Family Picnic

Sunday my Dad's side of the family had a picnic, in honor of my Uncle Butch, who is shipping out to Afghanistan in a couple weeks. Uncle Butch has been in the service or the reserves for 32 years, and he served in Desert Storm as well as the Iraq conflict. He is a mechanic, not a fighter, and we all hope he will be ok and come back safely in 9 or 10 months and retire! He is in the back in this picture on the far left. Next is my dad's youngest sibling, Lorraine (who is not much older than I am), then Carol, Coleen, Janet, my Dad, and his brother Jim. My dad is the oldest of 8 kids, though my Uncle Bob died a few years ago so now there are 7.

A couple of aunts cooking on the front porch. The food was great!

My dad brought his Corvette to the picnic, which made him very happy, though my mom, not so much. This was my Uncle Bob's car, so it is very special to my dad.

My kids found a comfy seat out of the broiling sun. I got a nice raccoon sunburn around my sunglasses, but I had a good time and was glad to see the family.

Buying Mandy a Car

Mandy is going back to school in a little over a month, and since she is an R.A. for her senior year and saving lots of money in housing and food costs, we decided to get her a car. This is what we picked out today, a 2002 Honda Civic. If everything works out, we will pick it up on Monday.

Hope we made a good choice!

Stephanie's 24th Birthday

Today is Steph's 24th birthday, so her and Simon came for a visit and to go to dinner at Austin's. Mandy baked her a yummy pineapple pudding cake.



Mandy is a good cook, but lettering is not really her thing.... of course, it's not easy to write with chocolate syrup.
These 2 are a pair of hams.

We spent a lot of time talking about the wedding. They have not picked the exact date, but it will probably be next May. It's going to be a crazy busy time of year, 2 graduations and a wedding!

Foof and Manders on Settlement Day

What a pair of hams.

Danielle in the Art Show

Foo has some art on display in the library. As is her style, she does not like it, but I got her to stand next to it and smile pretty anyway.

They're engaged!

Stephanie and Simon got engaged on Valentine's Day! I am so happy for the both of them. Simon asked me about it last Saturday night and all week her sisters and I have been trying to contain our excitement over it. Simon is absolutely perfect for Stephanie, he's smart and funny and has everything going for him. They are talking about a May 2010 wedding, which will be 8 years from when they started dating in the 11th grade.


Here is the beautiful engagement ring. Stephanie did not want to have a traditional diamond solitaire, she preferred to have her birthstone, an emerald.


It is truly a beautiful ring and even better, from the perfect guy. Congratulations to my little girl!

Mom's Birthday