I'm Home!

Well my trip home went well. I made a little stop in New York to see my friend Hope Batt!!! It was soo good to spend some time with her and her family again! On Friday we went to Canada to see Niagara Falls. It was snowing and the darn wind was blowing, but all the snow and ice looked wicked nice! lol!!!! Anywho, it was still snowing when I headed out Saturday morning for the first hour or so and then the sun came out and made for a great day for driving!

My nephew, Ethan, is absolutely adorable!!! He is sooo cute and smiles at everything! He just loves his Aunt Hannah!!!!!

Sunday I got to see a few of my friends and then I actually went shopping!?!? Now I know that you aren't believing me right now seeing how you all know I hate to shop, but it was my favorite store, L.L. Bean, so I made an exception. I also needed really needed something to wear to work! I started today, Monday, back at the bank. Its a nice job and the spending money is always nice!

For those who are interested in seeing more pictures I will be posting all of them on Facebook later this week.

It was wicked cold!

Me and Hope!

Thanksgiving 2008

Well I spent my Thanksgiving in Ohio again this year. Yes, the Henschen family surprisingly allowed me back!!! I had such a good time! They made me feel right at home. We started of the first night with the usual, Town's Pizza and a musical! I didn't watch the whole thing, but it was ok. Thanksgiving I slept in and I'm sure they all thought I was a lazy bum! They had prepared a wonderful meal with GRAVY!!!!! I stuffed myself!!! Their uncle bought a Wii and we spent quite a bit of time playing that after a long day of football. Black Friday we were up and about shopping till I dropped!!! I actually bought something this year! SOCKS!!!! We spent 2 hours at the Alltel store and then had lunch at Happy Daz. When we got back Cathy, Carrie, and Dominic took me up the silo. I'm not cut out for the 80 ft. climb, but at least now I can say I did it!! It only took me about 3 to 4 days to recover! It was a nice view though!! During our travels in the car we listened to Christmas Shoes and Christmas Blessing and of course topped it off with Kristine's Christmas!!!! GOOD TIMES!!!! So thanks to the Henschen family for giving me a home away from home!!!

Chalk Talk

Well I have added a new class to my school schedule for Monday nights. I am officially taking Chalk Talk! I know, many of you are thinking what in the world is Hannah thinking taking a drawing class??? I will admit it is harder than it looks and no I have not mastered the artistic look yet, but I'm sure it is to come! I wanted a class that is not making me stuff my head into another book or making me sit in front of a computer, this is certainly neither!! I do enjoy the class and I think its going to be really fun! Here are a few pics of my first night! We were learning to do trees. Sorry the pics are fuzzy, I only had my camera phone.

Mr. and Mrs. Love

For the weekend I picked up Nate and Arancha and we headed to my sister's. Arancha did a photo session for Emily and Daniel and I took a few pics as well. Enjoy!!

A Night For Goodbye

Ok, so we actually went on Sunday night so no karaoke for us which is probably a good thing since none of us can sing! Its hard to believe that its really that time of year again. I can't believe I'm headed back to school again!!! Seems like I just got home!! My summer flew bye and I didn't even see it! Anyways, Mike and Tara, Haley, Eric and I went out for a quick get together my last weekend home.

the four of us graduated together

the gang

Lets Go Fly A Kite!!!!

So on my last Saturday home we spent the perfect day on the coast! Bern came down for the weekend and we went to the Portland Headlight to fly kites! Bern couldn't get his kite to fly. He had a stunt kite and needed good low altitude winds. The Mason's came and spent the day with us. Afterwards we went to the Lobster Shack and met the Christner's and had dinner. The seafood was wicked good and the whole day was a lot of fun!

4th at Madagascal!

For the 4th we went to our camp on Madagascal Pond! It is my favorite place on earth!! Seemed like everyone else decided to spend the their weekend relaxing on the water as well! We had some awesome fireworks from our neighbors. There wasn't a cloud in the sky and I did get burnt, but still had lots of fun! I can't wait to go back!!!

Loons
the island
bern taking in the view

my cousins play our bean bag game
ok so i got a little carried away!
they are sooo cute!!!

Ethan Brady Staples

Well little Ethan has finally made his appearance in the world! He made his arrival around 4:20 p.m. on 6/19/08. He is 8 lbs. 11 oz. and he is 20 1/2 in. long.

Brad waiting patiently

my nephew
dad showing him to mom
the fam!

Portland Headlight

Well yesterday I decided to take a break from applying to jobs and take my friend Sarah out for the day! It worked out for our friends Sharon and Erin to come along as well. The weather had been saying it would be cool, but sunny so we decided to head to the Portland Headlight or some know it as Cape Elizabeth. The sun never did come out, but at least it didn't rain. We had a great day walking around and taking pictures. The Portland Headlight was a fort along the coast for defense. Unfortunately between being on the ocean and the enduring the harsh winters they don't preserve that well. And for some reason many people can't seem to have respect for our history and have done quite a bit of spray painting on the remains of the fort. The Goddard mansion sets a little off fromt the shore, but is now fenced off since the remains are unsafe to walk around under.
The lighthouse here is the most photographed lighthouse in the world and is actually the lighthouse in my header for my blog. Which reminds me, thanks Greg, for taking the time to make that for me. I appreciate it. Enjoy the pics!

Memorial Weekend

For Memorial Weekend I had the priviledge of going to my favorite place in the world!!! Most people don't believe me, but the few that I have managed to get to camp at Madagascal always want to go back for more. I've never been to a more peaceful place in all my life and I'm hoping for many more weekends there this summer!
This weekend was mostly for cleaning. All the neighbors were up, but we didn't have much time for catching up. We made it to camp friday evening and vaccuumed enough of the camp so that we could sleep there. Saturday Dad and Bern built bunkbeds in the bunkhouse while mom cleaned the rest of the main cabin. I was sent out for groceries and somehow Bern talked me into doing his laundry.
I was able to get quite a bit of pleasure reading done! In the evenings Bern and I would enjoy a game then we would all hit the hay! Usually we would have a campfire going, but it is still pretty early in the summer and it was freezing cold and the blackflies were so thick we weren't able to spend much time outside. Sunday we attended Lee Baptist Church with our grandparents and then my cousin Sean came out for the afternoon. It was his 19th birthday! Bern and I took Sean for a canoe ride where Sean enjoyed scaring me every now and then by rocking the boat! The water was extremely cold and I had no desire to go in.
Monday Dad and I cleaned out the loft! We took down the old mattresses and holders. They had been up there since the camp was built and they were extremely heavy!!! I'm not sure what they were made of but I'm thankful for the way mattresses are made today! Nan and Gramp along with Aunt Bobbie came in for our last dinner at camp before we left. It was a lot of fun. Gramp challenged me to a game of cribbage and trimmed me good at the end! I'm sorry I do not have any pictures at this time. I took all of them with Bern's camera and so I do not have the memory card.

IT IS SO GOOD TO BE HOME!

Well school has ended and its time for me to go home! I stayed in Tennessee for an extra week and worked at Ingles. I had to make my sad goodbyes. I also had a new radiator and water pump put into my car before i started the long journey!I went to my cousin, Lynn's for a few days of relaxation. We slept, ate and watched tv. We did manage to go fishing out at the barn on thursday. It started raining as soon as we got there but the trees kept us pretty dry. I caught a bass and Lynn caught lily pads and tree branches! It was a fun time!!

I left Lynn's and headed to North Carolina for Stacy Shearin and Sarah Vink's wedding. I arrived 2 minutes before they headed down the isle. The ceremony was beautiful! I'm so happy for them!!!!

After the reception I left for Virginia to stay with the Irby's for the weekend. The trip there was interesting to say the least. My stay here has been very relaxing. We went to a baseball game on Saturday night. The home team lost big time, but it was still fun!Sunday was their church's family and friend day. I tagged along and tried to lead Rach's class in singing while she was gone and I'm pretty sure i managed to ruin every song I tried.I left the Irby's Monday morning and drove to CT. I stayed with my friend Becky Barker for the night and drove home Tuesday. It is so good to be home!