What A Busy Weekend!

Oh my goodness, what a busy weekend we had! John and I left home very early Friday morning to head to New Orleans. His oldest brother's son, Michael, was getting married that night. We did not know that we were going to be able to even go to the wedding until one week before, so that week was spent getting what we needed. That included a tuxedo (yes that's right!) for John and an evening dress for me. As you can see from the pictures below, we both looked pretty spiffy even after a fun evening of dancing.

This is a picture of John's cousins from England that had come in for the wedding and a holiday. Theresa is Mom Whitehead's niece. You know John and his Dad in the back row. John's youngest brother, David, is in the yellow (LSU) shirt. In the middle row beside me are Hugh and Theresa. The front row is Olivia and Ursala, Hugh and Theresa's daughters and Mom Whitehead. This was the first time that John had met his cousins, so it was extra special.

Besides the wedding, it was Cami's second birthday. John and I got home about 7pm Sunday night, so we had to have cake and ice cream for the birthday girl. We will be having the party next Sunday at the house. We plan to grill some burgers, hot dogs and brats and let the kids swim in the pool that John bought for Cami. It is ten feet by 30 inches deep. Just right to cool off in!

The first picture is of Cami applauding our rendition of Happy Birthday and the second is her enjoying her cake and ice cream.

I just had to include this video of the Munchkin on a sugar high. Luckily she crashed pretty quickly and was in bed about an hour after eating. Caution - the video could make you dizzy! :)

Where Does Time Go?

Wow! I can't believe it has been over a month since I've posted a blog. There has been so much going on and just not enough time to get it all done. May was a pretty uneventful month. Just keeping busy with work, soccer and keeping up with Cami. She is starting to get into the 'terrible twos'. I'm not so sure that I would call them terrible, but rather 'learning'. She is starting to learn just how far she can push the boundries, and what she can or cannot do on her own. Her vocabulary continues to grow by leaps and bounds and, of course, she repeats everything (and I mean everything) she hears.

June started out with the Alaskan cruise for Mom and Dad's 50th wedding anniversary. Unfortunately, John was unable to go on the cruise because of work. We had a wonderful time and the weather was perfect (70's and sunny). Alaska is beautiful country and full of history. I have posted some pictures on my Facebook site. Not a week after getting back from the cruise, I headed to Las Vegas for a work conference. I took a 'little' detour through Denver to spend the night with Priscilla, Craig, Melissa and Kajsa. I am so glad that I did as it had been too long since I have seen them. We had an enjoyable time just visiting and catching up. Then off to Vegas for the conference. Rich and Leslie were able to join me for the welcome reception on Sunday night and the larger event on Tuesday night. We had a great time and it was good to see the two of them again.

The rest of June (and what is left of it) was spent on the usual work, soccer and keeping up with Cami. John and I are also looking at houses. It is becoming very apparent that our three bedroom is not large enough for five humans and four animals. We have seen a couple that we really like, but nothing that 'screams' at us. In the meantime, we are starting to do some purging and clearing out of all the things that accumulate over 20 plus years. I do believe that John will have the hardest time purging as he tends to be a pack rat. :)

Jason is still working as a leasing agent for an apartment complex, hanging out with his friends and playing softball. No steady girlfriend yet that we know of. Sara is still working part time for a dry cleaners in town, taking care of Cami and taking a couple of summer classes. She did pass all four of her spring classes and is taking one class right now and then one more when the current class is over.

Well, that's the quick update. Keep posting!!!

Some Upgrades (Finally!)

I was beginning to think that it would never happen, but I've finally been able to get John to agree to some "improvements" around the house. The first step is new counter tops in the kitchen. So long to the 80's counter we had!

Here is the old, 80's counter we had:

And here is my new, updated counter:

The next step is to paint the entire kitchen and attached den/dining room area and then (hopefully) do a tiled backsplash. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it won't take too long to do either.

One Calm Kitty

Well, Cami has figured out that she can (sort of) pick up Kali. Of course, Kali is weighing in at about 11 lbs right now. She is so patient with Cami and does not try to scratch or bite her. When she has enough, she just runs and hides.

Tiptoe Through The . . . Bluebonnets

I told myself as the kids were growing up that I was not going to be one of those parents that stopped on the side of the road to take pictures of the kids when the bluebonnets were in bloom. As most of you know, this seems to be an Easter tradition in Texas. I never did do it with the kids, but I'm a grandma now and I can take things back. Especially since the bluebonnets this year are abundant and gorgeous. There is a field of them by my office that is large and thick with the flowers. Sara and I decided that we would get some pictures of Cami in the bluebonnets, so here they are.

The first picture is a shot of just a portion of the field. It is at least twice the size of what you can see in the picture.

By the way, did you know that from the time I arrived in Texas, I was told that it was illegal to pick bluebonnets. I found out last week that that is untrue. It is, of course, illegal to pick them from private property and that some cities and counties do have their own 'laws', however it is not a Texas law. Nice to know after 27 years here.