My Sweet Doggies...

Just a few new snapshots of my life as the mommy.

We learn how to share!

We nap. 3 dogs: 1 bed.

We (meaning Jack) watch mommy in the bed until she gets up!

Paul or Christopher?

Okay, so I need to convince Christopher for a "copy photo," but I'm pretty sure he resembles Sir Paul McCartney from his early years as one of the Beatles. More on this later.

Mildred Helen Bentley 1920-2010

My Grandma passed away last month, and this past weekend we traveled to New York to attend her memorial service. Grandma passed away just weeks before her 90th birthday. Despite the circumstance, it was special to see family on my Mom's side that we rarely see.

 Five of the ten grandchildren were able to come. L-R: Christy, Leanne, Alicia, Kristen & Kate

 My Mom grew up on Bently Road. The funny thing is, it was misspelled. It should say "Bentley."

 My mom grew up on a small dairy farm. This is what it looks like today. The family sold it over 30 years ago and the new owners let it fall apart and over grow. It was quite beautiful when it was the Bentley Farm.

 It was encouraging to see Grandpa. He looked great! In the next picture, Christy and I whispered to him to, "give us his best smile Grandpa," and he proceeded to pop his teeth out! Lots of laughs as usual. Grandpa is a drummer much like Christopher. I love that they each enjoy music so much!

In honor of Grandma, a few memories....

The best buttered noodles on the planet

Lawn darts in the backyard

Sleeping on the army cots every time we visited

Socks on the kitchen floor or die!

Easter eggs hunts in the front and back yard that lasted forever

The best jello in the world

The unique sound of Grandma's dust buster at any given moment

Games more games: rummy cube, piggies, scrabble, solitaire

Playing Grandma's organ even though we shouldn't

The toys in the front closet - especially the truck

Grandma's roses

Family Camp @ Windy Gap

Chris and I had the awesome opportunity to hang out at Young Life's Windy Gap Camp this weekend. Chris played drums for Family Camp. It was a great weekend with great friends!

 We stayed in the adult lodge. It's a beautiful bed and breakfast type set-up. Definitely spoiled!

Amazing MC skills: Mark Evans, Blake Hill & Jenny Evans

Disc Golf with new friends Katie & Scott and old friends Robbie, Sara and Ben.

At each Club meeting the band dressed up. Hilarious!

Jessica & Graelyn with Ashley & Kessler.

Awesome new friends Scott & Megan!

At this particular Club, the theme was pajamas! Chris and Ben definitely had a great time!

We also went for a trail ride on the horses and enjoyed watching all the kids jump on the blob into the lake. It was only 60 degrees over the weekend! Cold! The best was spending time with people and getting away from the busy day-to-day of life. It made us anxious to go back to Yellowstone again. YL Camp was great!

My Sister is Getting Married!

Christy and Lucas got engaged on Easter Sunday! Congrats lil' sis. The future Mr. & Mrs. Lucas Lopez.

*Here they are at Christmas time.

Spring Break 2010: Busy Rest

This past week was spring break for our school. With Christopher working, I opted to stay in town and enjoy vacation locally. It's been wonderful to make my own schedule, get things done and simple take a break from my school schedule. A few highlights from the week....

- Great weather! I didn't need to travel; it's been gorgeous!

- Music. I have managed to blare music in the house or my car as much as possible!

- The gym. Yup, I joined a women's gym and I love it. It's a place that is selfishly for me. No cleaning, to-do list or wifey priorities except myself. It's been awesome to prioritize me, which normally I never do.

- Reading. I love sitting on the porch, hearing the birds and reading.

- Watching AFV with CD. We're addicted. Evenings watching America's Funniest Home Videos with my sweetie is hilarious. We totally have winning footage that I need to submit!

- Time with friends. I love having the ability to visit with people and be encouraged. It's been great!

- Spring clean. Switching the clothes over and visiting Salvo was very productive.

- Yardwork. I can't help it. I naturally like hands on projects like my rental yard. Sticks got picked up and bricks got moved. The grill even got some lovin'.

- Doggies. They love being home all day with me. They are very chill when they are hanging out with mom all day. Bravo!

-Tutoring. One of my students wanted to get ahead over break and I was glad to help. That's one research paper down. Check!

-Zambia. I finally got my act together and sent a care package to Beth & Jeremy in Zambia! Can't wait for them to get it!

-Sangria. Chris and I enjoyed some sangria while cuddling up together for AFV. The only thing missing was stoagies. Why didn't we do that?

-Worship. Today is Easter and our church did a phenominal job of ministering and celebrating Christ's victory over the cross. This morning's service was alive and awesome! He is risen!

Happy Easter & Happy Break.

Happy 5th Birthday Tex

Today is Tex's 5th birthday! I cannot believe that it has been five years since we made the trek up to West Virginia to go get this guy --- wow! He's a wonderful dog and we can't imagine life without him! It's safe to say that we will always have a Boykin Spaniel around our house.

This was the day that we got Tex. We narrowed our choice down to two puppies, and then Chris threw his hat down on the grass and this happened. We knew he wanted to come home with us!

All grown up and still retrieving!