Thanksgiving

Hello Everybody,

I hope that your Thanksgiving holiday was as great as ours was. We packed up the family and drove up to P.A. to visit family for about 5 days. My mom, dad, and brother came over from New Jersey and Rachael is still down here with us so she got to ride up with us. The kids traveled great and it is really an easy drive. We had about 25 people at my grandparents house for turkey day.us My dad helped alot with the cooking and of course he and I did our traditional Macy"s Thanksgiving Day Parade watching. I would love to take the kids over to NYC one year to experience Christmas in the city. There is nothing like it. Caleb and Mallory loved playing with ALL of their cousins and it is always so much fun to have the whole family together.

We are getting ready for Christmas, and mom and dad are coming down around the 18th. I just love this time of year. Here are a few pictures from Thanksgiving, Enjoy!

The end of fall baseball.

Well, fall baseball has come to an end. Today we had our team party and the kids played against the parents. It was alot of fun to watch and they had a blast as well. Everyone had pizza and cupcakes after the game and the coach gave out trophies to the kids. Caleb had the highest batting average on the team and we are so super proud of him.

Christian and I celebrated our 8th wedding anniversary on this past Tuesday. Rachael was able to watch the kids while we went out for a nice dinner alone. Thanks so much!

Tomorrow Caleb is in the church play and then lots of yard work. Fun fun. Also be sure to tune into Monday night football and watch the Steelers (my team) play the Broncos (Christian's team) and I will post about that evening later. Haha.

Fall Fun

Hello Everyone, I thought I would post a few pictures from our past couple of weeks. Fall is here and it is definitely my favorite season (summer coming in at a close second). Haha. We have been very busy with Caleb's baseball team this year. Christian is the assistant coach and Caleb loves having dad there helping out. Also, having both of them in school has been interesting. Instead of one Thanksgiving feast to attend I now have two, along with every other party or event at school. Juggling schedules has been interesting, but I think that I have got it down pat. This past weekend we had an adult Halloween party here at the house. It was so much fun. I have not dresses up in years and all the costumes were great. (pictures to come) Then last night we took the kids out with some of our neighborhood friends, which was a blast as always. This was the first year that Caleb was really into it. I think he sprinted from house to house with Mallory yelling from behind, "Wait for me". It was really cute. It was a little rainy and cold so after about 12 houses or so Mallory said she had had enough and was freezing. Haha. So daddy took Caleb around the neighborhood to get ALL the candy. He was such a great big brother and shared all of his loot with his little sister. Too sweet!

Hope everyone is doing well and I promise to try to so a better job at updating this blog more often. Hope you enjoy the pictures.

Lots of Pictures!

Here are a bunch of pictures from our visit to P.A. More to come from the Big Apple.....stay tuned:)

P.A. Pictures

Our trip to the Big Apple.

So we have been very very busy this summer so far. I think that we have spent more time out of this house than we have in it. From going to the pool to traveling up North to visit family and then down to beach in Florida for a week.

We started off heading up to P.A. to visit family. I drove up with the kids and my mom and sister and stayed at my grandparents house. We had so much family and the kids really loved playing with their cousins and getting all the treats from their Aunt Gerry and Uncle Art. Christian wasn't able to take two weeks off so he flew up to NYC for the second leg of the trip. We stayed there for a week with my mom and dad in their apartment along the Hudson River. We were able to spend the 4th of July there and the fireworks that they put off over the Hudson were amazing. I have many pictures that I will be posting...We all drove home on the July 6th with 5 days until we headed to the beach with some friends.

Here are a few pictures from the P.A. trip and I will post more from the city and the beach tomorrow. I hope all is well with everyone!

Mallory's Dance Recital

So Mallory has been taking ballet classes the past few months and really seems to enjoy it. She had her first recital this past week and it didn't quite go as planned. She loved getting all dressed up in her costume and "seemed" to be excited about getting up on stage to do her dance that she had been practicing everywhere. So the night of the dress rehersal we are all ready to go, costume, ballet shoes and of course the camera.  This is practice for the next night which is the big show where friends and family are coming to watch Mallory perform. 

So we fast forward to getting on stage to practice the dance. She walks out and the lights turn on and she begins to scream! She is NOT happy with what is about to happen. The music comes on and the screaming continues through the music and while all the other little girls are doing the dance. So needless to say after a second run through and the crying continuing we skipped the recital. She is just not quite ready. She wants to still take dance lessons but we are going to hold off on the stage for awhile. Here are a few pictures from that night.

Summer is Here

Summer is here and school is out. The kids have really enjoyed going to the pool every chance they get and mommy doesn't mind working on her tan. Caleb is definitely our little fish and can swim very well now.  I am thinking that we may try swim team next year. Mallory loves the water and does not have a fear in the world about it. I am working her swimming by the end of the summer. We have loved getting together with all of our friends and and swimming at gammy's with the cousins. I am going to keep up with this blog a little bit more, I know I have been a bit of a slacker. 

Snow Georgia

Sam checking out the snow for the first time. Not quite sure.
Mallory outside enjoying the snow.
Daddy and Mallory outside. Caleb was not into it as much. He is inside the warm house.  HAHA.
Yes, you read that correctly, we had snow here in Georgia last Sunday. Not just a flurry either, we had about 2-3 inches. It was really nice and the kids (especially Mallory) loved playing in it. It was very pretty while it lasted, but I do not miss it all that much. I am ready for a suntan and pool weather.

Birthday's

My birthday evening with Rachael
Mallory in her Minnie dress riding her scooter.
Caleb blowing out his birthday candles.
I hope that everyone is doing well and enjoying this warm weather that is here in Georgia. It gives me the itch for Spring time.  So we have had many birthday celebrations these last few months and boy have we had some fun.  So first we have both Caleb and my Dad's birthday on Jan. 31st.  Since dad is still in Arkansas we will be celebrating his this weekend. For Caleb's 6th birthday we had an indoor swimming party. We had lots of family there and a few friends from school. He had a blast and I cannot believe my baby boy is 6 already.  Then we have Mallory's on Feb. 17th and mine on the 18th.  Mallory had a Minnie Mouse birthday party and she dressed up  in her favorite Minnie dress. (It was just too cute)  She got many very cool things for her 3rd birthday, and a few of her favorites were her bike, scooter, motorized 4-wheeler, and of course her doll house. Then for my birthday we had some friends over and had wings and played cards (which I love to do). Mallory went for her "play group" at Mount Paran, so hopefully we should hear something soon about her going to school in the fall. Caleb started baseball this week. It will be his 3rd season playing for Mount Paran and it is nice to see him starting to form friendships with these kids outside of school. Christian is helping to coach Caleb's team again and he really loves that daddy is apart of his baseball playing. Mallory is loving her Ballet class and I cannot wait to see how she does on the stage at her recital. So we are one busy family. Here are a few pics from our lastest events.

Let's Go Pittsburgh!

Caleb waiting patiently for the game to start.
Mallory all decked out in her Steeler gear.
She thinks she is a movie star. 
My uncle and his family who drove 12 hours to join us!
My grandparents who actually did the driving. :)
The Terrible Towel!!! You know what to do with these!!
As many of you know I am from Pittsburgh and most of my family still lives up there, and we are all die hard Steeler Fans. So needless to say when they were set to play in the Super Bowl I was very excited! I started planning the massive super bowl party that took place on Feb 1 at my home in Georgia. I even had some of my family drive 12 hours from PA to attend this blowout. We had so much fun and to top it off they won, so we were ecstatic. I think so of the people that came who were NOT Steeler fans thought we were a bit off our rocker, but only those who understand what the black and gold stand for can appreciate what was taking place in my home. :) So here are a few pics from the weekend. Thanks to everyone who came to celebrate with us, it was a blast and a super bowl to remember!

Atlanta Bootcamp!

As many of you already know I have been involved in fitness almost all my life. I enjoy lifting in the gym, taking all different types of class and even going for a long run at the mountain. Exercising has never been a problem for me. I look forward to it everyday, but to achieve the physique that I would like I needed to get my diet in check.  That is my challenge. So that is why I decided to work with Noel Clark (yes she is my SIL). She puts all of my programs together, from working out to what I put in my mouth. I have loved every minute and I am seeing awesome results. Well, on top of the coaching that she does she will also be starting a Boot Camp here in the Atlanta Area (East Cobb first). It is a great way to get in shape and she has so many new and innovative ways to get your sweat on! So if you are in the area or know of anyone who might want to "Take it Outside" forward them this link. She can also be contacted for her services this way as well. Check it out. Hopefully I will be seeing some of you for boot camp.

http://leanbodiesconsulting.com/boot_camp.html

Happy New Year

Friends playing the Wii at our house. It is one of our favorite things to do.

Caleb showing you one of his favorite toys. He also loves playing the Wii and he is the person to beat at tennis in our family. He is a pro!
My sister and I out dancing one night.Mallory practicing her ballet.
I hope that 2009 has been a good one for you and your family so far. It was nice having 2 weeks off of school and a little break from the daily routine.  Now it is back to reality. LOL. Mallory took her first ballet class this last week and she just loved it. All she wants to wear are her ballet slippers and leotard. She is taking classes from a studio right up the street (powerhouse dance). Caleb will be starting Spring baseball at Mount Paran in a few weeks and he also has his 6th birthday coming up at the end of the month. We are taking several of his friends from school and family to an indoor swimming pool for his party. He is so excited! Other than that not to much is new here at the Hydrick household. Here are a few pics from the last couple of weeks of family and friends.