Wednesday, December 2, 2009

Christmas Is

Just a fun video to go with my favorite Christmas song... Enjoy!




Christmas is sleigh bells
Christmas is sharing
Christmas is holly
Christmas is caring

Christmas is children who just can't go to sleep
Christmas is memories the kind you always keep
Deck the halls and give a cheer 
For all the things that Christmas is each year

Christmas, Merry Christmas
When all your wishes come true

Christmas is carols to warm you in the snow
Christmas is bedtime where no one wants to go
All the world is tinsel bright
So glad to know that Christmas is tonight

Christmas, Merry Christmas
When all your wishes come true
(repeat 3 times )

Christmas is sleigh bells
Christmas is sharing
Christmas is holly
Christmas is caring
(fade out)



Sunday, October 11, 2009

Mike & Steph finally see what it is all about!


Last week my good friends Mike and Steph came to New England to visit!  Dave and I were so happy to show our friends just what we love about living here!  We had a great time!  Here are some of the Saturday highlights...



Fall is the best time to be in New England for many reasons... the number one being the hot apple fritters of course!



The bees ruined a perfectly good picture spot... I am glad Dave made it out alive!



Steph and I have always been friends so it is really nice that our husbands found things to talk about too...



I don't get it...



Neither of us girls wanted to have our pictures taken (we are used to being behind the lens) so Mike was a good sport to let Dave repeatedly take his picture...



Poor Steph got sick... poor Mike got kissed...



There is really no explanation for this pic other than, Dave took it without our knowledge...



Yes its true, Waterfire does = Happy... crazy traffic on the way there, however, does not!

Come back again soon guys!  There is still more to see!

Wednesday, October 7, 2009

Jenny's Wedding




I have been blessed all my life.  I have been blessed with loving parents, who always encouraged me to go for my dreams (no matter how far away my dreams take me).  I have been blessed with a brother who makes me laugh and a sister who is my best friend.  I have been blessed to find a husband who can put up with me =), and whom I love more and more every day.  I even have in-laws that are a blessing to me.   I could list my blessings all day and still have more to write down.  So, rather than attempt to finish a never ending list, I am going to focus on the blessing that is my sister.

Mindy, I think, embodies the phrase "heart of gold".  She is kind through and through.  I live every day hoping that some day I can be more like her.  She is my sister and my friend.  It makes me sad when I hear of sisters not getting along.  It is something I can not imagine.  I love her so much, and I count her as one of my greatest blessings.

Recently my good friend and former college roommate Jenny flew me out to photograph her wedding.  I asked my sister, Mindy, if she would be the 2nd photographer.  Not only does Mindy have a great eye for detail she sees people as they really are and manages to capture that in her images.  She was such a great help to me all day.  She kept me calm when things were shaky and made me feel like I could handle anything because she was there.  

Thank you Mindy.  I love you!

Saturday, August 22, 2009

Weird New England Continued: The Crypt


I woke up today and since it wasn't raining I decided to drag my hubby and my sister-in-law on an adventure!  I thought it was about time to make another stop on my Wierd New England tour.

Our stop today was the Center Church in New Haven CT.  It is one of the only churches in the USA with a cemetery in the basement.  The church was beautiful and the cemetery was, well... why don't I just show you. =)  


Can't start the day without Dunkin Donuts... not only is there like 50 in every town in New england, but they are also delicious!



He's just mad cuz he can't have any.



I think she likes it!



The facade of the church was very New-Englandy... yes that's right... i said New-Englandy!



Suzanne was concerned about the appearance of evil, ok so she only joked about it... but really she had hot chocolate in her cup. =)



Back in the day, people paid a yearly fee to save their spot at church... can you imagine having to pay for the place you sit?  Well, this particular pew once belonged to the great Eli Whitney, the inventor of the............ Cotton Gin!



I know Dave doesn't really like all the creepy stuff I am into, but he is so sweet to come with me!  I am so lucky!



Just in case you get lost...



Ok, this tombstone baffles me... there is a letter on here that makes no sense and makes the words seem silly.  It looks like an "f" but it can't be because there are lots of normal "f's" on there.  I also thought it could be an "s" but there are normal "s's" on there too. Click on the pic to make it bigger and see if you can figure it out!



Because the headstones are indoors they are protected from the elements that would normally erase the lines used by the engraver.  



Sarah Trowbridge was the first person buried in the cemetery, she died when she was 46.  I don't know if you can tell, but the engraver didn't measure very well.  He ran out of room so he just started carving her name around the stone.



Our tour guide was great, but he kept moving whenever I tried to take his picture. So, I was sneaky... muhahaha!



I know it is faded, but this really was a sundial!  Its like primitive CSI... the coroner made sure time of death was written in stone!



Ok, this is a popular theme of the tombstones.  Supposedly it is the angel of death.  The things floating out of their heads are wings... not deformed ears.  As you can see they evolved from being more like death, to more like an angel.  I find the transition hilarious. Number 3 is my favorite, check out his nose... is that a nose ring, or a booger?



Here's one of me, I am always hesitant to give up my camera... I like being behind the lens, not in front of it!



Poor Dave, he didn't see the sign...


Next stop: The Chef's Emporium 
Dave saw a sign advertising this discount chef's store on the way home, so we stopped!  It was really cool!  The best part tho, were the funny statues.  They were all over!


Finally: Lunch!
I saw a sign for German food. 'Nuff said!



The food was pretty good, I had chicken schnitzel and Spätzle. For those of you who don't know, Spätzle is a noodle like dumpling.



Dessert was black forest cake.  It was delicious!


It was a great day!  To see more pics of the beautiful church, and the Tiffany window... That's right... the church had a TIFFANY stained glass window!... just click here.

Monday, July 20, 2009

In Loving Memory



This post is in honor of my Grandpa, Burt Penrod.  He left this earth one year ago today.

He was an extraordinary man in very simple ways.  He loved my grandma and his family with all his heart.  He taught me how to whistle and how to blow bubbles in my bubble gum.  He shared with me his great love for the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  He was always a good example of how to work hard and put his family first. 

He had a laugh that was infectious and full of joy.  He had a green thumb and tried, without success, to convince me that biting into one of his freshly grown tomatoes like it was an apple was a good idea.

He gave the best hugs.  

I miss him, but I know I will see him again.  

Click here to see a video of his life in pictures.

Friday, June 12, 2009

Vacation Madness!

Hello friends!  I am so excited to finish my vacation post!  I started this a few weeks ago with a very cool yet disturbing post about the Mutter Museum.  Sadly, this post only contains one eerie photo.  (can you guess which one it is?)  

My favorite sister (and no it is not just because she is my only sister) Mindy came out to visit with her husband James and we adventured it up on a road trip to the lovely City of Philadelphia. 

It was a total blast!  I wish I could do it all over again!  But since my time machine is out of order I will just have to re-live it through pictures!  I might as well take you along too... Enjoy! 


The Facade of the Mutter Museum
I couldn't wait to go in... Dave had other feelings about it!


In Shock
The permanent look of creeped-out-ness Dave sported after the museum.


Gubler Girl 
Pretty in pink!


My AWESOME Brother-in-law!
He fits right in...


Best Staircase Ever!
I would have so much fun photographing a bride on these steps.  My hair looks HUGE in this picture...



Story Time!
Haha!  Can you tell my sister has Italian blood in her?



Ah, My Love!
What a hottie! (I don't think I have used that word since like 8th grade)



Out of Body Experience
I like my new camera!  It lets me do cool things like this!



Ohana means...
And family makes for cool pictures  =)



Keep Walking!
And stay in line!



Pretty Night Shot!
Unbeknownst to me there was a bug waiting to scare me as I set up my cool shot.



And this is the result...
This is me freaking out because of the scary bug...



Refreshment!
After all that terror, I needed a break so Franklins fountain turned out to be the perfect place to rest our feet and have  a yummy treat!



Eating at the Twelves Grill and Cafe
Yep you heard me... the TWELVES Grill and Cafe!  A restaurant with our last name!



Table #12 for the Twelves
... at 12 Exchange Place, eating the Twelves Burger for $12.00...


The Outside
It used to be a bank... now the vault is the coat room!


The Twelves at Twelves!
It was really yummy!  And a nice end to our PA trip!



Saturday, June 6, 2009

The Airplane Ride of AWESOMENESS! (It was fully awesome!)


As you can see from the previous post I got Dave an airplane ride for his birthday!  And now I get to blog about it! Yay!

  We had so much fun and took like a million pictures!  I was a little scared at first, but it was actually really cool.  I did fine for the first half of the flight, but I got sick during the 2nd half.

This is the plane we went up in.  It is called a Cessna 172.



.... and scary....


The first of many pictures where Dave has a ridiculously happy face!

 

Our Pilot's name was Dave... He looked like he was only 12, but he was a really good pilot!


My cute hubby!


I think he had a good time... what do you think?



Dave 1 (my dave) was nice enough to let me sit in the front, so this was his view from the back seat! =)


My camera is awesome... you can zoom in forever, and when we did we found our house! 
No foolin!


What would a plane ride be like without an iphone? I will never know.


This field is how I found the way back to our first apartment whenever I got lost.


HAAAPYYYY!


Noodle lane is a family joke... =)


Sad =(


This one was too pretty to write on... I love the "s" curve in the river.


Maybe I will get him this every year!  He loves it!


Dave and I had one of our first dates at the capital building.


Having too much fun! 


I couldn't see the wheel from the front and I am kinda glad.



Dave really took some cool pictures!


My Happy Hubby!


Hahaha!  I love it!  My favorite show and my favorite city!



I had fun, but I was glad to be safely back on solid ground!