Welcome to My Blog of Family, Friends & Travels

Hello to all my Family & Friends...I've always wanted to find a way to keep track of the events in my life...Then along came Blogger which I learned about from someone who use it to post what was going on in their life...I don't know if it's better than a diary, but at least everyone can read what has gone on and see photos that represent what was going on...

The best part about this blog is that in 1999 I met the Love of My Life via AOL Personals...Yes, folks, it does work...We chatted via email, then went out on a date and several dates in a weeks time frame...He was approved right on the spot so I knew that I could not let him go...This special man in my life is Richard...In 2003, the house was sold, a 40 ft. Fifth Wheel and a GMC5500 truck was bought...Our life on the road as full-time rv'rs have begun...What fun..

So enjoy all that I write about...I'm not as expressive as my love, but I do my best to tell of my happy moments...Our kids, grandkids, family and friends of all sorts, Disney, Legacy Resorts, etc.  Thanks for reading...

Wallet and Desk Photos of Family 10.10.11

After getting the rv all cleaned, I was ready to sit down for a while to finally put together some new wallet photos and new desk photos.  On top of Richard’s desk is a piece of plexiglass and between that the plastic protector for the desk is where we put our photos.  They aren’t very big photos, mostly the size of wallet sized photos, but the photos are there for our viewing pleasure…After picking up the plexiglass to clean and getting up the old photos, that’s when I realized that I do need more updated photos…So I got rid of the old photos and started putting together more recent photos of family…

I started with the 3 eldest grandchildren and their mom…These 4 ladies in our lives are aged 7, 6 & 4 (grandgirls) and our daughter, almost age 30…I had a school pic of our eldest, Kayla but thought I would like a more recent pic of her as she was going to her first concert on Sept. 28, 2011…She even had a new hair cut…Love the hair cut!  Her first concert was to see Keith Urban with her mommy…What a treat!

Couldn’t resist putting this picture up…What a great photo of Kayla and her mommy, Brandi…They look like they had a blast getting tot he concert…Isn’t Kayla a doll…I don’t know if Kayla had a fun time at the concert but she is very adorable in her new pretty dress…Poppy and I sent her a cd with Keith Urban music on it so she could listen to him and know a few of his songs…

The next in line of ages is our 6 year old, Brianna…Brianna got a new hair cut too…Our middle grandchild is a big ham…She likes to wear skirts or dresses all the time…No jeans please…lol  I think she should grow up to be a model but she wanted to be a singer…I’m sure she will change her mind in a few years over and over…

Brianna got to go bowling in late September…She did really good for picking up a ten pin bowling ball…Bri said she had lots of fun…

Oh my!  It looks like a very good thrown ball down the lane…Will it be a strike???  No matter  if was a strike or not, she did a really good job of getting the ball down the lane…

Our youngest granddaughter out of the 3 is Elizabeth who is 4…She goes to Pre-K four days a week…She is enjoying it a lot and she even got a new hair cut…A school bus comes to the sitter’s house to pick her up and when she gets to Pre-K, she can have breakfast…Lizzi says she has lots of fun there too…

Look at the lovely smile…but I think the backpack is bigger than she is…lol  She is already for her day…We are done with one set of granddaughters…Those printed pictures were trimmed and put under the plexiglass for safe keeping and so we can look at them all the time…Well, Richard can see them a whole lot more than me all day cause they are on his desk…but it’s comforting to know that I can look at them anytime…

Look at those adorable dimples…She is such a sweetie and I miss all 3 very much…We have been around all 3 of the grandgirls since they have been born…I was very lucky to be with 2 of them at their time of birth…I will always cherish those moments…We Love Them with All Our Heart…

Now on to the other grandchildren who are not in our lives due to the fact that it is impossible since they were born over in Sicily…Yep, overseas and getting ready to move to California…My son-n-law, Chad, is in the Navy and I am proud of him for being in the service…Of course, my youngest daughter, Misti, is married to him and while overseas they had 2 babies…Laurianna and Nicodemus…I got to see Laurianna from time to time via webcam but with 7 hours difference, it is very tough to get times together to webcam more often…So, pictures of our grandkids are posted via another site so we can how big they are growing…

Laurianna is beautiful but also can look like a wild child…I love it when she is all dressed up and her hair is pulled back to see her pretty blue eyes…One day we’ll get to see them…Who knows how old they will be and how old we will be…but I am always grateful for pictures via internet…

Now, how is this for a fashion statement…Yes, Anna has a mind of her own and she knows exactly what she wants to wear….Long john pj’s and her daddy’s military boots…I don’t know what the weather is like over in Sicily right now but I don’t think it’s that cold….It looks like she ready for snow…lol

Look at those beautiful blue eyes…There are 2 granddaughters who have beautiful blue eyes, Laurianna and her cousin, Brianna…

Laurianna has a baby brother now…His name is Nicodemus…His daddy arrived home (their home in Sicily) after being TDY for 7 months…Nicodemus waited for his daddy to be home and then after a small time, Nic decided to come in to the world…With all the grandbabies, I made Birth Announcements…It was such a joy to do and keep and for my kids to hand out to their family/friends…Nic’s Birth Announcement I did for myself…Misti wanted to make her own for Nic…

In 7 months, Nic has been growing like a weed…He smiles, tried to rollover, gets up on his knees and rocks and really wants to crawl…It’s tough not being able to see all of that happen…but like I said, Misti is great in posting pics via internet…

Look at him…Isn’t he precious…Time is flying by so fast and I can’t wait to see just how much alike his sister, Anna, and him will be…

The last set of grandchildren are our step-grandchildren but I don’t look at them that way…Our son, Josh, met this terrific girl and she has 2 kids…They are both teenagers so it’s tough to really get to know them…plus it don’t help that we live far away from them in order to get to know them…I don’t have many pictures of them as much as I ask for them…(hint hint to my son and daughter-n-law)…but I do have a few…

This is Mary and Timmy…We met them at Cheeseburger in Paradise in Pasadena, MD on one of our visits to Maryland…We had a great time there…

This is the wedding photo with Timmy, Mary and my new daughter-n-law, Sandy…Like I said I don’t have hardly any pics of them that I can use to put on my blog and brag about them…All I can say is that I am glad that they are in the family…

So there you have it, we have 7 grandchildren total…but there is one more granddaughter out there in Nebraska…She just turned 13 in September but we aren’t allowed to keep in touch with her and haven’t been in touch with her since she was about 2 or 3 years old…Her name is Corrine Christine…Don’t know her last name…Some day, when she is past 18 years of age, maybe she will look up her dad, my son Josh, and really find out what happened…Why we weren’t in her life…but I do keep the couple of photos that I do have of her out in the open…I want her to see that we have not forgotten about her…

Some of these pics are what I made wallet sized printed pics to put on the desk to be able to see every day…Finally I did what I’ve been wanting to do for months….

I want to add one more photo…It’s of my ex-sister-n-law and her hubby with her kids & grandkids…We are all close although we don’t get to see them as much as want to…but they are Family…and always have been to me…We love our niece and her family and when near their home, we go there as much as possible…It’s tough to see my nephew and his wife (and now new baby boy) cause there are no campgrounds close enough to be able to visit…My sister-n-law lives in Maryland…but when in the area, we do get together…

We sure do miss them all, All our family!!  All kids and grandkids, nieces and nephews, sis and brother n law…We love you all and Miss you all very much….

Fun Time in San Antonio, TX Sept. 2011 – Pt. 1

I’ve been wanting to go back to San Antonio River Walk for a very long time…The last time I was there it was in 1995…I love the River Walk and while here in Texas and not far away from it, I wanted to take my sweetie there…As it worked out, my brother (Nick) wanted to visit us at the Jellystone Campground…This gave us the opportunity to go travelling around…One catch, we had to travel to a hotel near  the San Antonio Airport to meet Nick since the flight to Hobby Airport in Houston was cancelled…

We had a great time at the hotel where we met my brother…It was a long drive at night to get there but there was no traffic and it was a shorter drive to San Antonio…Our first stop was going to be The Alamo…We found a good parking spot across from one of the Rivercenter Mall’s entrance…$5/day to park…Can’t beat that…We walked a short distance to the entrance of The Alamo…What a beautiful place on the outside…As I remembered The Alamo, There really wasn’t much on the inside to see and you can’t take pictures…But the garden in the midst of The Alamo was beautiful…

Here we have my sweetie, Richard and my brother, Nick…They are standing in the front entrance of The Alamo…

There were beautiful flowers, cacti and live oak trees…It was very serene with benches here and there…We rested a bit before moving towards the part of The Alamo where they have exhibits that you can not touch or take pics of…You can’t even touch the walls…

Once done with The Alamo, we headed towards the Rivercenter Mall to get the River Walk Taxi that will drive us around the different areas of the River Walk…To ride the River Taxi all day was $15/person and it was worth it..We went through the River Center Mall out to the sidewalk where one can pick up the River Taxi…We were off to The Hard Rock Cafe…It was time to get a nice cool drink and a new pin…

The second floor of the HRC was being under construction…The first floor was a bit small due to the construction and there wasn’t much on the walls to take pics of but we had a blast…We got some nice cool refreshing drinks and a small bite to eat…We sat inside for a bit and then migrated out to the porch/deck that overlooked the River Walk…So peaceful and we had one of the best waitresses ever…

This lucky man was our River Taxi driver…He was taking us from the Rivercenter Mall to the Locks/Dam area of the River Walk…It was getting to be a hot day and on the seats of the river taxi were a few umbrellas…Nick and I decided to open up our umbrellas for some shade from the sun…The River Walk sites were beautiful…The trees, flowers, restaurants and their umbrellas or seating arrangements was awesome…The day was perfect for fun with family…

Just beautiful and breath-taking…This was the way to the Locks/Dam area…

This story will be several Parts due to the pics that take up most of the space…but I have to show pics cause words just don’t do it justice..

A New Great Nephew is added to the Family

I know that I am not in the “family” via being married to the family uncle.  But over the years I always wanted to be in the “family” and as time went by, I found that I was still in the “family”…Well, my “family”, my nephew and his wife just had a baby boy…Louie and Melissa have been so blessed to have this little one in their life…I know that they will be great parents but they won’t know how fast kids grow up…Tonight I made them a Birth Announcement and am waiting for a final decision to keep it or make a few changes…

Little Ayden Joseph was born on Sept. 14, 2011 in Augusta, Ga at University Hospital…His time to arrive was at 11:54am and as far as I know, he came out fine and was finally screaming his lungs out as he was getting air…Ayden weighed in at 5lbs 3.6oz and was 17.5 in.  He came in the world with a head full of hair…

He’s gonna grow up being a fan of the Georgia Bulldogs with his daddy and mommy…He’ll probably learn to play golf too…

Welcome to our world, little Ayden…Bring lots of joy, laughter, love, sorrow, tears, happiness, fun times in to your parents life…One day I hope to meet you…

Many hugs and kisses are sent your way…Aunt Shelly

Heading Towards Texas – Pt. 1

At the end of April 2011, Richard and I started our journey towards a campground in a small town called Waller, TX.  Our first stop was at our membership resort in DeFuniak Springs, FL called Sunset King Lake Resort.  At this resort, we have come very close to some who now reside at this resort.  It was very good to see our ol’ friends and spend time with them.  About 30 minutes west of DeFuniak Springs is a town called Crestview.  This is where our niece (Kelli), her hubby (Kevin) and their 3 younguns’ live.  So it gave us time to visit with family too.  What was cool, too, was that friends who we haven’t seen in about 2 years were coming to the resort on the same day we were arriving.  Whoo hooo!  We went to Cheeseburger in Paradise, Ed’s Restaurant and probably a few other places that my mind just can’t remember.  But our 10 day stay was absolutely wonderful.  It was sad to leave our friends/family behind to head west.

Fun at Cheeseburger in Paradise with our good friends, Doug and Lois…We always have a blast with them…

Our family comic and fun girl, Kelli…She is such a joy to be around…She loves me!  lol

While visiting Kelli and family, we were lucky enough to be invited to their son’s/daughter’s birthday party.  Lil’ Kevin (Boo) and Shyler were turning one year older.  Their birthdays are about a week or so away so Kelli & Kevin decided to combine the parties.  It actually was a pool party and their friends were invited to enjoy in the fun.  We took them and their older sister, Bayne, something from Disney that we thought they would like.  The cakes were pretty awesome.  Spongebob Squarepants for Boo and Fairies for Shyler…

 

It was pretty awesome to see 2 different kinds of birthday decorations…All their friends came and the first thing they wanted to do was hit the pool…We didn’t take our swimsuits and I didn’t want to swim with kids, all the yelling and screaming and having fun splashing water…The kids looked like they were having a blast…

The kids were having such a good time…Kelli and Kevin were preparing the cookout meal of hamburgers and hotdogs…When lunch was over, it was time to get on with the party…There were pinatas for each of them…They were strung earlier between 2 trees…The boys and girls took a turn each trying to break open the pinata…Finally, after battling the hard put-together pinatas, all the candy went tumbling down to the ground…Kids were scrambling to get all the candy that they could put in their hands…As you can tell, Spongebob was still in one piece..

Present time…Presents were all brought out on to the deck and piled up in their perspective areas for each of them to open…Boo & Shyler each took a turn opening up their presents…It seemed like forever until all the presents were opened up…I do believe the kids had a good time…

At the end of the day, it was time for the adults to play Cornhole or Beanbag Toss…I didn’t play cause “tossing” the beanbags makes it tough on my back & shoulders…but it was fun just watching Kelli, Kevin, Richard and Kelli’s dad, Lou, play the game…I enjoyed a beer while talking with one of Kevin’s work mates…The day was winding down and Kelli & Kevin were ready to play Pegs and Jokers, a game we taught them several years ago…We always play girls vs boys and that night the girls whooped up on the boys…They were whining cause Kevin thought we were cheating…Wahhhh!!!

Hey Kev, I think that bike is too small for ya…!  lmao…and not quite  your color…lol 

This was the end of a very good day in Crestview…The next day was Easter and we were getting ready to dye eggs..This will be a Pt. 2 story so stay tuned…

Southeast Texas Attitudes

Along time ago, more like 35 years, I was living in Killeen, TX near Ft. Hood…Back then I remember people waving and being friendly…Thirty five years later, I find myself in Waller, TX (about 30 miles northwest of Houston) working at a Yogi Bear Jellystone Campground…The campground is about 15 minutes south of US Hwy 290 & FM1980 (Prairie View)…The campground is a pretty good sized park with rv sites and lots of cabins (Yogi, Cindy & BooBoo cabins)…There is a Fun Park/Splash Zone for the kids along with an Adult Pool…There is Miniature Golf with 18 holes, an Outdoor Theater, a Yogi Stage where Karaoke takes place, Yogi’s Kitchen where the Ice Cream Social takes place and the Crafts Center (where I work)…There is a U-shaped lake with 5 cabins in the center with the lake going around them…Trees are throughout the park along with lots of sand…The Ranger Store/Office area is pretty big compared to some store/office that I’ve been in..The only thing I see is that most of the souvenirs are centered around Yogi, Cindy and BooBoo…But there are some nice keychains with saddles or cowboy boots attached to them…Pretty cool!  I may have to buy a few and send them to some family members…lol  The grounds are flat for bike riding and golf cart riding..But in the way back are the woods with lots of hills and flat areas where golf carts can go but they have to be careful of the hills and not tipping over…

Every weekend lots of camper/tenter/cabin people come in the campground…There are about 1000 – 1200 people in the campground every weekend, at least…They are from all over the area probably no more than 2 hours away in all directions…They all have their bikes, pets, toys for the kids, grills, coolers, beer, food, more beer and other amenities for them…Every weekend come all new attitudes..Most think the employees are here to “serve” them..Some constantly complain about how this is wrong and that is wrong…If something didn’t work in their cabin, can I get something for free…Moaners and groaners all day long..Even during the week, we get weekly people who come in and they gripe too…Now there are some who have a good time, they don’t let little things interrupt their good times…They now what is going on around the park at what times…They laugh with you and have fun…Then there are the ones that you have to hand them a schedule to cause you can’t remember everything that they ask you…Friendly, some are…Snobby, most are…Uppidty Up, most are…Do they think they are better than you, most are…

The attitudes are terrible…If you tell them NO, they are at you like a cobra snake…Head up, snarling at you or hissing at you…They are ready to strike if it don’t go their way…If you tell their kids to stop doing something cause the parents aren’t watching them, you are wrong…The kids 14 and under are sent to the pool without adult supervision which is not the rule…14 and under, YOU MUST HAVE AN ADULT WITH YOU AT ALL TIMES…but the 14 yr. old is watching the 6 yr. old..Sometimes the little ones “loses” their parents and we have to find their parents…but yet it’s our fault that the child is parentless…They want you to move out of their way…They tear up screen doors on the cabins…They take pillows…They make very high fires…They drive the golf carts too fast…All of which the staff here is suppose to tell them the rules but it don’t pertain to them…None of the rules pertain to them…After 8 weeks, one finally realizes how to deal with people like these…One – Don’t wear a red shirt (the park’s color of employee shirt), Two – Wear a tye dye tee, for some reason the guests seem friendlier, Three – Hand them a schedule when asked questions cause you just can’t remember everything, Four – Post all you can on the boards outside the crafts room or in any of the 5 bulletin boards around the campground…and still they dont’ read and still ask questions…

We’ve worked at a park before where the campers thought they were better than you and we learned how to deal with them too…So we do our best to deal with the attitudes and the snears and the “what’s your name so I can tell on you” look…

I hope all of Texas isn’t like the people here…I think they leave their good manners in their house when they leave to come here…Even the kids dont’ have manners which is a shame in this day and age…There are no Thank You’s, No Yes Sir or Yes Ma’am…The kids act just like their parents…Even the parents have temper tantrums when things don’t go their way…It’s funny to see a parent “stomp” off cause their kid can’t sign up for Karaoke at night at the stage when they had all day from 10am – 4pm to sign up in the crafts center…It’s not our fault that the parent can’t get their kid to the craft center in time…but they blame us cause “they didn’t know”…

Will we come back here…Possibly…Why?  So that we can save up money to head out west and to the west coast to see our 2 little grandchildren who we have not seen yet…Once we know how to deal with the people, the rest is easy…Maybe not cleaning up after them, but we know how to deal with the attitudes…

Ya’ll come back now, ya hear!

Two Grandchildren So Far Away…

It’s tough choosing a lifestyle where you decide not to have a house and a yard and all the things that go along with a house…It’s another to have children spread out who have kids which are now our grandchildren…It’s tough not to see those grandchildren but via pictures over the internet or being able to talk to them by phone or chat online…But is wonderful to have 7 great grandchildren who live in 3 different places who like to post pictures of what they are doing and how they are doing…It’s how one keeps up on how big they all are getting…There are only 5 out of 7 grandchildren that I get pictures to see how they are doing…It’s tough getting the oldest 2 grandchildren and their parents to post any pics of them…Pictures are a blessing…Two of our grandchildren live in Sicily until October of this year…Then they head to San Diego where it will be easier to call them and chat with them and there won’t be a 7 hour time difference between us and them…The collages that I am going to post are how they are growing up so far…The fun things that they do with themselves or with their parents…

Laurianna and Nicodemus, Poppy and I (Mommom) love you very much and can’t wait to “meet” you one day…It was wonderful of your mommy to post pictures of you guys so us and everyone else can see how big you both are getting and the fun things that you both do…

As one can tell, this our princess with beautiful blue eyes…She has lots of fun with her Daddy and Mommy…She loves to play with and in boxes…She got to take a train ride with her family to go to Rome, Italy for a Supernatural Convention..Well, the convention was more for her parents…hahahaha…Then she wanted to see how tall she was compared to stacks of soda in the commissary…She’s getting very big…

The little pride and joy of a newborn…Nicodemus was born in March just after his daddy got home from Afghanistan…Big sis, Anna, looks like she is telling her little brother a story…The biggest smile and cutest smile is always on a newborn…Ah, to see that in person would be a blessing and the giggles that they make…I can’t tell if Nic looks like his daddy or his mommy…What big teeth you have their Nic??  The better to drink your blood or baby’s milk…hahahaha…What an awesome and odd pacifier…The love you can see between Anna and Nic is so precious cause in about 10 years, she will not want her baby brother hanging around her and her friends…hahahaha…

Time sure does fly and it has…I remember when Misti was waiting to give birth to Anna and then time flew by again and she was waiting to give birth to Nicodemus…Now he is 4 months old shortly, July 8 and Anna is almost 30 months old…They won’t remember Sicily much except via pictures and even then they won’t remember….but their Mommy and Daddy will have great memories of them being born in another country…Richard and I can’t wait to meet our youngest 2 grandchildren one day…We can’t wait to have as much fun with them as we do our other 3 grandgirls…The oldest 2 grandchildren are in Maryland and are in their teens…Can’t have much fun with them…hahahaha..

Lots of love, hugs and kisses are sent your way…Enjoy their lives and the fun and the laughter they make…When you get as old as me, you can’t wait to have grandchildren so you can hear that all over again…

Football Season is Almost Here – Go Baltimore Ravens!

Historical Moments:

1996: On September 1st, the NFL finally returned to Baltimore as the Ravens coached by former Colts coach Ted Marchibroda took the field at Memorial Stadium against the Oakland Raiders. Led by Quarterback, Vinny Testeverde, the Ravens would beat the Raiders 19-14 before 64,124 rowdy fans. However, the joy would not last as the Ravens finished with a 4-12 record, despite holding the lead in 11 out of 16 games. Testeverde would have a solid season earning a trip to the Pro Bowl with 4,177 yards passing.

But it was the first team for Baltimore for the season…Everyone had to get to know Baltimore and the fans…It takes time to make a great team!

1998: On September 6th, the Ravens opened their new stadium against the Pittsburgh Steelers by losing 20-13. The Ravens would continue to struggle as newly acquired Quarterback Jim Harbaugh and back up Eric Zeier played mediocre football all year as the Ravens got off to a 2-6 start. On November 29th, the Indianapolis Colts returned to Baltimore, as the Ravens overcame two 14-point deficits and scored 25 second-half points to win a 38-31 thriller. On December 13th, the Ravens and Minnesota Vikings set an NFL record with three kickoff returns for Touchdowns, all in the 1st quarter. Ravens Corey Harris and Patrick Johnson along with Vikings David Palmer all scored Touchdowns on returns in a Vikings 38-28 win. The Ravens would go on to finish the season with a 6-10 record, as Ted Marchibroda was fired at the end of the season. The Ravens would go on to hire Vikings Offensive Coordinator Brian Billick to replace him. Also needing replacement was the Ravens shield logo, which was the focus of a court case that said the team used it without permission of a bank security guard who claimed he came up with design.

 
2000: The Ravens get off to a solid start winning three of four games in September including two shutout victories over division opponents. In October, they continued to win winning their first two games despite not scoring a Touchdown, while posting another shutout. However, the Ravens offensive struggles caught up with them as they lost three straight games closing the month of October without a Touchdown. Sitting at 5-4 the Ravens had a stellar defense, but Quarterback Tony Bank’s struggles were hurting the team. This led to backup Trent Dilfer getting the starting nod for the rest of the season. Statistically Dilfer was not much better, but the Ravens won all seven games he started to finish with a 12-4 record and qualify for a Wild Card berth. In their final seven games, the Ravens outscored their opponents 193-63 as their defense led by Ray Lewis who overcame an off-season in which he faced murder charges to win Defensive Rookie of the Year set a16-game record with only 165 points allowed. Along the way the Ravens defense shut their opponents out four times and allowed less then 10 points, nine  times. In the first playoff game at PSInet Stadium, the Ravens defense continued to overwhelm the opposition shutting down the Denver Broncos 21-3. A week later in Tennessee, the Ravens were heavy underdogs facing the Titans in the Divisional Playoffs. The Titans controlled the game most of the way but the Ravens defense held the game tied 10-10 going into the 4th Quarter. However, the Titans appeared on the verge of taking the lead as Kicker Al Del Greco set up for a short Field Goal. The Ravens defense would step up and snatch the game away as Anthony Mitchell blocked and returned the kick 90-yards for a go ahead Touchdown. The Ravens would seal the game 24-10 on a 50-yard Interception return by Ray Lewis moments later. In the AFC Championship at Oakland, the Ravens were heavy underdogs again facing the Raiders. The Ravens grabbed control early as Quarterback Trent Dilfer hit Tight End Shannon Sharpe on a 96-yard Touchdown pass. It was all the points the Ravens would need as the defense smothered the Raiders in a 16-3 win to earn a trip to the Super Bowl.

Super Bowl XXXV: Facing the New York Giants in Tampa, the Baltimore Ravens found themselves in an unlikely Super Bowl match up. In the first half the Ravens defense was dominant holding a 10-0 lead. Late in the 3rd Quarter the Ravens defense scored again, as Duane Starks returned an interception 47-yards for a Touchdown. However, on the ensuing kickoff the Giants would get on the board as Ron Dixon returned the kickoff 97 yards for a Touchdown to get the Giants back into the game at 17-7. However, the Ravens would respond in the blink of an eye as Jermaine Lewis returned a kickoff of his own 84 yards to give the Ravens a 24-7 lead. In total a record three consecutive returns for touchdowns were made as fans got whiplash in the most exciting 36 seconds in Super Bowl history. The Ravens would go on to score ten points in the 4th Quarter for an impressive 34-7 victory as Ray Lewis was named Super Bowl MVP.

Baltimore Ravens Mascot – Poe #103

2003: The Ravens entered the season with rookie Quarterback Kyle Boller under center, meaning the Ravens defense was going to have be stronger then ever, to help keep the young team competitive. With Boller learning under fire it meant a greater role in the offense for Running Back Jamal Lewis who going into the second Week against the Cleveland Browns, after losing their first game to the Pittsburgh Steelers 34-15. boasted he could break the single game rushing record.  Lewis's boast backed up as galloped for a record 295 yards in a 33-13 Ravens win in the home opener. For much of the season the Ravens would alternate wins and losses, but in the weakest division in the NFL they were at or near first place all season. Boller's season would end early due to injury as Anthony Wright stepped in a keyed a dramatic 4th Quarter rally as the Ravens who trailed the Seattle Seahawks 34-17 late in the 3rd Quarter won 44-41 in overtime. With Wright under Center the Ravens offense began to click on a high level as they won three straight games, including a 31-13 win over the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 14 to surge to the top of the division. The Ravens would go on to win the AFC North with a record of 10-6, as Jamal Lewis won the Offensive Player of the Year award by rushing for 2,066 yards the second highest total in NFL history. While Jamal ran led the team on offensive Ray Lewis again led on defense winning his second career Defensive Player of the Year award while newcomer Terrell Suggs won the Defensive Rookie of the Year award.  However in the playoffs the Ravens offensive weaknesses would catch up against the Tennessee Titans who held Jamal Lewis to just 35 yards rushing in a 20-17 win, which ended the Ravens season in disappointment.

2006: The Steve McNair era in Baltimore began with the Ravens using their defense to earn a road win as they blanked the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 27-0. A week later the defense was just as strong in the home opener allowing just two field goals in a 28-6 win over the Oakland Raiders. It would not be as easy the following week as they needed a 52-yard Field Goal by Matt Stover with 20 seconds left to beat the Cleveland Browns 15-14. A week later they needed 4th Quarter magic again, as McNair found Todd Heap in the end zone from ten yards out for a dramatic 16-13 win over the San Diego Chargers with 34 seconds left. A week later, there would be no magic as their offense sputtered in a 13-3 road loss to Denver Broncos. A week later there would be more frustration as the Ravens lost Steve McNair to an early concussion then lost the game to the Carolina Panthers 23-21. Steve McNair would return a week later, and would pass for two touchdowns and run for another in an impressive 35-22 win over the New Orleans Saints, over the next four weeks the Ravens would take a stranglehold for the NFC North winning five in a row. After a frustrating 13-7 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals, the Ravens second ranked defense continued to lead the way as they would close the season with four straight wins, winning the division championship and earning a first round bye with a record of 13-3, their best regular season ever. In the playoffs the Ravens faced the ghosts of Baltimore as they faced the Indianapolis Colts with a trip to the AFC Championship Game on the line. Once again the Ravens defense rose to the occasion, not allowing a Touchdown and intercepting Peyton Manning twice. However, the Ravens would have their own offensive struggles as the surging Colts held the Ravens to just two field goals, while the Colts with Adam Vinatieri hit five field goals and won the game 15-6, on the way to winning Super Bowl XLI. Following the season the Ravens would say good bye to Jamal Lewis, as they acquired Running Back Willis McGahee from the Buffalo Bills.

2008: It was an era in Baltimore, as a rookie Coach, Jim Harbaugh, and a rookie Quarterback, Joe Flacco led the Ravens into the season. In their opener, the Ravens jumped out fast thanks to a 42-yard run by Receiver Mark Clayton on a double reverse. Flacco, would take care of the ball just fine, and would add a touchdown run of his own of 38 yards as the Ravens beat the Cincinnati Bengals 17-10. The Ravens would end up getting an early rest a week later, as damage from Hurricane Ike in Houston, forced the Ravens to reschedule their game against the Texans to Week 10. After beating the Cleveland Browns in Week 3, Flacco and the Ravens faced their first test as they faced the Pittsburgh Steelers in a Monday Night Game on the road. The Ravens played well early, holding a 13-3 lead at the half. However, the Steelers clawed their way back into the game as a Joe Flacco fumble led directly to a Steelers touchdown, as the Steelers won the game in overtime 23-20. The Ravens would see another game slip through their fingers a week later, as the Tennessee Titans scored ten unanswered points in the 4th Quarter to stun the Ravens in Baltimore 13-10. After a 31-3 loss to the Indianapolis Colts dropped them to 2-3, Flacco and the Ravens went to Miami, and came up with a big win, as Terrell Suggs returned an interception 44 yards to lead the Ravens to a 27-13 win over the Dolphins. The win would be turning point for the Ravens, as they won seven of eight games, entering a rematch with the Steelers at home. Once again the Ravens controlled the game early, only to see the Steelers rally late winning the game 13-9 with ten unanswered points in the 4th Quarter. Needing a win to keep their playoff hopes alive the Ravens played spoiler to the Dallas Cowboys in the final game ever at Texas Stadium, winning 33-24 behind to dazzling 4th Quarter Touchdown runs, one by Willis McGahee who streaked 77 yards down the field, and the other by Le'Ron McClain who galloped 82 yards down right through the heart of Texas. Entering the final week of the season controlling their own playoff destiny the Ravens jumped out early and never looked back as Joe Flacco passed for 297 yards to lead the Ravens to a 27-7 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars to clinch the Wild Card with an 11-5 record. While his number were not overwhelming, Flacco was good enough to take care of the football and let the Ravens running game and defense lead them to a playoff berth. Facing the Miami Dolphins again in the Wild Card round the Ravens defense led the way as Ed Reed returned a Chad Pennington pass 64 yards for a touchdown to give the Ravens the lead, as they picked off the Miami Quarterback four times on the way to a solid 27-9 win. In the Divisional Round the Ravens were underdogs facing the Tennessee Titans, who secured home field in the AFC with a 13-3 record. However, the Ravens defense held the Titans in check all game, as a 48-yard touchdown pass from Flacco to Derrick Mason enabled the Ravens to answer the Titans only touchdown quickly in the 1st quarter. Still tied 7-7 entering the 4th Quarter the Ravens took the lead for the first time with a 21-yard field goal from Matt Stover. After Rob Bironas tied the game, with a 27-yard kick, it was Stover again with the game winner, nailing a 43-yarder with just 53 seconds remaining to give the Ravens a 13-10 win, to send them on to the AFC Championship Game where they would get another shot at the Steelers. This time it would be the Steelers jumping out early, as the black and gold led 13-0 early in the 2nd Quarter. The Ravens would finally get on the board late in the half as Willis McGahee scored from three yards out. After the Steelers added a field goal in the 3rd Quarter, McGahee again got the Ravens on the board with a 1-yard run in 4th Quarter to get the Ravens within two points. However, it would get no closer as Joe Flacco had a pass intercepted by Troy Polamalu who returned it 40 yards for a touchdown to put the game out of reach, as the Steelers advanced to Super Bowl XLIII with a 23-14 win.

2009: The Ravens made news in the NFL Draft when they traded with the New England Patriots to select Guard Michael Oher from Ole Miss., with 23rd overall pick. Oher was on hand with his guardians Leigh Anne and Sean Tuohy completing a heartwarming story, where Oher was left homeless due to his mother's drug problems, while his father was in prison. The Tuohys tutored Oher allowing him to get his grades up to attend a private school, where he first excelled at football. The Oher story would be the subject of blockbuster movie "The Blind Side," which earned an Oscar Nomination for Best Picture, while Sandra Bullock won the Award for Best Actress for her role as Leigh Anne Tuohy. In his rookie season with the release of the "The Blind Side" Oher became an instant star on the Raven line starting every game, while finishing second in Offensive Rookie of the Year voting. Coming off an appearance in the AFC Championship Game, the Ravens jumped out to a fast start winning their first three games. However, Joe Flacco struggled and the Ravens lost three games in a row. From there the Ravens alternated wins and losses for the next six weeks, and stood at 6-6 with four games remaining. The losses included a second frustrating loss to the Cincinnati Bengals, and Indianapolis Colts while, the wins included an overtime 20-17 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers. Needing to finish strong to reach the playoffs, the Ravens delivered a 48-3 pounding of the Detroit Lions, and a 31-7 win over the Chicago Bears. However, with a chance to clinch a playoff spot the Ravens suffered a 23-20 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers on the road. Through most of the season Ray Rice emerged as the Ravens go to Running Back, with a 2,041 All-Purpose Yards. However, in the finale it was Willis McGahee who ran the Ravens into the playoffs with a career high 167 yards rushing and three touchdowns as the Ravens beat the Oakland Raiders on the road 21-13. At 9-7 the Ravens were underdogs as they faced the New England Patriots for the second time in Foxboro, where they suffered 27-21 loss in Week 4. This time with Ray Rice running the first play from scrimmage 83 yards for a Touchdown the Ravens were able to get off to a quick start, scoring 24 points in the 1st Quarter, as the Ravens picked off Tom Brady three times. With Rice rushing for 152 yards the Ravens took the crowd out of the game and did not even need Joe Flacco, who completed just four of ten passes for 34 yards as the Ravens won 33-14 to hand Tom Brady and Bill Belichick their first home playoff loss, and only home loss during the season. A week later the Ravens would not be as fortunate, as they committed four turnovers and were eliminated by the Indianapolis Colts 20-3.

And so entails a few of the main years that Baltimore has had the Ravens…The Ravens do practice out in Westminister, MD and I and others have had the distinct pleasure of going out there and watching our Ravens practice…Then after practice, some of us were lucky enough to get pictures of our favorite players or autographs of anyone we could get…I’ve been very fortunate to get a lot of the Baltimore Ravens players autographs…Matt Stover just retired and I am very lucky to have several of his autographs, along with Rod Woodson and many others…I miss going to the practices, standing near the fence and clicking away with my camera and hoping to get an autograph…I hope one day to be able to go to a practice again…It sure was a lot of fun even tho it does get hot!  C’mon Football!  I am ready for some Football!  This may be Ray Lewis’ last year of football so I hope our team can get behind him and win a Conference game and head to the Super Bowl…That would be so sweet….Pretty soon I will be putting out all my Ravens logo stuff to show my spirit although I am between Houston Texans Football area and Dallas Cowboys Football area…Move those Chains!!!  That’s what I love to hear on game day…

Some more facts:

Coach:
John Harbaugh 2008-

Stadium:
M& T Bank Stadium* 1998-
*-Known as: NFL Stadium @ Camden Yards 1998, PSInet Stadium 1999-2001 & Ravens Stadium 2002

Nickname:
Ravens was selected from a poll conducted by the Baltimore Sun. Baltimore fans selected the name in honor of Edgar Allan Poe, the American poet who penned his famous poem, “The Raven” while living in Baltimore.

Colors:
Purple
Black
Gold
White

Coaches: (3)

Ted Marchibroda 1996-1998
Brian Billick 1999-2007
John Harbaugh 2008-Present

Stadiums: (2)

Memorial Stadium 1996-1997
M & T Bank Stadium* 1998-Pres.

*-Known as: NFL Stadium @ Camden Yards 1998, PSInet Stadium 1999-2001
Ravens Stadium 2002

Super Bowl Champions: (1)
XXXV (2000)
Super Bowls Appearances: (1)
XXXV (2000)

AFC Championship Games: (2)
2000, 2008

Division Champions: (2)
2003, 2006

Playoff Appearences: (7)
2000, 2001, 2003, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010
Record in Playoff Games:
9-6 .600

Hall of Famers: (3)

Deion Sanders CB 2004-2005
Shannon Sharpe TE 2000-2001
Rod Woodson S 1998-2001

Defensive Rookie of the Year: (2)

1997 Peter Boulware LB
2003 Terrell Suggs LB

Defensive Player of the Year: (3)

2000 Ray Lewis LB
2003 Ray Lewis LB
2004 Ed Reed S

Offensive Player of the Year: (1)

2003 Jamal Lewis RB

Super Bowl MVP: (1)

XXXV Ray Lewis LB (2000)

Best Season:
2006 (13-3)

Worst Season:
1996 (4-12)