Wonderful Will and his court...

Let there be cake! I take great PRIDE in showing off Mommie Amy, pretty lady...
Amy with the hostesses, Megan and Jen...
Proud mom with her two gals...
Mitzi, Haley, Stephanie, Rachel, Lynn with Will, Joy, Jane and Helen...
Proud cousins, and super helpers with presents!
Beautiful scrapbook that Aunt Haley made for Will...

This shirt will be sooo accurate, "It's my brother's fault!"
Big brother playing with a battery fan that lights up...wow!!!
Jennie holding Will...
Plush blanket that Jennie made for Will...double sided, complete with his name monogrammed on it!
Mr. Will is gonna be stylin' in all his new duds. We had lots of fun, with lots of food shared with good people. How blessed we all are, especially Prince Will. He's a tiny guy, who is very much loved. Oh yes, happy birthday today, Aunt Carolyn!

Going to the chapel...

I've got a busy day today...church this morning, then the baby shower for Will this afternoon that'll be held here (heck yeah there'll be pictures!), then to a friend's house for dinner.

Here is a cute one to entertain y'all for today...our anniversary is coming up VERY soon, so I got a kick out of this one.......

Tom's bride wasn't very attractive, but then he was no oil painting, either. After the wedding ceremony, Tom asked the pastor how much the cost was.

"Just give me what you think it is worth to have this lady for your wife," replied the Reverend.
Tom looked at his wife, and handed the pastor $50.

The pastor looked at Tom's wife and gave him $45 change.

Where would you be???

IF - you had all the money your heart desires?
IF - you had the most fabulous home in the perfect neighborhood?
IF - you had no worries?
IF - you came home and the finest gourmet meal is waiting for you?
IF - your bath water had been run?
IF - you had the perfect kids?
IF - your partner was awaiting you, with open arms and kisses?
So...where would you be?


Well.........hellooooo!!!!
YOU’D BE IN THE WRONG DAMN HOUSE!!!

FL Warbirds air show...

Time out for sisterhood...

'Sistas' Joy, Pam and Sophia came over for our history meeting last night...light dinner, but no cake, dang it. We were given all the minutes books from way back over our 20 year history for our review. It was fun walking down memory lane, seeing the names of women who have been in our chapter and either moved on or moved away; remembering lots of funny moments; reviewing chapter accomplishments and contributions in many forms to our community.

Pam brought some old photos that I scanned to preserve and share (don'tcha love scanners!). We marveled at how young we looked in that 20 year-old photo...and look at us old broads now! Where did the grey hairs come from??? Where did the time go?

The time has moved forward, as it always does. We as a group have turned into mothers-in-law, then some became grandmothers. There have been surgeries, divorces and deaths thrown into the mix, and these storms have all been weathered together by our powerful sisterhood. We are all blessed by this extended, powerful family of Beta Sigma Phi. These are special bonds that will never be broken on this earth. What a group of awesome women!!! What a blessing.

Online friends...comin' to town!

I just got the good news yesterday that Lois 'n Hank Greboski are coming to Mayberry in July! Bee and Sarge are excited, too, since we were all together on the Carnival Blogger's Cruise last February and know each other rather well. They can only stay one night, darn it, so there'll be some serious talking, eating, laughing, eating, picture taking going on...and cake of course for Empress Bee. Oh yes, y'all will be hearing about that get together for sure.

This is a busy week for me, getting stuff together for the annual meeting of all the folks at our RV park on Saturday, where food will factor in at the top of the list! And I am busy with grandkids here and there, a meeting at church Thursday, a sorority committe meeting here tonight (Joy, don't forget!)...all the normal stuff that is part of my life. Oh yes, and lots of paperwork thrown into the mix. I am known as Queen of the Office...hmmm, where did that tiara go? I should be wearing it when I sit here and work! Or should I wear it when I play? I'm not sure of the exact protocol on that one. Wait...I'm Queen, I can do both if I want to! And where are the Royal Servants? They've been slacking off again and need to be fired! Tsk, tsk. Parker and Missy are poor substitutes in the servant department. They were caught lying on top of my filing pile last night, keeping the papers warm. I guess they don't like to file any more than I do. They've mastered the kitty door, but are not doing so well on their ABCs.

And my serious news is a summons for jury duty next month, but that'll be over by the time Lois 'n Hank get here. It is in civil court, so maybe the folks will settle and I won't even have to serve. I have been on a couple of juries before (civil and criminal) and certainly don't mind doing my civic duty, it is just that with all our traveling, I am always fearful the summons is gonna arrive and mess up some fun plans...and that would make me mighty unhappy!

I hope y'all have a wonderful Wednesday, whatever you are doing! It looks like I'm gonna be filing, copying, stapling, and working on billing all day! Fun...NOT!!!

Kitty instructions

Now watch this, Parker. You just poke your nose through here and then you can go out into the big world! Follow me.......
Wow, that wasn't so hard after all, Missy. Thanks!
After all that prowling around, it's time to rest. Dad sure makes a good pillow...umm, Missy, you can have that other chair. It's comfortable, too!
Alrighty, Miss Smarty Cat...how do I get back in???????
Oh...pushing with my nose again. I think I've got it now! That's enough work for one day...I'm ready for dinner...

Kids and Campbell

Campbell, yes, but not the soup company. Ansley, Macey, Isabel and Paige attended John C. Campbell Folk School day camp this past week...and had a blast... Remember tie dye? Here is a modern version...are we dry yet???
There was some puppet making going on...move over Sesame Street...
And some mixed media...girls love to cut and paste stuff...
And then get 'goofy' at the end of a busy, fun week! They were all sleepy by the time we got home...
Despite some misgivings on day one, all girls said they want to go back next year. End of story.

Birthday bash...

The party was held next door to the birthday gal at Uncle Reid's 'playhouse,' which you can see is right on the water.......
There was time for swimming before cake and ice cream...and playing with the water guns...but then the rain came...
Notice the two chocolate cakes that make a "10" for the birthday girl? Haley is a smart/creative mommie. The cake is a family recipe...yuummmmmy..............hurry up and make that wish!
Birthday girl had lots of fun and got some neat 'loot'........
Grumps enjoyed the deck chair, watching Alex eat potato chips and stick his legs through the rails....little boys find fun everywhere...........
See what you missed Unka Brian? We hope the tile guy finally showed up and made your bathroom pretty. We wish you had been here. Oh yes, Will slept through most of the party. Aunt Joy had fun holding him.

A taste of Italy...and other stuff

In April 2002, we did two B2B cruises in the Mediterranean. The first was a 10-day cruise on the Costa Allegra out of Genoa. Here is the town of Menaggio on Lake Como, where we stayed prior to the cruise......

Onboard the ship...after taking a ferry across Lake Como, and catching the train to Genoa...

We had to take another train from Genoa to Savona at the end of the cruise in order to get onboard the Costa Tropicale to begin the seven-day cruise...
The food, service and entertainment was superb on both ships, as were the many ports of call we visited. We love cruising!!!

And speaking of food and entertainment, today is birthday party time for Miss Ansley, with a gaggle of giggling gals, and even a guy or two in attendance. Shhhh...no one knows that Uncle Brian will be there. Hmmm, this will be Will's very first time to attend a birthday party. I'll bet he sleeps through most of it...and has to get cake second hand, poor thing! The wee guy has grown 2 1/2 inches in only two weeks, and is now 10 lbs! After the party, he is going on his first camping trip. We believe in bringing up the kids 'right!'

Ciao, y'all...happy Saturday!

Above the clouds...and a forest critter.........

Friends Bev and Steve enjoyed a 5.5 mile hike from Arkaquah Trail up to Brasstown Bald, the highest point in Georgia at just under 5,000'. This is a view looking DOWN on the clouds...
And another view looking down to the valley below when the clouds moved away...
But THIS picture is a very deadly critter...a rattlesnake! Yikes!!! You'd better watch out while hiking in these hills...........Bev, thanks for letting me 'steal' and share these interesting pictures!!!

You might be a Greek redneck...

Sarge had a picture this week of a guy sitting on a toilet outside his trailer, so I wanted to show off what some of the Greek rednecks do with their outside toilets...
Here is another 'normal' and pretty view of Santorini and some of the beautiful flowers there...
Today is just another day in Mayberry paradise.

I think you are the father...

A guy goes to the supermarket and notices an attractive woman waving at him. She says hello. He's rather taken a back because he can't place where he knows her from. So he says, 'Do you know me?'

To which she replies,'I think you're the father of one of my kids.' Now his mind travels back to the only time he has ever been unfaithful to his wife and says, 'are you the stripper from my bachelor partythat I made love to on the pool table with all my buddies watching while your partner whipped my butt with wet celery???"

She looks into his eyes and says calmly, 'No, I'm your son's teacher.'

Annuals, shimmy dampeners, wings & other stuff

Airplanes have to have an annual inspection every year, and yesterday was the day. Dick found a good mechanic at a fairly close-by airport who knows the type of airplane that we have, so this guy has been doing our annuals for around 20 years now and knows our plane very well. Dick assists him at each inspection (he is a good mechanic himself), so this saves us quite a few bucks and speeds the process along. Brian flew up to watch the inspection, since he wants to eventually get checked out in our plane...and that wound up being a plus. Here is our son with his flight instructor after his solo last December...another handsome family member.......

It seems our 'shimmy dampener' is damaged/worn out and needs replacing. That is a fancy name for a shock absorber that when given a fancy name, means someone can charge big bucks for it. Dick now has to search for one......and the plane is grounded, and not at our local airport... so Brian flew his father home! This was B's first time to land at the airport here in Mayberry, and Dick's first time to fly with the new pilot, our son. Dad reported that he did a fine job of it. I was disappointed that I didn't get to see Brian and get a little sugar, but he needed to get the rental plane back to Atlanta.......and called his dad to report that he and the rental were safely back on terra firma where they needed to be.

I know it is important to give your children both roots and wings...and with Dick and me both being pilots, I guess it was inevitable that at least one of our kids would literally develop wings and fly eventually, so Brian is the one who did. And yes, he also looks just like his father and grandfather, but I lay claim to the smile gene. Brian, you rock! I love you soooo much.

My very own Will!

Since today is Mo's Manic Monday and today's word is 'will,' Lois blogged that she immediately thought of MY Will, cuz she thinks he is such a cutie pie. She is entirely correct about that, as y'all can see right here with his sweet mommie. Will hits the two week mark tomorrow, and he is already covered in our wills, the paper variety. Got yours done yet?
Thanks for sharing our little guy, Lois. Hopefully your 'trella' will get pointed in our direction in the near future. We were talking about you at lunch...did your ears burn??? I met Bee and Charlie for lunch today!!! Joy, sorry you missed them...they got there late. And there was an added bonus of their dtr #1 and Lala! Wow, that was a nice surprise. We'll have to do that again soon. Duh...no one got a picture of that event, but we were too busy talking for heaven's sake! Go figure.

Roger and his Wii...

This handsome fella is Joy’s dad, Roger. Since I don’t have a dad, I claim just a bit of his heart. He was about 25ish when this picture was taken. Roger was a member of the Army Air Corps, and got his wings in ‘44; flew many missions in Europe, was enroute home from Italy in ‘45 coming through Gibraltar when VE Day was announced on the speaker on the ship Mariposa. Oh happy day! Roger went back to the U of NC, finished his undergrad degree and did graduate work in psychology. After his GI bill ran out, he worked in the aircraft industry until his retirement.
Now at the tender age of 87 and a widower living with his son and family, Roger spends many hours on his computer, and has fun 'bowling' often with his son/grandson on the family Wii. God bless this patriot on Father’s Day........and every day. Roger, you’re a sweetie!...
And Roger is also the grandfather of that new doctor, if y'all saw/remember my post about Doc Melissa. They've got mighty good genes in that family too!