We're Back!

...And I'm being accosted by huge piles of laundry. Good grief, where does it all come from? I swear Joan had it all caught up on Wednesday and somewhere between leaving on Thursday and arriving back home late last night, the laundry in the baskets procreated creating a huge mound of laundry to get done before I start on the clothes that came back from Colorado. I'll be glad when Joan gets back here tomorrow - although she only has two days left before she leaves me after 10 years!!!!! Wah... My life and house will never be the same, although we do wish her well :)

Everyone had a great time. Gary and the kids skied, tubed and learned to snowboard. Ansley was the only one that mastered the snowboarding, although Zack begs to differ! She loved it and her body is built for controlling that board. Gary left the kids with me Sunday night and tried to snowboard down a BIG mountain only to be hurt and frustrated. He eventually kicked off the snowboard and walked down the hill. You know he's great at most things and can't stand to suck at something else so he wasn't too happy. Needless to say, you'll never see his feet strapped into a snowboard again!

I never left the lodge - ONCE. I had all kinds of wonderful spa treatments and a lot of alone time, which you know I love, and rarely get, so I was content.

It was great to get back last night. Since October, I've been on a plane 12 times and I'm ready to not go anywhere for a while. I have six weeks before I have to schlep out the suitcase and I'm beyond thrilled.

I'll try and post the pictures from the trip soon. They are all on my iphone so I have to load them onto my desktop since I still can't figure out how to go straight from the phone onto the blog.

Hope everyone had a great Valentine's Day and long weekend. =]

So Let's Finish Up St. John

I think I left out New Year's Day. We rented a boat with the Wicklund's and headed to the British Virgin Islands. We checked in with Customs in Tortola then took the boat to an incredibly beautiful, tiny, beach called Sandy Spit. We anchored, swam to shore, and hung out while the kids played on beach and water. We left there and headed to Jost Van Dyke and to a hang out called the Soggy Dollar Bar. This bar is famous for their drink called the Painkiller and after taking one sip, I could see why after a few of these you would be feeling no pain. Problem is the pain you'll feel later on! We continued cruising all around all the Virgin Islands and it was so breath taking. Lots of fun, but I'm not sure where the pictures are for the trip. I'll find some and post later.

Here is Zack with his birthday cake!

Zack at the Westin Pool on Saturday.
Geronimo!

Ansley cannon balling into the pool.

Mommy and her 8 year old baby :( I can still pretend he's a little guy, right?

Thanksgiving in Seaside

The men cooking Thanksgiving dinner.
Aunt Nanci styling Ansley's hair.

Ansley and Ree Ree.

Ansley and Uncle Robert.

This year Granddaddy and Ree Ree invited all of Nan's family down to Seaside to celebrate Thanksgiving. Nan and my little family flew down Tuesday and Uncle Robert and Aunts Nanci and Joan came down Wednesday. We had a great time sunning, funning, touring, eating, chilling and playing games including the exciting evening games of bingo. Instead of the traditional dinner we had a low boil! It was perfect!

Thanksgiving Day on the Beach

The weather was beautiful Thanksgiving Day. The temperature was somewhere in the mid 70's and perfect for the beach.

I was surprised with an early birthday celebration! Thanks all :)

The most beautiful sunset.

Aunt Joan and Ansley.

One tired puppy.

Happy Thanksgiving

I hope everyone has a terrific Thanksgiving. If it gets a little warmer, this might be me on the beach.

Disney Trippin'

On Friday night we went to the Not So Scary Halloween Party in the Magic Kingdom. The kids got to trick or treat in the park and watch the super cool Boo To You parade. Also, since you have to have a separate paid ticket for the event, the park isn't as crowded and you can ride more rides without a wait. Tons of fun!

Waiting On The Parade

aka - Ansley being mad because we won't buy her any pink mouse ears on antenna.

The Reason I Go To Disney Every Halloween...

The incredible parade------

BEST PARADE EVER!!!!!

Last Night with the Cooper's

On Sunday night we went with Granddaddy, Ree Ree and the Cooper's to our favorite restaurant at Disney, Fulton's. It's located at Downtown Disney and is a crab house of sorts. Had a great time until we left to go shopping and Zachary got lost. There is no terror like realizing that out of five other grownups no one has your child. Luckily after I realized he was with NO ONE I found him quickly at information. Yikes.

And We're Off!

It's that time of year. The Gray's are making their annual pilgrimage tomorrow to the Not So Scary Halloween Party. Granddaddy and Ree Ree are already there and the Cooper's are making their way. Boo To You All!!!!!

Mom and Daughter Trip - June 2008

Here are a few photos from mine and Ansley's mom/daughter trip to the lovely towns of Vienna, West Virginia, Belpre, Ohio and Columbus, Ohio.

We had a great time celebrating Ansley's 10th birthday. It was very special since she planned the trip all by herself and I was happy to take her. We started our trip by flying into Charleston, WV, driving to Parkersburg/Vienna, WV then crossing the Ohio River to Belpre in order to get to the Lee Middleton Doll Museum. She chose a beautiful doll (pictured below.) The next day we made the extra long drive to the Columbus Zoo but it was well worth it. What an awesome zoo. Unfortunately, it makes the Atlanta Zoo seem kind of sad.

The petting zoo had a ton of goats. Here is Ansley with one particularly handsome guy.

This particular goat's parents had spent a TON on orthodontia. Can you see how perfectly straight and white his teeth are? Okay, so perhaps the orthodontia didn't work out too well. Those are his bottom teeth but boy were they straight and pearly white. He has one gorgeous goat grill!

Ansley with her special doll. Turning 10 makes you so very, very small.

Back from Orange Beach

Well, we're back from our third trip of July and had a great time with the exception of an ocean full of jellyfish. We flew out Thursday morning to Pensacola and Gary rented a Chrysler 300 we affectionately named Pa Paw. I was like "Gary, how old are we? Must we really drive a car meant for men in their later years?" (no offense to any men in their later life.) Anyway, Pa Paw smelled like stale cigarettes and looked ridiculous, but it got us safely to Alabama. We met up with our friend's, the Dery's, and we went out on their boat for an early evening cruise then back to their condo for steamed shrimp and crab legs. They have two children of their own, Cole - 13 and Lilly Grace - 6. Naturally, Zack thought Cole was too cool and spent the weekend following Cole around. Ansley had fun playing big friend to Lilly.

Friday we took their boat to Pensicola Bay and docked on an island where there was an old abandoned fort from the civil war. It was great - except for the above mentioned jelly fish. We explored the island, collected hundreds of hermit crabs, had lunch and poured lots of vinegar on the many jelly fish stings that the boys all got. Later that night we all went to dinner.

They left Saturday so the Gray's cruised the beach, played in the pool, shopped and bought cheesy air brushed t-shirts for the kids.

Home today to NO CABLE on either tv that has a cable box. The great pain in the a$$ begins again. Day eight of the great cable wait begins Tuesday. What does one do to have working cable?

More photos from Discovery Cove

All of us with Clipper

Ansley riding.
Zachary riding.
And, Gary riding.

Swimming with the Dolphins

This past Sunday we went to Sea World's Discovery Cove where we got to swim with the dolphins. It was an incredible experience and well worth going. Besides getting to spend about 30 minutes with the dolphins giving them hand signals to show lots of tricks and how smart they are, we got to pet, kiss then ride them. Amazing! Also, they had an aviary where we got to hold and feed birds as well as a pool of sting rays and another pool of beautiful tropical fish and reefs. They provided the snorkle equipment to see all the beautiful things. Also, they had a wonderful lazy river that we all enjoyed floating down several times. Included in the day was breakfast and lunch. We all highly recommend going!

More pictures from Hilton Head

Uncle Mike and Aunt Karen.
The four Fourth of July kids!
Our great friends - the Parrish's - Rachel, Deborah, Will and Randy.