Oh Where, Oh Where Did My Little Blog Go?

I am embarrassed to admit it has been WEEKS since I last blogged. I'm even more ashamed of the fact that I haven't been taking many pictures even though...

• I went home for a weekend! My aunt is in the final stages of restoring our family's grist mill. The Francis Mill Preservation Society held their second annual Bluegrass and BBQ fundraiser. I came home to help with the fundraiser and spend some time with my family! I did get to see my FAVORITE boy in the whole wide world --- BOONE!

• 

He tried very hard to blow up a "bloon" on his own.

(Note: Any references to other small children being my "favorite" are null and void. I have recognized the error of my ways and I know that only children I am directly related to should be referred to as "my favorite.") :-)

• Bryan and I visited his grandparents - Nanny and Pa - at "The River" for Bryan's birthday. We had a fantastic weekend spending time with his family. His Dad and cousin Tracy came with us. When we left on Sunday, we were all a couple pounds heavier from Nanny's awesome cooking.

• I took two of my favorite former students out to dinner. Every time they have something to celebrate (all A's on a report card, a big project, getting accepted into advanced classes) we go out for a special dinner. Most recently, I took Dayra and Estefania to The Cheesecake Factory. YUM!

Happy AND Smart!

• There have been TWO Fab 5 birthday celebrations! Sherry and Michelle are both a little older and smarter.

Michelle's Birthday Mafia

• I have been spending LOTS of time with a certain almost-2-year-old. Recently, we spent some time trying on Thomas' favorite new toy - an enormous blonde wig!

• 

I know, you're all jealous and you want to borrow it now. Too bad. Thomas says no.

Devoted

As my family has now expanded to include a boy (besides Daddy) for the first time ever, I found myself becoming reminiscent...

August 25, 2007

My sisters and I have a Christmas tradition of watching the movie White Christmas. Most of the time, it involves lots of begging and pleading on my part - they aren't always as enthusiastic as I am. :-) What they don't know, is that I only want to watch it for one reason.


There is a scene in the movie where Rosemary Clooney's character and her sister are performing in a restaurant/lounge/bar. They sing a song called "Sisters" - You've probably heard it before. I love to hear us sing it together. Every time I sing, hear or think of that song, I think of my sisters.

Kadee

Jennie

Nattie

Time for a confession - I've had a hard time accepting that my family will never be the same again. There will be holidays where the six of us won't be together. Kadee and JP will have to divide their time, share themselves, and eventually start their own family traditions. I'm sure Jennie and Chris will soon join the marry-ed club too. Nattie and I? Who knows... :-)


What I realized this weekend was that none of these things will change how my sisters and I love and care for each other. I know there are things about me that probably drive other people nuts My sisters are able to overlook them, immediately forgive me, and gently help me recognize how I need to change. I can trust that my sisters will always keep my secrets, make me laugh when I can't stop crying, and drop everything to come to my rescue. We will always be able to answer a phone, pack a bag, drive in a car or fly on a plane to get to one another. Being married just gives us something else to talk about. :-)

Sisters, sisters

There were never such devoted sisters
Never had to have a chaperone, no sir
I'm here to keep my eye on her

Caring, sharing

Every little thing that we are wearing
When a certain gentleman arrived from Rome
She wore the dress and I stayed home


All kinds of weather we stick together
The same in the rain or sun
Two different faces but in tight places
We think and we act as one, ha-ha

Those who've seen us
Know that not a thing can come between us
Many men have tried to split us up
but no one can

Lord help the mister
who comes between me and my sister
And Lord help the sister
who comes between me and my man

 I love you, Lulas.

My Favorite Things About Summer

1. Graduating!!! That's right!! I am finished with my Master's degree. I could not be more excited. I'm taking a year off to recuperate, but I'll go back to UGA for one more degree next fall.

Aderhold Hall... my Athens home.

2. My new hair!! I have found my favorite place - 313 Salon, Spa and Boutique. If you're ever there, ask for Georgia to do any coloring you need. Ashley is my favorite scissored stylist. The prices are really reasonable, and I love their complimentary parrafin waxes!!

A view of the back.

Sexy hair requires a sexy face.

3. My new favorite boy!! Thomas is a little boy I started babysitting this summer and he is so much fun.

Isn't he the cutest?!

4. Hanging with the girls! Between days at the pool, nights at Atkins Park and our trip to Destin, FL I have loved our time together. I am not ready to go back to work!!

At Graffiti in Destin, FL

5. Time at home with the fam. I recently spent 5 days at home and it was possibly my favorite part of summer. I haven't been home enough this year, and it was so nice to go home and do family stuff for awhile. I'm looking forward to Kadee's wedding in August when we'll all be together again.

At Kadee's Waynesville shower.

Eskimo nose!

Missin' JB!

6. Harry Potter!! Not only did movie #5 come out, but so did the final installment of the Harry Potter series. I am a happy Muggle. I haven't read the last book yet (I'm re-reading Book 6 first), so avoiding the news and web sites with possible spoilers has been a little tricky.

Such a good movie!!

7. Weight Watchers. I am back on the weight-loss bandwagon and trying hard to lose and keep it off. I am down 1 size and 12 pounds from my heaviest weight. I'm not going to meetings - just doing the program online, but it's working!!

8. Keeping with the weight loss theme, my personal trainer!! His name is Roger Scott and he is fantastic! I couldn't do it without him!

9. Time with Bryan! With grad school, work and babysitting during the school year, its hard to make time for each other. Summer means fun outdoor excursions, lunch dates and movies on a weeknight! :-) He recently my date to my high school reunion.

My good friend Kati - we were college and "real world" roomies! :-)

10. House Hunting! Bryan and I are looking for a house in East Atlanta. We have lots of friends down there, and there is always something fun to do on the weekend. Our lease is up in December, so I'll keep you posted!

Shock and Awe...

The Gruesome Twosome @ Fernbank's Planetarium

I know, I'm becoming a regular blogger again! :-)

Bryan and I were planning to take EIGHT of my students to Six Flags on Wednesday. However, an 80% chance of thunderstorms put that on hold, and we managed to get four of them to opt for Plan B!

My own Fantastic Four: Denise, Esthela, Alex and Emily

Pink-Toed Tarantula: Glad it's in a glass box.

Budget Frog: Can you see his eyes above the water??

We went to the Fernbank Science Center (which is free!) and watched a REALLY dumb planetarium movie. Had a picnic lunch at Fernbank, complete with Doritos, Little Debbies and Capri Suns - Mama would be proud!

Apollo 6 Command Module

Right before the Planetarium... We had no idea how boring Hercules could be. :-)

Everybody took turns getting "eaten" just before lunch...

Afterwards, we drove over to Atlantic Station and took the kids to see the new Fantastic Four movie. Unfortunately, this is where I stopped taking pictures. :-)

I'm still waiting on a CD of photos from our trip to Destin. In the meantime, I'll do my best to keep blogging. I have TWO WEEKS left of grad school. It's almost over!!!!!

1,000 Barefoot Children Outside... Dancing On My Lawn!

I think of this Phish lyric every time I go to Lakewood (HiFi Buys) Amphitheater. Michelle, Sherry, Nikki and I were there on Tuesday night to see The Fray! The last time I saw these guys they were opening for Ben Folds (remember Nic?) and they have absolutely exploded on the music scene. Unfortunately, being on the lawn means I don't have a camera smart enough to take good pictures from far away. However, I did get some fun shots of us!

The band had these really cool lanterns that dropped down from the top of the stage.

Michelle and Abby: Summer Gal Pals

We are fun.

We also aren't afraid to ask other people to take pictures.

My favorite part of the night is that my girls became true Fray fans. They'd heard the radio songs (Cable Car, How to Save a Life) but didn't have the rest of the album. It was an awesome show!!

Lovin' me some Fray.

Today's Letter Is...

F!

F is for... FAILING!

I have not been a good blogger. I know I have a lot of "catching up" to do, so I'm going to get started with pictures and notes about what's been happening in this hot-mama's life. :-)

F is for... A FAB 5 nephew!

Nikki had our new addition on the last day of school, May 25th. He is already spoiled rotten by all FOUR of his aunties. And his mama.

Aunties, Mama and Baby Tyler

Tyler Haas Wold

F is for... Fingernails!

Yes, you read correctly. Fingernails. I found one IN MY COLESLAW at the Steak and Shake on Barrett Parkway. You want to know when I found it? After I'd had about 5 bites and I CRUNCHED on it.

Gross.

It was acrylic. It came from our waitress, who hid her broken fake thumbnail for the remainder of our visit.

Double Gross.

Our entire table ate for free. But for some strange reason, no one was hungry after I found the nail. I took pictures for the sole purpose of putting them on my blog. Aren't you glad I shared??

F is for... 4th of July!!

We gathered at Fab 5'er Claudine's house for the evening. We had an awesome dinner of grilled chicken, hamburgers, strawberries, corn on the cob and Claudine's yummy pasta salad.

Bryan's plate... Not mine. :-)

Bryan played Bocce ball with the boys while the girls took turns holding our favorite new little man... Tyler! He's six weeks old and the most precious perfect thing ever.

Bocce ball!

My new favorite boy...

Even Bryan took a break from Bocce ball to hold Tyler! :-)

Claudine... The hostess with the mostest!

We decided not to go to the Marietta Square, but rather act like eight year olds and bring out our own sparklers!

Mike and Bryan. Note the projectile spit up spot on his shirt...

Tyler already has great aim! :-)

Michelle and I acting out our favorite Harry Potter scenes...

"Expecto Patronus!"

I am lovin' the beard. :-)

I also love that he is still sporting the spit-up spot.

It was a great way to spend the 4th. The next morning, we met at Nikki's and set off for Destin!! Next post... Fab 5 Summer Tour '07 in Destin! There's a beach, 5 smokin' hot ladies, a baby and our favorite Manny! :-)

Buying Time, Erm, I Mean... 8 Random Facts!

There are all sorts of things I SHOULD be doing right now... Oh well. :-)

Random #1: I have a scar on my tooshie. I was trying to crawl underneath a barbed wire fence with my sisters when I was younger. I stood up too soon. Nuff said.

Random #2: I want to be a combination of Judy Garland and Audrey Hepburn when I grow up. I need Judy's vocals and Audrey's beauty and fashion sense.

Random #3: When I'm in the car by myself, I play my own version of American Idol. I practice all the songs I would use to audition if I had the "cojones". (Oh my Lord, I just admitted that.)

Random #4: I am the only Boone girl with green eyes. I get them from my Daddy. We're special. :-)

Random #5: Much to my mother's dismay, I do not like beets, stuffed bell peppers or cooked cabbage and sausage.

Random #6: Thanks to Daddy, I was convinced that spiders could bark until I was at least 7. It took me that long to figure out he was just passing gas at the dinner table.

Random #7: My sisters and I created a royal heirarchy with our Barbies and Barbie house. We would draw Barbie names to be Queen, Princess, Duchess, etc... They drove around shoes. (We never did get a Barbie car.) The Queen got to ride around in "Sunday Shoes." Kadee and I would rig it so that Jennie's Barbies never got to be Queen.

Random #8: I wanted to be a librarian for a little while when I was little. I loved the idea of reading books to kids all day long. I changed my mind when I figured out they were mostly old, smelly spinsters.




Now, the rules for Eight Random Facts Meme:
1. Each player must post these rules first. (or last!)
2. Each player starts with eight random facts/habits about themselves.
3. People who are tagged need to write their own blog about their eight things and post these rules.
4. At the end of your blog, you need to choose eight people to get tagged and list their names.
5. Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged, and to read your blog.
6. TAG! You're IT! ---- Ashley, Angela, Hayley Bird, Cami, and Charles.

Just So You Know...

I am well aware I need to update.

Photos are coming - there are quite a few! :-)

We have on the list:

1. Baby Tyler!!!!! With the Fab 5!!!
2. A visit to the Georgia Aquarium
3. Memorial Day weekend with Kadee in Hot-Lanta
4. Field Day with the Kiddos
5. An IHOP breakfast with 3 of the 4 Boone girls.

I know, you people can hardly wait. Don't hold your breath... you might hurt yourself.