Miscellaneous Mischief

Andrew making a rubbing from a headstone during a recent Spotlight field trip

Juliana just being...Juliana

Yes, that is Juliana in the stereo case (a.k.a. T.V). Not sure what program she is
performing for Andrew

The kids and neighbors lawn surfing

Juliana priming some drawer fronts for the shelving unit

More Backyard Wildlife

Here are some more pictures of wildlife for my fellow nature lovers. The kids got home just in time to see the owl. Would love to know what type of bird is in the first picture if anyone knows!

A deer next to "the bear trap" (aka: a rope hanging from the tree)

It is pretty amazing to see an owl in the wild!

Look closely...what do you see?

Andrew's Birthday

Andrew celebrated his 9th birthday with a sleepover and skating. Yes, exactly the same as last year---with the same friends. It is nice to see kids keeping friendships despite all 3 going to different schools!

Peach Pickin' in Millington

After talking to a vendor at the farmer's market in Old Town Olive Branch, I decided to take the kids to Jones Orchard in Millington to pick peaches. I found out the orchard has been there for decades and also offer a wide variety of apples and peaches. We waited until the Elbertas (the really soft and juicy ones) were ready in early August. Wish the Choates and Cooks were here to join us--they would have loved it!

Jake and Cam (our new neighbors) joined us for our first peach picking adventure in Millington.

Andrew's peachy creation

Juliana with two of the bigger peaches

Boating at Bull Shoals

This summer we were invited to go boating and share a condo with our friends/neighbors the Heinze family. They introduced us to a great Lake in Bull Shoals, AR. We enjoyed the fantastic scenery, delicious food and a clean, clear lake. We had a fabulous five days and nice weather with only about half a day of rain. Our family was able to waterski and kneeboard, some of us for the first time. Needless to say, there is currently a contest underway as to who can do the most 360's on the kneeboard. Here are the pics:






We are so grateful for the Heinze family. If it had not been for their gracious invitation, our children would not have had the opportunity to experience watersports, which they really enjoyed. Thanks again Heinze family!

Another Barrage of Posts...

from the last 4 months or so. Apologies to my faraway friends as I am failing miserably to reciprocate with maintaining my blog! I think I see a New Year's resolution in the works...

Are You Ready?

Okay... I am posting 5 months worth of mindless, yet mildly entertaining, out of date information about our otherwise uneventful family. Hope you have a little time on your hands...we have been busy and like I mentioned, it has been 5 months!

11 Years Together

June 19th was our 11th anniversary. We enjoyed a nice dinner at Olive Garden and visited Bobbie who was recovering from knee replacement surgery. We are such party animals. Thanks to the Heinzes for watching the kids!

Annual Blueberry Picking

This year we picked three different times! That may be a new record. On our second visit, we ran into Mr. Lewis. The kids have become a little more efficient, although Andrew tries harder to perfect his throw-a-bluberry-in-the-air-and-catch-it-in-his-mouth trick. It just wouldn't be the same if Juliana did not find some creature to be her very temporary pet. This year, a very tiny baby praying mantid.

Waterfowl for Wildlife

While living at Erie Cove, we saw our share of ducks and geese and their undesirable leave behinds (which Paul DOES NOT miss). Now at West Ridge, we get to watch foxes, squirrels, birds and catch frogs. One of our neighbors has convinced a family of foxes to trust us humans enough to venture into our backyards. I think they have learned to associate the smell of the grill with free food, but not by us! While the Cook family was visiting, the three members of the fox family were kind enough to make an appearance. Here are some pics of Loxy, so named by a neighbor.

Test your fox knowledge:

1. What is a male fox called?
2. What is a female fox called?
3. What is a baby fox called?
4. What is a group of foxes called?
5. What kind of fox is this?






1. todd
2. vixen
3. kit
4. skulk
5. Gray Fox

The Cooks Come to Visit

It is always exciting to read an email from a great friend who lives across the country. Especially when the email contains something like: "What are you doing this weekend?" I was very surprised and excited to find out that Ashley and kids would be making their way to Mississippi, from Texas, as a little side trip. For those of you who don't know how great she is, not only can she change a van tire in khakis and not get a speck of dirt on her, she can survive a 3,000 mile road trip with 3 kids and still be her composed, sensible, laid back self. Oh, how I envy thee! While they were here, we went to Mud Island and Ashley taught us how to play Commando (no, not the Friends definition) which has now become THE summer evening game. It was great to see the kids again and I realized how much I miss them and how fast they are growing up.

Cam, Juliana, Kegan, Jake, Garrett, Andrew and Anna

Beach Girls 2009

Every year a great group of women get together and escape to the beach for a few days. I have been fortunate enough to have been invited for the last three years. We enjoy delicious, fresh seafood, have great conversations, share priceless advice and have a lot of laughs! I love going on this trip every year--it is nice to be able to hang out with just the girls. Thanks to my wonderful husband for taking care of everything while I am away--all the while never making a single complaint.

The New House

Here is the much asked for picture of the new (to us) house.















And the backyard after the one snow of the year...

our property (that's what they call it when you live out on the country) extends past the trees. The treeline marks the end of our yard which is about 90% weeds. Grass is so overrated.










Paul with his new beloved mower. You know you are redneck when...

Juliana's Front Teeth

At some point Juliana lost one of her front teeth and then shortly after the other one. Ah, yet more photos to scare off the boys...

Paul Goes Global

Paul traveled to China for work for two weeks during March/April. The flight was 26 hours and he lucked out and got to ride business class on the longest leg there. He wasn't so lucky on the way back. He stayed at a "western" hotel (not like country western, more like a western country) so he was able to enjoy American style food and comforts. While in Tianjin, he felt somewhat like a celebrity because some locals wanted their pictures taken with him. Evidentally, they do not see many 6'2", blondish haired, green eyed American men in those parts. Contrary to the pictures, he did manage to do some work. Orgill was kind enough to work in a couple of days for sightseeing. He was able to visit the Great Wall, Beijing, Olympic Park, ride on the bullet train, do a lot of negotiating/shopping and eat at the Hard Rock Cafe and Hooters.

Paul at the Olympic Aquatic Center

Paul in Beijing at the Bird's Nest

Yes, We are Still Alive...

We have just been very busy (as you will soon see). After being reprimanded more than once for not updating, I figure I better get something new on here before my out of town friends send out a search party. The down side to my blog is, I don’t make it a priority. The upside is, I don’t make it a priority. Who doesn’t love reading 4 entries all at once? Here we go….

See, I tried! I wrote this at the end of March. At this particular point, we bought the new house, put Erie Cove on the market, got an offer a week later and Paul was about to leave for China for 2 weeks.

Paul Is Not the Only One Who Gets To Do The Surprising

Since all this house business happened so fast (about 4 weeks from start to finish), some of my dearest friends, who I do not get to talk to every day, had no idea. As the closing was getting closer and closer, I thought it would be fun to surprise Kelly and She She. Vickie had this great idea (gotta give credit where credit is due!) to invite them to lunch at the new house but under the guise of the house of "someone I knew". She She admitted to having suspicions, but Kelly was completely surprised. It was priceless to see her ask "is this your house?" first to Susan, then Vickie and lastly me. Once she got a "yes", it was squeals all around. Since we had only closed 2 days before and there wasn't any furniture in the house, we entertained our first guests with a folding table and camp chairs in the hearth room. Oh, the memories we are making!

Vickie, Belle, She She, Susan, me and Kelly

It Has Been Almost 12 Years...

since we moved into our house. And soon we will be moving out. We bought another house and will be moving soon. We had been keeping our eye on the market for a couple of months and found something that fits our needs. It has been very hard for me since we have such great neighbors, some we consider family. Needless to say, I cried at each neighbor’s house as we made the rounds to tell them personally. As an Army brat you would think I would be used to this, but I guess I am a little out of practice. I just wanted to share some of the great memories we have made at Erie Cove:

A marriage proposal, arrival of 2 children, countless gatherings of friends and family, numerous birthday parties, planting and training a tree for kids to climb (which they do), watching neighbors help build a pier and seawall (complete w/kids handprints in the cement), an outdoor violin recital, catching turtles, loosing balls that roll into the lake, experiencing for the first time a true sadness for the loss of a tree, watching the new ducklings every spring, canoeing on the lake and many others.

No Flowers In Our Hair

Ashley and I had a fantabulous time in San Fran. Here are some highlights:

-thought I lost my ID in Salt Lake (“lost” meaning dropped in the toilet)
-got lost as soon as we got there, but not the bad kind of lost
-stayed in the nicest hotel Ashley has ever stayed in
-saw some wicked steep hills
-saw Wicked
-rode a cable car and visited the Cable Car Museum
-toured Alcatraz and saw a beautiful sunset
-had some sort of camera glitch and lost a lot of pictures
-saw an awesome view of SF from Coit Tower
-ate sushi and other delish food
-walked the Golden Gate Bridge, and paid $5 so we wouldn’t have to walk back
-was in awe at a JapanTown dollar store
-made a deal in ChinaTown
-visited SFMOMA
-learned a lot about mass transit
-saw a beautiful Japanese garden, hopefully to duplicate in my new backyard
-perused an antique paper show for the first time (a what?—like old letters, photos, stuff like that. It was tres interesting!)
-learned why it is called the Tenderloin District
-really did not see as many typical San Fran’s (if you know what I mean) as I thought
-walked the Wharf and watched a sidewalk performer
-ate at In and Out Burger
-salivated in a paper store in JapanTown (yes, paper—it’s an art thing)
-learned that personal space is completely relative and people in SF are very nice to tourist
-understands why my single brother lives there. The weather is great and it is easy to get around.
–realized you can pretty much eat whatever you want because of the amount of walking that is done

Now for the pictures:

A view of Golden Gate Bridge from Alcatraz at sunset

On one of the piers at Fisherman's Wharf

Riding a SF landmark

Jaan and I in the Haight

Our hotel room (just kidding--it is one of the cells in Alcatraz)

JapanTown with Hello Kitty

How clever is this picture? Great idea Ash!

My Husband May Not Do All the Laundry...

But he knows how to surprise me! Paul is an expert at planning surprise trips. For those of you who did not know me way back when I turned 30 (5 years ago), Paul surprised me with a trip to New York City with my best friend from high school, Dawn. And since it was Christmas at Harmony's, he also had to secretly pack for me. We had a fabulous time filled with lots of shopping, sightseeing and an unforgettable adventure in China Town.(If you don't know that story, ask me about it sometime!)

I turned 35 on the 27th and while I was talking on the phone with my (very much missed) friend Ashley, he walked into our bedroom with Juliana's easel. This is what I saw:

If you can't read it, on Jan. 29th I will be on my way to San Francisco with Ashley to see Wicked!

Despite being incredibly spoiled, I do realize I have got a pretty amazing husband. Thanks Nick (and Nick's mom!), for letting Ashley run away with me for a few days. I GREATLY appreciate it! And Paul, my wonderful husband, I promise I will come back!

In All Fairness

Okay, okay, here are the good pictures. They are not as funny, but I figured I better post them so Paul's family won't ban us from taking pictures next year.