HAPPY BIRTHDAY PAUL!!!!

Happy Birthday to you!

Happy Birthday to you!

Happy Birthday dear Paul

Happy Birthday to you!!!

Happy 25th - you're old now =) Just kidding! We hope you have a great day and have fun celebrating tonight!!!!

Just a little fun and memories....

I placed the order a little late, and I don't think it will be here for the party....but we tried!

Enjoy!

A few more pictures from the trip down South.

Thanks to frequent flier miles I was able to make it to Clemson for FSU game. I stayed with my of my friends and we had a great time! Like Mere said, on Saturday we spent the day bouncing around visting some of our friends. Here are some pictures:

Auntie Meredith with her favorite niece Gretchen...Can you tell she just woke up from a nap?

Our 3rd and final baby stop of the day was with our friend Brooke. We were both in her wedding a few years ago and she was also a bridesmaid in Mere and Dan's wedding. This is the newest addition to the Roger's family - Jordan. She is 4 months old...and teething!

Although we didn't really see eachother a lot on gameday here is a picture of Mere and I at Dan's friend's tailgate before we walked into the stadium. I apparently forgot what humidity was because I was SWEATING!!!

And the most important part of the game...the Most Exciting 25 Seconds of College Football!

And last but not least we hit up Dan's favorite Taco place on the way to drop me at the airport on Tuesday. This is Brooke's son Jonathan - he is the smartest 4 year old I've ever met in my life. If you ask him a number he can tell you what which Clemson player it is. I can't even do that! And although he is wearing a Cubs jersey he assured me that his favorite baseball team was the Boston Red Sox and his favorite player was Big Papi....

Next stop....

....back to New Jersey, and possibly even Hoboken!!!

Yes, you may have have heard rumors of Arkansas that almost weren't rumors. After 9 interviews in 1 week I had my decision down to 2 jobs - Arkansas and New Jersey. After lots of time and talking to several different people I accepted a position in Morris Plains, New Jersey. It is about 28 miles from Hoboken and depending on who else in my class ends up in that area I may end up moving there to be closer to my friends in the city...and I guess Mere and Dan too...

I will be working for our Consumer company and working for the IT Professional Sales and Marketing team. My group supports the Listerine and Reach brands and I am really excited about my new position!

So I move back on November 1st and I am very excited to make a trip back home hopefully before Thanksgiving. Can't wait to see everyone!

Uncle Dan & Aunt Meredith

Over Labor Day Weekend, Dan and I took a trip to South Carolina to meet our niece. Dan's brother and his wife, Becky, gave birth to Gretchen Nicole Snider on August 6th. We were so excited to finally get to meet Gretchen. Everyone has been asking for pictures, so here you go....

As you can see, Dan was a little surprised that the baby was a month old and only as big as his foot. I hope Gretchen laughs at the picture someday!


Now for the serious picture!













Let the spoiling begin...












Andrea was also in town. We made the baby run on Saturday, catching up with old friends from college who all have babies.

Happy Sunday Morning!

You know what makes for a great Sunday morning....when it is cool enough outside so you can sleep with the windows open, but still need the covers to stay warm. Also, when you have no reason to get up early and can sleep late. However, this can not be done when your fire alarm goes off at 8 AM!!! I love standing on the main street in my pajamas. Also, I can not go back to sleep once I am up. How annoying is that?

Happy Sunday......let's go Red Sox and Patriots!

Andrea....with STRAIGHT HAIR!!!!

Although many believed it was not possible (including myself), and many people often wondered what it would look like, this past weekend was the first time that I had my hair straighted...ever. I had some friends out visiting from NY, NJ, and PA (visitors? - shocking I know) but one of my friends decided she wanted to straighten my hair. We had to document each step of the miraculous process and here were some pictures.

Here is post blow drying - pre-straightening. I was pretty nervous as you can tell. An people wonder why I never blow dry my hair.....


It took a LONG TIME! Kate had to repeat with a straightener 3-4 times for it to finally be straight! This was about the point when our friend Tom was like ummm...is it bad that her hair is SMOKING when you are using the straightening iron? Apparently that is ok... And for all the people who think I have short hair...you're pretty wrong!



And finally the finished product! Poor Kate had to be exhausted after but I didn't feel that bad because it was her idea :)


It was SO strange - I felt like I was wearing a wig all night! And then once I got in the shower it was all gone and back to normal curly hair. Here is a picture of the 4 of us at Pier 39 (I really never get sick of the sea lions!) Maureen was my roommate when I lived in NJ for first rotation and she left J&J, and Kate and Tom are 2 of my other good friends from the program - we had a great weekend! And last but not least, what type of host would I be if we didn't go to Napa. That is Andrea sitting next to me and she is one of the other ITLDPs who is based in California right now.

Happy Birthday to you (Emma & Brian!)

Sorry...I have been so busy and have not been in the office enough to keep up with the birthdays (as you could see by Mimeres late posting!) But, how could I forget Emma turning 2! September 8th was Emmas 2nd birthday! Happy Birthday Emma!

Also, tomorrow is Brian's birthday....Happy Birthday Brian!

Happy 90th Birthday Mimere!!

OK, so it's really 90 years and 2 days! No matter how you look at it, it is still pretty remarkable. I surely think she is the cutest Mimere in the whole world...would you agree?

So what did she do to celebrate, her favorite of course...Paula, Cindy, Maryellen, and Gail took her to the casino for some fun.
Here she is rocking the guitar on her birthday....don't you just love her?
Mimere - We all love you very much and thank you and Pipere for the wonderful family you have brought us all!

We will celebrate Mimeres birthday on Sunday, September 30th - you better be there!

Happy Birthday Amy!!!

Happy Birthday to you!

Happy Birthday to you!

Happy Birthday dear Amy,

Happy Birthday to you!

We hope you had a wonderful day yesterday!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY PETER!!!

Happy birthday Dad!!!

We hope you had a great day and were able to enjoy your birthday in the US!!!

We love you!

PC and his "tower of power" in Puerto Rico

Who know Peter was amazing a karaoke...

Happy 30th Birthday!

Happy Birthday Kristin!

I can't believe you are 30 already...insane!! We hope you had a good time celebrating, what did you do?

Happy Birthday

The birthday guy!!

Happy Birthday to you! Happy Birthday to you!

Happy Birthday dear Andrew!! Happy Birthday to you!

We hope your birthday was great...enjoy the long weekend celebration! Peace, Love, and Vermont!

Random posting....

I think most of you remember my friend Megan from West Springfield. Last weekend she had us up to her parents Marina in Connecticut for the weekend. We had a great time at the beach, jet skiing, kayaking, you know the deal! Andrea asked for pictures of their kids, so here....Jimmy will be 4 in October and Hayley was born April 23rd.




















OK, OK....everyone asks if I REALLY wear a hardhat at work. The other night I had everything home since I needed it first thing the next morning so I decided I would finally reveal my work identity for those that are always asking.....don't laugh too hard, but enjoy!! I am now headed out into the streets of New York City looking like I do in the below picture.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MEREDITH!!!

Happy Birthday to you!

Happy Birthday to you!

Happy Birthday dear Meredith!!!

Happy Birthday to you!!!



We love you very much and hope you have a great day! Have fun this weekend with your friends!

No Room at the Inn

I had a busy weekend and wanted to share some pictures with everyone, partly because I thought people may enjoy looking at some pictures, and partly because I'm tired of looking at the sweatshirt post!

So I had 4 visitors this weekend and we had a great time. You would think 5 girls in a 1 bedroom apartment would not be fun but we had a blast. My friend Leah from West Springfield came out and she brought her friend Janet. Also, two of my best friends from Clemson were able to come visit - Erin and Kristin. Erin visited from Atlanta and Kristin only had to drive a few hours from Lake Tahoe.

On Friday, we went to Monterey and did the 17 Mile drive. Here is a picture of all of us on top of a big rock. The only reason I decided to climb it is that they told me I wouldn't be able to because I was wearing flip-flops and a skirt:

It was a perfect day! Not too hot, not too cold, and for once - no fog! Here is a picture of the Lone Cyprus:

On Saturday morning we were up bright and early and headed to Napa. We were able to visit 6 different wineres! We were able to meet up with one of Erin's old friends from work who recently moved out here too so that was fun. Here is a picture of all of us in front of ZD:

Saturday night we were all pretty exhausted so we just rested up for a big day in SF. We saw Coit Tower, Lombard Street, attempted to see the bridge but it was too foggy, the Boudin tour, the Full House houses, Pier 39, and Fisherman's Warf. I am tired even thinking about it again!!!

Here is the view from the bottom of Coit Tower - that fog is the reason they didn't get to see the bridge!

I think this picture is funny - it is Kristin and I goofing around in front of the Full House houses. I stole this picture from Leah and it took Erin about 5 tries on my camera before we quit:

And here was our last stop of the night! We had dinner at my favorite restaurant in the city and then went and had dessert at Ghirardelli Square - it was delicious! Another funny fact - this picture was taken by someone who lives in Westfield - we met about 5 different familes from MA this weekend and 3 of them were from Western Mass!
My last visitors left last night at 10PM. Before they left they got me these BEAUTIFUL flowers as a thank you. Orange and purple for Clemson obviously...and pink just because I love pink! They looked much better before I started messing with them in the vase but they are still gorgeous!

So that is all that I've got...now it is back to work and the real world. I am going to SC for Labor Day to see all my friends, go to the football games, and to meet Gretchen! I am VERY excited about that! And when I get back it will be time to pick where I go next...who knows where I will end up!

Last Call for Sweatshirts

I really need to order the sweatshirts tomorrow….so please check around..Kristin what about Tina

Just a few pictures from the weekend....

I thought you might all enjoy a few pictures from the weekend. I will post the link for all of the pictures on the right hand side of the blog. I know Dan and I were not the only ones taking pictures, so please share what you have.

And, most importantly, we missed everyone who wasn't able to make it...Brian and Nicole, Paul, Erin, and Andrea. For their sake, I think we should share some good stories with them (we all know there were lots of them!)

Enjoy!

First...the guest of honor!

Memere with the Collopys

Cute Little Emma!

One of the many beautiful sunsets in Malletts Bay!

Lastly, the infamous raft crew!

SWEATSHIRTS

I need to send in the order for sweatshirts..I don’t have time to call so just tell me what you want and I’ll do the best I can…Paula..make sure everyone knows…like Kevin..and the David Robillards..thanks paula

Congratulations Auntie Meredith & Uncle Dan

It's official... Mere and Dan now have a new niece. No, Kristin and I aren't pregnant BUT Dan's brother and his wife gave birth at 6:14 this morning to a baby girl... Gretchen Nicole Snider.

Congratulations to the entire Snider clan - new parents Dave and Becky, GRANDPARENTS Don and Peggy, and Uncle Dan & Auntie Meredith.

The Snider Family

Grandma and Grandpa with their first grandchild

PS - Thanks Don and Peggy for the stolen pictures!

Also, family weekend ended - where are the pictures for all of us that weren't able to make it????