Vickie's Angel Charity Walk (Breast Cancer) October 8, 2011

I participated in Vicke's Angel Charity Walk with my friend Kathy on Saturday, October 8th.  we were on team "Kristie's Krusaders" who raised over $12,000. I learned that these funds go toward helping those with cancer pay their bills - anything from medical co-pays to car payments - mortgage payments...etc...how incredible is that?  I must note that we had a beautiful day which is something we have not had in a long time here in Pennsylvania.  The weather has just been miserable but we were fortunate to have a lovely fall morning which made participating in the walk quite pleasant

Kat, Dawn & Brynley

First Day of School

I finally got around to uploading some pics. Attached are pics of Jake and Gracie's first day of school. Jake is in 5th grade now and went from the elementary school to the middle school so this was a big change for him and I knew he was a little nervous. Gracie is now in second grade and seemed relatively happy that school was starting back up. When both kids came home from their first day of school they called me and told me they had an "awesome" day.

 Jacob - 5th Grade (August 29, 2011)

 Gracie (2nd Grade - August 29, 2011

Gracie & Jake - First Day of School

More Pics of Gracie's Room

Jake's Room

Some more pics of Jake's newly painted bedroom!

Princess Loves Her New Room!

OK....my daughter has been sleeping in my bed with me since she was born. She promised me that once her bedroom was finished she would start sleeping in her own room and she kept her promise....she has been sleeping in her own bed for the past week.

Finally...painting is done!

 Gracie's Room - waiting for paint to cure so I can add the "white picket fence" headboard decal!

 Jacob's room - Loving the blue!

My room! Love my new bedding!

My Little Princess

Having a little girl is just awesome.....she brings me so much happiness!

Moosie Baby

Moosie Baby!

Pittsburgh Steelers Airplane (Charlotte Airport July 2011)

Back in July when I flew out to visit my dad in North Carolina I had a layover in Charlotte and to my amazement as I was walking to my gate I looked out the window and there was a Steeler's airplane...go figure. Had to get some pics of course.

Summer Happenings 2011

Wow...hard to believe the summer is near an end. Lil' G goes back to college on the 27th and it has us all a little bummed.  I know Jacob is taking it hard. Jake and Gracie start back to school on the 29th.  Lil' G got a job as a summer camp counselor which worked otu great because Jake/Gracie both attended camp this summer and got to spend lots of time with their big brother.  I got to visit my father over the 4th of July holiday down in North Carolina and me and the kids took a trip to Long Island where they got to meet my side of the family for the very first time - during my visit I attended my 25th high school reunion and got to see so many good friends.  I even got to see my BFF from back in the day Stacy Ann.  I stopped by her house (the house I onced lived in back in the 80s) and we spent about 5 hours catching up and just BSing...we needed so much more time though - 5 hours wasn't enough.  I did not realize just how much I missed her until I saw that smile - she hasn't changed at all through the years and still has an amazing personality (the type of girl that just lights up the room when she enters).  George took the kids to a Pirates game back in July for Jacob's bday and they all had a great time - Jake's Uncle Adam and cousin James went with them - Big G said it was a great time.  Georgie took the kids to the Little League World Series on Aug 25th and sprained his ankle that night and wouldn't you know we were getting on the road to Long Island the very next day - thank God for cruches. The trip to Long Island was nice, but the drive was horrible. A trip that should have only taken 4 to 4.5 hours took us 6 hours to get there (took a wrong turn and ended up going directly through NYC) and on the way back to PA it took us 7 hours - traffic was horrific.

TWA Flight 800 Memorial

Flight 800 (TWA 800), exploded and crashed into the Atlantic Ocean near East Moriches, New York, on July 17, 1996, at about 8:31 p.m., 12 minutes after takeoff, killing all 230 persons on board. TWA 800 was a scheduled international passenger flight from New York to Rome, with a stopover in Paris.

During my visit to Long Island last week, my Aunt Elena took me and the kids to Smith Point beach (a place I use to hangout at when I lived on Long Island) and we got to see the memorial that was built in honor of those killed on TWA Flight 800.

Long Island - August 2011

Well me and the kids traveled to Long Island, NY on August 19th to visit family and I also got to attend my 25th high school reunion while I was there.  During out visit we stayed with my Aunt Elena and Uncle Tony. I went to my high school reunion on Saturday (August 20th) and I got to see dozens of friends I have not seen in years.  I also got to see several family members (some old, some new) that I have not seen in years and was also my childrens very first time meeting my side of the family.  I attached some photos of the visit.

 Georgie and Aunt Elena

 Georgie & his Great Grandma (Enza)

 Franky & Gracie

 Grandma

 My cousin Anthony and his wife Amy and their three beautiful children Gabe, Jack & Peyton

(this was a bday celebration for Gabe & Jack)

 Gabe & Jack's bday celebration!

Georgie, Aunt Elena, Grandma, Aunt Dot and Uncle Ely

Me and my babies - Smith Point Beach - Long Island

Smith Point - Long Island, NY

Me and my babies - Smith Point Beach - Long Island, NY

 Georgie & Aunt Elena

 Gracie Girl

Jacob



Quite, Bossy and the Clown....

All three of my kids have something very unique about them. Georgie has always been quiet and pretty much always kept to himself...he was never one for words or expressing his feelings and it was always hard to make him laugh....shoot Georgie never even showed any sort of excitement when Christmas rolled around and he knew Santa was coming. Christmas morning I would be downstairs bursting at the seams waiting on him to come out of his bedroom and see all the presents that Santa got him and there would just be a blank stare on his face - he's just very quiet and reserved and is not one to express his emotions.  Gracie...she is all girl and it took some time for me to get use to having a girl after having two boys. I thought for sure she would turn out to be a tomboy with having two brothers but she's just the opposite.  Gracie is 7 going on 17. She is very articulate and at times I forget I am talking to a 7 year old.  She is always prancing around the house in my high heels (I find my high heels everywhere) and playing teacher or mommy with her baby dolls. She is very bossy, demanding and likes things a certain way (her way, of course) Those of you who are actually reading this are probably thinking "wow...she sounds a lot like you Dawn" :) LOL.  Anyhow, she's stubborn and can be a handful at times - but she is my princess and my heart just goes pitter-patter whenever she is around me.  My Jacob...well he is pretty outgoing and through the years became the household "clown" doing silly things to make us laugh.  Just to hear him laugh brings me so much happiness...there's nothing quite like being in my bedroom and hearing Jacob across the hall just bursting out with laughter over some of the silliest things.  Jake is my loving and caring boy...he is very sensitive to other people's feelings...he is what I call a "pleaser" - he loves to make people happy and is always concerned about other peoples feelings. He often just comes up to me and gives me a kiss and hug just because...I never have to nag him for love - my other two it's like pulling teeth to get some love and affection out of them LOL. Jake was difficult up until the age of 4 and then all of a sudden one day he blossomed. He has this incredible personality and always knows just what to say to put you in a good mood when you are having a bad day.  Geeze his laugh alone can bring a smile to my face...he's just so goofy!  I attached a photo of Jake in one of his moments:)

Funny Pic

I was taking pictures using my cell phone and I selected an option that allowed me to make the picture "distorted" looking...I took a pic of Gracie and it came out hysterical....me and the boys got a good chuckle out of it but she found it to be offensive and embarrassing (everything is embarrassing to her nowadays...go figure...must be the age LOL).

My Little Teacher

I will often pop my head into Gracie's room to see what she is up to (you never know with her) and on this particular occassion she had all her stuffed animals (I think there's a barbie in there somewhere too) seated prim and proper as she read them all a bedtime story. She is always doing something with her stuff animals, babies, barbies...I often wonder what goes on in that little mind of hers...her wheels are always turning and she's always thinking of something.

They Sleep!

 Jacob

Princess Gracie

They are such angels when they are sleeping...so angelic looking, huh? NOT! 

Below is another pics I took of Gracie sleeping a few nights later - had to take the snapshoot...too cute....
she even had a little sunburn going on underneath her eyes - not sure why she fell asleep like that...she looked adorable though!

My Nephew - Blane Russell Clapper

Eckert Seaman's Annual Outing

My firm's annual outing was at City Island here in Harrisburg, PA where we had a catered picnic and enjoyed a Senator's baseball game. The Clapper family even managed to get on the big screen and win $20 giftcards to Red Robin by playing the "Burger Shuffle". It was nice that we could all finally do something together as a family. Oh...did I mention the weather was all but "grueling"?? OMG!

 Me and hubby (George)

 Jake & Gracie

 My handsom son Georgie

 Gracie & Lil' George

 Jacob

 Gracie & Mommy

 Hubby and Lil' George

Kendall, Gracie & Jake with "Grounder"