NYC trip

We had an awesome trip to New York with 3 other families. There were so many pictures that I decided to do a slideshow. Click here to view all pictures!

It's me on the TODAY show in NYC

You can see me between Matt & Meredith holding up the "Tiger Rag." I have a white t-shirt on and I'm jumping up and down:) Beside me is Renee Cain, then Hannah King, and a glimpse of Tracy Haney (talking on her cell phone), and a little piece of Nickie King in the far right corner of the screen.

We got up at 5am, got down to Rockefeller Center by 6am and waited in the outside area in front of the concert (Maxwell) for the hosts to finally come outside about 8:30am. I think it was well worth the time we waited to be on TV.

8th grade DANCE

On Friday, May 28th, Austin went to the 8th grade dance at Walhalla Middle. He enjoyed getting dressed up in his 1st tuxedo, but he didn't really enjoy his Mom taking all these pictures.

This is inside the Middle School as they enter the cafeteria which was tranformed for the dance.

Austin was invited to ride with some of his friends in a limo. They went to eat out at Paesano's restaurant before the dance.

The group riding in the limo.

Doesn't he look COOL?

And off they go!

Mom was not allowed inside the dance to take pictures, so I can only imagine what went on. I know he had an awesome time.

Finally, summer is here

Now that the end of school is drawing near (tomorrow is the last day), I have time to sit down and update the blog. I went back through all our pictures to see what we've been up to the last few months. Here's a summary:

Our Lizzie (labradoodle) turned 1 year old on April 16th. She loves hiding her face in the couch pillows!

This is a 5 1/2 foot black snake we found under our porch last week. Austin shot it and took it out in the field.

Graduation celebrations were underway with 3rd-5th grade last week. Here's Kelsey following her BFF Chloe and Emily into the auditorium for awards day. She made the A/B Honor Roll this year.

Coby accepting his A/B Honor Roll as well.

Kelsey celebrated her 9th birthday on April 23rd. She had a Taylor Swift themed birthday party.

Kelsey went with her Aunt Laurie to the Taylor Swift concert in Columbia for her birthday. I know she enjoyed her very 1st concert!!!

These are our Awana Missions group on Sunday nights. They were finding out what was hidden in their cool whip without using their hands. It turned out to be gummy worms, and we told them a story about a missionary who had a worm growing inside his leg. Then we prayed for our missionaries who face dangerous situations as they share Christ with those who have never heard the Gospel.

Look at our precious Lizzie! On this particular evening she was just relaxing on the couch when she was suddenly startled by some noise outside.

She leaned up to look out the window to discover a cat in our yard.

Instead of barking, she just froze in this position and watched intently. We laughed so hard because she was sitting straight up!!!

I found these pics on my cell phone when we went out to eat for Kelsey's birthday at the Mexican restaurant. They brought her dessert, sang happy birthday, and then...

SHOVED THE DESSERT IN HER FACE!!!

I also found these pics of our trip to Carowinds which I spoke about in the last blog. This is Ricky getting chauffeured by Kelsey in the old cars.

And Kelsey & Coby showing they can be in both Carolinas at one time.

Our niece, Bretta, graduated from Clemson with a degree in Nursing. We hosted a party for her and the family after graduation on May 7th.

Our yummy appetizers!

The decorations!

The CAKE - so cute!

Hanging out with friends at the ballgames this spring was Kelsey's favorite pasttime.

Austin waiting for the perfect pitch.

Austin getting ready in the dugout.