{the other one}

She's so darn photogenic. I mean, I know I am pretty biased, but what a pretty girl. Yet, she runs from me when I pull out the old camera. I usually have to bribe her. Will she appreciate all this when she's all grown up? I have no idea. But really, only one very small part of me does it for her. I do it for me. I want to remember her in all her growing-up-ness.



She is so very excited about her Spring Concert next week. And even though we have heard her sing all the songs in full - Beatles tunes - I am still excited to hear her sing them with all her classmates.

She also has her very first softball game next Saturday. She has vastly improved - according to her dad - in the hitting area, as well as fielding. I am both excited and nervous for her. Go Thundercats! I have some pictures of her from her past few practices - I'll post those soon.

{really? can it be?}

Almost a month late...but Spring is finally starting to show off. This is right outside my office window. It wasn't even blooming a little bit this morning. It's just amazing to me how fast it can all change.

Finally.

{wordless wednesday}

{happy monday}

A photo of two of my favorite people. My other favorite was getting her shoes on and not available for pictures.

Remembering my Dad

Every day I read some article or see something on the internet, and I think about how I'd like to share it with my dad because I know he would find it interesting. That's when it hits me the hardest that he's gone. Though these last several years we were separated by a great physical distance, throughout my life my dad had never left my side. He was a kind and nurturing father. He always showed me new and interesting things and gave me an inquisitive nature that has helped me to find things out for myself. Ever since I was a little boy I could never rest until I figured out how something worked. He taught me how to use tools, how to take pictures with a camera, how to drive a car, how to find things out. Anything that is my passion today is rooted in the teachings of my father.

When he started his own business in Florida in 1982, I loved to go to the store and help out as I could, even as a preteen. Eventually I started working in the store, part-time at first, and then full-time. We had a very close working relationship. Although we had different opinions on some matters, we typically saw eye-to-eye and never fought. We even lived together as roommates before I met Allison, and still there was rarely any friction. Our working relationship developed over the years. In the beginning, I was dependent on his direction and guidance, but as the years drew on our relationship changed. As I learned what he taught me and became more proficient at my job, I noticed that it was my father who was beginning to depend on me. It was not lost on me, and I was very honored that he placed so much trust in me. As he provided for me, so was I able to provide for him.

Yes, my father was my friend, but our relationship transcended mere friendship. When I got married it was natural that I selected him as my Best Man. He fit the description well. For all the gifts he gave me in his lifetime, the best gift I could give in return was the gift of life - for him to see me live the life I live, and to see his genes passed down to my children. So while the sadness of his death is fresh, it is tempered by remembering the closeness of his relationship to me - Father, Mentor, Provider, Teacher, Co-worker, Friend. And yet, remembering makes his passing all the more difficult to endure.

{super GIRL}

Emily has her Spring concert in a couple of weeks. And for some reason I did not get the note about a dress code that supposedly went out last week. Thank goodness for friends who like to tell me about such things, because without them, my child would have nothing to wear for her concert. The dress code: white shirt, black pants or skirt. The white part - no problem. It's Spring. There's white cardigans EVERYWHERE. But black? Yeah, no.

BUT, you will be happy to know that I did find a black skirt at Old Navy - waaaaaaaay in the back, under a bunch of stuff. I think I may have screamed when I found it. Sorry about that if were shopping in the store at the time.

What does this have to do with the cute girl in the Supergirl shirt? Saw it at Old Navy while I was searching for the skirt, loved it, bought it for Paige. She LOVED it too. She loved it so much, that she INSISTED on wearing it the very next morning - when she woke up at 7am. Today, she's wearing a Halloween shirt. That girl has got her fashion opinions, I tell ya.



All that just to explain where I got the shirt...

{my ultra-cool aunt and uncle}

When we went to Tennessee a couple weeks ago we discovered that my Aunt Lindsay and Uncle Eddie had quite a bit of fun before our arrival.

They made this for Emily and Paige. Yes, those are streamers hanging from the ceiling fan. Yes, those are Christmas lights around the opening of the tent. Yes, that's tulle.



Yes, the girls LOVED it. I can't say that they slept all that well. But it doesn't matter. They were on vacation. And they obviously have and Aunt and Uncle who love them so very much.



Thank you so much Aunt Lindsay and Uncle Eddie. We had such a great time - and next time, Eric and I are sleeping in the tent!

{tribute to my father-in-law}

I met him around the same time I met my husband. I remember getting my very first taste of "show and tell" at our very first meeting. It was a Tommy Gun. A little intimidating at first, but I remember he was just so proud to have it and wanted to show it off. There were lots and lots of Wednesday night dinners with Eric and I. When we went for pizza he always complained that they only had Budweiser beer, but drank his half of the pitcher anyway. I will never look at a piece of prime rib the same. If you ever witnessed him eat that, you know what I am talking about. He loved sharing information - about himself, or what he was interested in at the moment. When Eric and I got engaged, he insisted on helping out with an engagement party. At our wedding, he was the Best Man. His speech was written on the back of a ValPak coupon. Which, we still have.  Each week, he took $20 and spent it on grocery items, or other odds and ends for each of his children. Some of the things he bought that week, other weeks he just opened one of his many file cabinets stocked with such things as olive oil, cookies, noodles, etc., and gave us that. It was always interesting. We called it "The Package". He loved garage sales, and called it "going sailing". When I had Emily, he was one of the very first people to hold her. In fact, it's one of the only pictures I have from that night. I was never a big fan of the Shady game, but it was fun to watch him try and get his Grandchildren involved. Emily has a whole collection of Shadys, including some negatives her Grandpa sent her pretty recently. Every time we have breakfast for dinner, Eric proclaims it, "Illegal" in his best Jerry impression. He loved taking pictures, and sharing them with us. He was always thoughtful. He loved reading this blog and always told me how much he enjoyed watching the girls grow. He was one of the best men I knew and I still can't believe that I am talking about him in the past tense. We loved you so much Jerry/Dad/Grandpa. And I know you knew that.

(pictures from February 2010)

{some favorites}

I know that I said that I would share the rest of the Tennessee pictures, and I promise, I will - but these pictures of my sweet girls could not wait.

These next two pictures of Emily are really nothing spectacular - but she has such a playful spirit, and is so dang silly, they are just so her. She knows how to have fun with a couple of ribbons. Why buy her very expensive toys? Why?




And this girl. She's been such a rascal lately. She's so MOODY. She very attached to her Mama. She's full of spirit. And I almost can't get enough.


See the cut on Emily's nose. A gift from the rascal above. It wasn't intentional...at least I don't think it was. Emily is such a good big sister, she didn't even get all that upset over it. She has the biggest heart.


And she can work the MOODY vibe as good as her younger counterpart. I live in fear of those pre-pubescent hormones.


Because I will have not one, but TWO hormonal females to deal with. This is the time we should all feel sorry for Eric.


And maybe help him find his shotgun for all those boys we'll be keeping off the front porch.


(these pictures were taken on Sunday when it was EIGHTY degrees. It's only supposed to be in the fifties tomorrow)

{tennessee trip}

It's been a total crap beginning of spring around here. Cold, cold, and more cold. I must have known that it would be total crap because about a month ago I asked my Aunt Lindsay and Uncle Eddie - who live in Tennessee - if we could go and visit them during Emily's Spring Break. I knew we would need to go south and get warm. So we did. We were only there for a few days, but it was enough to remind of what we will EVENTUALLY have coming up here in the frozen - not really - tundra.

We spent our first full day there in Cades Cove. It has been quite a few years since I have been there, but it hasn't - thankfully - changed a bit. The tree below is one of my favorites. I am going to have to go on a hunt and find the photograph I took of it years ago.



Oh, and we brought my Mom along with us. She hadn't yet seen her brother and sister-in-law's new place, and I thought it would be a good break from the cold for her as well. Unfortunately, she was a bit under the weather the whole trip, but she still had a nice time - and was quite the trooper.







SPRING!!!!!! Oh, how I have missed you.....see you soon!!!




I had to include the following two pictures. Eric, my Uncle and I were all mesmerized by the blooms on this pear tree. In my next post I will show the pictures Eric took with the new point and shoot. My picture of the blooms is two pictures above.





Emily was determined to cross a stream. She kind of almost got to cross this one. Eric found a tree trunk that had fallen across the stream and was about to let her climb across it, when I decided that was not such a good idea. She would have most likely fallen in, and I didn't have a change of clothes for her. Sorry Em.


The next day we went to Bald River Falls - in the Cherokee National Forest. Paige could have cared less about the waterfall. She was way more interested in the nuts and rocks on the ground.






And pine cones.



My studly husband.


SPRING!!! Sorry. I get very excited about things blooming. And I was quite taken with these redbud trees. They were everywhere. Love them!!




Paigey was all about Aunt Lindsay.


And here are the falls. I should have taken a video. A picture really just doesn't capture it. So very pretty.


And speaking of pretty....




I'll post the rest tomorrow!