Sentimental Journey

"Gonna take a sentimental journey, gonna set my heart at ease, gonna make a sentimental journey, to renew old memories....I never thought my heart could be so yearny, why did I decide to roam, gotta take a sentimental journey, sentimental journey home." Frank Sinatra

This weekend was very sentimental for me as you probably already recognized from my last post. I figured I might as well make it a true sentimental journey and go to visit my Gram & Gramps' old house over the PSU mountain. On my way to the house, I called the new owner to see if I could visit and take some pictures for our family. The new owner wasn't home, but was happy to allow me to scope out the place. The drive over was beautiful and I could have done it with my eyes closed. I will admit that I got a little choked up as I rounded the windy roads leading up the mountain - feeling this burst of closeness to my Grandpa. This house was such a special place filled with so many memories with my family.

I was happy to see that the new owners have kept it up so nicely. They made improvements to the house (from what I could see spying into the windows) and I was really happy with how the house and surrounding land looked. The only disappointment was that the garden was more like a weed/wild flower fest, but that is to be expected since no one has a green thumb like my Grams.

The best part of the visit was that the fresh country air smell, the birds chirping, the rattles, the crackling of the leaves in the woods were just how I remembered. And as I drove up the gravel driveway - listening to the sound of the rocks crushing under my tires, I couldn't help but feel blessed I have such incredible memories from my childhood and adulthood. I was glad I went because I felt at peace knowing that the new owners are getting to create memories with their friends and family and enjoy this magical spot that will always hold a special place in my heart.

Pictures are below for family to see.

Kappa Reunion 2009

Above: Aimee, Jada, and Devon attempting KKG in front of Old Main

Below: Me, Jessie, Kim, Aimee, Beth, Jada, Devon, Kristen at the Nittany Lion

My sorority sisters have made a decision that we have to find ways to get together each year. Since we are past the wedding whirlwind, we are finding it more and more difficult to get together unless we commit to something. This year we decided to head to PSU to relive our college lives (or at least try to) for the weekend. It was such an incredible weekend filled with so many memories! We headed to our favorite bar hot spots like the Cafe and the G-Man - but also hit some other places that have popped up since we left - Pickles, Zola, and the Inferno. We stocked up on PSU gear, bought gear for our now husbands, children, or dogs. We walked all over campus checking out what we remembered and then being amazed by all the improvements. Surrounded by my dear sorority sisters and walking by buildings I spent many a class in, it felt like it was just yesterday I had graduated. I now know the true feeling of "time flies." Waves of emotion came over me - it was just awesome to be back after 9 years. Below are pictures from the weekend - out at the bars (and I'm proud to say we were able to close the bars down each night), chug off between Devon, Marlena, & Kristen, stuck in a rainstorm, 2am pokey sticks, and our crew outside of the Penn State Book Store.

Gavin's Baptism

Gavin's Baptism is what brought us to Pittsburgh. We didn't want to miss our 5 month old nephew's big day being initiated in to Christ's holy church. Mat Klody (David's friend since grade school) & his wife Kristy were the Godparents. Couldn't have asked for two nicer people to be the spiritual guides for young Gavin. The service was held outside and Gavin was such a good boy.

David and Ellen's church - a Methodist church - has an awesome minister. Really powerful sermon with a positive message. The message was, "You can change the evidence if you have hope." Happy Baptism Day, Gavin!

Alana & Val

Alana loves Val or "Val-e" as she calls her. This visit, Alana ran in my parent's house saying "puppy dog" over and over. Val then proceeded to lick her face and Alana just giggled hoping for more. Alana followed Val around, hugging her whenever she could. But my favorite part was when Val jumped up on the bench to look outside and Alana hopped up next to her - notice Alana holding Val's paw. So special!

A Walk in the Park

A visit to the Burgh is not a visit to the Burgh without a walk in South Park with the family. Alana enjoyed the playground excitement of swings and slides, and Val enjoyed the cool air on this unseasonably cool July day. Pictured above is David and Alana.

A Birthday Surprise - Or Whatever You Want To Call It

Let me just begin by saying that I am not the best surprise keeper. Once I know about a surprise - it is agony keeping it inside so no one else knows. I have tried just saying it out loud when I am by myself to try to get it out of my system, but that hasn't seemed to work. So when my mom and I decided to surprise Brian with a birthday dinner at one of his favorite restaurants in Pittsburgh (Lidia's), it took everything in my power to try not to tell him.

We decided on Monday that we would invite some of our family/friends in Pittsburgh to Lidia's to celebrate his special day. I came home on Monday and without telling Brian, I tried to get him excited by telling him we had a surprise for him. Like I mentioned - I am a horrible surprise keeper so this is my way of telling him by not telling him. It got him pretty excited and little did I know that I would be hit with the question, "If I guess it, will you tell me?" Now I was even more excited - now the surprise became a game for me. But I tried to keep my cool and I held off until Tuesday. By Tuesday, I had rationalized that if he guesses it, the responsibility will then fall on him and I would be off the hook from keeping the surprise from him. So I gave him 10 questions - thinking there was no way he would guess it. We had only been to Lidia's once before and there could be so many things it could have been. What I forgot was to turn off our ability to read each other's minds before we started, because the first question out of the gate was, "Are we going to Lidias?"

So Brian knew where we were going and it wasn't a surprise, but he did get to be excited from Tuesday until he tasted his first bite of pasta on Friday. We had a great time with everyone and loved the pasta. If you ever go to Lidia's you have to get their pasta tasting - nothing else on the menu comes close.

Happy 5th Birthday Val-e-val-e-val

It was Val's 5th birthday today. We spent most of it doing one of the things Val loves to do - driving in the car with us to Pittsburgh. She is the best dog EVER and we love her so much. She has brought us so much joy, laughter, & love over the past 5 years and we feel so lucky to have her in our lives. It is amazing how a dog can warm your heart. We love our Val-e-val!

Brian's Birthday Celebration

It was Brian's 35th birthday and we celebrated at Mr. Kenney's with Pat, Bob, Mary, Ava, Luke, Jimmy, Jeanne Jones, and Kris Hall. We ordered pizza, drank lots of beer and wine, and Brian got to blow out all the candles we could find on his half-eaten cake. It was his 35th birthday, but his candles made it seem like he was 46 or 64. Happy Birthday Brian!

Everyone Wants a Piece of Jimmy

Jimmy was in town for a family/work visit last weekend. We were all excited to see him and try to coax him to move back to Philadelphia. He arrived on Friday and we headed to the pub for a true Glenside meal. Saturday he pretended he still owned the Glenside Farmer's Market and worked the floor all day long - vendors and customers were all over him - you had to pry them off him. We then headed to Mr. Kenney's for dinner & Brian's birthday celebration where Ava and Luke eagerly waited for Uncle Jimmy's (their long lost uncle) arrival. Jimmy & Jeanne joined us for our Sunday hike in Chestnut Hill and after lunch and some chores, Jimmy made us his BBQ Pulled Turkey Wings for dinner. It was an awesome weekend and we love spending time with him, but since we couldn't get him to move back to Philly, we booked tickets to go see him in September. So look for our trip highlights at the end of September.

A 10 Year Reunion

I was in Columbus, OH for work and due to Facebook's help, I was able to reunite with my high school friend - Jackie - who lives in Columbus with her husband and two adorable girls (Ella & Alex). Jackie and I couldn't exactly pin point the last time we got together but we believe it was circa 1999. Jackie and I were really good friends and have tons of fun memories from high school. I found this picture below of our crew in 1995.

Jackie and I made dinner together and had some cocktails reminiscing and catching up on all the wonderful things in our lives. It was so cool to see what an awesome mom Jackie is. Her girls are so fun and they put together a puppet show for us before they went to bed. I'm so glad I got to see her and spend time together.

BBQ

And a 4th of July parade would not be complete without burgers and dogs from the master of the grill. We all came back to our house (including our friends Jeanne Jones & Abby) to enjoy some grub.

The Glenside Parade

Brian and I enjoy the convenience of having the 4th of July parade so close to our house. We believe (and hope) we may have started a tradition with the Kenneys and the Assenmachers. We saved our spot on Jenkintown road, packed up our cooler of ice cold beers, and enjoyed all there was to see. Tom (our courageous volunteer firefighter) walked in the parade so Jean joined us on the sidelines for what may be the 5th year in a row. Enjoy all the pictures.

Mr. Kenney, Ava, Brian, Bob, Deb, Greg, Sydney, & Nathan (look at how Nathan is chillin in his stroller) Me & AvaOur neighbors - Clare, Lee, and Thomas Our good friends Tom & JeanPat & Mr. KenneyAva, Sydney & LukeOur good friends - Deb & Greg Bob & Mary (celebrating their 7th anniversary this month)

A July 4th Homecoming

Brian and I came home the Thursday before July 4th to see news trucks outside our house. Fox, CBS, and NBC filled Linden's street. Being the nosey neighbors that we are, we sat on our front steps to see what all the excitement was about. Luckily it happened to be a celebratory story. Our neighbor's daughter had come home from Iraq - flags, welcome signs, and tons of veterans filled the streets on motorcycles. But the best part was her son (3 year old Dylan) got to see his mom. It had been months since they had been together. She road in the Glenside parade - see picture below, but she heads back in another week. We thank her and all the others for bravely serving our country.