Vacation

We wait all year long and then it is here...Our VACATION! Can you believe it has been a year? Wow. So next week my whole family will all arrive at the beach house we have rented and unload the hundreds of bags of food and stuff. Food, now that's something we have a good supply of! We do eat well! I have spent this week getting ready for our trip. Washing clothes, packing bags, visit to the Commissary for food and cleaning up the house. My great friend Adina will be here visiting and she will be staying at my house, keeping the dog and visiting all her local friends. She will come out and hang out with us on the beach too. I've been on vacation for about 20 hours now and am very excited!!! As much as I love my job, I just need time to rest and rejuvenate myself! Lounging around the pool and on the beach will make that happen. Can't wait to see my family and spend time with them. I have a great family and enjoy our time together. My new niece Reagan will be there for a couple of days, Yeah...I get to play Auntie! I'll update more later...take care and if you get to have a few days vacation, enjoy every minute of it, I plan too!!!

Happy Birthday Mallori

Twenty five years ago today a beautiful little angel was born. My oldest daughter. I remember it well...I was so young and so scared, hubby was right there by my side the entire time. We were stationed in Beeville, TX with the Navy. We went to the hospital, two scared young 20ish year olds. And we came home with this little bundle of joy. We didn't know what to do! Our families were in Virginia and we were in Texas, what to do??? We were so innocent! It wasn't long before we had the daily duties of raising a child down pat, or so we thought. Then the days, months and years go by and that little bundle of joy is now 25! Where did the time go? My Momma always told me that as you age time flies by and she is right. (Momma I say that often now, "You are right")My beautiful daughter, her boyfriend and my Grand dog Leo all came for dinner tonight. We had a really nice dinner with brownie split pizza for dessert, topped with candles, presents and the Happy Birthday song. We are so blessed to have two beautiful daughters in our lives. They are both growing up to be such great young women. Happy Birthday Mal....We love you!!!

Charleston, SC

Last Sunday I went to Charleston SC for training for my job. It was a really fun and learning trip. The two ladies that I hung out with were lots of fun. We went to some great restaurants...Coast, Hyman Seafood, Mustard Seed and a sushi place. I ate way too much! We stayed at an Embassy Suites that was very nice and accommodating to us. They had a fitness room that I visited often! :) Me and the treadmill were very good friends! My last night there I had dinner with 3 guys I work with and we went for Sushi. It was really good. Then as we left the weather was starting to look bad, so we ducked into a nice restaurant/bar. We all ordered a drink, next thing we know the rain let loose...and it rained so bad the entire downtown was flooded! The owner of the establishment put sandbags at the front door and told us all if at all possible do not leave and walk in that contaminated water. So we had nothing to do but order more drinks and sit and talk. I found out a lot of good info about my co-workers. They are great guys. I really am blessed to work with such good people. After about 3 hours the flooding had receded and we were able to leave. They guys walked me back to my car and off I went. Got back to my hotel about midnight, packed and was up at 5:15am to get ready, leave and be at the airport in time to catch my flight. I was back home by 1:00pm with the hubby waiting at the terminal as I arrived. It is always so nice to see his smiling face when I arrive! Training was good, travel was good, food was good, fellowship was good, what more could I have asked for?

Happy Birthday Reagan Elizabeth!!!

Happy Birthday Little Girl!!!

Today a miracle happened....our family was blessed with another member...Reagan Elizabeth. She arrived at 12:04pm, 7 lbs 2 oz, 18 1/2 in long. And she is absolutely beautiful!! We all arrived at the hospital early this morning to find a nervous Mommy and Daddy in waiting. Mommy progressed quickly. Three pushes and out popped this sweet little bundle. As her Grandma delivered the news to all of us in the waiting room, we cried those happy tears. We had the whole room crying...even the volunteer behind the counter! After about 15 minutes or so we were all invited back to meet the new family member and the crying continued. To see my brother holding the most important person in his life at that moment was too much for us all to handle. He has waited for this moment for many years and the love in his eyes was everything! My sister in law looked beautiful and just as happy as she could be. We passed Reagan around to individually meet each of us. We took tons of pictures...the paparazzi had arrived! Then she had to go to the nursery. We must have stood there for an hour or more watching her. The nurses were wonderful and kept showing her to us and telling us what a calm, content baby we had. After an hour or so she was brought back to her Mommy. Again the paparazzi arrived! And she was quickly passed from one family member to the other. After another hour or so of watching her and watching my brother fuss over her, it was time to leave. The new family needed their time together. We all hugged and said our good byes. As I drove my two hours home I thought of what a wonderful day this was for our family. Each and every child and grandchild has been and continues to be such a joy to this family and they are all loved! Reagan Elizabeth...welcome to the family, we love you!!!!

Proud Papa!!!

Aunt Cindy meets her new niece.

Reagan....

Tomorrow after work I head to Richmond for the birth of my niece Reagan. We are so very excited to meet her, we can hardly contain ourselves! My brother has waited a very long time to have a daughter of his own and when he married a year ago to a sweet, sweet lady, we were thrilled and when they announced they were pregnant, we could not have been happier! He is just over the top about this child and she hasn't even made an appearance yet. What will he do when that little slimy, bloody, sweet thing appears...he will be like the rest of us in the waiting area...he will be crying his eyes out. So say happy prayers for an easy birth for mother and child. Reagan we can't wait to meet you!!!!!! Yeah...I'll be an Aunt again!!!!!!!

Happy 4th of July...

Today has been a great day. The kids came over with the Granddog and we had a little cookout. Sat out back on the deck, by the pool, under the umbrella and ate dinner. The Granddog , Leo, terrorized Jackson, our 12 yr. old black lab, and they both ran around in the back yard for a while. It was really nice to have both girls and the future son in law here for dinner. Everyone is so busy these days and it's difficult to have dinner all together, so tonight was a treat. I enjoyed every minute of it! Hubby cooked on the grill and did a great job...(sometimes he gets involved and forgets what's on the grill). After dinner everyone left...daughter one went home and daughter two went to watch the fireworks. I can hear them all around me now. So Happy Birthday America....hope you had a great birthday!!!

Happy Birthday America

Today is the 233rd birthday of our great America, Happy Birthday America! Today is a day to celebrate, have a cook out, enjoy friends and family...a day to enjoy life! So get out there and eat a piece of birthday cake for our great lady America!!!

Wicked.....

About a month ago the hubby and I took our daughters to see the Broadway production of "Wicked". This is the story of the wicked witch before Dorothy dropped in. This tells how she became "Wicked". When daughter #1 wanted to go, I hesitated to purchase the tickets, even the balcony seat were expensive. But after a month or so of talking about it, I finally did put out the money and go for it. This production was only here for about 2 weeks and it looks like I will never go to NY to see it, so what the heck. We went, the balcony seats were center stage, about 6 rows up. The production was AWESOME! We were all just in awe of the performers, the lighting, the set just the entire production. This really gave you a look into the life of someone that is different.


Daughter #1 has been a "Wizard of Oz" fan since she was very little. Daughter #2 was scare of it, the flying monkeys freaked her out! Daughter #1 would watch it every day if I let her. Over the years she has collected many Oz items, dolls, ornaments, movies, posters and such. So she was thrilled at the show. We took pictures on her camera, but I haven't been able to get them from her...when I do, I'll post them. Anyway....the show was great...we all loved it and we will be going back to see another show...oh the Wizard of Oz comes out in March....we will be there!!!