SmamPhoto

I have been very bad about posting on here for the past few months, so this is my fresh start.

In mid-January I went on a vacation…finally!  The travel-bug was really starting to get me.  Geoff and I went to Las Vegas a couple weeks ago and met his Sister Emily there.  It was the perfect time to get out of Toledo.  The weather was absolutely gorgeous….65 to 70 degrees and sunny the whole time.  I had never been there before, so it was great to not only get out of dodge, but go somewhere completely new and exciting.

We stayed at Harrah’s, which was right on The Strip.  Plus our favorite slot machine was right outside the elevators when we got to the casino floor .

We gambled in a lot of casinos over the next couple of days, but only Ballys really let me win.

The hotels were all so over-the-tops, it was fun going to each one.  Well lets face it, the stream of constantly free drinks didn’t hurt either.  One of my favorites was the Venetian.  The inside was beautiful, the shopping was amazing and the live music fit in perfectly.

Then came Paris…

The strip at night was overwhelmingly cool and the Bellagio light and water show was one of my highlights.

Our last full day there had to be the most exciting.  We got up and the first thing we did was hit the table games at Harrah’s.  While I lost, it was still one of those “I just had to try it once” kind of things.  From there we went to The Gun Store and Geoff and Emily shot Uzi’s.  They each got to pick the targets they wanted to use ranging from the classic Osama to the always entertaining zombie clowns.

After the rapid fire, we went on to the Stratosphere.  Here I did the Sky Jump.  Where basically you jump from the 108th floor of the Casino (the very top floor), and do straight jump to the bottom secured by wires from the top.  This was the most exhilarating experience of my life.  After the initial fear, you just get to fall and enjoy the breathtaking view.

The below shot is the wire holding me in.

We were treated to a great west coast sunset on our last night in Vegas.

Thank you Vegas for taking all my money, but showing us a great time!

This past week, my younger brother Leo graduated from Officer Candidate School for the Marine Corps in Quantico Virginia.  He spent 10 weeks going through the most vigorous training our armed forces offer.  His training group started out with over 280 candidates and 170 were commissioned as 2nd Lieutenants on December 10th, 2010.  The first day we got there (after surviving the Washington D.C. traffic), it was Family Day.  The Colonel who runs OCS made a short presentation and then we got to pick up our Marines for a short Liberty (a break for them off-base).  After everything these men have gone through in the past 10 weeks, the reunion was very emotional.

Leo is to the right of the shoulder (first row) of the Marine in the very front.

We all went out to dinner after this, before Leo had to report back to the base.  The next day we reported to the base at 7:00 am….sorry Leo, 0700.   The Marines then went through graduation, with the traditional parade.  The amazing Quantico Band led the way.

In the shots below Leo is mainly in the center, except for the one with the Navy Officers.

We momentarily had sun, then the rest of the morning was overcast and freezing.

After the graduation ceremony we headed over to the Marine Museum for the Commissioning Ceremony.  The museum was beautiful and the ceremony even more so.

The statues in and around the tank were modeled after real soldiers.  And by modeled I mean that the soldiers actually sat and posed for these individual pieces.  I wish that the photo could capture how truly amazing these are.  After we toured the museum, everyone got settled for the ceremony, and all of the recent graduates were brought in.  Before the oath was the prayer, another moving moment for all the Marines and their families.

We then moved to a spot to pin on Leo’s Bars onto his uniform.  My parents, sister Emma, Leo’s best friend Kevin and I each got the honor of putting a bar on.

Leo then received his First Salute from retired Gunnery Sergeant Jim Osborne, a close family friend.

Leo, we are all so proud of you and congratulations Lieutenant!

Thanks to the recent wind storm, all of our leaves came down at once.  The front and side yards are now done and it is so nice getting to be outside at my very own house.  Now I just need to ‘Tom Sawyer’ some of the local kids into paining our wooden fence…

Our side yard before:

Almost done:

The giant leaf piles at the road:

Sorry City of Perrysburg, we still have more left in the backyard too.

Yes I did mean to put ‘Treat’ twice.  This year the day before Trick-or-Treat we decided to make costumes to wear while we gave out candy.  And we actually didn’t eat all the candy before we had to give it to strange children.

And yes, we did buy all the felt from JoAnn Fabrics, so don’t bother to look until they get another shipment in.  We are also hoping all the burns from the hot-glue gun heal quickly.

Happy Halloween.

Jean came to town for a 5K with Becca and Seth, so we decided to make it…”The Best Weekend Ever!”.

After the race, we went to MacQueen’s Orchard.  We got great pumpkins, and even greater doughnuts (of the apple cider variety).

Once home it was delicious fall beer and pumpkin carving time.

After a great weekend enjoying the fall weather, I had an extra day off to enjoy the weather with the cats.  Well I enjoyed the day, they were mesmerized by the bird feeder outside our window.

There has been so much going on lately, I’m thankful for a day off to decorate for Fall and enjoy the weather.  I just moved into a house with my lovely friends Becca and Seth.  It’s so nice to have an actual house with a yard.  And not just any yard, a whole acre!  Needless to say we have been taking advantage of it as much as possible.  Now that a change of season has come along, it is finally time to get out the Halloween decorations .

Now that the decorating has begun, I’m really re-thinking the decision not to buy the fake cobwebs.  They would look so nice, however the un-decorating of them, not so nice.

The only thing we don’t love about the new house, is the large population of the below annoyance, constantly swarming the backyard, anyone in it, and any kind of snack we may dare to bring outside.

Stupid Bee’s Go Away!!!

Nothing is better than cooking out at the park….

Except taking my nieces, Paige and Colleen, to the Columbus Zoo with Hillary and Matt!

One of my favorite parts of the day was when Colleen turned around at the tiger enclosure and when she turned back around the tiger was directly in front of her.  Needless to say a very loud scream and a very fast run by a 2 year old quickly followed .  It was so great getting to see my favorite little family.  Happy Birthdays to Paige and Colleen!

The 5th of July was no less fun than the 4th.  Seth, Becca, Seth’s Mom and I all went to the Toledo Zoo. The main goal:  see the new polar bear baby while not developing heat stroke.  Did I mention (with humidity, it was over 100 degrees?

As you can tell, we weren’t the only ones braving the heat…

And then there were the lucky few who get to be in water all day long…

It was one of the best trips yet

After a busy 4th, it was nice to spend Saturday night at Seth’s parents house, Stargazer Farm.  We also found out a new thing about the alpacas…they love getting squirted with water guns!  A LOT.

We ended the evening with a fantastic bonfire, some great food and good company.

HAPPY 4TH!

Today after Kayaking Geoff and I sat by the shore, and guess what came out of the woods!

And there wasn’t just one…..

They were so small and when you actually call them (just joking around when I did this)  they actually came!  However when I went to pet one, I was quickly reminded about rabies…oh yeah.

They are very sneaking and after you chase them away from you and your rabies-free body, they sneak right back up on you!

They also loved sniffing our life jackets.  As long as no chewing was involved, that’s OK in my book