Happy Birthday Jaymee!!

Well, Jaymee had a birthday yesterday. She finally turned 31! Hooray for Jaymee! So, Monday night we had a special night devoted just to her. We had dinner and dessert and decorated the house to be birthday-ish. She is such a special person to her family for so many reasons. She is a great listener and gives superb advice. She is thoughtful and caring and sensitive. Now, don't get me wrong, cause the girl can speak her mind; but if she does, you know she cares, because she doesn't do it to just anybody. (And its actually quite funny to hear this five foot tall, petite blond, telling you there's broccoli hangin' outch yo' grill.) Nonetheless, she is admired and loved and deserves so much. She puts her family first in everything she does, and spares nothing when it comes to her kids. That in itself deserves an award. She's constant and steady no matter what is going on in her life. She is one amazing woman! So, enough sappy stuff, let see some pictures!

Here The hubby and his big sister Jaymee pose beneath a strand of balloons. How cute is that?

Jaymee takes a fake punch at her little brother.

Jaymee with her kids, Trent & Haley.

I love this picture! She's getting him! Get him, get him, get him!!

Grandaddy comes for a visit!

Well, Grandaddy came to visit us this past week to spend time with his children and grandchildren. He came solo this time, as Grandma was attending the wedding of her niece. However, we are glad to get whatever we can! Grandaddy drove all the way from Charlotte, North Carolina to the thriving metropolis of Birmingham. So, we had a great weekend. We had lots of great food and most importantly, lots of time to spend together. Check out some pictures!

Here is Grandaddy with Camden. Camden really took to Grandaddy on this visit and wanted to sit in his lap a lot. Male bonding...

Here Camden gets a bite of lasagna from Grandaddy. Whatever the adults are eating, they want it too!
Family dinner. Its so nice for all of us to sit down together and enjoy a meal.

Business as usual. Grandaddy's closing deals and making people's dreams come true! (He's a real estate agent, not a drug dealer! Come on people!)
The hubby and nephew Trent throw a football as we take a walk through the 'hood. Haley's hauling the kids!
Uncle Garrett is throwing the football and Camden really wants to join in the fun. Garrett has accepted a football coaching job in Georgia and he starts this Monday!!

Congratulations Uncle Garrett!
Here Kensington enjoys the company of her Dad's Dad. She really just wants to play with that computer!
And here I look on as Grandaddy talks to the kids and asks them if they are BIG? Look at Kensi's cute little face...

Alas, this is the homemade strawberry cake that made us all gain 2 extra pounds this weekend. When the lid was lifted off the cake you could smell the strawberries...oh heavens. I'm going to have to go make another one!

Fun in the kitchen

Well, the other day my parents came over for dinner, and my mother and I made a delicious feast for the menfolk. We had gone to an open air market here in the Birmingham area and purchased some fresh veggies. For our dinner we made fried pork chops, fried okra, steamed squash, fresh field peas and fresh corn. It was so delicious! After our meal, I had a sweet-tooth; which happens pretty regularly. So, I made a wonderful little dish called Cream Cheese Squares. It is a very simple recipe, and so yummy!

Here's what you need:

2 can refrigerated crescent roll dough
2 - 8 oz packages cream cheese
1 cup of white sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup butter/margarine
1/4 cup white sugar
1 tsp cinnamon


Spray a 9x13 pan and spread out one pkg crescent dough.

In a separate bowl mix together the cream cheese and 1 cup of sugar until it is creamy. Then spread on top of the dough.

Unroll the other pkg of crescent dough and place on top. Do not press it down. Just lay it there all sweet and pretty.

Then, melt the butter or margarine (I use butter) and pour that yummy goodness all over the top of it. Then mix the remaining 1/2 cup of sugar and teaspoon of cinnamon and sprinkle all over the top.

Bake at 35o for 25 to 30 minutes our until the top is golden and slightly crusty. This is wonderful warm, but it is also good the next day. Eat up!

Notes from the beach

Well, we have just returned from our latest trip to the beach. This trip was to Seacrest, where we rented a house called "Happy Hour." We picked the house because it had the bedrooms and space we needed; also, the location to the pool and beach was great. However, the owners of the house really like their martinis! They had decorated it with decor that was of the nature of alcohol. The name Happy Hour should have clued me in! Nonetheless, the house was fabulous and we had a great time. We rode bikes a lot, and we rented this cool little hitch to pull behind a bike. The kids were SO cute in it! Here are a few pictures:

Here is the front of our house called Happy Hour. This was a great house; four bedrooms, three baths and lots of extras.

Here is the hubby pulling Kensi & Camden in the bike trailer. Kensi really liked this little thing; Camden...not so much. We gave them juice to drink and there was a nice breeze, but he just didn't seem to like it as much as Kensington. Oh well.

Here we are on the way to the pool. The hubby is pushing Kensi in the stroller but he doesn't realize how his bulging bicep muscles are so distracting to passer-bys. Put those things away, man!

Here is my brother-in-law, Garrett. This is classic Garrett in action. He is the kind of guy you always want around. He just steps up and does things that need to be done but no one thinks to do. He is always helping other people out to make things easier. I imagine that in his head he is thinking, "What needs to be done here? Well, I can do this and this...Okay, lets go!"

Here is the Hagin family. This is my hubby's sister Jaymee, (as mentioned in previous posts) her husband Garrett (above) and their two wonderful kids Trent & Haley. We usually end up at some beach with them every summer. WE LOVE IT!! We love this family very very dearly.

Here is my son, Camden, playing with the bike rack. Who needs to buy toys with kids this age? They love Kleenex boxes and empty water bottles.
Little Kensi walking down the red brick road. She doesn't know where she's going; nor does she care. She is free, and she is going to try to go as far as she can, let me tell you!


Here is our daughter, Kensington Riley showing off her little baby Mohawk in the pool. You didn't know she had enough hair to do that did you?
And the boy in his float with his toys. He really liked the water this time. They're growing up fast, folks!

Here is Nana and Poppy. We were eating at a crab house this night. It was a lot of fun. What great memories are created on vacations!
Here is Jaymee & Garrett. What a great picture! Can we say, 'tan?'

This picture is of the hubby's youngest sister, Maegan, and her adorable daughter, Cami.
This is the hubby's other younger sister, Stacey. Stacey is engaged to a great guy named Ben and they are getting married next year. Also pictured is my nephew Trent, and my son Camden.

(You may not know it, but the hubby has three sisters. Jaymee is the oldest, then the hubby, then Stacey and then Maegan.)

This picture was taken at a wonderful restaurant called the Three Thirty-one. Oh my goodness their food is the BEST!! I always get the blackened fish with spinach on a grit cake. But the Panne chicken with capers is amazing. Everything here is good! Oh yeah, this is my hubby and his big sis, Jaymee.
Here is Jaymee looking *gorgeous* as we are getting ready to go to dinner. I love this yellow dress with her hair. Mmmmmhhhmmmm...
This little shot is from our professional photo shoot we had done on the beach. If this shows up in your mailbox at Christmas...pretend you haven't seen it before!
Can we say "screensaver??"

Going to the beach!!....and sharks!

We are so excited! We are leaving in the morning for the beach! Since we live in Alabama, a trip to the coast is the customary vacation for most Alabamians. There are so many beautiful beaches within just a few hours drive. We go every year, at least once. Usually about two or three times. I was talking with the hubby last night about a very particular beach trip we took in 2004. We were vacationing with some friends of ours from Nashville, and we had a house right outside of Seaside, Florida. We were the first guests to stay in this brand new, beautiful house. Well, one day the hubby and I decided to go to the beach, and for some reason it was just the two of us. Literally, you could look both ways down the beach, and it was just us. It was almost like being on an island somewhere. Maybe like being on the show Lost; only there were no "others" or hatches buried in the sand. Anyways, it was really hot, so the hubby decided to take a dip in the drink. I don't really like the ocean, so he was all by himself in the water. Well, as I am laying on my towel cooking in the heat, I suddenly hear voices. What is that? I think to myself. I sit up and notice a group of people running down the beach toward me. What are they doing? Why are they looking at me? Why are these people yelling? I look closer...Are they pointing? Towards the ocean? Towards my HUSBAND??? At this point, things started happening in slow motion. I turned my head toward my hubby who is neck deep in the ocean. I see this horrible look of terror on his face as we both realize what is going on. Then I see it: There is a huge black shadow swimming toward my husband. Directly towards my husband. He heard the voices as well, and by the time he could figure out what was going on he saw something huge in the water coming straight for him. By the time I could get up off my towel and try to do something the hubby was basically almost out of the water. The look on his face I will never forget. As he comes ashore, the people make it down to us. What is that?? We ask them. Well, it turns out that is was not a shark as we all thought; ironically, it was a brown seal. Where he came from we don't know, but obviously he was lost. The people who came down the beach told us that the sheriffs department had told them there was a brown seal swimming around in the gulf. The sheriff told them that he would probably not last long, and that the sharks would get him. Anyways, after the hubby caught his breath, we looked down the beach to watch where this seal was going. Way down the beach there was a group of girls on rafts. Where's the camera? The hubby yells; then he takes off with camera in hand. Here is the picture he took:

This is the group of young girls on floats; To say they freaked out when they saw the shadow is quite an understatement. The water parted like the red sea is more like!

I zoomed in so you could see the shadow, but it doesn't show up very well. But, its right there on the left. The seal was pretty large; He looked to the hubby, (as he saw him in pretty close range,) to be at least 6 feet or so.

Here is the house where we stayed; The Camelot.

Here we are posing on the highest deck towards the ocean.

Here is one of our black and white beach shots. This was obviously, pre-kids.

Well, I have always been fascinated with sharks. I would love to go to south Africa and do a shark dive with great whites. Yes, it sounds crazy. I would only do it if I was in a cage. Cage diving only, people. (Mom stop freaking out...) Anyways, I think that would be really cool. I have actually looked into it and they do them in California. Maybe I will do it one day. They say sharks are really like little fluffy baby kittens. And I love little furry kitties!

I think I will call him whiskers...

Reminiscing...and cleaning!

Let's reminisce. Come with me for a few minutes as I venture back into the past and remember my childhood; Then, let's explore the hubby's childhood too. Okay, let's begin: I have one brother, older by two years. He and I had a great childhood, growing up on a quiet street with lots of kids to play with. Being that I was two years his junior, I wasn't really cool enough to hang with him and his older buddies until I was, mmm...a senior in high school. But, the summer days of old; Ah, those memories of riding bikes and running through the sprinkler, and setting the carpet on fire. Yes, yes; those are the dear memories I carry with me through adulthood. Our many pets, family vacations, and lots of soccer and basketball games. It just seems like yesterday. Life was such an easy game to play...


Now as for the hubby, his childhood was wonderful as well. The hubby has an older sister named Jaymee. She and the hubby have a very special and unique relationship. They are as close as any brother and sister I have ever seen or known of. I love to hear some of their stories about the Magic Ballroom, and kicking soccer balls through windows. They grew up in a variety of places; North Carolina; Virginia; Tennessee; and have now given their hearts to sweet home Alabama. Jaymee and her family live only about 5 miles away and it's wonderful.


So how about some pictures you say? Alright then, just calm down! Now take a look:

Here I am at the beach. I guess I am about 2 or 3? Even then I did not like going into the ocean. Salt-water is just nasty and you don't know what might be swimming around you, ya know?

This is the hubby as a baby. How old is he? His mother will have to tell me. I would guess 1 or 2. What cute hair!

This next picture is of me and my brother. I don't exactly know what's going on here, but David is sure happy about something. The back of this picture says June '78. So I was about 5 months old. Hmph. Well, I'm sure alert and sitting up well for 5 months.

This is an adorable picture of Jaymee and the hubby. I don't know any history of this picture; and the hubby doesn't remember anything to tell me either (surprise, surprise). Why is it that men just don't remember much about childhood? Well, I just love this faux wicker/rattan wallpaper they are sporting in the foyer.



































Okay, so anyone growing up in the 70's or 80's knows what Olan Mills is and probably has a slew of pictures posing behind something made of wood. Aren't these cute? I am wearing playful pigtails and the hubby has on the cutest suit with shorts I have ever seen. Honey, why don't you wear this shade of butter yellow anymore? I hope our siblings will still speak to us after the publishing of these photos...
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Cleaning!


So, the hubby and I spent today cleaning the house. Like REALLY cleaning the house. while I am doing laundry and cleaning bathrooms, the hubby rearranges his t-shirts. Need I say more? (That is totally something my dad would do. Why is it that at 6:00 am on the day we are leaving for vacation and all of our luggage is packed and the car is ready to go, that my dad has to go organize his underwear drawer?) Okay, so the hubby did more than just clean out old t-shirts; he actually did a LOT. He cleaned out the guest bedroom and the closet that was full of stuff. He made lots of trips up and down the stairs carrying out junk as well. He was actually sweating. I didn't sweat; that would be so icky. Well, here are just a few pictures of the fruits of our labors:

This is my uber clean kitchen. I LOVE it when my kitchen is clean. And it is gleaming right now. It is so clean, some would think my Father-in-Law was coming to visit. My kitchen is never this clean unless my Father-in-Law is coming into town.

Here is the twins bedroom. It can be hard to clean this room because it seems like they are always asleep in here! And when they are awake, I can't just go up there and clean it!

This is the closet that the hubby cleaned out. I wish I had a before and after picture. You have no idea how huge this is! This closet was so full the doors wouldn't close! And now look. It's so luxurious...



And now, a picture of our bedroom. We cleaned it out and made the bed, (which takes about 5 or 10 minutes in itself). But when it is made, it looks so nice and fluffy. Don't you just want to run in there and jump across it?



Lastly, here is my gorgeous honey. I love this new kit he is kickin. He is just so trendy in his green t-shirt and jacket; So Ryan Seacrest-ish.