Cruisin' Pictures

Here are some pictures from our Caribbean cruise!

Formal nights...



Here we are, Gary's about to go golfing and I'm off to my island tour on St. Thomas. Also a shot of Magens Bay...










St. Martin beach...

Cruising in the Caribbean!!

What a wonderful time we had on our cruise to celebrate our 10th Anniversary later this month!

Our first stop was a small island in the Bahamas, CocoCay Beach. We spent over an hour snorkeling and then relaxed on the beach before going back to our ship, The Mariner of the Seas. After a day at Sea and an Formal evening we ported at St. Thomas. Gary went golfing and was the envy of the other golfers as he was the only one who brought his own clubs! I went on an island tour and saw some beautiful views of the island and surrounding islands and areas. We met up that afternoon and rode up a lift to a beautiful view of the island.

The next day we landed at St. Martin. We had a day of sailing and snorkeling planned but it was canceled due to a lack of crew on the boat, we were totally bummed. We ended up going to a beach and spending the morning in the beautiful Caribbean seas. Later we walked the streets and went shopping and enjoyed lunch at a local hole.

The Mariner of the Seas ship was HUGE!! It was a beautiful ship full of wonderful ammenities. There was an ice rink where we saw an incredible circus themed show. There was a rock climbing wall that I attempted, mini golf, basketball, and so much more.

Most of the pictures we took are off the camera (the ones from the rock climbing wall and some others were taken on the film camera). But it is time for bed, so stay tuned for pictures.. hopefully tomorrow!

Great Book

Just finished a great book I found at the library, check it out!

The Friday Night Knitting Club by Kate Jacobs

Myrtle Beach

Our trip was lots of fun!! Always a good time when we head to the beach condo. The baby slept through almost everything .... the pool, the beach, the zoo. He woke up for just a little bit at the pool on the last day and I took him in with me for a few minutes, he seemed to enjoy it lots.

The kids also got to meet their great-grandmother for the first time. She was just tickled to death to play with the baby and spend time with Victoria.

Here are some pictures from hanging out at the condo, the beach and the zoo.

I was Tagged!!!

My dear friend Gary tagged me so here it goes...

The rules…. each player starts with 7 random facts about themselves on their Blog. People who are tagged need to blog 7 facts about themselves and post the rules as well. At the end of their blog list 7 people you are tagging. Let them know that they are tagged by leaving them a comment. My facts are:

1. There is nothing decent on tv on Saturday nights, LOVE my dish network and DVR!!
2. I just unpacked from a trip to the inlaws condo at the beach, and have to pack again in a few days for a cruise to celebrate our 10th anniversary!!
3. My daughter has learned to swing so well, she gets so high with no help at all!
4. That same little girl is going to turn 5 in a few short weeks!!
5. I found a bead store at the beach and volunteered a few hours to get 30% my pretty beads!!
6. There's a box of Spongebob fruit snacks on our kitchen table.
7. My little boy is waking up from his nap.... SO I'll post some vacation pics soon!

If you read this and you blog, YOU'VE BEEN TAGGED!!

busy week...

• Vacation Bible School
• A new haircut
• Grocery shopping
• Post Office and other errands
• Painting a cabinet and a shelf for the new store
• Pricing pottery for the store

New Look...

A new look and some new colors for the blog.


also from Jan ...
I could get more Scrapbooking done if...

I didn't have to sleep...
I didn't have a 4 year old pestering me...
I didn't have piles of dishes to do...
I actually had pictures printed to scrap...
My scrapping stuff was organized!!

promises, promises...

hmm, I promised that I would keep up this blog better didn't I?! I think about it all the time, lol. But I just can't seem to find the time to update it...



Trey is 7 weeks old already!! We've been enjoying the summer, just spending time together as a family. Victoria took a Pirates class at the History Center, ahoy maty, tons of fun! This week we have VBS, more fun!

Victoria has been going with me to the gym almost everyday. She actually asks to go with me, what a change from last year!! The last two weeks of school were tearless, that was such a wonderful improvement! We asked her if she was going to cry when we dropped her off for her Pirate class. Her response was "I don't do that anymore." lol!



We're also taking care of a garden that Victoria and her Uncle Clint started last month, soon we'll have corn, peas, and watermelon... we hope!

Happy Mother's Day!!

I hope everyone has had a great Mother's Day today!! I had a great lunch with my family and a fun visit at the inlaws house afterwards.

Victoria had her second day of no tears on Friday, Thursday may have been ok too, but she stumbled out of the van and got upset with that.

Hump Day

With only 12 days left in the school year, we had our first tearfree, no fussing, no whining morning when dropping Victoria off at school. WHY couldn't she do this months ago?? We were so proud of her and even her teacher was clapping and jumping for joy!

Trey had his first dinner out tonight. We have a new Chili's that recently opened so we tried it out. He slept right through it all!!

Tagged!

I've been tagged by my friend Jan!

Reveal seven random facts about yourself and then tag others.

1. I will be celebrating our 10th anniversary this summer.
2. Our yucky basement is now a lovely finished office/playroom/scrap area!
3. I have a 10 year college reunion in October, haven't decided yet if I'm going.
4. I love the recipes on Kraftfoods.com.
5. I have been to Italy twice.
6. My hubby proposed to me on his birthday.
7. I love playing UNO on my husband's XBOX 360!

So now I tag anyone who reads this and has a blog of their own. Let me know if you play!

Two Weeks Old

It is hard to believe it's been 2 weeks already since little Trey was born. Yesterday he was two weeks old! Right now he has the hiccups again and hanging out in his bouncer seat.

Some pictures, 2 weeks old!! Gramma got us this bear so we can see how he grows!! He is 2 weeks old in the blue outfit and 9 days old in the blanket.

Pictures from last week!

Hula Party

This last month of school is already getting crazy. Victoria's class had a Hula Party Friday and Gramma went and got some pictures. She looked so cute, the girls got grass skirts and the boys wore lais. Her Hawaii shirt from Aunt Tiffany was perfect, the little girls even had on green skirts just like Victoria's! She has an Ice Cream Party, Awards Day and more still to come!

Today was the first day that baby Trey and I took Victoria to school, it worked out pretty good. We just need to adjust his feeding schedule in the morning so we have a little more time and so that I'm not feeding him while trying to help Victoria get ready!

BABY TREY

He's here! He arrived at 6:18pm on Wednesday April 18th, weighing 8 lbs. 15 oz. and 20 inches long. We came home Friday afternoon and Victoria was so excited that her little brother was home when she got home from school!
She's been a great big sister and a big helper to mommy and daddy!!
I'll TRY to keep this blog up better and add pictures more often..... for now here are some of our newest addition over the last week.

Pictures

Some shower pictures.

Busy, Busy

ok... how do you bloggers do it?? I don't know how some of you blog everyday!! I think about it everyday, lol, but it seems so hard for me to find the time to actually do it!

Anyway... got Victoria back to the doctor yesterday for her check-up. She got a clean bill of health!! Lets hope it stays that way for a while now!!

Not much else has been going on. My mom hosted a wonderful baby shower for me last Saturday, it was tons of fun and great to chat with ladies I don't see very often! Don't have access to my photos right now, but will post a few pictures soon.

Work on the basement is progressing... the agenda for this weekend is to get the studs up... there was a trip to Lowe's this afternoon, so all the wood should be ready to go. Victoria recently got a tool kit so she has been having a blast hammering and making things while Daddy works on the basement, it's so cute.

Off to our annual women's retreat this weekend....always lots of fun and very inspirational!

That's all for now.

Quick hello

Hello blog.....
Victoria was sick over the weekend again, and YES, it's another start of an EAR Infection!!! What are we going to do??? Third round of antibiotics in less than 2 months.
Then I've got a horrible cold too, so we've both just been laying around during her Winter Break from School.

We did get out Saturday to her teacher's wedding. Very nice, small wedding, only thing was it started nearly 45 minutes late!!!

We got out this morning, had some breakfast, went to the library and a short visit t0 her grandpa's house. Then a lazy afternoon.

I have gotten down to the basement yesterday and today, started packing up any pottery pieces that are old and throwing a bunch away that are bad pieces and over 10 years old!! I've got to take a "Before" picture before I get too much done!

Nothing too exciting....

Except my weekend at Camp Crop Alot... There were 5 of us from the 'Peaches' group. We had a great time and met some wonderful new ladies. I got 22 pages done and made layouts for all the pictures that I had ordered and brought, time to order some more for next month's crop! The new house is great and I can't wait for my next weekend getaway!

Victoria's appt went ok, still some fluids in her ears, but no infection. She's on a preventative medicine now for 6 weeks.... she's such a trooper when it comes to taking medicine.... no complaining at all, even when it tastes 'yucky'!

Hubby is finally feeling better. The cough is still lingering alittle, but it doesn't kill him each time now. He has most of his energy back and he and Victoria were playing around on the couch last night which they haven't done in quite some time. She even made a comment about the fact that Daddy hasn't been able to play around in a while.

Now it's my turn it seems. All stuffed up and a cough. Better today then yesterday, but now I'm constantly sneezing and my nose is getting raw from having to use so many tissues! I was able to get a bunch of rest this morning and that is the plan again for tomorrow.

One of Victoria's teachers is getting married on Saturday afternoon, so we are going to that. Victoria has never been to a wedding and is very excited about it! She has picked out a fancy dress to wear and wants me to dress up too, not sure how dressy I can get in my maternity clothes, and in this cold weather, we will see! The other teacher and 2 or 3 of the other girls in her class are also going so I'm sure she will have fun. It is not far from the house either so that is good!

Another Week...

* Transfer the tag for the new van.

* Get to the post office.

* Victoria has a follow up appt after ear infection, hopefully it's all cleared but she still can't hear normally!

* Pack for Camp Crop Alot!!! Got my pictures Saturday so now it's planning and packing time!

* Get Victoria ready to spend the weekend at her Gramma's house!

Belly pictures

Thought I'd compare 15 weeks in October to 28 weeks last weekend.... same outfit!

This week...

Brrr!! It is 1:30pm and still only 28 degrees outside!

Things to do and places to go....

* Had my one hour Glucose test this morning, fingers crossed that I passed!

* Victoria's Gran is visiting her school tomorrow to read a story to her class.

* Wednesday is early release day, Victoria will be home at 12:30.

* Pay day, woohoo. Pay bills, boohoo!

* Thursday, Gary is helping his brother coach so Victoria gets to spend some more time with Gran or Grandpa.

* Hunt down the mailman to get my pictures I ordered.... plan pages for my weekend at Camp Crop Alot.

* Laundry, dishes, laundry, dishes, laundry.....

* Start cleaning out extra closet, go thru bookshelf and clean out!

* Get some things ready to Ebay.

* Post some belly pictures. I have some from October and some from last week in the same outfit and then some that Victoria took too.

The Last 7 Days...

What a week it has been.... and now I just had this all typed out and ready to go and Blogger shut down on me.. augh!

Anyway... last Friday started with Victoria's doorhandle breaking off... went to the Kia dealership and it was going to be almost $200 to fix it! Well, I ended up coming home with a new '06 Kia van!!! We'd been looking at them for a while and it all worked out. It has the power doors and back lift and fold down back seats. It will be so nice not to have to take the seats out when I go scrapbooking!!

Then Saturday was a great day of cropping with a great group of the GA Peaches!! Always fun and it was great to meet new Peaches. I got 4 pages done and finished up 2 more that I had started a while ago!

Monday the UPS man came with my new maternity pjs from Old Navy. I finally have a comfy pair of pj pants to hang out in, I don't have anything to match the pink and green plaid, but that's ok! The shorts set is so cute with cupcakes on them!

Tuesday after dropping off Victoria at school I went to my brother's office and removed staples for 8 hours... what fun, but some extra $$ is always good! From there it was off to teach my class. I was glad that there was nothing going on Wednesday and I could rest.

During all this, Gary has had a flu-like virus and not feeling well at all. Then yesterday I had to take Victoria to the doctor and she has yet another ear infection!! This is the second in less than a month. So she's been home yesterday and today. I will say she is turning into quite the little scrapbooker!

Yesterday I finally got a huge pile of scrapbook pages into page protectors!! This pile has been homeless for months, I just keep forgetting to get the page protectors! So now that they are finally in the protectors, I just need to get them in albums!

I also have to order pictures... going to Camp Crop Alot in 2 weeks and don't have any pictures to work on!! Can't wait for CCA, excited to see the new house!

Well, that was our week... no plans for the weekend, just hanging out at the house and hoping everyone feels better!!

Nothing Special

Just an average Thursday, but hadn't posted in a while. Been really tired again and this little boy is kicking away!
Tomorrow is Friday!! Nothing planned tomorrow, but cropping with the Peaches Saturday... looks like I'm driving solo though.
I finally found my clear stamps that I have been looking all over for!! I got them in Orlando in November and haven't even used them yet...so glad I found them.
Off to watch Men in Trees.

Creativity....

where has it gone??
Here are pictures of the paint can I made and beads I found, details in Friday post.

It's FRIDAY!!

It seems like this has been a busy, crazy week! My teaching quarter started Monday night and now my schedule is FOUR nights a week, two classes. The first few classes always end early since the students don't have any supplies yet, not much you can do with a drawing style assignment when noone has paper or pencil! However last night was a regular class and I didn't get home till almost 10:00pm. It's going to be a long quarter and I already miss being home when Victoria goes to bed.

The rest of the week was fairly normal, getting Victoria back to the swing of getting up for school. She and Daddy went off in the afternoons, going to grandpa's, getting daddy's haircut and generally running around town.

Yesterday was Victoria's 4 year old checkup and shots. It is so hard to believe she is already 4 and a half years old, where has the time gone?? She did great at her check up until the doctor left and I told her we had to wait for the nurse to come back for her shots :( Considering the fact that she got 3 shots, some in each leg, she did great, she certainly has a great set of lungs on her! All I wanted to do afterwards was carry and hold her, but that's a bit hard to do when she is 35 lbs. and I'm almost 6 months pregnant!

And then there is my Creativity Slump!!! I made a paint can for a friend for Christmas and had fun with it, but since then have not felt creative at all! i filled her can with a variety of items, snowman ornaments, mug and coffee, some scrapping embellishments and chocolates.

We even stumbled on this great little bead shop while we were in Ellijay, Beaded Couture. I found some great beads and ideas, but haven't had any interest in making anything. I need to order pictures so i'm hoping once I get those I'll be inspired to scrap some, especially since I've gotten so far behind! I am looking forward to a crop with the Peaches next weekend too!

Soccer

As promised, here are a few pictures from soccer this past fall. One from her very first practise, Mommy was kicked out of practise after all she wanted to do was sit with me. So practise days became a daddy, daughter evening. Games were mostly spent with Victoria standing around watching everyone else. Every now and then she'd run towards the ball, a few times the ball hit her feet but it wasn't because she ran to it :) She did get to kick the ball in to the game!

26 weeks

Had my OB appt this morning. I'll will be 26 weeks on Wednesday and I'm already measuring at 26 weeks. Surprisingly after the holidays and great country breakfasts at the Bed & Breakfast, I only gained 2 pounds in the last month! My total so far is 12 pounds, not bad!! I go back in 3 weeks for the 1-hour glucose test, oh fun :)

A friend from church passed on some newborn clothes that her little one has already outgrown. It is hard to remember Victoria being that small. The outfits are so cute... bears, trains and sports!! His wardrobe is off to a great start, he's going to be a styling little fellow!

Another friend was talking about her kids and sports on her blog ... Victoria played soccer this fall, so cute though she just stood around most of the time. I'll have to find some more pictures tonight and post some soccer shots!

Some Pictures

All these are from mid-November or Thanksgiving weekend. The black and whites are some that we used for this year's Christmas cards. Then Victoria and I decorating our tree, she was such a big help and had so much fun putting the ornaments on and helping with the lights!

New Year - New Blog

Once again the plan is to be better about blogging! What better time to start fresh then the New Year?! I actually tried to blog a few times over the last few months but Blogger and my computer were not cooperating.

News from Cartersville -

Victoria's pre-K days still start with a tear or two each day, but as soon as Mommy leaves she has a great day and tells us all about it each day.

Around the middle of August we got some family news that Victoria will be a big sister!! We waited to share the news for a few months and then found out on Dec. 1st that we are having a little BOY! Victoria is already in love with her little brother and can't wait for his arrival is mid-April.

Gary seems to finally be over his ongoing battle with kidney stones! After a procedure to break it up he passed a stone the day before Christmas and has been feeling like himself again since then!!

We got away to a great little Bed & Breakfast for a few days before the new year, had a lovely time just relaxing and enjoying north Georgia.

We've started cleaning/organizing the basement to get it ready to finish off.... we'll move our office, video game and craft area to the basement and make that room the baby's room.

Everyone is back to school and work tomorrow, I've got two classes this quarter that I haven't taught in a long time so guess I'm off to get ready for class.

Tried to upload a couple pics but laptop not cooperating, I'll try again from the desktop tomorrow.