Thanksgiving Festivities!

What a weekend!  Thanksgiving and the stew were a great success as always!  There were a few hiccups though.  Mary was sick all Thanksgiving day.  As Mary told someone we forgot to put a bag of pot in the stew.  That sounded real well!  We forgot one bag of potatoes and one bag of onions.  I ran over the steel horse show rod and pit in Mary's car.  Don't ask how I didn't tear her car to pieces underneath.  Gary & Becca's car had to be fixed on Saturday and Sunday when I went to leave my car wouldn't crank.  Other than that, everything was great!  

There were a lot of people that showed up to the stew. We were missing a few regulars however.  Scarlett, Mitch & Mason were in Texas.  Meredith, Mike & John went to Atlanta to be with her family.  Vann moved to texas, so him and Naomi weren't there.  Eddie West even made Vann his own chocolate pound cake.  And of course John wasn't there.  We talked to Scarlett, Meredith & John over skype though.  Everyone loved the Cold Mountain Winter Ale too!  I think Dayna & Chris said it was absolutely delicious!  I'm glad I found it so I could share!

Saturday & Sunday everyone just relaxed and ate of course!  We did go bowling Saturday night to get all the kids out of the house since it had started raining!  That was comical, let me tell you!  Mary scored a 153 in her game and I'm not sure how since her aim is so terrible!  Gary and Garrett on the other hand, completely stunk the first game!  I think it was like the 5th or 6th frame and Gary hadn't even broken 20 yet!  I wish I would have had a picture of their scores!  I did break a 100 which I don't think I've ever done!  The kids had a great time bowling, except for Shawn because he got sick and went to sleep!  

There are a lot of pictures on here but I wanted to share them all, so I hope you enjoy.  I can't believe Thanksgiving weekend is already over!  That is my favorite weekend of the year!  I could write a whole lot more about everything that happened over the weekend but it would probably be a few chapters long!  I hope everyone had a great weekend as well!  If you couldn't make it to the stew we hope you can join us next year!

White Water Rafting Pictures Finally!

I finally have the pictures of the white water rafting trip we took before John left.  In Boat 1 we have John, Dad, Mike, Meredith and Little John.  Boat 2 (which was the best one if you remember) was guided by Capi-tan GZ, who didn't really guide much actually and was eventually fired by his experienced crew.  His olympic row team included Mary, Jason, Mom, and of course the gold medalist --------> ME!  

Please note Dad's facial expressions.

Thanksgiving pictures to be posted shortly!

Coconut Cake and Beer!

Okay...so obviously it has been a really busy week being it is Thanksgiving and all.  Last weekend I got to spend the weekend with two of my friends because one of them got engaged. We always have a fun time together.  Then I got to return home, on a SATURDAY!  Note...not Sunday night.  Garrett and I got to go to Whole Foods and pick up some steaks and some coconut for me to make my highly anticipated coconut cake.  :-)  The steaks were great...the coconut...the wrong kind, so Garrett had to take it back and get a refund.  I have already been made fun of for returning a coconut.  On Sunday, I got to wake up to breakfast and coffee.  I know..  And then we took Hank to the dog park.  He had so much fun!  He was great!  Then Garrett and I got to finish out the weekend by going to a movie which we haven't done in forever.  We went and saw Twilight with all the other teeny boppers in America.  haha...they ewweed and ahhhhed the whole time.  Another exciting thing we found is that Whole Foods carries Cold Mountain Winter Ale that Highlands Brewery makes.  You used to only be able to get that in the mountains.  I have only had it once.  Apparently they hadn't even gotten it in the mountains!  It was so delicious and we were so eager to get some again!  They only had 12 for the whole year and we got three (pictured below.)  We were very excited.  I even got another friend hooked to it and she had to go get some! 

 So tonight is the night before the Thanksgiving holiday and our family's stew, which is my favorite day of the year!  All are welcome!  I had a lot of cooking to do tonight.  I successfully made my first coconut cake and crispy cheesy spinach dip.  They both look and smell delicious. I am quite proud.  I know I will be Dad's favorite this weekend!  :-)  I cracked the coconut myself!  :-)

What else is going on...  Mike got a pet turtle named Simon.  He rescued him during  a storm. He was supposed to go to Petco to get some stuff for him, but I haven't talked to him since, so I'm not sure how that is going.  Since John has left for Afghanistan, I haven't been able to speak to him as much as I would like due to the fact that I am at work when he is able to get on and in the mornings, I know he is talking to his family.  The good thing is everyone in the family now has a camera for their computer so we skype each other erratically.  It is so much fun.  I skyped Mike when he had just woken up and his voice was still all scratchy...haha...he isn't as easy to make laugh when he has just woken up.  Dad tries skyping people all the time and gets mad if you aren't at home to answer his skype.  He has apparently skyped Mary at 5:45 in the morning. Now she can really have her peaceful quiet time in the morning before anyone else gets up all thanks to technology.  We are having a great time with it though!  I hope to catch John some this week since I will be available at my computer during the times when he is on.  

Tomorrow I head to the farm and am so excited!  I can't wait for Thanksgiving dinner, Monopoly, Bloody Mary's, Cold Mountain Winter Ale, Brunswick stew, friends, family, bonfires, and horses!  These are all the things that make up this wonderful holiday....oh and last but not least...Christmas music and Christmas decorations!!!!!  I love it!  I have been listening to Christmas music every day at work!  I'm not tired of it yet and I guarantee I won't be when they stop playing it!

I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday!  Be safe!!

My coconut Cake:

My Cold Mountain Winter Ale...Yummmm:

IT'S SNOWING!!!!!!!

As you can see, it started snowing while we were at work! We just had to go out and see it in the flesh!

I hope we get a good snow this year! Don't you? Sorry if you didn't see any, but I am glad that that is finally not me, maybe I'm not a snow jinx...or maybe I am, maybe that is all I will get to see! Atleast I saw a little, but I do ask, can we please have a great big snow this year that we can get out of work for and go sledding?? PLEASE!!!????!!!!!

It would be greatly appreciated!

Weekend Festivities

I'm not sure why the picture of Garrett and Tatum is sideways, but I don't know how to change it.  Anyway (notice the singular form), it has been a wonderful weekend.  Garrett and I spent the weekend at the farm.  The weather was pretty bad all weekend so the girls were cooped up in the house, but that was okay because we played Monopoly and had Bloody Mary's.  A traditon.  Haha!!  I didn't get my camera until Saturday night, so these are the only pictures I took. Victoria is just so cute with her hat.  Her eyes are just so clear and blue!  She is such a happy baby!  You should just see when she wakes up and is grinning at you!  The cutest thing ever!   Garrett was supposed to get up first thing Sunday morning and come home, but Brandy's little girl Tatum got in his lap as you can see.  To explain, Tatum has a few grown men wrapped around her little finger!  They are all like butter when she comes around!  She's just so sweet! So needless to say when Tatum wanted to watch TV with Garrett and fell asleep, there was no way he was going to bother her!  I don't think he left until after noon!  Saturday morning I got to talk with John on Skype.  We got to talk for a few minutes and then got disconnected.  Then I skyped with Meredith and the boys and Mom and Dad.  They were over at John and Meredith's. I think I am going to turn that into a verb, "I am skyping right now..please do not disturb!" Haha!  :-)  I'm glad we get to see John over the computer.  

Sunday we went up to the cabin.  Jason sure has the place looking good with what he has cleared out.  I am so ready for the stew.  That is my favorite day of the year!  

Well, it is Sunday night and I am watching the Wizard of Oz and going to sleep!  Another Monday has arrived!  Goodnight everyone!  See you soon!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

MITCH

JASON

THERE ARE A FEW PEOPLE THAT NEED A SHOUT OUT!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MITCH!!! HIS BIRTHDAY WAS NOVEMBER 8TH! HE IS 37! I THINK....


TODAY, NOVEMBER 1OTH, IS THE UNITED STATES MARINE CORP BIRTHDAY! THEY ARE A WHOPPING 233 YEARS OLD!!! SEMPER FI!


TOMORROW, NOVEMBER 11TH IS VETERANS DAY AND JASON'S BIRTHDAY! HE NEVER HAD TO GO TO SCHOOL ON HIS BIRTHDAY! I'M GUESSING HE IS STILL GOING TO GO TO WORK TOMORROW!!!


SO, HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO EVERYONE!!!

Change?

Funny bumper sticker:

THE CUBANS WANTED CHANGE IN 1959.
LOOK HOW FAR THAT GOT THEM!

A laugh...well, Maybe..

I have been corrected...as usual when it comes to politics. It is not historical to have a woman run for VP...it would have been historical had she won! This has been fixed on the previous post!
:-) As we all know now...she didn't.....
It is 10:00 Wednesday morning, November 5th, 2008. Barack Obama will be the next President of the United States of America.

A Day To Remember

A lot of people are very excited today. Today is election day. Today is a day to remember. This election will go down in history as the first black man runs for president and for the first time a woman could be our vice president. The people of this nation are completely divided. Some key issues to blame for the division of our people are the economy, the war in Iraq, healthcare, the environment, and terrorism. Ironically, the day we decide as a nation who our next leader is, which could completely change the face of the war, is the day my family has to watch my brother leave to serve his tour of duty for the war in Afghanistan. It was a dreary day as was the mood. We all love him and will miss him everyday. His trip starts in New Orleans first, then to Portugal and Greece, until finally he will settle in Qatar. Your family says good luck, safe travels, Semper Fi. We love you.