The Weekend

This past weekend, we went to Ricketts Glen with our small group. (We missed you, Merle, Aimee, & Avery!) It was a great time of hiking, deer-spotting, walks, game-playing, shooting, and lots of food! Here are some pics from our adventures:




Care to see more? Check of the Manthey family's blog, then click on "Our Online Photo Albums" on their page.

Danae also had a fun weekend at home, with her Nana & Papa. My parents graciously came out from NJ for the weekend to stay with their youngest granddaughter. From the stories we are hearing from both ends, it sounds like they had a fun weekend, too! Nana, of course, took lots of pictures. Here are a few until I get more from her. :o)

Happy Birthday Logan

Today would have been the second birthday of Logan Stoltzfus, son of our friends Clark and Kara. This day (and week) will forever be in my memory. Kara and I were in the hospital together, she anticipating the birth of her child and me going through the labor for mine. She visited me during the early parts of labor and came back the next day after Danae was born. Logan Clark was then born a day and a half after Danae, only to survive a few hours and then be with the Lord.

While our hearts still hurt from that time, we know that Danae's 2-year-old buddy is in Heaven. Please keep Clark, Kara, and their families in your thoughts and prayers, as this day tends to be a difficult one.

Happy 2nd Birthday!

Today is our Peanut's 2nd birthday! It's so hard to believe that 2 years have gone by already. The details of the day (or weekend, more like it) she was born seem etched in my memory, as if it took place yesterday. :o)

We love the curious, loving, polite, and creative little girl that Danae has become, and we look forward to more years of excitement and learning with her. (Warning: I have a feeling that our "it's my way or the highway" toddler has much up her sleeves, so watch out world!) :o)

Oh, and as far as Tackle It Tuesday goes...well, between storytime at the library, hanging up new curtains, playtime, grant writing, lacrosse e-mails, making cupcakes with my daughter, housework, laundry, and running errands, I got my day's worth of accomplishments. :o)

Birthday Week

It's birthday week at the Ulrich house! Our Little Miss turns two on Tuesday...can you believe it?!

Since Danae is a Dora the Explorer fiend, we decided to make her a Dora cake. Here she is midway...

...and here's the final outcome!

I pretty much just baked the cake and slapped on the background frosting (not much creativity there). Curt's the talented one who cut the cake and then drew Dora just by looking at a template that I printed out from the Nickelodeon website. He amazes me.

We'll post more pics/video this week! :o)

2nd Annual Mexican Night!

We had our church small group's 2nd annual Mexican night on Friday at the Geissinger's. The food was GREAT (everyone makes something), and we topped off the night with a pinata, candy, and a viewing of "Evan Almighty".

Here's Curt, hopping up two of the kiddos on sugar:

And here's the poor pinata. It started out good...

Then, after two whacks, it was decapitated! :o) So, it was given emergency surgery...

...and then the fun continued! Here's the outcome of the poor bull:

Another great Mexican night to be remembered! Can't wait for the 3rd annual!

Click on "Our Online Album" to see more October pics.

Rainy Day Activities

It's a rainy, dark day here...perfect for sleeping in. (HA...riiiight.) Well, Danae and I kind of did a little sleeping in, or more like catching up on sleep that was lost from around 1:30am to 3am this morning. Little Miss woke up a bit congested and kept crying. After a loooong time of letting her scream it out, we went in and found out she wanted to sleep in our bed. I think our desperation for sleep caused the cave-in, and in she came! (I must say, though, it was nice to go back to sleep after Curt went to work and then sleep until 8:45!) Now Danae is as perky and awake as ever, attempting to "play" bite me as I type this (it's still a bite and still hurts!).

Anywho, I finally had a chance to figure out how to post Anita Renfroe's "William Tell Overture" video on here, so click, enjoy, and thank God for the rain!

Tackle It Tuesday

The ladies at "5 Minutes for Mom" encourage something called Tackle It Tuesday. After a few weeks of procrastinating, I gave it an all-out try...and succeeded!
Little Miss Sunshine's closet doubles as our linen closet, and it's been out of control for a while. Here's the before pic:

Messy up top, messy down below. So, after only 15-20 minutes, here's how it turned out:

Yippee! I got something done...other than grant-writing work! I really encourage you to do the same. A neat and tidy house can clear your mind and give you the motivation to get things done! Have a happy Tuesday!