Birthday Celebration

Last weekend we celebrated my daughter's 8th birthday with a party, lots of friends, presents, and games.  We had our Face Painter, Casey, back again this year and she did a remarkable job painting animal faces, bugs and butterflies, and "masks" on everyone.

We had sack races and a balloon toss.  The sacks were made by my multi-talented mother in-law.  She made them with burlap and put "Happy Birthday Hop" on the front of them.  So darn cute!  You might even see these again next year.

But, out of all the presents Gabby received, I think this gift was the most popular with the kids (and adults).

You can always get a good laugh, especially if you slip it under someone without them knowing it (not that it's happened to me).  And of course, adding dramatic facial expressions makes it funnier, too.  Thanks Pop Pop and Nana.  Do you know how many times in a day I hear the unmistakeable sound of the "Whoopee Cushion"? The gift that keeps giving.  

Happy 8th Birthday Gabby Girl.

Another Attempt at Codorus

Last night we were on a mission.  Matt discovered another snapping turtle in the road that probably was misplaced during a wicked storm we had on Tuesday night and I was anxious to get some photo opts.  That being said, after dinner we headed over to Codorus Lake.  I just knew I was going to get some great photos since it was a beautiful night with an awesome sunset in store.

The turtle release went well.  We had to give him a little nudge but, once he realized there was water, he proceeded cautiously to find a new home.

During the release, the girls played in the water a bit.  Gabby was at work trying to "net" a fish, while Holly looked for rocks obliviously getting her shorts and shirt wet while doing so.

 Then, once Holly realized she was wet, the tears came rollin... Same thing happened once before

I did manage to get a couple of shots that I think are worthy of keeping (these were taken before the tired monster paid a visit to Holly)

Mission completed.

NYC Trip

Once again, the school district put together a bus trip to NYC.  Bus drivers are included because we fall under the same umbrella as the administration.  This year, I thought it would be fun for Matt and I to take on the big apple.  I have been a few times before with other groups so I didn't worry about navigating, just following.  This time was different.  We were on our own.  I prepared as well as I could and planned our day first with getting on the subway and going to see the WTC memorial.  The subway GPS that we downloaded on Matt's phone was a bit confusing and we found ourselves walking...alot.

This is Matt trying to look happy to disguise his frustration. 

After having to take a different subway line into the WTC due to a murder being investigated and the E line being closed, we made it to the memorial site.  Security was extremely tight and everyone is required to have a ticket.  The tickets are free but as they weave you through, there are about 5 points where you are stopped while security checks your tickets.

The reflecting pools are amazing and the majestic towers stood tall blending in with the blue skies and puffy clouds.  Engraved around the edges of both pools, are the names of the people that perished.  It was hard to imagine there was once massive piles of rubble and destruction.  Today, it's a beautiful park with trees, grass and benches.

From here, we walked down to the water and boarded the 3:30 Staten Island Ferry.  The Ferry is free and takes you past the most iconic statue in NYC.  This was a great time to snap away.

We past this tug boat hauling smashed up cars.  I'm sure they were heading to the recycling plant to cash in on the scrap metal.

After our boat ride, we jumped on the subway one last time.  Our GPS told us to exit at the 14th street location, which we did, and the last two hours of our trip was spent walking until we reached 51st.  Wish I had a pedometer on me that day because it felt like 10 miles.  Boy, it sure felt good to plop my butt down in the bus seat and eat my pizza.

We had a great trip.  I can't wait to go next year!

National Zoo Trip

Over the Easter break, we took a family trip to the National Zoo in Washington, D.C.  I was a little apprehensive about getting there because we decided to take the metro into the zoo and motion sickness easily overcomes me.  When we boarded, there was plenty of seating available.  We grabbed two front row spots and journeyed on.

After I survived the metro ride, which went very smoothly (I recommend this type of transportation when visiting D.C.), we followed the crowd to the escalators.  Let me just say, the very long, steep, slow climbing escalator was a tad scary.  We stepped on nervously, leaned forward, held on and didn't look back.  Holly had such a tight grip on the railing, her little knuckles were white.  Matt, Gabby, and I laughed and laughed and laughed about that.  Holly didn't think it was so funny.

Once we arrived, we ventured over to the bear exhibit.  This guy looked like he had been sitting there for hours posing for people to take pictures or it could of been that he found a warm spot in the sun and was feeling lazy.

We couldn't pass up going into the reptile house.  While we were waiting to go through, we were entertained by Orangutan's crossing over on the ropes above.

Matt was in his glory but the girls got a little bored.  Love this shot of the girls.  They were really intrigued by something.

 Can you see whose yawning?

 I was impressed how well this turned out considering I was shooting through the glass.

 Looks like he's smiling at me.

 Love this reflection shot.

We were thrilled to see the Panda come out of his hiding spot.

 Time to go home.

The entire day was perfect and we left with a lot of memories.