Geneva Homecoming

Even though I am officially a Geneva Alumnus, I rarely think of myself like that. This past Saturday however, I was proud to be a Geneva-ite as I celebrated with my family the dedication of the new Press Box at the stadium.


For many years my grandparents (pictured above with some kid named Matt...) have let us youngins' know that we would recieve no inheritance from them when they died, and that instead they would like to spend their money on us while they are alive. They have meant every word of this, as they have been more generous to us than than we could have ever imagined.


They announced to the family a few years ago that they were starting a partnership with Geneva (my grandfather is class of '43) in order to build a new press box for the stadium there. This came to fruition this past weekend during the dedication. All of the Pittsburgh Hughes' were there to celebrate and it was fantastic. Great weather, great food... you'll see below, and a great chance to see my grandparents smile a ton. The kids were well behaved (always a concern with my grandparents around) and had lots of fun together running around the field with noise makers, and all was well with the world.


I've posted these pictures a little backwards, but before the festivities at Geneva, we ate lunch at one of Grandpa's favorite resteraunts, Bernies. Aparently it's the only local place (if Beaver Falls is considered local) to get good BBQ according to him. So, BBQ, onion rings, and milk shakes were enjoyed by everyone! A great time was had by all...


And yes, this is a picture of my grandfather drinking a milkshake...

Rhys' First Birthday!

Okay, I know... her birthday was in July, but I am just now taking the pictures off of the camera. It was a fun day, but I was lazy and piggy backed on a birthday party that my aunt was already throwing for my grandfather and my cousin Tim. It was fun, cake and all that jazz... Here are some pics!

Not a whole lot new is going on in our family... all is good. Church is going great, and if you haven't been around to check out Northbridge, please stop by and see what's going on. I spend most of my time in the nursery with the little ones, and Jayson is running around to make sure that everything is going well, but we would love to see all of you there!


Things at work have been interesting to say the least. It wasn't what I thought it was going to be like, but it will all work out. I work at Perry in the morning and Langley in the afternoon, which doesn't give me a ton of down time, but the day sure does go fast. I've been able to get into a nice routine of going early in the morning to exercise, so that's been nice. Not sure how long that will last though... waking up at 5:30 to go swimming is highly overrated.


The girls are fantastic, and a ton of fun to be around. Rhys is getting bigger by the minute, and it blows people's minds when they see her. She hasn't gained any weight, but she's gotten a lot taller. Walking is going to happen soon, but I'm not pushing it! NegleyAnne is a blast and makes Jayson and I laugh out loud on a daily basis. The other day she interrupted us to tell us that whatever we were talking about was "impressive". What? Do other 3 year olds say things like that? Crazy...

I am now officially a "Mustador" (Mustang & Commador)

So the only real update going on in the Samuels household is where I am teaching. At the end of last school year, June 5th to be exact, I found out that my teaching position at Langley had been reduced to part-time. After a long summer of wondering, interviewing, and lots of worrying, I found out this past week that I will be working the other part of my day at Perry Traditional Academy.

This is kind of interesting. Obviously I'm not thrilled about having to travel between two schools everyday for the entire school year... but, if I have to do it, I'm thankful that it's with Perry. It's the closest high school to our house and most of the high school students from The Pittsburgh Project attend Perry.

I started this past Thursday, and well.... lets just say that I will need some prayer for the beginning of the year. I'm coming into a position that's not exactly ideal, but I'm sure that the time that I am there will be good in time. They have an awesome pool that I've been teaching my lifeguarding courses in for a couple of years, and I am super excited about that. This summer's olympics has inspired me to get back into a pool.

That's all for now... more pictures of the girls soon!

Go Steelers!

What?

She was really this small? No way... it's got to be some fancy camera trick!

Cell Phone Part II

Still finding pictures off of my camera... so these are kind of old, but I thought they were blog worthy.  This first one of NegleyAnne was the day that we bought her dance outfit for dance class with AnnaKate.  She was soooo excited to wear it around the house.  I hope someday to get her back into those classes, it was so much fun!

Last November our family took a quick vacation down to Williamsburg VA.  I left with the girls a few days early and was able to find lots of fun things to do at the resort.  The very first event was tattoos.  Too much fun.

Ahhhh, life with a mac.  We try not to let the girls watch too much TV or videos, but this was such a cute picture.  I'm surprised that Rhys was even able to hold herself up that long for me to get a picture of them.  Now I can't keep up with her she's so fast crawling around... I image that walking is coming soon!

I'm hoping to have new(er) pictures up on the blog next week sometime after the Davis' go home and school has started.  Stay tuned.

Pictures off of the cell phone

So, I went today and got a new cell phone. I didn't think that my pictures would transfer to the new one, so for the past couple of days I have been emailing myself all sorts of pictures off of my phone. Lots of time spent doing the same thing over and over... got to verizon and all of them transferred with no cost. ughhhh. oh well it was fun looking at all of the pictures again.

This is a picture of Rhys' first plane trip last summer for Uncle Justin and Aunt Maria's wedding. She was so sweet and good on the trip, and on one leg she was able to get her own seat. I was very very thankful for that. If there are any flight attendants out there reading my blog - be nice and help out moms getting empty seats for their babies. You will make their trip, without a doubt.

Funny, my sister's family are all in town this week, so this picture could have been taken today and you probably wouldn't have noticed. This is waiting for a table at Eat n' Park last summer... Negley Anne and Isiah. We go all out when they come to town...


Last summer at Idlewild... we were sitting on the train and I happened to catch a picture right when the whistle was blowing. Pretty sure I just posted something like this a few weeks ago. I guess things never change. I'm sure there will be more pictures to come in a few days from our visit with the Davis'... if I ever get my camera out and take pictures. What would I do without my cell phone...

Back from surf city

You would think with a title like that that there would be some pictures of camp, but no... sorry. I did not take a single picture the entire time that we were gone on vacation. I am a horrible mother. Maybe they will forgive me when they are older. On the trip, my cell phone started to slowly die. The battery is only staying charged for a few minutes and on top of that the phone has cracked from both of my girls playing with it. So, for the past couple of days I have been emailing myself the pictures from my phone so that I can go out and get a new one. Here are some cute ones of Rhys. This was the first time that I gave her a pony tail. She cried and cried and cried, but then somehow I got her to smile. It didn't last long though, Negley Anne likes taking out her pony tails, and not so gently. She's learning how to be a "caring" big sister.


I remember taking this in the doctor's office one week after she was born. She was asleep in my arms and I was completely overwhelmed with love. I still have this as the screen saver on my phone. Negley keeps asking me to change it, but I can't...


A few weeks ago, I broke into my brother's house to help him out with some cleaning... yes I know you all wish that I was your sister. While I was cleaning I gave Rhys a snack and let her stay in the high chair so that she was contained. While doing laundry I could hear her cry, but didn't think much of it... she fell asleep in the chair. So cute.... and once again I'm a horrible mother... a good sister though.

Hello to Madelyn!

I am proud to announce (at least on my blog) the arrival of my newest niece, Madelyn Lenore Samuels.  She was born this afternoon and all are well.  I can't quite remember how much she weighs... but that doesn't matter all that much.  She's little.  Anyway, congrats to the new parents - we can't wait to see you in a few weeks!

Fun with Photo Booth

Nothing all that much to talk about today... just thought I would put up some fun pictures of the family. Jayson has this computer for work, but I have to admit I look forward to him coming home everyday so that I can play on it. I grew up with a Mac, and had never had a PC until I got married.... but I'm glad that we're back to having a Mac in the house.


Rhys got her first hair cut this past Saturday - It's kind of a tradition now that the kids get their first hair cut around their first birthday. She doesn't have as much hair as NegleyAnne did at that age, but it's still fun to get it cut and see her sit in a big chair. She even had a little kid cape. As soon as I get the pictures off the camera, I will get them on here.


I did forget to mention that Jayson's cousin Jenny had her first baby this past week. John James McClure. All seem to be doing well... and I can't wait to meet him!

Have a great day...

Oh my... she's one!

So today was Rhys' birthday (observed) and she is now officially my one year old daughter. I tried to find some cute pictures to post from over the past year that I haven't used yet... not too hard since I've hardly posted at all this year. Anyway, here are some cute ones!

This is Rhys and I on the beach in Pawleys Island. We were there after Christmas this past year and a great time visiting with our friends Matt, Sayward, and Spencer (and Hagrid of course). I sat on the beach with Rhys for about an hour with her trying to "eat" the wind. It made me laugh out loud, and I had to capture it on the camera.

Ahh, the first time that Rhys ate cereal. If you've been in our kitchen you know that we have similar pictures of NegleyAnne framed on the wall. The plan has always been to frame these pictures of Rhys and hang them next to the others... but... well... it sucks to be the second child. Hopefully before we move out of this house someday they will be up on the wall.

I couldn't have in my wildest dreams that I could have had ANOTHER awesome baby after having NegleyAnne. Rhys has been sooooo much fun to spend time with and I love watching her grow up. Jayson and I are loving big time on our two little girls...