Forever Home * Lil' Homies

I was very happy to be home, I mean… I have the greatest family in the whole wide world! We are a uniquely talented group of good-looking folks. Not only do I deeply treasure the family members I have, but I make sure my children know and love them as well. I share stories, speak of them in high regard so that my kids know about their heritage, and appreciate it. I roll livin’ life with loved ones close to my heart. I have a good time reminiscing, sharing quirky inside jokes, and I could go on and on about nicknames….

My greatest wish would be to be near them on a daily basis again, but I’m thankful for social networks, and texting, etc. I know at any moment my family would have my back or set me straight if needed.

My Uncle Dave’s doggie.

Shorty after we arrived, the boys were playing with these “balloons”, Lana did not have one, but Uncle Dave quickly came to her rescue and made one for her.

Thank you kisses on the cheek from Lana.

The simple things create happiness.

Seeee Mom!

Lana and her cousins, Taylor and Luke.

Me and my cousin, Crystal.

I like this picture of Lukey and Lana. It’s so sweet.

This is Shawn, Crystal’s husband. He’s good to her, she’s happy so I like him. Plus, they have two incredible boys, Taylor and Luke.

Crystal and Jayce. They look alike, I think…except for the eye color. I wonder if Lana will look more like Crystal since they have the same eye color.

Luke, 2 years old. Look at those blue eyes!

Jayce checking out Uncle Dave’s guitar collection… He has some great ones!

My Mom and Taylor, he's 5 years old.

Moments before, Taylor walked over to Jayce, sat down, and then asked if he could get a hug. It was a very sweet moment.

This is a favorite picture of mine. Jayce has been playing his guitar, and he raves often about how good Uncle Dave plays. A very cool moment.

Remembering Summertime

Since tomorrow is officially the first day of autumn, I thought I would share this summertime photo of Lana from 2009. Look at her lil’ chubby self. My sweet baby girl is so cute!

Monday Memories

During the summer prior to school starting, Jayce was one of the stage managers for Convocations, this year’s theme was Northside Together (80’s style). He had a terrific time, met some very influential people, and is looking forward to next year’s gathering of educators.

Forever Home *Lunch Date

One afternoon a few of us met up for lunch at Cheddar’s. We had a nice time. Check out the pics below…

Kristy & me. I like how I edited this image. It's a cool look.

Aunt Louella & Jayce.

Kristy enjoying a drink!

David Jr., Kristy, and Sophia.

Baby Sophia, 11 months.

Jayce contemplating something…

Me & my mom. I totally love the lens flare on this image. Not bad at all.

Forever Home *Sweets To Eat

By now you know I cannot go anywhere without staking out the local cupcake boutiques. Our hotel near my mom’s house was also within close proximity to what I would consider… CUPCAKE HEAVEN. With Coney Islander nearby too, we were surely happy. (Clap, Clap, Clap) You could probably throw in a couple high fives too!

What a great treat to enjoy. So light and fluffy.

So great indeed that I bought more and delivered to family….

Which one is more likely to be your favorite?

Forever Home *continued

I thought I would take a moment and get back to our trip to Tulsa. We had a wonderful time catching up with family. I took a few pictures of Jayce, Lana, and Presley together.

The look on Lana’s face is her sassy self, she is such a lil’ ham. The next two pictures below are Presley, 14 years, daughter of Billy and Kelly.

This is my favorite image of Presley. It really captures the beauty of her smile.

I think Presley and Jayce favor each other a great deal. The both have such dark brown eyes. It’s crazy!

The three of them together… Pure sweetness!

Kelly and I drove around their neighborhood. I found some great spots for photo ops during our next visit.

The lakes are so calm and peaceful.

Very pretty!

I love weeping willow trees; they are by far my favorite!!

What An Anniversary-It Was Smokin' HOT!

Friday was our 17th anniversary. It started as a normal day, BJ went to work, and Jayce went to school. I spent most of the morning catching up with a friend, then about 1pm my neighbor came by and informed me that there was a fire near our homes. I turned on the tv, nothing was on the news. I contacted the local fire dept. and they said that there were about 10 fire trucks on the scene and it was under control. After a short while, I was informed that we could possibly be evacuated. I contacted BJ and he decided he would come home to help get things packed, etc.

BJ arrived home and we packed the usual things such as important documents, clothing, etc. I also packed some collectables, and other odds and ends throughout our home. We had everything in totes near the door, ready to load if needed.

At one point, it seemed like it was dying down and we no longer needed to worry. However, a police officer came by and said that the fire was almost contained, but the wind picked up and it sparked again. He told us to be ready because if they decided to evacuate, we would have approximately 5 minutes to leave our home.

The wildfire burned over 38 acres of woods and was drawing closer to our neighborhood.

In the picture above you can see how close it is to our homes. The image below has been solarized so you can see the blaze of the flames within the smoke cloud.

It was getting very intense.

Choppers and planes were flying overhead dropping water and retardant to battle the fire. It became so large burning over 250 acres of land.

The fire was approaching our homes and the smoke was getting stronger.

Again, the image above was solarized so you can see the vigor of the blaze and smoke.

Emergency vehicles drove by with bullhorns announcing for everyone to leave. The police also went door to door making sure everyone was going to leave. We went to the Marriott after checking in with the Red Cross as instructed. We were up late waiting to hear news about our neighborhood. Finally, went to bed and woke up to good news, our neighbors called and texted us that our home was fine, thank goodness! What an anniversary to remember.