Pumpkin Farm

This is our favorite Pumpkin Farm to visit with Kevin's Cousins because they have the best hayride ever.

Happy 9th Birthday - October 6, 2013

We had a fabulous weekend at Niagara Falls, Canada to celebrate Kevin's Birthday (and mine). 

The original plan to celebrate Kevin's birthday this year was to visit my family and go to Kings Island...but it just didn't seem like a good idea in light of my Dad's recent heart transplant. So one evening about a week and a half before his birthday we were watching Wheel of Fortune and saw a commercial on TV for Niagara Falls. We both thought this would be perfect! We are only a 4 hour drive from Canada, all 3 of us have passports, and we had a free night stay at a hotel. The hotel was AMAZING, you can see the picture below of our view. We received many perks for staying at this hotel too. They gave us a gift card to their restaurant and we found out we could use it for room service so we did and it was fabulous. We had a dining room table in our room that faced the amazing view so we really didn't want to leave our room. They also gave us free breakfast in their restaurant at the buffet. It was so much fun! 

But the best part of the weekend, for me, was being able to go on a trip like this with Kevin and have it just be the 3 of us. This was the first time we had ever taken a "pleasure" trip with just the 3 of us. We have traveled to be with family or our trips to Philadelphia twice a year. But never had we gone somewhere without some family with us. I love spending time with family and love to share adventures with them. But another reason we always asked family to be with us was because I wasn't sure if Kevin would appreciate or enjoy the adventure and so if he had family there with him it would be something special for him to enjoy as well. So I found out no extra family was needed, Kevin and I and Jon enjoyed ourselves immensely just being together and seeing the sights. Kevin did enjoy watching the Falls and people watching. There are so many people from all over the world to see at a landmark like Niagara Falls and it is one of my favorite parts too. It was a Happy Birthday indeed!

We rode the BIG Sky Wheel

We LOVED our hotel room & view

Kevin's Mama turns 40

It is only fair that I post that I turned 40 years old too this year.

Evening Hikes at Local Parks

As summer turned into fall...I was spending my weekends with my Dad and Mom at the hospital...so to spend some fun time with "my boys" during the week we went hiking at the area parks. We have so many fabulous parks in our area to choose from. Not all park trails are stroller accessible...but we are finding some that are doable. It makes me feel very grateful that Kevin is able to get out of the stroller and walk a short distance on good terrain or get out to view some of the amazing sights. Here are just a few of my favorite pictures from some of these outings.

A New Heart and A Little Guy with a Big Heart

On September 9, 2013, Kevin's Pap received a most precious gift...a new heart! Last summer we were told that there was nothing more they could do for my Dad's heart and a heart transplant would be the next step. We feel very blessed that we were able to have a family vacation at Myrtle Beach this past June 2013 but then at the end of July 2013 Dad was back in the hospital. On August 8, 2013 Dad was put at the top of The List for a heart transplant and 31 days later he received The Call that he would be receiving his new heart. It will be a long recovery but we are happy to report that he is home and doing well.

This is a picture that was taken of Kevin and Pap while he was in the hospital waiting for his new heart. When we arrived, Kevin sat next to him and put his head on my Dad's heart! Kevin is a little guy with a big heart!

Kevin and I were actually lucky enough to be visiting my Dad and Mom in the hospital when they received The Call that he would be getting his heart...a moment I will never forget!

One more story about my Dad...Three days after the transplant surgery, I returned home and was sitting on the couch with Kevin. I was talking on the phone with my sister getting the latest update on my Dad and then I heard my Mom's voice. I looked over at Kevin sitting next to me on the couch with the iPad and saw my Mom and Dad on the screen. Kevin had called my Mom through FaceTime on the iPad. It was a good idea Kevin had so we could see their face and hear their voice. But he did surprise me and give us a good laugh!

This picture was taken just a few hours before Dad got The Call for his NEW HEART