Homecoming Parade 2011

I'm sure I'm not the only one who is glad it's finally Friday!

This morning I got up, did some cleaning around the house, and then met my Aunt Sherrie to pick up Kerriann!  She went to stay with her on Wednesday morning and I have really been missing her!  I've been using the time to get ready for my first midterm on Tuesday, so it was great for me to have some time to focus.  I know she always has a great time visiting Aunt Sherrie, Uncle John, and Harvey, as well as Chris and Brandon if they're around.  I'm told they had lots of tea parties and took Harvey for walks.  I know they really wore her out, because she took a 2.5 hour nap for me this afternoon!  This might have been an all time record for her!  It was great because I was able to catch up on my laundry and cleaning around the house that I've been neglecting to study.

After Kerriann's nap, we picked Christiane up and went to the mall for a little while just to get out of the house.  After we were finished there, we went to the WVU homecoming parade.  My sorority was having a "watch party" at their house, so that was our first stop.  We met up with one of my best friends, former roommate, and bridesmaid (you might remember her from the wedding!), Katie, and her boyfriend there.  Katie was actually the homecoming queen two years ago (I'm so proud! ;)).

The following photos are horrible, yet kind of hilarious, hence why I'm not blowing them up as big as I normally make the photos on here...keep in mind that we had been standing out in the rain for an hour and that Kerriann is not a very cooperative photo subject! ;)

There weren't many people at the house that we knew, and I think Kerriann was making the little pledges nervous haha... so we headed outside into the rain.  It was in the 50's so pretty chilly compared to what we're used to!  We lasted about an hour before I decided we should probably get home.  Kerriann loved the parade so much.  Her favorite parts were the marching band, the dance teams and their music, and trying her first Three Musketeers bar.  She actually had two bite size candy bars and she was in HEAVEN!  Her facial expressions were hilarious as she was eating them.  I have never seen her so happy in my life.  She probably could have stayed at the parade all night but we were all soaking wet and it was getting close to bedtime, so we headed home for a nice warm bath and snack before bed.  We were able to Skype with Kevin for about 20 minutes which was really nice since she hasn't talked to him all week.

The weather is supposed to be just as bad, if not worse, for the homecoming football game tomorrow.  I'm disappointed because I was really looking forward to taking Kerriann to a few tailgates so she could meet some of my friends that are in town.  Hopefully the weather will hold out for at least an hour or so so we can get out and see everyone that made the trip into town!

Oh, and I forgot to add that the girls at the Chi Omega house taught Kerriann to say "Go Chi O" and she even remembered it and said it to Kevin while we were talking on Skype tonight!  I think we have a future owl baby on our hands! :)

Fall Bucket List

Yesterday while browsing Pinterest during a study break, I stumbled across this cute Fall Bucket List and immediately printed it off and decided to attempt to complete every item before winter arrives.

I know some of them will be a little tricky with Kerriann and with Kevin gone (go on a date?  maybe they mean a mother/daughter date?), but I think with a little dedication I will be able to make this a fall to remember!

I'm not sure exactly what we'll be doing there, but Kerriann's school has their first field trip planned for a trip to Rich's Fright Farm in October.  Many of my friends will know exactly what fright farm is and will be wondering why they would allow children to be taken there... hahahahaha... anyways... before I take a stroll down memory lane... I'm guessing they have pumpkin patches, hay rides, and corn mazes or something like that for daytime, family-friendly activities.  This will be an opportunity for me to cross a few items off of the list in one day!

In other news, today makes TWO WEEKS since Kevin left.  It seems like it's been so much longer than two weeks, but I guess every extremely long countdown has to begin somewhere.

I know I'm just throwing a lot of random thoughts out there at this point, but today was Kerriann's first day that she didn't have all smileys on her report sheet from school.  Each day I get a daily sheet with smiley faces saying how she did in different areas.  Today in "listening" and "using my words" categories she had straight lines instead of smileys drawn in.  She was in a cranky mood this evening when I took her to Chick Fil A for dinner (it was Mickey Mouse Clubhouse night) so I'm guessing she was just having a bad day.  Poor thing.  We were able to Skype with Kevin tonight and she was more quiet than usual.  I hope she will be back to her usual, cheery self by tomorrow!

Quality time with Kerriann

On Sunday I was able to spend lots of quality time with Kerriann, which I needed very much!  For some reason I just wasn't feeling as good yesterday as I have been lately.  I guess it's normal to have "off" days.

When I woke up early Sunday I got ready as fast as I could so I could head down to Gassaway to pick up Kerriann.  I arrived around 10:30 and it was so great to be reunited with her!

My mom rode back to Morgantown with us so she could pick up her new car (aka Kevin's old car, it's so nice that we could sell it and keep it in the family!).  On the way we stopped to have lunch and run a couple of errands.

I gave my mom a quick tour of our new place and then she had to get back home.  Since it was in the 80's I decided it would be a good opportunity to spend some time out on our deck.  I gave Kerriann's water/sand table a good cleaning and then she had some fun playing with it and riding her tricycle.  We also spent some time playing in her play room (the basement) and watching tv.  We haven't had time to just hang out at our new house like that since... well... ever!

A quiet day was just what I needed to get back on track before the week started.  I didn't have class today, but I used my free time to start preparing for my first mid-term next week and work on my latest photojournalism assignment.  One of the photos that we need for class this week is a "detail" photo of something in nature.  I was really surprised to find that so many leaves were already falling around Morgantown.

I can't believe in the next month these beautiful flowers will be gone and all that will be left is fall scenery.  I'm going to miss the warm weather, but I have to say, I am ready for a change.

I survived!

Yes that's right, I survived the big game weekend in Morgantown!  Sadly, my Mountaineers did not win, but it was still a great weekend and there was lots of WVU pride to be found everywhere you looked.

I had Friday off but I took Kerriann to school and used the rest of the morning to work on an assignment that I forgot was due on Thursday evening (oops!)... after I turned it in I decided to head up to the Mountainlair green to check out the ESPN Gameday situation.

I was excited to see that there were a ton of people hanging around all ready, as well as a mini tent city of people camping out waiting for the broadcast on Saturday morning.

Poor Tiger...

I was so mad, because I JUST missed Erin Andrews!  I was chatting with these guys and right after I left she showed up and then wore his hat as she did a broadcast on ESPN!

There was a rumor that she was supposed to show up around 11, but after waiting for a good 20 minutes I had to leave to go get ready for lunch with a few of my good friends that were in from out of town.  I don't have any pictures, but it was so great seeing them and catching up!

After lunch, I picked Kerriann up from school and then we made the trip down to my mom's house.  Kerriann spent the weekend with my parents and from what I'm told she had a great time visiting!  She went out for breakfast with my dad both days and was able to spend lots of time exploring outdoors at both of their houses.

So Friday night I got back into Morgantown around 10pm and met up with a few of my girlfriends to go downtown.  It was really nice to see them, but going out is just not the same for me these days.  I just don't enjoy the loud music and smoky air anymore.  It was impossible to even talk and catch up so I bailed out early (even though early was still 1:30am!).  My cousin Chris and his friend came to my rescue and after a quick stop for a midnight snack and to say hello to Christiane and her friends, I was home and in bed so we could rest up for game day.

Saturday did not really go as I had planned, but I still had a decent time.  I went over to Christiane's around 1 and hung out there for the day.  I wanted to meet up with some friends but it just didn't happen.  Luckily I was able to meet up with one of my best friends from high school.

It was so great to see Chase and catch up... not only did we go to high school together, but we lived in the same dorm freshman year so we know a lot of the same people and it was hilarious to reminisce about the old days together.  He goes to law school in VA now so I don't get to see him nearly as much as I wish I could!

Around 7:30 we decided to head into the game... well... I didn't make it in... he had to go in through a different gate and I could NOT get in through my gate.  The line was so long and it didn't move for 30 minutes.  I finally gave up around 8:30 and walked back to Christiane's where I watched the game.

So, even though the weekend did not turn out exactly as I had planned, it was still a great weekend and I'm really looking forward to the homecoming game next weekend as well!

PS I can't end this post without a shout out to my awesome cousin Chris who stayed with me over the weekend...

When I came home from picking Kerriann up he had done the dishes AND he took out the trash!  Chris, you are welcome to stay at my house anytime... but I'm sure you already knew that! :)

College Gameday Craziness

If you're in any way connected to WVU or college football, you've probably already heard the big news.

ESPN's College Gameday is officially in Morgantown for this weekend's game vs. LSU.

I probably won't be around much the next few days because a lot of friends who I haven't seen in ages are coming into town, so I just wanted to give a heads up about where I'll be.

Looks like life in Morgantown is going to get pretty crazy.  People started camping out on the Mountainlair green earlier today in hopes of scoring a good location for when coverage starts at 9am on Saturday.

Hope everyone has a great weekend.... LET'S GO MOUNTAINEERS!

Wordless Wednesday-The Last Supper

Our Last Weekend

Here are a few highlights of last weekend (aka our last weekend together as a family!)...

Family photo take 1

Take 2

Take 3

Take 4

Can we just get someone to photoshop some heads around for us?

Take 5...

Happy Birthday Larry!

One Week Down!

I am so happy to announce that we have survived our first week of separation!

This morning after I dropped Kerriann off at school, I had an in home check-up scheduled for insurance purposes.  After giving the nurse my precious blood, and listening to her go on and on about how hard I must have it and how horrible this time must be and how much she hated it when her husband was in the military (even though it was during peaceful times and he was NEVER deployed), I was able to get on with my morning.

I'm a little bit (10 chapters) behind in readings for my Public Relations case studies class, so I decided to get started on that.  These chapters are long and BORING but I felt like I had moved mountains after I finished the first chapter.  It only took 2.5 hours!  Then it was off to search the bookstore for a new sweatshirt for the big WVU/LSU football game this weekend and attend class.

After class it was time to pick up KA which is usually the best part of my day.  When I arrived, she was in her teacher's arms (as usual, but at least I know they give her love!), but she was not crying.  They said she had an even better day today, although she didn't nap.  I could definitely tell that she was a little sleep deprived this evening, but I am so proud of her for adapting so well and so quickly.

Lately neither one of us have been sleeping very well.  I've been waking up at least one or two times a night which is strange for me.  Last night when I woke up I could hear her making some noises in her room, so I'm not sure if she's been waking me up, or if we're both doing it on our own.  Hopefully it's just the changes that have been happening the past week and we'll both return to our normal sleep (and nap) schedules soon.

Here are a couple of pics of KA this evening after school...

She was too busy watching TV, dancing and reading to pose for a picture.  Please excuse my horrible photo quality from here on out.  I really, really, really miss my camera that could actually handle indoor lighting situations without blurring. :(

Family Vacation-July 2011

It's been almost two months now and I still haven't posted photos from our vacation with Kevin's extended family at the end of July!

Well here they are, folks, what you've all been waiting patiently for...

(sorry they are a little out of order but I'm too tired to re-order them at this point)

Kevin, Kerriann and I had such a great time visiting with his family...

Exploring the town of Jim Thorpe, PA...

Playing ring around the rosie with Grammy and cousin Maddie...

Building sandcastles at the beach near our lake house...

Playing on the playground...

And at the swimming pool...

We were also able to get in a little sprinkler and kiddie pool time in the backyard... 

It was a jam-packed week and we are so glad that we were able to take some time off to spend with the people who matter most to us.  Thanks to  Kevin's aunts, uncles and parents for putting this yearly vacation together (especially Aunt Julie... I know you did a lot of work!).  We really enjoyed it and are already looking forward to next year!