Lauren's Birthday Party

October 10, 2008
OK--I got this big idea to throw a surprise birthday party for Lauren this year since she turned 13 and well, I love to throw parties but rarely get the opportunity. So.....I set about the task of trying to contact her friends without her knowing and with just a few days advance notice so they wouldn't be tempted to tell her about it! In Iowa this wouldn't be a problem because I knew everyone and most of her friends had parents who I grew up with. In Kentucky this was an entirely different scenario!! I had no idea of exactly who to invite (lots of first names....can't remember last names) or how to reach them.
I enlisted the help of our neighbor, Destiny who is in Lauren's class and I also checked out all her friends on Facebook--ended up getting help from one of the "Mom's" in contacting some of the kids (can I remember her name? I'm so blonde at the roots) and managed to get about 15 kids there that night.

My Mom had flown in to surprise me for MY birthday (the day after Lauren's) so right after Joe and Lauren headed to town on an "errand" we started to set everything up. Destiny came over to blow up balloons and in short order we had everything together. The plan was for all the kids to be on the back deck when Joe and Lauren came home and then we would send her back there for the big SURPRISE!! But in the chaos, I didn't have my phone with me and missed the text message from Joe that said "we're 1 minute away!" So as I was standing in the doorway, I saw the Jeep coming down the road and I yelled "THEY'RE HERE!!" and all the kids scattered in the back yard. Our back yard is kind of big so when Lauren went back there, they all popped up from way back in the woods....it was funny. Lauren took a minute to comprehend what was happening. It was fun.....roasted hot dogs, played rock band and flashlight tag and tried to blow out the stereo speakers.

The guys were a bit "outnumbered" and kept asking if more guys were coming.....

The food was awesome and the table looked great. We had a bonfire in the back yard for hot dogs and marshmallows and it was kind of a "halloween" theme. The cupcakes had black and purple frosting that turned your mouth black if you ate them!! Evan thought that was fun.

Kentucky Deer

Excellent deer Joe shot this past weekend!  His friend, Jeremy, has an awesome place to hunt near Madisonville, KY and has invited Joe and TJ to come enjoy the season with him and his family the past 2 years.   

In The Beginning

I had originally planned to create a web page for our family that was a part of my online business but after 8 years of selling dresses I've decided to put all of that to rest--finally. The website was the very last remnant of the bridal shop and I have clung to it......not willing or able to give it up. Not ready to REALLY accept the fact that the store is gone. Then it hit me. I finally realized that my family needs me and you know what? I need them too! I miss them!! For the past 8 years I have not devoted my full attention to my family because there was always an email or a customer or an order to box up and ship out. Enough is enough. Maybe later when the kids are grown and gone, I'll start up again but for now I'm on my way to being officially closed.

Key words being "on my way". I tried to cancel my web hosting account to take the website down and they immediately offered twice the service for half the price......I may leave it up for a while just to see what happens in the spring. I really hate to throw away something I've worked so hard at for so long. If it starts to make money again, it might be a way to try to finally SAVE some money? Imagine that....money in savings? I'll do what the Lord wants me to do. For now, there are no customers so its not really an issue.

So, the idea of the blog came back into my head and I remember my good friend Shara and how fun it is to read her blogs and see the awesome photos she posts there on a regular basis. Can I do it too? She always assured me that I could so I thought it was perfect timing. I'll put this together in time for Christmas and have a place for everyone to go see some photos and whatever else I can think of to put on here. Should be fun!

So, this is the beginning.....thanks for visiting and I hope you come back often to see what's new and exciting!