Here in VA

Trash Talking

2008-04-21T03:40:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone. Sorry I have been gone so long. I have been busy with a new job and the league. Here is a picture of Sarah at Opening Day for softball. A friend of mine took this picture of Sarah telling a boy off. I will try posting more pictures later.

What time is it

2007-11-12T07:54:00.000-08:00

Ashleigh decided to wear her winter hat inside the house the other day. I am not sure how long after she woke up she took this picture. She looks sleepy though.

Sarah's Birthday

2007-11-12T07:51:00.000-08:00

For Sarah's birthday we went to a local pottery studio. At the end all her guest got to put their fingerprints on a plate. The staff then turned those into dog related items. They made her name out of bones. She is really enjoying using her plate.

Cousinly love

2007-11-12T07:48:00.000-08:00

When we went up to Ashburn the girls got to play around with their cousins Pete and Sam. As you can tell Ashleigh got the boys to share in her love of taking pictures of themselves.

Pitching Clinic

2007-11-12T07:38:00.000-08:00

Over the long weeekend the girls and I travelled up to Ashburn to go to a pitching and hitting clinic sponsored by the 2007 NPF Champions Washington Glory. The girls had to have their own catchers so Ashleigh played catcher to Sarah for me and I did it the next day for both girls. They really enjoyed themselves and learned lots.

Max and Halloween

2007-10-26T06:20:00.000-07:00

Max seems to be enjoying the Halloween season. Ashleigh took this video with her digital camera that she got for her birthday. She said he continued to freak out for another 20 minutes after the video.

Ashleigh's b day present

2007-10-18T04:30:00.000-07:00

Ashleigh turned 14 on Monday and she received her present from her nana and poppy early. She got her own digital camera. She looks so thrilled doesn't she.

Saving Mom Time

2007-10-18T04:21:00.000-07:00

I guess Max figured that I was going to hang him so he tied himself up for me. Max has been quite the dog lately. He has been stealing things including going into the pantry while we are gone. In fact while I was typing this entry he tried to get on the stove and steal a loaf of bread. He is getting fixed on Friday so we will see how much that helps. Keep your fingers crossed.

Sarah pitching

2007-10-18T04:16:00.000-07:00

A friend of mine noticed that I mentioned that Sarah was pitching this season but I did not put up any pictures of her pitching. So here are the few that I have. It is probably one of the few times you will see Sarah with her mouth shut.

My First

2007-10-10T12:23:00.000-07:00

For all of you that know you know I have had many cars in the past; however I have not been the one to put the 100,000 miles on those vehicles. This is the first time I have owned a car and been the one to put the 100,000 miles on. For those of you wondering the car is a 99 Honda.

Sarah playing ball

2007-10-10T12:21:00.000-07:00

So both girls are playing softball this season. Sarah has improved quite a bit this season. She has even had her fair share of time on the mound.

Old friends creates new friends

2007-08-13T11:23:00.000-07:00

Back in July some friends from high school and I meet at the IHOP one morning to catch up. We each brought our oldest daughters. The order is Me, Danielle, Debbie. Our daughters are in the same order in case you couldn't tell. Debbie and Danielle were some of my best friends growing up. I found out that Danielle lives down the road from me now and our daughters go to Brandon together. Talk about small world.

Sarah's Summer Drama Camp

2007-08-13T11:19:00.000-07:00

Sarah went to the summer drama camp that Ashleigh usually goes to. Ashleigh moved up to the older group this year. Sarah had a solo this year. She had a little bit of difficulty with it but she did okay for her time. Sarah had a great time and is looking forward to doing it again next year.

Big Bad Dog

2007-06-27T04:09:00.000-07:00

See my big tough dog. He has to pick on a crab to feel like a real dog.

What's she hanging over?

2007-06-27T04:02:00.000-07:00

Can you guess what Ashleigh is hanging over?

The Orlowski Clan

2007-06-27T03:58:00.000-07:00

Back row from left to right: Vincent, me, Nanny, Pop-Pop, Tom, Blanca
Front row from left to right: Ashleigh, Max, Paul, Karen, Jayme, Sarah

Chasing a crab

2007-06-27T03:54:00.000-07:00

Paul went crabbing last week and we decided to let Max have one. Paul pulled one out of the bucket that had no claws. Max had a good time chasing it. Once Paul was ready to cook them Ashleigh put the crab back into the bucket. Max decided to take a closer look in the bucket and get his crab back. The other crabs with claws didn't like his nose in their space. He almost got pinched. I was laughing to hard to take a picture.

Sarah and Softball

2007-06-12T09:41:00.000-07:00

A friend of mine took these photos for me at one of Sarah's game. Thanks Karen. I don't think I could do that well.

NJHS inductions

2007-06-12T09:38:00.000-07:00

Ashleigh was inducted into the National Junior Honor Society. For those of you that don't know about NJHS they are an academic club. Ashleigh had to have a 3.5 GPA(she had a 3.6) and other community activity to be inducted. Their are only 29 students in a school of about 1,000. Way to go Ashleigh

I thought they outlawed child labor

2007-05-23T17:15:00.001-07:00

Paul taught Ashleigh today how to mow the grass. She just jumped with joy at the chance to learn something new. Can't you tell.

Soccer Dog

2007-05-23T12:41:00.000-07:00

Here is Max with his favorite new toy. If you tell him no biting he will push it with his nose. Isn't he cute.

Christy and Stacey when they get old?

2007-05-23T12:39:00.000-07:00

So for all of you who thought you were looking into the future. You're not. This is Aunt Jo and mom taking a break from shopping.

Hard Rock Park

2007-05-23T12:27:00.000-07:00

We found out that Hard Rock is opening a park in Myrtle Beach in 2008. In fact it is right down the road from Aunt Jo's house. To promote the park they have opened a preview center(it's free) to show you all the wonderful things they will have. Here are just a few.

Here we are outside of the preview center. This is a sand scuplture of some great musicians. For those of you who don't know. Left to right-Elvis, John Lennon, Bob Marley, Jimmy Hendrix

This is one of the roller coaster that they show a preview of.

Peace, love and hippieness. These beads led to the blacklight area. That was very cool. They had a catwalk that had a blacklight tunnel rollign around it and you thought you were moving on the catwalk.

Pong anyone?

A small model of the whole park. I can't wait until it opens.

Motley Crue

2007-05-23T12:24:00.000-07:00

So Mother's Day weekend my mother, sister and I went to Myrtle Beach to visit with my Aunt Jo. It was one of the best times I have had. The kids stayed with Paul and I did not worry about them at all. We ate when we wanted to, we slept when we want to and just had a great time.

2007-04-23T04:48:00.000-07:00

Here is the floor I helped my father lay down at their rental property. I got to use a chop saw and a jig saw for the first time ever. I was real easy to do. I really think I will be putting this in my hallway at home.

Max at 5 months

2007-04-23T04:47:00.000-07:00

He is growing so fast. As you can see he has given up on the little bed and moved to the bean bag.

That's a big bowl

2007-04-23T04:45:00.000-07:00

And all of you wondered why he was getting bigger. With a bowl that size he should be bigger.

What's that smell

2007-04-23T04:44:00.000-07:00

For some reason Max is a shoe dog. He loves to lay his head in them and on them. He also like to chew them so we have to be careful.

Who is that little dot

2007-04-23T04:38:00.000-07:00

That is Ashleigh in the school play. She is the one in purple. I couldn't get it much closer. She had one of the larger roles in the play. I felt that she did fantastic.

Long time

2007-04-23T04:34:00.000-07:00

So it has been awhile since I posted anything. We have been busy here at the homestead. The girls have started softball and I am coordinating it for the league. It is very new to me so I am learning alot. We went to my sister's for a couple of days during spring break. I helped her paint Pete's room. It turned out pretty cool. Hopefully they post pictures of the room when it is all done. I helped my father lay a floating floor on Sunday. It was quite easy. I think I may be doing on in my hallway. Watch out Bob Villa. Picture to follow.

Fat Dog in Little Bed

2007-03-20T08:50:00.000-07:00

He obvisiously hasn't figured out that he does not fit in this bed anymore.

2007-02-12T04:19:00.000-08:00

This is from the first day we brought Max home. Does he look so little.

This is almost one month later. He has gained almost 8 pounds since we brought him home. All his baby fur is gone. When does the puppy breath go away?

Who's in my spot

2007-02-12T04:18:00.000-08:00

As you can tell Max has quickly taken over the Orlowski household. He has stolen my spot. little bugger

A girl and her dog

2007-02-12T04:16:00.000-08:00

Everytime I tried to get a picture of Sarah and Max one was not looking my way. Here are the results

Our new arrival

2007-01-15T15:58:00.000-08:00

For those of you that did not know. We welcomed a new addition to our family. He is 11lbs and has blond hair. His name is Max and he is about the cutest thing you have ever seen. Below is a picture.

2006-12-31T07:46:00.000-08:00

Two angles of our condo. It was a perfect fit for us. We had two condos. My sister's family and my famly stayed in one. My parents, brother and aunt's family stayed in the other.

Look I can do it too

2006-12-31T07:45:00.000-08:00

My nephew Sam was too young to take lessons so Ashleigh let him ride her board in the condo.

Spidergirl?

2006-12-31T07:44:00.000-08:00

It looks like my sister Christy did not want to be left out of the excitement.

Our family spiderman

2006-12-31T07:42:00.000-08:00

Here is my dad scales a rock wall. Not bad for an "old" man

Ashleigh boarding

2006-12-31T07:40:00.000-08:00

Her second lesson was a private lesson at a group rate. There was no one else that was past a beginning level. The instructor said she was a natural

2006-12-31T07:39:00.000-08:00

Sarah on skiis trying to make her way back up the hill.

Now she is going down the hill to see her uncle.

Christmas Hats

2006-12-31T07:37:00.000-08:00

A friend of mine knitted these hats for her kids and she let us borrow them for a family photo. Can we say next years Christmas cards

Christmas Vacation

2006-12-31T07:32:00.000-08:00

As many of you know my family took a ski vacation to WV. We had my sister's family, my brother, my parents and my aunt's family with us. We all had a great time. Unforunately the weaterh was not the best. Of the five days that we stayed it rained two and only snowed once. Paul and I both took snowboarding lessons. He was a natural and I was not. Ashleigh also took boarding lessons and she did wonderfully. Sarah took skiing lessons and liked it. I think next time I will try skiing. We did however have two injuries. Ashleigh's wrist that she broke back in May has been bothering her so she has an appointment with the ortho. Let's keep our fingers crossed. Paul also hurt his thumb. He has not asked me to make an appointment with the orth for him. We will just have to wait and see. Overall we had a great time.

2006-12-03T06:51:00.000-08:00

Sarah doing back

Sarah getting ready for back

Ashleigh doing back in a relay

Ashleigh starting back in the relay

Sarah swimming free in her relay

Sarah starting after the wall was touched

Ashleigh's start for breast

Sarah at the clerk of course

More meet

2006-12-03T06:49:00.000-08:00

Ashleigh first race of the day

Swim Meet pictures

2006-12-03T06:45:00.000-08:00

Sarah getting ready to race her first race of the day

First Swim meet of the season

2006-12-03T06:38:00.000-08:00

I am not sure how many of you know but both girls are on a swim team for the winter. They have meets ever other Saturday. Both girls had four events this weekend. Here are the results

Ashleigh 50m Free-56.22(improvement from the time trials)
50 Breast-1:07:48
50 Back-1:20-21
Medly relay-I did not take down the times for the relays
Sarah 25m Free-38.05
25m Back-39.28
Medley Relay
Free Relay

I am posting several pictures. Some came out really good. Others are some what grainy. I took me a while to get the camera to the right setting.

Scary Halloween

2006-11-13T17:25:00.000-08:00

Here are the kids from Halloween. Sorry they are late. But better late then never right. Bet you did not know that pirates like to show their bellies. The other picture is the group that went trick or treating. Ashleigh and her friend Gabi were dead soft ball players. Darth vader is my best friend's son Tyler, then you have Sarah and her friend Megan. Such a motley crue.

Sarah's Last Game

2006-11-13T17:23:00.000-08:00

Here is Sarah at bat for the last time in the season. She did well but her team lost :( She is still excited about playing and that is all that matters

Picture day

2006-10-19T05:01:00.000-07:00

Here is Sarah on Picture day. I figured I might want to get a picture of my own in case they photographers mess up her hair.

Ashleigh's picnic games

2006-10-19T04:54:00.000-07:00

Ashleigh decide to have some picnic games for her birthday party. We did the games you see below and several more. You will notice that even Paul got into the spirit of the party.

Ashleigh turns 13

2006-10-19T04:53:00.001-07:00

Here is Ashleigh at her birthday party. All the kids had a great time.

Almost After

2006-10-19T04:51:00.000-07:00

Here is another almost after shot of the kitchen. All the walls have been repaired and ready for paint.

Ashleigh at Third

2006-10-19T04:50:00.000-07:00

Ashleigh was very excited this game because she got to play third base. Her favorite position.

Pictures from Sarah's Party

2006-09-25T06:59:00.000-07:00

Sarah and her friends had a great time at her party. They made rock candy, gummies, chocolate dipped marshmallows and hand cranked ice cream. We sent the kids home with their rock candy so they could watch it form. I think everyone had a great time.

Happy Birthday Sarah

2006-09-25T06:57:00.000-07:00

Sarah turned 8 today. She had her birthday party yesterday and had a great time. Doesn't she look so grown up.

Worms

2006-09-25T06:52:00.000-07:00

Are those worms coming out of Ashleigh's head? No it's the new hair do that someone taught me how to do this weekend. What do you think?

Sarah's 2nd Fish

2006-07-30T06:54:00.000-07:00

We spent the last two weeks down at our campground. I think the girls really enjoyed themselves. Sarah caught two fish. The first was quite small and I did not have my camera with me. Here is the second fish she caught. Ashleigh was upset because she kept trying to catch one with no luck.

Ashleigh's week

2006-07-22T08:51:00.000-07:00

Well Ashleigh had a very fun week at camps this past week. She went to cooking camp. She learned all kinds of things and she met a boy that she thought was cute. She got his phone number too. So it has begun. Here are some pictures from the dinner that they held for the parents on the last day.

Almost after

2006-07-15T07:16:00.000-07:00

Well here is the mostly finished product. Paul and I still need to pull wallpaper and replace the counter and floor. I think the counter top will be done this week. Let's keep our fingers crossed.

Child Labor Laws-Nah

2006-07-15T07:14:00.000-07:00

Christy and I do not believe in the child labor laws. We feel that if you start them earlier enough they won't know any better. Just kidding. We kept telling Sam that he had to wait to help and he finally could wait no longer.

Kitchen before make over

2006-07-15T07:11:00.000-07:00

My sister and I painted my cabinets one week. Lucky enough we thought to take pictures before we started painting

Paul relaxing-kinda of

2006-07-15T07:08:00.000-07:00

Paul making lunch at the campground on the 4th of July. We had a good weekend. We stayed down at our camper all week and even on Monday. We are going down to the campground for 2 weeks this weekend. It shall be a real adventure.

Our little turkey.

2006-07-15T07:03:00.000-07:00

Ashleigh was in a drama camp this summer. They performed Honk Jr. The story of the ugly duckling. Ashleigh wanted to be the Turkey. She was very good at it. Her great Aunt, Uncle and cousins were lucky enough to be in town to see her perform.

Do I have to leave

2006-06-19T14:36:00.000-07:00

Do I have to leave Aunt Stacey, Mom? I love her soooo much. Can't you read that in his face?

Pleeeeas!!

2006-06-19T14:34:00.000-07:00

Sarah and Pete must have been asking for dessert. They look too sweet and innocent for anything else.

What is she looking at?

2006-06-19T14:30:00.000-07:00

Ashleigh and Sam at Ruby Tuesday when we met Cissy half way to unload.Uh I mean let her use. Uh I mean let her visit with Ashleigh for the week. I think Ashleigh looks happy to be away from us and Sam just looks scared that Ashleigh is that close to him.

Who Me?

2006-06-19T14:27:00.000-07:00

This is Sam. You would never know that he was bawling his eyes out only moments earlier. Once Mom got him out of the car he was fine. His poor little butt was sore from sitting on it too long.

Sarah's end of the year party

2006-06-19T14:20:00.000-07:00

Sarah's team ended the softball year on a great note. They had a bowling party. Everyone had a great time. This is Sarah with her coach, Fred.

The girls and Paul

2006-06-02T05:01:00.001-07:00

Oh don't they look cute. My girls have no problems posing for pictures. The big hams!

Aunty Cathy and Joey

2006-06-02T05:01:00.000-07:00

This is my aunt and my cousin Joey. Joey did not want to pose with his mom. I guess for boys that wanting to be with mom ends around 7

New Camper

2006-06-02T04:59:00.000-07:00

For those of you that did not know Paul and I purchased a new camper this year. The campground had some rentals that they were selling and this is the one we bought. It is much bigger than the old one. So far we had a great time in it over the Memomrial day weekend.

Easter

2006-06-02T04:57:00.001-07:00

The girls and their great grandmother at Easter Brunch. They all look so happy

The girls befor leaving for brunch. So grown up.

Sour puss

2006-06-02T04:57:00.000-07:00

My cousin Joey wanted to eat lemons before dinner even though they kept making him make that face. Go figure

My new house

2006-06-02T04:54:00.000-07:00

So what do you think of my new house. Paul and I are having it built for us.(in our dreams) No this house is being built on the road down to the campground. I could not resist taking pictures of it. I think my whole family including aunts and uncles can fit in there.

Easter Egg coloring

2006-06-02T04:53:00.000-07:00

I think the boys look like they are having more fun then the girls. maybe because the girls are sisters and they were not getting along?

Hear no evil, Speak no evil

2006-06-02T04:52:00.000-07:00

Here are the cousins minus Ashleigh during Spring break week

Ta Da

2006-06-01T05:25:00.001-07:00

Here is my nephew Sam playing with his cousin Joey's magic set. I think he is trying to make all the adults disappear.

Blue boogers

2006-06-01T05:25:00.000-07:00

When the boys came to stay with me during Spring Break Sam really took to Ashleigh. I guess I need to teach her to clean the blue boogers from his nose before he wipes them all over her.

Way to go Sarah

2006-06-01T05:24:00.000-07:00

Is the coach allowed to do that

2006-06-01T05:22:00.000-07:00

Sarah playing coach pitch softball this year. This is the coach from the other team. Luckily she is a great family friend.

Ashleigh's boo boo

2006-06-01T05:21:00.000-07:00

So it's been so long

2006-06-01T05:20:00.000-07:00

Hey all. Sorry it has been so long. We have been busy with softball and the end of the school yar activities. I am going to post a couple of pictures for now and I will try and be better about updating. Sorry.

Sam 1st bowling trip

2006-03-28T05:09:00.000-08:00

Sam and Dad bowled an awesome game. This is one of the only times he would go up to the line. Every other time he would barely get on the floor. Sam finished with a 96 or 97.

Sarah bowling

2006-03-28T05:07:00.000-08:00

Sarah pouted most of the time while we were bowling. She would not listen to anybody that was trying to help her. She finished with a 62

Ashleigh Bowling

2006-03-28T05:06:00.000-08:00

Ashleigh did okay bowling. She looks like she is going to fall. She finished with a 86.

Taylor Bowling

2006-03-28T05:05:00.000-08:00

Taylor obviously has bowled quite a bit. She has great form. She finished with a 107

Pete bowling

2006-03-28T05:02:00.000-08:00

Pete did a great job bowling. He finished with a 69

Busy weekend

2006-03-28T04:58:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone. The Orlowski family had a busy, but relaxing weekend this past weekend. The girls, my mother and a family friend Taylor went up to my sister's. Taylor had a gymnastics meet up there and her mother was at Carngie Hall with her older sister. Her father was home with the other 4 kids. We got up to my sister's on friday night. On Saturday we did not do too much. We took the kids bowling and my brother in law took them to the park later in the day. Taylor had her meet on Sunday so that's where we were up until we left NVa. I felt sick on our trip home and don'tcha know it I was sick Sunday night and all day Monday. I am feeling a little better now. I still ache in certain places but the life of a mother can never stop for long.

working on the yard

2006-03-20T05:24:00.000-08:00

Sarah and Paul worked in the flower bed yesterday. Paul has layed some rock in a design and then we will fill in with some planets and mulch. I will take a picture when it is complete.

Mixed reviews

2006-03-20T05:20:00.000-08:00

For all of you who have had mixed reviews on Sarah's hair. Here are two pictures of her when she allows me to curl it. Most of the time it is straight because Sarah does not get up in the morning.

Kitty Accountant

2006-03-15T13:19:00.000-08:00

Hmmm...I think we need to start deducted for all those pettings.

Beware of the bed monster

2006-03-15T13:16:00.000-08:00

Here is Sarah on a morning after her sister conducted an experiement on her. Ashleigh found out her results pretty quick. Sarah does not like to listen to music at night.

Sad News

2006-02-25T14:47:00.000-08:00

We lost our dear friend Buddy this morning. He had been sick the night before and continued to get worse as the night progressed. Paul was with him when he pasted. We will miss you Buddy!!

Pulling a Rachel

2006-02-23T05:10:00.000-08:00

Ashleigh was bored one day so she decided to find out why Rachel enjoys doing this so much. I don't know if she got unbored by doing this.

Is that Tinkerbell

2006-02-23T05:08:00.000-08:00

Ashleigh drew this for one of her friend's birthday. Her friend loves tinkerbell so we purchased several things with Tink on them and Ashleigh drew this free hand looking at those items. I think it is pretty good. What do you think?

Sarah's new do

2006-02-23T05:04:00.000-08:00

As many of you know Sarah and I have been battling with her hair since she was old enough to talk. This past summer I told her if she did not take care of it it would be gone. So I gave her a couple of months and she continued not to take care of it. So we got it cut. Sarah loves it. We can curl it under, leave it as it is, or flip it up. It makes getting ready in the morning so much easier. This is not the best picture of the do, so as I take more I will post them.

Adding to the cow collection

2006-02-23T05:02:00.000-08:00

This is a present from Shane,Ashleigh's best male friend who is currently in Spain. Unforunately it arrived in pieces. We orginially did not know the picture went with the cow. Luckily we figured it out and Paul glued it all together and it looks brand new.

Pottery after it has been fired

2006-02-23T04:59:00.000-08:00

Here are all the works from the other weekend after they were fired. Ashleigh and I both were picking our apart. We keep looking at it and saying oh man I wish I had painted more here. Oh well lessons learned.

Presents from Spain

2006-02-10T05:07:00.000-08:00

My girlfriend Lisa sent the girls these socks from Spain. The girls really liked them. Thanks Ms. Lisa.