Hershey Happy....

Hello everyone...
it's been awhile since i had a good update due to computer issues that now have been resolved! whew!

did you miss me? :)

so, this past weekend my parents and my little unit of 4 ventured out to hershey, pa before zach starts back to school next wednesday. we just had the most terrific time. i recommend this area for so many reasons...

1) lots of fun things to do
2) lots of fun family things to see and do
3) free chocolate
... and the list really goes on and on...

we went to hershey park and had a blast. it was a bit rainy but you wouldn't have been able to tell. there are so many kiddie rides and yummy things to eat. the following day we went to chocolate world, where of course we got to go on the "ride" and get free samples but the highlight of the day was going to the hershey gardens. it was just beautiful and there was a children's garden section that surpasses them all! the butterfly house was excellent as butterflies flew around us. very very cool.
the final day we drove back towards lancaster. we got to experience a little bit of amish life while taking a horse and buggy ride and learned all about the amish from a very nice amish young man! a special bonus was getting to experience this with both sets of grandparents... the boys were in heaven!

hope you all have had a really nice summer and enjoyed every moment together as a family.

praying for a good school year ahead with many new and wonderful adventures to come...


my little hershey kiss. all rides he could ride showed this sign by them...


hugging mr hershey. he was so excited!


zach enjoying a ride...it's all in his face


on a train ride, having some fun!


how could you not LOVE this precious face? my precious precious one!


my sweet blue eyed boy... i love you!


grandma ridin' in cars with the boy


daddy and z on a fun and fast ride


a moment with my man!


on the tram...


also on the tram...


a sweet moment...


logan waving to all his peeps... :)


down the log flume as a family!


enjoying a sea lion show towards the end of a great day!


L watching the horses while on a buggy


z and mommy stealing a moment! zach loved the experience!

A day at the Zoo

What a fun day today has been! my family, including my parents, went to the philadelphia zoo this morning for some fun together and it just turned out to be the perfect day! the weather was hot and sunny, the crowds were relatively low (we got there when it first opened) and the animals were a plenty and so fascinating! i love the zoo and my boys did too! :) we even finished off the morning with lunch at the cheesecake factory! yum!
enjoy the pics...


seeing the very cool big turtles with papa and grandma


z giving L a hug and L sayin' "cheese". love this pic


hippo - so cute!


daddy and zach


mom and me


the 4 of us...


the boys watching a gorilla. they were amazed!


zach just needed to give that gorilla a hug!


in the children's petting zoo area...being silly


logan and the goat


grandma and zach cheesin' it up! :)


on merry go round at philadelphia zoo


fun little surprise running into 2 of my favorite families on our way out of the zoo! small world! love you M & C!!!


papa and logan on way out holding hands. priceless!


zach falls asleep promptly as we head towards home!

a 4 year old!

my zachary ryder has turned four years old! can you believe it? we can not. he is just the love of our lives and we are in awe of what God has done in his life and we definitely look forward to seeing what HE has in store for our precious little one.

10 things we love about you, Z -

1) you were an easy baby and still are...
2) we love to hear you pray... we don't always understand what you are saying but we know it's from the heart
3) you are completely and wonderfully beautiful. your hair, your eyes, your smile... need i say more?
4) you are always joyful
5) you love the outdoors. you could swing or explore for hours on end
6) you love your brother and watch out for him. nothing beats that!
7) you are more intelligent than we'll probably really ever know... try him... :)
8) you love school and thrive in that environment...
9) you are a good eater, especially if its yogurt
10) you are musical.... loves singing, dancing, "shows", instruments...it's wonderful to see

oh my precious boy there are so many more things we could think of and say about you. we love you. we pray for you constantly. we KNOW and have HOPE that God will deliver you from autism and we see evidence of that daily. we praise our God for you. you are a miracle and a joy and just lovely. happy birthday z! you are such a gift to us!!!


the day my boy was born...


z is very happy to be having a birthday. he was all smiles this day


aunt monique, sophie and me watching my boy open gifts


cake i made him... it was a hit


z loves us singing happy birthday to him


HAS to have a taste... it's "delicious"


essence of my sweet baby boy. this pic says it all


z LOVES balloons


look how grown up my boy looks?! he is so handsome!!!


new backpack from aunt jenn and avery! he loves it. took it to school already! thanks guys!!


probably his favorite gift - a camera! thanks grammie and g-dad


sophie sportin' her birthday headband. how cute is that?!


grammie and logan happy to be a part of the celebration

... spicy 2009 continues...

well i finally got my tattoo. i love it! it is my boys' initials Z & L!
noelle came along to document it for me.
enjoy...
spicy 2009 continues...

wonder what will be next...


driving to "the" destination


in the waiting room... nervous yet excited


bobby putting on the "fake" tattoo to see if i like the placement


deciding on if i like the tat or not


mr. bobby working his magic!


me - excited and nervous as it's all happening. thanks to noelle for keeping me company


finishing up


bobby explaining how to care for my tattoo


pic of my tattoo. a Z & L intertwined to represent my sweet boys


my new sexier self with my tat! :)

wow.

so this sunday, august 2nd, my friend Noelle and i were to participate in a triathlon. 7 months+ of training and the day had finally arrived!
woke up at 4:00am.
tried to force down some granola
checked and double checked all of my gear for the race
got to N's house at 5:30am
away we went to Philly for the SHErox event

words cannot express the events of the day. i don't think i've experienced anything like it nor do i think i will again. (i will continue to do tri's and other races but hopefully NOT like this one! :)!)

we pulled into Philly around 6am as the skies opened up and rain came pouring down.
we took all of our stuff over to the transition areas
waiting around what seemed endlessly to hear the officials turn the tri into a dualathlon.
was i bummed? no, not really - not sure how i felt about swimming in a river that (just that morning) a man jumped into the river and could not be found! yikes. they called it due to thunderstorms approaching... really.

so needless to say, we began the race about 9:30am starting off with a run (1.5 miles).
did great on that part. no problems. no rain.

next came the bike portion. 15.8 miles. okay, but crazy accidents happening between women as the rain starts falling again ... and a little harder this time.

my brave husband, children, parents, jarvis friends and saunders friends, as well as noelle's entire family were real troopers coming out and staying out to support us through all of this!!! you guys ROCK! thank you so much!!!

lastly came the run portion... 3.5 miles. so far so good. then...oh wait a minute...what was that?!? half way through the run came the WORST TORRENTIAL DOWNPOUR of rain i have ever seen with MAJOR lightning and thunder over the exact area we were running and our family/friends were watching and waiting for us.

i started praying (as i was running and wiping my eyes TRYING to see in front of me and shielding my face as best i could) "God please keep us safe and please keep my boys and family and friends safe."

runners were heading under overpasses to get out of the rain but N and i kept on keeping on. we did NOT stop. we kept going.
God was faithful to us. God gave us strength to finish the race and we did! We finished it! We were soaked and happy and tearful and worn out and exhausted and worried and thankful!

(the officials actually cancelled the rest of the race so many many other women did not get to complete the race due to the rain and major safety issues... fortunately OR maybe not... :)... we had gotten so far into the race that we got to complete it in it's entirely! i'm So thankful for that!)

noelle beat my time by 3.5 minutes (you go girl!) and was waiting for me. it was nice to finish the race with her. we have done a lot of training together so it was only appropriate to end it with her there. we both finish under 2 hours even amidst all the crazy weather! :)

best of all, my man was awesome and waiting patiently for me with an umbrella. (my p's and sons and friends all took cover - i'm so glad they did!) he was there. he was waiting for me at the finish line and that was the best and cutest face i've ever seen. best reward! he said he was proud of me and gave me a big hug. i hugged him back and just sobbed!

i finished the race.
i overcame horrific weather
i enjoyed the journey
i am looking forward to many more...


i am a triathlete!



This is the saturday before big race. Registration day. Look! it's sunny! go figure! pic is of Noelle, Me & our friend Heather!


Me, Noelle, & Heather all smiles before the race!


Several of us South Jersey girls at SHErox!


Me laughing as they tell us it is now a dualathlon and not a triathlon!


Another of us girls as we wait...


Another pic BUT we are in our Wave (#10) getting ready to start the race! finally!!!


The race has started! Here noelle and i are running back into transition area after first leg of run 1.5 miles


Here is our transition area! over 2000 women were in this thing! we are preparing for the bike portion of the race...



love this pic of noelle and her mean face!!! here she is biking around a tight corner on the slippery bike course. nice!!! :)


We did it! We finished the race! We are soaked...but we have medals!!! :)