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| She started picking up pecans in our backyard one day last month. |
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| Soon she had filled quite a few containers in hopes of earning some extra spending money. |
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| It wasn't long after that she received a helping hand. (Guess the 50 cents a pound lure was too much to resist. ;) |
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| Our little man has graduated from Level 1 of his computer class. He's been getting a headstart on his numbers, letters and their sounds, and how to use a computer mouse. He has his own avatar, takes care of a hamster and a fish tank, and receives tickets for playing games, and listening to books and songs. He uses the tickets to purchase items for his "bedroom." It's been fun watching how excited he is about learning. |
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| Our little girl is growing up, and she's not so little anymore. For her birthday she wanted to get a haircut. Her daddy and I thought, "What would go good with a haircut?" We decided that getting her ears pierced would be a good match. Yep. We were right. She LOVED the idea. :) |
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| Thanks to the best Stylist in town! (Who knew you pierced ears, too?) |
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| She wanted to have a burger, fries, and a milkshake for lunch. |
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| She received a windfall of 50 smackaroo's (and 79 cents - as an inside joke. ;) I've been trying to give her that birthday card for the past three years! I bought that it so far in advance of her birthday that I kept forgetting I had it. Ya live-Ya learn. Oh, for those of you who are counting the coins and notice that there is only 78 cents on the table it's because one of the pennies fell on the floor when she opened the envelope. Guess she wasn't expecting change. Haha! |
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| This is how her hair looked after she took down the braid. Pretty cool, me thinks. :) |
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| Getting ready to fill care packages. |
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| Getting packing instructions for putting the most items in the boxes. |
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| Other volunteers taping up empty boxes to be filled. |
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| Others started filing in and joining in on the fun! (Here Pop Tarts are being placed in the boxes.) |
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| Before long the room was filled with at least 40 - 50 volunteers all eager to help out. |
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| Supplies are kept on shelves and in bins. |
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| The above snack comes HIGHLY recommended. |
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| Perhaps the most precious item to be placed in the care packages: A LETTER FROM HOME. These particular letters were provided by school children. Every box gets a letter and a postcard - the letter tells our American Heroes they are NOT forgotten, and the postcard informs them that their box was sent with lots of love. |
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| This is what a finished box looked like. Before the boxes were sealed we were given the opportunity to write a note on the inside flaps of the boxes. This is just one more way of thinking about our troops and of ways to be a blessing to them. |
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| After the packing, folks began sealing and stacking the boxes. These boxes will be delivered to a Marine, Soldier, Airman, Seaman, or a member of the National Guard or Coast Guard. |
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| Even our little man was there! He didn't pack much, but he sure helped put smiles on our faces. |
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| It started with an exciting plane ride. |
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| Love this view. |
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| We had to change planes in, and while we were enjoying our layover wait we immediately spotted one of our favorite things to eat . . . CAROLINA BBQ! (Pass the coleslaw, will ya? ;) |
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| Our trip was a quick one but we were able to get in a bit of sight-seeing. This was in the mall we passed through. I thought it was pretty cool. I love water fountains. |
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| We enjoyed celebrating at Fogo De Chao. It was our first time to experience what this restaurant has to offer. |
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| I had a hankerin' for veggies that day. Loved everything on this plate EXCEPT the smoked salmon and triangular piece of cheese . . . not so much. |
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| If you've never been to Fogo De Chao it's a restaurant that's known for the selection of meats it offers. We tried lamb for the first time, had chicken, sausage, and several cuts of beef, but we all agreed that by far the filet mignon was THE BEST! |
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| Walking off that good food and stopping a moment to oblige my "photo happy trigger finger". I love a Kodak moment! |
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| Looks like I'm not the only one who likes to take pictures. |
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| I'm pretty sure we managed to capture one of the "clearest" pictures of "Nessie - The Lochness Monster." What do you think? |
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| "Pretty Posies" |
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| ♪♫•*¨*•.¸¸♥ Oh, Bumblebee - Oh, Bumblebee . . . |
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| "Got my EYE on you!" |
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| My strong man! He stopped it cold. :) |
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| Just thought this would make a pretty picture with the water and blue sky behind us. (Boy, oh boy, my purse is H-U-G-E . . . and lime colored!) |
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| Such cool buildings and lovely blue sky! If you look carefully you can see an UFO in the upper left corner of this picture. |
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| Gotcha! After zooming in we "identified" this "flying object" as a harmless helicopter. (My camera cannot take detailed close ups, but it has terrific long distance capabilities.) |
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| I liked the colors, shapes, and grouping of these buildings. |
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| "Peek-a-Boo." |
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| Before heading back to the car we stopped to listen to this gentleman singing. Then we remembered having been in an elevator with him while we were on our way to lunch. Little did we know he was a celebrity. ;) |
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| What a blessing to have this great tree in our front yard. How do you like how it's decorated? ;) |
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| Just look at that face! It screams, "YUM!" |
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| Laying them out on a cookie sheet. |
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| We hardly ever bake store bought cookies, but the back-to-school theme hooked me while I was grocery shopping this week. Also, I liked the idea of having most everything done for me. It made it so easy for our lil guy to "bake" them. |
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| What to do with all that leftover dough? |
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| Roll out some more, of course. :) |
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| Crunchy on the outside and chewy on the inside. So cute, too! |
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| A backpack and a pencil . . . good choices, Little Man. LOVE THAT SMILE! |
