My 33rd Bday!!!!!

My 33rd Bday rocked!!!!!!!!! My sister got me a gold bracelet & limo!!!! My hubby got me a massage gift certificate, my in laws got me some beautiful jewelry, and we all loaded up and went to eat dinner at Smokey Bones in Johnson City. It was fabulous. When we got back we all hung out around the pool and had a big time. My neighbor came down, and Michelle & Renee dropped by. It was a party to remember! Thanks everybody for a wonderful memory.

The World Outside

This is what the world outside looked like the week that Noah was born. All of the rhodies were in bloom up on the mountain. All different colors, shapes and sizes. The butterflies were loving the nice weather. Noah's Daddy went out in the fields and picked a ton of the different flowers and put huge bouquets all over the house for Noah's mommy to enjoy. It was very sweet. Check it out.

We Have A Baby!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sorry I haven't written in awhile....the whole world stopped turning on May 5th, 2006. A little angel was born at 12:57pm weighing in at 5lbs 8oz and 18 inches long. He is the cutest little guy you will ever see. Mom and Dad were so proud!!! Aunt Ashley was estatic! It was worth all the waiting and anticipation.

I have a ton of pictures to share but I guess for now I will just publish these for your viewing pleasure.

Welcome to the World...Noah!

Ed's B-day

Well this weekend my brother in law turned 49! It was a nice weekend. He and my sister came by on Friday evening...he opened the presents we bought (a new grill and a filet knife kit). I think he liked them. Then on Saturday we drove up to their place to take Amber's daughter up for her weekend with her mom. It was nice...Amber and I put Ed's grill together while the guys fished.

Then Ed figured out that Amber had gotten his satellite radio hooked back up and he played with it for awhile. I think Ed had a nice birthday weekend. Oh yes...Friday was Amber & Eds wedding anniversary....so all in all it was a weekend to celebrate.

Brian caught the big ones!

Well on Sunday we went to the mountain...after watching a fishing tournament on TV Brian decided to purchase a special lure to fish with. It payed off. Check out these monsters! We are having the largest one mounted. He was very excited! It was a good weekend.

A Perfect Easter Weekend

This Easter is one of the best I have had in years! The weather here has been in the high 70's everyday and all the flowers are in bloom. My hubby was off on Friday so he and a work buddy went to my sister's place in the mountains and hunted for turkey and fished. His buddy ended up catching a 5 lb. bass so he was happy. When I got off from work on Friday I happened by a yard sale and found the perfect baby swing for my sister...I have been looking for a lightly used one for a month and I finally found it! I was so excited. I only had to give $15 for it. So on Saturday we loaded it up and went to the mountain. We took our fishing poles and had a nice time. I really didn't fish this time just laid back on the dock and soaked up the sunshine. Ryan caught a nice little bass. Then we went back up to the house and colored easter eggs (see picture above). Amber cooked hot dogs and hamburgers and we left shortly after that. We headed home to cook some things to take to my In-Law's house on Easter Sunday...then we headed to a little town near ours where they have a car show downtown. It was jam packed with old cars that people like to show off...the guys drooled over a lot of them while I went into the antique shops that line the streets. It was a perfect night.

On Sunday we gathered at the In-Law's house after church. It was a lot of fun. My Sister, her husband & her daughter came...also my mother-in-laws sister her husband and daughter showed up and we all ate until we couldn't hold another bite. I had gone to their place earlier that day & hid Easter Eggs so later everyone hunted them. Susan ended up finding the egg with the money in it so she was tickled pink. A great time was had by all!

My Sister's Nursery is ready!!!

Well the baby's nursery is ready...IT looks soooooooooo cute. The furniture is in there. The little outfits are hung in the closet...they have plenty of diapers...everything they need. Now we are just waiting for a little boy to be ready to come into this world.

Last night was exciting. My sister and her husband came down to visit and she kept having pretty strong back pain...worse than before. I finally talked her into going to the hospital and letting the nurses check her. So they left...I just knew she was going to call and say come on down we are having a baby...but it was not to be. Just more Braxton Hicks Contractions. His heartbeat sounded good and he was kicking away so they observed her for awhile and released her to go on home.

I talked to her this morning and she is doing fine. I just wanted to share this picture I had of the baby's room.

What a gorgeous weekend

It was a beautiful weekend here in East Tennessee! On Friday after a hectic month end day at work we packed up the car and headed for the mountain to see Amber, Ed & Taylor. It rained on the way up there so I figured it would just be a dreary weekend. Boy was I wrong. We spent Friday night watching movies, listening to my new bluegrass CD "Rhonda Vincent & the Rage", Taylor and I tried to dance with cans balancing on our heads, and I finally gave out and went to sleep in the Family House next door.

Saturday morning was beautiful. The guys took their fishing poles down to the private lake and man did they catch some fish. Brian finally caught some big bass...they have been eluding him for a year. He was so proud...of course Ryan always catches some even if no one else does. Amber and I sat on the porch in the rocking chairs and then painted the baby's nursery. It looks so good. We put the little curtains up and it really looked like it was all coming together. She seemed so happy with it. Saturday evening we headed back home.

Sunday another beautiful sunny day. Brian got the lawnmower out and mowed the yard, I love the smell of freshly cut grass after a long winter of not smelling things like that. I cut off the heat and opened all the windows to let the air in. Managed to get my Easter decorations up also. Got my umbrella for my pool deck table out and put it up and got the cushions on the chairs. Then we made fried chicken, biscuits & gravy and mashed potatoes because ED, Amber and Taylor were coming over. They had a nice visit...got to use the hot tub and then they headed back home.

I made a bonfire and Brian, Ryan and I sat around it for awhile. When the thunderstorms started it was time to call it a day. I am so glad the time has changed back now and we will have more daylight! Thank you Lord for a beautiful weekend.

Amber's Baby Shower

Well this past Saturday we had Amber's baby shower. It was a total success. She got tons of stuff that she needed for the baby. It was honestly one of the best showers I have ever been to. It was really funny because our dad attended. He even played one of the games! He is crazy! This is a picture of Amber & Ed and his granddaughter. I can't wait until their little Noah gets here. It will be so exciting.
The girl on the right is one of Ed's daughters.
It was a fun day

Taylor does it again!!!!

Congrats again Taylor!!!!!!!! Looks like Taylor has done it again. She tried out for cheerleading this year at her Middle School and made it!!!! Wooohooo! We are very proud of her.

Sorry I haven't updated the blog in awhile...we spent last weekend at my sister's place in the mountains and had a blast it was a beautiful weekend...temps in the high 60's up there. The pictures I have included are from our trip.

Today however it is snowing again. I am so ready for spring to arrive. I want warm weather. This weekend we stayed around the house. Saturday Brian and I went to Johnson City and shopped then went to eat at a new restaurant called Smokey Bones which I loved! Saturday night James, Julie, Robin and her friend came by we sat around had a few beers and chit chatted...it was fun. This coming weekend we are having a party for Robin's 31st bday. I built a huge bonfire and covered it over with plastic so it will be good and dry for the party. It should blaze right up. I just hope the weather cooperates. Sunday we watched "Jar Head" and "Yours Mine and Ours" I loved the latter of the two.

That's about it from here.

Congratulations Taylor!!! Aunt Ashley is Proud!

This is a picture of my neice Taylor who came in first place at her Middle School Spelling Bee...she went on to the County Spelling Bee last night where she made it through 5 extremely difficult rounds. She is #16 on the stage in this picture. She ended up 9th in this bee. I am so proud of her! Congrats Taylor!!!! Keep up the good work!

My Brother-in-law in the Snow

I just had to share this picture of my Brother-in-law in the snow up in Roan Mountain where he & my sister live. They have been dumped on this winter several times but this is my favorite picture. Enjoy.

Slow Weekend

Well it's Monday again. I hope this week at work goes by faster than last week did. Last week things were really slow here at the office. I like it better when I am really busy and the time goes by fast. The weekend was much the same.

Friday night we went to Fred's house to draw on the race pool...I ended up with Tony Stewart & Greg Biffle (both of them led much of the race only to blow up at the end)...Brian had Jeff Gordan who didn't do much better. I am in a NASCAR slump when it comes to the race pools this year so far. I hope things turn around quick. Saturday morning we got up and went to Ryan's basketball game...they led most of the game and lost by one point at the end(That's him with the ball in the picture). It was a good close game though...fun to watch. Saturday night Ryan went with his Grandparents to the Carter Fold to listen to the bluegrass music and dance. Ryan hooked up with some girl who was 18yrs old...he told her he was in High School...She had to have known he was full of it. Ha ha. He is a character. Brian and I went out for dinner and drinks and then went shopping at the mall. Sunday morning we laid around in bed until after lunch...it felt good.

That's about it...Oh yeah...my mom & stepdad made the newspaper in WV over the weekend. They finished in the top 10 in the cutest couple contest & the news reporter did a story on them. It turned out really good. I am proud of them.

I guess my Dad & stepmom will be getting back from St. Martin today. I hope they bring some warm weather back with them.

Snow, Snow & More Snow!!!

Wow...I woke up to 3 more inches of snow this morning! Beautiful! The only bad thing was trying to drive to work. I have to go 3 miles on a country road before I get to the main highway & it was SLICK! The county scraper trucks came thru at around 4am and scraped the roads but they did a terrible job and it kept snowing and by the time I left the house it was very scarry! I was thankful to make it to work. This area doesn't get a whole lot of snow generally so the road crews are not the best at what they do.

On Friday night we got about 2 inches and I was almost positive that they would call off Ryan's basketball game on Saturday morning but they didn't...just pushed the time back a couple of hours. Brian, Ryan and I went home afterwards and watched the Busch Race on TV. Got the surround sound hooked up to the new TV. I went by Robins house for a little while. Had a drink and talked with her then Sharon & her man showed up for a visit too. It was fun. I hadn't seen Sharon since the summer when Robin, Fred, Sharon, Ryan and I went out on the lake in Fred's boat. Sharon and Robin had a camp set up and they were really enjoying themselves. Sharon is a hoot to be around.

Yesterday we watched the latest Zorro movie...I really liked it. Then we watched The Cave and I didn't care much for it. Another scarry, sci-fi movie...just not my thing. I guess tonite we will watch "In Her Shoes".

Ryan was very happy about the additional snow this morning due mainly to the fact that they called off school and he will get to spend the day with his Mamaw Betty.

I am starting to get a little worried about my Dad. I thought he was supposed to be back from St. Maartin this weekend but I haven't heard a word from him. He usually calls or sends an email when he returns...I sent him one this morning to see if he was still gone (he takes his laptop with him)...but I still haven't gotten a response and it is now 11:30am. I guess I will pick up the phone and try to call in a little while.

My mom and stepdad were in a "Cutest Couple Contest" in their local newspaper in WVa...the idea was to get as many votes as you could each vote costing $.25. I was really hoping they would win 1st place but there were a lot of people in the contest and they had over 1000 votes but still came in 6th place. That's ok though because I found out yesterday that the top 10 couples are going to be in a special a edition where the paper is going to interview them also they win some sort of prize too. I am so happy for them. They really are the cutest couple.

It's Snowing!!!

We finally got some snow!!! It was so beautiful all weekend. On Friday night we rented some movies and went to the grocery store to stock up incase it got really bad. Friday night we watched "The Constant Gardner" and "Flight Plan". I loved "Flight Plan" but could have done without watching "The Constant Gardner." Then we got up on Saturday morning to about 1-2 inches of snow. It was beautiful...it continued all day long. They cancelled Ryan's basketball game so we got to hang out and watch it snow all day. Saturday night Brian and I went to Fred's to draw for the race pool...YES NASCAR SEASON IS HERE AGAIN! It was the weekend for the Bud Shootout in Daytona. Ten of us put in $5 each and we draw numbers 1-10. We chatted with Fred, Michelle, Brandon, Brian Simms and Velvet for awhile but we had to get to Robin's house for a night of playing cards. We had some AWESOME finger foods that Robin had fixed, played some cards, and sat around chit chatting with Robin, her guy friend, Randy, Renee, Dudley, and Robin's dad Mike came by for a little bit. It was a nice gathering. I drank too much beer and we left there around 10:30pm.
Sunday morning it was time to go play in the snow but first we watched another movie this one was called "Doom" it had The Rock in it...pretty good action sci-fi movie but very gorry! We headed up to my husband's mom and dad's house where there is a nice hill for sledding and we hit the slopes. I will try to attach a picture to this. Then we built a snowman and headed into the house for some hot beef stew. Then it was back home to watch the last movie...a comedy called "Waiting" this was one crazy movie...not for little kids to watch. Not much of a plot just a bunch of young people who work in a restaurant and their crazy antics.
This weekend was a good one. I hope we get a few more good snows like this before spring. I did make a special request to my dad last week though...He was heading for ST. MAARTIN...a little island in the Carribbean...and I asked him to bring some hot weather home with him. Maybe he will.

Teenager Trouble

I am really at my wits end lately with Ryan. He will turn 13 in a month and his attitude is terrible, his grades are terrible, he is trying to grow his hair (which drives me crazy), he back talks and lies. He was always such a sweet little boy. For some reason since school started this year everything has just gone downhill fast.
I received a letter in the mail 2 weeks ago telling me that he was in jeaopardy of failing for the year because he has 2 F's in Math for the year. Ryan has always been an honor roll student and now I am being told that he could possibly fail a grade. He is not on drugs (yet)...I know this for a fact. He is in a terrible school where in some classes there is no control what so ever. I have started picking him up from school so that I can make sure he has all of his homework, I am in constant contact with his teachers, I go over his studies with him at home & it seems as though he understands it...so why when he gets to school does he fail his tests? I have even gone to school with him and sat in on his classes just to get an idea for myself what is going on. The other day I asked him if he had any graded papers to share with me & he said no. Well I find out this morning from the math teacher that she sent papers home all week for him to get me to sign and return & he brought them back with my signature that he had forged & she could tell. If he had brought them home I could have went over them with him and helped him understand but now he is probably having a test on that work today and there is nothing I can do to help him.
I guess it is just part of being a teenager. I guess I need to just let him fail and learn for himself that his actions have consequences. I can't do his work for him & if he is not willing to do it then he will do it over again next year & repeat the 7th grade. It just seems like such a waste when he is such a smart boy.

Me & Ryan at Easter

 

My first big mouth bass 

It's Electric!!

I just had to post this picture of Ryan's new Electric Guitar. He is so proud of it. I am proud of him for saving his money and buying it. Also for paying for his first month's worth of lessons. I am very very very thankful that it came with headphones that you can plug into the amp so I don't have to hear it all the time.

The Weekend

Well this weekend was another one of those lay around and do nothing weekends. On Friday night we had a few people wonder over. Our neighbor JR showed up and then my husband's Cousin Brandon & his girlfriend Velvet came by for a little while. We drank a few beers and talked...it was cool. Saturday morning was cold and rainy! The perfect day to stay in bed and sleep late. When I finally did get up I made huge biscuits, fried some country ham (not good for my diet), and scrambled eggs. MMMMMM. Then we all got blankets and camped out in the living room...this was Barrett/Jackson Auto Auction Weekend on Speed Channel. My husband lives for this. We have been watching it everyday since Wednesday. I am glad it is finally over. Don't get me wrong I like to see the old & new cars (all perfectly restored, etc) go across the auction block...but after several hours of this the cars all start to look the same. But I cuddle up and watch it with the guys. We did manage to squeeze in time to watch the movies I rented. The first one we watched on Saturday night it was "Two for the Money"...I love Matthew M. in this movie...He is sooooooooooo hot. After that it was back to the auction where a bus sold for $4 million dollars. That was the highlight. On Sunday morning we got up and went to church. It was a nice service...the music was awesome. Preacher Craig always has a good message too.
After church we came home and watched the other movie I had rented it was called "Lord of War"...it had Nicholas Cage in it I love him too but this was not one of his best movies. After that I took a nap & got ready to watch the playoff games. I am glad Pittsburgh is in the superbowl but I was dissappointed that Carolina didn't play better than they did. I don't know who to put my money on in the Big Game.
My sister, her husband & my neice came by for a little while. Amber tuned Ryan's guitar back up. He has been playing it to death! Taylor (my neice) and I discussed the games we are planning to play at Amber's baby shower. Taylor is very excited about being in charge of some of the games. I am glad they got to come by and visit.
All in all it was a nice weekend.