Echo Kirkland

Showstoppers

2011-02-07T21:46:00.000+07:00

We went to the Showstoppers Dance Competition this past weekend. 3 days of dance, dance, dance. We didn't stay in a hotel we just drove to Jacksonville everyday. Wow that is alot of being on the road, but the girls had a great time.

Friday night was Bethany's new solo. It is in the category Musical Theatre. It is called 'Little Known Facts' from the show 'You're A Good Man Charlie Brown'. She is playing Lucy VanPelt. This is a good picture of her in her new costume. All those little dots on the dress are 'rhinestones' that I added. So very cute. My really good, talented friend Lenee made this awesome bow, and I of course added rhinestones to it as well.....

Bethany wanted to SPARKLE....

We invited Bethany's friend Shelby along for the weekend to cheer Bethany on....

This is Tina Whaley, and Mia.....Tina's daughters Hootie, and Cheyanne go to the studio with the girls. Hootie, and Bethany are in the same dance class.....enough about them...I must tell you about my new little friend Mia who sat beside me for just about 2 days. She is the cutest little thing ever, and she was a big help rescuing me from bags of Cheetos...LOL

This was Sunday morning, all the girls were trying to get ready under the stairs. This is Katie, and Rachel.

Shelby, and Bethany. Bethany wanted to wear every pin, and metal she ever won....LOL

Ms.Krissi, and Cheyanne

Me having a ton of fun.....I know my hair is now dark, and I look pasty white..

It can be alot boring at times waiting for the girls to go on. I mean I love to watch the other dancers, and I do watch alot, but sometimes you just need a BREAK.....Here is Royal (Krissi's husband, and prop guy) playing around with Hootie..

Cheyanne getting her make-up done by her mom, Tina.

Hootie showing how flexible she is.

My new littlest friend Mia being cute as a button.

Royal, and one of the dance Dad's playing around....LOL

This is Lynsey right before she went on stage with her new solo 'Cinema Italiano' from the Musical 'Nine'. Yes we are a musical loving family....LOL

This is the only picture with awards I took the whole weekend....Lynsey was in the Advanced Division, Musical Theatre Category, and won Gold with 5th overall. There were 16 kids in the overalls for this division....coming in 5th is pretty darn good.

Bethany's solo was in the Competitive Division, Musical Theatre Category, and she won a Platinum award.

Lynsey and Bethany's tap duet was in the Competitive Division, Musical Theatre Category, and they won a Gold (It was 'I Can Do That' from the show Chorus Line)
Lynsey was in 2 group dances.

'Diamonds' was in the Competitive Division, Lyrical Small Group, and it won Double Platinum with a 4th overall.

'Strongest Suit' was in the Competitive Division, Musical Theatre Large Group, and it won Platinum with a 2nd overall.

I wish I would've taken more pictures. (don't I always)

We had a good time. We saw some schools from Miami, and Panama City, and they were AWESOME.....we also saw Studio 1014, it was there hometown, and they were all there in full force, they have some wonderful dancers, they are beautiful to watch.

As far as the two days are concerned I had the best time sitting with Tina Whaley, and Gayle Mosely. They are a bunch of very fun girls. I laughed, and laughed. I also liked that they think my off beat humor is funny....I will be sitting with them alot next time too!! If you want to sit with us let us know and we will take a vote to see if you are IN or OUT....LOL
Note to self: I had some of the best Egg Drop Soup and Seared Tuna from PF Chang's this weekend. I can't wait to go eat a whole meal there. You should try it if you ever get the chance.

Recently Random Camera Phone Pictures....

2011-01-26T22:40:00.004+07:00

I have really been so busy since last month. The last post I did was the fire, and since then we have had Christmas, and New Years. It seems like we just can't get this crazy life under control. However, I have still been getting picture texts, and so I thought I would share the best of what I got this month.

This is from Amanda. It is a picture of Jonathon's AR lunch at school. He was allowed to invite 2 friends. So, he invited Ashely Boggs (his lady friend), and Bethany Kirkland (his cousin). They totally enjoyed being served by the teachers, and filmed...LOL He had to get 125 AR points to have such a lunch. For anyone who knows anything about AR points you know that is alot of reading, and alot of test taking...
This is from Chris. Our supplies for the new fireplace has arrived. This calls for a happy dance...LOL

This is from Amanda. This is Noah with his other family, having some really good times.

This is from Jonathon. He sent me a picture of the new calf.

This is from Harmony. It is Remmie with his Christmas mowhawk...

This is from Harmony. This is what Braxton is Thankful this year. I have to agree. Don't you?

This is from Chris. Christopher was on a Scout trip, and got hit in the head. He had to spend the night in the hospital. It was pretty bad. Then when the black eye set in it was really nice looking. Now it is yellow and black. Poor Christopher...

This is from Lynsey. This is Lynsey, and Bethany's new duet costumes. They are tapping to 'I Can Do That' from Chorus Line...

This is from me. I wanted you to see we moved the doorway into the middle of the bay window. Farrell thought this was a mistake, but it turned out really good. He just couldn't see it when I was describing it. He likes it now...

This is from Harmony. For Brandon's 15th birthday they all went on a ski trip together.

This is from Jonathon. The is learning to take pictures with his ipod touch, and play with the features....he used baby David as his test subject...LOL

This is from Amanda. This is a picture of baby David sleeping with his new big brother Jackson. AWESOME!!

This is from Lenee. She made this great looking bow for Lynsey's production 'Strongest Suit'

I think this is from Jonathon? This is Bethany showing off her new Christmas hat, and Emma Mae being as cute as ever...

I hope you have enjoyed the ramdoness of all the pictures.....

Call 911!!

2010-12-10T07:03:00.001+07:00

Thursday night right after 2 a.m. Chris decides he will stoke the fire, before he comes to bed. While stoking the fire he hears a popping sound under the house. Weird.....Then he notices little puffs of smoke coming up behind the mantle. He comes and wakes me up to tell me the house is on fire. I come out and see the puffs of smoke, and I say I will call 911. He starts running through the house yelling for the kids to wake up and go outside 'The House Is On FIRE!!'. I am trying to put on my robe, and slippers while I am calling 911. This takes less then 60 seconds. We come out to the living room and the wall was on fire. Yes people there actually flames burning, and crawling up the wall above the mantle. Here is a picture of what was burning.

The kids ran outside. Chris and I filled pots, and large bowls up to try and put the firey wall out. We seemed to have it under control. This took maybe 60 to 120 seconds. Chris says 'I'm going out to get the hose'. He runs out the door, and runs back in and says 'The roof is on fire'....no way...I run out with the large pot of water in my hands....and there it was THE ROOF WAS ON FIRE!! We tried to throw the water up onto the roof, but it was just to high. However, that didn't stop us from trying 3 more times. This is a picture of where the roof was on fire.....
The police show up at that time, and tell us we have to get out of the house. We can't stay here. We have to stop trying......I am in the kitchen, I look around at my house thinking this may be the last time I see these rooms....I have a few seconds what do I take. My most important things are standing outside on the street....what's left?....I see my scrapbook, and say no....I see my laptop, and say no....I see my purse, walk to it, pick it up, and walk out....I have to tell you this is the strangest feeling I have ever had in my whole life, and as I write this I feel it all over again....

We are now all out on the street.....what are we suppose to do, stand back, and watch it burn...yes that's what you do....

The neighbor Nelda took the kids to her house. Another neighbor named Wink came up to see if Chris and I were alright. That's when she realized he had no shoes on, and his socks were wet. She took her slippers off and gave them to him. He said I can't put those on my socks are wet....she insisted he put them on....very nice.....our other neighbor turned a little stove on at his porch where we could warm up and watch the house....

When all was clear they let Chris and I come back in......

The fireman was explaining how the fire went up the wall, and into the attic. I look at the floor and see my netflex return envelopes all around mixed in with the plaster from the ceiling. I say 'I guess my netflex movies are under there somewhere?'....another fireman says 'no mamam I saw them on the floor I picked them up and put them on your kitchen table, I also moved your snowmen over here by the wall'....'But we couldn't get the T.V. down so I'm sure it will still work'...
If you ever wondered how firefighters find their way around your house....don't worry, they will make holes if they have to.....

This is up in the attic where the roof was on fire............

This is outside looking in through the chimney...While we were standing in the living room, the firemen realized that underneath the house where we were standing was on fire. They had to use a chainsaw to cut the floor to get to it....their chainsaw was dull, so Chris gave them his to use....

See how from outside you can see in....

I had a few really crazy thoughts during this whole thing that I want to share with you. As I was throwing the pots of water on the firey wall I thought 'Where is my camera'....just for a second....

What made us think standing on the ground that we could throw water as high as the house?

Lynsey called her Mom and she came with Kelsea. They got together some stuff for the kids, and took them out to Pat's house. The girls have been with their Mom all weekend, and the younger kids have been with Amanda....

Before the kids left with Debi I kissed each one. Bethany wanted to know what burned up in fire, while Noah cried. What does a parent say to their kids at that moment?.....I don't know but here is what I said......Bethany are you alive? she said yes...I said Am I alive? she said yes....I said Are we all safe now? she said yes.....I said we can go buy the other stuff, but we can replace each other.....

Chris, and I wanted to stay at the house. We worked on getting the living room closed off until we can get everyone to come look at it and start working on it.....I'm sure it will be a long process.

We have had alot of phone calls, emails, facebook comments, visits, ect....We could never thank everyone enough for being so supportive....

I will write another post about this later.....I have some other thoughts I need to get in order, but I know everyone wants to see the photos, and read the post....

PTA Christmas Celebration at the School!

2010-12-07T21:49:00.002+07:00

We went to the School's Christmas Celebration. All the kids were going to sing a song, and we were going to have a snack.

Emma Mae was really excited....

The 4th graders sang 'Jingle Bell Rock'. Bethany was very excited about being on stage.

(to the left of Bethany is Seth, and to the right is Ashely)

Jonathon wasn't sure of the words, so he read them from the paper. Mr. Lawson said they learned 'Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree' but the teachers changed the song at the last minute. He really told us that over the mic at the end....LOL

(in the front left is Jaycee)

This is were Jonathon really starts to get into the song...LOL

The first graders sang 'Must Be Santa'. This was very good, they had arm movements and everything...LOL

I feel like we are playing 'Where's Jackson?' Do you see him?

There he is!

Now we are playing 'Where's Madi?' do you see her?

Silly she's the cutest reindeer on the stage!!

When I got to Madi's room to pick her up I said 'I'm here to pick up the cutest reindeer.' The teacher said 'Saying the cutest reindeer could be a problem.' I said 'It isn't if it's true.'....LOL

I mean really look at her, it doesn't get any cuter...LOL

We had to get a picture with our favorite Kindergarten teacher, who happens to be Avery's Mom...LOL

When I got to the 1st grade to pick up Noah he was upset that I picked him up last....LOL

This is one upset Santa...

Jackson was glad to see us. He was getting worried that I wasn't going to come and get him.....LOL

These are some happy kids.

We all went to the cafeteria for a snack.

Emma Mae can't wait until she can be in a Christmas program.

Now Santa is happy!

I think they should always have the kids do a presentation. There was a really good turn out. It was the most people I have ever seen at the school.

PTA Movie Night at the School!

2010-12-04T22:00:00.000+07:00

The PTA sponsored Movie Night at the school. It was open to Kindergarten through the 2nd grades. We watched a bunch of Christmas movies, and sold snacks.

As you can see the children were really really excited.

This is Melissa May our PTA leader. She was busy popping popcorn all night. We just could never have enough. Also, on the table beside her was some other things we were selling at the concession stand.

This is Jonathon donating his time, and energy to this wonderful cause....LOL

Kids love the idea of hanging with their friends in the cafeteria, watching movies, being able to sit where they want, and they can also talk to each other....good times.

Noah just had to have these fun glasses.

"Give Me A Kiss"....LOL

All Madi wanted to do is have a snack and sit by Avery.

But this little boy was sitting by Avery....LOL

Noah found another little person that loved the glasses as much as he did.

This cute little one fell asleep at the very beginning, and slept through snacks, and movies....He was so upset when it was time to go...he felt like he missed everything.

Madi thought the glasses were great too!

The three of them just couldn't get enough....LOL

I give this wonderful event 2 thumbs up....LOL

Camera Phone pics.....yes again

2010-12-03T06:34:00.000+07:00

Some of these pictures are old, and some are new. I don't think I have ever put any of these on my blog....enjoy!!

I think what ever these little toys are called are for little girls. Not medium sized girls...LOL I asked Bethany why she would stick it in her ear? She told me she didn't Aunt Courtney put it in her ear?.....I don't know? This is a little outfit Bethany threw together one morning.....she is so sassy!
My Dad sent this to me....however, he gave me no information. So, I don't know who it is? or where it was? or if that small boy killed that very large bear?

This is my new wedding band. Chris got it for me while we were on our trip. The old band was to large, and fell off my hand. It is really 5 bands together. You can look at it as 1 band for each of the kids, or 1 band for every 2 years we were married.....as to which answer is correct.....well that depends on who I am happiest with at the moment ....LOL

Christopher likes to take pictures of himself with my cell phone to send them to Alex....

Once he has sent the picture she lets him know if it is good enough, or if he needs to send another....LOL

This is Alex..a.k.a. Baby Girl....anything she sends has to be beautiful, or else!! LOL

Harmony sent me this picture of Braxton's art work for Thanksgiving. Can you see me?

M.J. just got this jacket with Lil' Angel on it. Bethany is green over it....LOL

Harmony also sent this to me to brag about only paying $5.00 for it on ebay.....I'm green over it too!

Shelby sent this to Bethany to show her candy stash she got from trick or treating....LOL

Harmony looked out her window one afternoon and saw a wolf wearing flip flops crawling through her yard...she was so scared, and sent me a picture....I was scared for her too!!

Harmony got a double dose of fright when a wondering vampire kitty showed up too!!

Jonathon came to play a while back, and I don't really know how Bethany talked him into wearing this mermaid outfit? He sure does love him some Bethany.

This picture happened so long ago that I don't really remember anything about it (maybe Amanda knows?). All I know is this is Emma Mae, and I love this picture...LOL

If you didn't make it in my camera phone pic post this time, all I can say is maybe next time. Send me a pic, or remind me to take one of you the next time around...LOL

I can't wait to hear some comments....if you know any back stories on any of these, please feel free to make a comment....LOL

Santa sent a message via the computer....magic

2010-12-02T20:26:00.001+07:00

Noah got a special message from Santa. It was really neat you should check it out. Here are some pictures of him watching his message from Santa. He was so excited he said to the computer 'I love you Santa', and hugged the screen....LOL

This is what he looked like when Santa said his name, and showed him a picture of himself in his giant record book.....LOL

10 Years and counting.......

2010-11-18T20:50:00.001+07:00

Well who knew that Chris and I would make it 10 years? Not to many I'm sure, but here we are 10 years together and counting......

I didn't think we were really going to get to do anything for our anniversary. I mean we talked about doing all kinds of things, but everything just sort of kept falling through. So, what we ended up doing was more perfect for us then anything else.

Chris had really no idea what any of the plans were. It was a surprise. I booked us a room in Jacksonville, Florida with a heart jacuzzi tub. We checked in on Wednesday night, and went to the Kennel Club to play poker in the Rookie tournament. Here is how the tournament works. You show up, sign up, and they give you the same amount of chips as everyone else. (free) The chips are free, but can only be used for this tournament. Anyway, everyone plays, and at the end you count your chips. If you have only been to the Poker Room 5 times or less you are considered a Rookie. You see others who aren't rookies like to play for other prizes like trophies, shirts, or cds...Anyway Chris always wanted to play real poker, and I love cards so we played against 27 other people. It was alot of fun. Guess who won the Rookie tournament?......

Me! Can you believe it? I won the first hand at our table, some in between, and the biggest pot for the last hand at our table. I had 131 chips. That's when I realized that I just won $40.00

Now once you win these chips you can either cash them out, or go to the main floor, and play. What do you think we did? We totally played poker until we took a break to eat the best sushi I ever had. They had this sushi bar there, and I now want it just thinking about it....LOL

Don't start worrying we are not going to become obsessed with poker, or gambling, but I do have to say I would like to go back....LOL I think Chris was happy that I won, but alittle sad that he didn't. In the end we cashed in all the chips, but I kept one....LOL

This is me with Aaron from Rock 105.
The next day we got up, and we went to the mall to get a new tire for the van. We did alittle shopping, and then headed across town to get me a new wedding band. The old one is to big now.

Then I had one more surprise for Chris. I took him to the Gun Gallery to rent handguns, and shoot at the shooting range.

I picked out this Smith & Wesson with .38 special.

It looks dangerous doesn't it?

I have to say I look good in the eye glasses, and head gear....
Chris isn't looking to bad himself...LOL

I think he had some kind of 45 Glock....

Are you scared yet? When I first went to shoot the gun I thought I might puke. I was so scared, and I really was chickening out. Then I thought 'Echo snap out of it. If you don't do this Chris will never let you live it down. Now put your big girl pants on and squeeze the trigger.'.....LOL

My little pep talk totally worked. I shoot three rounds, and had quite a rush.

I may look sassy in my pop art shirt, but I am dangerous!!

Here is my target's head....It's nice to know if I had to shoot something I could most likely hit the target.

Here is my target's body.....

Here is Chris' target....

Then we went back to the room, and relaxed. Then we headed over for dinner at the Olive Garden. Then we were off to Crackers for karaoke.

The locals told us it was a biker bar. I love biker bars. However, I was disappointed that this was the only biker looking guy in the whole place, and I don't think he really rode a bike to the bar?

Some cowboy came up and asked Chris if he could stare at me from across the bar...LOL Chris is like 'No that's my wife, and we have been married 10 years' I said 'Chris he can stare at me if he wants too....LOL' So he did stare at me...LOL Chris found it all really funny. Then the cowboy danced with a couple of different women before he came up to Chris and said 'Can I ask your wife to dance?' Chris said 'sure'....LOL So the guy asked me and I said 'yes'.....Chris thought the whole thing was so funny. We were having a good time...when we meet these people....

They were our biggest fans for the evening.

We were really having a good time when the DJ came and told us that the karaoke stopped at 11:30...we were confused because the hotel called earlier in the day to see what the time for karaoke was, and they were told it was from 9pm to close. However, come to find out the day shift person was wrong. We asked if we could pay a fee to have him stay. He informed it that the owner wouldn't allow it. Don't you find this just strange. We like your karaoke anyway stranger.

One last thing before I go. So, when I told Bethany we were going to the dog track to play poker she asked if we would bet on a dog. I said I just might pick out the best name and make a bet. She said if there is a dog named Orlando pick that one it will win, or just call me and tell me the names and I will tell you which one is the winner, you know I'm psychic.....LOL

So, I buy the dog racing book, and look it over. There wasn't any Orlando's, and we were busy so we didn't bet. However, I really like the dog named Cheeky Puppy. So at the end of the night I went to see if Cheeky Puppy won. Nope he didn't, but I do remember which number did. So, when I get home I ask Bethany to read over this race and tell me what you think. She reads them all out loud and then says 'I would pick number 3' (the name escapes my mind right now) I said are you sure? She said yes. I was floored she totally picked the winner.....maybe she is psychic....LOL

Lock-In 2010

2010-11-13T20:34:00.001+07:00

We had lock-in at Glyndale Elementary School on November 12, 2010. It was for the 2nd-5th graders. It went really well. Everyone really had a good time. Here are some pictures of the event.
We started things off with pizza, and a movie. You were allowed to sit with anyone you wanted, and you were allowed to talk.

5th grade girls in the gym.

The 5th graders tried to make a pyramid.....it didn't work so well...LOL

Then the 2nd through 4th grade went to the gym.

They did a raffle to see who got to put a pie in the Coach's face.

See the pie pan on the floor right there? Well everyone thought it was gross when one of the kids picked it up, and started eating the crust out of the pie dish. Others thought it was gross when the first kid swiped his finger across the Coach's face and ate it. Me, I thought the grossest thing ever was when one of the kids swiped the wall behind the Coach and ate it.....YUCK!!

They had assigned 2nd/3rd grade boys to one pod, 4th/5th grade boys to one pod, 2nd/3rd grade girls to one pod, and 4th/5th grade girls to one pod. Each pod had it's own chaperons.

I was one of two chaperons for the 4th/5th grade girls pod. We stayed up all night in our pod. We were the only pod that stayed up all night. The boys pods were the first ones asleep, then the other girl pod. Not everyone in the boys pod went to sleep. They had a small group of 4 boys that lasted almost all night, and then they had 2 that was up all night...You go boys....of course they totally want me to be the leader of their room next time, but Bethany already told me 'no way Jose'....LOL The girls in my pod really tried to stay up all night. Most made it to the wee small hours of the morning, but then fell right over where they were sitting...LOL

Shelby fell asleep 30 minutes before it was time to get up. Savannah, and Hannah made it all night long. One of my favorite things about this lock-in was meeting the other chaperon in my room. Her name was Judy Benner. She is the funniest person ever. We laughed all night long, and the girls really enjoyed us. I made the fortune tellers, and the girls used them on her. By the morning she was going to gain weight, fall in love, cry all day, go to college, get an A, see a unicorn, and have B.O........so funny!!

When I made the fortune tellers for the girls I would write good fortunes, and then one bad one. Except for Savannah she wanted all bad fortunes...LOL

I wrote you will have B.O. on Shelby's but when she read it to someone she said you will have Bo...'what does that mean? who's Bo?'....I laughed and explained it was B.O. which is short for body odor....LOL

For next time, I will have more to do in my host pod. I will also have candy, and snacks to sell in my host pod. I will also see if Judy wants to be my Co-hoster...LOL I am also going to give my girls some awards at the end....oh I have ideas....my pod will R-O-C-K!!

Amanda did such a good job organizing this thing. The teachers played guest appearance all night switching out....LOL Amanda made a really good breakfast for everyone....All in all I think it went well. We learned alot, and the kids had a GREAT time. What more could you ask for?

Emma

2010-11-11T20:32:00.000+07:00

Well Bethany went to get her hair cut last week. Emma's Mom cut it. Noah was so happy to get Emma's phone number. He really misses her since she switched schools. We invited her over for dinner, and to play the Wii. Noah requested hot dogs, and mac&cheese. He said that's what ladies like. So, after dinner they all went back to play the Wii. Bethany and Emma played the Wii while Noah played with my guitar trying to write a song for Emma....LOL

She really was shy around Noah, and really played with Bethany....until it was time to leave. She was walking out the door, turned around and said 'Noah if you want to say good-bye you have to catch me'....LOL I never saw him jump up so fast in all my life...LOL he caught up with her, and of course bear hugged her, and picked her up off the ground...LOL....She knew he was going to do that. Chris said he thought he saw him give her a kiss on the cheek, but it was dark and I couldn't tell. Emma's Mom just laughed and said we will have to get together again....
Emma was the little girl that came to Noah's Birthday party. There is also a really cute story, and picture with Noah holding hands with Emma on the bus in Pre-K. This is where he tells me he would like to marry Emma....LOL

2 Cute Stories....

2010-11-04T01:35:00.001+07:00

Who is this handsome young boy?

He thinks he looks like Jack Dawson from Titanic.....LOL
Or Scott Disick from 'Keeping Up With the Kardashians'....LOL
It doesn't say much for me as a parent that my 6 year old knows about either.....LOL I wish I could say that I was letting his hair grow out on purpose, but it really is growing out because I am to lazy, and busy to get him to the barber....The other morning for school he wanted it to look like 'Jack Dawson' as I was doing it he had a big smile on his face. I said 'Bubba like it now because this week I'm taking you to the barber for a buzz.' He went from Happy Face to very Sad Face. Maybe I should let him grow it out? Maybe I'll tell him he can after the family picture....LOL

Did you ever find meaning on a carton of milk?

Well Bethany says to me and Jonathon 'If you point the arrow on the top of your milk carton to someone it means that you love them.'......Then all of a sudden she says 'One day Justin pointed his milk carton at me.' I say to Jonathon 'Did she just tell us that story so she could tell us that Justin is in love with her?'...we both laughed...
I looked closer at the milk carton and said 'Maybe where it says TO OPEN really means point this at a person TO OPEN their heart.'......LOL

Jonathon thinks I'm really funny....Bethany not so much...

Senior Photo Clothes Choices.....

2010-11-01T20:31:00.001+07:00

We went and picked up some clothes for Lynsey's Senior Picture sessions this weekend. We are really looking forward to them.
Here is some ideas. Please comment on what you like, and what you don't. I have labled each with a number.....She will be doing a studio session, and a session at Nanny's farm....

1.) Pink formal dress

2.) black, and silver semi-formal

3.)black and white
4.)All black

5.)Grey, and white dress

6.)Bubble dress without jacket

7.) Bubble dress with jacket

8.)Navy blue, and white...for Family picture

9.)Zebra shirt, and black jeans

10.) Red outfit, black jeans

11.) Cream outfit, with boots

12.)Light pink, with jeans

13.) light pink with skirt

14.) Purple with black skirt

15.) Navy and black dress, with zebra heels

Noah had to get into the grove. He picked this outfit out himself. He looks so preppy. I love it.

There are alot of choices. So many that I just need some opinions. Really.

Halloween 2010

2010-10-31T21:58:00.000+07:00

Can't forget the last minute sparkles.
Bethany a.k.a. Frankie Stein, and Jacyee a.k.a. Penguin

Ethan, Christopher, Noah, Jackson, Jonathon, Cooper
Fireman, Scream, Mummy, King Linus, Spartan, Ninja

Back row: MacKenzie, Emma Mae, Bethany, Jacyee

Fairy, Witch,Frankie Stein, Penguin

Front Row: Klark, Bailey, Madi, Kennedy

Princess, Candy Corn Witch, Belle, Bumble Bee

We love the 80's

I played the 80's music while we walked after the kids. We had such a good time, singing, dancing.....I think we had more fun then the kids....Yes, people wanted to be us, or maybe they just wish they were in our group....LOL

Amanda is totally awesome...totally!

Material Girl by Madonna comes on I look over to my left, and just see
Connie's head just a bobbin to the music....she is so rad!

A mummy, and a Mommy....LOL

My annual picture with Madi....LOL

The mummy fell asleep on the hay ride...LOL

But when he woke up he started taking pictures of himself in the van...LOL

Trunk Or Treat

2010-10-30T05:54:00.000+07:00

I was very lame with the camera, and only took a few pictures at Trunk Or Treat.

Haunted Stables 2010

2010-10-29T22:43:00.001+07:00

We went to the Haunted Stables in Darien. It was an awesome good time.This is Noah's scary face.

This is Madi's scared face.

Cooper was so scared waiting outside he kept hiding his face in his Mom's shirt. He wouldn't let go.

I would like to say Jonathon was so excited he jumped into his Mom's arms, but I think he was scared...LOL

This is a fun group.

Yes we are a fun group.

This is Emma Mae's scary face...LOL I'm so scared.

Noah said he wasn't going to be scared.

Jonathon was scared, and his siblings were trying to hide his eyes.

This is Jonathon being scary...Are you scared?

Cooper showing me what scary is...LOL

Costume Ball....2010

2010-10-28T21:26:00.000+07:00

Jane Macon had a Costume Ball. It was for the whole school. Chris and I played the music. They did really well. They had a lot of kids there. This is a girl I don't know, Alex (Christopher's girlfriend), Christopher, and Dante (Christopher's Best Friend). I think all the kids had a good time.

Bethany Student Council

2010-10-21T23:24:00.000+07:00

Do you remember Bethany running for Student Council?

She was installed at the school. It was a nice short ceremony, and here is some pictures.
I know it looks like the boy Lucas McCoy behind Bethany is giving the middle finger. However, upon closer look I see it is double peace signs...LOL

She was so excited, and nervous.

While we were there we learned about all the great stuff this wonderful group of kids are going to be doing. All the stuff is right up Bethany's alley. You know nursing homes, shopping with a cop, ect.....In other words kids saving the planet, and stuff.....she loves to be a busy body...LOL

This is Bethany, Savannah, and Ashely. Three of the cutest 4th graders in the whole school. If I do say so myself, and of course I do

This is Mrs. Boggs with Bethany. She is one of the student council advisors, 4th grade teachers, Ashely's Mom, and all around really nice woman from Ohio. When I'm around her I feel like I'm spending time with my family form Ohio. She talks, and acts just like them. Very uptown girl meets down to earth girl...LOL We love her.

Random Camera Phone Pictures...again...

2010-10-21T06:27:00.001+07:00

I do love getting picture messages. I'm not sure why, but I save them all.

On with the show.....
This is a butter bread that MJ made. She really likes butter, and just a touch of cinnamon & sugar...Yummy! I can't wait for her to make me one.

This is Bethany ready for Church. She loves the sassy flower in her hair, and has asked Aunt Courtney for some for Christmas. She was sad when Aunt Courtney showed up at the house and wanted her flower back...LOL Bethany had already decided which outfits she needed to wear to school that week to match the flower...LOL

I just got this one from Harm. It is Braxton's school picture. I know the boys love mohawks, but this is just a half mohawk.

Braxton and his friend ready for school. I love the Steeler shirts.

MJ does cheerleading, and she is an awesome flyer. Go MJ. Just remember what goes up MUST come down....

MJ always likes to send me pictures of what she is wearing....

This is Bethany with a Harajuku shower cap on. We found this shower cap at Sephora's in Jacksonville. They had a nice collection of Harajuku stuff. Bethany was in love with the cap, but Mama wasn't paying $30.00 for it...LOL

I like posting the random pictures from my camera phone, don't you?

Tiger Prowel 2010

2010-10-17T19:37:00.001+07:00

2 excited Boys

1 excited Dad

1 excited Mom

Equals one great day at the Tiger Prowel.....

Noah, and Jackson loved all the activities at Camp Tolochee...

First up is Archery.

Noah loves bows and arrows...

Jackson was really good with the bow and arrows.

Jackson's target on the left. Noah's target on the right.

Way to go boys...

Next up is BB's. We love to be safe.

Jackson did really good at the BB range.

Can you see where he hit the center. The next time we went he hit the center so many times, so close together that it made a big whole. You are awesome Jackson.

Noah was having a hard time with Jackson doing so well. He was stomping, and fitting. So, Uncle Josh tried to throw him in the lake to cool him off. LOL

This is my target. Not bad for a girl.

Next up wall climbing.

The boys went again, and again, and again.

We were part of the Bee Group. We had to make puppets.

Jackson, and Noah's puppets were really good. However, I made the best bee. Josh wouldn't make a bee at all. Party pooper. Anyway, I enjoyed the craft but we really needed pipe cleaners.LOL

Noah taking picture of me.

Noah taking a picture of Jackson.

Noah taking a picture of his friend.

Noah taking a picture of himself.

Jackson taking a picture of Noah.

This is the boys playing Ultimate Frisbee. I have to say I think this game was alittle unfair. The target starting points were not marked very well, but the boys didn't care they liked it. It reminded me of miniature golf, but with Frisbees. I hate miniature golf.

Noah with the camera again.

Next time someone complains that I never put bad photos of myself on my blog please remember this one.

I think this guy loves his job at the BB range.

This father and son team loved the archery course.

Homecoming Spirit Week BHS 2010

2010-10-15T17:17:00.002+07:00

Lynsey and Kelsea are participating in Homecoming Spirit Week at BHS!!

How much fun does that sound?

Monday was 70's Decade Day!

Peace, Love, Groovy!

You know the girls have really nice cameras but they always use their camera phone for everything. Which is cool and all, but the pictures are not good enough to develope. They may not care now, but one day they will care. The nice photos on my blog today came from the BHS website.

Lynsey took this picture with her cell phone before she left for school.

Kelsea took this picture with her cell phone before she left for school.

Tuesday was Twin Day!

This is Kelsea, but where is her twin?

She wasn't a twin, she was part of 'the triplets'...LOL

They just are more special then everyone else...LOL

That is some nerdy triplets...

Here is Lynsey with her twin Megan.
Wednesday was Theme Park Day!

My girls both love Disney the best, so they wanted to stick with that theme park.

Lynsey is Tinkerbell.

Brooke, and Lynsey...or should I say Minnie Mouse, and Tinkerbell...

Kelsea as the Mad Hatter!

I like it with the red hair, and make-up better!

Thursday was Celebrity Day!

Lynsey went as Michael Jackson..

Kelsea went as Bret Michaels!

Kelsea didn't want me to post pictures of her dressed up as weird things on my blog. So, in order for her to send me the pictures she took of herself with her camera phone I had to promise to post this nice picture of her. She thinks this is a really good picture of herself. She is right it is a good picture of her.

However, if you go to the BHS website, or any number of Facebook/Myspace accounts you can see most of these same pictures. The difference is they don't have the nice picture to go with the crazy picture. I have spoken to both my teens about pictures, and media, but they just don't get it. I mean I only have a handful of followers, but the other sites have tons, and tons. When you go on the other sites you can just copy, and save/paste anything you like. Then your photo can be anywhere. This also means it can pop up at any point in your life. This really is a lesson for the new generation. Do you remember having to sit through life lessons at school. They did stuff on peer pressure, child abuse, ect...I fear that this will be a lost lesson. It will be something that they will have to live over, and over, and over again before they learn.

Last but not least....

Friday was Blue/Gold Day!

The girls wore their blue and gold stuff. Lynsey made a great scarf, I have not idea what Kelsea wore...LOL.... They may sound bad, but they just didn't send me a pic of them that day. If I ever get one I will post it....

Stay tuned because they looked great for Homecoming.....

We love the Fair!

2010-10-08T23:50:00.003+07:00

Jackson & Madi on this dragon roller coaster. It was alittle jaring, but they loved it!

Emma Mae was alittle confused as to which side to climb up...
When Courtney was trying to help her this is the look we got....LOL

Ethan...
Noah..

Madi & Bailey
Noah going around really fast...and look how excited Ethan, and Emma Mae are riding this.

Jackson..

I love this lemonade shake up drink they have at the Fair. No really. I'm thinking about going back to the fair just for this drink....LOL Maybe I can stand outside and someone alreadying paying to go in, will go in and bring me one out? Then again most likely not.
Amanda was waiting in line for the YO-YO ride. (the swings) Anyway, I asked her if she was enjoying herslef? She said yes, of course.

Now I ask you, does this look like someone enjoying the Fair?

If you weren't sure she is the one in the green jacket, with her hoodie up, and her arms pulled up in the sleeves. I guess she does have a giant smile on her face...LOL

We are the Kirklands and we are winners....

2010-10-07T20:06:00.003+07:00

This a beautiful drawing by Madigan Kirkand. She is in Kindergarten, and she is my niece. Mrs. Cravey, the art teacher, had all the Kindergarten students draw pictures of hot air balloons. Then a panel of teachers looked at the drawings, and help decide whose was best to enter in the fair. Then once the drawings are entered a panel of judges pick from all the Pre-K through Kindergarten classes for the winners. Isn't this a great drawing for someone who is in Kindergarten? Guess what place she won in the fair?

1st place, and a check for $5.00! I am so happy for her.
Bethany's class didn't have enough time to create stuff to enter. So, at home Bethany created this Picasso inspired pastel. What you can't tell from the picture, or maybe you can, she didn't draw on the hair she engraved it with her fingernail. She has become such a good artist. We entered her in the 12 & under amateur artist division. Guess what she won?
3rd place, and a $10.00 check! Go Bethie!!

I also entered some stuff in the fair this year. I entered 3 canned items. In the fruit section I entered my sliced peaches in medium syrup. I won 2 place ribbon, and a check for $7.00!

Then I entered the 'Kirkland Family Sweet Relish'. I called it just plain sweet relish because they said I couldn't have a name on the jar..LOL

Anyway, it won a 1st place blue ribbon, and a $10.00 check!!

Last but not least. I entered my 'Carrot Cake Jam'. It has pecans in it, and it is YUMMY! Anyway I won a 1st place blue ribbon, and a $10.00 check!!

I did enter the Blueberry Blackberry Jam with Amanda's name on it. It was the only unopened jar of jam I had from her. It didn't place. Next time I will enter her Muscadine Grape Jelly, now that stuff will be a contender I'm sure!!LOL Or maybe she can pick something an enter it. Now, that would make my day...LOL

All in all I think we Kirklands really racked up this year at the fair. I love that you can enter, and go and see it, and possibly win. It's showy in a low key kind of way. Well, it won't be that low key with me running around saying things like 'this is our blue ribbon winning sweet relish', or 'have you tried my blue ribbon 'carrot cake jam' it is awesome....LOL

Maybe you would like to enter something in your local fair next year? Or maybe you have entered before? Either way leave me a comment.....

One Second After.....

2010-10-05T22:14:00.005+07:00

In this entertaining apocalyptic thriller from Forstchen, A high altitude nuclear bomb of uncertain origin explodes, unleashing a deadly electromagnetic pulse that instantly disables almost every electrical device in the U.S. and elsewhere in the world. Airplanes, most cars, cellphones, refrigerators-all are fried as the country plunges into literal and metaphoric darkness. History John Matherson , who lives with his 2 daughters in a small North Carolina town, soon figures out what has happened. Aided by local officials, Matherson begins to deal with such long-term effects of the disaster as starvation, disease, and roving gangs of barbarians.

I read this book a couple of months ago, and I am still thinking about it. This book was really good. It really makes you think about something that could really happen. We just are not prepared. I don't think we could ever be prepared enough, but we should be making a better go at it.

I think everyone should read this book. I know I will be reading it again at some point.

Have you read it?

We talk about this book alot in our office. It's really a scary crazy thing....I cannot stress enough that I think you should read it. With this being October, and everyone wants a little chill, this book will bring on the chill....

It's doesn't have zoombies, or anything like that. It really is a veiw of what would really happen if an EMP would strike. Let me just say I hope I never live to see it.

Random Camera Phone Pictures

2010-10-03T23:21:00.000+07:00

Pictures from the camera phone really aren't good for anything except the blog. I get a lot of pictures via text messaging. I really should start posting them here. So here is my first installment. If you didn't make this round just hold on.....you will at some point...LOL

This is McKayla Jade...she is totally sassy...

This is Mckayla & Braxton ready for school. I love MJ's harajuku back pack. Yes yall she is in love with the harajuku dolls as well....LOL I love MJ's head band.

This is Lynsey's solo costume. She is doing a solo this year to a musical theatre number called 'Cinema Italiano' from the show 'Nine'. If you haven't seen it either wait until I have a chance to post a link, or search on you tube for Kate Hudson Cinema Italiano......If you have seen it, I know it's for older girls....try to remember that Lynsey is a Senior in high school this year....

This is the dress that Kelsea picked out for homecoming. It's cute isn't it.....

That's a good start...stay tuned folks...I will try to post more camera phone pictures...LOL

Now that doesn't mean that yall should over load me with picture messages...LOL

Coastfest 2010

2010-10-02T23:31:00.002+07:00

I took Noah & Jackson to Coastfest 2010. I had never been to Coastfest before, and I was pleasantly surprised. It is a really nice festival. It doesn't cost anything to ride the train, or to get in, or to do any of the activities. The only thing that costs anything is if you decide to eat while you are there. And with that being said I have to say the cost of food was okay. I will be going again next year, and I will be dragging the king. He doesn't love festivals, but I think he would like this one....

The boys had to stick their heads in every hole, for pictures....LOL

There was magic tricks....

There were exhibits that you could really get involved with....The boys loved this hat. Noah was a nice solider...

While Jackson was in attack mode...LOL

This giant alligator was awesome....

The boys really liked this Indian. He showed them his weapons, and agreed to a photo.

Then we had to go get face tattoos...Noah wanted a scary snake...

Jackson wanted a scary turtle...are turtle scary? Well this one is...

Then we went and planted surprise flowers. The surprise is the leader didn't know if she was giving us seed for sunflowers or wild flowers...LOL

The boys loved the National Guard exhibit.....

The life vest is really for an adult, but you know how it is we had to try it on....LOL

This is a stuffed turtle. I know gross, but the boys thought it was COOL...

We had to pet the snakes.

Then we had to pet every single dead stuffed animal, and ask the ladies at the table to name each one...LOL

This bat was so gross, I had to take a picture...

Petting more snakes, because you can't just pet one...LOL

Is this a scary turtle?

No....He's just a regular turtle...

We had to pet the alligator, because standing beside the dead one wasn't dangerous enough..

I thought about having the boys lay their head in this and take a picture, but I was afraid they would break it....LOL

This was a touch tank that UGA set up. It was awesome..We spent alot of time playing with these animals...

While we were waiting for the jeep train the boys played on the Coast Guard boat.

The boys had a great time at Coastfest. I can't wait to see what their Scout Coastfest patch looks like. It was really crowded, but well worth it. See you next year!

Popcorn Show & Sell 2010

2010-10-02T21:26:00.002+07:00

I took Noah, and Jackson to the Tiger Cub popcorn show & sell this morning. We were at the Winn Dixie. It was fun to watch the boys interact with the community.

I'm not really sure why Jackson is stretching his neck like a turtle?

This is Mrs. Kim showing the boys how to shake hands, and ask if the customer would like to buy some popcorn. I think Noah is a shakin' hands kind of guy so he was really diggin' it.

We sold all this popcorn. Well all but 2 bags. We did it in 2 hours. Not bad for a bunch of really cute tiger cubs.

This group of tiger cubs is really cute.

Here is a closer look. By the end of the day Noah said he didn't want the people to say how cute he was anymore. He said cute is for babies. So this time when you take a closer look think to yourself. This is a really handsome bunch of tiger cubs....

I wanted Jackson, and Noah to stand together for this picture, but they just wouldn't do it.

Why is Noah doing that thing with his tongue?

This is a horrible picture of me, but it is the best one of me that day....LOL

Pack Meeting 224

2010-09-27T23:27:00.001+07:00

Noah, and Jackson had their first pack meeting for 224 tonight. They were really excited. They got up with their pack, and Ms. Kim introduced them all to the rest of the Dens.

Of course I don't have 1 picture of both boys looking at me, but I have 2 cute pictures of them each looking at me.

Jackson looks so happy in this picture. Noah on the other hand is to worried if he is going to get to talk into that microphone.

Noah looks so happy to be there. While Jackson trys to get the microphone. Ms. Kim didn't let any of the boys talk into the microphone. Sorry guys not this time, maybe next time.
I enjoyed the pack meeting. They did a cake raffle. We bought a ticket, and we didn't win. I was fine with it. I guess if you win not only do you win the cake, you win the chance to donate the cake the next month. Like I said I was fine with it. However, Noah was not so fine with it.
To make matters worse I tore the ticket in half after they gave the 2 cakes out. Then they drew for other prizes. Noah was really upset when he saw I tore the ticket in half. Then he was even more upset when we didn't win any other prizes either.
So take a good time with your Tiger Cub, mix it up with not winning, and what do you get....a crying Tiger Cub. What's a Mom to do?
Well I'll tell you what this Mom did. I looked in my Tiger Cub book and what did I see? An elective to visit a bakery. So, I say to Noah. 'How would you like to visit a bakery, and buy a cake?' He said while wiping his tears 'Yes'. So, we left the pack meeting and went to the bakery at the Winn Dixie. We talked with the Bakery employee, drooled over all the yummy cakes, and Noah picked out a double layer, chocolate fudge cake. Then Mommy signed off on the elective.

Was it the right thing to do? You will most likely say no.
Do I care? Nope
P.S. Well maybe I care more about what you think then I let on. Leave me a comment about my parenting, or leave me a comment about a similar situation you had as a kid, or with your kid, or just leave me a comment. I am very comment less....Are you listening? Is anybody out there?

Hawaiian Luau

2010-09-26T09:32:00.001+07:00

The Golden Isles Swim Team had a Hawaiian Luau on September 25, 2010. They are raising funds to be able to buy the equiptment to heat the pool for the winter. It was a really nice event. They had a silent auction, and they raffled some stuff off. More about that later. I want to show some pictures of us sitting around getting ready to eat.

Me & Chris. This is me in my new shirt. I felt much more sassier then I look in this picture...LOL

Amanda & Josh. I really like this picture of them. Her make-up always looks so good. Farrell & Courtney. Her little blue dress was very cute. Chrissy & her husband. I never really talked to Chrissy all that much. The first time she called me by name at the Christmas party it set me back. I don't ever remember meeting her, but she works for Josh so, she must have either met me, or Josh/Amanda have spoken of me. I'm sure they had nothing but really wonderful and great things to say about me....LOL Anyway, I really enjoyed their company. Mac & his wife were there as well, but I didn't get the chance to take their picture....I never really talked with them before tonight, and I must say they are very enjoyable people.

So, what do they serve at a Hawaiian Luau? Roasted pig of course....

See the bullet hole in his head?

See the roasted apple? Do you see the tounge hanging out?

Although it looked gross, it was really awesome. I meant it was super yummy. I wish I would have had a to go plate...LOL

We totally should do this for some holiday function or something....LOL

Now for the raffle tickets, and auction. I was outbid on everything I bid on in the silent auction. Which was okay. So, I bought a raffle ticket for the football tickets to the UGA vs. Auburn game on November 13th. You see Chris and I are going away that weekend for our 10 year anniversary. We haven't made any plans and we thought we were destined to win the tickets. How cool would it be to maybe spend a couple of days somewhere, and then on Saturday head over to Auburn for the game, and hang out with Jeff & Lisa....

Well only two tickets were sold to win the tickets. So, we were on the right track....Right?

Well we didn't win. DANG IT!! I guess we weren't meant to go....that is unless Jeff reads this and you know wants to hook us up.....LOL

Vote! Vote! Vote!

2010-09-24T05:17:00.001+07:00

Today is the big Election at the elementary school. Bethany is running for student council treasurer. We made posters with some cute pictures that said Vote for Bethany. This is the picture I wanted to use for the poster. But it was shot down buy Bethany.....LOL

This is the picture she picked for the posters. She wanted to appear relaxed by the pool....She just doesn't understand the whole campaign trial...LOL

My second choice was this next photo....but she said no to this one too....

What do you think?
Maybe we should have taken one with her kissing a baby, or holding up a bunch of money, or petting a puppy?.....I said these ideas, and all I got in return was a giggle, and a no...she just doesn't get it...LOL

6th Grade Dance

2010-09-17T21:06:00.002+07:00

Christopher's 6th grade after school dance was today. He couldn't wait. It was in the Jane Macon Cafeteria.
These are his friends that he was hanging out with.

This little girl has a great big crush on our Christopher.... Her name is Alex.

This is Dante, Christopher, and a boy I'm not sure of his name. Dante came home with us after the dance and spent the weekend. I'm so happy Christopher has a group of friends.

Tiger Cub

2010-09-13T18:55:00.002+07:00

Noah started Tiger Cubs tonight. He was so excited to finally be able to be a 'Boy Scout'...it was the cutest thing I ever saw.

This is Noah giving me his scout salute. To bad he did it with the wrong hand...LOL Look at his fingers on his other hand, just in case he had to hurry up and change hands...LOL...that's right he already understands the BSA motto 'Be prepared'...LOLThis is Chris in his uniform B helping Noah with his new uniform A. I love the way Noah is looking at Chris in this photo. This will go down as one of my favorite photos of all time. I wish I could bottle that look....
Chris was really excited, and thrilled to go to Tiger Cubs.

We are so excited for Christopher as well. He is a full fledged 'Boy Scout' now. He will be able to go on camp outs, and everything else the BSA Troop 224 does.

I am finally getting into this whole Boy Scout thing. It will be really good for both the boys, oh and let's not forget Chris. This will be really good for Chris too.

P.S. This will be really good for me as well. I finally have something to talk to the boys about that is boyish, or more manly or whatever....LOL

Welcome Back Dance Party....

2010-09-10T21:11:00.001+07:00

Tonight was the Back to School Dance Party at Glyndale Elementary. Chris, and I were the D.J.'s for this wonderful event. There are so many people that play such a huge roll in getting this thing done. However, I only have direct contact with Amanda, and she is fabulous at organizing this chaos.....LOL

I gave this some serious thought as to who could start the karaoke off this time? It wasn't hard to pick since Bethany really wanted to sing really bad....LOL She sang 'You Belong To Me' by Taylor Swift. She was awesome...LOL Lynsey crimped her hair for her before the dance, and she picked out her outfit herself....such style and sass in one little girl.

This is Bethany's biggest fan, next to me of course....LOL

Jonathon got up and sang Toby Keith 'I Wanna Talk About Me'. I love that he is comfortable getting up in front of everybody, and rockin' the school.

This is Hannah, and Jayce. They thought they were not going to get to sing, but they did at the last minute. These girls sang one of my favorite songs of all time 'Hit Me With Your Best Shot'.

Bethany, and Ashely.

Jeffery, Jonathon, Bethany, Mary Ann, and Ashely. They all got their groove on at the dance.

This is Jayce's parents. April, and Jason Rowe. They always work the food booth. Her day job is at the court house, and his day job is a Police officer. So I will also think of them as our lead security people. You know how 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders can be....LOL

I was kidding about needing a cop on site, but come to think of it look at this mess. They were not allowed to be on the stage unless they were singing, and only two people could sing at a time. Then on the last song of the night 'I Gotta a Feeling' by the Black Eyed Peas they just sort of stormed the stage....LOL They were out of control for a minute before I saw what was happening and chased them away....LOL

This is Bethany, and Shelby.

It was a good dance, and a good turn out. I totally prefer having the dance to having to sell cookie dough, or wrapping paper, or magazines, or anything else that is really crap marked up...LOL

Harajuku Lovers Wicked Style

2010-09-09T05:56:00.000+07:00

Well as you know Bethany as a great love for anything Harajuku. Remember this post? Or this one? I have more, but I think you get the idea....I just found out today that tomorrow Gwen Stefani will be in NYC showing off the new line of perfume bottles. I know as soon as Bethany sees these she will want one, and as soon as she finds out about NYC she will ask why we can't live there....LOL

Just in case you are wondering, they will all have a new look, and a new scent. Dang you Gwen Stefani...you are a smart smart women...LOL

Such a pretty girl

2010-09-02T20:46:00.000+07:00

Bethany performed for the people at 104.1 the wave...for a chance to perform at 'The Gong Show' at the fair in October....She was all ready to go when we got there. Isn't she pretty?

She was so excited about being there, she was ready to explode. Don't you just love this face? She calls it her camel tooth face...LOL

After we got home she took a shower...you know picture day is tomorrow....
What am I suppose to do with this mess???

Sidenote: After Bethany got done performing Joe Willie said 'Wow we are going to have some major talent'...then as we were leaving a lady came up to Bethany and said 'You should take my acting class in like 10 years'...I had a hard time getting her big fat head in the door of the car...LOL

School has started...week wrap up...

2010-08-27T07:33:00.001+07:00

Well today I don't really have pictures...just stories..and let me just say they are pretty good...LOL

Best story for Noah this week....

I have decided to get up earlier then everyone else, and cook breakfast. May family has really enjoyed this. Anyway, every morning Noah comes out and says...Are we having pancakes today?...I say No we are having eggs....He says okay...he gets alittle more deflated everyday... It's really quite cute..I mean he loves eggs, but only after his love affair with pancakes.
So today I got up and decided to make my youngest son's dreams come true, and made pancakes. He was over excited, but wanted to know if he could have some scrambled eggs with them...LOL of course I said yes, I mean I got a whole bunch from Amanda...So he ate 3 pancakes, and 2 scrambled eggs...He always eats best at breakfast....

Best story for Christopher this week....(I have 2)
First story...
So Christopher comes home after the first day of school, and I ask him...How was school?
He says...Meme it was good, but I don't know about the bus in the afternoon?
(reminder: Christopher hasn't been on a bus since he was really young, and I'm not sure he has ever been on a school bus as a matter of fact?)
I say....what happen?
He says....Well the driver didn't know where I lived. I kept telling her I live at 247 knight road, but she couldn't find it. She just drove around for like an hour, and couldn't find our house. So, she gave me this card for you to fill out so she will know where I live.
I say...Well how did you finally find the house?
He says....Denny took care of it.
(Denny is the next door neighbor)
I must say I was concerned, but I didn't know what to do. So I took the card, and off he went.
The next morning I tell Chris, and he says What? So I have another conversation with Christopher....
I say....Christopher was Denny on the bus the whole time?
He said....yes she was. Meme I kept telling the bus driver where I lived. She just kept going down the wrong roads.
I say...Christopher were people getting off the bus.
He said...yes but I kept telling her that it wasn't my house, or street.
I laugh....I tried not to but couldn't help myself. Chris says what's going on?
I say....Christopher can't understand why when he gets on the bus at the school it doesn't bring him straight home...So, every time the bus driver would stop he would say this isn't my stop, I live at 247 knight road....
Christopher interrupts and says...I was sitting in the back of the bus, so when she would stop I would walk up to the front and let her know this wasn't the right place. Then I would go sit down.
I laughed...I tried not too...
I sat Christopher down and explained to him how the bus works. Then everyone packed up their stuff, and set off for the day. 15 minutes later Christopher turn to me and says I hope the bus driver can find our house this afternoon. I'll give her the address card...Please say a small prayer for Christopher today....LOL

Second story....
Christopher tells me Wednesday night that some girl comes up to his desk and starts talking to him. While she is talking to him, she is asking all these questions, and twirling her hair. Then after she sits down she just kept staring at him.
I ask him...What's her name?
He said...I don't know?
I say....Is she cute?
He said...Yes.
I say...do you want to talk to her again?
He said ....yes.
So, I give him alittle lesson on what to say to her. On Thursday night he comes to me and says...She kissed me...
I say...What happened?
He says...I went over to her and said what you told me too. I said I've been thinking of you since yesterday. Could you please write your name, and number down for me so I can call you this afternoon. And guess what Meme she didn't give me her number, but her name is Rebecca, and she gave me a kiss when we were done talking.
He didn't really say to much else about this, but you know this weekend we will have to have a talk.....LOL

Best story about Kelsea....
She started a new diet this week. You do it 3 days in a row, and they break 1 day, and back on for 3....She has totally stuck with it..Way to go. Also, she had her first Hip Hop, Tap, and Jazz dance class this week. I think she really liked it. Good for her. She didn't really do anything weird...maybe next week...LOL

Best story about Lynsey (I have 2)
The first is about 'the man'...I know you have heard the term before. I mean everyone answers to 'The Man'...Well Lysney comes to me and asks if she can go to the football game Friday night.
I say...yes
She says...What's my curfew?
I say...11:45, but if you are going to be late call, but you don't have much of a window because you can't drive after midnight.
She says..Meme we really wanted to go to midnight bowling at the strike zone. It's over at 1
I say...I'm sorry 'the man' says you can't drive after midnight.
She says...I don't want to listen to 'the man'
I say...listen I don't want to listen to 'the man' either, but we all do. I mean everyday I drive on the causeway, and 'the man' says I can only go 50 but I'd like to go 80...it's just life
She says...I hate Obama
I say....When I say 'the man' I'm not always talking about Obama, sometimes its the law, or Daddy, or....whoever we have to answer to, or is in charge....
She says...I hate 'the man'
I say....get used to it...LOL

Second story...
We go to the church to pick up Christopher, and she referred to one of the boys as 'There's my tall, dark, and handsome'....LOL (I can't tell you who she said that about, but I will say this, you would agree with the description) I'm trying to get her to ask him to homecoming...what could it hurt?

Last but not least Bethany.....
I wish I had something really cute and funny, oh I do I do....
So as you know Bethany loves Andy Warhol. Well we made a deal. At night after she reads, I read to her from the Biography on Andy Warhol. She says when I read to her from this book she sees it like a movie in her head. Any way we get to a part where we find out that Andy Warhol is a homosexual...yes folks I said homosexual to my 9 year old. Then it says that it was during a time when it was difficult to be openly gay. That's when she understood what I was saying.
She said....I thought that the word homo whatever was going to be gay.
I said...yes homosexual means that you want to be with someone of the same sex...Guys love Guys, and Girls love Girls.
She said...So Andy Warhol loved boys, and he was a boy.
I said...Yes
She didn't really say to much else, we talked about some other stuff we learned.
Then she said...I wanted him to have kids.
I say...I don't know maybe he adopts later?
Then she went to bed....
At breakfast before everyone comes out she says...Meme I'm alittle upset about what we learned about Andy Warhol.
I said...You mean that he's gay.
She said...yes
I said...Bethany we saw pictures of him dressed as a woman, he said he never wanted to be an artist he wanted to be a tap dancer, he said his idol was Shirley Temple...
She said...I know I just don't know.
I said...Well some people are gay, and we just have to deal with it. Not everyone lives their life how we want them to, but that doesn't mean we can't love them, and appreciate their work.
She said...okay
I said...I don't want the fact that Andy Warhol is gay to change how much you love his work, and how much you enjoy knowing about him, and learning about him.
She said...okay
I said...We all make choices how to live our lives, and he choose to live his life differently then we do, but I still like to learn about his life, and his art, and I love to read his quotes. I think he was fantastic.
She said...me too.
I will have to have another talk with her about this over the weekend. Do you have any words of wisdom I can pass to Bethany?

Zac Brown Band - "Whatever It Is"

2010-08-25T20:28:00.000+07:00

Zac Brown Band - "Whatever It Is": "The Foundation"

I just really love this song. I am falling in love with this band. You really should check it out.

Now let me tell you why I love this song. I would love for my husband to learn this song and sing it to me...LOL
Read the lyrics and you'll want your husband to sing it to you too....

Fun fact about this song: This song was written 10 years ago in the year 2000...which I would like to remind everyone that's when Chris and I met....So as you can see this song was written about us of course...LOL

She's got eyes that cut you like a knife and
her lips that taste like sweet red wine
and her pretty legs go to heaven every time
She got a gentle way that puts me at ease
When she walks in the room I can hardly breathe
Got a devastating smile knock a grown man to his knees

She's got whatever it is
It blows me away
She's everything I want to say to a woman
but couldn't find the words to say
She's got whatever it is
I don't know what to do
And every time I try and tell her how I feel
it comes out 'I Love You'
You got whatever it is

You know I've never been the type that would ever want to stay
Bring'em home at night and they're gone the next day
But that all changed when she walked into my life
And people ask me what it is
I tell them I don't know
There's just something about the woman makes my heart go haywire
And she's gonna be my wife

She's got whatever it is
It blows me away
She's everything I want to say to a woman
but couldn't find the words to say
She's got whatever it is
I don't know what to do
And every time I try and tell her how I feel
it comes out 'I Love You'
You got whatever it is

Now when you love me
Girl that's how I fell
When you love me I'm on top of the world
When you love me I can live forever
When you love me I am untouchable

You got whatever it is
It blows me away
Your everything I want to say to a woman
But couldn't find the words to say
You got whatever it is
I don't know what to do
Every time I try and tell her how I feel
it comes out 'I Love You'
I do
You got whatever it is....

Say hello to my little friend...

2010-08-22T21:38:00.002+07:00

I woke up this morning and decided to get in gear. I went into the laundry room and was taking stuff out of the dryer, when something caught my eye. This little guy was standing in the middle of the dryer, and I was eye level with him. He was standing on his hind legs waving his front legs in the air at me, opening and closing his mouth.
I jumped back and started screaming. Which made him fall onto all fours, and scoot backwards to this position in the picture.
I called the kids in to see, and took this picture, and then shut the door.
When Chris got home are little friend was gone. We set a trap for him, but he didn't fall for it.
Chris said he has rabies. I think Chris is crazy. If this little thing has rabies he would have been jumping at me.
However, what does scare me is that this thing is a baby possum, and where ever there is a baby there is a Mama....now the Mama will make me have a stroke...LOL

I will use this as my excuse to not do laundry today, but tomorrow possum or no possum I have to go into the laundry room.
I'm really afraid that I will be going through the laundry, and there the little one will be, or the big one for that matter....I'll keep you posted...

Sunshine Cutie Birthday Party!!

2010-08-21T21:40:00.002+07:00

Bethany had a Sunshine Cutie Harajuku Birthday Party today!

Happy 9th Birthday baby girl!
Can you tell how much she is loving this birthday party...

I got these little cardboard displays off ebay. They were a huge hit. I want to put them up for the next party.
We had walking tacos for lunch, and a great cake from Holloways. We also swam, and sang karaoke inside. Tons of fun!! The rain stayed away until later. Bethany said that it didn't rain because she had a private conversation with Mother Nature...LOL

Lucas, Jeffery, and Jonathon

Shelby, and Bethany

Noah, and Kelsea

My cousin Stacey is in the Navy, and she is stationed down in Jacksonville. So, they came up for the party. It was really nice to see her, and I look forward to spending more time with her and her family. This is her and her daughter Ellie.

The birthday girl Bethany...

The cutest Sunshine Cutie cake ever..

Group Picture regular

Group picture peace style

On to the presents...she really got some really great gifts this year.

Baby ZuZu

Whimzy

Beannie hats from Victoria, made by her Mom Lenee. If you are interested she can make them any style and any color.

This came from Aunt Amanda and her crew....Bethany is in love with this Monster High doll....I know she wants to go see the rest...just great a new something for her to obsess over...LOL

Crazy erasers...love these

Thanks Aunt Amanda now she thinks she needs a cupcake to be calm...LOL

A keychain that looks like a Harajuku..She really loved this...Thanks Jonathon...

A rockstar Zuzu pet...

Her friend Jayce got her this cute peace bag...

Lucas got her this great $10.00 bill ring. He is such a rockstar...LOL

Aunt Harmony sent a package, and it arrived this morning just in time. It had cheer socks, which now she thinks she needs to be a cheerleader...LOL It also had a Dreamie sheet set. Which is silkie sheets...I know she will love them.

This is Cousin Stacey's other daughter Aspen. She is a nice girl. I look forward to getting to know more about her.

Madi loves the pool.

Bethany, and Ashely.

Jackson, Hannah, Jayce, and Jonathon

Bethany, and Victoria...I was so glad Victoria could come. She has been coming to Bethany's birthday parties since Bethany was 2 I think...How sweet. They have known each other for 7 years....

Jeffery, Katlyn, Bethany, and Christopher

Katlyn and Bethany

Bethany and Shelby

Bethany, and Kelsea

The little Neighbor girl Cricket

Jackson, Bethany, Christopher, Madi, and Tiffany

Bethany, and Emily

Now on to the Karaoke....

Jeffery thought he was a rockstar

Leah dropped by and sang. I missed her songs because I was a little busy, but I'm sure she rocked it. Doesn't she look great!!

Kelsea, and Ashley

Amanda, and Andrew

Madi loved to sing, but Amanda really wanted to sing this Taylor Swift song....LOL

So Madi got the mic, and Amanda sang as loud as she could...I loved it..

Bethany, and Ashely singing

Katlyn, and Ashely singing

All in all I think it was a great party. Bethany had a really good time with all her little friends. We really should have fun like that more often..Although I did fall asleep sitting straight up in the chair at 7:30pm that night...LOL I was just so tired I couldn't stand myself....

First Day of School 2010

2010-08-19T07:30:00.001+07:00

Does this look like someone who is really excited about the new school year? Actually I told her she looks like her idol Andy Warhol...LOL

On with the regularly scheduled program....

First ready this morning was Lynsey Kirkland...Yes can you believe it the Senior was ready first. She picked this outfit out herself. She spent a good deal of her back to school money on this one outfit, and bargain shopped for the rest. I love this outfit. The color is great, and Leah did her hair last night. I think it looks fabulous....as Lynsey would say 'Holler at a girl when she looks good'....
I don't think that key really goes to anything....

She got this back pack at K K's....

Next up and ready was Kelsea Kirkland. One of the newest editions to BHS. She hates to be referred to as Fresh Meat...so we will just call her the Freshmen....LOL. She picked out the top half of the outfit from Rue 21, and got the pants from I don't know where? I think she looks super great, and super sassy....She was nervous this morning, but uber excited...

Love love love the necklace.....

She got her back pack from K K's as well....I think the reason that they have their names put on them is so that while they are at school everyone will know who they are? Or maybe they need reminding of who they are?....Just Kidding....However, at a certain age you don't want your name on stuff, then all of a sudden you want it again? Sometimes I can't kept up....LOL

They were going to Seminary this morning. They called me after it was over, and said they loved it and it was fun. They also said they might like to do it again. I hope they choose yes... Look how happy and close they look together here in this picture.. They were getting along so well last night and this morning. They even slept together last night, by choice....I love that...How long do you think the nicey nice will last? Boys are crazy, I mean you would think they would have to beating them back with a big stick wouldn't you?

After the big girls were done the younger ones got up, and they were ready to go go go.....

Noah got his mow hawk trimmed to a fohawk last night. I love his new hair. Of course we had to have an orange outfit for the first day. (it's Noah's favorite color)

He tried to have a sweet innocent face for this next picture, but the eyes give him away...He wanted a big boy book bag this year..

He really is excited about having Mrs. Chapman this year. He says she is really nice, and that she gives good treats...LOL

Okay this is fashionista Bethany...she is totally ready for the 4th grade this year. She told me it's going to be a very hard, but great year. She said she was going to really try to do better at school this year....She choose this shirt because for one it says how great she is, and also because Jayce is going to wear the same one today...LOL Leah did her hair last night, yes I know she is 9, yes it is alot old for her, no it wasn't on purpose, yes I think it looks good, yes we will do something different when the roots come in....Now that those answers are out there, if you have any other questions let me know....LOL

I think she is beautiful.....she really looks like the sun....I think in her heart this turned out exactly the way she wanted it....LOL I mean doesn't everyone want to look like a sunshine cutie?

She got this book bag for her birthday. It is a Harajuku Lovers book bag. She was thrilled.

Christopher get to go to middle school this year. Today he is officially a 6th grader. He is so looking forward to being a teenager, but will settle with the title of pre-teen for now. He was really excited about fitting into aeropostale, and american eagle clothes this year. I didn't get him alot of that stuff, but I did find some really good deals in those stores. To good to pass up...

Leah cut his hair last night. He is not a fan of spikey, but this morning he told me the look really suits him....I love him....

He picked out this book bag from Element. You can hook a skateboard on the front. That's the part he loves the best, but I informed his he will not be taking a skateboard to school ever. He said he knows he just likes the options...LOL

There is some major love between these to boys...I'm so glad that they have each other....

I got up and made yummy eggs/sausage/cheese biscuits for breakfast. I really need to do breakfast for them in the mornings, they do love to eat before school....Maybe I will commit to it...LOL

I think it's going to be 1 great year this year....

My new kitchen shelves

2010-08-15T00:47:00.002+07:00

Look what the King built....in my kitchen...under the window that goes into my living room. We kind of borrowed the idea from Amanda's house. You see when they were remodeling Josh had this built in shelving done for Amanda, and of course I wanted one, and so I kept telling Chris how much I loved them, and the rest is history...

I couldn't wait to fill it with jars. As you can see it is 2 pint shelves, and 2 quart shelves. Only the wide mouths fit right, which is fine by me. They are my favorite jars anyway. Also each shelf is 2 jars deep.

You can see I have left a space to put my blackberry/blueberry jam I made with Amanda and Courtney...but left at Amanda's....LOL

I have been asked if I will use these jars first? The answer for now is a big NO....it is to pretty...but reality will strike one day, and I will pull from here first for 2 reasons....

1. it will be quicker

2. I'm to lazy to walk the extra steps to get it from somewhere else...LOL

Try not to be to green with envy....just copy it in your own kitchen...LOL

Happy 9th Birthday Bethany!

2010-08-14T23:49:00.000+07:00

Well my little baby girl turned 9 today....she is so sweet...We took her to Joe's Japanese Steakhouse for dinner. She got this new Harajuku Lovers outfit for her birthday.Lynsey did her make-up, and painted her toes. We were suppose to go to Spanky's for family karaoke, but it rained. She was very sad about not being able to perform...

We will be having a birthday party for her next Saturday. We will have lunch, swim, and sing karaoke. Yes and don't worry Bethany there will be dancing too!!

Me and my friends be Jammin'

2010-08-13T06:39:00.003+07:00

We be Jammin' on Monday

On August 9, 2010 Courtney, and I went to Amanda's house to make blueberry/blackberry jam. Look how pretty these blackberries are. I think they are the biggest ones I've ever seen.

Amanda, and I bought the blackberries from the Farmers Market, up by Atlanta.

I let the kids take some pictures of me since the adults were busy.

From afar the blueberries looked really good too, but now so much up close...LOL
Amanda and Courtney went over to Nanny's and got the blueberries. While they were there she put her order in for some jars...LOL

All in all it was a really good time with them. I can't wait to find out what the next project is going to be. It just seems like we have to really schedule something productive for us to get together, because we are always so busy. Can you believe we got like 3 and a half dozen jars of jam...WOW that's alot of jammin'

We be jammin' on Thursday...

On August 12, 2010 I invited my Karin over to teach her how to make peach jam. I don't think I taught very well. I don't think she will ever be making jam on her own, but she did say she had a good time.

Since Lysey thinks that from up above is the best angle for her it must be the best angle for everyone.....LOL

We made 16 pints of peach jam....that's alot for her very first session. The only reason we stopped is that we ran out of sure jell....

I was really worried about Karin coming to my house to make jam. I have never really had her over. Well she did stop over one time for like a minute, but I had never had her over for a visit, or anything like that. I wouldn't have a problem with her coming another time. Maybe she will want to make tomato sauce...LOL
Jam on yall!

Uncle Clemon

2010-08-13T06:12:00.001+07:00

Uncle Clemon H. Griffis passed away yesterday afternoon. He was Nanny's brother. Which I guess makes him my Great Uncle Clemon, but we just always called him Uncle Clemon.

2 Timothy 4:6-8

6 For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand.

7 I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith:

8 Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord,
the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all
them also that love his appearing.

I want to tell you a story dear to me about Uncle Clemon. When I married into this great big family there was alot of them and only one of me.....LOL So it took a long time for me to really get who everyone was and how they were all related...I'm still not that great at it, and I've been married to Chris for 10 years....

Anyway. When I was at church Uncle Clemon would sit right in front of us. Most of the time alone. I knew he was Nanny's brother, and I do love old people. Anyway, he was always walking out of chapel alone with his cane. So, I would always talk to him just for a minute, and give him a pat on the hand, which turned into a kiss on the cheek after awhile. He would always smile and say something, and off he would go.
For a long time, a couple of months, I just thought he was a widow. (sorry Aunt Kathy) I just assumed...(I know the saying about assuming)
Then when I was thrown a baby shower I say to Chris. 'Hey they are having a shower for me out at Aunt Kathy's can you drive me out there'....he said you mean 'Uncle Clemon's'...I say no 'Aunt Kathy's...you know Kathy Griffis'...He said 'Yeah I know Uncle Clemon's'....I say 'I think your wrong....it's Aunt Kathy's...just call your Mom'...So he did and didn't say anything to me about it...Then I'm sitting at Aunt Kathy's and I see this picture on the wall of a very young Aunt Kathy and Uncle Clemon and it hit me like a ton of bricks. I say right out loud in front of everyone 'I didn't know you were married to Uncle Clemon...I thought he was a widow'....

Yes, I am a big dork...I should've kept it to myslef...I was younger and much stupider then I am now..
You see Aunt Kathy always directed the music up on stage in front of the whole church...That's why Uncle Clemon always sat alone..instead of being able to sit with his bride, he was able to watch her from afar...That is a romantic way to look at it isn't it.....yes I'm still a dork...

Andy Warhol

2010-08-02T21:41:00.001+07:00

Mrs. Cravey taught Bethany, and Noah about Andy Warhol last year. Bethany is really in love with his work, and his life. I mean really. She was really excited to hear there is a museum all about him in Pittsburgh. She was suppose to go this summer, but things happened and they just couldn't. But in the airport they had a really great display. So, we took lots of pictures, and read all about him, and they had some stuff in the gift shop there. Now Bethany even loves him more.

I don't know if you could really understand how excited she was about this display....LOL

Of course Noah couldn't stand it. He said I love him to, take my picture to.....Oh, Bethany was so mad at him....

She wanted a chapter book about his life. So she was reading it on the plane...She looks at me and says...Mama this says 'I never wanted to be an artist, I wanted to be a tap dancer' Oh, she not only loves him, she feels like she can relate with him....LOL Then she reads awhile and says...Mama did you know that his idol was Shirley Temple?

Happy Birthday To Me!!

2010-07-29T21:06:00.003+07:00

This year for my birthday was in Pennsylvania. I turned 35 this year. I don't feel 35...

I really wanted a Birthday party. So, my Mom made arrangements with Linda to have it a Turner's. They hired a karaoke D.J., and a ton of people showed up....I wish I had more pictures, but you know I always wish there was more pictures...LOL
This is me and some of my friends from the party. Back row right to left: Ashley (this is Harmony's friend she seems really nice), Harmony (my sister), Me (I have to say I love this picture of me), Becky (she is my cousin), Front row right to left: Casey (she is a friend of Harmony's I meet her last year, she is a nice girl), Amanda (she is a cousin from Ohio, she loves to take pictures), and Natica (I consider her a very good friend, I worked with her for a long time, she has such a cute family, and I was really excited to see her)

This is Me, George, and Harmony. George is our cousin. We love George, I can never seem to get enough of him when we are together. He is the same age as me. We were close when we were kids. He was really close to my brother Jimmy. George and I have had some pretty serious talks over the years, and that has created a bond. Once he told me 'I never had sisters, so I always thought of you and Harmony as sisters'...I'm so glad he said that...I've always thought of him as my other brother...one day I will write a great post about him, but this is suppose to be about me....LOL

Dad, Me, and Mom

Teresa, and Me...I'm so glad that she came...I hadn't seen her is awhile...I wish her sister Tina would have come as well, but she totally flaked on me...LOL
Me, and Toni...Toni has been my best friend since 5th grade. We lived together at one time, and she has been with me a long time....We have not hung out, or talked in a while, but as soon as we were together it felt like no time had past....

This is my Dad, Aunt Cindy, and Aunt Sandy.....Aunt Cindy, and Aunt Sandy are Dad's oldest sisters....They are singing 'I Got You Babe'....LOL

I'm so glad that they came....
My Mom, and Dad....I'm so glad they are friends now.

George, Sam, and some guy I didn't know...LOL

Sam thought she was like a rock star. She started tipping her mic more and more....

Me, and my Uncle Greg...This is Tim's Brother...LOL okay it's my Dad's youngest brother. They are all brothers. Uncle Greg had a really good time. I feel like I must tell you what happen after he got home...LOL

Has you can see he was feeling pretty good...LOL When he got home he ate out of the fridge. I mean right out of the fridge, left the fork and everything. He went into his family room, and flipped through the channels, and decided to go to bed. Crawled into bed, and burped right into Aunt Michelle's face. She hollers at him and tells him to go sleep somewhere else...So he goes to Greggie's old room. Rolls around, and gets nice and comfy...Then Aunt Michelle thinks oh my all Greggie's wedding stuff was in there. She goes in and there he is wrapped up in Judy's Wedding dress out like a light....LOL He just went in there and wrapped himself up in what he thought was blankets...LOL

Dad, and George

George, and Uncle Greg

George, and I singing 'Pictures'. We kind of look like Kid Rock, and Sheryl Crow don't we?

Me, and Zeek...Wow! This was a blast from the past. I hadn't seen Zeek in more than 10 years. He was really good friends with my brother. I have to say I was alittle freaked out. I just kept looking at him, and hugged him several times.

Sam, and Chris

Karaoke D.J. Jimmy

It was a good time. There was alot more people there then I have pictures of. It was standing room only. Karaoke was a huge success...They totally should have it more often...or they could just wait until the next time I come into town...LOL

Tomato, Tomato, Tomato, Tomato

2010-07-22T06:10:00.001+07:00

I wish I looked this good when I was canning my tomatoes. I will admit I felt pretty great doing all this work, and I may have reached this kind of excitement on the inside....LOL BUT I didn't look this good, and I don't think I could ever allow myself to be this messy...I mean I would be the one cleaning it all up....LOL

You know I went to the Farmer's market, and I bought a boat load of tomatoes. They had heirloom tomatoes, which I'd never seen one before. If you haven't you won't see one here either, because I forgot to take a picture of them. Anyway, I got a 20 lbs. box for $10.00. We ate a few, and gave a few away. Everyone said they were good. Last night I made tomato sauce with just this kind. I can't wait to try it in my food to see if I can tell the difference.

We also bought 100 lbs of other tomatoes. Yes folks I said 100 lbs. It came as four 25 lbs boxes. They were $14.00 a piece. I really only wanted 3 but Chris said we needed 4. He was right. Out of all of those I have 16 left, and they are beautiful. We made 30 quarts of sauce, 10 quarts of stewed tomato/okra, and 16 pints of salsa....YUMMY!

Tonight I am going to clean the box of cherry tomatoes we bought. The big box was $10.00. I think it is like 15-20 lbs. After I wash them all, I am going to lay them out to dry, then bag them, and freeze them. Then when I'm cooking my yummy sauce, or chili, or soup I can just pop however many I want into some hot water, slip the skins off and pop them in my dishes. That way I'll have fresh yummy sunshine cherry tomatoes in the dead, dark winter. Yeah baby, that's what I'm talking about.

I thought after I canned, and froze all my tomatoes I would start to feel like the title of this children's book:

But I don't. I have really loved this whole thing. Really. Chris and I have been having a wonderful time doing this together. That's right folks, he rolls his sleeves up and just get busy with me. I think he really likes it to. He says he has really enjoyed this time with me. That makes is all worth it to me.

I haven't got tired of doing tomatoes yet, and I feel like I need some more. I need more sauce, and I need to can some crushed.....Oh and I need some plain stewed with veggie...LOL

I will admit I think when I looked down at the lonely 16 left, I swear the one farthest to the left looked just like this:Maybe I do need a break!! LOL

Here is what I did with the left over tomato sauce from the batches I did. I took those wonderful looking green peppers I got, that were the size of coffee mugs, and made the most wonderful stuffed peppers....Yummy!!

Stuffed Peppers

5 large green peppers (or as many as will fit in your crock pot or roaster)

1 lb of hamburger

1 lb of pork sausage

1 vidalia onion

1 green pepper

1 1/2 cups to 2 cups bread crumbs

2 to 4 eggs

seasonings (salt, oregano, A1, or whatever your tastes are that day)

Tomato sauce (homade or from a can...LOL)

Cut the tops off your peppers, and clean them out, but leave them whole. Then chop up your onion, 1 green pepper. Mix that with your meat, bread crumbs, eggs, and seasoning. Stuff that mixture into your peppers. Fill them up, and just alittle over. Place stuffed peppers in crock pot or roaster. Make meatballs with the remaining mixture and place around the peppers. Pour tomato sauce over everything. I put these on High in my crock pot. I didn't time how long they took. When they were done we ate them. I would say maybe 2-3 hours on high. My guess for the oven would be 350 for that amount of time.

I served fresh corn on the cob with this. Growing up my mom used to use rice instead of bread crumbs. You could serve rice on the side with this. My mom used to serve mashed potatoes, and we used the sauce as gravy. The sauce with thicken, and it is some kind of good.

Farmer's Market (south of Atlanta)

2010-07-18T23:00:00.001+07:00

Chris and I decided to go to the Farmer's Market south of Atlanta on Saturday. I had read on the Internet that they were open on Saturday from 6am-Noon....this was untrue...they are open 364 days a year...and they have alot to sell.
When we got there we went to talk to someone in the visitor center to find out what to do. She gave us a map, and instructions. She was really helpful. She showed us were to go to get local. Yes that's right they have all the Georgia Local Farmers together...I love buying local. Then she showed us where to go after. Like all the South Carolina, and Florida farmers were together...and so on.....

This is what it looks like. The produce is on platforms, and there is a lane on each side to park, and two lanes down the middle for driving.

Here is a really great example of the deal we got on all this stuff. See these giant boxes of green peppers? Well they look pretty good don't they? Here have a closer look....

We paid $14.00 for the whole box....I thought that was pretty good. We bought 2 boxes..

These are sebennaro peppers. They were $10.00 for a half bushel. We bought 1 box.

We bought alot of stuff like.....

50 lbs of carrots -18.00

25 lbs of tomatoes -14.00

50 lbs of vidallia onions - 40.00

25 lbs of peaches - 15.00

20 lbs of heirloom tomatoes - 10.00

20 lbs of cherry tomatoes - 10.00

50 lbs of peas - 16.00 (not shelled)

bushel of snap beans - 15.00

1/2 bushel okra - 10.00

50 ears of silver queen corn - 10.00

There really is to many things to write about. I loved going up there. I can't wait to go again. They have a nursery and we bought a yellow plum tree, and some rose bushes, and some azalea bushes. I will take pictures of that stuff and post another time. It took about 4 and a half hours to get there but it was totally worth it.

We stopped in Warner Robins and eat with Jeff and Lisa. I wish I would have taken just one picture with them or of them....I'm so lame.....

Michael Buble 'Crazy Love Tour 2010'

2010-07-18T22:19:00.000+07:00

As most of you know I went to see Michael Bulbe with some friends (who are also family...yes I'm blessed)!! It was AWESOME!!
We went to the Olive Garden for dinner, then we were off to the show. We had great seats in the 17th row....

When we were next to the Veterans Memorial Center, we stopped and asked a man who had a press badge on what he was doing. He said a concert. We also found out that he was going to take pictures of Michael Buble. We would've followed him, but we hadn't yet parked...LOL

Then as we were going in he was there and took this picture of us with my camera....LOL

So then I had my picture taken with him. His name is Randy T. Lefko. He takes pictures for www.jacksonville.com
We couldn't go without getting our pictures by the large posters. Even though we had 'floor' seats we walked upstairs to get these photos...

This is us in our seats waiting for the show....

Gigi didn't go with Amanda and I the first time we saw Michael in concert. That's when we ended up with an empty seat beside us, and we took the shot showing Gigi that she should come along. Well this year our sister in law was invited...cough cough...Courtney, and she said no. Something about it was Ethan's birthday...okay I guess your kids are important...but you did already have his 'birthday party' a few days before....So this year you are getting called out with the

'This One's For You'

So there he is..the one...the only...Michael Buble...See ours seats were good....try not to be to sad for yourself...

So during the concert we saw all these people walking up to the front and taking pictures...well I had to go.....He was singing 'Georgia On My Mind'...which I have always felt was my song after I moved here in 2000. Anyway he was sitting right there at the end of the row...I was thinking..Please look at me...Please look at me...my heart was pounding...I was right in front of him...He looks right at me, and I at him....what does a girl do???? I stand there like a dork, and wave...LOL like he would wave back...Then I took a bunch of blurry pictures, and this really nice one....

yes I really took this picture myself...

Then the guy with the horn started to blow...

Then I was asked by security to leave...LOL

So then Amanda went up to take a picture of Michael...only she wanted to get one with herself and him together.....even though her eyes looks weird, I wish I would have thought of it instead of standing and waving like a dork...

She also took this picture.

Then he came down off the stage and started walking through the crowd to a small stage in the middle. There was no way we could get over to him. So, we stood on chairs and I took these pictures.

This was when he sang "All I Do Is Dream" with Naturally 7.

Then Naturally 7 leaves, and he tells us he is going to sing a song he wrote a few years ago. Then he starts singing 'Free Bird'....LOL Then he stops and says seriously....Then he starts to sing 'Every Rose Has A Thorn'....LOL....Then he says okay okay...and he starts singing 'Home'....When he was on the long hoooommmeee part the lights would come up, and here's a picture...I thought it turned out really good.

After the show we had to go up and meet Naturally 7 again. We had our pictures taken with our favorites....

This show was totally AWESOME!! If you ever get the chance to see him you should...Some of the funniest things Michael did was he sang 'Billie Jean' and danced like Michael Jackson....loved it. Also, he is just really really funny. He tells jokes, and stories, that had us rolling.....I love him even more now then I did before...yes it is possible...I'm telling you one day I will meet him...one day....

Michael Buble countdown....

2010-07-07T21:16:00.002+07:00

We are going to see Michael in 4 days.....I just looked at the post I made about our tickets.
I am totally excited.....

Salsa

2010-07-01T22:27:00.000+07:00

This past weekend I made my very first homemade salsa. The day I made it I was also doing peaches, and bread, and jam....it was a busy day. Amanda told me that Nanny wanted to know if I wanted to put up some tomatoes. I never did it before, but I really wanted to do it. So I went over to Nanny's and she told me I could have tomatoes from the second table. Chris and I got 2 walmart bags full. Yum! I was afraid to take anymore because sometimes when I don't know what I'm doing I just make a mess out of it, and then I have to throw it to the hog. Anyway, I was alittle overwhelmed by the project, but know that it is done I can't wait to do it again on a larger scale.
I used the recipe from my Blue Ball Canning Book. It's called Zesty Salsa. The day I made it I thought it would be really spicy, and it was just alittle mild. Then we ate it again a couple of nights later, and it wasn't really spicy at all. It was kid friendly I think. This recipe made 8 pints. I want to wait about a month to make more. Someone in the family said they made salsa and like a month later when they opened it the vinegar had taken over. I'm really afraid of that. Also Harmony had another recipe for salsa I want to try...LOL We will see....
Zesty Salsa
10 c. chopped, seeded, peeled, cored tomatoes (about 6 lbs) ( I didn't seed)
5 c. chopped & seeded long green peppers (about 2 lbs)
5 c. chopped onions (about 1 1/2 lbs)
2 1/2 c. chopped & seeded hot peppers (about 1 lb)
1 1/4 c. cider vinegar
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp. cilantro, minced
3 tsp. salt
1 tsp. hot pepper sauce (opt)(I didn't use this)
3 jalapeno peppers
1 sebenero pepper
Directions:
Combine all ingredients in a large sauce pot, adding hot pepper sauce, if desired. Bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat & simmer 10 minutes. Ladle hot salsa into hot jars, leaving 1/4" headspace. Adjust two-piece caps. Process 15 minutes in a boiling-water canner. Yield: about 6 pints. (mine made 8 pints)
When cutting or seeding hot peppers, wear rubber gloves to prevent hands from being burned.

How much salsa can a family eat? I don't know but I'm going to keep track...LOL

Kirkland Sweet Cucumber Relish

2010-06-30T23:34:00.002+07:00

This stuff is so good...no really I'm not kidding. This stuff is so yummy! You might be asking yourself, how much relish can one person eat? The answer is alot! You can use is on hot dogs, hamburgers, any kind of sandwich that you would put pickles, tuna fish, chicken salad, potato salad, egg salad, or if you just want alittle get yourself a spoon and have just alittle. Which sounds gross, but with the lap band pickles are a no go, and sometimes I just want a pickle...LOL

I called my mother-in-law and asked her where did this recipe come from? In a nut shell she told me she was tired of making pickles because they took 14 days, and she was chopping them up anyway to put in her stuff. So, she thought she would just do what was easier...LOL I do love easier.

Since the cucumbers have been coming in so well this year we have been getting together to do relish. Josh and Amanda were so smart to grow them on this fence. Next year Chris and I are going to help with the planting process.

We get together once a week to do the relish. How much relish have we done? 276 quarts! Yeah US! We are going to stop now. Not because we think we have enough, not because the cucumbers quit growing, not because we are totally sick of each other....LOL

No seriously we are going to stop now because we are not producing enough of the other ingredients to be cost efficient.....LOL
I am going to miss our little relish making nights. I have really loved, and looked forward to spending time with Amanda, and Courtney. I mean I love the rest of yall too...LOL! But the three of us together working on a project was really nice. I don't think nice is the right word....more awesome then nice...but awesome is such a cheap word...anyway you get the picture.

A couple of little things I learned about making relish is this. You can't use the cucumbers from the store. They have been waxed. Unless you get the organic ones for pickling. I really saw some at Winn Dixie, they were $1.59 a pound. You can never seem to have enough jars on hand...LOL A food chopper is your very best friend...LOL Last but not least the food chopping measurements are not an exact science. What I mean is close is good enough...LOL

Now for the recipe:

Kirkland Sweet Cucumber Relish
4 quarts of chopped cucumbers
4 quarts of chopped onions
2 quarts of peppers (mix of red, green, yellow, and orange)
3oz. Pickling spice
Cheese cloth
4 cups Apple cider vinegar (store brand)
7 cups Sugar

Chop veggies with a food processor. Use the cheese cloth to make a spice bag with the pickling spices. After you chop everything mix it together, and squeeze the juice out with your hands before you put in the pan to cook. (We call this making cucumber meatball) You bring the vinegar, and sugar to a boil, then add the cucumber meatballs, and spice ball. You bring that to a boil, and cook for 30 minutes. Stir a lot, so it doesn’t stick, or burn.
Get your jars ready, and the lids on. Fill hot jars; wipe the rims, and put hot lids and rings on. Cover. They will seal themselves.

***Some like their relish with a lot of broth, some like it with more relish and just a smidgen of broth. It doesn’t matter. When we do it whoever does the filling of the jars does it however they want. We use a strainer scoop, a ladle, and a funnel to fill the jars.

Note to self: take pictures of the process, and of ourselves making it...DUH!! I swear I'll never learn.

Noah James

2010-06-28T22:56:00.000+07:00

This is Noah's last dance pictures. His ballet dance was called 'Rainbow Connection'. It was choreographed by Ms. Jessica. It was the song by Kermit the frog called 'Rainbow Connection' mixed with his other song called 'It's Not Easy Being Green'...

Cousins who dance

2010-06-24T02:18:00.001+07:00

I love that Madi, Emma Mae, and MacKenzie all take dance at JDSD. I love all these pictures....

Cuban Pete

2010-06-23T23:29:00.000+07:00

Madi, and Noah were in two dance classes together. The were so cute. Noah couldn't wait to dance with Madi. Madi knew all the words to the songs and sang right along with them. My husband hates this shirt with a passion, that's why we had some photos done with Madi wearing the tuxedo.

P.S. The program I use to make this wonderful pages is called http://www.artscow.com/
You should really check them out. When I have the pages printed they will be 12x12 and they will be shiny, and they will fit right into their scrapbooks....they also have alot of free designs. I have only ever used the free stuff..AWESOME!

My New Philosophy

2010-06-22T23:47:00.000+07:00

Bethany's solo was 'My New Philosophy' from 'You're A Good Man Charlie Brown'. It was Choreographed by Ms. Jessica. She won alot of awards with this dance. When I'm done with all the dance pictures I will do a layout of her awards. She was totally cute with this. She really was the 'best' Sally Brown.

Roomies

2010-06-18T02:18:00.001+07:00

This is the duet that Lynsey and Erica did this year. It was called 'Roomies'. The song was 'What Is This Feeling?' from the musical 'Wicked'. It was choreographed by Ms. Jessica. This dance won 6th overall at Showstoppers. It was the cutest little dance. Lynsey, and Erica really had their parts down. I loved the wig on Lynsey. We kept thinking we were going to have problems with it staying on, but we didn't. Linda (Erica's Mom) made the props, and altered the costumes. I'm so glad they did this. You will have to wait until I post the video...LOL

Hit The Road Jack

2010-06-11T20:03:00.000+07:00

Ms. Jessica choreographed this tap number. It was 'Hit The Road Jack'. She really liked this number. She liked that they got to act like they were really throwing Jack out....LOL It was very sassy. All the suit cases said something different like 'get lost', 'Jack's stuff'.....Bethany wasn't crazy about the costume, neither was I, but it did look good on stage, and it did photograph well. She really loves her fake hair...She calls it 'Shelia'....Ms. Jessica said it looks like Kim Kardashian...LOL

Boy From New York City

2010-06-11T20:02:00.000+07:00

This was one of Noah's tap numbers this year. He loves the hat, and he loves the cane. It is really cute when he sings into the cane like a microphone. This number was choreographed by Ms. Jessica. I'm surprised that Ms. Jessica lets Noah swing the hat at the end of the cane, and I'm surprised that his hat didn't fly off and hit someone....LOL

Blue Jeans

2010-06-10T20:00:00.001+07:00

Lynsey started off this year in the adult tap class. Then she decided she wasn't going to take that class. Then at the end of the year they asked her to come back. She is sure glad she did. The tap dance was choreographed by Ms. Kim. It was to a country song called 'Blue Jeans'. It doesn't sound country, more of a R&B cross over, but it was so cool. She did a really great job. She really loves the women in her class. Most of all is Ms. Alicia. I can totally understand why....

Swingin' Sixties

2010-06-08T23:53:00.001+07:00

This was the competition jazz class that Noah was in. It was called 'Swingin Sixties'. He was Austin Powers. It was a mix of music, the Austin Powers theme/These Boots are Made For Walkin/Do You Love Me? Very cute dance. This was Noah's first year. He can't wait until next year.

Let Go

2010-06-08T20:59:00.001+07:00

This was Lynsey's lyrical dance. It was called 'Let Go'. It was choreographed by Ms. Krissi. Lynsey really loved this dance, and the scarf, and the costume, and the pictures....LOL okay Lynsey just loves dance!

Dolls

2010-06-08T20:48:00.000+07:00

Bethany did this dance for JDSD. Ms. Krissi choreographed this dance. It won 1st over all at Dance Theatre USA. The dance was called Dolls, the song was 'When She Loved Me' from Toy Story 2. They were suppose to be sad little dolls that were not loved anymore. It was very sad. Bethany was really torn up about this song when Ms. Krissi started to teach it. She didn't think she would be able to do it. It was just to emotional for her. You see right before they started learning this dance Daddy had accidentally sent two big bags of stuffed animals, and dolls to goodwill. He didn't realize that I wanted the stuff in the attic. Anyway, she felt like she was that girl in the song, and that her dolls were really sad. She is so sensitive. I told her to stick with it, and use this emotion. As you can see she really came through like a pro. This ended up being her favorite group dance for the year.

Big Mama Hog

2010-06-07T22:31:00.001+07:00

This is the Big Mama Hog at the farm. She smells, and she slings nasty when she jumps up, but I really wanted to get a picture to show how big she is. So, Noah thought by waving a tomato piece in the air she would jump up. She didn't jump up until she heard Chris digging in the hog feed bucket. Smart Hog....LOL I thought I needed a better picture. I don't think you can really see how big she is, but this might show how gross it can be.
See all the mud and junk on her hooves, and when she jumps she shares it. YUCK!!

Potatoes Vs. The Village....canning potatoes round 2

2010-06-03T06:41:00.001+07:00

You have already seen pictures of the potatoes, now for pictures of the village...LOL

We have Papa Farrell...he is a cutter, washer, and 'the funny man'....well some don't find him funny, but I do. Only because his 'funniness' isn't directed at me.... My 'King' Chris...He is a hauler, washer, cutter, chicken baker, jack of all trades so to speak....He was also very cranky. He didn't find Papa's 'funniness' funny....LOL
This is Amanda she is a filler in of all trades. She refers to this as moving laterally....I call her the food Nazi, or the inspector....She checks everyones work, lets us know what we need to do to improve, and then follows it up with your doin' a great job don't quit. All while smiling her bless your heart smile.....I just love her...

This is Courtney....She is best at washing jars, filling jars, changing pots,...I think she just likes all the jobs that require clean hands....(she's lucky, but we all can't be jar people...LOL)
This is Josh....He thinks of himself as our fearless leader...we think of him as the guy who gives orders alot....LOL Just kidding while he is giving orders and checking on progress he fills in where needed. He is really great at moving us along at the fastest pace possible...At any given random time you can hear him say 'shake n bake people'....every time he says it I think 'boy I do love shake n bake'....LOL Yes, sometimes it's distracting...LOL

NOBODY took any pictures of me. I guess they were all to busy or something....LOL I did want to share one thing...my hands have never looked grosser a day in my life then they do right now. They are so potato stained, it's disgusting.....I also didn't get any pictures of Pat with her wrapped arm...

All in all it was a great couple of days...the potatoes put up a really great fight, but in the end the village won. I have some fun potato facts I learned on the Internet: Every quart jar holds 2.5-3 lbs of potatoes. With that being said I will give some facts on how we beat the potatoes.....
We had 428 quart jars filled with potatoes.
That is 1070-1284 lbs of potatoes which is half a ton of potatoes.
It took almost 36 cases of jars, 3 lbs. of salt, alot of water, and a whole small village.
P.S. If I have forgot anything I'm sorry! I am so tired, and up really early. Just leave me a comment. I'll edit...LOL

Potatoes out the ears.....canning potatoes round 1

2010-06-02T08:16:00.000+07:00

Have you ever read the story "The Little Red Hen"? Well in that story I was always the fat cat. I never would help plant, sow, harvest, prepare, or cook the wheat. I mean that was the little red hen's job. Right? I did however always want to eat the bread.....

Well this year I've turned over a new leaf. I didn't help plant or sow...I came in alittle late in the game, but I think I'm slowing catching on and catching up...

Last Saturday we went out to the farm and dug potatoes. I don't have any pictures to share, because I didn't use my own camera...that will never happen again....Anyway, I 'm not a digger of potatoes. I'm more of a gatherer, hauler, mover of drinks, everything else but digging kind of gal. I'm what you call the big helper...LOL So, what does 3 giant rows of potatoes look like?

It looks like this.

Yes, I know that's alot of dirty, dirty potatoes. How does one clean that many at one time?

This is how...

Look how shiny clean they are now.

We set up a cutting station. And we got busy. During this part I've realized I'm more of a cutter/chopper of the potatoes. I mean I like filling the jars to, but there is something in me that wants to hand put them in, and bang them down to fit more, and redo it and redo it. Then I check the lid to see if it's tight, then I check it again, and again. So that part is harder for me.

We were so busy that I didn't take another picture until the end when we realized we were in trouble with time. Yes sometimes time is not a friend, but an enemy.

We cleaned and cut enough potatoes for 200 quart jars. We were really flying by the seat of our pants last night. We had cut all the potatoes, and had more outside that were wet. What were we going to do. We couldn't stay up all night and process them, we couldn't clean any more. It was getting really late.

The ones in the jars already we filled with water, and put saran wrap over all the jars. The ones still wet in the trailer we brought inside the porch, and laid them all out on towels to dry. How much more you ask?

This is how much more....

That's alot more potatoes. I think we will get 200 more jars, and Josh thinks we will we have 300-400 more. It will be nice to see who is closer. We should make a game....LOL I got home took a shower, and climbed in bed. It was 12:30 a.m. Right before I went to sleep I said a quick prayer that the potatoes would be alright over night...

I didn't think I would like this at all, but I really love it. I could never thank my wonderful Sister In Law/BFF Amanda for really showing me the ropes. She just about knows everything, and can do everything, and she is great fun to hang out with. It takes a small village to store so many potatoes. In are village we have Amanda, Josh, Me, Chris, Pat, Farrel, and Courtney. I think I'm so tired I am confusing storing potatoes with raising kids....LOL Tonight will be round 2. I will take actual pictures of real people instead of all pictures of potatoes...LOL

New Puppy!!

2010-05-25T02:05:00.000+07:00

Isn't he the cutest thing ever? I always wanted a tiny moppy dog. My Mom's Peke-A-Poo Lucy had puppies with Harmony's Shih Tzu Remmi. He is so cute. I can bring him home with me in July. Now what does one call a cute little male dog? Even though he is male I'm totally dressing him with frilly bows, and costumes....LOL I need a name that can be a girl or a boy....LOL

Dance Into Summer Recital 2010

2010-05-23T16:48:00.000+07:00

Recital on Jekyll Island was so nice this year. Madi, and Emma Mae went with me early to get ready. So much fun. They watched me do Bethany's hair and make-up on the edge of their seats. They couldn't wait until it was there turn. They just kept asking me if they were going to get sparkles to....LOL

Madi took this picture of me.

Emma Mae being sweet.

Madi wasn't feeling good, but she totally hung in there.

Noah had a really hard time with all the attention that the girls got during the hair and make-up session...So I spiked his hair. Even though he doesn't like his hair spiked...LOL

Madi took alittle nap before the show started.

This is what Bethany wore for her Beethoven Ballet number.

Bethany, & M.E.

You can tell that he was already pushing the spiky hair down.

This is Amy. She is such a good dancer. I really love this costume.

Bethany's friend Jayce came to watch her dance.

Bethany's friend Victoria came to watch Bethany dance.

Bethany wanted to give Stephanie Peeples flowers at the end of the Sr. tribute in the worst way.

Ms. Jessica, and Ms. Krissi let her give Stephanie flowers.

Ashely Boggs came to watch the recital.

Daddy really enjoyed recital this year.

Lynsey has been with the dance studio 3 years.

Bethany has been with the studio for 6 years. This is not a mistake. Bethany took dance 3 years before Lynsey started.

This is Lynsey in her Beat It tap costume. Daddy gave her flowers.

Since the girls were getting trophies this year we bought Noah one too. Daddy bought Noah some candy, and a balloon.

Daddy got Bethany some flowers. This is her Hit The Road Jack tap costume

All in all it was a really good dance recital. It did go about 2 hours over, but what are you going to do. We all went and ate dinner at Spanky's marsh side afterwards. I got up and sang karaoke 'I Will Survive'...a bunch of families from dance were there, and it was so fun. It makes me want to have a party at my house with the pool, and karaoke. Maybe at the end of summer. Right now I need a break!! I will have to make another post about dance after I get their pictures back this year. Oh that will be fun. There was a couple of things I wish I could rewind and do:

I wish I would have took a picture of Josh, Emma Mae, and Madi together.

I wish I would have taken a picture of McKenzie at some point.

I wish I would have taken pictures of some of the other who came like Grandparents, and Connie, Cooper, and Bailey.

I wish I would have taken an up close picture of Madi with my cell phone.

Maybe I will learn from these mistakes, but I seriously doubt it....LOL