Happy Thanksgiving

I "snuggled" Shane and told him Happy Thanksgiving.

He responded..."I'd be thankful if you'd get off of me."

What a humbug. A teenage humbug.

I didn't honor his wish in case you're wondering.

LOL!

Happy Thanksgiving 2013 from Sand Bridge Virginia in VA Beach. Be grateful for what you have and the people in your life. I know I am.

So NOT A Fan of the Hallmark Holiday!

I would say Happy Hallmark Holiday.

Cause I hate this holiday.

But I won't say it because I didn't get a Hallmark card.

Nope. 

I got two awesome homemade cards that I truly LOVE!

From Shane:

 I love that kid.  And I had to hold the heart down because he made it spring off the page.  BOING!  :)

From Owen:

It's a picture of me and him.  

 Aw.  I love you too, Owen!

So not a fan of Hallmark holidays.

But I sure AM a fan of homemade card holidays!

Woot!  Woot!

Happy Valentines Day.  :heart:

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter, y'all!

I know that I'm a "little" late in posting these but I did admit that I suck about posting pictures when I started the blog! And better late than never!

We spent last Easter in New York City and went out to the NJ suburbs to see Ken's cousin Sonia and her family. They have two kids. Katie is Shane's age and Johnny is a teenager. They decorated eggs and did the whole Easter thing.





I think that was the last haircut Shane had.







Apparently even though they live states away from each other, they have a lot in common. I guess the hate for Barney is universal. Obviously I wouldn't sing these songs myself but kids are kids and kids will do what they will do.



So, yeah. Don't judge me because my kids hate Barney and sing mean songs about him. I didn't teach them to them (when I sing them, I do it away from them). Besides, if you judge me then you also have to judge Sonia! Sorry girl. I'm not going down alone and your daughter knew the song just as well as Shane. :p

Happy Easter!

Love Those Goofy Faces!

I love taking pictures of kids.

Mostly I love taking the unposed pictures where they have no idea that you're taking them. Or they don't care.

The posed pictures are absolutely the hardest to take. So, I usually ask them to do a goofy faced shot. It looses them up when they start to whine about getting their pictures made.

Shane and Owen have gotten quite good at them. Sheldon is learning. Mary Mayken is, well, Mary Mayken.



And, I've started doing this with grown ups too. They give even better faces that the kids.



Here's a few others from the same photo shoot.



Such angels. Looks can be deceiving, don't you know?




I didn't order up a goofy face. Owen just can't help himself. It's his current smile. :)



Here are Sheldon and Mary Mayken with both of their grandfathers. Even though the men aren't looking at the camera, I love this picture because the grandfathers are both looking at the girls - right where their focus should be.



So next time you're taking pictures, ask your subject to give you a goofy face. You may be pleasantly surprised at what you get.

Powder of Tartar...Err...Or My Most Recent Blond Moment

Who knew that this:



didn't equal this:



Apparently everyone else but me.

Sadly enough, even Ken knew it.

So in a truly blond moment, I bought tartar sauce for Ken to make his butterscotch meringue pie thinking that it was cream of tartar.

Stop laughing. Because I know you are.

I should interject here that I've never made a meringue pie (and I don't eat them really either) so I have no clue what the ingredients should go into them.

And in my defense, I've never even used cream of tartar. Ever. In any recipe or with any food.

So when I went scouring the isles at the grocery store, dizzy from the crowds of Thanksgiving shoppers, I was looking for Cream of Tartar. As soon as I saw the Tartar Sauce, I figured that was what I was looking for, patted myself on the back for finding it and got the heck out of there. (It was creamy!)

Afterall, I was looking for Cream of Tartar NOT Powder of Tartar.

As soon as Ken saw it, he started laughing and googled what I was suppose to buy to show me what Cream of Tartar was.

And when I returned the Cream of Tartar to the store, the manager got a good laugh too. (Ken also got a good laugh that I would actually return the Cream of Tartarm instead of just keeping it to ward off further embarrassment.)

And when my mom got into town, Ken made sure he told her also.

And then she got a good laugh too.

And now you, my dear two readers, can also get a good laugh at my most recent blond moment.

But, I really think that we should start a petition to have the name Cream of Tartar changed to Powder of Tartar.

Although, if it were named Powder of Tartar, we wouldn't have this awesome story to remind us of Thanksgiving 2008 and how I am truly meant to be a blond!

Happy Memorial Day

Happy Memorial Day to all veterans.

Your service does not go unnoticed and we thank you.

If you've never visited Fredericksburg, it is a town rich in history. Particularly Civil War history. We have a Confederate Cemetery where the Ladies Auxillary hosts a memorial service every year on Memorial Day.

I decided to go to the service this year. I love history, I love this cemetery and I love to take pictures so it was a no-brainer. We're so fortunate that we live in this area where history is such a big part of the community.

And, before I get any hate mail, I am not debating the Rebel flag. I just wanted to take some pictures and attend a Memorial Day service.




I love the Civil War bullet in the cemetery.










Happy Memorial Day.