Museum of Science

Today we took Nicole to the Museum of Science in Boston! It was very hot here so it was nice to get her out and about! The library had passes for us for $5 per person! Which is great! We had tons of fun!!!! Nicole really loved the butterfly garden exhibit. There were hundreds of butterflies. One or two even landed on her!




We also got to see the big T-Rex and lots of dinosaur bones....which she loved!!!! We got to play at the water table, and the funniest part was going inside the cage of a black chipmunk!!!!!!!









And of course when she left we went to the shop...and what did she get? A dinosaur? Snake? Bird? No no silly a cute little puppy with a pink diamond collar, that she named Lacey after The Westphals dog!!!!!

Ten Things Tuesday for this week! 6/3/08

1. The Ocean for being so massive yet so peaceful. It was so wonderful to go see it and play for a day. Nicole loved it and it was fun to watch her laugh and play. Such innocence.

2. My daughter for making me laugh everyday.

3. My husband for working with me in providing the best for our daughter. He works so hard to provide the best he can for us and I am eternally grateful

4. Cristina for heading up with me to see our friends in New hampshire. I had such a good time and with her as my co-pilot it was even more fun!

5. The Westphals....for being the kindest people i have ever known. For accepting me and loving me for all these years. They are a true reason on why i am where i am right now. Without meeting Bill i dont know where i would be right now. Bill you changed my life and how i saw it.

6. Kelly W. for being such a smart and adventurous young lady. She has made us all sit back and say "I wish i did that". Good luck in Instanbul. We love you. And Nicole wants a sleepover with you! LOL

7. God for blessing me with another day on this earth to learn something new.

8. My sweet friend Amy for always having an ear for me and even though we live so far away i can count on her like she was next door! I wish we lived closer and i could see her, because i think we would be best friends. I think we see the world pretty much the same way and try to live a positive life and i love her for that. I hope i am as good a mom as she is.

9. Corey wanted to add one for him......so here goes. "I am grateful that Jenny told me to go swimming instead of fixing the fence and cleaning the yard. It was a perfect day"

10. Corey for agreeing to re-do the walls in the bathroom! I am so excited!!!!!!

Day at the Beach

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

The Westphals

Today Nicole, Cristina and I headed up to the Westphals for Cathys Birthday and to see Kelly. Little Miss Kelly is heading to....ISTANBUL!! She is doing semester abroad, she will be teaching English to students there! We could not be more proud of her. She is quite an adventurous soul.

Bill has got a new job!!! He is the manager over at Heritage Harley Davidson!!!! WOOT WOOT!!! He bought a beautiful new bike.....that i didnt get a ride on...come to think of it??? LOL...But we are so happy for him!!!!

Nikki planning her wedding for Sept!!

We cannot wait for that!!!! Her and Brian are real good people and we are so excited for them!

Cathy is now home, and is doing good! She is taking time off to work on the house!!!! They have their puppy Lacey which will keep her busy!!! LOL

Memorial Day Weekend, Sunday and Monday!

Until i can figure out how to get all the pictures and stories to line up i have to do different days! LOL.....so here we go...on Sunday I set up the sprinkler out back and well, our lawn is not the best so it turned into a mudpit! but Nicole loved it!!!!





Then we went to Uncles for some real grass! LOL






Then Daddy had Monday off....we went over to Uncle and aunties again....but had more water fun! Uncle Rick opened up his pool!!!!!!!! Nicole is such a good water baby! She held her breath underwater, and was swimming from end to end!!! So proud of her!






Then we hung out and played soccer, horseshoes, wiffle ball, and played in the sandbox! It was such a fun weekend! I am so glad the weather worked out for us!

Memorial Day Weekend! Saturday!

What a great weekend it turned out to be! Corey had to work on Saturday so i thought it would just be another weekend. But we ended up having so much fun! On Saturday my Mom, Nicole and I went to get some flowers and went to the cemetary and planted them. Nicole did such a good job!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ten Things Tuesday for this week!

1. My daughter for being so polite and well mannered whenever we meet new people or when we have known them forever.

2. My brother for loving Nicole so much and taking care of her whenever i need help.

3. Sam's baby Emma. She is now 5 days old and is so precious. Makes you think about how beautiful and innocent children are.

4. My husband for always being supportive and strong no matter what i throw at him!

5. God for blessing me with this life....through hard time and good times i am always learning.

6. All who have/do serve in the United States Military. You are thought of and supported! Thank you.

7. Pastor Chris...he is such a wonderful speaker and he teaches me something new about myself everytime i hear him speak. It is an honor to be in the same room as him.

8. Whoever invented Wii...LOL...My family has such a great time playing and we are all together and just enjoying each other!

9. My 3 year old daughter Nicole for telling me i looked so pretty with my green shirt and my hair down...made my day.

10. The sun for making any day a great one!

Heartbreaking...

I watched Oprah today, something i normally never do unless a celebrity is on. This shook me so hard. I cried for an hour straight. My heart is still broken for this family. And its a reminder of how short life is. My thoughts and prayers are with this family and changed my whole view on having even one drink and driving home. May we be blessed to never have to go through anything that this family and especially mother had to.

For Lisa and David, July 2, 2005, began as a perfect wedding day. More than 200 close friends and relatives gathered on the beach. Lisa's fondest memory of the day was of her nieces, 5-year-old Grace and 7-year-old Katie, dressed like princesses, throwing rocks into the Long Island Sound. Katie was also Lisa's goddaughter. "Being her godmother and her being my flower girl, it just was so special to Katie," Lisa says.
After a day full of celebration, Lisa's parents, Christopher and Denise, along with her sister, Jennifer, Jennifer's husband, Neil, and their daughters, Grace and Katie, all headed home in a limousine. "I remember looking in on the limo and seeing Kate and waving goodbye and she waved goodbye and never thought that, that was going to be that type of moment where you're seeing people for the last time," says David, the groom. "It's, I guess, a moment I see every day."

On the ride home, the limo was struck head-on by a drunk driver. Police reports indicate the driver, 24-year-old Martin Heidgen, had at least 14 drinks, and his blood alcohol level was more than three times the legal limit. Police say he was driving 70 miles an hour down the wrong side of a major highway for at least two miles before he crashed into the limousine

An off-duty security officer returning home from work was first on the scene. "I approached the limo driver and I guess I went into shock at that time," says New York State court officer Michael Lerardi. "It looked like an explosion. The motor, basically, was just sitting on top of him. I knew he was dead." The limo driver, 59-year-old Stanley Rabinowitz, was killed instantly.

Next to arrive was Lt. Michael Tangney, the bride's uncle, who had attended the wedding just hours before. "I was walking to the rear of the limousine when a gentleman was coming away from it and he said, 'Don't go back there. It's bad,'" Lt. Tangney says. "I opened the rear door to the limousine and realized it was my family."

Lt. Tangney's brother—Jennifer's father, Chris—was laying on the floor, his legs wrapped around the service bar, broken in numerous places. The rest of the family was piled on top of each other. Jennifer's mother, Denise, was severely injured, as was Jennifer's husband, Neil, who tried to crawl out of the limo to get help despite his broken back. Five-year-old Grace was also trapped inside the wreckage. Jennifer, whose foot was injured, managed to climb out and was searching for Katie, who had been lying on the side seat before the crash. "We couldn't find Kate," Lt. Tangney says. Then, Jennifer made a devastating discovery—Katie had been decapitated by her seatbelt.

"Then all of a sudden Mrs. Flynn came out of the car with her child's head in her hand," says Michael Lerardi, one of the 70 paramedics and police officers who were called to the scene. "I got numb. I thought I was going to collapse. All she was holding was this kid's head," says Officer Christopher Pandolfo. "I looked into the back of the limousine and I saw Katie's remains. She was wearing this dress and I just started shaking."

Jennifer walked to side of the road and sat for about an hour with her daughter's head on her lap as she watched her family being cut out of the limousine. Lt. Tangney had to tell his niece it was time to leave. "She very lucidly, very calmly said she wasn't going anywhere. She wasn't leaving Kate," he says. "I climbed into the ambulance and I told Jennifer that she'd have to come inside now because Grace needed her, and she said she's not going to let go of Kate. And I asked her if she would give her to me, and at that point she turned her over, kissed her goodbye, and handed her to me

She is FAB-U-LOUS

10 Things Tuesday

I found this blog page by my wonderfully sweet friend Amy. And i wanted to put a link up to show everyone. Life is not that bad when we take a moment and reflect on what is good in our lives. So I am glad Amy found this!

Okay here goes my first list........

1. My husband for being home on Wednesdays for a bit and offering to take Nicole to dance class so i can have an hour to myself.

2. My daughter for making me laugh so hard, she asked me today "Momma what is wrong with yourself?" It made me laugh and realize i was worrying about nothing!!!

3. My sister in law Cristina....we havent always been on good terms but we have worked through them. The other day i was feeling sad and overwhelmed, and was driving around. I called her and started crying and she got dressed and came shopping with me. Just to know that i can depend on her was a good feeling. That i am not so alone.

4. I am going back to Corey, my husband. For having patience with me when i am a nervous, anxious mess. He is my home.

5. My friend Erika. I havent seen her in almost 9 years but i still consider her one of my best friends. i called her the other day and just to have her answer and make me laugh again, was beautiful.

6. Nicole for being such a well mannered child. We went to the bookstore for a storytime and one boy was being a bully and Nicole just sat and said "thats not very nice." Then when we left she walked over to the storyteller and thanked her for her story. I thought that was sweet.

7. My friend Bree for going with me to Zumba. She is skinny and blond but does not see me as anything less and is so open to going with me to exercise classes and killing herself for me! :)

8. I am blessed with being a mother to a child that i so desperetely wanted. I have watched her grow and learn and laugh and cry. All of it has made me a better person.

9. Being fortunate enough to not have tons of money but enough to get by and make sure my daughter is taken care of.

10. I am so happy that i actually got to read a book that made me laugh out loud today. I forgot about how something like reading can change your whole day! Kudos to Jenny McCarthy! :)

Sick....

Well Nicole and I have been sick now for a few days. Mine started last week and still has not gone away, i assume allergies are involved as well. Nikki was sick for about 3 days i think today she is doing much better. Thank god! We are headed out this morning to find something to do. This rain really makes the day drag.

Nicole had gymnastics yesterday and she learned 3 new things! One of them was a backwards somersault! She was so excited! She does so good in that class. I think we will stick with gymnastics. She seems the most focused.

Corey is back to working his weekend schedule which sucks. He has been working as boss all week. He has been pretty beat, getting headaches...but he is going to the Sox game on Sunday with his friend Owen so that will be a nice release for him.

Alrighty thats that for this weekend! XOXOXO

Mothers Day

Well, Happy Mothers Day to everyone!!! I was sick on this Moms Day, so it was a hard weekend for me. But on Saturday Corey and Nicole gave me a beautiful ring, balloons, flowers, a card, and CAKE!!!!! On Sunday i took my momma out for lunch and we had a good time! So here are some pics of us!!!!

This is for Uncle Rick

Red Sox!

Janet won us some tickets to the Red Sox this weekend! We had amazing seats and a good time! Too bad the weather was yucky....