Missing Trent...

At the beginning of summer vacation also brings a time of saying "see ya later" to my nephew Trent; whom usually leaves to spend the summer with his mother and siblings. We always miss him, but try make it a happy "send-off" by meeting at the local A&W for a good root beer float with his cousins and soon to be someday "step-sisters". I gotta tell you I feel sorry for my nephew with 3 sisters at his mom's and soon to be 2 more here with his dad! He's so doomed with that many sisters to have to put up with!

WOW!! It's been awhile...

Well we certainly have been busy since the end of the school year and the beginning of summer vacation! We finished off the school year with the Annual 4-H/GirlScouts Mother-Daughter night out...it was a fun time! Check out that sea of PINK!!!!









































And ofcourse we have to top off the last day of school with our Annual Friends Out-2-Lunch celebration!! How to you feed a group of overly excited and extremely hungry girls that just started summer vacation????? Cici's Pizza...here we come!

Macey's First Communion

There was a big event for Macey just a few weeks ago, she made her first communion during Sunday mass, she has worked very hard towards this the entire school year...and we are so proud of her! She was a little nervous but proved she could handle the pressure with grace and beauty! But what made her beautiful was seeing how much her spirituality has deepened during this last year which makes us happy and hopeful for her continued relationship with God. Some of her family and friends were able to join us for the mass and celebration afterwards.

Easter Sunday 2009

Ofcourse our Easter was a chilly one but none the less it was a blessing! Macey loves to search for her Easter basket as soon as she wakes up, and I'm beginning to wonder if she'll ever outgrow this. We went to church (and Macey couldn't wait to wear the dress her Meme and Papaw sent her) and then celebrated with the rest of my family at my mother's house. Ofcourse there was another egg hunt there!

Twilight...

As some of you may know I've been dragged into this other world known as the "Twilight" saga. Believe me, when I say "dragged", I mean that! However, after finishing the series of books I will admit that it was VERY hard to get me started in them I do wish there was more of it to read! So as my nieces anticipated the release of the DVD in March, this ofcourse gave us a reason to celebrate! Hence the Twilight DVD release party with the ultimate guest!
Edward himself!





We also had lots of "themed food" pertaining to Twilight! Tomato soup with garlic bread, blushing Bellas, vampire cupcakes, "wolf" chow, apple shaped sugar cookies and much much more...way more than any of us could've eaten! But leave it to us to ALWAYS go overboard! End result: Lots of FUN!

How Time Flies...AGAIN!

Ok as you can see I'm guilty of not posting in awhile. Those of you who know me well, know this in not unusual for me! However, it still amazes me how time can get away from us. Which reminds me of some of my favorite quotes;

Time is the coin of your life. It is the only coin you have, and only you can determine how it will be spent. Be careful lest you let other people spend it for you. ~Carl Sandburg

Time is what we want most, but... what we use worst. ~Willaim Penn

To see a world in a grain of sand
And Heaven in a Wild Flower;
Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand
and Eternity in an hour. ~Wm Shakespeare

So let me show you how I spent the last few months...

First, Scott had to go to Atlanta (for a week) for a Leadership Conference, and Macey and I always find things to do. So March is Riley's birthday, yes our dog! He turned 4 and Macey made him a great sign for the celebration! I won't make you watch the video as it contains much high-pitch squealing from Macey and I, but here are some of the pics.

February 2009...exciting month!!

February is usually a great month for us not because of all the snow that we get week after week and not just because of Valentine's Day but because it's the month that our daughter was born. February 20th to be exact. And now our little girl has turned 8 years old! CRAZY...thoughts of changing diapers didn't seem so long ago!? She was so ecstatic to get her 1st ipod!! This month was also the Girl Scouts Sweetheart Dance (Father-daughter), one of those moments you Dad's shouldn't take lightly. So other news that happened on Friday February 13th...no it's not bad...it's FANTASTIC, my brother Todd and his girlfriend of 3 years Treasure got engaged. He proposed to her at the Durham Museum on one of the train cars, one that is actually locked at all times to the public becasue its such a beautiful train car! "It was so perfect", they both said! And now they are actually planning on having their wedding and reception at the Durham Museum! My family couldn't be happier for them!

Wow, how time flies...

Ok ok... yes, you already know that I'm just bad at updating on a regular basis I have no more excuses! So I will give you brief rundown of the last few months...Macey started off the year by participating in the Union Pacific Cookie Train with her girl scout troop. This is the kickoff to selling GS cookies. They were provided a plain white box that GS cookies are shipped in and a real box of cookies tht they had to use to make up their own train car. It had to be completely covered and they had to use their imagination. (Macey's handprint is on the front of the train covered with fabric) They did a fantastic job and it turned out so cute! The event took place at our formerly known UP Union Station now known as our Durham Museum. It's a beautiful facility with a lot of fantastic history and trains that you can walk through to experience how they used to travel. (I know a special nephew who would go CRAZY over this place! Maybe one day he'll get to visit!)

What a way to finish 2008!

I wanted to post some exciting news! What a Happy New Year when you find out your nephew proposed to his girlfriend Leslie on New Year's Eve. We are overjoyed and are excited she's going to be a part of our family! Congratulations Donnie and Leslie!

Annual cookie bake...

Every year my sisters and I along with my mom and my nieces get together and bake cookies. We bake so much that every year we say the same thing..."let's not make so many differnt kinds next year",and ofcourse everyone agrees but we never seem to remember. This year we held our event at my nieces home because we could utilize two ovens and we even got my nephew and his girlfriend involved rolling out sugar cookies. It was a lot of fun! As usual we had cookies overflowing everywhere and I couldn't wait to divide and deliver to ensure I didn't eat to much myself!