First Time Camping!!

How old am I? I have finally ventured into the great outdoors and camped out! On June 18th, the YSA had a camp out at French Creek State Park in Pennsylvania. Chad and I drove up after work, stopping at his parent's house along the way. 

This is his dog Blaise. She is HUGE!

We arrived at the campsite after dark. Danelle was so kind to lend me her hands free flashlight to use the disgusting bathrooms. I was thankful I couldn't see how gross they actually were!

There was a good number of YSA. We roasted marshmallows, played capture the flag and hung out around the campfire. 

I ended up sleeping underneath the stars! There were 7 of us... Eric, Mateja, Bishop Low, Bobby, Danelle, Meagan and Me!

Pancakes were made over the fire...

Dutch oven meals were made... eggs, bacon, onions, potatoes and cheese.

After breakfast, some people went hiking, some went swimming and others sat around the campsite. Afterwards, Chad and I went to another YSA activity in Princeton. It was a picnic/canoeing activity. 

Yep, I am a hot mess! ;)

It was a great outdoorsy weekend!

Kirtland, OH and Family Picnic

I have been busy traveling this year. I REALLY need to catch up on blogging. Eventually, I'll post pics from weddings, Laura's bachelorette party and other trips. 

For now, I will post pictures from my Kirtland YSA trip and a picnic at my cousins. It was a great weekend. 

While in the Kirtland area, we went to Historic Kirtland, John Johnson Farm, Isaac Morley Farm (Laura's wedding was less than a mile down the road) and the Kirtland Temple.

This is the Kirtland Temple in Kirtland, OH. Here is a link to information about the temple and the other locations also have links attached.

After we did the historical sites, we went to the beach and then into Cleveland. The only pictures I took in Cleveland were of Conor and a fountain. When I got home, I looked up what the name of the fountain is. It's the Fountain of Eternal Life. I thought that was perfect for the end of the trip.

Sunday morning, I went to Ashtabula for a family picnic. We celebrated Daniel's high school graduation. I just love all of the great grandkids and great great grandkids! Not one baby had a melt down all day! That's just unheard of! 

Raegan (14 months)

Riley (14 months)

Rhianna (2)

Troy (1 1/2)

Shaelyn (10 months)

Liyah (5) She didn't want her picture taken!

Cayden (7 months) He wasn't at the picnic but still saw him over the weekend.

Daniel 18

We ate, swam and jumped on the trampoline. It was a beautiful day!

Haircut

So, I decided to get a haircut. I thought I was going to get long layers and side swept bangs. Then, I thought it would be a good idea to donate my hair to Pantene Beautiful Lengths. I was really enjoying my long hair... so why did I get it cut?! 

This was how long it was...

This is how long it is now. It's the shortest I've ever had my hair!

This is how much I cut off!

I have as much hair as I cut off! I enjoy the extra thickness! 

I always do this. I don't care how short my hair is cut as long as it's a good haircut. Which, it is a good haircut but I prefer my long locks. I know I have issues, but I feel like it's a fat girls haircut. I'm sure I'll get use to it! 

Philadelphia

This is Amber and Danelle! I love that they still have their Christmas tree up! Of course, I made them take a picture in front of it! :) 

Walking home from the boys' house, we put plastic bags over our shoes.

Kade apparently thought it was a good idea.

They don't plow the streets!

Amber let me wear her boots! 

See the black dot under the bumper. I lost my phone Saturday night and found it Sunday night. It still works! :) Thank goodness the person never moved their car!

2010 so far...

First off, I have to say, STUPID GROUNDHOG! Yes, Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow. There's a blizzard happening at this exact moment! The kids are off from school, Bill is off from work and Ellen already had the day off.

What's new in 2010? There's one difference, (As I wrote that comma, it made me think of Professor Bruce David Bruce. I had him for Humanities. HUM 109 Great Books: Modern- A course on Mark Twain and HUM 107 Great Books: Ancient- A course on Homer, The Iliad and The Odyssey. When he handed back our last essays, several had a pamphlet on how to use punctuation marks! My sister was in the class and she didn't get a pamphlet! You can always inform me if you see the same mistake over and over!  Here's a link to his free downloads, Good ol' Bruce Bruce! Sorry about that rant....) I transferred my records to the Philadelphia 3rd Ward. I really enjoy it and have started making friends! YAY for friends! ;)

The first Sunday, I sat behind Melonie Bunker and a girl Heather, who is getting baptized on Saturday!! After sacrament, Amber Hopkins introduced herself to me. In Relief Society, Danelle Nielson sat next to me. Come to find out, Amber and Danelle are ward missionaries and roommates. Maybe they didn't want to come talk to me or sit next to me but thank goodness for callings! ;)

Danelle and Amber have let me stay at their place over the weekends. I am so thankful! I don't think they really understand exactly how appreciative I am! They live close to Ben, Bradford, Alex, Kryn and Kade. When I go to Philly, I spend my time between the two houses. In a way, it reminds me of college and I'm enjoying every minute of it! The only problem, I don't want to annoy the girls by coming every weekend. To my surprise, I really enjoy Philadelphia and could see myself living there! The biggest perk would be living close to friends.

Carlo's Bakery

Today I went to Hoboken, NJ (an hour away) to get a cake at Carlo's Bakery. Carlo's Bakery is on TLC's show "Cake Boss". I wasn't expecting to see the Statue of Liberty on the drive!

This is Carlo's Bakery. It took a while to find a parking spot!

This is Mary, I was expecting her to be mean!

I asked her if people taking her picture annoyed her. 

She said, "No, what annoys me are my sisters!" 

Then, she smiled for a picture.

I told her if I worked there I would cry.
She informed me that it is VERY hard working there.
This is what her bio on TLC says:
Mary Sciarrone is the middle child of all the Valastro siblings and works at the bakery on the retail side dealing with customers. This at times seems like an odd job for her because she is by far the most confrontational, outspoken and blunt member of the family.

This is another sister, Maddalena.

 Maddalena 'Madeline' Castano is the second oldest Valastro sister and she's incredibly loyal and hard working. She's married to Buddy's right-hand ma, Mauro and works at the front counter with the rest of the girls.

This is Mauro. He smiled for the picture... I just took it too soon! I said, "I know it's cold but smile!"

This is the most expensive cake I've ever bought, and will ever buy, in my life! I doubt my wedding cake will be this much per person! How much was it? $44.95! It's an 8" cake! It better be amazingly delicious!

This is the picture from TLC. Mary said where Buddy was but I couldn't hear/understand her.

I was really surprised how nice everyone was! I talked to all of the main people that I saw... I was actually outgoing today! ;)

Steelers game in Ohio

I decided to make a trip to Ohio to go to the Steelers vs. Browns game in Cleveland on December 10th. My mother is also in Ohio so I thought it was a great opportunity to visit her and go to a Thursday game!

On the way there, it was really windy and started snowing in Ashtabula County. 

Thursday, I went and got a gym membership and went shopping with my cousins and mother. Then, Daniel and I headed to Cleveland. We went tailgating before the game. It was FREEZING! Not even kidding, -14˚ with the windshield! Yes, -14˚ and I was outside for 8 hours! I really thought my toes might just fall off. I was bundled up but there's nothing you can do when it's THAT cold! I really enjoyed spending time with Derrick and Daniel! It was also a great time at the game, even though the Steelers lost. I can't say I was expecting them to win... I have no clue what their issue is!

It might have been really cold in Cleveland but it wasn't snowing! Of course, on the way home, it was snowing in Ashtabula! Oh how I love the snow belt! It was snowing so bad that we were following each other in one line going about 40 mph. Then, when we got off the highway, it was even worse! I could not see where the road was, wasn't sure if I would get up the hills and overall it was terrible! 

Yeah, we got about a foot over night. School was cancelled and life doesn't stop because of snow. My aunts and cousins are teachers, so we had the day to shop! We went to Mentor. This semi wrecked because he just got into Ashtabula County

and it changes from NO snow to quite a bit of snow! This is Mentor... about 15 minutes away from where the semi was... It's not snowing, that's just from the window.

Anyways, I tried on a bridesmaid dress and this is the winner...

I got to meet my new cousins!! Shaelyn and Cayden! This is Liyah and Shaelyn (cousins).  

This is Liyah and Cayden (siblings).

Then, the drive home was terrible! It was an extra hour and a half (8.5 hours). An ice storm made the hills slippery, to say the least! I was glad to be home!