"It's the most wonderful time of the year"

No, not Christmas - back to school time.I am not sure if everyone is familiar with the Staples commercial for back to school. It is a father dancing around Staples overly excited to school supply shop for his kids. The kids are moping behind him with these sad little smiles. The Christmas song "It's The Most Wonderful Time of the Year" is playing in the background. Hilarious - check it out!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mPIIMbG9R4w

This is John’s favorite commercial. To me, back to school means some type of normalcy and routine. I know, you are all thinking - Valerie (Aunt Valerie) normal. That is not what I mean. Most of you who are parents understand how great it is to have a routine. Plus, I hate the fact I have to get up each day of the summer to go to work and they get to sleep in late.

Joey has transferred from North Point High School, the Science and Technology School in which he had to apply and interview to be accepted, to Thomas Stone High School. Even though we tried to explain to him before ninth grade what type of commute he would have, long days, and not being with most of his friends he had been in school with since Pre K, he had to learn for himself.

I am actually very happy to have both Emily and Joey at the same high school. It will sure make for easier commutes - especially with Emily driving.

Joey is on the JV soccer team for fall sports, hopes to either do indoor track or swimming for winter sports, and will play Spring Baseball. Of course, all this will be contingent on him keeping his grades up. He also works part time, but has taken a leave of absence until after soccer season.

Emily is a senior this year and has thrown herself full speed into what most consider craziness. She is taking 6 AP classes and Honors Band, is involved in Drama, Marching Band, Future Educators Association, Student Government Association, Envirothon, Destination Imagination, and I am sure numerous other activities which I have failed to mention. She also insists on working part time - as she says, this gives her a balance - time away from school and studying. Myself, I could think of many other ways to take a break from studying. I do worry about her, but this is the way Emily has always been. I also do believe since she is used to pushing herself, always staying busy, this will make her more prepared for going away to college when the time comes.

Christina starts her senior year of classes with UMUC - University of Maryland University College next week. Just recently she was exploring the idea of switching her major to Sports Management. We have encouraged her to finish her degree with UMUC in Humanities, begin work, and explore going back to school part time later. I don't think she was happy with our push for this, but changing now would have meant going another two years. I, of all people, understand her uncertainty about what she wants to do after school. Really, I am still not sure what I want to be when I grow up. I am sure she will be happy when the year is over.

Christina's boyfriend Steven is in his senior year at University of MD. Steven will be graduating with a degree in Accounting. We are extremely proud of his accomplishments of staying on the Dean's list both semesters of last year.

Really, this is the most wonderful time of the year. I can look back over the last few months and reminisce about our wonderful vacations and time spent with family and friends. It is also very exciting to think of where we will all be next summer at this time.

Ocean City Adventures

We are just getting settled in from our extended weekend away to Ocean City MD. We had such a good time and were very lucky to experience new adventures with family and friends. We enjoyed the beach, boardwalk, and pier rides with Michelle and her family on Thursday and Friday. Saturday brought new adventures in the sky Parasailing for Joey and his best friend Billy - and Christina and Steven.






Saturday evening we had a wonderful dinner with my very best friend Robin (my sister from another mother) and her family. To me she is my sister and my children’s Aunt Robin. On Sunday morning, we set out to explore Assateague Island Parks. What a beautiful beach and what a wonderful change from the crowds in Ocean City. The kids swam, walked the beach, and flew a kite (a first for Steven).

As a storm quickly approached, we were ushered from the beach by the lifeguards to the safety of our cars. As we waited in the line of cars to retreat from the Park, we enjoyed a wonderful view of horses grazing in the grassy areas along the park exit. The storm subsided so we decided to make one more trip to the boardwalk – one last summer experience of Thrasher’s fries, pretzel wraps, arcade games, chocolate covered strawberries, and caramel popcorn. Around 2 pm, I contacted my sister in law Susie to check and make sure we bought the correct popcorn for Mom when we found out about the accident on the Bay Bridge. What a terrible tragedy for the trucker and his family. We knew the delays would be lengthy and made a few calls to check out our options. The lady we rented from called to let us know she didn’t have anyone checking in and we could stay as late as we needed to and if necessary, rent for another night. Sit in hours and hours of traffic or stay another night and enjoy the beach one more day? It really wasn’t a difficult decision – we stayed another day. I made the necessary calls to work and began to unpack just what we needed for the nights stay. Around 6:30, John and Emily headed out for home. Emily had Band Camp starting Monday morning and was anxious to get home. They knew with the complete closing of the East bound bridge, delays would be extreme. Luckily, John was able to take a nap before they left which made it possible for him to make it home safely at 1 am. We spent Monday morning on the beach and packed up leaving Ocean City around 2:30. As happy as I was to get home – oh how I miss the beach. Check out the pictures from our Ocean City Adventures

Virginia Beach Vacation

This year we wanted a change of scenery from our normal beach getaway. Rather than head to Ocean City, we decided to go a bit south to Virginia Beach. After a thorough search of accommodations, we decided to stay at the Dolphin Inn. We had a wonderful oceanfront room which comfortably accommodated me, John, Emily and Joey.

We had heard so many wonderful things about Virginia Beach and we were excited to see for ourselves. Unlike Ocean City, the boardwalk does not have the stores, bars, and eateries. It is strictly the boardwalk. There are some oceanfront restaurants located within a hotel or resort. One of our favorite things was the fact there were actually two boardwalks - one for walking and a separate boardwalk for bikes. This meant you could ride the boardwalk at any time. In Ocean City, you can only ride bikes on the boardwalk in the early morning hours. Emily loves to ride her bike and took full advantage of this luxury.

The shops are located along Atlantic Avenue, which is the main drag of Virginia Beach. Atlantic Avenue runs parallel to the boardwalk and this is where you will find the shops, restaurants, and ice cream shops. We especially loved the ice cream shops, unfortunately for John, not many of them offered much of a variety of sugar free ice cream.

We tried to enjoy the beach early each day and then ventured out to check out the city. We enjoyed bowling, played pool, played arcade games, and our last day Emily and I went parasailing. Wow - what an adventure. We went 1200 feet up from the boat. I really think we shocked John, as I am sure he was thinking we would chicken out. It was very peaceful and relaxing, except for when we were dipped in the ocean. I would strongly recommend this adventure to everyone I know. Mom even mentioned she was envious and wants to go Parasailing. I will be happy to go with her whenever she wants!

Check out the link for the pictures! Double click on the slide show to view it in a larger format.

Christina's busy weekend....

This past weekend Christina spent two days in the gym of Mount Saint Mary's College in Emmitsburg Maryland competing for the title of Miss Majorette of the MidAtlantic.



This is a pageant in which each twirler is judged in three different events. The events are the Strut (Super X), the Solo, and modeling & interview. Each twirler competes in these events on Saturday and the results are announced at the end of the day on Sunday evening.



Mom and I drove up on Sunday morning, as I was busy with Emily's High School DI Team on Saturday at Towson University. It was great for Christina we were coming up, as she and a fellow twirler Sabrina had left a few items at the hotel after checking out. Luckily I was able to swing by and pick up the hairdryer, phone charger, and pillow.



Mom had never been to such a large contest. We were able to watch Christina twirl in the MidAtlantic Solo competition. I love to watch her twirl, but my favorite event to watch her in is the Strut. Christina has always been a fantastic strutter. We enjoyed the competition, watching Sabrina, Caroline, Julianne, Jordan, and other fellow twirlers.



Finally, as evening approaches, they begin the awards ceremony. There are twelve young ladies in Christina's division. When announcing the winners, they begin by announcing the winner of each of the three events. Christina wins the Modeling and Strut event. Another young lady wins the Solo event.

Christina won the title of Intermediate 16 & over Pageant winner of the Mid Atlantic. Winning this title qualifies her to compete in the Intermediate 16 & over division of the National Twirling Pageant held at Notre Dame University July 22nd through July 26th.

Emily's star performance

Anyone who knows Emily, knows she is dramatic. Some say she is conceited, she will tell you she is confident. Shy she is not!

Last Thursday evening was opening night for Thomas Stone's Imagination Playhouse production of Grease. I was extremely excited and decided to send out an Evite. I pretty much sent it to everyone on my email list, not really thinking. What a wonderful surprise to have so many of my friends and family come to see the play.

On Thursday evening, as I walked in the first person I saw standing in the hallway was Donna Sparrow. Donna was one of Janice's best friends and of is a friend of mine also. I was touched to see her and extremely happy she took the time to come. Of course she brought a Teresa Pepper and her daughter with her. As I turned the corner, there were John's parents, Pat and Fred Trefry, and my sister in law Susie. Also standing nearby was Jody, Emily's Godmother, and her two girls Hannah and Meredith. Within moments, Greg and Sandy, Ken, Leslie and the kids, and of course Michelle. Michelle knew she was coming on Friday as she would be bringing the girls and Adrienne. But there was no way she would miss opening night. With John, Joey and I, this made 20 in attendance for Emily. I was extremely pleased it was such a good turnout for her debut performance. Of course I was a little nervous for her, but extremely proud.

I think I forgot to mention this before. Emily played the role of Pink Lady Jan. Jan is described as funny, loud, and an awkward member of the Pink Ladies. Basically, the perfect role for our Emily. What a wonderful tribute to my friend and sister Janice:)

The play started and before I knew it, there she was - my star Emily. I knew all of the kids on the stage, but it was hard for me not to look at just Emily. Of course, I found myself blown away by the wonderful work these kids had put into this production.

Michelle let me know how many acts or songs until Emily and Matt's performance of "Mooning over you". They were great! After the final act, Emily found her way to all of us in the audience. What a fabulous way to end a wonderful night, in the loving arms of family and friends. I am confident to say, I was not the only person extremely proud of her.

On Friday night, Mom came with me to see the show. Michelle brought Allie, Lauren, Kayla and Adrienne. On the way to the show the girls wanted to get flowers. Michelle explained she was not buying 3 bouquets and offered a suggestion. They ended up with one bouquet, a bag of Salt and Vinegar chips, and a jar of dill pickles. They know what Emily likes.:) Brenda was also able to attend Friday evening's performance.

On Saturday evening, the final show...Michelle of course was there again. She was going to come alone, but Allie was insistant upon coming with her. Allie enjoyed the show so much on Friday she just had to see it again. Christina and a reluctant Steven (plays are not his thing and there was a final basketball game on) made it to the Saturday night's performance. Mom was excited to come again and we made a late night of it, going out to eat afterwards.

I want to thank everyone who came and supported the arts and Emily! What a wonderful testament to the love of family and friends.

Check out the pictures taken by Eva, a friend of mine and the mother of another cast member.

"And number 2 is....."

Emily and I were attending an AP information night at Thomas Stone so she could determine which AP classes she would be taking next year, her senior year. At the end of the evening we were chatting with her Pre-Calculus teacher when he turned to her and said "congratulations Emily". I looked at him, looked at Emily, and then back at him. Emily goes on to say "Oh yeah mom, they gave us our class ranking today". Emily is ranked 2nd in her class. Needless to say, we are extremely proud of her. She is a smart young lady and has always loved school. I think she likes school, learning, and achieving good grades. After attending the AP informational night, I know it is not a matter of her being smart, it has everything to do with her working very very hard for her grades.

"You just won, what are you going to do next..."

Christina couldn't say she was going to Disneyworld, as she was already there. Christina went to Disney to compete in the Miss Twirlmania pageant. She won the title of Senior Intermediate Miss Twirlmania. As much as I wish I could have been there, I was unable to take the time from work. I missed being part of the excitement, but my friend Sherri did send me a picture and text to let me know of the win. Sherri also told me later she cried for me. I hope to post pictures soon.