It's the last day of turkey month and I still have not posted what I am thankful for!
I have so much to be thankful for too!
1. I have 2 beautiful, fantastic, amazing, little boys in my life that love me unconditionally. Thank you Blake and Joe - the apples of my eye! You guys give me so much happiness that words cannot describe it. I love you both with my whole heart!
2. I love my house. I am so grateful that every night I come home and have a place to sleep, but not just that...... I go to a home I love. I wouldn't trade my old house to live in a mansion with a butler! (well a butler might convince me otherwise...haha!)
3. I have a job..........and it sucks and stresses me out a lot I won't lie - but I have one and so many people are struggling out there trying to find work and a way to pay the bills, so I feel guilty whenever I complain about it and the stress. I remind myself to be grateful and thankful I have a place to call my work! Plus I have the greatest coworkers in the entire world. I guess you have to trade off, you can't have both a fantastic stress free job and the greatest coworkers in the entire world. I will take the coworkers!
4. Coffee and Diet Coke
5. I have 2 angels watching over me.
6. My brother Michael is alive and here! You forget how much you love your family and take them for granted, until something terrible happens. I don't want something terrible to happen for me to be thankful for them, so I will always remember this when I push back a trip to visit or say "I will give them a call tomorrow - I am tired tonight." There might not always be a tomorrow to talk to them - enjoy every moment you can and make time for the people you love. It is so easy to get wrapped up in unimportant crap!
7. I am with the love of my life - need I say more! I don't know what we do that makes it so great, in fact we have that conversation often pondering that very question. I am so lucky and grateful to have such a wonderful partner to share my life with! I wonder what I did right in life to deserve the happiness he gives me!
Happy Thanksgiving month to everyone! Now bring on Christmas!
Picture taken by the lovely Janel Johnson at Janel Johnson Photography
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
Sadness in October
October was a busy month!
In my previous posts I talked of the the visit from Raymond's parents and little Joe's second birthday....very fun and very happy, but unfortunately we had some sadness as well.
The night of October 7th, my little brother Michael Bug was in a terrible auto accident. I got a phone call at about 2:30am while my sister and her boyfriend were standing at his side waiting for the ambulance. I felt like I couldn't breath - I was so worried... so anxious... so upset. Worrying about something you know is terrible but you do not yet know how terrible - that is the worst feeling! Michael was ambulanced to a nearby hospital. They stabilized him and life flighted him to Bismarck, ND. He was alive and we were grateful and it was a miracle, but we were scared - scared to learn of his injuries. All day on the 8th the Dr's were checking Michael and finding all his injuries so they could begin treatment. The day was spent with constant news.....some good and some bad.
Michael had a lot of injuries - scary ones. He had broken ribs, a fractured hip, a broken arm, a muscle on his broken arm was torn in half, a fractured clavicle, a fractured shoulder, a broken neck (fractured C4), a fractured T5 (mid back vertebra), lacerations to his spleen and kidney, a lot of internal bruising, a bruised spinal cord, and a head injury from blunt impact. His minor injury was the road rash on his side and his belt buckle cut him up a bit. I was so thankful he didn't have a severed spinal cord injury which is what leaves people paralyzed. During Michael's accident he rolled, from what I have been told, the pickup rolled 3 to 4 times. Michael was thrown around inside a bit, but before the final roll he was ex spelled from the vehicle by going out the drivers door. We believe it is a blessing he flew out. He probably won't be with us if he wasn't.
When my Mom and I arrived in Bismarck Michael was going to surgery. They were putting a plate in his broken arm and going to "clean him up and stitch him up" . He had dirt and grass inside some of his wounds. The Dr. also had him in a induced coma. They wanted him to hold perfectly still so the lacerations on the kidney and spleen would heal. Not fun to see someone you love so much in a coma! Michael spent the weekend in the ICU and then moved into a different area of the hospital. I headed back to Rapid City to take care of the my Joe and my youngest brother Darren. My Mom stayed with Michael 3 weeks. Michael is doing incredible right now........I know what I am thankful for this Thanksgiving! It was a long almost 2 months for him. He was just able to get out of bed and walk last week. I cannot believe how fast he has healed up! I am so thankful! Michael still has quite a bit of rehab to do. He had a head injury, and his short term memory is a little shaky. He also has some memory loss, but the Dr. said sometimes it can take 6 months up to a year to get that back. The memory loss is minor like this past summer and the month of October, but everyday he gets stronger and better. He came to Rapid on Monday to began inpatient therapy. He looks great!
Of course everyone knows why Michael was in his terrible accident - all I have to say about that is yes, it's ultimately his doings, but if anyone reading this right now has NOT drank and drove or let a friend drive after they probably shouldn't be please shoot me an email for being a bitch and judge away at him. I am pretty confident to say that almost all of us reading this probably have done it at least one time. And for those of us that have.......be grateful and feel lucky. Because we are! I have done it more times than I care to admit. I AM LUCKY! And so are you......
Megan our sister, she is a HERO and she saved his life....I have heard people say, "why didn't she take his keys" - "why did she let him drive"? Well when someone tells you they are going to stay with you - why wouldn't you believe them? What people should be saying is, "WOW - Megan randomly got up in the middle of the night to check up on him!" I have never done that for anyone.......that I recall anyways.
I think we are all responsible for ourselves as adults. At least that is how I was raised to be responsible for myself at some point in time. Our actions determine our futures or our consequences. We made our decision about our actions. No one does it for us.
So there you have it my two sense............in case anyone cares.
The other sad event of October was 10/29/11. That was the day baby Robert became an angel. I shouldn't be sad that my son was picked to be an angel, but I am selfish and wanted to spend my life being his Mom. I am his Mom, but you know what I mean. That will always be a rough day. I need to think of something awesome to do every year on that day in his memory. Any suggestions? Let me know I would love to hear them! He must of been watching over his Uncle Michael on October 7th!
Robert and I 10/28/2009 - First and only time I held him
RIP Baby Robert we miss you!
In my previous posts I talked of the the visit from Raymond's parents and little Joe's second birthday....very fun and very happy, but unfortunately we had some sadness as well.
The night of October 7th, my little brother Michael Bug was in a terrible auto accident. I got a phone call at about 2:30am while my sister and her boyfriend were standing at his side waiting for the ambulance. I felt like I couldn't breath - I was so worried... so anxious... so upset. Worrying about something you know is terrible but you do not yet know how terrible - that is the worst feeling! Michael was ambulanced to a nearby hospital. They stabilized him and life flighted him to Bismarck, ND. He was alive and we were grateful and it was a miracle, but we were scared - scared to learn of his injuries. All day on the 8th the Dr's were checking Michael and finding all his injuries so they could begin treatment. The day was spent with constant news.....some good and some bad.
Michael had a lot of injuries - scary ones. He had broken ribs, a fractured hip, a broken arm, a muscle on his broken arm was torn in half, a fractured clavicle, a fractured shoulder, a broken neck (fractured C4), a fractured T5 (mid back vertebra), lacerations to his spleen and kidney, a lot of internal bruising, a bruised spinal cord, and a head injury from blunt impact. His minor injury was the road rash on his side and his belt buckle cut him up a bit. I was so thankful he didn't have a severed spinal cord injury which is what leaves people paralyzed. During Michael's accident he rolled, from what I have been told, the pickup rolled 3 to 4 times. Michael was thrown around inside a bit, but before the final roll he was ex spelled from the vehicle by going out the drivers door. We believe it is a blessing he flew out. He probably won't be with us if he wasn't.
When my Mom and I arrived in Bismarck Michael was going to surgery. They were putting a plate in his broken arm and going to "clean him up and stitch him up" . He had dirt and grass inside some of his wounds. The Dr. also had him in a induced coma. They wanted him to hold perfectly still so the lacerations on the kidney and spleen would heal. Not fun to see someone you love so much in a coma! Michael spent the weekend in the ICU and then moved into a different area of the hospital. I headed back to Rapid City to take care of the my Joe and my youngest brother Darren. My Mom stayed with Michael 3 weeks. Michael is doing incredible right now........I know what I am thankful for this Thanksgiving! It was a long almost 2 months for him. He was just able to get out of bed and walk last week. I cannot believe how fast he has healed up! I am so thankful! Michael still has quite a bit of rehab to do. He had a head injury, and his short term memory is a little shaky. He also has some memory loss, but the Dr. said sometimes it can take 6 months up to a year to get that back. The memory loss is minor like this past summer and the month of October, but everyday he gets stronger and better. He came to Rapid on Monday to began inpatient therapy. He looks great!
Of course everyone knows why Michael was in his terrible accident - all I have to say about that is yes, it's ultimately his doings, but if anyone reading this right now has NOT drank and drove or let a friend drive after they probably shouldn't be please shoot me an email for being a bitch and judge away at him. I am pretty confident to say that almost all of us reading this probably have done it at least one time. And for those of us that have.......be grateful and feel lucky. Because we are! I have done it more times than I care to admit. I AM LUCKY! And so are you......
Megan our sister, she is a HERO and she saved his life....I have heard people say, "why didn't she take his keys" - "why did she let him drive"? Well when someone tells you they are going to stay with you - why wouldn't you believe them? What people should be saying is, "WOW - Megan randomly got up in the middle of the night to check up on him!" I have never done that for anyone.......that I recall anyways.
I think we are all responsible for ourselves as adults. At least that is how I was raised to be responsible for myself at some point in time. Our actions determine our futures or our consequences. We made our decision about our actions. No one does it for us.
So there you have it my two sense............in case anyone cares.
The other sad event of October was 10/29/11. That was the day baby Robert became an angel. I shouldn't be sad that my son was picked to be an angel, but I am selfish and wanted to spend my life being his Mom. I am his Mom, but you know what I mean. That will always be a rough day. I need to think of something awesome to do every year on that day in his memory. Any suggestions? Let me know I would love to hear them! He must of been watching over his Uncle Michael on October 7th!
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
It's Official
So I have one more blog piece about October 2011 I want to do - then I will feel "caught" up with our events so to speak.
I just have such excitement about an upcoming event I wanted to do a post on that first.
This past summer Raymond and I decided we wanted to get married. It wasn't some super romantic proposal or anything like that. In fact, we always felt that things were perfect the way they are and marriage wasn't necessary. What the hell is going to change other than my last name and the way we file taxes? We know we will be together forever. Due to certain summer events, which I will not go into detail of since I don't want to deal with the possible wrath of evilness, Raymond and I decided that we wanted to be married. We wanted it to complete our family and make it official. Sometimes life's challenges make you closer to the people you love. Raymond and I have had more than enough challenges to make us closer!
Raymond wasn't thinking we would get married anytime soon but eventually. Well....... I got so excited about the idea of being his wife I sort of jumped the gun and wanted to do it next summer. Even though we do not have a ring yet! Due to my hastiness Raymond is currently working on that.
We wanted simple and to enjoy the company of family and friends, so we are going to get married right in our backyard! After the ceremony we are going to have food and drinks for the rest of the night. Yesterday I contacted the minister and he marked us down on the calendar for July 28th, 2012 sometime in the late afternoon. So I guess that makes it official................. :)
I just have such excitement about an upcoming event I wanted to do a post on that first.
This past summer Raymond and I decided we wanted to get married. It wasn't some super romantic proposal or anything like that. In fact, we always felt that things were perfect the way they are and marriage wasn't necessary. What the hell is going to change other than my last name and the way we file taxes? We know we will be together forever. Due to certain summer events, which I will not go into detail of since I don't want to deal with the possible wrath of evilness, Raymond and I decided that we wanted to be married. We wanted it to complete our family and make it official. Sometimes life's challenges make you closer to the people you love. Raymond and I have had more than enough challenges to make us closer!
Raymond wasn't thinking we would get married anytime soon but eventually. Well....... I got so excited about the idea of being his wife I sort of jumped the gun and wanted to do it next summer. Even though we do not have a ring yet! Due to my hastiness Raymond is currently working on that.
We wanted simple and to enjoy the company of family and friends, so we are going to get married right in our backyard! After the ceremony we are going to have food and drinks for the rest of the night. Yesterday I contacted the minister and he marked us down on the calendar for July 28th, 2012 sometime in the late afternoon. So I guess that makes it official................. :)
Saturday, November 19, 2011
The First 2 Years
I wanted to do a post with pictures of Joe from the day of his birth to today because well...........it is just so amazing to me!
Joe Michael Brunson entered the world on 10/17/09 at 11:32am at 1lb 15oz and 14 inches long. He came to us at 26 weeks and 1 day gestation.
Joe about 3 weeks old - extabated and on high flow oxygen. A huge accomplishment!
Snuggles with Daddy - only about 3 weeks old
Joe in his isolette - 11/2009
Joe 3lb early December 2009
Joe 1/2010
First week home - mid Feb. 2010
June 2010
First Birthday :)
January 2011
March 2011
Early April 2011
???? I don't know when this one was but CUTE
Early July 2011
Early September 2011
2 years old!!! October 17th, 2011
This is a month late - as I wanted to do it on his birthday. Oh well! I am always late :) Isn't Joe amazing! He is such a miracle.........I love him so much! He is sitting next to me right now eating noodles, looking at that first picture of him to right now with food all over his face and everywhere talking jibberish -WOW. I am so blessed!
Joe LOVED the swing at the NICU - his nurse aunties and uncle even brought their Ipods so he could jam and swing at the same time! January 2010
Oxygen gone :) 1/31/10
Home Home Home - 115 days in the NICU
This is a month late - as I wanted to do it on his birthday. Oh well! I am always late :) Isn't Joe amazing! He is such a miracle.........I love him so much! He is sitting next to me right now eating noodles, looking at that first picture of him to right now with food all over his face and everywhere talking jibberish -WOW. I am so blessed!
Monday, November 14, 2011
A Special Visit - Special Birthday
The rest of our summer was pretty boring. Other than the house updates and our trip to Arkansas not much happened. I guess in August I spent the week as a waitress over the Sturgis Rally. Which was quite interesting! Nine days of long 12+ hours on my feet and great money! Not only that, but I got to meet some very cool people. I really enjoyed it. A change of pace from my day job that is for sure!
A lot of events occurred in October. Some sad and some wonderful. I will start with the wonderful first! Raymond's parents made the long trip from Arkansas to South Dakota for a visit. And a very very special precious boy turned 2 years old. Bet you can guess who that was!
Raymond's parents got to town on 10/7/11 and stayed until 10/10/11. It was so fun to see them. This was the first time Raymond's Dad (Robert) came and the second time his Mom (Judy) was here. I was excited to show Mom Judy all the changes we made to the house since her last visit. I think Raymond was excited to show Dad Robert the house and yard. Especially all his accomplishments in the yard. Raymond is very proud of the yard! Which he should be! Dad Robert has a beautiful rose garden in Arkansas........and is a rose garden expert to say the least. When Raymond was landscaping the flower bed area this summer he wanted to plant a rose bush to be like his Dad I think. Raymond was nervous about the rose bush dying - and being a rose gardener failure.....haha! Ironically, that is one of the only plants in the flower bed that lived. Not only did it live, but it was the only one that grew and ended the summer looking better than when it started :) The other plants that lived, well, they didn't look as nice as they did first planted. They were hanging on by a thread. We hope they come back next year....... That rose bush stood tall and proud though! It must be a natural Brunson rose bush green thumb thing? Ha!
Raymond's parents got us a meat smoker for a gift (thank you - we love it). Raymond was so so so excited! In fact, he is still excited and I eat smoked meat every single weekend. Ribs, Pork, Chicken, etc. Raymond is obsessed with trumping his last creation. Now he is planning our Thanksgiving turkey. Apparently this is going to be a 3 day $100 deal. I hope it's the greatest turkey I've ever ate.
Otherwise, we just did a lot of eating and visiting. Which is always wonderful!
On October 17th at 11:32am central time my amazing baby boy turned 2 yrs old! I can't believe it has been 2 yrs already! Because of a family emergency I wasn't able to have his elmo birthday party, but next year for sure! Lucky for me and Joe, his daycare lady threw him a awesome birthday party and made him a cake that looked like a pumpkin :) She said he ate tons and all the kids had fun.
I think back to that day 2 yrs ago........I cannot believe all Joe has overcome......and he does it with a smile on his face. He is amazing, truly, and he doesn't even realize it. I look up to my Joe - despite all the obstacles in front of him, he has fought through them with a smile! Joe has proved to me what life is all about. What is important......what isn't. He has forever changed me in such a good way. He is the first time I have experienced what it means to love someone so much it hurts. Raymond and I talk all the time about how Joe has changed us, made us better people, and that God gave us these babies for a reason. A very special one. Each day we discover another reason why he did. It's like pieces of a puzzle - a piece falls into place each day, week, month, year.......we slowly start to understand. Not only did it make us love our children and appreciate everything we do have - it made us appreciate and love each other. We are so close and survived the worst. We know we can make it through anything now.........
So happy belated birthday to my little Joe.........I look forward to each year we get to celebrate such a special boys life!
A lot of events occurred in October. Some sad and some wonderful. I will start with the wonderful first! Raymond's parents made the long trip from Arkansas to South Dakota for a visit. And a very very special precious boy turned 2 years old. Bet you can guess who that was!
Raymond's parents got to town on 10/7/11 and stayed until 10/10/11. It was so fun to see them. This was the first time Raymond's Dad (Robert) came and the second time his Mom (Judy) was here. I was excited to show Mom Judy all the changes we made to the house since her last visit. I think Raymond was excited to show Dad Robert the house and yard. Especially all his accomplishments in the yard. Raymond is very proud of the yard! Which he should be! Dad Robert has a beautiful rose garden in Arkansas........and is a rose garden expert to say the least. When Raymond was landscaping the flower bed area this summer he wanted to plant a rose bush to be like his Dad I think. Raymond was nervous about the rose bush dying - and being a rose gardener failure.....haha! Ironically, that is one of the only plants in the flower bed that lived. Not only did it live, but it was the only one that grew and ended the summer looking better than when it started :) The other plants that lived, well, they didn't look as nice as they did first planted. They were hanging on by a thread. We hope they come back next year....... That rose bush stood tall and proud though! It must be a natural Brunson rose bush green thumb thing? Ha!
Raymond's parents got us a meat smoker for a gift (thank you - we love it). Raymond was so so so excited! In fact, he is still excited and I eat smoked meat every single weekend. Ribs, Pork, Chicken, etc. Raymond is obsessed with trumping his last creation. Now he is planning our Thanksgiving turkey. Apparently this is going to be a 3 day $100 deal. I hope it's the greatest turkey I've ever ate.
Otherwise, we just did a lot of eating and visiting. Which is always wonderful!
On October 17th at 11:32am central time my amazing baby boy turned 2 yrs old! I can't believe it has been 2 yrs already! Because of a family emergency I wasn't able to have his elmo birthday party, but next year for sure! Lucky for me and Joe, his daycare lady threw him a awesome birthday party and made him a cake that looked like a pumpkin :) She said he ate tons and all the kids had fun.
I think back to that day 2 yrs ago........I cannot believe all Joe has overcome......and he does it with a smile on his face. He is amazing, truly, and he doesn't even realize it. I look up to my Joe - despite all the obstacles in front of him, he has fought through them with a smile! Joe has proved to me what life is all about. What is important......what isn't. He has forever changed me in such a good way. He is the first time I have experienced what it means to love someone so much it hurts. Raymond and I talk all the time about how Joe has changed us, made us better people, and that God gave us these babies for a reason. A very special one. Each day we discover another reason why he did. It's like pieces of a puzzle - a piece falls into place each day, week, month, year.......we slowly start to understand. Not only did it make us love our children and appreciate everything we do have - it made us appreciate and love each other. We are so close and survived the worst. We know we can make it through anything now.........
So happy belated birthday to my little Joe.........I look forward to each year we get to celebrate such a special boys life!
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
The House
This summer Raymond and I spent a lot of time on our house. This was the first warm weather/summer since we moved here and we both had so many ideas flowing through our minds. We also both have our favorite places to execute our ideas - Raymond prefers the outside and I prefer the inside! I was looking at pictures of when we first moved into the house to now. I cannot believe the difference!
Raymond and I finally finished the kids playroom. Raymond started that project the day we moved into this house on 11/22/10 and we literally finished it like 2 months ago. It was a lot of work to sheet rock, lay the flooring, put up the trim, and paint. Raymond starts a lot of projects and bounces back and fourth between them. He is so excited about all his ideas he can't stand himself so he gets many going at once :) We still have a piece of furniture that Raymond has been working on for the playroom, but other than that it's as good as done! I love it! No more tripping on toys :) At least not 24/7.......
For my birthday we decided to paint the living room and the fireplace. It completely changed the whole room! We also found some super cheap paint - manager special stuff that wasn't the correct tint or something? I went ahead and painted the hallway this strange brown color - and I loved the results! We are also slowly but surely getting all the interior trim painted white. I learned that painting trim white sucks! Worth it in the end though!
Raymond has worked his butt off in the yard! I am so impressed with the results. I could kick myself for not taking before and after pictures of all his hard work! He has cut trees down like crazy! We had a stump removal service come into the yard and clean up the stumps - which also gave us a ton of mulch. The best part is the flowerbed area he landscaped. If we didn't have 2 stupid dogs that ruin everything it was beautiful! He cut down a big crazy tree and dug up the ground, planted a ton of beautiful perennials, laid mulch, inserted brick around it, and put a cute black cast rod iron fence in front. It looks so clean and nice. I just hope the flowers come back next summer - we had trouble with Juicy and Syd digging them up or laying on top of them.
Right now Raymond is working on our basement. He is making our master bedroom down there, this includes building me a huge closet! He is sanding the paint off the concrete floor and plans on staining it. Raymond's sister and brother-in-law did this in their house and it looks amazing! Plus if it floods no worries as far as the floor goes. I am preparing to paint my kitchen. I am still not 100% on the paint colors. I just know it will be a green of some sort with a brown. I can't wait to get it started!
Playroom
Fireplace Before
Fireplace After
Livingroom Before ~Note the cute baby that thinks I am taking a pic of him and not the wall~
Livingroom After
Raymond and I finally finished the kids playroom. Raymond started that project the day we moved into this house on 11/22/10 and we literally finished it like 2 months ago. It was a lot of work to sheet rock, lay the flooring, put up the trim, and paint. Raymond starts a lot of projects and bounces back and fourth between them. He is so excited about all his ideas he can't stand himself so he gets many going at once :) We still have a piece of furniture that Raymond has been working on for the playroom, but other than that it's as good as done! I love it! No more tripping on toys :) At least not 24/7.......
For my birthday we decided to paint the living room and the fireplace. It completely changed the whole room! We also found some super cheap paint - manager special stuff that wasn't the correct tint or something? I went ahead and painted the hallway this strange brown color - and I loved the results! We are also slowly but surely getting all the interior trim painted white. I learned that painting trim white sucks! Worth it in the end though!
Raymond has worked his butt off in the yard! I am so impressed with the results. I could kick myself for not taking before and after pictures of all his hard work! He has cut trees down like crazy! We had a stump removal service come into the yard and clean up the stumps - which also gave us a ton of mulch. The best part is the flowerbed area he landscaped. If we didn't have 2 stupid dogs that ruin everything it was beautiful! He cut down a big crazy tree and dug up the ground, planted a ton of beautiful perennials, laid mulch, inserted brick around it, and put a cute black cast rod iron fence in front. It looks so clean and nice. I just hope the flowers come back next summer - we had trouble with Juicy and Syd digging them up or laying on top of them.
Right now Raymond is working on our basement. He is making our master bedroom down there, this includes building me a huge closet! He is sanding the paint off the concrete floor and plans on staining it. Raymond's sister and brother-in-law did this in their house and it looks amazing! Plus if it floods no worries as far as the floor goes. I am preparing to paint my kitchen. I am still not 100% on the paint colors. I just know it will be a green of some sort with a brown. I can't wait to get it started!
Monday, November 7, 2011
Arkansas
So...........our much needed family vacation sort of kicked off the summer. Like I said previously we headed down to Arkansas to visit Raymond's side of the family.
We first arrived in Ozark, AR where Raymond's parent live. I got to meet a ton of family there! It was so nice to put a face with a name. I must admit I was nervous to meet everyone because crazy as it sounds it was the first time I was meeting all of them except Raymond's Mom, Aunt Susan, and his sister Norrita. I wanted them all to like me okay. I think they did :) I know I sure loved everyone I met during the trip!
We did lots of fun things. We started it out going to Raymond's brother Joe ( yes that is who little Joe is named after) and his wife Brittany's house to play games. It was really really fun! I even got to make Raymond milk an imaginary cow and pretend he was bobbing for apples - if you can imagine such a thing. I think I scared Raymond when I grabbed him violently by the neck and kept shoving his head downward and back up so my team would guess what I was trying to make him do. They were able to figure it out so Raymond must be a good prop. Ha ha!
Sunday we went to Grandpa Raymond ( yes this is who Raymond is named after - you may start to notice a pattern with names) and Grandma Mavis's house for dinner after church. They had a fish fry and it was awesome - catfish I believe is what we had. Anything deep fried is wonderful to me. There I was able to meet lots of Aunts, Uncles, and Cousins.
Monday I did something unspeakable to me..............I went canoeing in dirty water that has bugs and stuff..........and I liked it. I wasn't expecting that! I am one of those girls that doesn't go anywhere without a lot of makeup on and I don't like to get dirty. Raymond wasn't so sure about taking me, but he was very excited to go! He thought I would whine and complain the whole time. We had to be canoe partners too............this also made me nervous since we cannot even hardly be card partners without arguing - canoeing seems like it needs to be more "partnerish" than card playing if that makes any sense at all. It went awesome! We had a great partnership and I wouldn't pick anyone else to go canoeing with! It was beautiful too! The weather was perfect! Great friends and family were with! I loved it. We have to go again!
We had a BBQ that night at Raymond's parents house with family. Lots of good food and good visiting! Raymond's Dad Robert (yes that is who baby Robert was named after) made smoked ribs. I think Raymond ate half of them himself. We also had a BBQ with relatives on Robert's side of the family and I was able to meet and enjoy more family!
After Ozark we went to Memphis, TN or Marion, AR (just across the bridge) to stay with Norrita and her family. We had a great time there too. Us adults went out for a night - we ate a Rendezvous, went on Beale Street, and stopped in a few bars and listened to music. It was a good time. We also took the kids to the Memphis Zoo. Norrita, Joe, and I went shopping for a day. Joe is not a fun shopping partner :) We managed though. It was fun but the day went by very very fast. We ended the day eating at Paula Deen's buffet which excited me on a ridiculous level actually. I even took a picture with a cardboard cut out of Paula :) We had a night at Norrita's in-laws grilling out - eating some more great food which included homemade chocolate ice-cream. That was our last night there...........the next day Norrita, her mother-in-law Nancy, Riley, and I went out and had some girls only time. We went to a bunch of cute shops and bought stuff we didn't need but had to have. It was a fun way to end a great vacation!
***I wanted to post pics of the trip, but recently our computer crashed and when we got it back they had lost all our data :( but I have quite a few on facebook!***
We first arrived in Ozark, AR where Raymond's parent live. I got to meet a ton of family there! It was so nice to put a face with a name. I must admit I was nervous to meet everyone because crazy as it sounds it was the first time I was meeting all of them except Raymond's Mom, Aunt Susan, and his sister Norrita. I wanted them all to like me okay. I think they did :) I know I sure loved everyone I met during the trip!
We did lots of fun things. We started it out going to Raymond's brother Joe ( yes that is who little Joe is named after) and his wife Brittany's house to play games. It was really really fun! I even got to make Raymond milk an imaginary cow and pretend he was bobbing for apples - if you can imagine such a thing. I think I scared Raymond when I grabbed him violently by the neck and kept shoving his head downward and back up so my team would guess what I was trying to make him do. They were able to figure it out so Raymond must be a good prop. Ha ha!
Sunday we went to Grandpa Raymond ( yes this is who Raymond is named after - you may start to notice a pattern with names) and Grandma Mavis's house for dinner after church. They had a fish fry and it was awesome - catfish I believe is what we had. Anything deep fried is wonderful to me. There I was able to meet lots of Aunts, Uncles, and Cousins.
Monday I did something unspeakable to me..............I went canoeing in dirty water that has bugs and stuff..........and I liked it. I wasn't expecting that! I am one of those girls that doesn't go anywhere without a lot of makeup on and I don't like to get dirty. Raymond wasn't so sure about taking me, but he was very excited to go! He thought I would whine and complain the whole time. We had to be canoe partners too............this also made me nervous since we cannot even hardly be card partners without arguing - canoeing seems like it needs to be more "partnerish" than card playing if that makes any sense at all. It went awesome! We had a great partnership and I wouldn't pick anyone else to go canoeing with! It was beautiful too! The weather was perfect! Great friends and family were with! I loved it. We have to go again!
We had a BBQ that night at Raymond's parents house with family. Lots of good food and good visiting! Raymond's Dad Robert (yes that is who baby Robert was named after) made smoked ribs. I think Raymond ate half of them himself. We also had a BBQ with relatives on Robert's side of the family and I was able to meet and enjoy more family!
After Ozark we went to Memphis, TN or Marion, AR (just across the bridge) to stay with Norrita and her family. We had a great time there too. Us adults went out for a night - we ate a Rendezvous, went on Beale Street, and stopped in a few bars and listened to music. It was a good time. We also took the kids to the Memphis Zoo. Norrita, Joe, and I went shopping for a day. Joe is not a fun shopping partner :) We managed though. It was fun but the day went by very very fast. We ended the day eating at Paula Deen's buffet which excited me on a ridiculous level actually. I even took a picture with a cardboard cut out of Paula :) We had a night at Norrita's in-laws grilling out - eating some more great food which included homemade chocolate ice-cream. That was our last night there...........the next day Norrita, her mother-in-law Nancy, Riley, and I went out and had some girls only time. We went to a bunch of cute shops and bought stuff we didn't need but had to have. It was a fun way to end a great vacation!
***I wanted to post pics of the trip, but recently our computer crashed and when we got it back they had lost all our data :( but I have quite a few on facebook!***
Jenn + Blogging = Failing
Okay - I suck at blogging! I have said this several times throughout the blogging business so I won't even waste my time telling everyone how busy I have been and how sorry I am! Haha! You all know and understand I am sure. I have thought of blogging many times the past few months, but got so behind I didn't really know where to start - so here goes nothing.
This summer was fast but fun.............this week I will devote a night to each major event of the summer to catch up. If anyones cares I guess :) I will start with our vacation to Arkansas which I promised a very....very....long time ago!
This summer was fast but fun.............this week I will devote a night to each major event of the summer to catch up. If anyones cares I guess :) I will start with our vacation to Arkansas which I promised a very....very....long time ago!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)