Pile of Puppies

Maddie and Lillian had a ball playing with Sarah's eight beagle puppies.  There is nothing cuter or sweeter than puppies with their eyes closed and their sweet little puppy breath.  We managed three visits to see these little angels!  The night after the second visit, right before Maddie drifted off to sleep, she said, "I just love those puppies."

She was all smiles the entire time!

Jessie was great help! Sugar is the best mama!  She loved on and checked on her babies the entire time.

 It's obviously easier to love on the babies if you just get in there with them!

How cute is that!

Still smiling when it was time to leave!

Puppies are available to good homes!  They are precious!

Sweet Summertime

Josh and Lindsey are cruising in the Bahamas, and we are hanging out having a ball with the girls.  There's been a little fishing, a little garden fun, and lots of pool time. We've also managed to get in lots of hugs and snuggles!!

Jessie and Allison have been over to swim. Maddie loves that!

 So does Lillian!

                       

And then some of the cousins came and that made it even better! (Ty, Wyatt, Anna and Grace)

Wyatt was a big hit with Cathy's kids.  Cathy said he reminded here of Caleb!

A pool full of fun!

Ty enjoyed a little game of baseball.

And I must say, these pictures of Maddie and the big girls remind me an awful lot of her mom!!

Loving our summer so far!!

All Fired Up

Marnetta, Stacy and I recently enjoyed another afternoon outing together.  We began with lunch at Kobe.  This was mine and Marnetta's first time to try sushi.  Not too impressed!  We also visited the new Edgar's Bakery.  Very impressed!!!  We tried our hands at ceramics at All Fired Up.  We have to go pick up our masterpieces in a week.  I can't wait to see how they turn out!  I always have the best time with these two!  There's never a dull moment or a quiet one when we're together.  (For some reason my pictures were not the best.)

Love these two!!

Stacy hard at work on her bread bowl.

And Marnetta working on her plate.

Check out these masterpieces.  I can't wait to see them after they are fired.  (Is that what you call it?)  I know they will be bright and colorful!

I got a little carried away with the dots, and mine actually began to look like it had a case of chicken pox!

I will share the finished products at some point.  The girls will be here next week while their parents are on a cruise.  I probably won't be doing much blogging during that time! We're going to be busy playing!

Toes in the Sand

Reed and I just returned from a quick, but wonderful trip to the beach.  This opportunity came up quite suddenly, and our children weren't able to go.  While we missed them, we had a great time together.  We spent lots of time relaxing with our toes in the sand!

Reed and I are both early birds, so we got to see some pretty spectacular sun rises.

This is the most beautiful and relaxing place in the world to me. The water was calm and crystal clear.  The only problem would have to be the 8 foot shark that was directly in front of us about 10 feet out in the water.  I am generally a floater, but stayed close to the shore after this sighting. Another 4 foot and 12 foot shark were spotted a short distance down.  Yikes!!!

The crane hung around for quite awhile waiting on fish.  I am not sure about the black bird.  Bless his heart, I think he was either lost or confused.  Reed refers to sea gulls as "devil birds".  I happen to love them!

Lindsey sent Pop's precious Father's Day gift for him to open at the beach.  The pigs are made from the girls toes and the balls of their feet.  So cute!!



We also enjoyed watching the banana boat and parasailing.  I also got to watch a little bit of a beautiful beach wedding.

 

I told Reed this might just have to become a Father's Day tradition for us!

I can't wait to go back later in the summer with the whole family!

They're Back!

Summer is officially here!  How do I know this?  My pool is once again filled with children.  For over 20 years, Mrs. Cathy's kids have spent the afternoons here.  That means lots of splashing, laughter, popsicles, jumping, and playing.  It's a great way to spend an afternoon!

Happy Summer!

Family Time

Maddie came home with us for a few days, and then her mom, dad and Lillian joined us for a visit.  Maddie enjoyed a couple of days of Bible School and swimming lessons.  I really enjoy the times when we are all together. 

Maddie loves the goldfish pond.  It is absolutely filled with tadpoles right now, so she loved trying to catch them!
 Lillian is going to be a little water bug! 

I can't wait until our next visit!

Eighty One

We recently celebrated Papa's eighty first birthday.  In addition to fish with all the trimmings, Reed boiled crawfish.  I still haven't gotten my nerve up to try one, but those that did said they were great!  I always enjoy family get-together's.  Every time one ends, I wonder why we don't do it more often!

Getting the crawfish ready!  Bless their little hearts!



Our Cooks

Aunt Di, Uncle C and sweet Lillian

Family Time

I feel I must say that Grandmother was not eating crawfish, but everyone else around the table quickly made over 40 punds disappear!

The birthday boy and Ariel

The cousins enjoyed swimming before and after eating.  Maddie was a little unsure of the "big kids" games.  She was mostly happy just watching.

Now, a little about the crawfish cooker-Reed took a truck rim, a burner from an old hot water heater, and an old pot and created this!  It did a wonderful job!  I have lots of plans for his latest creation! 

Climbing Mountains

On a recent visit, Maddie got to do one of her favorite things - play on Pop's sand piles!  The dirtier she gets the happier she is!

(I didn't have my camera, so these were all taken with my phone.)

All Smiles!

She found a spot with some tree roots and did a little mountain climbing.  Pop was close by just in case!

Just one more time Nana and Pop!

Ok-maybe just ONE more time!

It was definitely a rainbow kind of day!

Retirement

I probably would consider retiring a little bit more if I didn't enjoy the people I work with so much!  We had 5 teachers retire this year.  I have worked with two of them for all of my 29 years. I feel I must also add that I have actually taught longer than the other three.  Is that a sign?
Barbara, Teresa, and Shelia came from Carrollton and the Middle School, and quickly became quite special to me, also.  I will greatly miss them all.  I might also add that I am just a little envious!

Shown are Barbara, Sherron, Teresa and Ann (Shelia is not shown.) 
They will all be missed.  Ann and Sherron and I have walked the halls together many times!  Lots of memories!

It takes a really special man to work with so many women!! Mr. Smart is presenting plaques to three of our honorees.

It would be so much easier for me to retire, if I didn't like these people so much!!

Sherron, Barbara, Ann, Teresa and Shelia enjoy your retirement!  I'll see the rest of you guys in August!