NYC!

For my Sister's 40th birthday my brother in-law planned a surprise trip for her to New York City to go see "Wicked". My sister and Mom had no idea that the rest of us were coming. So my sister and I decided to disguise ourselves. When we saw them coming out of their gate we approached them and asked them to take a picture of us. My Mom looked right at me and told me she didn't know how to use my camera so she wouldn't be able to take the picture for us. My sister was on the phone trying to call for a shuttle to the hotel and just rolled her eyes at us. She was just too busy! Of course I spoke in a strong Italian accent so they didn't realize who we were. Until I turned around to find my sister Kelly busting up laughing! I couldn't fake it any longer I began to laugh! My Mom still looked at us like we were crazy! So I took my wig off! It was priceless. I thought a Mother always new her child! Ha not that day! We had a wonderful time in NYC! Thanks Brandon for all you hard work in putting it together.

NYC!

I was able to run a 5K on Saturday in Central park before we left. It was beautiful, everything was in bloom.

On top of the "Rock" looking at Empire States Building

Time Square

Lolly's Michael Jackson Impersonation

St. Patrick's Day Run

It was fun to get together with some friends last minute to run a 7K. This was Katelynd's first long run, she loved it. The weather wasn't great it was cloudy and cold. By the end of the race it was raining. We still had alot of fun.

St Louis Temple

We were able to go to the St Louis Temple to do Baptisms for the Dead with Rick and some friends from the ward. What a wonderful day it was. It is such a blessing to have a temple so close to us. Rick had a little over 30 family file names to have work done that day. Thank you Rick for letting us be a part of your spiritual journey. We are part of such an awesome ward out here in O'Fallon.

Ice Skating

Winter is so hard out here in the Mid-west. The kids feel so trapped inside the house. A few weeks ago we had alot of rain and the kids decided to go ice skating on a patch of ice they found in the backyard. I can't believe how many times they fell. They would get a running start and slide across the ice. It is amazing, if you want to do something so bad how you seem to forget about the pain.

2009 Garden

So this year I learned a lot about gardening. First, it is a lot of work to maintain a garden. Second, don't always read the back of the seed packet, talk to gardeners in your area that have had success. Third, make sure you have a lot of time to weed, prune and care for your garden. I did have a lot of fun learning more about gardening this year. I had carrots galore! We got sick of eating squash. The Jalapenos grew so hot we couldn't eat them. Next year I have new techniques I am going to try.