Bradley and Ashley's wedding

Well, my brother and Ashley have been married for two months tomorrow, which is the true definition of being behind in my blogging. But it worked out perfectly being so behind because their photographer finished the CD of images just a few days ago. So voila! I have photos to use for this post that are significantly better than the ones I took while chasing two banshees around a reception venue! :)

Their ceremony was at the Gettysburg Lutheran Seminary. It was a gorgeous (albeit, hot) day. We had two no-nap kids, so it made things a bit interesting from the get-go. Carter was the guest book attendant with McKenna (and they also handed out bubbles after the ceremony), so the sweet boy had to be prim and proper.

It was a really pretty ceremony...I'm sure. Addison freaked out about 4 minutes in and Seth had to run out with her. Carter kept asking me if he could keep the $1 I gave him to be quiet. And Owen barfed. All Michelle and I could do was laugh. OF COURSE we were two rows from the front, too. Fortunately, Bradley and Ashley didn't realize everything that was going on during their ceremony.

This family photo was taken before the ceremony, so you'll notice the different changes of clothes on the Peryea family later (based on little Owen's episode). :)

In between the ceremony and the reception, we quickly got photos and then hopped in the car to get the kids to fall asleep -- which they did! However, after about 30 minutes, we really needed to head into the reception cocktail hour because Bradley and Ashley were going to be arriving soon. That didn't go over so well, and resulted in some upset kids. But when they saw there was food and a photo booth, they perked up. :)

Addison loved dancing with her Uncle Brad, and she was sure to steal the attention from Aunt Ashley for a little. Ha! 

The reception was fun, and Gramma brought goodie bags to bribe them to be quiet and well behaved. It worked for the most part; thankfully, they were able to let some energy out on the dance floor.

Bradley and Ashley were sent off with sparklers and cheers. 

Congratulations, Mr. and Mrs. Lauver!

Soccer

The time has finally come for Carter to play "sports." We signed him up for Soccer Shots, a program designed to teach kids the basic skills of soccer and give them a little bit of "play time." It's an 8-week program on Saturday mornings for just 45 minutes, so it's a good, simple (and manageable) first athletic experience. 

He really likes it and gets into it. Here are a few pictures from his first day on September 20. Even Oma and Opa were able to be there for the first day of soccer! 

Does this make me a soccer mom?!? ;) 

Apple picking 2014

It's that time of year for apple picking! Seth's family came this past weekend, and we did our yearly tradition of apple picking at Paulus Orchards and then dinner at Pizza Hut. Carter started soccer Saturday morning (post to come), so they were also able to catch his first day of soccer, too! It was definitely warmer than normal this year. The weather was still really nice...just pretty warm! 

Every year, I take pictures of the kids on the apple crates. Usually they have ones that say Golden Delicious (which is perfect for those little blondies!) but this year they didn't, so we just grabbed the nearest one. It will be so fun to look back on for size comparison. I remember when  Carter's legs stuck straight out! 

 

Now, we need to get crackin' to make our applesauce and who knows what else!! Yum!

Bye, Bye Baby

That's it. It's official. She's not a baby anymore. She's potty trained, she speaks in paragraphs, does everything herself ("my do it!") and now this. 

She has been pitching a FIT at bedtime the last couple weeks. Excuse after excuse and mounting frustration for Seth and I. Then it occurred to us that she might be tired of the crib. An easy removal of a couple screws and sissy is now in a big girl bed. Eventually, we'll switch her over to the white furniture in Carter's room because it's more feminine and we'll move this stuff over to Carter's room and convert this crib into the full bed for him. We just wanted to make sure it worked before we disassembled everything! 

Night one: 4 minutes of blood-curdling screaming, 1 fall out of bed at 1 a.m., and 6:05 a.m. wake-up call. We call that a SUCCESS!

Tonight is night two and there was about 15 seconds of crying and some tossing and turning but she's asleep! 

We pack her for college in the morning.

New job

I figured now that I'm in my third week, it's probably time to catch up and blog about the new job. A couple weeks ago--while on vacation actually--I got the call offering me the job as the director of communications at my alma mater, Messiah College. Messiah is literally 2.1 miles from our house (we mapped it to see the exact!) which is an AWESOME change from my 25 mile commute. In this role, I'll be responsible for managing the feature and news content on the website, and in key areas around campus. I'll also be the college spokesperson, manage all media inquiries, manage the College's social media, and serve on the crisis team. 

I absolutely loved my job at Penn State Hershey, but it sure was hard to pass up a growth opportunity like this so close to home! So far, things are going really well. And, I'm not going to lie, I LOVE the option of running home at lunch and starting a load of laundry, the crockpot, or relaxing. I've gone for lunch several times with my new co-workers and I've worked out a few times too. I'm definitely getting into a new routine but it is so very awesome to be home 3 minutes after I leave the parking lot.

Ocean City, MD 2014

Better late than never, no? :) We've been back from vacation for two weeks and this is finally done! (Though truth be told, I've tried several times but issues with Blogger have prevented me until now).

We had a great time in Ocean City, MD. Seth, the kids, and I rented a little condo from friends of Seth from school. Seth's parents and Matt and Erin (and family) were also in OCMD the same week but had a condo about 20 minutes away, on the boardwalk. Our condo wasn't anything super fancy but it did the trick for us! 

The living room, dining room, and front door. We had two bedrooms, two baths, full kitchen, and washer and dryer as well. 

We spent pretty much every day down at the beach near the rest of the family's condo, which allowed the cousins to play together! 

The first night we were there, we just went and checked out the boardwalk and ocean. Thankfully, Addison was perfectly fine with the sand! We also went to Harpoon Hanna's the first night, kicking off the vacation with a delicious bang! Mmmm....

We decided that with two little kids, we better be realistic about how much they can handle in a day. So, to play it safe, we opted to eat dinner in three nights during the week, and go out the other four. One night, we made burgers on the "grill" (i.e. the electric griddle) with fresh corn on the cob. De-lish! 

After dinner that night, we opted to head just a mile or so north to Fenwick Island, DE and check out a crepe and ice cream shop. We sampled a delicious crepe and got some ice cream too. The kids liked being able to watch through the glass. :) We also (quickly) checked out a country shop next door but oh my word, so many breakables. It's like bulls in a china shop with those two so we busted out of there pretty quickly. Bummer! 

We also checked out Sundaes in the Park nearby. There were kids activities and an awesome, awesome playground. We decided that we should just stay for the fireworks which ended up being cool for the kids. Carter said "wow, this was such a fun night, mom." :) 

The view of the beach from the pool at Seth's parent's condo. The weather was never super hot all week, which was nice. We were able to sit on the beach comfortably each day. Most days, we only lasted at the beach from like 8:30 or 9:00 until like noon. Then, the kids were ready to eat and clearly ready for naps. Thankfully, they napped most days for a couple hours. It allowed Seth and I some time for pina coladas, magazines, and tanning on our deck at our condo. 

For dinner Monday night, we went to Fish Tales. It was my idea so I take full blame. It was beautiful out and the tables were right on the bay. But it was SO WINDY so nothing stayed on the table, which was frustrating. Plus, it was right beside a kids playland so they were distracted the whole time. If we could have just sent them in and ate in peace (we were right by the playland), it would have been awesome. But a parent had to be with them, so it was kind of like eating in shifts. Plus, my shrimp was too spicy for all humans, so that was a bummer. 

We found some delicious polish ice on the boardwalk. So, so good. We also opted to fly Carter's kite (which never took flight). :) Worth a shot! We also took the kids into the Kite Loft and let them each select one toy. Addison chose a little stuffed kitten in a carrying bag, and Carter chose a stuffed bear and race car. Happy, happy kids! 

As we walked down the boardwalk, Carter couldn't stop talking about the Jolly Roger amusement part near the inlet. Of course tickets were so ridiculously expensive but we told him he could choose a ride. He picked the ferris wheel. So while Seth and Carter hit up the ferris wheel, Oma, Opa, Addison, and I hung out and watched. 

We also did some family pictures on the beach one night (taken by me). It went okay....basically as good as you can expect with two over tired kids who want to play and not smile for pictures. :) 

We took a walk out to the pier, got some snacks, and took in the sights of the beach. I dressed them both in neon so we wouldn't lose them. ;) 

On Thursday morning, we got the infamous surrey. Seth and I thought we were just super out of shape when we first got on because we were REALLY pedaling and our hearts were racing like crazy. At one point, Addison turned around and grabbed the brake handle and (thankfully) actually pulled it OFF. We had the stinking brake on the first 10-12 blocks. It was smoooooth sailing after that. PHEW! 

All in all, we had a great time. Vacation is certainly lively with two little ones...other than during naptime, I never got to read a magazine or glance at a book. HAHA. We ended up coming home the day before we had originally planned because of a rainy forecast, and it worked out well because it allowed the kids and I to go over to Roxbury to the cabin. 

Oh - and I found out while I was on vacation that I got the job as Director of Communications at Messiah College. :)