It's a month of Birthdays!

In retrospect, I should have labeled a post for all birthdays in August...I didn't realize we had so many wonderful reasons to celebrate!


Little Garrett is officially a year old--how time flies. We have watched him grow from newborn to almost walking. Maybe next time I see him, he will be walking! I'm sorry to say I missed his birthday party, but I was wishing him many happy birthday wishes from home.


We had two more birthdays over the weekend and I was told by a little bird it was also an anniversary weekend for Mom and Pop Funk. Both Mom Funk and Matt, who share the same birthday (!), celebrated on Sunday. Happy birthday to you both!!


And Happy Anniversary to Mom and Pop Funk. I hope you have many more wonderful years to share together!


I have one more birthday to note for August...Happy Birthday to my dear friend and sis, Gretchen. Even though you're far away, I wish you many good wishes on your day!

Happy Birthday!!

Another birthday celebrated for a good friend. Happy Birthday Joel!

Books

Done! I really, really, REALLY enjoyed reading Stephenie Meyer's Twighlight series. Just about as much as the Harry Potter phenom. It was enough to keep me up very late (or early depending on how you look at it).

Happy Birthday!!

We've been celebrating like fools of late...Mitchell and his cousin, Jon, both celebrated a milestone birthday...Sweet 16...on the 28th. That old Ford you see in one of the pictures is the truck Mitchell and Blu went in on together...yes, Mitchell now has a vehicle. But, he has yet to get his permit (and insurance!!). We'll get that worked out soon, though.

And our good friend Beck celebrates his birthday TODAY...Happy Birthday Beck!

Best Action/Superhero Movie in a LONG Time...

I went to see "The Dark Knight" last night and I was NOT disappointed. Love, love, LOVE this movie. Very well done.

Christian Bale plays Batman/Bruce Wayne so well...very impressed with the dynamic between the two roles. And Heath Ledger ...WOW. Jack Nicholson has NOTHING on him for the role of the Joker. Amazing job done by Heath. All-around, the cast for this movie was GREAT. Come Oscar time, I hope this movie rakes in all the gold.

This is the type of movie that makes you fall in love with movies all over again.

Happy Birthday, America!

A good ol' fashioned water balloon fight, fresh blackberries, and good times with good friends...what more could one want to celebrate the 4th of July??

I hope everyone had a great holiday weekend!

A planner...

Earlier this summer, I went to the zoo with some friends. I took this picture and at the time, I thought this little fellow must be a planner.

He/she saw the rest of us on the other side of the pond (you can't really see the pond in the picture, but it's there--and it's filled with koi), feeding the fish, and he/she actually moved closer to the edge of the pond so that he/she could 'catch' the fish food (must be good stuff).

Smart fellow. He had it all planned out.

Bunnies, birthdays, and babies

The following is my husband's description of how we came about befriending our hoppy friend (in the hat):

Dana and I were goobing in the garage last night, when we saw something moving under her truck…. We immediately thought it was a rat! Dana jumped up into her seat, and started to scream (not really...I was saying "It's a rat, it's a rat and I don't want a rat in the garage! All of this while trying to get a broom to swat at it before it got stuck in the garage) when it suddenly came out from underneath her truck and started to make it’s way into the garage. It was a fast little thing, and because we had the light off we really couldn’t make out what it was…….. As the strange creature had made it’s way to the corner, behind our brooms, I managed to get Dana from the top of the table to turn the light on! I eased my way over to the area in which the danger hid and………………………………………………………………..


BAM this guy jumped out ready to defend his corner in our garage!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

He immediately recognized that I was just a tad bit bigger than him, so he decided to take me on a wild wabbit chase all over our yard / garage…. He finally just gave up and let me grab him. We loved on the poor guy for just right at an hour or so. When we freed him back into the yard, it actually didn’t want to go.

And his definition of 'goobing':

Definition of “Goobing Around”

Main Entry: goobing around
Pronunciation: \ˈgüb-ˌa-round\
Function: noun
Date: 1682
: When Blu evades work or responsibility while sitting in his garage drinking beer or other adult beverages and smoking cigarettes.

We celebrated Amy Sue's birthday Wednesday night with a surprise party. I think she was surprised.

And finally, Garrett with all his smiles, loves being in a canoe. Future paddler? Definitely.

Home Alone.

Sigh. On the agenda for the weekend:

• Clean house!
• Organize
• Movies--Going to see 'Get Smart'. This is the first time in a very long time I have been to the movies on an opening weekend. Well, I guess it's been since the last Harry Potter movie. Those have a special reserve. And if I get a wild hair, I may even try to see 'Sex in the City'. We'll see.
• Spending time with an old friend and her two boys. Going to the neighborhood pool (if we can lay claim to a spot--it's a pretty popular place to be!).
• Relaxing.

It's a treat to be able to spend time by myself--time to 'recharge' those batteries!

Motley Crewe

OK...I think THIS is the last one. Thanks Nat!

This one is the 'group' shot, sans my hubby who decided he wanted no part in the picture taking festivities that day.

Last of the 2008 PBC pictures...I think.

The latest action shots to come in...what a great time we had. Can't wait until next time!

Zoo Day!

I had the opportunity to tag along with some very good friends' of mine as they took their daughter to the Zoo for the first time.

It was such an amazing day--beautiful in every way--and I am so glad they let me share in this moment with them.

Back to San Antonio...

We had a national conference in San Antonio last week. Got to meet up with a gaggle of PA classmates, plus some folks from around the country I hadn't seen since going through the PA Program a couple of years ago. It was nice to catch up with them; I didn't get to participate in much of the conference (well, not as much as I would have liked) as I was tagged to help with 'behind-the-scenes' duties.

I thought it was a good conference overall.

Check out my Slide Show!

Mother's Day

In honor of Mother's Day this upcoming Sunday:


Your Mother Is Always With You

Your mother is always with you...

She's the whisper of the leavesas you walk down the street.

She's the smell of bleach inyour freshly laundered socks.

She's the cool hand on yourbrow when you're not well.

Your mother lives insideyour laughter. She's crystallized in every tear drop...

She's the place you came from, your first home...

She's the map youfollow with every step that you take.

She's your first love and your first heartbreak....and nothing on earth can separate you.

Not time, Not space...Not even death....will ever separate you from your mother....

You carry her inside of you....

- Author Unknown.

Check out my Slide Show!

Buzzard Roost, Arkansas

This was, by far, the BEST 4-wheeler riding spot we have been to in Arkansas to-date. I love, love, loved it. It was absolutely gorgeous--the weather was beautiful and the views were fantastic. I have pictures of the actual 'Buzzard Roost' area, but it's taking blogger quite a while to upload photos, so I opted to post just this one (my favorite spot on the trip).

We found this stair-step waterfall off the beaten path (literally). Someone else had also set up camp (not while we were there), so it must be a favorite spot by those who can find it.

Speaking of finding things...this place (Buzzard Roost) is not marked on any map. We happened across it via some good friends' diggings (Nutz and Beck) and also by catching AETN's special on it (see the YouTube video clip here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WzVeENcb0tQ&feature=related) It is such an awesome place. I can't believe we have such a gem here in this great outdoors state!

We are counting down the days until we can visit again!

More of PBC 2008...

I thieved these shots from my husband and from Amy...good pictures! It was a grand time and fun was had by all!

PBC 2008

Shrimp Cocktail and Getting Ready for PBC 2008!

It would seem that we have been delving into our inner Louisiana-Cajun-selves seeing as how we have had the opportunity to dine on mudbugs and now fresh shrimp. Yum! I took what we didn't eat over the weekend and mixed it in with some fettucine (Mitchell's own recipe! He'll be a chef yet!) last night for dinner and it was YUMMY.

We are also getting ready for the annual Parrot Bay Classic, being held on the mighty Buffalo River this weekend. Since we have had so much rain these past few weeks, it should be a mighty good ride down the river. They are calling for a bit of more rain Thursday into Friday...hopefully, not too much!