BeerBQ - Summer Fun

Dana and Myla decided it was finally time to throw a housewarming party in their new place. The weather was awesome and it was so nice to see everyone again. We really had a great time (what I remember of it :( ) Here are just a few pics from that night.






My #2 lover---John's still and always will be my #1! MUAH!

Lunch with the girls

Jacquie, Shelly, Jacqui, and Patty



I think my right eye has more eyeshadow than the other! AHH!







Today was awesome. My day started out getting a hair and makeup trial for the wedding. That was a disaster waiting to happen. I hated the makeup and the hair, ugh, I was ok with. I never wear much makeup, so to look all done up was hard. Here are a few pictures. It's ok if you hate them too :)

After that drauma, I met some girls from my LPN program for lunch. It was awesome to hear how everyone was doing. Jacqui came up from South Carolina and Patty is living here as well as Maryland. It's interesting to hear the difference in pay rates, but to also consider the cost of living in different areas on the US. We had an awesome time.

The evening ended with the next blog at the Summy House.

A Night out with Friends

Nice picture John :)


Steph, Dawn, and Jeffrey


John and Jana


Awwww... Tracy :)- - - This was totally your night!


Brad


Here are just some random pictures of us. We have been hanging out at a local restaurant pretty much every weekend. A friend of ours plays guitar there once in a while, so we try to support him whenever we can; plus, we really enjoy ourselves.

Gala

Marc and Carol


Jason and Cara


My parents


John hit big on the wheel... only once



The band that is playing at our wedding happened to be playing at the Hershey Hotel tonight. We bought tickets for the evening and we enjoyed gambling with fake money, dancing, and dinner. John's parents, my parent's and a couple my mom works with all attended. We had a great time. The band was awesome, eventhough they were not playing any music that we liked. Tonight, they played more of a 'swing style,' but we got the idea of what to expect. Here are just a few pictures of our night.

A Tribute to VT

As you may not be aware, John's kicker in football will be attending Virginia Tech for college in the fall. John can't stop talking about it, so I decided to make marroon and orange cookies for VT and our skiing weekend.

Ready for this?

Ok then, here we go...

Class finals, you start your job today, Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, Welcome to class, again, and soon to be Valentine's Day.

Wow, I've totally lost track of time until John said something the other day about not having a post in a while. So here is the brief version of 2 months:


My grandparents celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in December. Their children threw them a party and we also got pictures professionally taken with the grandparents and grandchildren. It was a lot of fun, plus, I got a new picture for my Blk & Wht wall.


A day of babysitting Zac... We headed off to Hershey Park to see the Christmas decorations and of course, go through Chocolate World. We had a blast!


The results of pulling an all nighter to study for my final in December. A bunch of people came to our place and studied for what the entire day. It must have paid off because we passed!


This is just a quick add in of Halloween at Rockwells :)


First day of a new job. So far, I am loving it, but it is truely tiring work. I don't really have a set schedule as of now, especially with school, but I'm sure things will work out.


John and I...

Oh, by the way... Did you know we are getting married THIS YEAR!? AHH! Exciting!

Thanksgiving

This past weekend, we traveled to DUSHORE, Pa to be with my family for Thanksgiving. We stayed with my aunt and uncle in their cabin. I felt like 'Hunter Jacquie' the whole weekend. We rode the gator, went spotting for deer (which John thoroughly enjoyed), taste-tested wine, rocked it our with Guitar Hero, and had an awesome party. I even got to shoot a bow and arrow and a hand gun. The gun was a little too much for me. It was just too loud, plus, I didn't seem to hit anything. And when I say anything, I mean, we don't even know which direction the bullets went. Pretty bad. Here are some pictures of our Thanksgiving....


Welcome Hunters! Hunting started this weekend and my dad, Uncle John, and Jonathan all stayed up for the entire weekend to hunt.


Yeah...


John and I infront of the bobcat. My parents, aunt & uncle said they saw one of these the last time they were up, so we just had to get a picture. That would be pretty scary if I saw one of these. Plus, my aunt said there was a bear up there too which she's seen. I will admit I was scared to go outside at night by myself....


John shooting the rifle.


"Guitar Hero" A totally awesome game Josh brought with. We rocked the entire weekend!


Happy 50th Birthday to my DAD!


John and Janelle flying in the woods on the gator.


Janelle & Josh in the back while John was driving. It was so much fun to go up in the woods, through open fields, etc.


Aunt Pam & Mom wine tasting.


Jonathan, Lauren, and Uncle John taste testing as well. The wines were pretty good. They were just what I like, the sweet stuff. These weren't super dry for John's liking.


Once I get some more pictures from my mom, I'll post those as well. Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving! Only 30 more days till Christmas, and I didn't even go Black Friday Shopping! Oh wait, I did. The women shopped in downtown Dushore on Friday around noon. Let me say one thing, this was not the BFShopping that I am use to. We shopped at a hardware store for guns, the Jolly Trolly (a knick-nack store), and the liquor store. John did, however, get his first pair of fleece-lined Carhartts and he looks totally adorable in them. :)

Poconos Weekend

Everyone enjoying dinner at Club Lake Naomi


SNOW! The first I've seen for the year!


Amanda & I


Amanda, Brian, & John enjoying the 'Frangelica" (actually, I don't remember what this shot was but it was nasty :(


Jason & Kate


Bob & Amy


My love :)

Just a quick insert about this past weekend...

Brian and Amanda invited us up to their cabin in the Poconos just to get away. There were 4 couples total who went. The cabin and grounds were beautiful! We had an awesome time hanging out, going to breakfast, etc. Saturday night, we all got dressed up and went to Lake Naomi Club where Brian and Amanda's wedding was held. Dinner was amazing. Sunday ended with everyone going on a hike (except me because I had to study for a quiz Monday morning) and watching football all afternoon. What else is new?! Apparently the hike was great and everyone had a wonderful time. Oh yeah, and it snowed about 6 inches. Our hopes were to get snowed in, but we knew it was just wishful thinking...

Hectic Again

Yes, this title could be for all blogs from here on out. It is never ending! Here's a little update of what has been happening....

1. Halloween, I ran out of 5 bags of candy by 7:15! John and I did take a walk up to meet the new neighbors who are our age. We seem really nice and hopefully we'll get together soon. It's always fun meeting new people!

2. Our basement flooded again! We weren't sure what had happened, but thankful this time, I learned. Before, I put just about everything in rubbermaid containers to protect them. Only some picture doubles were ruined, but we still have a lot of work ahead of us to get it cleaned up.

3. I got a nursing job! YEAH! I start at the hospital on December 11th. I am super excited and I can't wait to buy scrubs! Is that wrong of me to be excited over that?

4. I got a wedding dress! It is perfect. It seems to be everything that I have wanted in a dress. (I know I haven't gotten the pictures up of the girls either, but I will try to do that tonight)

5. Our weekends are packed for November. With going to the mountains, Thanksgiving, etc. we should have a fun month.

6. My birthday was boring, but what should I have expected at 24? I didn't see John all day and I was at school from 8am-9pm. John did get me a cute charm for my PanDora. Right after he gave it to me, we tried to put it on. He was cooking dinner and I dropped the charm under the refridgerator. What a site it must have been to watch us move the fridge, and use a flashlight and flyswater to get this tiny charm. Oh the adventures we have....

Tug? is that a word? :)

Ok, here it is... a simple tag from Steph and Michelle....

Two names you go by:
1. Jacquie
2. Jack

Two things you are wearing right now:
1. sweatshirt
2. wool pee-coat (it's cold in PA)

Two of your favorite things to do:
1. hang out with my love and plan the wedding... hahaha!
2. scrapbook

Two things you want very badly at the moment:
1. to pass school (and my test monday)
2. to get away and have fun for awhile

Two favorite Pets you have had:
1. MURPHY; our sheep dog:(
2. Tiger; our cat
(although I do remember having races against janelle with our hermit crabs. i think mine was "speedy")

Two people who will fill this out:
1. Melissa
2. Katie
(my only 2 blogger friends)

Two things you ate today:
1. frozen grapes (don't judge before you try them)
2. pretzels

Two people you last talked to:
1. John
2. Lady who I had a job interview with

Two things you're doing tomorrow:
1. working
2. FOOTBALL GAME! (DUH, it's Friday)

Two longest car rides:
1. Florida by far
2. Denton Hill (it's in the middle of nowhere!)

Two favorite holidays:
1. Christmas
2. New Years

Two favorite beverages:
1. Apple Juice or Grapefruit Juice
2. Iced Coffee from McDonalds

Yes, so there it is; my first tag.

October!?

I cannot belive how far into October we already are... and NO POSTS!
This month has flown by! Here is a quick overview of where my month has gone:

October 6th: Bridesmaid dress shopping and an awesome engagement party thrown by John's parents. The Phillips' had their home decorated beautifully and with tons of friends, we had an amazing time. That morning, we all met at my house for Moravian Sugar Cake, fresh fruit, and coffee. Here are just a few quick pics of everyone. (John's side met us at the Bridal shop; there are still 4 more girls!) The dress color is not this, but these are the styles they each picked. Everyone looked beautiful!





My fall break from October 8-10 consisted of helping Courtney make a final decision on the place for our class reunion. We only had one stop to make and we were both very impressed. The class reunion is July 5th. It's close to the wedding, but I know we'll all pull it off wonderfully! The rest of my week consisted of running errends and cleaning up around the house. I feel like the house has been neglected for awhile and it needed some major work.

John has been hard at work mowing the lot. We still drive by it at least once a week. We are both so excited to move and we can't wait to start builing. John kind of keeps up with that and I maintain this house... to some degree I guess.

This Saturday we went to the Sertoma $200 dinner and did not win the 15 grand. We had a great time with our friends and after dinner, went out to have some more fun. I can't believe the stuff that we do are our ages. The next morning, John and I woke up still laughing histerically from the night before.

Today I won tickets to the Pa Ren. Fair. John has been asking what we should do for my birthday and since he has never been to the fair, I thought it might be a good idea to just get away.

Wedding wise: I still have NO dress. Drauma at the Bridal Boutique and I am once again dressless. I think that I should start a count of all the dresses I purchase till I finally find the right one. Otherwise, we've interviewed a DJ whom John and I both really seem to enjoy. Our struggles currently are working out a time line of when everything is to happen. It's a lot to think about, all the details you never considered. Check in a week or so for updated pictures.

Stress

Wow, everything has been happening so fast here lately. School seems to be flying by and I am loving every minute of it.

In the past 2 weeks,

1. Matilda has gotten beat up outside our house. She came flying in the house one night and she was bleeding from under the chin. Poor thing :( I told John that we are never letting her out again! We'll see how long that takes till one of us caves.

2. Barons won last week and lost the week prior. Last week, we had an awesome celebration. I won't tell secrets, but they say pictures tell 1,000 words.... (and yes, we are soaked and wet at 3am!)



3. I took my LPN licensure test on September 14th. I was super nervous taking it and was 100% sure that I failed. I had all 205 questions! An awesome girlfriend met me for lunch afterwards and helped me get my mind off the test. We had a blast, and to finish the week, I found out that I passed!
*Just a quick note to go along with this story. Susan and I went to the Dollar Tree to kill time. While in line at the register, I noticed hundreds of pregnancy tests lining the wall! How accurate do you really think those tests are?! Aren't they like $20 in the stores normally!? It just made me think, wow, you have to be really despirate to buy a $1 pregnancy test and trust the results.

4. I have decided to go dress shopping on my own. I've learned that taking people with you can be a bad thing, as well as a positive thing. I went by myself yesterday and Jannese met up with me later. We did lunch and had a fun time discussing wedding stuff. She's been a huge help in the whole thing. The good thing is, I think I have it narrowed down to 3 dresses that I love. (this are after the 2 that I already purchased)

5. I am LOVING night clinicals! I have an awesome instuctor who has everything together perfectly. I have clinicals at York from 2:30-9. It definately makes for a long day, especially when I get up at 6am!

EXPO

Today, my mom and I went to a wedding expo, featuring over 50 vendors, decorating ideas, a fashion show, etc. It was pretty interesting to see different types of cakes, the work of photographers, and to sample foods. Fortunately for John, he was camping by the river with his buddies, otherwise, I would hope that he would have gone with me. (there were other grooms there). I won some type of framed 16X20 picture. 16X20! that's a huge, upfront and personal picture of John and I. That picture will show every freckle, wrinkle, and blemish.
Here's a picture of my mom and I. I was so excited because I got to wear a sticker that said I was the bride.

31-7

GO BARONS!

Yes, it has been a week since Manheim's first game. Manheim defeated Lower Dolphin 31-7. John's kicker set a new school record with the longest field goal kick of 57 yards. John couldn't be more excited. I totally wish that I would have taken a picture of his face. Our friend's son did an awesome job at QB also for his first time on varsity. So proud of them... :)

If you didn't already know, after the games, we all go to the Cats. We no sooner got there and got our food, when a hugh fire started happening right up the street. Seriously, no more than 100 yards away! I was mesmorized! I never saw a fire that close before. It started in one home, but then quickly spread to the two homes surrounding it as well as homes in the rear. (they were row homes). I sat the entire night, until 2AM, watching this fire. I never saw flames that big rolling out of windows before. There were 11 fire companies there, ambulances, police, etc. The street corner was loaded with people. Again, I wish I had had my camera on me. Luckily no one was injured, and a family of 8 had just moved out of the 'fire' home eariler that day. How sad is that, but how lucky everyone is.... Here is a quick picture pulled out of the newspaper.

OGRE!

On my way to clincal today, I noticed a billboard.

It said, "OGRE ACHIEVER, Believe in Yourself."

I thought it was awesome. It fit my personality for the week. Both Monday and Wednesday after class, I came home telling John that I really felt smart today. I was answering questions without hesitation, etc. It just felt really good. I've learned that I have to trust my instinct.

Egg-Slosions

Yes, I know what you're thinking. What is this picture? Random? I feel that this is how my past two weeks have gone. They have been out of control!

Let's begin with the eggs. Seriously, I feel that John and I waste tons of food. We always seem to blame it one another; I buy too much, John eats only A&M. What can I say? Anyway, I cannot boil eggs! I tried with 5, and 2 ended up like this. I've learned that I just cannot do it.

Last Monday I started school for the fall. I totally enjoy it, but eventhough we've only been in 2 weeks, I feel like I am not keeping up. (Theoretically, I'm ahead of the game, but everything is just overwhelming) We've been practicing injections and all seems to be going pretty well. I am having a blast and I am finding my love for needles to be growing. We haven't done injections in the clinical setting yet, but as of next week, all is fair game.

Football started last week. I didn't attend the scrimmage, and so I am really looking forward to tomorrow night's game. What has seriously become of me!? Before, I wanted to go to football games to socialize. Now, I want to actually go and WATCH?! (Ok, so maybe I am just excited to be hanging out with John and our friends afterwards) Who knows?!

Just other "stuff" has been happening and has been putting a little added stress on things. Somehow, we will manage.

Have a great rest of the week.

Website

Alright, it's a little rough right now, but check it out anyway. Our wedding website to keep those updated that want to be updated.

Classic

I had to laugh the other day and I am finally getting around to share this story.

I had gone to the liquor store for wine and was walking down the sidewalk to Darrenkamps when I encountered 3 people. A woman had parked her van next to the sidewalk and was proceeding to get out to enter the Puff N' Snuff (a discount tobacco store). This woman was a classic smoker. Older, very wrinkled, thin, straggely hair, and tan skin/orange. I hate to judge people, but I couldn't help but notice her cut-off jean shorts and skin tight tank top. Anyway, another older lady came out of no where pushing her husband in a wheelchair. Under her breath, I could hear her mummble, "You shouldn't be parking there if you are not handicap." This "smoker" lady started yelling at her... "I am so handicap. You're not the only one in this world with disabilities. You think you're better than everyone else.... blah, blah, blah." I couldn't believe that these ladies were fighting over a parking spot that wasn't a true parking spot.
I will admit, I probably would have mummbled the same thing under my breath. I know I shouldn't but sometimes I can't help rude people. Why does everyone think they are better than everyone else and they deserve everything? I don't get it.

The other day, John and I watched 'In Pursuit of Happiness.' If you haven't seen it, I highly recommend watching it. In the movie, Will Smith quoted, I forget who, "Maybe we are all in PURSUIT of happiness because no one can ACHIEVE true happiness." The more I think about that quote, tons of thoughts come into my mind. That is probably a very true statement. Are we all truely happy, or do we put on smiles to please others? How do we achieve happiness? Is it in our work-place, our family, our financial situations? And can we truely be happy in every area of our lives? * just something to think about.

Later today, I will try to get the wedding website up and running. John and I took engagment photos Saturday and I will post a few of them on here as well as on the other website.

Update

Things seem to be progressing fairly smoothly and quite quickly on this end. John left for Florida on Sunday morning for school and won't be home till Wednesday night. The house seems so different without him here, that it's kind of scary. Matilda and I are just doing our thing, hanging out and getting the house organized.

Wedding wise, this are moving! Dress is picked, bridemaid color is picked, reception location, etc,... done. I'm so pleased with the progress and everyone's help. I am trying to come up with a wedding website where people can go to get an update on things. As of now, the website is created, but there is nothing on it yet. Once it is somewhat accomplished, I will post a link to it from this webpage.

Have a great week!

Melissa, I hope the move is going well for you and I'm thinking about you guys :(