Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween Everyone! Hope everyone had a nice or has one tonight!! Here are pics of our little trick or treaters.

Dorothy and the WitchWhat a Group...

Mckenna, Ashlee, Sam and Allysa


Dorothy and the cute lion

THE BIG 1-0

It is official, we are entering the age of double digits. A little after 8 am today, Allysa will be 10.

It is really hard to imagine, that 10 years have past since we brought her home. She is a beautiful now as she was then but now with alot of personality and sass...Now, I just hope I can survive the next 10, I betting the first 10 will be fondly remembered as the easiest!

" I Hope You Dance" is a song that sums up my wish for my girls especially as they get older.

Copy and Paste into your browser if the link does not work.

http://www.barb-coolwaters.com/c001/hopeyoudance.html

Happy 10th Birthday Allysa- We Love You!!!

Heartbreaking........

This was not one of our better football weekends!!! It started with the Phins final game in the turkey bowl, it came down to the last seconds, they scored a touchdown but needed 2 points to tie it up. Although, I did not want to freeze my rear end off any longer, it was sad to see them get so close to forcing the game into OT but the pass for two was intercepted. All in All , the boys had an GREAT season.
The saying is the team that holds onto the ball and does not turn it over wins, that is very true when it comes to the Bucks and Steelers both teams had some issues with holding onto the ball and both Lost!!!!
This weekend we only have the Steelers so maybe we can get back on track. Below are a few pictures of the AWESOME PHIN CHEERLEADERS~~~

Hair Today Gone Tomorrow!!!

After a YEAR plus, Allysa finally grew enough of her hair to donate to Locks of Love. It took a little longer because she did not want her hair too short!!! Here are some before/after pictures and some pictures of the her long locks being cut.

Before- look how long those pony tails are..














After - Still Adorable

Future Photographer???

Allysa has been OBSESSED with my old camera or anyone else's for that matter for the past several months!!! Most of time I do not even know she has it until her sister comes and says "sissy will not let me take a picture". So, this weekend she was at it again and I took it off of her and hid it because I was tired of all the drama!!!! Yesterday, I decided to see what she was doing all the time with this camera and I have to say it was pleasant surprise. She was using her blankets for the back ground, her dolls, sister and friends as subjects and sometimes she captured them naturally or posed. She gets an A for creativity. Below are some examples of her work, see what you think.

Posing her dolls and stuffed animals- they are probably the most co-operative

Ashlee hamming it up for her sister!!

This one surprised me- not a bad job!

You can tell her sister is a frequent subject of her pictues which is surprising because I would think she is the most uncooperative!
Here is Collage of some of the others- enjoy!

Ohio's Drinking Age Has Been Lowered!!

People will be flocking to move to Ohio now that the drinking age has been lowered to just over the age of one- NOT!!! I could not resist getting this picture of Sam and this frosted mug. Anything is fair game when he is around, he even had the plastic martini glass but I could not get the picture of that one!!!! He is just into everything and anything within his reach which makes it priceless!!! Another weekend of football and the good news we went 3 for 3!!! The Bucks, Phins and Steelers all WON!!!! Go Team Go!!!!
Hope everyone has a great week, I know I can use one!!!

A Blast From the Past!!!

It has been a rough week but today a nice blast from the past brought a smile to my face :) !!!
As we go through phases of our lives there are special people in each and today I got see one of those very special people. In my early-late 20's I lived in burgh and was surrounded by a great group of people and hold those memories closely. Unfortunately other than Christmas cards or email, I rarely get to see them!
So, the manager of the respiratory department had met with me a few weeks ago and we found out we had a few things in common; he lives between Hilliard/Dublin and knew two of my former pals from the burgh- Don and Bill who are now in sales for respiratory equipment. Ironically he and the Medical Director of the PICU(who was an ICU fellow during those times-obviously now very successful) had both told me they were just there( I was bummed). Upon leaving, he told me the next time they were visiting at the hospital he would let me know.
Well, he emailed and called today to tell me Bill was here and did I want to come over to the hospital to see him. As I am crossing the street, I sense people are looking and look up there is Dan and Bill(sticking his tongue out at me which means I did the same).
It was a breath of fresh air to see him and realize that some people remain the same and Bill is one( I am blessed with a few such friends)!!! We went down memory lane, caught up on few old friends and then he got paged back OR. He promised the next time they are back he will call and we will try to get together(of course that means girl busting in on boys night out)!
I am still smiling thinking about- it brings back a lot of wonderful memories in and out of hospital! I always loved when we were all on the same shifts together, it made work fun even in the most stressful times and usually meant trouble!!! Plus, it was always fun when we went after work especially after working nights( yes there was small bar down street open at 7am for people like us)!!!
Cheers to good friends and good memories!!!

Full Moon!!

I am sure some of you may not be superstitious but when it comes to full moons I am a believer!! 4 to 5 days before and after I notice things are not quite right, This time is no different, I had a rough couple of days and my most calm/centered friends had a rough week so when I saw the moon it solidified my theory. The next few days should be interesting since the full moon is not "full" until the 14th .... After yesterday, I remain a firm believer. I just wish it brought good luck instead of the not so good kind. Here are some pics!!

Not Gone Yet.....

It is hard to believe it is Mid-October in Ohio- It has been in the high 70's/low 80's. It was absolutely beautiful this weekend. Jeff and Leah, I hope your BUCKEYE weekend was WONDERFUL, we are sorry we could not hook up!!! Of course, it was full of football- I am sure that is not a surprise ...
We were 2 out of 2 this weekend- the BUCKS and PHINS WON!!! The Steelers have a bye-week so we are just watching to see how our RIVALS such as the Browns, Bengals and Patriots(the most evil of all) do!!!
As always, I cannot say enough about our friends they are the BEST!!!

Allysa, Emily and Julia- can you imagine what we are in for in a few years!!!

Ella(0.5 Mascolino), Ali, and Ashlee- they are adorable!!
Sam and Allysa- need I say more?

GONE......

GONE!!!! I am still amazed how fast weekends go, I am still trying figure out how to have 4 day work weeks and 3 day weekends!!! There is not a lot of news to report, the girls had a game that conflicted with my beloved Buckeyes. It all worked out, we were home to see the end of the 2nd quarter. It has been a good football this weekend, the PHINS and BUCKS WON!!
Now, for the Steelers!! Here are some pictures of the girls and their weekend! Enjoy!!!

Allysa, Emily and Julia- they are becoming little ladies!!

Allysa and Julia sneak into the pictures of Ashlee and Ali. Can you tell Ali is our little "ham"!!
Here she is again- she was trying to do jumps but I always got the picture when she was landing instead of mid-air!!!
Of course, Ashlee wanted in on the action!
The girls doing their dance at half-time, they are perfecting it for their exhibition in Nov. Coach Jill and Brenda have done a nice job!!