NJ and NY Visit

We just got back from 10 days in NJ and NY. The trip was amazing and much needed. It was the perfect mix of visiting with family and friends, exploring the city, relaxing and eating.

Here are some pics from our adventures...


My cousin, Julie and her new hubby Rob. This was the main reason for our trip and it was a gorgeous wedding. Every detail was thought of, everyone looked beautiful and it was such a fun night. Probably the best band I've ever seen at a wedding.


The whole fam. We have a huge extended family on my Mom's side, which is always so fun to experience when we are back. I miss them so much when we are gone.


Aunt Yvonne is one of the kindest, most thoughtful women I know. She is always thinking of Roman and sending us special, meaningful gifts.




Roman came with us to the church, then headed to the babysitters for the night.


My Uncle Rich and his family. This is my Grandma Ruth's brother. Whenever I am with him, I feel so connected to her. They hosted a wonderful dinner for us the last night we were in NJ. They are so special to us.


Roman loved meeting all his cousins.


Chicks for Easter.


Taylor loved taking care of Roman.


While we were in NJ, we stayed at my cousin Cindy's house. This is her son Harry and Jason playing the Wii. He races motorcycles and is such a sweet, cool kid.


Dinner with some of the fam.


We headed to a park/zoo in NJ that my mom used to go to as a child. Roman loved seeing all the animals up close, but it was so cold.


My cousin also has a black lab. Roman loved him. We couldn't figure out if he thought this was Marley or knew the difference.


After NJ, we headed to Long Island to visit my Aunt Rita. She is such a special person in my life and is my Godmother. We had a wonderful visit with her.


Aunt Rita always has the best stories and we are always laughing.

NOW...on to NYC
The place that my parents rented cannot even be put into words. It was a 2 bed/2 bath apartment in the Upper West Side. We felt so lucky to be spending the week in luxury. We were on 74th and Central Park West. Loved this neighborhood and it was just a few blocks from Hillary. I have been to NYC many times and Jason and I also went a few years ago, so we didn't feel the pressure to do all the touristy things. We just wanted to explore the city and enjoy it all.


We went on a 2 hour boat that circled Manhattan. It gave us such a great perspective of the city and Roman loved it.


Getting ready for the boat.






Nothing beats going to FAO Schwartz with your baby. Luckily he isn't quite at the age where he wants anything. I'm sure it is a totally different experience then. He loved all the big stuffed animals.




Here is the block that we were staying on. This neighborhood was the best. So many restaurants, shops and one block from Central Park. Couldn't beat the location. We walked a lot.


We spent a lot of time in Central Park. While we were in NYC it was 70 degrees. So much to do in this park, we loved it.


The Central Park Carousel.




A true highlight of the trip was visiting Hillary and Shawn and their new baby, Nolan Arthur. I was so thrilled to meet him and look how handsome he is. Loved all his hair!


He is perfect. Nothing beats holding a newborn.
Roman showed Hillary and Shawn how much changes in just one year. He made sure to get into everything in their apartment.


We had so much fun with them. We went out for Hillary's Birthday, hung out at their place and went to a basketball game. They are such relaxed, wonderful new parents. I look forward to hearing about all the adventures with Nolan in the city.


One night we headed out with my cousins. It was so much fun and I think Jason had a little too much fun. He spent the next day in recovery.


Roman's 1st Subway ride.


A day of exploring SoHo, Greenich Village and Little Italy. Such cute neighborhoods and so many adorable restaurants. Here is a little park we found to play at.


We had the best trip and I can't wait to go back again. Until next time NY.

Welcome Kira

We were so happy to get the news yesterday that Kira Janine McMillan had arrived. It was such a fun surprise for our family since we didn't know the sex. I can now admit that I was secretly hoping for a little niece. I can't wait to hit the stores and buy some girly dresses, bows and accessories. She is absolutely perfect and we look forward to so many fun times ahead.


Here is Heidi a few hours after Kira was born. Can you believe she just had a baby? I don't even look this good when I wake up in the mornings.


So proud to be an Aunt again.

One Year Later

Last year on St. Patty's Day we had been home from the hospital with Roman for 2 days. Look how little he was.


Amazing how much they grow in just 1 year. Our Big Boy! And the best of all is that he is finally back to feeling good after a long cold virus. Happy St. Patty's Day.

Roman's 1st Birthday Celebration

My little man turned 1 this past weekend. I can't believe how fast his 1st birthday approached. I spent the last few weeks getting everything organized, planned and ready for his Birthday Party and really wanted everything to be perfect for him. Sadly, Roman came down with a horrible cold virus all week and was not really in the mood to party. You quickly realize that no matter how perfect you plan, in the end all that really matters is your babies happiness. I felt so bad for him all day as he was really was not his normal happy self. But I was reminded that everyone was here to celebrate him and was just happy to be there.

We did a jungle animal theme and we were so happy to have good weather. The day before it was pouring rain and I worried that our friends and family just wouldn't fit inside our small house. Thankfully the sun was out and it was the perfect day to spend outside.




The true highlight of the day was watching Roman eat his chocolate cake. He really hasn't had any sweets until this and he couldn't get enough. I think he inherited the Lietz sweet tooth. It was so fun to watch him experience the joys of dessert.



Pop perfected another cake masterpiece. He made Roman a mini cake and then a big monkey cake for everyone else. They were perfect and delicious.


He got spoiled with lots of fun gifts. Trucks, toys, swimsuits, clothes, a water table, tent and even a swing/slide. What a lucky boy!



It was so fun to have our family and friends here to help celebrate Roman. I always feel so lucky to have such an amazing and supportive family and also such loving friends. All of these people were such big supports during this first year and we are so appreciative of each and every one of them.

Thank you to everyone that helped out, especially my parents, Betty and Bob, Ryan and Lauren and Jason. I couldn't have done it without you. Lauren got stuck making macaroni and cheese for 50. We underestimated the amount of time that it would take and yes, we had some leftovers for a few days.


Happy Birthday, our sweet Roman! You have brought us such love, happiness, laughter and fun. This year has been the best of our lives and we look forward to many more celebrations ahead.

Tahoe With The Family

We headed to Tahoe for a fun ski weekend with the family. We got a great house in Northstar, which was perfect since a shuttle would pick us up and drop off right at the Village. If you haven't been to Northstar in a while, I highly recommend it. They have a Downtown Village that is filled with restaurants, shops and lots of places to hang out. It was great place for my mom and I to hang out since we were on kid duty and didn't ski.

Here are some pics from the weekend.


We loved meeting up for lunch each day.


So many fun restaurants to choose from in the Village.


Roman sported his snow suit all weekend. It kept him nice and toasty.


Scott snuggling up to with a bear.


Scott couldn't get enough of the gondola, so we rode it up the mountain twice.


We had a major snowstorm during eating lunch outside at the top of the mountain.


Pop and Roman dressed alike.


Nana and the boys.


Grammy and Roman.


Scott found a little hill and didn't want to leave. I think he must have gone down it 50 times.

It was so fun to have Scott along on the trip. Roman looks up to his older cousin and is always entertained.

Daily Sports Link

Jason has always had an entrepreneurship spirit (really since the day I met him) and I knew that one day he would venture out and start a business of his own. Through the years, we have gone through many rounds of brainstorming, research and discussing business ideas with each other, but none of them ever seemed right.

About a year ago, Jason felt there was a need for a Sports News website that included all content in one place. He wanted to create a site that would include a collection of his favorite writers, sites, stories, blogs and original content. In addition, the trend of social networking and athletes was becoming more and more popular, so needed to find a way to include access to players too. He asked his good friend, Chris Kelling to join him and together they started the site, Daily Sports Link.

This process has been so fun for me to watch since I have seen it from the very beginning to the launch of the site. What started as pieces of paper taped together is now a fully functioning, amazing site. I cannot express in words how proud I am of him. He works all day in the city, comes home to spend time with Roman and I and then works on the site 4 hours each night. I am not kidding when I say that there are many times when I wake up at 2am and he is still busy typing away. He has the passion and the drive and is willing to do what it takes to make it a success.

Right now Jason's main goal is to increase traffic and viewership to the site, while also perfecting the content. We would appreciate it, if you pass along the site to your friends and family and also let us know what you think.

Please visit: DailySportsLink.com