Night Party!

One of the fun things about having a daughter (and a willing, easy-going, younger son) is that at moment's notice you can be treated to a night like this one.

Bring on the Night Party...

Olivia decided one evening that we would have a "night party."

First, she selected her outfit b/c as most night partiers know, this is the most important part. She selected an ensemble made by Grandma 2-3 years ago.

She set and decorated our dinner table.She picked the music - Adele, not bad.

She even made a sign.And then they danced. And showed off a few signature moves.Wish you were there? You can be, sort of:

Part I


Part II


Don gets in on the action, and Grant takes it to the next level:

Orange and Blue Game

We learned very quickly that little kids and football games don't always mix. Once you run out of snacks, it's all down hill. However, the Orange and Blue spring training game is perfect for them. First, they get to experience a real game with the band, mascots, cheerleaders and big crowd (64K in attendance - more than some teams get during the regular season) in not so hot weather. The quarters are shorter but at $5/ticket it doesn't matter if you have to bail early.
We went with friends Howard/Lisa and fam and Matt/Deb and fam.
The tail-Gators still come out in style...Everyone loves a little Tebow...But even Tebow fans get restless. Hmmm, maybe I can bug this person next to me.Ha-ha-ha. She is almost as funny as I am.
Whoa, now listen lady... if you don't get up and cheer things are going to get ugly...This is how it's done...
2 bits, 4 bit, 6 bits, a dollar....all for the Gators, stand up and holler!!!

Happy Easter 2009

Happy Easter a month late! Not bad considering I was 4 months late to wish Happy New Year...

The McMullens and Mimi and Popka visited us for Easter again this year. It was a short visit, but jam packed. We visited St Augustine to sightsee and beach it. We got to Fort Matanzas just in time for the canon demonstration...Grant is still not a fan of loud noises...Hanging out... Sadly, this is the best shot I could get of kids who just finished a long drive and were antsy to explore and get to the beach.Egg Coloring and HuntingScore! another one...
Thanks to Popka and his 120 candy filled eggs - we are still eating chocolates and finding shiny, colorful foiled wrappers around the house!Kinda blurry but I couldn't resist posting a pic of the pretty dress Mimi gave Olivia...The McMullens had yet to explore Paynes Prairie with us, so that was a must. The Gators made a grand appearance for them that day.We even had a big guy swim right by for a nice closeup view.


And we saw Bison for the first time ever - not the best zoomed in shot but they are there, trust me. Those McMullens are good luck.Nature Boy Nathan found a skink for everyone to molest before letting him go again...We also saw an armadillo rooting around in the woods and he might have been the favorite sighting... which is completely understandable if you've never seen an armadillo (See: Armadillo Attack)

The grand grandparent visit

As we were snowboarding and snowshoeing our way around Tahoe, Grandma and Grandpa were shuttling and spoiling grand kids. Thanks to Grandpa's shutter bug nature, I have some pics to post. The azaleas were full on and Grandpa is a sucker for a flower shot...Grandma even got saddled with selling Girl Scout cookies. But I am most greatful for her sewing skills. Not only did she sew on all of Olivia's patches (they claim to be "iron on"....yeah, right...) but she corrected my troop number screw up (see Half Baked Brownie). Not only can I not sew, apparently I can't iron on either.)They ventured out to Dudley Farm one afternoon for some Florida history and exploration. That really is a vine they are climbing on...It's not work when you only have to do it once for 5 minutes...I recognize the expression on this man's face. I've seen it many times before. It's the look that says "that is a 3 yr old boy that needs to be watched."Grandma is a sucker for a quilt show... and pretty flower hair clips.Grant is either trying to figure out if she is real or about to validate the man's expression in the photo above. Thanks for a week of fun!! Hopefully you have caught up on your rest since. We miss you Grandma and Grandpa! Love, Olivia and Grant

Note to mom/dad: I wouldn't love it either if someone posted early morning pics of me. But I think these are great!

Happy New Year 2009

It's not April, really, it's not. You all are crazy.

Happy New Year!!!Everyone rocked out the New Year celebration at the Knights of Columbus, except me. Due to babysitter cancellation, someone had to volunteer to stay behind... so I fell on that sword. Actually, the funny thing was that everyone volunteered to stay behind - and adamantly so!! Well, hmmm, now that I think about it, I actually don't recall Don throwing his name in the hat too much. For the rest of us, I think we were all comfy in our jeans and no one wanted to get gussied up. Anyway, they all had a good time at the K of C and then surprised me by coming home just before the ball dropped.Showing us how it's done...Ah, Jim, is that an alien you are dancing with?Too many rounds of Pit (and drinks)...

Until next December! (or April...)

Wine Tasting

Wine Tasting - one of my favorite pleasures in life

One of my most favorite events over the holidays is our annual trip to taste wine. It's the right combination of everything good in life: good company, beautiful scenery, delish wine and lots of laughs. The Prince William County wine scene has really only come about in the last 10ish (?) years and there are some pretty good wineries out there. This year we hit Pearmund (our regular) and Chateau O'Brien (quite new). These wineries are located in beautiful countryside. You can see a touch of it in the backgound of some of these pics but next year I will have to make a point of taking pictures of the facilities and grounds. They are gorgeous.

Looking tired. You think we could have dressed more for the occasion but I was so tired (aka hungover - see previous post) I really didn't care.The California experts try the Virginia wines...Typical Dad. Not sure what he is doing but I have seen this move (and countless others like it) many times in my life.Then, he got serious (for mom's sake)Mom/Kev in the Pearmund Cellar...Not too often that really, really good wine serves as the hair of the dog but it worked. Smelling the bung...Nice rack!!Mom and her wine. Life is Good.Even the experts learn a thing or two from the Chateau O'Brien winemaker... or else, they are just smiling politely.Wine snob...Oh, the wine was flowing...THE bottle... let's just say, Terri and Jim made the winemaker (and owner) VERY happy about this purchase.Bunch of Winos... Til next time... Cheers!