Happy Birthday Big S!!!!!

It's hard to believe that 11 years ago you were a 5lb 12oz newborn, lying in my arms totally trusting me and daddy to take care of you and raise you!  Thank goodness you had no idea that we had no idea what we were doing!  For novices, I think we did a pretty good job since you have turned into a lovely young lady whom we are very proud of!

Shocking that another year has gone by so fast!

Walter Cronkite

November 4, 1916 - July 17, 2009

Last week we said good bye to a wonderful man who was part of many people's families for many years.  Walter joined us for dinner every night  at 6:30pm until the day her retired and Dan Rather took his seat at our table.   How could you not love that sweet teddy bear grandfather face that joyfully shared the good news with us, solemnly shared the bad and wasn't afraid to get choked up if a story touched him.  The journalist of today could and should take more than one lesson from Mr. Cronkite - not just in journalism, but in integrity.  Rest in peace Mr. Cronkite and thank you.

Wheels up!!!!

And we're off..... on our way to the west coast for D and Little sister's wedding and a little catching up with old friends on the side!  Here is a preview of some of the sights we'll see!!

SF

Monterey

Napa

These of course aren't my images, you'll see those later, but I had to give you a visual taste!  I'm headed to the airport!  See you soon!

Little sister's wedding shower!

So, regardless of how much she said she didn't want one, and despite the fact that she said she didn't want any gifts - being a second wedding and all.  We were able to talk her into it!  Her good friend K who lives near her and who used to work with her offered to co-host it with me!  Co-host ha!  She put my name on it and let me pay for part of it, but bless her heart, she did ALL the work AND she did an amazing job at that!  Since the wedding is in Napa, she chose a wine and cheese theme and it was really nice!  She had several cheeses and wines for people to taste as well as a generous choice of finger foods and desserts!  

Little sister gets all sorts of embarrassed opening gifts in front of people!  It was really cute!

We weren't allowed to play any silly games, but we did get several pictures from our mom and put them on this easel and had people guess little sister's age in each of them - there were prizes for the top two - little sister and I did not win any prizes -we sucked!  In our defense, mom got several of the dates wrong but the rules were that we had to go with the ages mom put on the back.  It was rigged I tell you!!!

Here's me (of course I hate the picture), friend L and little sister - towards the end of the shower!

friends L & M with my co-hostess and little sister

Good food, good friends, good times!  It was a nice afternoon and got everyone really excited for the big day!!

Where have I been??

I wish I had a good excuse other than I've just been super busy with life!  Little Sister's wedding is in 11 days, but we are heading to sunny CA in less than 48 hours and there has been ALOT to do to get the 5 of us ready!  There are 4-5 dinners that we need outfits for that are church appropriate at the very least and cocktail dressy (but not tux dressy thank goodness) on the far end!  Lots of running around town coordinating outfits - hubby's ties had to go with our outfits for 2 nights, one night he doesn't have to wear a tie, but still has to coordinate with us, plus another dressy dinner or two, plus a day of wine tasting!  You know I am planning the outfits so we can get some good family pictures!!  I'm exhausted just thinking about it but SUPER EXCITED!!  D & Little Sister are a great couple and will have a wonderful life together!  The wedding events are all well planned elegant events that everyone will enjoy a great deal - I can hardly wait to post pictures when I get back!!  Another bonus is that we will get to see some old friends from when we lived out west several years ago!!  Stay tuned!

racing update

Big S with her car owner-coach Larry.  He's been around racing forever it seems and he's taught her a great deal in a very short time!!

The three girls just about ready to go before their race!  It is a co-ed but no boys showed up last weekend!  Girls rock!!  Funny how they were all smiles even when I told them to look tough!!!

Big S in full gear in her car!  She looks so cool!

The three girls out on the track - Big S is easy to spot with the yellow fire suit!

Big S rockin' it in victory lane - 2nd place ain't too shabby for her second race!!

Happy 4th of July!!

Before we kick back and enjoy some of these tonight,

let us pay tribute to those who have gone before us to make this day possible

and those who have gone ahead of us in the kitchen to make sure our bellies are full on this day!

and those beautiful symbols of our freedom!

And in an effort to pay an appropriate tribute to this remarkabale day, I am considering some outfits for the family!!!  Divit and Napoleon will look fabulous in this one!

I haven't decided which one of these next 2 I'm going to put the girls in yet;)

hubby will look so dapper in this one!

and last but not least, momma herself will be making an appearance in this fabulous getup!!

If only I had the kahonas to really show up in this!!  Instead, we will be spending most of the day at the track and then back to the homestead for a yummy dinner and probably fireworks around the neighborhood!!  Hope all of you have a safe and fun 4th!!

drivers, start your engines....

Have I mentioned that Big S has a new hobby?  Yup, your guessed it - driving quarter midgets!  Big fun!  Here she is standing next to the car we're renting!

getting ready to get out on the track - check out the super cool yellow and red fire suit!  hubby's helping her get all strapped in - I'm amazed at how significant the safety equipment is!

you have to admit, she looks pretty cool!  Her helmet's not here yet, hopefully in time for the next race!  meanwhile, this one definitely has seen some track time ;)

looking cool out on the track running some practice laps - very exciting!!

we are still very much getting our feet wet with this whole racing thing, but so far we are having a lot of fun and she is picking it up super fast!  Her coach/car owner is a great guy - old school track man with a big bark and absolutely no bite - you can tell he adores coaching the novice class kids and they adore him and want to make him proud!!!

storm chasers

I have to admit, I love a good thunderstorm!  I have been known to stand on the front porch and watch the clouds roll in while everyone else is in the basement!  Hail, thunder, lightening and super cool cloud formations - all get my blood surging!  Check out some these pictures that I snapped too long ago... super cool!

another milestone reached!

so, Big S still has some little girl in her - it doesn't show itself very often, but it's still there!

this is the girl I see more often these days - love her - there are times I'm sad she's growing up so quickly, but there are a lot of fun things about this age too!  

Anyway, we gave her a slightly early birthday present!

yes, she finally has her very own cell phone - with a list of rules that is almost as long as the instruction manual (which we told her she had to read cover to cover!) .  The others now have a definite timeline that they can monitor and count down until they have a phone that they can call their own!  2 years and counting for Little S - and 3 for Little G!!