Pool Days

It's safe to say that our favorite summertime activity is going to the pool. I was literally raised at Guilford Pool (now the Ragged Edge Swim Club) in Chambersburg, PA. I'm not kidding. My parents have pictures of me playing at the pool when I was an infant (see the picture of me below from August 1977 when I was 1 year old) and I still go there everytime I'm in PA during the summer months.

Jen at Guilford Pool (August 1977):

Jen at Guilford Pool (Early 1980's): Alaina loves to jump off the side of the pool and even puts her whole head under water without holding her nose. The swimming lessons she took at the YMCA last Fall have really paid off. She's very comfortable in the water and likes to swim all by herself. In fact, if Rob or I go to hold her in the pool or help her to the side, she swats our hand away and sternly tells us, "By myself!" Now that she has a lifejacket she can go down the slide at Guilford Pool and also jumps off the side of the pool without any help. She's so independent!

Here are some of my favorite pictures from our pool days this summer:

The Fourth of July

Typically we spend the Fourth of July either in Maine or South Carolina with Rob's family, but since we didn't make the trip this year, we ended up spending the holiday in Chambersburg. We enjoyed an afternoon of swimming at Guilford Pool where Alaina discovered her new favorite thing -- going down the slide! She probably went down the slide about 50 times.

Later that evening, Cindy and her family came over to Mom & Dad's and we had a family picnic. My parents set up the same Wet Banana my sister and I played with back in the 1980's. Lauren, Andrew, and Alaina had a blast running and sliding down the wet mat. Good times!

I baked a sugar-free vanilla cake for dessert which I decorated to look like the American flag. It was decorated with sugar-free Cool Whip instead of icing but I have to say that it was quite tasty. It reminded me strawberry shortcake. After dinner all of us went into Gary & Jan Aughinbaugh's house on Prairie Drive to watch the fireworks at Memorial Park. It was a very fun day and I think everyone had a good time.

Litte Miss Independence:
My US flag cake:
Wet Banana!
Andrew & Alaina at the fireworks:

Mother's Day & Father's Day

Time keeps getting away from me (story of my life) so here it is mid-July and I'm just now blogging about events that occurred in May and June. Rob and I had a wonderful Mother's Day and Father's Day (respectively) this year. We spent both Mother's Day and Father's Day mornings at church and then drove up to Chambersburg following Sunday School to see my folks.

On Mother's Day, Rob gave me a delicious Edible Arrangment and then he and the children gave me a beautiful Mother's pendant and marigold. The sterling silver pendant contains Alaina's & Brady's birthstones and I absolutely adore it:


On Father's Day, the children gave Rob a complete set of Washington Nationals baseball cards to start his Nats collection. His plan is to buy the team set each year hereafter and store them in a protective binder for posterity. I chose to give Rob a more practical gift for Father's Day -- a bed fan from Sharper Image. Rob was always getting hot during the night and would either sleep with his legs sticking out of the covers or he would sleep completely on top of the covers. This bed fan blows a continues a flow of cool air between the sheets and has absolutely worked wonders with Rob. He has now been enjoying a comfortable night's sleep and would probably be sleeping through the night if Brady would let him. Here is Rob with the kiddos on Father's Day:

Happy Anniversary to my parents

Today marks my parents' 43rd Wedding Anniversary. They were married on Saturday, June 16, 1968 at 2:00 PM in Chambersburg, PA. Father's Day Weekend. They were married following a 4-year engagement so technically they've been together 47 years.

I have a hard time imaging what it must be like being married to the same person for 43 years. I'm in awe of their commitment to each other and to their family. Times haven't always been easy for them but they've persevered ad never walked away from each other. I pray that Rob & I will be celebrating our 43rd Anniversary in 2048. I should be 72 by then. No problem! :)

Today I've bee wondering about the keys to a happy marriage. Several years ago when I was a newlywed, I remember asking my father what the secret was to a long and happy marriage. He said knowing when to walk away. What great advice!

Here's to continuing your long and happy life together. We love you

Easter 2011

Here it is June 8th and I'm just now blogging about Easter. Better late than never!

We had a very busy Easter this year. Since Easter Sunday was April 24th, our church held its annual Easter Egg Hunt on April 23rd. The children got to make Easter-themed crafts, they were ready a story by Miss Bunny, and then they got to participate in the Easter Egg Hunt. Due to inclement weather, the hunt was held indoors at the church instead of outside at Monocacy Park but it was still lots of fun. Alaina had a ball and really got into looking for the Easter Eggs:

Following the church's Easter Egg Hunt, we drove up to Chambersburg to attend our family's Easter dinner. We then spent the night so that we could attend church with my family on Sunday morning. The Easter Bunny brought Alaina LOTS of candy and even a Scooby Doo DVD and an Easter Singa-ma-Jig.

Brady's 1st Easter:

After church, everyone came over to Mom & Dad's for another Easter Egg Hunt:

Blogging More?!

Anyone remember my New Year's resolution? I do. It was to blog more. #EPICFAIL I suppose my good intentions of blogging more went out the window when Brady was born. Even though I was home for 9 weeks with my family, I managed to blog 1 whole time. Here I thought being a pseudo stay-at-home-mom for those 9 weeks would be quiet and peaceful! HA! Not with a toddler and newborn. I barely had time to shower, let alone blog. Here is to remedying the situation beginning today. Happy Blogging!

Brady Charles has arrived!

I'm very happy to announce that Brady Charles Pond was born on Saturday, March 19, 2011 at 4:22 PM. He weighed 9 lbs, 1 oz and was 21" long. Who says life with a new baby is quiet and boring? Brady is a month old today and I'm just now getting a chance to blog about his birth.

This was quite a different birth experience than I had with Alaina. Alaina came on her own and I was in labor for 8 1/2 hours. Brady, however, was in no hurry and due to his size, I needed to be induced. After being induced on Friday evening (March 18th) and only dilating to 3cm by 2:25 PM on March 19th, they broke my water and that began active labor. Luckily I didn't need to be on Pitocin because my contractions were coming fast and furious. At one point my sister clocked them being 30 seconds apart.

By 2:15 I was ready to push and after only 3 pushes, Brady was born. With Alaina I pushed for over an hour. I can happily say, though, that I did not receive an epidural with either of my children and I received zero pain medication with Brady. I feel quite accomplished and proud that I was able to birth two large babies naturally.

This was quite a different experience than I had with Alaina's birth. With Alaina, only Rob was present during labor and delivery. This time, both Rob and my mother were in the delivery room when Brady was born. My mom cried. This was her first (and only) time witnessing the birth of one of her grandchildren. She hugged & kissed me and thanked me for allowing her to witness the birth. My dad and sister were at the hospital during my labor but stepped out for the delivery. They came back in to see Brady when he was only a few minutes old.

Here are a few pictures from Brady's birth day: