For some reason....

This CRACKS me up -

I was uploading pictures for today's post and saw this from last night. Hmmmm had a house full of kids - looks like they just might have been playing with my laptop =)

The GIFT -

Tonight I received a gift.....this book. Purchased by my Mom for me. Written by someone a little younger than me. I stood beside her in the choir. I sat beside her in Sunday School. Her Mom helped with my wedding decorations. Wow. I read the first chapter and realized this may just be a real life situation put into words, a book, published for millions to read.....autographed by this same person I sat beside, stood beside and see every now and then in Wal-mart....Wow.

I just had to share because Tiffany lost her Mom several years ago. Her best friend. Someone that she adored. Someone she spent a lot of time with.

I can't imagine what she felt or how she dealt but after reading the first chapter, I think I'm about to find out......stay tuned...

How?

Can this kind of fun....


turn into this?

The "see saw" got the best of Cierra when it came down and shifted onto her foot. Ouch! This happened Saturday after Ronnie's race so she's been dealing with it since then.

We all know (and I'm sure agree) that for the most part, parents know what they're talking about, right? We told Cierra it was badly bruised, she should alternate ice and take ibuprophen. But....her gym teacher basically said if she didn't have a dr.'s note she would get big fat 0's in gym this week. So - off we go this morning to the doctor then to the lab for x-rays only to hear this - "it's badly bruised", "nothing broken", "take ibuprophen as needed for pain". Hmmmmm $50 later and 4 hours from work just to confirm what we already knew?! URGH!!

Oh well - Cierra and I got to spend some quality time here...and here....and she got to lay on this really cold table, lol! But we quickly realized there are so many other people that didn't get good news like we did......prayers work!

Where we go?

Cierra doesn't have to wonder any more, lol!

Saturday evening after going to the 4H "Pumpkin Patch/Corn Maze in the dark" event Chase went to a friend's house for the night. Our friend Andy was playing again at the Main Cup so we really wanted to go listen but wanted to also spend some time with Cierra. So - we met in the middle, ha! We took Cierra along to see where it is exactly that we go.

I think she had a good time...she met Andy -
and Jerry - Then checked out our bill. She loves to make sure we are charged correctly, haha!

We enjoyed spending the evening with our "Cinderella"!

Hula Hoop?!

I've never really been able to "hula hoop". I have certainly done my share of time on the wii but as you know, on the wii you don't really have a hoop. But yesterday on the wagon ride back to our car I met this little girl..her and her sisters had bought pretty hoops at the festival. I must have had a trusting face because she shared her 'hula' secrets, lol! And now even I can do it! So - to this family I will always be grateful! Thanks ladies.

Balloons, wine and more -

Some friends of our's - invited us to the Shenandoah Valley Hot Air Balloon and Wine Festival this weekend. Our weekend was pretty packed but we did make time today to go with them and we had a BLAST!

Ronnie and I agreed to only buy one bottle, taking note of all the 'local' wineries we wanted to visit...unfortunately, not far into our tasting we bought a case (between the four of us), lol!We stumbled upon this memorial where this husband and wife were born the same month, October 1938 and both died during the 9/11 attack...their last name was Flagg...
How ironic? Really?

Between Ronnie and OJ, I am not sure who is worse!? My cheeks hurt from laughing. There are 'uppity' wine drinkers and then there's us, lol! OJ was annoyed with a bee that was buzzing around so decided to 'trap' it...not sure everyone thought it as funny but we did!

He and Ronnie had lots of fun with this lady, too. She couldn't keep a straight face =)This girl was even willing to 'knuckle bump' OJ - There was a 'special hot wine' called Chili Dawg that you had to eat cheese quickly before tasting. Wow - Ronnie was quick to ask for some additional cheese to take the 'burn' off, haha!

We had lots of good food, tons of people and even special "Batman" plates, lol! We made some new friends -and enjoyed a beautiful fall day!Thanks Kim and OJ, for a great time!

LUCKY Number 7

Yesterday was Jeremy's first race after the tragic loss of his three horses and all his gear. He and Ashley took his new philly, "Honest Gal" to Delaware for her first run - Jeremy and his jockey are figuring it all out =)and whatever they did worked!YES - 3rd place - Looks like 7 is his lucky number! Congratulations Jeremy - we are happy for you!

ps - thanks Mendie for the pics =)

Race Day!

The alarm went off at 5:15 so we were up and at it really early. It was still dark when we left and a brisk 51 degrees with a steady breeze.....pretty chilly! Shortly after we arrived, the sun came up and it felt really good, lol!

Ronnie got registered, got his shirt/number then started stretching - He is a faithful listener of 106.9 so was happy to get his picture with Phil and Ariana -For those of you that don't already know this, Ronnie has always loved to run and was on the cross country team in high school, participating in many races/events. But... he hasn't run in nearly 20 years. So less than a month ago he decided he wanted to run in this 5K St. Jude's race in Frederick. For the past 3 weeks or so he put his eye on the prize and pushed - ALL FOR THE KIDS! He set a goal of 25 minutes for this 5K race - can he do it? We think so!

Here's Rachel - this race was her idea and a dream come true. She's telling the racers - get ready......Now they start lining up.... he stretched, waited and listened -
And now.... down and ready -

It didn't seem like any time before saw him coming back -
looks like he missed his goal by about 23 seconds but we are very proud! Besides, in his age group he was (we think) 4th. He has asked for the final list but it was a very good run after a 20 year break! Way to go Ronnie!

Count Down!

Tonight was the last 'major' training before the event. We worked out at home then headed to the towpath. Can I just say "I LOVE the towpath?" We went 'up stream' tonight which is much more scenic.....along the way - this is how it looked when we started and this is what it looked like when we finished - 4 miles later, ha!We headed to Applebees for a quick dinner then home for a good night's rest!I'm hooked on these 'won ton tacos'It's gonna be a busy weekend so we're trying to stay focused.

But - there's a funny story to be told....a few years ago, a Capital Meat salesman pulled into our drive and I couldn't say NO so....i ended up spending $100 on meat sold out of the back of a pick-up in a freezer ;( (that we ended up giving away because it was soooo horrible) To this day I haven't lived that down so - when this truck was in the parking lot Ronnie was quick to remind me, lol!

Happy Friday!

Welcome home!

Britt is one happy girl now that Brandon is home on leave! He arrived safely after 3 days of travel. Britt has missed him a lot and I'm sure has his time here all planned out, lol!

One thing for sure....we have to have our annual pumpkin carving contest sometime soon.

So - WELCOME HOME Brandon!