Ryan to a friend at church: you're the tallest dad here. How old are you?

Our friend: I'm 32.

Ryan: My dad's 39 and he's not as tall as you are. How come?

Our friend: You know how I got so tall? Holding my breath and not talking so much...

quote of the week

N: I love rock and roll, put another dime in the juicebox, baby....

Rock on, Joan Jett. 
Rock on.

proof

...that green smoothies are yummy :)

you know you're getting old...

when you have to explain to your 8 year old what a phone booth is.

That's just crazy!

scrappy share

I created this layout that was inspired by this October Afternoon blogpost way back on Valentine's Day.  I changed it up a bit and kind of combined both of Nancy Holley's ideas into one layout.  This is one of my favorite photos of our family and I'd been wanting to scrap it for a while.  I tried to include some things that would identify our family with the numbers and letters. I loved being able to use my scraps and lately, I've been doing a lot more machine stitching on my layouts.  Might just have to get myself an assortment of thread colors... :)

wordless wednesday

a letter

Dear Phillies,

We are a family of baseball fans with three boys.  Boys who want to grow up and play baseball just like you.  Boys who want to spend their precious summer evenings and Saturday afternoons watching you play.  Boys who want their parents to take them to watch you play in person.

However, I find it a sad state of affairs that it will cost us a small fortune to take our family of five to Citizens Bank Park to watch a live game.  Sitting in the upper level in right field would cost us about $150 plus parking $20+, not to mention the outrageously priced snacks the kids will beg us for.  These are decent seats, but no where close to the field where the kids could be entertained by the Phillie Phanatic...

So, we've resigned ourselves to watching the game on tv.  Recently, my 8 year old son gave up a gorgeous Saturday afternoon to watch a 4:00 game, only to be affronted by a Viagra commercial.  Really!?!  Is it absolutely necessary to air a Viagra commercial in the middle of an afternoon baseball game?  With statements about "being healthy enough for s*x" and "having an er**tion," I'm guessing NO!   This wonderful commercial was followed by an R-rated movie trailer.  Just keeps getting better. 

What are we to do?  We can't afford to take our family to the game and watching it on tv has become a hazard in and of itself.  I'm disappointed.

The Phillies organization should take these issues into consideration if they want to create and keep lifelong fans of baseball.  The next generation of baseball fans is just as important as the current one.

Sincerely,
A Phanatic Mom

a look back at july....where did it go?

I got to visit my college roommate in Florida (o.k., it really was the end of June, but who's counting?) We had a great time together even though we haven't seen each other for almost 3 years...

We went to see fireworks on the 4th of July weekend :)

We celebrated my niece's 1st birthday on 4th of July.

Isn't she a cutie?



The kids and I took a day trip to the Jersey Shore to visit our friends who also have 3 boys...how does that happen??  Here they are patiently waiting for ice cream...

We dressed up like cows and got an almost free dinner at Chick-fil-a.  I say almost because Mark was too chicken (no pun intended - haha) to dress up with us and paid for his dinner!  

We celebrated my nephew's 4th birthday but I forgot my camera!

The boys and I took a {2nd} day trip to the Jersey shore with my mother-in-law and brothers-in-law and stayed way too late on the boardwalk before heading home.

The girls had a night out of rooftop dining.

The kids and I took another {3rd} 2 day trip to the Jersey shore to spend time with my sister and her kids.  The cousins had a blast at the beach and on the boardwalk. 

And we celebrated Ryan's 6th birthday. 

We wrapped up this busy month with a week of Vacation Bible School.

Lots of fun this month...but that's what summer's all about, right?

Hope you're enjoying your summer as much as we are!