Grand Floral Walk & Parade

We started the walk at Memorial Collesium. The crowd spreads out as the walk progresses

Maryanne & I made rose wreaths for the girls

JJ & I pushin' the kids. Maggie is facing backwards next to Porter

Nammie & DuPa at the finish line

The Reesers Food Float

The Alaska Airlines Float

The Budweiser Team

The grandboys loved the equestrian units

At the end of a very long day, what's better than a nap on Daddy's shoulder?

I know it was a while ago, but Al took some good pictures of our walk and the Grand Floral Parade. For the second year in a row, our fam participated in a charity walk prior to the GF Parade. Several thousand people walk the parade route to the adoring cheers of all the parade spectators. It's a great people watching activity whether you walk or are settled in to watch the parade. The weather was fantastic and the 4+ mile walk was fun fun fun! Some people dress up, the Hari Krishna's sing and dance, people decorate their dogs or stollers and everyone has a good time. At the end of the walk there is a reserved area for parade viewing so we don't have to wrangle for a spot to sit. The parade is always gorgeous and the grandboys are old enough to be amazed by the bands and horses and floats. I'm pretty sure this event is going to become an every year family tradition. Join us next June. You won't be sorry.

Pre Iris Festival Fun

Gorgeous Columbine

I guess Al was tired of looking at non blooming Iris
Last Thursday evening on our usual family dinner night, everyone was out of town except for Al and I and AJ, Maryanne and the kids. It had been a gorgeous day and I decided that rather eating inside at our house, I'd make a big pasta salad and we'd picnic at Schriener's Iris Gardens. It is such a wonderful place and I figured that because the Iris aren't really blooming yet (too cold & rainy & cloudy) we might have a chance at snagging 1 of the 4 picnic tables. On the way home from work, Al bought some yummy Great Harvest bread, we packed some fruit and sodas in the ice chest and away we went. We did indeed have the place pretty much to ourselves so Porter ran around and enjoyed the fish pond and all the flowers that were in bloom. The best part for him was sitting on the tractor that was parked in the barn. AJ was mortified that I'd let him sit on the tractor w/out permission, but as my Dad always says, "all they can do is say no" or in this case, GET OFF OUR TRACTOR! Fortunately Mr Schriener was in having his dinner so we escaped unscathed. And even tho the Iris were not in bloom, the Columbine and Rhoddies and Azaleas and trees were all gloriously decked out. If you haven't been to the gardens, take some time and visit. It's a wonderful place to spend a couple of hours.

My Wonderful Weekend

May 7, 2011 Salem Alliance Church
Barbara prays over our precious Maggie.
Porter presents me with his handmade card. Love it!
Maggie & Grandpa
Beautiful table and yummy food.
A toast to all of us Moms.
Me with the kids & grandkids.
All 3 Moms and their kids.
Saturday, as Al & JJ were out doing guy stuff, I got to run around and do girl stuff. I went to Pier 1, and Macys, a garden shop and a shoe store. Later in the afternoon, Al and I met up and relaxed at home until church at 5:00. It was a special service because our sweet Maggie was being publicly dedicated to the Lord. Dear friend Barbara Fletcher, who not only is a Pastor at our church, but also one who stayed up the night Mags was born and prayed, dedicated our special girl. Needless to say, it was an emotional and beautiful time.
This morning, Mother's Day was another fun treat. Al and the kids prepared and served a beautiful brunch that included Mimosas, banana bread, ham strata, fruit parfaits and thick cut bacon. Everything was Mmmmm good! We laughed and ate and took pictures and opened presents. I got the girls big red hanging flower baskets and they got me Starbucks cards and my favorite lotion. It's just after noon now and the kitchen is cleaned up, Al's asleep on the couch and I'm enjoying catching up on my blog. So far, it's been a great day.

Easter Fun

Happy Easter

The Easter table before we started eating

Blowing bubbles with JJ

There's fun stuff inside these eggs

Finn checking out his Easter basket

Maggie in her Easter dress

I wasn't sure what to expect on Easter morning. Maggie had been admitted to the hospital on Saturday afternoon and was staying overnight. Maryanne and AJ were tired so we left all our Easter morning plans up in the air. Maggie was released around noon and AJ called and said that he and Maryanne wanted to do our Easter egg hunt and brunch early that evening. So at 4:40, the DeBackers and the Avisons came over and we had a fun time finding eggs, playing with our Easter goodies and eating our traditional Easter brunch. After a stressful Saturday, it was a lovely ending to the weekend.

Welcome Home

Another building at Petra

The Treasury @ Petra

Petra

If you're poor, you only get the goat's head. You boil it and eat it for breakfast

Very recently slaughtered goats hanging in the market...dinner anyone?

180,000 shards of broken glass =number of Kurds killed by Sadam. 5,000 lights = number of villages destroyed by Sadam.

More at the museum
Part of the Kurdish Museum dipicting Sadam's atrocities.

Where Al was asked to be the pastor.

The beach @ Aqaba.

Jordanian women at a class at the Alliance Life Center.

Giddy-up.

Aqaba Jordan

Where King David had Bathsheba's husband killed.

Amman Jordan

Al just returned from 2 weeks in the Middle East. He and 3 other guys from our church went to Jordan and Iraq to encourage the missionaries and visit some community centers. In Jordan, the team spent time in Amman and then the coastal resort of Aqaba. The community centers are doing a great job of reaching out and meeting the needs of their neighborhoods, something we want to do with our center here in Salem. After a week in Jordan, Al and the guys flew to Kurdistan Iraq. While there, Al had the privilege of preaching at the International Church. He preached from Ephesians and got wonderful feedback from the congregation. They even asked him to be their pastor. A great compliment...but no thank you. The noise and the dirt and the lonliness of being away from family was a clear indication to Al that he is NOT called to the mission field. God bless those that are. They serve Christ with incredible strength & determination. On their return to Jordon, the guys got to travel to Petra to see the amazing city that is carved into the canyons there. Al said that the structures were more impressive than the pyramids, and that's saying something. All in all his trip was wonderful. But he and I are glad he's home.

Happy Birthday Sweet Al

Lunch at our favorite restaurant at the Paris

A pretty good Beatle cover band

March Madness at the Mirage Rhum Bar

No explanation needed

The lobby of the Wynn


The beautiful Encore Hotel

On March 26th, Al turned 60. To dull the pain a bit, I surprised him with a trip to Las Vegas. We left really early on Friday morning and returned really early Monday morning. We have been to LV so many times that it feels like our 2nd home. But for some reason, this trip was really really fun. The fact that it was Spring Break and NCAA Tounament time added to the party that is always happening in Vegas. And for some reason, Al and I got invited to several parties...with fun young people buying us drinks, pretty girls fawning over Al (for a bachelorette party scavanger hunt) and lots of great basketball. We ate fabulous food, enjoyed the sunshine, took long walks and sampled beverages of all types. Mmmmmmm! Bust mostly we just had fun being together. Happy Birthday Al. Your wife loves you!