Our Family Newsletter 2011

Well here ya go - I am a technology dork about everything else, I have been blogging since April - and I am about to make our first annual family newsletter on our blog site instead of the traditional paper one that is sent out in our cards. The best benefit? TONS of pictures and not confined to one page :-)

Let start in JANUARY when Maddy turned 14

In FEBRUARY, Dan and I celebrated our 5 year wedding anniversary and we took our much anticipated and delayed honeymoon to the Bahamas by means of a Carnival Cruise Ship :-) We left from Baltimore for a seven day cruise to Port Canaveral, FL then Nassau and FreePort in the Bahamas. It was an amazing time and it was so wonderful to escape the "real world" for a week (the house, technology, work, etc...) and just have it be the two of us without a care in the world!

APRIL was a time to celebrate

• Easter

• Dan's birthday (he turned 33 this year)

MAY was a definite highlight month of the year!

• My mom turned 50 (check out the blog story @ Mom's 50th) and we threw her a surprise party with all her brothers & sisters. She was completely unaware and was definitely surprised and touched by everyone's love and best wishes

Mom & "Aunt" Debbie

• I graduated from Shippensburg University (it only took three years) with my master's degree in Curriculum & Instruction with a concentration in Early Childhood Education (check out the blog story @ Oh pomp and circumstance) 

• We headed to Pittsburgh to spend a weekend with Chad.  (check out the blog story @ Won't You be my Neighbor) He took us to Pointe Park (where we played frisbee, went to Heinz Field, and many more sights) plus we hit up the Pittsburgh Zoo (I am a HUGE fan of zoos)

In JUNE Maddy enjoyed her last day of middle school (Check out the blog story @ The Last Day) 

In JULY.....

• We went on our traditional camping trip (check out the blog story @ Miller Campout) over the 4th of July weekend at Miller's Grove

• We took our family vacation to Colonial Williamsburg, Yorktowne, & Jamestown. (check out the blog story @ Summer Vacation) It was a fabulous loong weekend and it was stocked full of fun quality family time!

• Also, in July, my father had a devasting event in where a early morning fire destroyed their home and they were forced to demolish their home and rebuild. (I am happy to report now though 5 months later that rebuilding is well on its way and we all have high hopes that they will be in their house by the end of spring!) Thank you to all who have made it possible!

In AUGUST.....

• Maddy started band at the high school level (she will twirl flags for the guard) and we began football season. I was beyond ecstatic that Maddy had chosen for band to be one of her high school activities. I had SO MUCH fun doing this activity myself when I was in high school and I knew it would be an equally wonderful experience for her too! It did mean however though that I had to break my vow of never sitting at a rainy or cold football game again (you say these kinds of things after enduring them for 6 years yourself) but it was TOTALLY worth it. You can even check out a video of the SASHS band show at Band Performance

• Maddy started high school! What a momentous day :-) check out the blog story @ 1st Day

In OCTOBER our lives changed when our beloved chocolate lab, Bayleigh, was unexpectedly and tragically hit by a car and killed early one morning at the beginning of the month :-( Our lives seemed frozen for days and it seemed unreal especially after celebrating the previous day when our German Shepherd, Rocca, had a birthday and turned 3.

You can check out each of the doogie's blog stories at

Happy Birthday Rocca

RIP BayLeigh

Also during the month of October:

• Maddy had her first high school semi formal

• and we had our first snowfall of the year (in October - oh my, the insanity!)

Next month in NOVEMBER we were reminded all month long of the many, many things that we are thankful for (my reasons @ 30 reasons to be thankful) and finished the month off by celebrating Thanksgiving and Maddy completed her first 5K where in Shippensburg it is affectionately called "The Turkey Trot". check the blog story out @ Happy Thanksgiving ) 

This past month, DECEMBER, has been a whirlwind of activities as usual (I can imagine it has been that way for your families as well!)

• Maddy had her first swimming meet (read about it here: Dover Invitationals) when she kicked butt and has really been enjoying swimming ever since
• we celebrated christmas very low-key this year (tamaqua one weekend, christmas day ALL to ourselves- just the three of us, and then new years eve weekend with the Eckenrode families)

And that is our year in a nutshell :-) Hope you enjoyed "creeping" on us! hahaha