Random pictures ....

Just some random things....

Nicole and Tyler took Gabe and Maddox to Williamsburg to the Go Karts

for their birthday....they chose that over a party

so the littles hung out with me

John Thomas, not quite interested in a selfie....haha

Sweet little Lorraine, so pretty 

Now that I am wearing contacts I can buy fun sunglasses

check these crazy ones out!

 Now I can't remember what this scrubber is called

but my sister-in-law Joanne told me how great it is

so I picked one up at Bed, Bath, Beyond

and I love it!!

I don't buy lottery scratchers very often but

oh hey....check out what i won on this one!

Avery Grace makes the craziest faces....

such a pretty little girl

Nicole and Tyler's crew....they were promised Sweet Frog

if they behaved for haircuts!

Nothing wrong with bribery!!

later...

Halloween ....

Some of my decorations around the house

I bought these fake pumpkins at Michaels

and some glue with glitter in it

squirted it all over the pumpkin

then with gloved hand, smeared it around

Love how it turned out

Dining room table....it will look a lot

different when we have the Halloween party

My kitchen chalkboard

I may change this before the party

mantle.....

table in the dining room

later.....

Line em up .....

I put these pictures up on Facebook quite often

but just want to document on my blog

for some weird reason my dogs line

up in order of age most of the time

it is rare to see them in any other order

these are all pictures from different days....you can tell

their favorite place to sleep!

Always Bella, 7 yrs, Pippa 6 yrs, Khaleesi 1 yr

even laying in the sun on the deck...always in order!

laying on the steps

Pippa was outside when I took this picture.....notice

they left the middle chair empty for her

just funny

later....

Declan goes to school ...

Our grandson Declan started pre-K

he has been so ready for this 

so no nerves for him....he was very excited

He told his little sister Avery Grace...."I will teach you everything

I learn when I get home"

he is just so sweet.

He also told Jacquelyn once they left..."I never wanted to leave

Avery but I guess I have to"....haha

He is loving school but wishes it was every day and all day!!

He also started fall ball

he had done instructional in the spring

so this is another instructional type of t-ball

later.....

Granddaughters ...

Our 2 granddaughters are 6 months apart

and I'm so happy they live close by and will

hopefully hang out a lot as they get older

They take gymnastics together now
here are a few pictures...
they are loving it!

so cute!!

later.....

Two birthdays ....

Our 2 oldest grandchildren celebrated their birthday

on Sept 12th

Maddox turned 12 and Gabe turned 10

Maddox is our special needs grandson that I have often blogged about

he has speech apraxia, meaning he is non-verbal

Maddox started middle school this year. Our daughter Nicole was so

worried as we all know that some middle school kids can 

sometimes be a little cruel

due to the apraxia, low muscle tone, Maddox drools

other than that, he looks like any other kid his age

so rightly so, she worried

but she was guaranteed by the school and teacher that bullying in

any form is not tolerated. Also, Maddox would have his aide 

with him at all times. This brought great peace of mind to Nicole and

all of us. And he is loving it!!!

He is a sweet guy and learning to do more and more for himself

He loves to help Nicole and cleaning is his favorite!

Our prayers for him are that he can continue to thrive in school

and hopefully get some more sounds coming from him. Even though

he is 12 now, we will never give up that he could one day talk!

I will never forget at age 3 years old he was eating dinner

and wanted to go outside. Nicole told him when you are finished

you may go outside. He ate a little more and then said to Nicole and I

"all done, outside"

It's there, he could talk again one day

And then there is Gabe

Gabe is all boy......loves sports and now noticing girls

but he also has a soft side....he loves to do crafts with Nicole

loves to cook and is such a huge help around the house

with his brothers and sister. Gabe always

has such great stories to tell us when he visits

We are so proud of him!

These 2 brothers share the same birthday, Sept 12th
love them so much

later.....

Mini Vacation ....

Johnny's sister DeeDee and her wife Sherry came

up from Atlanta for a weeks visit....and we sure had a great time.
On Friday when they arrived we hung out and then went over to the Mexican restaurant for dinner.

On Saturday was Glen Allen Day so we
all walked up to the main road to watch the parade.
what fun, think small town USA....old cars, fire trucks, marching band, etc.
Then a bit later we all went to the ball fields to
watch Declan play baseball
That evening we cooked out and then 
played cards....our favorite!!

Sunday.....pizza, poker and football

Monday, Johnny had his yearly physical, Dee and Sherry 

went shopping and I had to work, but at least was able

to work from home

Tuesday, we left for the beach

got down there about noon

checked with our hotel, one room ready and the other

2 would be ready in a couple of hours so we headed

to our favorite....Tortugas Lie.

after a couple of beers and appetizers
we checked in to our rooms

unpacked, just hung out and played some poker

the bridge crossing over to the island...best feeling!

we live 3 hours from the beach....piece of cake!

Wednesday was the biggest effects from Hurricane Maria who

was hanging out offshore, about 150 miles

Very high winds

Couldn't go out on the beach or would be sand blasted!

We went to the pier and wow, about blown away, haha

Dinner at Blue Moon Cafe which we had never gone to before

and we loved it. Will def be going back!

Thursday.....the most beautiful day on the beach

warm water, perfect temps, nice breeze, just perfect

Stayed out there a good part of the day

Johnny got a good nap on the beach....haha

and I love nothing better than sitting on that beach!

then went over to Tortugas for a couple of beers

stopped by an art gallery

Dinner at Kill Devil Grill....another first and will def

go back, delicious!

there is a great ice cream place down there, Booty Treats
we love it
and they have the best shaved ice. You can come up with
all kinds of combos and if good, you can write your combo
down and stick it to the bulletin board.
I did a combo lime shaved ice over coconut shaved ice
and vanilla melts on top
I named it the Avery Grace because
Lime in the Coconut is her favorite song!!
and it was so good....

Home on Friday and Jake came over and cooked his

famous fajitas and cilantro lime rice!
and then POKER....we sure love playing cards
we would play poker, 99 and LRC
we just have so much fun laughing

Khaleesi helping me with my hand

and then a lot of hanging out...

we went to Dee's 50th high school reunion 
on Saturday night
but first we visited Jake and Kayce
they moved in to their new apartment this past summer
so they wanted Dee and Sherry to come see it

Bucky very interested in something on TV....haha

My sweet sister-in-law Dee who I miss very much!

my beautiful new daughter in law Kayce

HA! Jacquelyn and Jake taking a selfie

Jacquelyn and Jake....smiling

Jacquelyn and Jake...crazy face

Sherry, Jacquelyn and I

our sweet son Jake

Jake and Kayce's corgi....Newman
and yes, say it like Jerry does on Friends

Their other fur baby...Morticia who is super spoiled
But all dogs should be spoiled

We had a great time at Dee's reunion even though most of
us didn't know anyone :)

and then sadly they left to go back to Atlanta Sunday morning
we sure do miss them

later.....