The Big 39 For George

Well, my husband (George) turned the big 39 on June 29th. He is slowly cathching up to me. Unfortunately, I had to work at my part-time job but I did manage to make him a tray of his favorite food - which is lasagna and some homemade bread. The kids florished him with cards and one of his birthday presents manage to arrive before his birthday so the kids gave him his "Steelers" rug mats for his truck. We are still waiting on his new Steelers team jersey and Steelers barbeque grill cover to be delivered. After work I picked up a birthday cake and some ice cream and the kids and I surprised him with a few lite candles and by singing "Happy Birthday" to him. All in all, I believe he had a nice birthday.

Smelling the Flowers

I thought this was a precious picture of my princess. Gracie loves to help mommy with gardening and watering the flowers and smelling the flowers too!

In Loving Memory - Mother, Grandmother, Great Grandmother

Unfortunately, while we were away on vacation at Deep Creek Lake/Maryland George's (my husband) Grandmother (Georgie, Jake and Gracie's Great Grandma) passed away.

Geraldine M. Kapfhammer
Aug 29, 1916 - June 13, 2008

Geraldine M. Kapfhammer, 91, Altoona, Pennsylvania died Friday, June 13, 2008 at her residence after an extended illness. She is survived by four daughters: Mary Ann Green, Kathleen Clapper, Miriam Williams and Colette M. DiMemmo; four sons: Richard Kapfhammer, Thomas Kapfhammer, Frank Kapfhammer and Daniel Kapfhammer; a brother, Father Joseph Strittmatter; a sister, Naomi Buechele; 37 grandchildren; and 31 great-grandchildren. She was preceded in death by a daughter, Joan M. McDonald, in 1993; a son, James A. Kapfhammer, in 1997; and a sister, Vernita Roland.

Geraldine Kapfhammer was a homemaker, she previously was a secretary at Mental Health and she was a member of the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament. She was a 1934 graduate of Altoona Catholic High School and was a member of Loyal Christian Benefit Association, CCD Little Flower Club, Blue Army and Third Order Secular and was the recipient of the ‘‘Pro Eccelesia at Pontifice’’ from Bishop Guilfoyle in 1955.

Lord God, have mercy on "Grandma" who has at last been called from this life. We praise you for her life and the rich memories that she has left. Many years of life were granted her. Now that she has been called to the eternal banquet of heaven, I beg you in your endless mercy to raise her to new life. May she rest for ever in the joy that has been won for us by Christ Jesus. Amen

We were truly blessed to have had such a beautiful woman touch our lives in ways only one could imagine.

Threshers - T-Ball 2008

This year was Jacob's second year playing t-ball and he had an awesome season. The boy can sure hit a ball - that's our slugger (our Babe Ruth). We had a very busy season with practices and t-ball games and at the end of the season Coach Chris presented Jacob with a trophy, which absolutely made his day.

Breast Cancer 3-Day Walk - Harrisburg Hikers Fundraiser

I have taken on an incredible challenge along with my team the "Harrisburg Hikers". On Friday, October 17, 2008, we will be going to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and walking 60 miles over the course of three days, camping out at night with thousands of other women and men taking this journey with us. It's for an event called the 3-DAY BREAST CANCER WALK, which benefits Susan G. Komen for the Cure and the National Philanthropic Trust Breast Cancer Fund. Each member of the team needs to raise $2,200to participate in the walk. We have coordinated several fundraisers through bake sales, selling breast cancer awareness merchandise, sub sales, flowers, etc. We recently had a successful fundraiser at Friendly's, Camp Hill, PA on Tuesday, June 17, 2008. The team setup a table to sell baked goods/flowers and Friendly's donated 15% of all proceeds between the hours of 5:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m.

Horseback Riding

George and I took the kids horseback riding which was a lot of fun. Jacob was big enough to ride on his own horse and Gracie rode along with me. The views were absolutely breathtaking and we had a beautiful weather that day.

Jacob Catches a Fish

Look it how happy my baby boy was when he caught a fish. Jacob absolutely loved going fishing with his daddy when we were on vacation.

Swallow Falls

Swallow Falls was absolutely beautiful. It was a nice hike through the woods to Muddy Creek Falls and than on to Swallow Falls. I took Georgie and Jake along with me and they both decided to go swimming and actually went under the falls.

Deep Creek Lake (Maryland) 2008 Vacation

George and I took the kids to Deep Creek Lake (Maryland) for vacation this year. We let Lil' George take a friend along (Jacob Brenza) to keep him company. We rented a beautiful house way out in the country. We visited Swallow Falls, went horseback riding, went to Smiley Fun Zone and took the kids fishing. We did some eating out and our last evening there we took the kids to see the new Incredible Hulk movie. It was a nice family vacation. Below is a view from the porch of our summer rental - it was absolutely beautiful. We even had a bear come visit us from time to time - he thoroughly enjoy our trash and the boys had the fun of cleaning it all up in the mornings.

Isn't She Lovely? Gracie Turns 4

Our little princess turned four years old on June 2nd. It's hard to believe that my little red head, blue-eyed baby girl will be starting school next year. Time has gone by so fast. We had a Dora birthday party for her at our home along with family and friends. I put a lot of work into the party, because I wanted to make this day very special for my Gracie. We ate lots of pizza and cake, played party games which included a treasure hunt and the bashing of a Dora pinata and the finale was a nice water fight outside with the adults and kids. All in all, I believe everyone had a good time!