A great start to a great weekend ....

So, we're off on an awesome girls' weekend away. My sister, Rachel, is with us (she's on the right, by the way). Roxanne, Sandi, Rachel and I loaded our stuff into my van and headed for Kissimmee where we checked into a hotel which has nice two bedroom suites! After getting unpacked, we headed to find something to eat -- Macaroni Grill where we were quite entertained by a great waiter.

We decided to visit Old Town in Kissimmee! An interesting place where we found an Elvis wannabe .. Roxanne chase him down so we could get our picture taken with him! He was quite accommodating! Bless his heart! He probably thought we were all a little crazy but judging from the people around us, I can say we definitely were not alone!

We had to check out the hotel once we arrived and then we let our hair down!

You can't go to Old Town without visiting A & W and take advantage of the root beer floats!

Then it was back to our room where we hit the hot tub -- and tried to deal with kids whose parents decided that they would share the sweet little creatures with anyone who would deal with them! (Sweet? Hardly!) It was back to our room and a rousing game of "Pop 5" .. sounds a about as crazy as it is. You must be willing to make an absolute fool of yourself to play it. But, guess that goes with the territory as we all accomplished it quite well. Sandi and I won! Thank you very much ... I'm sure Rachel and Roxanne will be ready to take us on again tomorrow night!

Shake, Rattle and Roll!!

Rachel and I were up at the crack of dawn -- I take that back -- we were up before the crack of dawn!! We were driving along when Rachel received a text message from Allen and said, "We just had an earthquake!" We didn't feel it ... at least, I don't think we did. There are potholes in Indiana so we may have just thought it was a pothole and actually, I'm not sure that we would have felt much riding in a car.

However, my brother, Mark, told me that he and his wife were awakened by it. It was a side-to-side motion and they were quite unsettled for a few moments.

I thought I'd share just a couple photos of the kids at IHC (Interchurch Holiness Convention) as they were preparing for the Children's Choir to sing -- there are usually about 200-250 kids in the choir and they sang their hearts out!!

It was neat to see so many "old friends" ... okay, so we are all getting a little older and hopefully, a little wiser. The latter would definitely be debatable!! Oh, well!

My sister is down for a few days - Roxanne, Sandi, Rachel and I are heading for Orlando tomorrow for a girls' weekend away! Hurray!! We shall have fun, I'm sure!! Hopefully, we won't stir up any trouble anywhere!! Then again ....

Good job, Nana!

The end of tax season has arrived and what better encouragement to get than from a 7 year old!!

They're home again ... at 9am!!!!

Go figure! Chris and Kamen drove from St. Pete to Orlando so that Kamen could 'shoot' for Disney and they are already back home at 9am. (It's about 1-1/2 hours to Disney!) They left at 3am and pulled back in at 9am!! No, they aren't taking naps ... they are heading for school (Northside Christian School)! Chris is the football / wrestling coach and Kamen is a student.

So, it was "off to work we go" ... and then "off to school we go!"

It's off to work he goes ....

At 3:00am, Kamen heads to work in the morning. Oh, he's only 9 years old but he's got a job -- a 'shoot' at Disney. So, he's getting ready this evening to make sure he looks like he needs to, in the shower and headed for bed so he can be up and at 'em!! He'll miss one day of school but will make up for it, I'm sure.

Someone asked me recently if he and Kasi had been busy doing commercials recently and I told them they had not done as much but I spoke to soon! I got home and Roxanne told me that Kamen was back at it again! I've watched him on the set before and was quite intrigued. It was even more interesting to watch the response of the producer as he watched Kamen in action!

The guys again!!

My grandsons keep me in business when it comes to pictures!! From Kamen's school project on the state of Missouri to Tyler's excitement over going to his first (that he can remember) official ball game, they gave me photos to post!! So, here goes ...

Kamen did a great job on his project. He enlisted the help of his big sister, Kasi, and was quite content for her to do the work. That is, until she insisted that he must be in on his own project. We were all proud of his hard work!

It's hard to believe that Tyler is growing up quickly! Then again, it's hard to believe how fast all them are growing.

Shonna, Ron and RJ spent the weekend at Disney so I'm sure I will have photos to share from them, too!

Don't you love the expression on Tyler's face? I'm not sure if he's excited to be there -- or whether he's posing for Tim!! He enjoyed the game for quite a while and then opted for his Game Boy for a while! At least they were prepared!

By the way, his favorite part of the whole game was when the umpire got hit by the ball. He said, "That was hilarious, Mom!"

Nostalgia of sorts ...

It seems that I have a tendency to run across old photos. Maybe it's because I'm trying to find something and I stumble over a box of photos. I am not like my sister who is about the most organized person in the world when it comes to photos. She has photograph albums for each of her children and each of the years of their lives. She has photograph albums of her life with Allen -- okay, Allen, it would take loads of albums to keep up with your life! LOL!! She is just about finished transferring her hundreds (it seems) of videotapes to DVD's -- and how fun to watch some of those in the process! Jene' is now a junior at Olivet majoring in Nursing. I think that she was well on her way to being a movie producer (or writing plays) when she was just about 10 or 11! I was there on a couple occasions when she and Shara and others (Potter children, maybe) put on a 'play'. What lengths they went to!!

I found an old photo of my mother, dad and Don Wardlaw. How my mind went flying back over time! I remember staying with Don and Etta Mae. I believe they only had two children at that time. It is the only time I remember wanting to stay home from school and telling them I was sick. I probably was .. but just missed my parents! I really don't remember if they made me go to school or if they felt sorry for me at the time! I was in Don's sister's wedding -- I think Marilyn Cook and I were candlelighters! That was an honor for us! And it's neat to keep up with these friends across the years.

This photo was taken in front of the church my dad pastord in Noblesville, Indiana, I believe. How many years ago was this?? I don't have a clue -- but it has been a long time. It is also hard to believe that of the three of them, only one remains here. The other two are celebrating in heaven! What a legacy!!

Heredity ... Environment? Who knows or cares??

It seems that every time our family (even extended family) gets together, the cameras come out and so do the crazy poses. It doesn't matter who it is .... if there's a camera, you will most definitely hear, "Crazy picture." Just as soon as those words are uttered, you can be sure everyone has taken up some sort of a crazy stance -- for the most part. So, I thought I'd share just a few of those photos here.

Way back about the time my brother, Tim, got married, the sons-in-law decided to have some fun with my mother! As you can see, she knows there is some craziness going on behind her. Over the years, you'd see some pretty funny expressions on her face as she knew she'd probably been 'had' by somebody acting up behind her!

So much for having a serious family, huh? But, we do have lots of fun ... usually!

Oh, and I added one of Rachel's latest, too!!

I think I'll unpack!!

After traveling all over the country during this income tax season, it seems that I can actually unpack and stay home for ... well, all of about a week! I'm almost afraid to unpack -- I won't know how to operate except out of a suitcase!

However, I will be glad to pack up for a couple trips next week. One is to IHC for 1-1/2 days. Since the 15th falls on Tuesday, it seems that I will be rather limited in my travels! So, I will catch an early flight on Wednesday and make my way to Ohio. I am glad that my room at the Crowne Plaza is already secured -- and paid for!! On Thursday night, I will go back to Rachel's so we can catch another early flight on Friday morning. I'm really looking forward to that weekend. Rachel is coming to Florida for a few days during which Roxanne, Sandi, Rachel and I will head to Orlando for a two night/ three day girls' away weekend. What fun!! Most of it will just be 'take it easy' time but we have opted for a dinner night out at The Melting Pot. What a place to go -- you need a whole evening to enjoy it fully! The last time I was at the one there in Orlando, Roxanne and Sandi were with me. We laughed through most of the dinner since our waiter seemed to provide amusing entertainment. What did he do? I don't remember at all! All Iknow is that we thoroughly enjoyed the evening.

We're adding Rachel to the mix so who knows what will happen. All I know is that I'm glad we are in Orlando where no one knows us!!

By the way, the photo was taken the last time we were at the Melting Pot! Scary, huh???

Happy Birthday, little brother!!

My youngest brother, Thad, has a birthday tomorrow!! While he may be the youngest, he is probably the tallest. So, I look up to him to have a conversation. Thad doesn't have any children but he is a great uncle to all of his nieces and nephews!! He loves to be with them and they know they have a special place in his heart and always will!! Love ya, Thad!! He's on my lap in the first photo and with Teri's children recently.