A Master in our midst

Congratulations to Tara!!!! She graduated from Avila with her masters in clinical psychology in May!!! I'm so proud of her!!! It was a little hard to keep tears at bay. There's just something about watching her cross that stage. Knowing all the hard work and long hours she put in to receive that diploma. I know it was a great sense of accomplishment and relief to finally have that certificate in hand!!!! Now the really hard part starts: boards, licensure and finally employment!!! ( Sorry, the pictures are not the greatest.)

Another New Year's Resolution Broken

So, yes...I have once again failed to keep my resolution this year. Oh sure, I had great intentions of keeping up the blog. Sure, I figured since C and G were a little older, I would have more time. I thought that it was no big deal to sit on the bed using the computer. Boy was I wrong on all counts! At least, a year hasn't gone by since I last posted anything!!hat's

What's new? Let's see....

As everyone probably knows, Doug and Kendra, with kids in tow, were here for 3 weeks in June. We all had a great time catching up and playing with the kids. Carrie was able to come in for a few days and Brian for a brief flash of time for Adam's baptism. It was great having the whole family together!!! Unfortunately, my camera died a rather quick death during their visit, so my pictures are pretty limited.

FINALLY!!!!!

Yes, it's the post you've all been waiting for.....
James and Tara's wedding!!!

It was absolutely beautiful. The bride, the flowers, the music, the groom (well...handsome is the term) and they couldn't have asked for a better day. The sun was shining and it was the perfect temperature. As with all weddings there were a couple of bumps, but overall, it went smoothly. They had red velvet cupcakes that were mighty yummy (made by Janet) and the reception was at the Loretto (which is a spectacular place to have a gathering)

Of course, I was a little emotional. Just seeing James so happy!!! What a great sight! James and Tara just glowed. I still get misty thinking about it. The next day, they left for Hermann. They enjoyed the trip so much, they are planning a return trip this year.

Side note, Carli wouldn't walk down the aisle, so Gus was there to assist. They started off together, but Carli stopped not even a fourth of the way and Gus just kept beboppin down. He reached the half-way point and realized Carli wasn't with him, so of course he turns around and heads back to get here. He told her, come on Carli. It gonna be o.k. But no such luck...

Enough of this dribble, I'll get to the good stuff. The pictures. Here are a few of my favorites.

G-man turns 3!!!!!

After a cold rainy start, it ended up being a beautiful evening for a birthday celebration!!! The gang was all here for burgers, dogs, cake, ice cream and PRESENTS!!!!!! (Gus was a little disappointed when he came running into the living room to find gifts and there weren't any there. Had to explain birthdays were not like Christmas.)

Besides all the great people that were here, I think my favorite part of the celebration was the cake.

Gus was a little trigger happy and blew out his candles before we even sang to him. Had to relight the candles and start again. This time he couldn't blow them out...he changed his technique a little. I don't know if there was any part of the cake that wasn't covered with spit. He made sure that there wasn't, because he licked the cake as soon as the candles were gone. No joke, he LICKED the cake!!!

The other thing about the cake, it was blue. Not blue icing, blue cake. He told me he wanted a blue cake, but I thought he just meant icing, so I made a chocolate cake. I was wrong, so I made a blue cake. It's bad joo-joo to disappoint a kid twice on his birthday.

Sluggie Update

Just so you all know, Dave spotted one of Sluggie's family members in front this last weekend. I think the family is getting ready to move back here, so I'm sure there will be stories to tell... I'm sooooo excited I could pee my pants.

Future Girl Scout

So Carli is a creature of habit. She has to eat breakfast, get dressed, then brush her teeth and finally brush her hair. Heaven forbid that we dare to change this ritual on Monday morning! We needed her to brush her teeth before getting dressed and she was very distraught. Dave is in the bathroom with her trying to get her to cooperate, when I hear her say, "Oh wait a minute!"

Next thing I hear is Dave saying when did you do that? to which she replied, "Last night." Then I hear Dave trying to control his laughter. Of course, I have to investigate. I see Carli standing there with her red footy pajamas unzipped to reveal not skin, but a pink dress with her butterfly tights.

She looks at me with her big eyes and says, "Look Mommy, I can brush my teeth cuz I'm already dressed for school!"

To this point, I had been doing a pretty good job of stifling my laughter, then I lost my composure. And yes, she did wear this to school that day. Who am I to ruin her great time saving idea?

Pet Update

I'm sure you are all wondering about the fate of Sluggie. As you can imagine, things have not worked out so well. 5 days after Sluggie became a part of our family, his primary caregiver, Carli, forgot to close the lid on his lovely pink "cage". I came home from lunch to find the cage empty. I looked for a slug trail and could not find it. I'm sure to this date I have a now 6 foot slug living under my stove, just biding time until the first spring rains. There were tears shed, but Carli did claim responsibility for the escape of Sluggie. (By the way, what does it say about us that a slug had to escape from our care??) Eventually, Sluggie became a fond memory, I can still picture him laying in his cage, well like a slug.

You're probably wondering why i bring this up now....well, little miss Carli was drawing pictures and brought this to me.



As I looked at this picture it looked a LOT like Sluggie, but it was probably just a coincidence. As it turns out, it is a picture of Sluggie. Carli proceeded to tell me that we needed to hang this in the front window so that Sluggie would know that we want him to come home... She really misses him and wants to make sure he knows where he lives. I explained to her that he left to go live with his family and maybe someday he would come back to visit.

Now, I'm sure Sluggie and all of his family will return this spring. Maybe we should throw a welcome home party.