So Much to Say...So Little Time

ok...it's official- I SUCK at updating my blog...lol!  Life keeps me SOOOOO busy.  I thought when I took on my new job, I would have so much time to do things like this.  However, I really don't.  Yet, on days like today when I'm working from home and am stuck on a 3hr training call- I find time to dig my heels into getting caught up on mounds of stuff I wouldn't otherwise have time to do.
Thanks to all who have shared with me that they actually do read the blog!  I love the fact that we're staying caught up with each other!  So, here we go:

Remembering Papa

   

I'll start this update off on a bittersweet note by bidding farewell through my blog to my grandfather who we lovingly referred to as Papa.  He passed away late last month and he definitely leaves a void for me.  Especially in my adult life, there's always been something soothing about visiting my grandparents.  Their love and interest for us has always been so vivid and so genuine.  I spoke at Papa's funeral about how he always referred to me as "Poach".  I'm really really going to miss my trips to see him when I go to Memphis.  He has always been nothing but good to all of us no matter how many miles were between us.  He was always so excited to see his great grandgirls too!  We love you Papa and will miss you!

Papa- the next generation

  With the passing of my and Brandi's Papa, that only leaves one Papa left---my Daddy :-)  Oh how he loves his granchildren!  But big OH, how they love him!  They go crazy whenever they see him and often ask about him even when he's not around.  I figured I'd include this in this post just to make him smile since I know it might take a tad bit more to do that these days :-)



Don't Leave Mama Pat Out

I can't talk about these girls and their grandparents without giving a shout out to Mama Pat too.  She is probably the grandparent they spend the absolute most time with.  Brooklyn has gotten to the point that she even recognizes the exit on the interstate when we're on I-630 and quickly exclaims or asks "going to Mama Pat's house??!!" I hear from my sister that Aubrey and Presley do the same thing.  They love going to Mama Pat's house!  If I were 2 years old and liked candy, cookies, toys, and all the singing, dancing, playing, and laughing I could stand; I would too!

Halloween 2011

Isn't Minnie Mouse looking cute as ever these days?  I have to break this posts' pics up into sub-sections to really illustrate how the night unfolded.  By the way, this was actually Oct 21 when Brook's Halloween carnival occured at school.  On the actual Halloween night, Brooklyn entertained Trick or Treaters by passing out both candy AND HUGS to everyone who came to the door...lol!

Extreme Makeover-see how Brooklyn made her transformation into Minnie Mouse

Good Times at the Carnival

Me and My Boo :-)

Before I start this, let me say that I don't seriously use this term of endearment for my hubby ;-)  It is sort of a little inside joke for us...lol!  Anyhoo, I just want everyone to see what a great friendship Kelvin and I have.  We always tell each other how we feel like best friends.  Part of that is because we have so much fun just being silly with each other. I decided to post a few pics of us at various events we've been to that shows that...

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Lovely, Love my Family :-)

Anyone who knows any little thing about little ol' me knows I love me some family!  Despite the circumstances, we recently had a chance to take a snapshot that I will treasure forever and ever and I'll share it with everyone who reads my blog:

Y'all come back now....ya hear!





What's the Deelio?

I know, I know-- it takes forever for me to post subsequent blogs on this thing!  Then they end up being a mile long.  I will try to do better.  One thing about my work schedule now is that it's definitely solid and meaningful.  So, I spend a lot more time on work stuff than I thought but I'm enjoying it so much that time flies by me and I don't even realize it :-)  Nevertheless, let's get this thing caught up...lol

The Unveiling of the Remodel

BEFORE

 PHASE I

 PHASE II

THEN.....TA...DA!!!!

We are so pleased with the new look!  It's like having a new room in the house!  I can watch the TV and Brooklyn as I cook (and don't worry, I don't burn the food).  It's going to be great for entertaining too!  We used Precision Builders in NLR and they were absolutely fantastic!  What we paid for this beautiful transformation was unbelievably lower than we had expected.  So, the wait is over.  The process from start to finish took about a week and a half with the longest portion of that being waiting for the granite countertop for the bar to be cut and finished.

Brooklyn Rose turns 2!!

  No matter how old Brooklyn gets, she's still our first child so everything with her will seem bigger and better!!  We hosted a backyard birthday party for Brooklyn with close to 60 people in attendance on her birthday.  The kids were able to jump themselves silly in the bounce house, dance to Yo Gabba Gabba tunes, and eat as much pizza and cupcakes as they could stand.  Of course, I took lots of pics so it was hard to narrow it down to just a few for my blog but here they are:

 

Mommy and Daddy celebrate Brooklyn's bday (alone...lol)

  I know that seems like a strange subtitle but I think it's important that parents celebrate making it through another successful year of parenting especially when your child is healthy and happy!  So, we stepped out alone later that evening and contributed to a good cause all rolled into one great evening out :-)

Let's just see what happens...

  I'm not saying Brook has to join my sorority but we'll just see how it goes...  :-)

Wife and Mother...the next Generation

So, I'm sitting in Brooklyn's room while she's playing with her toys and decided to take some random pictures of her at play.  It's amazing how they pick up on things they see and then convey them in their play (lil ones that is)  One thing I want to note on these pics is the black oven mitt you'll see on Brook's hand while she's serving tea at a tea party she hosted for a few of her dogs.  She insisted that the tea was hot so she left me and the dogs in the room alone while she walked over to "mommy's kitchen" and found my oven mitt and brought it back to the tea party to serve with...lol!

First Trip to the Wonder Place

  I've been trying to find fun activities for us to do as a family on the weekends now that Brooklyn can enjoy herself too so, we decided to see what the hype of this place was all about.  I can safely say that I was not in wonder of this place especially after paying almost $20 bucks for us to get in!  Nevertheless, Brooklyn loved it! Guess that's all that matters...lol!  If you notice in one pic, Kelvin doesn't seem all that impressed either!