Once again, I am back

I don't even know where to begin, it's been so long since I blogged I don't even know if anyone still checks to see if there is anything new. But here I am. Alot has happened and we have been so incredibly busy over the last couple months. We've had baseball come and go, not a bad season but not the best either but the kids had fun and that is what it is all about. In May we had "Mayfest" in our small town and that was alot of fun. The midget football league has a booth, the kids and coaches are in the parade and we had a dunking booth. Rusty did the booth last year and said "there was no way in hell he was getting in that thing again this year", so he cooked food instead. He loves doing things for the kids but the booth really did a number on his knee, for those of you who don't know he had a total knee replacement 4 years ago. Yes, at 35 years old he had to have his knee replaced. Football has been very good to him, yes sir. Anyway we got some really cute pictures from Mayfest.



The beginning of the day when it wasn't quite so hot.



My honey, isn't he cute? I told you I had some cute pictures from Mayfest.




Another really cute picture. This is one of Blake's favorite things to do at Mayfest. He loves to color his hair and of course it has to be Strasburg colors, purple and white.
One of our board members taking a turn in the dunking booth. The water was extremely cold and it is a long fall from that seat to the water.
This is Jayla, she is the daughter of friends of ours. She is adorable and starting kindergarten in the fall.

And here's Jayla's daddy taking a turn. He was so funny, every time the seat dropped he had the exact pose as he went into the water.

Warren, our president, helping the kids to dunk the victim every time.

Spencer, a friend of Wayne's (my son), posing for the camera. He was the first victim and he spent alot of time up there and in the water. He is leaving Monday for bootcamp, God bless our soldiers.

Cody, Warren's son, doing his best to dunk Spencer. He is a senior this year with Wayne. The kids really had a great time and loved being in the parade. Who wouldn't love being in the parade with firetrucks, a 18 wheeler truck, motorcycles and all of the other local businesses. Gotta love those small town parades.

Like I said, baseball went really good. The kids had a great time, hopefully they learned a little. The went to the batting cages and got in a little hitting practice.

My honey giving orders, he does it so well. Too bad it doesn't look like the kids are paying much attention to him.

Opening day when the uniform is still nice and clean and new. This was also before Blake got his hair cut. He was going through a stage where he wanted to grow it out long. Let me tell you, this child does not hair the right kind of hair to have long hair. It was horrible!!! It didn't want to lay flat, we had an awful time with it. I didn't make him cut it though because "it's only hair". But finally he got tired of it and got it cut. Thank God!!!!

Ashleigh was home in May for a week and she was home for a couple days this past week. She is doing well in North Carolina. She is about an hour from Camp Lejeune and loving that. She loves the Marines, well she loves the marines she meets and sees. I think it's the uniform and I understand that, love a man in uniform. A guy she dated, didn't date, dated (well you get the picture) just finished bootcamp at Parris Island and she went with his family to his graduation. She was in total awe of everything and had some great stories. He graduated on July 3, what at awesome time to graduate, right at the 4th of July. She came back to Virginia with him and his family and then was home with us for 3 days. She flew home on Wednesday and I was worried the whole time. Not because of her being on a plane, that doesn't bother me. Ashleigh is the kind of kid that can't find her butt with both her hands and a map and she had to change planes twice, once in Atlanta and then in Charlotte. I just knew she wasn't going to find her gate and she would miss her plane. She proved me wrong though and everything went great. Maybe she is a little more responsible than I give her credit for, no I seriously doubt that. She's a great kid and I miss her like crazy, she's just not the most observant person in the world. Sorry Ashleigh you know I love you.

Steven and Denise's wedding plans are going great. They have rented a house on the beach for the wedding and reception and things are moving right along. They are getting married on October 4th and then they are headed to Florida for a cruise. WHAAAAA!!! I am so jealous, I want to go on another cruise. (I still haven't figured out how to remove the ticker on the top of my blog from the last cruise but I'm working on it) The are going to Honduras, Belize, Cozamel and Grand Caymans. I want to go. I got to meet Denise finally and I love her. She is so perfect for Steven. Actually, she's kind of the opposite of Steven but they fit so good together and have the same goals. I am so happy for him. You can tell by the way he treats her, talks to her and about her that he is so in love and I am thrilled for him. It took us a long time but Mom and I finally found the right one for him. ha ha ha

Finally, we had a good time on the 4th of July. Rusty's family had their 30th anniversary 4th of July party and everyone had a great time. We had 127 people there this year even with the rain the day before and the morning of the party. Hope everyone had a great 4th and hope everyone's summer is going great!

Me, Ashleigh, my sister in law Bev, my sister in law Debbie and my mother in law Ethel, after about 2 hours of volleyball, lots of food and dancing.

4th of July Update and our nice quiet Sunday

Let the party begin!!!
Rusty cooked for about 3 hours, but he wouldn't have it any other way. Cooking the food is his "thing" for the party.

This in my nephew, Michael, and his little boy Mason. Isn't Mason just the cutest?! He is such a sweet little boy. He was eating hamburger, some vegetables and beans until Sherry, one of my other nephews girlfriend, brought a brownie to the table. That was all she wrote. He wasn't having any part of any "food" he wanted chocolate and he wanted her's. He's cute, he got it and she got another one.

Mason's Papaw, my brother in law, sings in the band and Mason loves music. He stood in front of the band and just danced and danced.

Until he stopped to get a kiss from his Papaw. He really loves his Papaw.

My mother in law's house always looks so good. She takes off the week before the party to prepare. She cooks and decorates all week. It really is a sight to see. We had well over 100 people there this year.

Debbie, Rusty's cousin, caught me taking a picture of her and decided to return the favor. Everyone brings their own chairs or blankets and just spread out on the yard to enjoy the food and music. We also have volleyball, horse shoes and fireworks.

Jacob, one of my nephews, and his girlfriend Sherry. They celebrated 5 years together this year. They started dating in high school. Sherry graduated from UVA this year and Jacob will graduate from Mary Washington next year. 5 years ago Jacob spent the summer with us and worked with Rusty. He really liked Sherry but they had been friends for so long he was worried about asking her out. He is such a sweet kid, not a kid anymore, and I was worried about him getting hurt. Finally, he asked her out and she said yes and the rest is history. O their anniversary this year he called me and left me the sweetest, most loving message reminding me that they started dating while he was here (he went home on weekends) and how I had encouraged him to ask her out. I love that kid, we had such a great time with him that summer. He plays the guitar and he would sit out on the back deck playing to me. He was also just fun to sit around and talk to. Jacob if you read this I really did have a great time with you.

Ashleigh and Maddie. She is Ashleigh's cousin. She has a sister named Morgan and they fight over Blake and who's boyfriend he is. I don't have the heart to remind her that they are cousins. But they aren't first cousins so it's not really illegal, right? right?

Me, and my 2 sister's in law, Bev and Debbie.

Me and my honey. Isn't he cute?

Rusty and his cousin April. She is pregnant and due in October. I can't wait, they found out she's having a girl. She is so excited.

Bev and Jacob, her youngest, dancing the night away.

Gary, my brother in law, winding down as the night gets later.

Bobby, my oldest brother in law, man you should hear him play. Rusty whole family is musically talented. Their Dad had a bluegrass band and they played on the Ted Mack Variety Hour in New York. His uncle has bluegrass albums and his cousin just put out a bluegrass CD.

My nephew, R.J. He plays with this band and he has another band. His other band has played in clubs in New York and I think they play down in Richmond also. His other band plays a different kind of music than this one with his Dad. Southern Excess plays country and R.J.'s other band is more a hard rock.

Rusty in his 4th of July cooking outfit. Again, isn't he cute?

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TODAY

We had one of those rare days when there really wasn't anything planned. For us this is few and far between. I had to meet Wayne this evening, he's been at his Dad's for the last week. He was supposed to come home this past Wednesday but he called and wanted to stay longer, his Dad had given him a car and it needed a couple things done before he could bring it home. It's a '95 Dodge Neon. It needs a paint job but it doesn't look bad at all. It has sat in the sun and has faded some. Wayne's Grandpa used to have a body shop and he told Wayne he would paint his car for him in the near future. We got up this morning, kind of laid around not doing alot of anything. Rusty asked me if I wanted to go over to the flea market, so we threw our clothes on and headed there. I love the flea market and yard sales. The flea market can be better, it's like 1000 yard sales and I never have to move the car. I found a great Home and Garden cookbook, I collect cookbooks and I lost count a long time ago, from the 1950's. I paid $1.50 for it, great deal, huh? It's hardback and the pages are on a spiral. I was very excited about my find. We then took a ride out through Upperville and went by Rusty's Mom's house. We spent a couple hours visiting with her, she fed us lunch, and then I met up with Wayne. It was one of those days wiht no plans and we just take off with no schedule. I love those kind of days.