FEELS LIKE HOME TO ME: April 2010

M.I.A.

Hello faithful blogger readers! I'm not missing in action, I've just been a busy working woman. Work took me to Elizabethtown, KY for three days and I'm finally back. If any of you wonder what it is that I do most days, this pretty much sums it up...

I try to recruit people to my college by sporting this smiling face. Doesn't this make you want to run to the nearest college and sign up for classes?

One of the deans from the college and I spent 8 long hours talking to hundreds of soldiers and their families that are currently stationed at Ft. Knox, KY, that will be relocating to AL and GA in the next few months.

My friend, Terri, snapped this shot. She was working the booth right behind me.

Be back very soon with an update on Libby's birthday party. :)

9:07 PM
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Beach Trip

The week of birthday fun continued Thursday afternoon. We loaded up and headed to Panama City Beach. The weather was great - three days of sunny skies and a nice breeze to keep us cool.

It had been about 7 or 8 months since Libby's last trip to the beach. She wasn't sure about the sand and didn't like getting too close to the ocean. We struck up a plea bargain and she agreed to walk on the sand only if she wore her Dora crocs. Deal.

Check out this tutu bathing suit! So darn cute! (Did I mention I LOVE having a girl?)

Friday night we went to Pier Park. We ate at Five Guys Burgers and Fries. It was sinfully good. Libby thought so, too. She must have eaten at least half of Drew's burger. Next time, she's getting her own.

We spent lots of time outside. Libby was up early (and I mean early) each morning telling us, "Outside! Beach! Swimmin'!" Drew tried to explain to her that we had to wait for the sun to rise to go outside. She didn't believe him.

I must admit, the pictures on the beach are deceiving. After the first morning, we spent most of our time in the pool. She absolutely loved it. As she was splashing and kicking around she would announce, "I swimmin'!" Yes, she was!

Saturday night was beautiful! Drew grilled (fresh trout he'd caught that morning and hot dogs) on the patio while we all enjoyed the awesome sunset. Ahh! Repeat after me, "This is the life!"

The only bad thing about going to the beach is that sooner or later, you must leave. We had a great trip and enjoyed spending time with each other. I can't wait to go back soon and do it all again.

12:00 PM
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Libby's Week of Birthday Fun

Libby turned two on Wednesday. So we did what any good family would do - we ate pancakes! Tuesday night we invited all the grandparents to dine at IHOP. It was sort of an odd choice for a birthday celebration, but my girl LOVES pancakes. So I felt the International House of Pancakes was a no-brainer.

She got to open a few presents early.

I'm sure you're not surprised to learn that she was more fascinated with the paper and ribbons than the actual presents. However, the cute outfits and swim suit delighted me!

After dinner, which was a huge pancake and hash browns for Libby, the wait staff surprised us all and sang (very loudly) to her. At first she was not sure about all the hoopla. We were howling at what we quickly dubbed her "nervous smile".

When she saw we were all smiling and encouraging her, she relaxed and enjoyed the birthday serenade.

And if downing her dinner wasn't enough, she enjoyed tasting her birthday treat...another pancake!

Be back with more birthday fun...

4:00 PM
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Happy Birthday, Libby!

Our precious Libby turns two today!

I have no idea how the days and weeks have flown by so fast, but they have. We love her more each and every day. But I'm sure you can see why!

If you know Libby, then you know she loves people, being outside, coloring, eating, our cat Riley, trips to the farm and her grandparents and friends. She is so much fun!

Happy Birthday sweet, funny, wild Libby. We love you, baby girl! God has blessed us with you - it's going to be a great year!

6:00 AM
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I'm an Aunt!

Our first niece, Cayden Lane, was born Friday morning. We made a trip to Birmingham to meet her this weekend.

Who knew I'd be so proud of a baby I didn't have to birth? I am and I think I'm going to like playing with my newborn niece and then giving her back when she cries or poops! Why didn't I think of this sooner?

Uncle Drew and Cayden

She was 7lbs, 12 oz and 20 1/2 inches long. She has a head full of dark head and was so sweet. I can hardly remember Libby being that small.

I've tossed around a few names for the baby to call me. I settled on Aunt Awesome, but I'll answer to Aunt Beth if all else fails.

Congratulations, Angie and Tripp! Being a parent is one ~~crazy, tiring, holy moly what-did-I-get-into~~ fabulous job!

2:39 PM
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Easter Happenings - Part 2

Our weekend of fun continued Saturday morning. We went to an Easter Egg Hunt hosted at our church. Before the hunt kicked off, the kids got to play on inflatables. They had a small bouncy house for the preschoolers and Libby thoroughly enjoyed herself!

Then it was on to the big egg hunt. She liked searching for eggs, but was more interested in shaking them to make sure each one had candy. Even at her age, she knows the importance of good candy!

On to Easter morning. We got up early to get ready for church and Libby discovered her goodies from the Easter Bunny.

She liked the books and DVDs well enough, but she tossed them all to the side to get to the chocolate. Did I mention it was too early for chocolate?

After I pried the Reese's cups from her tiny grip, we got cleaned up and ready for Easter Sunday. She looked so pretty! I was a proud mommy.

Libby and Daddy

Libby thinks you can never be too dressed up to hug your favorite dog. Oh well!

Friends from church

Holly, Coop, Beth H. and me

After lunch and a nap at the farm, Libby was ready for more fun. We traveled to Libby's Great Grandmother Sara's house where she got to hunt for eggs AGAIN.

Her buddy, Hunter, was in town from Baltimore. She enjoyed hanging out with him.

I found this pile of eggs in the yard and it made me laugh. It reminded me as much fun as our busy Easter weekend was, it had to come to an end. I hope you enjoyed your holiday as much as we did.

5:00 PM
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Easter Happenings - Part 1

We had a great Easter weekend. It's hard to believe it's come and gone so quickly. We had a weekend FULL of Easter fun and we had a wonderful time. Libby enjoyed herself and I think I took about 347 pictures!

Friday night I thought it would be fun to dye eggs. Libby was curious to learn what this was all about. So we boiled lots of eggs and got to work.