Fly Fishing with My Dad and Brother

Howdy,

In letting Hillary and Justin settle in with their new family, I headed out way into the country to do a little fly fishing. My dad and brother came and picked me up at my sisters' earlier than I had been waking-up and we headed to Reynolds' Pond; this is a place my family has gone to for many years. I have many fond memories of this place including the one time a sunny cut Hillary's leg as it flopped back into the water. As soon as we got there, I stepped out and smelted only the smell that place has. It was awesome...

Smell ya later,

The Cat

http://picasaweb.google.com/allysonsaunders/FishingWithDadAndJoe

Janie's First Dorm Room

Hola,

After Janie's delivery she was taken to another hospital to receive some antibiotics and some extra pampering. My sister and brother-in-law drove every day to be with her and have already won "Most Dedicated Parents":)!. I was lucky enough to be able to visit her almost everyday. Aunts and Uncles had some tight visiting hours, but we all made it work. Here are some pictures of Janie in her first week of life. ....what a trooper:)

Adios,

Sa-oon-ders

http://picasaweb.google.com/allysonsaunders/HospitalPictures

Olympics- Hangin' out at Hill and Justin's Place

Estimado todo el mundo,
Throughout the course of the 2 weeks I was in we played darts, billiards, water/beer pong (Just for the record since my brother is only 16 and my sister was pregnant they played/drank water:)), rummy, horse shoes, and spoons. It was a lot of fun; we called it Olympics and sometimes took arbitrary score:) ....I mean, I wasn't really keeping track, but I think I won:-D.....of course, then again, I marked myself 1rst place even when I came in last:-D
besos,
Ally
http://picasaweb.google.com/allysonsaunders/OlympicsHangingOutAtHillAndJustins

Family Fun

Dear Family and Friends,
The day after I arrived into town the entire family got together for a day of "Family Fun". It's not unusual for the crew to get together, but it's usually for Family Fun Night, which can include bowling, signing, playing games, having a picnic, or simply chilling on my parents' porch. We had a blast mini-golfing. it was McKenzie's first time and she beat Joey....just kidding:)...She did do very well though:). After golf we hung around and got some ice cream. It was a really fun day; I love having ALL (and that includes you too Justin:)!) of my family together(we were missing a couple of people that would have just made the day even better, a couple of other family members and Jamie).
Love,
Ally

http://picasaweb.google.com/allysonsaunders/FamilyFunDay

Lake Scranton

Dear World,
While I was home I walked the entire beautiful lake Scranton for the first time. Jamie, Mike, and I went for a walk right before I headed to Tunkhannock. If you live in NEPA and have never visited you should make the effort; it was nice. Just be careful the squirrels are way too comfortable with humans:)

Peace Out:)
Ally

PS- There's a shot of the Lake Scranton "beach". If you watch "The Office" you're probably thinking...hmmmm:)

http://picasaweb.google.com/allysonsaunders/LakeScranton02

Janie's Arrival

Hey Guys,
Yesterday I became an aunt for the second time of my life. The special part of the arrival of this baby is that it was the daughter of my baby sister and brother-in-law. I just can't believe how much she looks like a mini-Hillary, and most of all I just can't get over the fact that my little sister is a mom. Though she is younger than I, I have learned so much about life from her, especially in the realm of love. She's never been afraid to be vulnerable and emotional and to love. Growing-up, I was always the logical, profound,and more level-headed one. Sometimes I would just watch her while she laughed intensely or cried dramatically and was intrigued by her array of emotions. I wasn't much of a crier or into showing much emotions; I always viewed those kinds of acts as weak or weird (just never made sense to me). I truly believe that by watching her be emotional, watching her love and care for others has helped me open doors of myself that I might not have otherwise. She is wise beyond her years and continues to help me appreciate life and all it has to offer. She's now given me the gift of a niece, and has asked me to be the Godmother. I will love this little girl and make sure she is happy, has what she needs, make sure she knows how lucky she is to have parents who are so loving and affectionate to one another...and I'll never let her doubt how much they love her. God Bless...

PS- She was born July 17,2007 at 3:20pm. She was 8lbs and 9oz and 21 inches.....Oh, and if you're wondering, I won the baby pool ;-)

Warning: Some pictures contain blood. If you have a sensitive stomach check back to see the photos after August 1, 2007

http://picasaweb.google.com/allysonsaunders/JanieSArrival

Weekend of July 6 and 7:Boston, MA and Hampton Beach, NH

Here's the update!
I know you're thinking I've been checking in everyday, and staying up all night just waiting to see what she's done next. Well, let me help you rest more easily at night, because I'm finally posting some new stuff:) These are pictures from last weekend where we went into the city and just enjoyed walking around Beacon Hill, where John Kerry resides. We also hit up Quincy Market to catch some of the street performers. You'll also be able to see Hampton Beach, NH. It's about a 40 minutes ride north of us, but it's a nice quaint little beach with a boardwalk that you know used to be happenin' back in the day:). Also, I know it may seem corny, but I took a picture of a blueberry coffee cake I made, because it's the first product I've made in quite some time that turned out well. I also included pictures of Jamie's office(orfice) which I surprised him by doing a little remodeling!
http://picasaweb.google.com/allysonsaunders/BostonPictures

Take Care and Keep in touch,
Ally

PS- Check in once a week for updates. I figure weekly updates are way more manageable /interesting (trust me) than daily:)

Cancun

Calling all family and friends who have requested to see the Cancun pictures!!!

I am finally posting our pictures of Cancun! I know it has been a while (since April actually:)) The summer means that I have time off to catch up on my own personal life. I will tell you that this was a great trip...and so BARATO (cheap)! For both of our airfares and a hotel for 3 nights/4 days and shuttle service to and from our hotel it only costs a total of 1100!

Since we didn't have to spend so much to get and stay there, we had some extra cash to play with, and we did! We did the following things like go on a Jungle Tour which included my first snorkeling experience, took a boat ride out to Isla Mujeres(Women Island) and went on a sky ride, which you'll actually be able to see pictures of us in the air! It was a reasonably priced package deal, and I highly recommend this hot spot for beach lovers and those that like to play in the naturally beautiful waters of the Caribbean!

We definitely plan to venture back to the azure waters of Cancun, and we both agree that Cancun has had the best waters thus far...and wicked waves!
Hope you enjoy the highly anticipated pictures of our Cancun trip.
Yours truly,
Ally

The link to our Cancun Pics:
http://picasaweb.google.com/allysonsaunders/Cancun2007

Hillary and Justin's Baby Shower

The Friday night, before Memorial Day weekend I had organized a semi-formal dance for our graduating 8th grade class. The following morning Jamie and I woke up and drove back home for Hillary and Justin's baby shower!

The pictures I have linked here are both the baby shower and pictures from Memorial day. Lots of pictures of the family though unfortunately my dad was working and therefore, I didn't get any pictures with him:(!

Enjoy the pictures; they're great!
PS- I can't wait to be an aunt to a second niece:)!
http://picasaweb.google.com/allysonsaunders/JustinAndHillarySBabyShowerWeekendMay272007

Megan and Johnny's Wedding

On the last Thursday of May, Jamie and I flew down to the DC area to be a part of Johnny and Megan's special day! After a 6 year courtship, Johnny proposed to Megan outside of where they both met and exactly one year later, June 2 they finally said, "I do" and Megan became the first Mrs. Gotch to that family of this generation!

The two currently live in Fairfax, VA an adorable suburb of DC and had the wedding ceremony not even a couple of miles from their apartment at the Hilton Garden Inn in Fairfax. After the ceremony Johnny and Megan had to get some sleep for their early departure for Hawaii!

Before I close this blog, I wanted to publicly thank Megan and Johnny for allowing me to be a part of the most special day for a couple. Megan, it meant a lot to me, when I received a little card you sent about a year ago asking me to be a bridesmaid. I was deeply touched and have enjoyed getting to you know. You've been so great with Johnny and you are both adorable together. And, Johnny, I am so proud of you. I have already told you this, but I can remember you back to your more immature days, and it is really amazing to see your maturity and your carefree love for life grow. May you both grow old and learn about life together.

Much Love and Sincerity,

Ally

PS- Here are the links to some fabulous wedding pictures:

http://picasaweb.google.com/allysonsaunders/MeganAndJohnnySWedding

and

http://inthevalley.org/johngotch/wedding/

New York City

The weekend of June 16-17 marked an important event on our school's calendar. It was the first grade-wide overnight field trip our school has ever organized. I am proud to say that I was actually the one who organized it! I won't lie, it was a lot of work and I sent some long days at the school making sure all payments were in and figuring out ways to help the children of our low income school fundraise for such a costly trip of $191.00.

There was one definite perk to being the one who organized the trip. I didn't have to chaperone a particular group of students, because I needed my hands to be free to speak with our tour guides, and also to be the adult in the case we had any child misbehaving. Fortunately our kids were really well behaved and I was told this by many people throughout our trip. The kids got to visit places such as: 5th Ave, FAO Schwartz, Times square, Harlem, Ground Zero, Ellis Island, Statue of Liberty, Planter Hollywood(free dinner)

The trip provided me with tremendous insight and inspiration. It reminded me another great reason to be a teacher. Not only is a teacher a person who gives information, but it's a person who offers experiences. This weekend, I had moments where I just stood on the sidelines and watched the faces of all the kids(50), fellow teachers(5), and parent chaperones (14) and I thought to myself if no one says thank you, this is the reason I did this. Their enjoyment was my reward, my thank you. I love my profession:)!

You can check out some pictures I was able to take here and there from the bus or walking around. Enjoy!

Love,
Ally

PS- Here's the link to my NYC pictures and the link to my school:
http://picasaweb.google.com/allysonsaunders/NewYorkCity

http://www.prospecthillacademy.org/

Arnold Arboretum

Hello everyone!

On Saturday Jamie and I wanted to get out and enjoy the nice air, as well as adventure to some new territory. Though we've been in the area for 3 years (wow, that long ago?) there's still much of New England and Boston we haven't seen, and one place in particular we've passed but never stopped to enjoy is Harvard University's Arnold Arboretum.

For those that don't know an arboretum is basically like a collection of trees/botanical garden in a park-like area. The arboretum was beautiful and though it's right off a highway, once you crawl up the little pathways into the hills of it all, the city noise vanishes.

It was a nice little stroll for free, and Jamie and I did see some interesting trees. Check out the pictures and find the tree that grew some sort of cotton like stuff:)!

Love,
Ally

PS- You'll also see some other pictures during our ride. In fact the second picture is of the O'Neil tunnel, where the slab of concrete fell and killed a lady. I'm sure you've all heard of Boston's "Big Dig". This is part of it.

http://picasaweb.google.com/allysonsaunders/ArnoldArboretum

You can also look at more about the arboretum if you'd like:
http://www.arboretum.harvard.edu/visitors/visitors.html

Martha's Vineyard

Hey guys!
Yesterday Jamie and I finally went out to Martha's Vineyard! It was about an hour and a half south of here to a place called Woods Hole. Once we got there we had to park the car and take a very efficient shuttle to the ferry. We had no reservations and no idea how long the whole process would take, but we ended up on the ship without being rushed and with perfect timing. Before the boat left we had time to snap a shot of us waiting on board!

After a windy boat ride, we arrived to The Island at 3:15ish. Once we stepped off of the dock we were on a mission to explore and find something to eat, as we hadn't until then. We were really taken back by the charm of the island, more specifically Oak Bluffs; Martha's Vineyard has little areas as we learned. The 3 most popular are: Vineyard Haven, Edgartown and Oak Bluffs. Also, before we left, I had read that Jaws was shot some there near Edgartown...cool,huh:)?

After we had some local seafood, we continued to explore the area, and came across our favorite house. Of course, we crossed an entire park to look at this house close-up and then realized the little community of cottages behind it. We tried to capture how close the cottages were and the quaint neighborhood streets which were more like sidewalks the little cottages were adorable, and Jamie captured them the best by saying they looked like doll houses. They were so small and colorful with cutesie names. We even found a house called "The Pink House".

After walking around the neighborhood, we did a little shopping where I finally purchased a hoody. You might be thinking oh God, more brown, but I LOVE it! As the day wore on, we grew a little tired so we headed to the beach just to chill. After a little rest, we skipped some rocks to pass the time while we waited for our boat. Just for the record, I'm not very good, but Jamie was great! Finally it was time to board the ship, and from there we left the Island behind.

Hope you enjoyed the story of our yesterday. I hope everyone is enjoying their summer. We'll be coming in soon as my sister is about to give birth to my second niece, Janie LuluBelle Bishop.

With Love,
Ally

PS- You can check out more pictures from this trip by clicking on the following address:
http://picasaweb.google.com/allysonsaunders/MarthaSVineyard