Top 5 Pictures- Eric

Everyone dreams of having a boy and girl so the boy can look after and protect the girl... right?!  No?  Well maybe that is just me.  Having a brother has given me the biggest headache but also the biggest protector at the same time.  Sure, the headaches outweigh the protecting, but that's beside the point.

He has had to fill "Malerie's shoes" as he followed me through school and always be "Malerie's Little Brother."  I must say he's gone a great job at being the complete opposite of me in some aspects, but we love him all the same!  I love the relationship that we have and I know that if I needed him, he would be there for me!  Sibling bonds are unbreakable!

 This picture is from our favorite place on Earth-- Disney World!!!  We have been very blessed that our parents got a Disney Vacation Club membership so we were able to go to Disney about once a year, until I went to college and couldn't take off school like you could back in high school.  Then, they went without me :-(

This picture is from our Gammy's house, and apparently someone had their greasy fingers on the camera lens (not me!!)  Notice that I have a cup of BBQ chips, typical Malerie style, so I am sure that the greasy fingers were from me!  It seems that Eric is usually busy on Gammy Sundays now, so it makes me happy that we got this picture together one Sunday when he was there.

I think Eric looks extra handsome in this picture, so I wanted to make sure it made it into the Top 5.  I came home from college for his Homecoming, which was something that I loved to do!  Seeing him all dressed up is a lot of fun!!

Here you can see that my little baby brother has grown up!!  This picture is from Gammy's too, but I love that we match!!  I normally don't think we look alike, but I can see it just.a.little. in this picture!

This is my favorite picture of us, and I think Solas Photography did a great job.  I absolutely love the background and the way the colors pop!  That's a real Eric smile and I will always cherish this picture!!!

Friends may come and go, but family is forever!!

Top 5 Pictures- Meghan

You know how you always wish that you had a little sister who you could boss around and she would do anything you asked her to do??  Well, I had one, and she was amazing at it.  That is until she got old enough to say no and tell me to do it myself (which I obviously deserved after having a slave for so many years!)

Before Meghan was born, the family of 4 was living in Dover.  When Mom and Dad found out they were having a surprise third child, we relocated to West York.  We moved from a three bedroom house with awesome architecture and style to an even more awesome brick and siding house with hour bedrooms.  

Little did my parents know, but when Meghan was old enough to go into their room and ask to sleep in their bed, when they said no, Meghan came to me and slept in my room.  Many nights turned into years and I ended up with a roommate until I was in junior high school!  They got me a trundle bed so that we could both sleep in my room, but we ended up sharing my twin bed with our heads at opposite ends.  So while they thought they needed to move and get Meghan her own room, they were wrong!  Having Meghan with me all the time has formed an unbreakable bond that I wouldn't trade for anything in the world!  She always gives me her honest opinion and I respect her for that.  I have enjoyed watching her grow up into the successful young lady that she is.

Here is my feeding my little baby doll of a sister (tell me she isn't the cutest baby EVER!)  What I really like is the face I am making while feeding her.  You know how you always smile when taking someone's picture?  Well apparently I always open my mouth when feeding a baby.  Who would've known!

And she gets even cuter!  My short hairstyle?  Not.so.much.  How about the fact that we are both wearing turtlenecks?  Even.better

But for real, you can really tell how much we love each other!

This is from my National Honors Society banquet and I think it's one of the sweetest pictures!  I loved being a role model to Meghan, and even if she went through an "I want to be anything BUT Malerie" phase, I love her anyway!

Although this is a repeat idea from Christmas morning, I think the blankets say it all.  Meghan and I get a character trait from our Mom that we are ALWAYS covered up.  I'm not talking about only in the winter, I am talking about ALL the time.  In the summer when it's 95 degrees out, I will have a blanket with me at Jason's baseball game.

I have absolutely no idea why this one is sideways, because it is straight on my computer.  None the less, this is Meghan and I to the tee.  First of all, one is tan, one is pasty white (love you Meg) and that is most always the case.  Meghan didn't get the tan genes like Eric and I did.  This picture cracks me up, as well and the last one I just HAVE to share

 

And I know I am only supposed to post 5 and I'm up to 7, but I leave you with my beautiful maid of honor

Friends come and go, but family is forever!

Top 5 Pictures- Dad

Today's post will be about one of the best men in my life-- my Dad.  I know everyone thinks their Dad is the best, but mine really is!  He has supported me through all aspects of my life and inspired me not to give up on my dreams!  His opinions are priceless and I still run some ideas past him just to get his advice!  He is irreplaceable to me, and I'm lucky to have him!

 This picture cracks me up.  It is from the end of my Junior Year of college from the Boys Volleyball banquet at the end of the season.  For those of you who don't know, my Dad is not only a great father, but he is a very well-respected coach as well.  I haven't gotten to experience his coaching from a player standpoint (he always coached boys volleyball, I wonder why he didn't want the emotional girls) but I was a manager for his teams from the time I was old enough to remember until my senior year.

This picture is from the infamous "stick your arm out and take a picture" phase of my life.  While it doesn't make for the most flattering pictures, I love Dad's smile in this one.  It is from one of our vacations to Ocean City, New Jersey when we were all out to eat.

This picture is from a get together at Gammy's where Dad and I were matching in our blues.  Of course he looks much better in blue since he has the eyes to match it, but hey, crap brown eyes aren't that bad, right?

For years my Dad has had season tickets to the Philadelphia Eagles football games.  Each season I have been lucky enough to go to at least one game with him and this is from one of those days.  I posted back in November about our latest game we attended, but the bonding time is irreplaceable to me.  We have made traditions from stopping at Wawa to getting subs to take into the game to walking around before the game.  With next season up in the air, the memories are even more priceless to me!

Is my Dad handsome or what?  I am sure you can tell this is from my wedding day, but he looks great!  Although just a picture, this summarizes how I feel about my Dad to a T.  I owe him lots and lots and I am very grateful to have him in my life!

Friends may come and go, but family is forever!

Top 5 Pictures- Mom

Today I chose my Mom to put on display.  I chose her because she has been one of the most constant and supportive things that I have going for me throughout my 25 years of existence.  And of course because without her, I wouldn't be here.

Of course I need to start out with a throwback picture, and MAN does her hair look good?!  From what I understand, I wasn't the most easy baby, so the fact that she had three more after me is pretty crazy!  She and I spent a lot of time with my Aunt Lee Lee and her son Drew since they both had off work, and the home videos are too cute for words!

 This picture is very special to me because it is when my Dad and I secretly planned a surprise 50th 25th birthday party for her at Alexander's Restaurant.  It was really hard to plan from school, but Dad was an excellent helper, and we got it done, and even surprised her!  Their surprise 25th wedding anniversary party?  That's another story since I didn't have EITHER of their help to plan it.  Thank gosh for my Aunts! (more about them later)

This picture is from my friends Emily and Tyler's wedding.  Their wedding was fabulous and it was the first wedding that Jason and I were both in together, so it meant a lot to us that Emily and Tyler invited our parents as well since we had all been at baseball games together.  I think my Mom looks beautiful here, so I wanted to make sure I included it!

The roles were reversed for this one, and my Mom and my awesome bridesmaids planned me the BEST surprise bridal shower.  I know the pictures are supposed to be of her, but in case you were wondering if they truly surprised me, I think that this proves it:

They even got Pastor Wayne in on the surprise because they had me convinced that Jason and I were there for one of the pre-marriage sessions that you go through before he will marry you.  Little did I know, they were all LIARS!  The shower was great, it was all of my favorite foods and all of my favorite people in one place!  I truly am so blessed!

The last picture that I picked was from our Rehearsal Dinner which was graciously put together by my in-laws at Bistro 19.  We had never been there and the setting was perfect!  I love this picture because it is the last picture we took together as Barton girls! 

Friends may come and go, but family is forever!

Top 5 Pictures- 3 Siblings

Since I am having a really hard time deciding who to start with, I decided to start with the 3 siblings together.  The pictures will be me, my brother Eric, and my sister Meghan.  I will provide a description for each picture so that you can fully understand where it is from.

 Of course I had to start with a throwback.  This is my first day of school and Meghan and Eric were there to see me off.  Notice Meg's bleach blonde hair and Eric rocking the Yankees gear even back then (thanks Dad!)  My very favorite are my shoes, I LOVED those shoes!

 Fast forward quite a few years, and this is the first day of my senior year.  My first car, a 1999 Mercury Cougar is in the background and I drove Eric and I to school that year.  That was one of my favorite outfits and I can remember that my shirt was from Old Navy, and my skirt from Abercrombie, which would NEVER pass the dress code at my school, haha

 This picture is from my senior year of high school and I love that Meghan has a Ship sweatshirt on.  By that point, I had decided where I was going to go to college, and she was supporting me even back then!!  Eric looks like a little baby!!

This picture is from Eric's graduation and we were SO proud of him for graduating!!  I think Meghan looks so beautiful in this picture, and Eric will be happy with the way his hair looks!

 This picture makes me laugh EVERY. SINGLE. TIME!!!  I knew I wanted a picture of the three of us at the top of the stairs on Christmas morning, but this one was icing on the cake.  If you do not know it, I am the oldest, Eric is the middle, and Meghan is the youngest.  You can see that Eric and I have outgrown the cute morning person mentality of mornings by this point, and Meghan is the only one smiling anymore.  This absolutely captured our personalities to the tee.

Finally, here is one of the three of us from a vacation at the beach in Ocean City, New Jersey.  We have been fortunate enough that most years we have all be present for our family vacation, but I am not sure that will always be the case.  This was a few years ago,  but it was right after we completed our morning competitive game of miniature golf with our Dad and some other family members.

Friends will come and go, but family is forever!

Reminiscing

I apologize.  I haven't been too good about my #4 wish so far for 2013.  I hoped to blog more, and I have failed at that one already.  Jason had the stomach bug last week, and has the flu this week, so I have been busy taking care of him and cleaning to help prevent myself from getting the flu too!  So far, I have only felt under the weather for one day, so keep your fingers crossed that I don't get what he has!

I thought that I would share some of my favorite pictures this week.  I will pick one topic a day and I will post my 5 favorite pictures with that person/group of people.  This will start tomorrow so I can spend tonight compiling pictures, so be excited for tomorrow!! :-)

2013 Wishes

I am not one for new years resolutions, but I have decided this year, I am going to set some wishes (doesn't hurt, right?)  Lately, I have felt like some days I am just going through the motions, but these wishes will be a great thing to look back on during days like those.

Wish #1: Take time to stop and smell the roses 
If you know me, you know that I have a hard time relaxing.  If I am home for more than a day, I need to organize something, clean something, or start a new project.  I do not know how to do "nothing" and I need to learn how to take a step back and admire the beautiful life that I have been given.  So many times, I get caught up in what is going on around me and it is easy to forget what all I have been given and that I have worked for

Wish #2: Take steps to start preparing for a family
Another thing you would know if you are close to me is that I am getting pressure from most of the people in my life to have a baby.  Of course they are not mad that we haven't had a baby yet, but they are excited for the time to come.  Jason and I have talked a great deal about when we would like to start trying, and the steps we are going to actively follow to make the transition as seamless as possible if it does happen.  We are excited to start the next chapter of our lives, and I am finally ready to start trying this year.  Jason is thrilled beyond belief since he has wanted a baby for a long time now, and I am finally "giving in" 

Wish #3: Spend some more time with my girlfriends
I have been very blessed with some amazing women in my life, and I want to make sure I devote time to spend with them much more often this year.  As mentioned in wish #1, sometimes we all get so caught up in our own lives that we don't see each other as much as we would like, but I want to change that.  Whether it's my friends from work, my Mom and sister, my cousins, my sister-in-law, or friends who I have lost touch with and miss a lot, I want to make more of an effort to see them.  Sometimes you really need some girl time to relieve some stress!!

Since I can't be with my friends from Juneville, I hope to be able to spend some more virtual time with them, and possibly meet some of them if they have time this summer!  Being a teacher definitely has a perk of summer vacation, so if they have time, I can't wait to meet them!!

Wish #4: Become more active at blogging, and at taking pictures
I guess these could have been split into two, but we can lump them together.  I blog for fun, nothing too serious, but I really enjoy doing it.  I like having some uninterrupted time to get my thoughts out and to look back on the posts later to see how I was feeling.  I think it will be a great resource for me, since we all know that certain aspects of my memory are not my best quality... Details, however, are a whole different story! ;-)

I absolutely love taking pictures, and last year, we made a splurge on an expensive camera for me.  I love it, but I do not know nearly enough about it, and I would love to learn.  I am hoping this summer to be able to devote more time to learning about the camera and experimenting.  This past summer, I was able to be an assistant to an amazing photographer, Beth Smith, and I have learned so much just from working with her, and I look forward to picking it back up in the Spring when it is nice out again!

Wish #5: To graduate my Masters Degree Program with a 4.0
My Undergraduate GPA is nothing to write home about.  I was a Biology major with some extremely hard classes, so I would love to prove that I'm able to graduate with a Masters while maintaining a 4.0, a full-time job, and coaching on top of that.  I have one final class this Spring from January-May, and then I will graduate.  I am excited to be finished, and I can't wait to take a break from classes for the summer.  I know that I enjoy seeing my friend Marti in all of my classes, but we can see each other for lunch instead!