80 years!

Patsy Lynn Cox Drake, my Mammaw, turned 80 last week. I absolutely adore this woman. She is my lifetime Rangers buddy (seriously, watches every game, knows all the players, etc.). She is responsible for teaching me how to make the absolute best turkey dressing at Thanksgiving, and although I'm not a fan of pea salad, I hear hers is the best around. And of course, she shares my love for all things of the accessory variety. Her lifetime jewelry, shoe and handbag collection is enough to put even Sam Moon to shame.

Anyway, we celebrated her birthday on Sunday with a small party and lots of pink cake and punch, her favorite color of course.

Mammaw and her beautiful granddaughters:
(my cousin) Becky, (my sister) Mindi, and yours truly

Pretty good snapshot of two sisters, courtesy of my 8 year old nephew.

Carter didn't want to pose for the camera, but here's three generations nonetheless.


And just for fun, here's a picture of me & Mammaw ten years ago at my high school graduation:


Happy 80th Birthday Mammaw! I love you.

16 and Pregnant

I.am.neither... 16 nor pregnant. And even though I'm pretty sure I am no longer in MTVs target demographic, I have found myself sucked into this tv show, and tonight, it even made me cry. Alot.

I have caught the show a few times here and there, but tonight after I put the kids to bed and found myself flipping through the channel guide, I saw a preview for the season finale of this show and knew I had to watch. The couple on tonight's episode was unlike any of the others I've seen. They were going to give the baby up for adoption.

At 16 years old, these two kids recognized their less than perfect childhood and current lifestyle and knew that they wanted better than that for their baby. They gave her up for adoption because they loved her and wanted the best for her. When they gave her over to the adoptive couple they had chosen, I was so happy for the couple. And I found myself admiring two Michigan teenagers that I don't even know all through the fishbowl that is reality tv.

Maybe it's just that weepy time of the month for me. Or maybe it's because I read one too many adoption and/or infertility blogs (for no reason at all). Or maybe it's the fact that I'm nostalgic about my own childbirth experiences with Olivia's first birthday right around the corner. Whatever the case, it was really neat to see a true REALITY show that made a difference in two couple's lives. For the better. Thanks MTV.*

*NOTE TO MTV: don't think that this means I'll be coming back to your pre-teen network to watch any of your other shows about going on dates with exes, going on dates with moms, or "seven complete strangers living together under one roof" (seriously, after 22 seasons?... give it up already).

P.S. When does The Hills new season start?

An attempt at an incredibly adorable photo of two small children...

The gift of a [truly] great picture is so hard to come by these days, especially for one child that hates grass and another one that is generally petrified of the camera. But I bought these cute tees for $5 bucks from Gap and gosh darnit, somebody was going to give me my Kodak moment this Independence Day.



Take One:
It's okay bay-bee. Ssshhh... It's okay. Look at Mommy.



Take two:
Okay, look at Aunt Melynda. And smile!



Take six:
Okay Carter, go sit down by sissy. And everybody look at Mommy!



Take twelve:
Carter, what's the matter son? What are you doing with your hands? Look up!



Take twenty-five:
Okay Carter, give sissy a kiss. No, not on the hands, on the face!



Take twenty-six:
There you go. Sissy, look here! No crying...



Take thirty-nine:
Okay, that's sort of looking. Now say CHEESE!



Take fifty-four:
What in the world are y'all looking at? Look HERE.



Take sixty-five:
Wait, no... Olivia, why are you crying again? Alright, forget the grass. Let's go down by the pond and sit on the bench.



Take seventy-one:
Olivia. Seriously. What is that face? Get your tongue back in your mouth.



Take seventy-five:
Carter! Get your finger OUT OF YOUR NOSE!



Take eighty-nine:
What are you guys doing with your legs? Oh who cares... LOOK RIGHT HERE!!!!



Take one hundred four:
Perfect, I'll take it. Did somebody say margarita?

Red, White & Whieu - another great weekend!

Well, here I am. Late with the blog again. I try to be one of those people who posts about fun and exciting stuff the day it happens, but I think I've come to terms with the fact that I'm pretty much a 3 days later kind of gal. Ah well, such is life.

We had a great holiday weekend spent with family and friends. Nick's sister and brother-in-law and family are moving from San Diego to Maine, due to a Navy relocation. They happened to be passing through (and dropping their kids off) at Nick's parents' house this weekend, so it was great to spend time with them. In fact, it was James' (Nick's BIL) first time to meet either one of our children. They quickly learned what a joker he is but fell in love with him anyway. And who can't love Aunt Melynda? (especially after she saves you from drowning - story for another day.)

Then on Saturday, Nick's brother and sister-in-law drove in from Arkansas, so the family reunion was complete. I honestly can't remember the last time all three siblings AND their spouses were in the same place all at once. And I had EVERY intention of getting a picture of all six of us, but that didn't happen. There's always Christmas. Maybe.

Carter had a blast at Nana & Jaja's house as usual. There was LOTS of swimming & jumping in the pool unassisted, four-wheeler rides, golf cart rides, fishing & playing with "my cuz-uns" as Carter calls them. Olivia had a blast too and, would you believe it?, this girl knows how to climb up stairs while you're not looking (talk about a heart-attack!). We quickly learned that the stair barrier had to go up and it won't be too much longer before she's getting into as much trouble as her brother.

"Uncle" Michael & "Aunt" Amber even came out to join us on Saturday. The guys played bean bag toss (isn't there another, more technical name for this game), we cooked out on the grill, there was more swimming and go-cart/four-wheeler/golf cart rides before some of the crew went into Rockwall to watch some professional fireworks display while others of us stayed behind. Then we had a blast with midnight swimming & driveway fireworks courtesy of James & the older boys, Benjamin & Zachary.

By the time Sunday rolled around, Carter made it extremely evident that it was time to leave and head back to a more familiar (aka childproofed) setting, so we headed home for some staycation detox. We were sad to see Melynda & James drive off to their newest adventure (and farthest to date), but in all honesty, it's what they do. Hopefully in a few years they can retire somewhere close and we can actually hang out more. A girl can dream.

(Usually I like to intertwine my pictures throughout my writing, but this is already long enough & I need to get back to work, so you're getting a photo-pallooza at the end of the post today. You're welcome.)

Helping Nana give ALL the dogs their annual shots (and by ALL, I mean, all 18 or so of theirs, plus all six of the grand-dogs that were there).

Hanging poolside, tongue out, as usual

Dakota just had puppies; these are three of the four, all boys.
Anybody in the market for a bullie?*

Golf cart rides with Jaja & cousin Grant, one of many.
(Just realized that had an unintentional double meaning:
one of many rides and one of many cousins, actually)

Carter would not, and I mean, WOULD NOT pose for a picture with his cousins. So we took it without him. Here, I'll show you:


See? I told you. WOULD NOT POSE. Wouldn't even stand still, actually.

*Yes, I realized most of you probably think I misspelled the word "bully", but I didn't. I'm referring to an English Bulldog "bullie", not the large kid in seventh grade that wants to steal your lunch money. Because, let's face it, who would want one of those?