Chocolate Smiles

Justin had a chocolate ice cream cone tonight. And, boy did he make a mess! When he finished and had chocolate from head to toe, he turned to me and said, "Cheese!" I guess he is so used to me taking pictures of him with a messy face that he knew what was coming next! He definitely gave me some cheesy smiles!

Ravens Camp!!!!

Raven's camp was the best!!! And even though we were Eagles fans before Joe got drafted, Raven's camp beat the Eagles' by a mile, or more! It was so much easier to see the players, and we felt more like we were a part of practice than a nuisance. They boys and their friends all had a great time! I got to see a few of my college friends that I haven't seen in many months, so it was a great day for all!

We were on ESPN too! We were chosen out of the crowd to be in the background on Mort Goes to Camp! Unfortunately the segment we were in only aired once....my mother-in-law saw it though!

Joe left family passes at his hotel for us. So, we got to meet some of the players and the boys got a ton of autographs! Of course, the climax of the day was getting to see Joe after camp! He was great with the kids and signed footballs and took many pictures with the kids! Thanks Joe!

I took over 530 pictures that day! If you are glutton for punishment or just a huge Ravens fan, all the pictures are on this photo sharing site. There are many more of the players.

Justin is scared to death of Joe -

and Joe thinks it is funny!

the boys and friends with Joe
he literally caught this on his finger tips! Joe throwing a pass
the boys and friends in their Flacco jerseysBrian and his friends

posing for a picture cool sign
the Mort bus!

the youngest Raven's fan!

Good Friends

We left the shore this morning and drove home. We packed up more stuff to make the drive to Maryland. We are staying with my friend Erika -she is friend from college and a sorority sister - and her husband Chris. I cannot believe we have known each other for about 19 years! Boy were our lives different then! We are making the trip to Maryland to go to Raven's camp tomorrow.

We got to Erika's right before dinner. After hanging out for a bit, we went to a huge BBQ festival. Beer gardens and ribs - who needs anything more? I had really great ribs and Brian had a crab dip that was really good too. Of course, the boys had hamburgers and chicken fingers! Then they did want to taste the ribs -and they liked them!

After the festival, we put the kids to bed and sat out back on Erika's patio. I haven't seen Erika for months and months. She had a baby in March and as much as I wanted to see little Henry before now, things just never worked out.

But the great thing about good friends is that no matter how long it has been, you seem to just pick up where you left off. I was as comfortable as I would have been if we lived closer and saw each other all the time. It is a really great feeling.

As we get older, both my friends' lives and my life get busier and busier. But we always seem to stay connected. Most of us have kids and our lives have changed a lot. We have fun times and lots of laughs together. We cherish the time when our schedules align and smile about memories when we are not together. I will always be there for them when needed, and I know they will be there for me. And that's what really counts.

Fun Times in OC!

We traveled to Ocean City today to hang with friends. We didn't get there until late afternoon, so the kids played out back for a while. They had a baseball and a football catch and looked for crabs around the docks.

Then we ordered pizzas and the kids watched some TV. The adults sat on the deck overlooking the bay and took in the sunset with a few beers. It was so quiet and peaceful for a Friday night!


Then the kids got ready for bed and the drinking continued. Our friend had some sun burn on his face and his wife told him that cabbage would ease the pain. He was actually willing to pose for this picture.

Pool Party!

Sean had his birthday party at the pool - again! I think this makes 3 years in a row that he has wanted his birthday party at the pool. All but one of his friends showed up, so he was very happy. The weather wasn't the greatest, but the kids don't mind swimming in the rain! Thank goodness their was no lightning!

Sean and his good friend Reilly

Lightning McQueen pinata
candy craziness Happy Birthday, Dear Sean...make a wish!

I can see clearly now...

I went to the eye doctor today. Um, it has only been about 7 or 8 years since I was last there. I was told that when you are pregnant and right after you are pregnant that your vision can temporarily change because of all of the hormones in your system. And for the last 9+ years, I have been trying to get pregnant, pregnant, or nursing a baby.


I have noticed in the last few months that things are just not as clear and crisp as they once were. So, off to the doctor I went. Everything went well. And the funny part is that my prescription actually changed for the better! I have a very low prescription, and only really need my contacts for distance - I think my prescription is now -1.50, down from 2.00. I really thought my vision was getting worse, not better! Great news!


And with my contacts I am seeing 20/15 clearly and can read some on the 20/10 line too! The doctor laughed when I was upset that I couldn't read all of the 20/10 line. She said a lot of people don't even get 20/20 with contacts or glasses and that I should be really happy. Yep, that's me. Wondering why I cannot read the smallest of lines with my contacts in and not realizing that I have better than normal vision!

Proud or Guitly?

I was downstairs with Justin and Brian and Sean went upstairs to play. I figured they were playing Legos in their room, as usual. After about 15 minutes, it seemed overly quiet. So, I ventured up the stairs to see what they had gotten into. I peeked in the their room. Empty. I walked back down the hall and opened the bathroom door. Two sets of wide eyes peered back at me in fear.

I found boys playing in a sink full of water with their Legos. There were Lego pieces everywhere and water all over the sink counter and floor. The front of their shirts and shorts were soaked. Now, I am not the kind of Mom that never lets my kids play in the sink. But, they do have to ask first and know it is not allowed all of the time. They are both afraid to speak as I stand there glaring with my hand on my hip. Sean finally musters up some courage...


Sean - Mom, we didn't lose any Legos down the drain!


I could not figure out if he had lost some Legos down the drain on a previous mission, and was strutting his proud peacock feathers in saying that he hadn't lost any this time. Or did he really lose them this time and make the juvenile mistake of trying to proclaim his innocence before anyone had even asked a question.

Out of Room!

I never knew one could run out of room while blogging. Apparently there is a limit on the amount of photos that you can upload and store on your blog. When you pass the 1 GB that they allot for you, then you have to pay $20 a year. Or start deleting photos from your blog! Uggg!

Now, $20 a year is really not that much money, and you do get an additional 10GB of storage space. Considering that it took me about 2 1/2 years and 1071 posts to fill my 1 GB of free storage, I think I will be okay with the 10 GB for a while! And I take and upload a lot of photos!