Plant More Corn!

Dear Pa,

This morning, Mommy drove Daddy and me to the local farm stand to pick out some corn. We let her do the pickin' since she has "Corn Stand Employee" on her resume and all. She did a good job -- picked six full ears. There was a nice young girl workin' the register. Mommy thinks that the young lady, who is probably being forced to run the stand by her Dad, has a bright future in sales or marketing!

Anyway, Daddy grilled the corn with a parmesan-basil butter sauce, but I wanted my corn "straight up" with butter. As you can see, I put all six of my teeth to work and finished a whole ear all by myself. I think you and Uncle Rick have some corn-eatin' competition. You might want to PLANT MORE CORN!

Miss you. Give my puppers kisses for me.

xoxo

Rylee Roo

My Girl

Just when I almost caved and gave in to the millions of people urging me to change Rylee's name to "Christina," my Roogirl gave me a glimmer of hope. The other night, Roo picked up a little "sports bag" and threw it over her arm like a purse. Then she picked up her purple tea cup and Mommy's keys and walked around the house mimicking her heroine -- "Mama!" She had her purse, her keys and her coffee -- what else does a girl need!?!?! I know what you're thinking... shoes! Before long, my Roobie discovered the missing piece -- and slipped her tiny size 4 feet into Mommy's silver flats -- like Cinderella discovering her rightful place in the world!

Below: Mommy and Roobie in our not-so-matching backpacks. Camden, NJ.

Adventure Aquarium

The day before Chris' surgery we took Roo to the Adventure Aquarium in Camden. She loved the sea lions the best and also the sharks that swam over her head. When Chris gets better, we're going to buy her some fish for her room. "Daddy, fish. See. See."

The Chaos Continues

Welcome to the Looney Bin!!! I'm sure it's Murphy's Law, but... now Roo's sick.

As I'm sure most of you know, Chris had his ankle reconstructed last Friday. All went well, and he's recovering as best as possible, but he's squarely on the disabled list and now Roo’s wheezing and breathing like Darth Vader. Because I'm a horrific parent, I skirted the no temp, no vomit rule, and sent her to school anyway. We have no options for sick care with Chris on injured reserve, so unfortunately... that's the way we roll, people.

Roo and I are heading to the doctor at 3:30 this afternoon than home to feed and water the gimp. I wish I had video of myself at 6:00 this morning -- handing out meds like Nurse Rachet. Marley, check. Simon, check. Chris, check. Roo, check. So what if I put Chris’ pills in cheese!?!?!?! Gotta' love my husband. He took the pills without complaint!

Please pray that Chris' recovery goes well and that's he's off the bench soon!

Leader of the Pack

First Pitch

Thanks to the Kiwanis Club of Palmer Township, I was offered the opportunity to throw out the first pitch on Friday, June 11th as the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs took on the Toledo Mud Hens at Coca-Cola Park. Chris and I encountered the usual Gerber chaos at the hacienda beforehand (a sick dog made a mess of our carpet!), so we just made it to the park on time.

As a nice surprise, Chris got to come on the field with me and stand on the first base foul line. He was pysched because he brought a beer with him onto the field. It's the little things ;-)

My old man would have been proud... I handed Chris my purse and headed to the mound! They announced my name, and I threw an *almost* perfect pitch to the Iron Pigs starting catcher -- in front of 15,000 fans!

Happy Birthday Brantly!

Chris, Rylee and I had the opportunity to spend the weekend with Greg, Carly, Bracken and Brantly to celebrate Brantly's 2nd birthday. We really had the BEST weekend. Brantly is getting so tall and is the most unpretentious, naturally-comedic child we have ever met. She is also SUPER sweet. She was constantly bringing Rylee toys to play with -- such a sharer!

The rain held off until the end of the party, at which point the family moved into the garage to sit and relax. While we were sitting there (with the garage doors open), four-year-old Bracken came up to me and said, "Carry... I'd really love to jump in those puddles!" I, of course, encouraged her to do so!

Two minutes later, Bracken reappeared, rain boots on and umbrella in hand, to jump in the puddles. Aunt Carry couldn't help but join in. The moment was spontaneous and priceless. Brantly quickly emerged, with her umbrella, and the three of us jumped in puddles and played in the rain. I only wish Rylee had been awake to celebrate the rain with us...

I love and miss my girls terribly! Bracken, thank you for reminding me about the important moments in life -- it isn't preparing for the next board meeting -- it's finding the next puddle! I cherish EVERY minute spent with you girls.

First Pitch

On Friday, June 11th my Mommy will be throwing out the first pitch at the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs v. Toledo Mud Hens game. Daddy gave me a ball to help her practice, and we've been practicing so hard that I fell asleep (but I never dropped the ball!)

US v. Turkey and Memorial Weekend

Random Pics

Residency Requirement UPDATE

For those of you who signed the petition to keep Chris, Roo and I in PA, I wanted to give a brief update. Apparently, the bill has been amended to grandfather current employees in under the law; therefore, we can stay in PA!

However, there is a catch, Chris can never switch to another school or take a promotion at his current school. For example, if he wanted to one day be a Physical Education Supervisor, the agreement would be null and void and we'd have to move. Good thing he likes his job and has no aspirations for advancement!

Here's more:

http://www.mcall.com/news/local/all-a7_mc-newjersey-residency.7274631may15,0,6971118.story

Flower Power