I've Been Tagged . . . .

My cousin Katie tagged me...so I thought I'd participate. Here's what you do:
1. Go to your 4th folder where you store your photos.
2. Select the 4th photo (no exceptions).
3. Post the picture with an explanation and link it back to your tagger.
4. Tag 4 people to do the same.

This photo couldn't be more boring - it's from my "Christmas Folder" - it's of my den on Christmas Eve before Santa arrived. Yada Yada . . . BORING . . . Not that I have any photos of good stuff like naked people or bikini clad women or anything - oh well . . . ya get what cha get!! Sorry for the disappointment . . . . ok, I tag . . . . Javon . . . . Summer . . . . Matthew . . . . and . . . . Cassie (if she has time) . . . . .

Youth Connection Lock-In

Friday night after work Doug and I headed over to the Church and made home-made pizza for the kids of our Youth Connection (well, I won't lie, Doug did everything - I just cleaned up and ate mostly). Anyway, then, as good parents would (or, dumb parents), we spent the night as Chaperones with 24 teens for this "Lock-In" - yes, we started yawning around 10:30 and it got worse for us from there. The kids were entertained by our Youth Pastor with games, movies, ping-pong, pool, air hockey, Guitar Hero (or Rock Band I think is what we have at Church) - it was so much fun for the kids. They played tons of games - Zachary got a huge splinter in his foot playing a game called Sardines (basically it's hide & seek). The Church obviously was pitch black at 2 a.m. and he caught a piece of "church" in his foot (so he says). We wound up in the Hospital Sunday - he's got a "God Awful Infection" (not my words). I could go on with puns all day but won't . . . anyway, here are some pictures of the evening (and morning wrath).

The evening was young here - watching movies after pizza.

Watching Horton Hears a Hoo after pizza. Only half the kids were here at this point.

Putting away left-overs.

Goofing off in the kitchen.

The girls baked cookies and had to show them off!

Doug - he looks like one of the kids!

Everyone had to mark thier cup with thier name . . . Here's what mine said.

Playing "I never . . . ever have". . .

Hanging out for instructions on Sardines.

More people arrived at about 11 p.m. after a local indoor soccer game.

Breakfast the next morning - pancakes!

The boys all chowing down.

Older Painting

Here is the older painting I did that is hanging in the office over the printer at my desk. The vase is chubby - imagine that. Chubby.

Close Up For Cassie

Here is a better look at the dress painting. I'll post some other photos once I download them from Doug's camera (the battery is worn out from snapping various "phase" photos during the night Saturday). Doug and Zack like to see my phase photos during the painting class to see if they can tell what I'm painting (and they laugh I'm sure) but then are proud when I get home with something that looks REAL (or not!!).

Sips and Strokes

Saturday night was deemed "girls night" this past weekend. Doug kept the kids at home. I threw a boston butt in the crock-pot with some BBQ sauce for them, they had some movies etc. and I ventured out with about 30 girls (some I knew, some I didn't) and we had martini's, food and then . . . we went to a painting class. This was no "ordinary" painting class mind you. It's one I have taken before with friends over in Marrietta that is a blast! It's called Sips & Strokes for a reason - the whole concept is, ya bring your "sip" (your favorite beverage) and you paint! I took a 6 pack of Sam Adams Cherry Wheat and wallah . . . this is what I came home with (well, it's really not that great of a painting but it is in fact hanging in my bosses office over her desk). She seemed to like it enough to display it. My other painting from last year is also hanging in our office over a printer. Cool!!

Where Does The Time Go?

Time goes by way too fast and the kids grow up. Things change, seasons change. Here are some photos of Zachary and Abbey Grace from this summer that Aunt Marcia sent me right after the New Year.

We all got together during the Holidays and were looking at images on each others cameras that we hadn't yet down-loaded to our computers and she found these on hers and sent them to me.

They are from this past summer at she and Uncle Pete's house out at the farm in Mansfield - it's simply beautiful out there . . . clearly the kids love it - they are City kids but certainly have lots of Country in them!

Abbey Grace strikes a pose next to the pool.

Look how beautiful the flowers are (and how cute the little girl is)!

Zachary looks so handsome!

What a big kid!

Zack loves to drive the Kubota around the pastures with his little sister!

Nice day of swimming!