Our Trip to the Aquarium

I took Brent to the Aquarium at Pine Knoll Shores in July. I had gone with school trips at the end of the year, and I thought he would like seeing what they had down there.

We had a lovely day, got to look around at some stuff besides the Aquarium, and all in all had a good time.

Here's my favorite picture from the day -

And here's the happy couple -

Todd's New House

For those of you that do not know, Todd has bought a house in Wilmington. It's nice, needs some work, but if you know Todd, then you know that's right up his alley.

I went down this past week for a brief viewing. There are pictures on the Internet - here's hoping this link will work for you if you are interested -

http://jth0306.myphotoalbum.com/slideshow.php?set_albumName=album01&utm_source=share&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=slideshow

I took like four pics while i was there - and the best two are of his roomies - his yard - which is heavily wooded with little grass - is currently the home of several - dare i say MANY - large spiders. Now, I'm not afraid of spiders, but DEAR GOD these things make my skin crawl - and of course - here are pics . . .

Needless to say our fearless friend Todd will eradicate them and their offspring with bug spray. All in all I'm looking forward to seeing what he does with the house. :)

Brent's Big Fish

Last weekend Brent, Carol (his mom), and Charlie Brown went deep sea fishing out of Morehead. This is a trip that has been five years in the making - Brent and his mom went out five years ago this October, but the boat had mechanical problems, so they came in and got rain checks for their tickets. On that first trip Carol also won the free ticket drawing. So, finally, five years later, the planets aligned and they got to go back out. And this time it was an almost perfect trip.

Brent won the big fish pot - that's where you put like $20 in and if you bring in the biggest fish, you win all the money. He won $140 with a 29 pound Amberjack. Now I'd never even really heard of amberjacks - but this fish - ooo - big. He also brought in a 19 pound grouper - which - for those of you that eat fish - is some good eating - and 19 pounds makes a lot of fish steaks - yummy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z2yMAQN45vw

But the best was that Carol had fun, Brent and fun, and Charlie had fun. They caught fish, didn't get sunburned, and caught fish. :)

So when you're answering that question about who would you want to be stranded on a desert island with -remember my man - lol - cause if nothing else - you'll never starve!

For My Birthday

A warning - never just casually mention a homerepair project to Todd. Brent did this at dinner on my birthday and the next day we had this going on at my house . . .






God bless Todd's heart - he's a non- stop little wrecking machine. We had hard wood floor in like five hours. Now to get used to all the creaking!

Thanks Todd!

The Tolling of the Bell

Well - today is the day - and Ernest Hemingway said it best -


"Do not ask for whom the bell tolls, it tolls for thee."

So tonight is the night - dinner out and then Machine Gun is playing in G-Vegas!

And between now and then - WHATEVER THE HELL I WANT!!!! LOL

=D

Link to Pics from Tennessee Trip

Here's hoping this works . . .

http://picasaweb.google.com/leaseuhd/TennesseeTripWithTheFamily?authkey=Gv1sRgCP7H0KLJod4d&feat=directlink

Good Luck!

LOL

Pictures

I am going to try to set up something for web access to ALL of the wonderful pics and videos - but for now you must settle for these few pics . . .

Monkey was our videographer in the truck.

Mama with ELVIS - LOL!

At the Salt and Pepper Shaker Museum - she's giving the thumbs up!

The family - about to drive home - still smiling . . .

Home again, home again, jiggity jig . . .

Well, I survived. It wasn't HALF as bad as I thought it would be. We all actually had a good time, got to see some interesting things, and got to spend some time together. So it was a success.

I have TONS of video footage. Lots of pictures. And some interesting stories. I will work on ALL of that TOMORROW.

Thank you to everyone that kept me in their PRAYERS - it worked!!

Summer Vacation Begins

Well, I know it's Summer Vacation - and yes I CAN capitalize it because it's THAT important - because I have already "lost" days, where I have just sat around enjoying just sitting around. BUT - yard work is done - plants are planted - things are progressing - and tomorrow is the first official trip of the summer.

So - if you could all send me some strength and love and sympathy over the next three days, I would really appreciate it, because tomorrow morning around 9:00, I'll be leaving Washington in a truck with Mama, Daddy, and Mary on our way to Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg, TN, to take Mama to the Salt and Pepper Shaker Museum in Gatlinburg.

Now, I know many of you are already laughing at what it's gonna be like to put the four of us in a car together for almost eight hours (plus stops). But add to it my incredible fear of heights and you've got a freaking Williams story that should last for-ev-ah . . .

Now - a few updates -

Spoke to Leslie today - everyone there is doing very well it seems. She's working half days now going back full days in the fall. Mark is doing well - teaching summer school. Will turned two in April and Carrie is now almost six months old and is doing very well.

Todd called this morning - A-HOLE - from Key West where his family's cruise ship had stopped for the day. He wanted directions to the Mile Post O Marker - needless to say I didn't call him back - was tied up with Mama this morning into the afternoon - and just truly - he can suck it . . .
(My sympathies go out to Rob who is also on this cruise with the ENTIRE Horton clan!!! Just kidding - sorta)

Keith is doing well - his family is down at the beach this week - he's still in Charleston and still teaching.

Sally is still in Myrtle Beach working at the library. Haven't heard from her recently, so I'll try to get in touch with her soon for more updates.

Sep is expecting two more to add to her family - bringing nephew and niece count up to 15 (I think).

Mary has lost over 100 pounds, with very few problems, so she's really doing well. The boys are all growing like weeds. Hunter will be 13 in OCTOBER. OMG - we ARE old. Riley is sassy according to my mother, so I think it's time for Brent and me to "get ahold" of him for a night or two - after this trip. Colin "graduated" from preK and is going to Kindergarten then year - wooooo - he'll be five in July.

Mama and Daddy are doing fairly well. Mama's condition changes daily - one day good - one day we're wondering what she's "on." But she's making it.

Brent's working on projects around the house. Pain all the time, but some days he can do small things for spurts at a time. I still have a yard full of boats, but I have learned to look around them LOL

I'm doing well. Can't wait to get the driving part of this trip over. Looking forward to sitting by the pool in Pigeon Forge.

(And FYI the next "40" is Leiza Manning - although no one has been in contact with her in forever. So on the 28th - please a moment of silence if you can. LOL)

AND BTW - Be watching for tweets in the bar from the trip tomorrow and the rest of the time we are gone - they will be my chance to reach out for help - LOL

Okay Okay - Finally!

It's not done yet - almost - and i wanted the flower bed to be done before I took any pics - but I took these to show to my inlaws, so I thought I'd go ahead and post them here -

yes - highlighter yellow - but i love it

Ooooops . . . .

I cannot believe that I am such a slacker that I let one of the 40's slip by on us with no fanfare or celebration . . .

YESTERDAY - yes - YESTERDAY - MAY 13, SALLY SLIPPED INTO THE 40'S ON US.

Perhaps I was trying to give her a break - as she is my elder.

Happy Birthday girl!!

NICKELBACK ROCKED 3

And finally - the one I mentioned in the first entry - the Kings of Leon song -

NICKELBACK ROCKED 2

Okay - so here they are doing one of my most favoritest songs -

NICKELBACK ROCKED

OMG - If you like Nickelback, you MUST go and see them in concert.

Will be posting videos now - pics from the trip later -

Just to warn you - you, of course, are not allowed to take NICE equipment in, so my big camera stayed at the hotel room with Monkey. The videos here were shot with my FLIP video camera, and the bass freaking knocked it out - but they are pretty good.

I loved the concert, but I think my favorite part of the whole thing was when Nickelback came out and did the Kings of Leon song "Need Somebody" as part of their encore.

ENJOY!

Little YELLOW houses for you and me . . .

The time has finally come my friends. Work has begun. Right now, even as I type this, half of my house is primed yellow, LOL, and half is still green. It's a little bright, but the PAINT will tone it down.

Pictures after the trip - yes, that's right - I'm such a tease.

And just so you know - the neighbors on the corner that like to cut down trees had theirs painted yellow at the same time - of course they can afford a real crew, so theirs is already done.

Okay - that's enough for one night - geezus - the pressure to keep putting stuff out here -

Easter

Well, Mama cooked and Mary's family came up for the afternoon. Thank GOD it was nice outside. We ate, hid eggs, and got to watch the boys try to beat Honey and Precious to the eggs. LOL

Here are some of the better pictures from the day.

Mary and Neil

Daddy (remember - pronounced Dead-ee)

Riley and Colin - PRE-hunt

Riley(what I love about this picture is that he is in a tire swing that came from my Grandmama's house - one that Mary and I actually had there when we were little.)

Hunter - the only one so far to even show interest in climbing trees. Made Mary so proud!

And the littlest one Colin -

Shots of the WYSTERIA by the back porch - bigger and bigger every year.

Trip South Part Two

Much love to Sally for bitching at me about posting the second part of my trip.

[Would like to preface this entry with the statement that not all of my trip revolves around eating - lol - but when I go south - there are specific places I wanna go - so they are mentioned here.]

Went to Beaufort on Wednesday, just because I could. I love South Carolina - the way everything looks and feels, just a totally different place. You wouldn't think there would be that much of a difference, but there is.

I love Beaufort, just cause it's still small town. BUT they're building a four lane to it, and that will totally mess it up. I've decided that not all roads need to be four lanes. Leave us some two lane roads, please.

The best part about the trip to Beaufort is always the getting lost on the way back and discovering a new place. This time, instead of finding the Forrest Gump fence, I found a really cool historical marker at the remnants of a church. It's surrounded by oak trees with moss, of course, and is on a back road between Beaufort and Yemassee, and it was gorgeous.

Along with the trip to Beaufort on Wednesday, I had dinner with Rob at - of course - the Mustard Seed - my favorite restaurant in the Charleston area.

Thursday I was sooo ready to get home I called Todd and told him I'd meet him for lunch and then drive home.

Monkey loved going with me so much that he has requested to travel with me on this next trip to Atlanta - so people - be prepared for more monkey pics. Brent is calling this the "Summer of the Monkey," and you don't know how funny I think that is.

A new business I'm thinking of starting . . .

Funny thing is - if you know me - you know I've got plenty to spare - LOL

Lisa's Trip South

SPRING BREAK - I decided to tour the state of South Carolina with stops in Myrtle Beach, Mt. Pleasant, Beaufort, Daniel's Island, and Charleston (oh and in NC - Wilmington). I am alone - no wait - I am not alone -

I am traveling with . . . . . . .

MONKEY - bwahahahahaaa

He's a great traveling companion - goes where I want to go - doesn't mind me singing to him the whole time - and is always a blast -

Here are some pics of our trip so far -

Dinner at Mama Fu's


Downtown Charleston
Monkey and my newest additions to the ride - the WOLVERINES - HOTness!!

Monkey wanted to eat McDonald's for lunch, but I made him go to East Bay Deli with me -yummy - He loved the trees in the park at the Battery -

Colin's Spring Debut

Well, finally, the youngest nephew has reached the age where we will be able to go and see him in school productions. Colin is 4 - will be 5 in July, and his Pre-K class (along with others) had a spring program on Tuesday.



Colin did very well. He danced, he sang some, and he behaved. What more could you ask for from a four-year-old?


Here are a couple of pictures from his debut. What is sadly most remarkable about the production is not my nephew, but the young man on the front row who during the first song dropped his gum OUT OF HIS MOUTH and PICKED IT BACK UP and POPPED IT BACK IN HIS MOUTH. From that moment on, I was much more interested in seeing what he would do next. I have much better pictures of him than I do of Colin, and I plan to include one here.



Will add a link to the video after I have uploaded it.

Enjoy!

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-6752917388418767523

The video quality is not that great - lost something in the upload!