of my life. I remember it as if it were yesterday and still get butterflies when I think about seeing you for the first time that day. The years have brought us many wonderful things. We've travelled, we've brought 2 beautiful children into this world, we've tried new things, we've done the same ole same ole, we've made plans for our future and we've lived in the now. All the while, we've remained the best of friends that we have been since the beginning.

Thank you for being a wondeful husband, friend, father to our children, provider, shoulder to cry on, mentor, cheerleader and coach! My life changed that day we met and I wouldn't go back for a second. You are my soulmate, my companion and my best friend. So today I say, Happy Anniversary, my love!

Yesterday, today, tomorrow, forever

I'm Yours,

Alexis :)

Look who's walking!!

In a matter of minutes, Madeline went from thinking about walking farther than 3 steps to walking all over the house. Yes folks, Maddie Sue is a walking diva!! Look at her go!!

Sprouting those wings

I knew that one day I would be commenting to someone about how my little boy, Zachary, had done something on his own and insisted that he do it all by himself. I never imagined it would be when he was 3 1/2.

Tonight, Zach and I went grocery shopping...a little mommy/son bonding time which I always enjoy. When we walked out to the car, this is what happened...

Me: Here let me help you get up into your seat

Z: No thanks, I do it all by myself

And he proceeded to climb up into his seat while I stood there realizing that my baby boy, has in fact turned into that little boy who has begun to sprout his wings.

Sniff Sniff

Where did the time go???

Not me! Monday

I missed last week because we were away but I am faithfully back into the swing of what is becoming wildly popular....Not me! Monday... theraputic fessing up in a denial sort of way :).

Here goes...

I did not forget to tell Dave that the dishwasher was spewing bubbles out of the bottom. I certainly did not forget and let him find out on his own and when he asked me about it, I did not say "what do you mean". Hee hee...

I did not get rear-ended on the way to the Urgent Care last week. And when I didn't get rear-ended, I most certainly didn't yell at the woman when she said "did i hit you?". I didn't reply "Uh, ya you hit me, I can't believe you hit me, this is so not what I needed right now, I can't believe you hit me, what is your deal, lady, seriously, you hit me." And when her husband said, "doesn't look like there is any damage, we can probably go". I didn't reply "Oh no friend, I am calling my husband and then the police!!!" And when it was all said and done, I didn't apologize for being abrasive.

I don't have a baby girl who cut 3 molars in a 29 hour period, nope, not me. And I certainly wasn't up all night long with her on Friday because she was in pain. Now why would I do that?

I didn't hang out in Pittsburgh's strip district with Dave and his brother on Saturday and I most definately didn't enjoy being without my kids. I love to be with them 24/7, why would I ever need a break??? :)

Ok, now it is your turn...post what you didn't do and link it back to Mckmama's site!

Have a good week...and don't do anything I wouldn't do :)

Keep it rollin'

Nothing like watching the Penn State game on a cold day in Pittsburgh with family! And what is better is that they pulled it out, beat Michigan, and upped their record to 8-0!!! WHOOO HOOOO!!! Doesn't get better than this...well, a win next week would be awesome! And they said Joepa should retire! PAH! :)



WE ARE....PENN STATE!!!!!

A room with a view

I was just looking through the pictures I took over the weekend and realized that I forgot to post this amazing picture...can you guess what it is?

This is the view from the back of my parents house in Fort Valley, VA. The leaves are changing and after a few trees that were removed, this is what they wake up to every single morning. Ahhh...talk about a room with a view!!

Pumpkin Patch

Today was Zachary's very first field trip with his school. We headed to a local pumpkin patch with all of his classmates and spent the morning going through the corn maze, playing in the pumpkin patch and all of their way cool toys and we even went on a hayride! Everyone had a great time and we can't wait to go back!!!Mommy and Z
Team Engel
Z and his friend Aidan

I feel like I'm fallin' for fall....

Mt Jackson Apple Harvest Festival
Grandmommy, Zachary and Granddaddy on the hayride
Big Girl Maddie on the hayride
covered bridge
River that the covered bridge goes over

...if you are a fan of Noggin like we are here in the Engel family then the title of this post puts a smile on your face. :) We certainly are ready for the weather to cool down just a bit so we can pack away our shorts and have our long pants here to stay (for a while).

So, in order to embrace some true fall fun, we headed to my parents house in the mountains this weekend. We took in the beautiful scenic landscape and the changing leaves. We visited a Apple Harvest Festival and a Covered Bridge. We watched football, read a little and had a great time...

WE ARE....

PENN STATE

7-0 BABY!!!!

We want the funk.....

i get a good giggle or two out of this commercial! In the era of Tivo, it is rare that we ever see commercials. But boy am I glad we watched something in real time because this is the cutest commercial!!!

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Want a good chuckle...

then watch this....
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I have laughed and laughed and laughed and laughed when watching this....too too funny!!!

We love Fall!

The weather has been so nice, we've been enjoying our lunches on the deck! The kids love it and it is great for me because Madeline is in a "throw everything on the floor" phase and this makes for easy clean up! Not to mention the birds and squirrels patiently wait until we are done to clean up her messes for me :)

Our weekend.....

early Saturday morning at Dulles waiting for the McBrides






sometime after 2Am and they finally made it! Couldn't be happier that they are home!!!









Saturday afternoon at Aunt Barb's park














Zachary and Daddy at the swings









John and Maddie dancing at the wine fest...can you flashforward to prom :)








Clair and I







Zach, Molly and John BFF's

Dave and Lou

Clair, Molly and Zach

Awww........so cute! They had a great time together!

Zachary got his face painted! One cheek a fish, the other a snake!

And Maddie got a snail on her little arm!!

Not me! Monday

Week 3 of this very fun exercise in theraputic fessing up :)

Lets see...

1. I did not plan the ultimate surprise for my BFF
2. I did not stay at the airport until 3 in the morning Saturday to make sure said surprise went off without a hitch
3. I did not feel that it was totally worth it and I certainly didn't leave the airport with warm fuzzies :)
4. I didn't enjoy the facial and pedicure that my sister-in-law treated me to on Saturday...why would I enjoy me time??
5. I really didn't enjoy shopping for outfits for our pictures this coming weekend and I hated every minute of the fondue meal we had afterwards.
6. I didn't chuckle that my son fell out of bed on Saturday night....that would be mean of course. He WAS FINE....
7. I didn't drink any wine at the wine fest yesterday!

Now, what didn't you do??!!?!

Safe and Sound

Well, after a looooong night, operation SURPRISE went off without much of a hitch!  The McBrides came through the customs door at 1:45 am this morning...poor Amelia with pink eye and all of them frazzled and tired.  

Seans face was priceless....as I stood there with my sign (will post pictures later), he looked at me with the "hey, I know her, no, that can't be her, wait, it is her" and then was followed by a vocal "What are you doing here?"  and then Sarah saw us and...well...we became that really sappy movie with the long embrace and the chatter and the giggling!  It was great.  I am so glad we were there to help them get on their way.  

Crazies that they are...they drove to Norfolk at 2:45 in the morning...i tried to get them to come to Barbs but they wouldn't and went on their way.  So I am hoping that they made it safely.

But, all in all, it was a really great night er uh I mean morning and I am so happy!  A woman in the airport asked if we were waiting for family...and without hesitation I replied, "yep, we sure are!"

WELCOME HOME McBRIDES!!!!!

A Sad Day, A Happy Day

interesting title, no? Well, today is a day filled with lots of different emotions. Waking up this morning, I was flooded with memories of waking up on October 3, 1997, 11 long but short years ago. 11 years ago today, my hero, my confidante, my grandmother lost her battle with breast cancer. 11 years ago, I got out of the shower to a ringing phone that I let ring over and over and over again because I knew what was waiting on the other end. 11 years ago, I thought my world had ended and everything in my life changed. 11 years ago, I felt more pain in my heart than I have ever felt...ever.

But a funny thing happens over 11 years. Although sometimes the pain is still so raw, I have been able to weed through the yucky feelings and embrace all the really great feelings that surround my grandmother. I share all my great memories with anyone that will listen and I am reminded everyday in little ways that she is still very much a part of my life. A lot has happened in the last 11 years...

2 week after her death, I met Dave
4 years later Dave and I were planning a wedding
5 years later we were married
8 years later we welcomed our son into the world
10 years later we welcomed our daughter into the world

All really great things and I know that she was with me every step of the way. So, today, Dave the kids and I are headed to Arlington National Cemetary to put some flowers on her grave. Yellow roses, her favorite.

And now onto the Happy part of the day!!! I think it is safe for me to post this without ruining the surprise that I've had in the makings for the last month!! You see, as I posted a few weeks ago, today is the day that my BFF Sarah and her family are returning to the States, from Spain, after 3 years!!! And I, BFF extroidonaire (j/k), am planning to surprise her at the airport tonight! After hearing about all the stress she has been under, I figured she could use some familar faces and tons of love when she steps off that plane to begin a new journey in her life. So, we've got our sign ready, a bag full of goodies to welcome them home and I can honestly say I AM SO EXCITED, I can hardly stand it! I hope all goes well. I nosed around with enough questions to get all of their flight information without her knowing what I was doing. I haven't seen her since Christmas Day and I am so anxious for tonight!

***UPDATE***  So things haven't gone according to plan so far.  The McBrides flight was delayed by over 5 hours and they aren't due in until 12:30AM :(.  But, that isn't gonna stop me!  It is 11:15 pm, we are at Barbs...kids are sleeping (dave too) and I am getting ready to head back out to the airport for round two of my big surprise!  Lets hope that this time I really get to see them!  I hope for their sake that things in the air went smoother than things on the ground.  I will be sure and post the reason for their delay as soon as I know but I am sure that being stuck in an airport or on an airplane for 5 hours with a 14 month old must have been a nightmare!!  And now I am off.......

So, as you can see, a sad day, a happy day but all in all, a good day! :)

I'll post pictures later!!! :)

One Step, Two Step, Three Step, Four

So, looks like our littlest girl (our only girl of course but I think littlest is a cute word ;) ) has decided to give this walking thing a try...last night she took 4 steps!! And again today, she frankensteined it over to me from across the room (small room but hey, ya gotta start somewhere). She is so proud of herself and we are right there with her.

And as much as I would love to post video showing this monumentous occassion in our littlest ones life, everytime I try to video, she falls down before ever taking a step...stage fright maybe? who knows but hopefully soon, I'll get it on film for all the world to see. In the meantime just know that one little girl in a small town in Maryland is starting to gain independence :). Look out world..here she comes!!!