Happy 100 and Halloween

Happy 100 post! Wow. This marks my 100th post since starting to blog in March '08. I think it's quite the accomplishment especially with having two little ones, my hubby and the house to take care of on a daily basis! I wanted to do something cool for my 100th post, like post 100 fun facts about The High Family BUT like I said, I have two adorable little ones, a wonderful husband and a disorganized house to take care of first! haha Maybe I will put that idea on my blog "to-do" list and surprise you all some other time.

In the meanwhile...here is a recap of our Halloween 2008 with a little trip down memory lane first...

It wasn't until 2007 that I was introduced to this wonderful world of blogging. Our little man of the house (Ryan C.) was about to turn 2.5 when I started our first blog in March of this year. I feel like I must take trips down "memory lane" (what a clever title huh?! ;) ) to include his many firsts before becoming a big brother in June. I plan to take many trips in the future, I hope you enjoy them. So here is my "bubba" in his past Halloween costumes! He is such a cutie.

Ryan's 1st Halloween! (Oct. 2006)

RYAN the LION (I loved that it rhymed!)

Halloween 2007

RYAN the KANGAROO (we both loved this cute costume-- I found out I was pregnant with Kara 1 week after purchasing this cute costume. Isn't it ironic that he has a baby Joey in his pouch?!) Ryan's 1st pumpkin!

Now... Halloween 2008

Kara had many "looks" this Halloween. Grandma High got her a cute ghost onesie that she worn during the day. My mother (mom-mom Delp) got Kara her official costume that she wore on Halloween night. This afternooon, we went over to Mom-Mom Delp's work to visit and show off the kiddies costumes. I am glad I did this because I was able to get pictures taken of them as well. Below is Kara in her many Halloween looks.

BOO! I'm a ghost on Halloween night...if you get scared....turn off the light!
Kara doing her best impression of Frankenstein!! Isn't it great?!
Do you like my socks? My "mummy" does!
Our "LOVE BUG"

I thought she would hate being in it but she didn't complain...too much. :)

Due to our busy weekend, we had to run to Sam's Club to get what we needed foodwise for the parties. We got home just in time to walk down one street for trick or treating. Kara was cranky so I took Ryan by myself. HE LOVED IT! It was so much fun watching him get excited to run up to the doors, ring their door bells and yell TRICK OR TREAT! He kept telling me to hurry up..."let's go...more mommy more!" Guess I wasn't walking fast enough for him! It was a gorgeous night too. Nice cool autumn evening....not too cold.

Ohhh...you want to know what Ryan was Halloween??....right....here you go. Introducing...

DOCTOR Ryan C. High
HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Champions!

Did you hear the Phillies won the World Series?!

No, NOT the Reading Phillies....

The Philadelphia Phillies won the 2008 WORLD SERIES!

I said in an earlier post (8.8.08) that I felt this was a LUCKY year. 8 is my lucky number and not only are the Penn State Nittany Lions undefeated but now the Philadelphia Phillies just WON the World Series! WooHoo! I must admit I am not a huge baseball fan. I've seen the Philadelphia Phillies play in the past and they never seemed to win! haha. Seriously, the last time they won a World Series was in 1980! I was only 4 years old and don't believe I watched that game either. But I had to post this exciting event in history because I consider Philadelphia to be my second home. I attended a small Penn State campus there, worked my internship at an opera company in Fairmount Park and participated in many art/drama events in the City of Brotherly Love. It is also very special to me because it played a huge part the night Chris proposed to me on December 21, 2002. I love Philadelphia and can't wait to take my children there to learn about it's history and of course watch some shows on Broad Street!

Going back to our very own Reading Phillies...every summer we end up seeing the Reading Phillies play at least once while attending a company picnic or other social event at the local ballpark. It's always fun to get together with friends/co-workers, eat yummy picnic food and watch fireworks after the games.

The Philadelphia Phillies also have a funny and crazy mascot named The Phanatic. He reminds me of a Jim Henson MUPPET! Who knows...maybe Chris and I will take the kiddies to see a "real" Phillies game and hopefully have them meet this fun mascot in person! What do you think...isn't he cute?! :)

Congratulations 2008 PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES!

You can say that again...

I came across this quote and had to post it...

"Cleaning your house while your kids are growing is like shoveling the snow while it is still snowing." ~anonymous

So true...so very true.

Nut Today OSU

WE DID IT!

Penn State beat the Ohio Buckeyes with a at the edge of your seat win of 13-6!

The first two quarters weren't overly exciting. Neither team scored until right before half time making it 3-3. Then Ohio scored another field goal making it 6-3. At this point, Chris was starting to get nervous that this might be the end of our winning streak. I, of course, being the optimist had all the confidence that we would get a touchdown and we did...and a field goal! I also called the interception at the end of the game as well. It was VERY exciting and fun to watch.

Our poor kiddies were up late once again (Ryan has started the "I don't want to go to bed" phase and will make up every excuse why he can't stay in bed lately. Oh what fun.) but we were happy to celebrate as a family.

If you "X" out the first 9 helmets, you will find that we only have 3 games remaining. Up next is the IOWA HAWKEYES in Iowa. Then we are back in State College to play Indiana and Michigan!

WE ARE.... PENN STATE!

Rocket Man

Mommy had a night out on Wednesday, October 15th.
Can you guess what she did?

Here are a few clues....

(yes there were A LOT of middle age people there--I felt like such a youngin')

If you said, "went to see ELTON JOHN in concert!"...then you are correct!

Our seats were on ground level. Which is cool because you feel like you are near the stage but also not cool because when people stand (which they do a lot during concerts), you can't see a darn thing behind all those tall men! We spent most of the time looking at the screen to see the ROCKET MAN play!

and boy can he play!

(do you see him on the left?)

What an entertainer! I've never been to a concert where the performer played over 30+ songs and didn't take breaks. We actually left (what we thought was) a little early (had to get back home to our kiddies) and found out that he played another 45 minutes after we left?! I never thought I would get to see him in concert. It was amazing!

This concert was his GREATEST HITS tour. I can't believe how many songs I actually knew (word for word!). So who do I have to thank for my night out at an awesome concert in the sweetest place on earth ~ HERSHEY, PA? Well none other than the BEST SISTER on earth ~

Tara

(ok not the best picture of us but we were only able to take one because my flash nearly blinded the people behind us...ooops!)

and I also have to thank her hubby Zach too because he wasn't able to go last minute so my wonderful and beautiful sister asked me to be her date! Aren't I lucky?! Thanks Tara and Zach! It was so much fun- I LOVED IT!

I was able to not only sneak these few shots but also some video. I created a montage for everyone's (especially my in-laws) enjoyment. I know you are ALL so jealous, aren't ya?! My little camera does NOT do this concert justice, you had to be there to experience it in person...but I am happy to give you just a snippet of what we got to hear that night.

So without further ado....here he is...Sir Elton John!

PS- oh...there's a surprise performance at the end from a little boy who could very well be the next Elton John...hmmm who could that be?

PPS-and if you don't see my blog up after this post, then the blogger police have it...don't know if it's illegal to post this video or not...I'm such a rebel! heehee

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Did I just catch you singing? ;0)

Kara's 4 Month Doctor Visit

On Friday (October 17th), Kara had her 4 month wellness visit. She woke up in the best mood that morning which only made her mama feel worse for taking her to get those awful shots. We decided to take a photo shoot of our happy baby (before heading to her doc appt) because she is so darn CUTE! As always...ENJOY!

**I apologize for some of the photos being turned weird...blogger was giving me troubles while loading the pics**

Our Precious Peanut

Can you GUESS Kara's new and all time favorite talent lately?

I told Kara that we were going "bye-bye" and happy Kara gave me a smile and it looked like she was thinking...

Hi-Ho, Hi-Ho...it's off to play time we go...

Wait...what did you say?

Oh we are going to see the doctor again...

Ummmm....wait a minute! Didn't they poke my legs with something last time?

Yes, they did and you screamed your head off that time too!

(you did much better this time around...cut your scream time down by at least half. mommy and daddy are VERY proud of you!)

Poor Sad Face. starting to get back to your normal happy self....
Next appointment at 6 months is right before Christmas...aren't we lucky?!



And what you have all been waiting for...

Kara's new stats:

Weight: 11.15 (gained 1.5 lbs) 30% in weight

Height: 24 inches (grew over an inch) 50% in height

The doctor assured us that she looked healthy and was growing on her curve. When I compared Ryan's stats at this age, he was small too. He actually only weighed 16 lbs at 6 months old. Kara seems to be only a few lbs. smaller then Ryan was. What can we say, we have petite kiddies. They seem to have their Daddy's metabolism! Lucky. :)

In Our House Now

WOW!

Is the only word that comes to mind after watching Penn State play the Michigan Wolverines on Saturday! They DID it! We won 46-17. Penn State hasn't won a game against Michigan in 9 years!

SWEET VICTORY. The game did not start off well at all. The first two quarters were horrible. Michigan had a lead of 17-7 going into half time.

In the back of my mind I was thinking, "oh no...JoePa (the coach) is gonna be mad." Probably wasn't a pleasant experience in that locker room! But whatever he said (and the other coaches) must have worked because the team came into the second half and completely took over, scoring 32 points in the last two quarters and not allowing Michigan to score at all! It was an amazing comeback and I am little jealous that Chris got to see it in the stands as I sat at home watching it on tv.

So we are undefeated (8-0) as the boys prepare for the OHIO BUCKEYES this Saturday in Ohio. The game starts at 8pm and it is either on ESPN or ABC if you are interested in watching this amazing team hopefully win game number 9!

GO PENN STATE!

Family Reunion ~ 2008

On Sunday, August 31st we attended the annual Copenhaver Family Reunion. The Copenhavers are Bobbi's family on her maternal side. This already large Pennsylvania Dutch family seems to grow more each year. The reunion always starts with a short meeting where minutes are read from the year before, we sing a few songs (usually the same ones from previous years!), prayers, monetary collection for future events and for everyone to elect the board (always the same people but it's funny to see my uncle nominate one of his sons to be President!). We also pay our respects to those that have passed (especially Bobbi's Pop-Pop- who was president for many many years before passing 5 years ago) and hand out prizes to the oldest and youngest family members. Kara won for being the youngest this year and she received a cute Leap Frog ABC toy (many thanks to the board for that generous gift!). Yummy food is always in plenty and it's neat to see what everyone brings for the chinese auction. For the past 10+ years, we have gathered at a local park which has an enclosed building along with a kitchen and restrooms for us to use. It is always fun to play in the park with the kids and BINGO with everyone (young and old participate!). We especially love when my uncle Billy invites his friend to help us with some FUN Survivor games. It's always a blast. I love that we now have this tradition to share with Ryan and Kara. I also love that they will always know their family history from journals kept and photos taken over the years at the family reunions. I just wish they could have met their great grandfather...I know he would have loved them very much. He had a tough exterior with a teddy bear heart. He loved his family and we all miss him dearly.

There were many family members unable to attend this year so our 2008 picture is actually on the smaller size!

2008 Copenhaver Reunion

Ryan with Pop-Pop (Bobbi's Dad)

Great-Aunt Margaret & Uncle Billy

Ryan loved playing in the huge playground. Here are a few shots from his day in the park.

STATIC!

Kara also enjoyed her first Family Reunion. I wonder what she is daydreaming about in this photo? Isn't she a cutie!

Of course we had to get a group shot of just the cousins. Like I said it was a small turnout this year...here are 5 out of the 11 grandkids my parents have! They look like they are in a line-up at a jail! Funny because....

The cops did show up!! Don't fret, he is a family friend. Little Billy (the one who is pretending to cry), Madison and William (Sammy is what I like to call him) got to experience what the back seat of a police vehicle was like...let's just pray this is only time they get to experience it! ;)

Until next year....

HEADS UP

Dear Friends, Family and the many Lurkers of our blog,

I've been a bad blogger! If you haven't noticed already, (then may I point out) I am trying to play "catch up" on past events. At any given time, there may be more than one post per day. Please take the time to keep scrolling so you don't miss out on reading about an event in our crazy journal of family fun. You may also skim over the BLOG ARCHIVES to see if there is a post you missed. It is located on the right hand side column...you can even visit old posts (aka journal entry - for you nonbloggers) by simply clicking on a different month. Pretty cool, huh?

Thanks for your time and many THANKS for visiting.

We love that you are here.

X & O's,

Cheese Puffs

I love this banner.

On Saturday, our boys played the Wisconsin Badgers.

Did you watch? Did we win?
7 - 0 ...that's all I have to say! WOOHOO

So we are going into Homecoming this Saturday with a perfect record (I believe Penn State is # 1 spot in the BIG 10) to face against the Michigan Wolverines. Chris will be traveling up to State College with his parents to watch game. I will be home (trying) to get our house cleaned up for a party we are hosting in a few weeks. I hopefully will also catch the game throughout the afternoon. I encourage you ALL to watch...it should be a GOOD game!

GO PENN STATE!

PS- Cheese Puffs (button slogan) = Wisconsin (get it?) ;)

(oh and it was ANOTHER blow out score!)