this is neat.

23 years ago today . . . May 22 . . .

. . . we were blessed with a beautiful baby boy.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BRETT ~

we love you,

Dad, Mom & Bethany

School's Out!

Whooooooo-Hooooooooo!
This is it, the last day of school. (0 days left photo - compliments of my little friend Lilly)

bargain bonanza

so at the end of every week at JH ranch, they have a rodeo/banquet thing for the campers. So i'm gonna need a rodeo dress for all the western activities as well as for all the western skits we do during in the week. well, i've been looking for a few weeks now and i've found one at a thrift store but i knew there was a much cuter one out there to find. well this past weekend i found out it. me and mom were thrift storing and this one was my #1 thrift store find of the century. it was regular $8.99 but it was on sale for $5.99. it was definitely a bargain and it was definitely made for me because it fit me perfectly, other than the fact it was a little big in the waste which i fixed easily with a nice little belt. yeehaw ya'll.

Mother's Day!

Breakfast in Bed!

I awoke to a fabulous breakfast.

Bethany prepared French Toast,

hot syrup, sausages (in the shape of an "M" for Mom),

milk, and orange juice and served me in bed.

Flowers on my tray

After church we went to Iguana Grill for lunch.

Thank you Bethany for a fabulous breakfast!

(Since Brett left after graduation to go to Colorado for a vacation,

we will be celebrating Mother's Day next weekend when he returns home.)

War Eagle!

Brett,
We are SO very proud of you and your accomplishments! On your list of goals, you can check "Architecture Degree from Auburn University". You have worked very hard (& still working hard while completing your thesis) to to receive two degrees at the same time. Not only receiving your degrees, but you completed them with honors! Congratulations - We love you,
Dad, Mom & Bethany

Yippee for Brett!

Brett on the JumboTron receiving his diplomas!

the fam!


Brett & Kelsey

Have fun on your vacation in Colorado!

what a shame.

that in 2o days THIS is what i'll have to be waking up to . . . i mean, its gonna take some time to get used to but i'm hoping that after a while i get used to having to look at all this incredible scenery:) the countdown begins..20 days, 8 hours, and 57 minutes.. whoop whoop:)

PIG ROAST TODAY!!!!

Whoop Whoop

rural studio is having their annual pig roast today. yay, we finally get to see and tour the ALMOSt finished result of brett's thesis. congrats brett. we love you. pictures from all the festivities are COMING SOOOOON!

.pigs must be flying.

well, i said it would be the day that pigs fly when my mom finally gives in and joins the facebook hooplah...and they must be flying because tonight i helped mom create her very OWN facebook. litle by little she is understanding which she'll probably understand it better than me by the end of the week. she is a very good student in the fact that she learns so quickly. :) so i just thought i would blog it and let everyone know her life-changing step. ask her to be your friend is she isnt. welcome to the facebook crazzzze mommy:) love you

shallow or deep.

Shallow or deep
wherever you go,
if you're drowning,
i'll SAVE YOU.
just so you know.

....so, as everyone knows i was taking my lifeguard certification course last week. well, its official. I PASSED!!! I'm now certified in lifeguarding, AED, CPR, first-aid and oxygen administration by the American Red Cross. My test was sunday, I was nervous but I knew the Lord was with me & everything went magnificent. They said i passed with flying colors and I received 2 jobs offers. I will be working at the Trussville YMCA and filling in at the Mtn. Brook Branch. when i come back from JH Ranch in August.

Secretaries Day!

Just wanted to show off the beautifu flowers that the faculty gave me for Secretaries Day. Kathy and Joni gave me a gift card to get a pedicure - woohoo!

Lifeguard in the making . . .

2 days down and 3 to go . . . Here is Bethany modeling her goggles!

my new ambition

So, I've deciding to become a lifeguard. I started the class today. Just to get in the class I had to swim 300 meters of breast-stroke and freestyle. This was a lot harder than i thought it would be. After i finished & made sure i wasn't going to pass out on the pool deck i had to do the next task. I had to swim 100 meters, go down to the bottom of the 12 ft, pick up a 10 pound brick, hold it above my head and swim all the way back to the shallow end with just my legs. I had to complete this in a minute and 30 seconds. I finished in 1:05, so i was happy. I have classes everyday til sunday. on sunday the skills & lecture test will occur and grant me my license to save lives. wish me luck

.wacky wednesday.

Easter - The Celebration of our Risen Savior

Light the Night Easter Extravaganza

Tonight was "Light the Night" an Easter Egg Extravaganza. There was over 4000 eggs hidden
found by children with flashlights. Yes that's right - flashlights. The hunt was at night! It was fun. There was food and games and prizes and special appearance by the Easter Bunny. Happy Easter!

Bethany and the Easter Bunny

Brett & Kelsey and the Easter Bunny

Bethany, Kelsey & Brett

Bethany, Laura, Teresa

Brett & Kelsey (outside during the egg hunt) It was cold!

From a child's perspective . . .

As you know, I am a school secretary at an elementary school which means my life "even at work" is full of laughter. Our Assistant Principal's daughter (Lily, a first grader) comes in the office every afternoon when school is dismissed. Sometimes she draws pictures for us to find the next morning at our desk or she leaves us a cute little note, etc. She's even made me a school "countdown" to how many days are left before we get out of school for the summer. Every afternoon she tears off a sheet revealing one less day.

Last week she started a little "School Directory/Information Booklet". The first page, of course, was her mother's page which read "Mrs. Joni Crowe - Asistent Principl". The second page read "Mrs. Kathy Tice - Principl" and then of course there was "my page" which read as follows:

Naturally, we all thought this was hilarious. Here we have the principal (the boss!), the assistant principal (second in command), and me "IN CHARGE OF THE OFFICE". That is so funny. I just had to take a picture of it to share. I love it!

iT'S OFFiCiAL..THiS iS THE BEST WEBSiTE ON GOD'S GREEN EARTH

http://www.kevinandamanda.com/

so tonight i was looking at different blogs[i looked at 100's]...and somehow i stumbled upon my NEW favorite website of all times. all of you probably know that i am OBSESSED with fonts. well i hit the JACKPOT with this website. its just a cute little couple's website. they have everything from photos to recipes to cute little stories but most of all they have the CUTEST fonts that i have ever seen. & there are over 300 of them & you can download EVERY one of them. i was overwhelmed so i just thought that i would share this tidbit with everyone. [especially brooke & kelsey since i know they share my love of fonts:]

. . . a blast from the past . . .

This is a picture from 1968. It was taken at the youth camp in cook springs, alabama. Mom was 8 yrs old & dad was 10. It's pretty bizarre to think that mom & dad didn't even really know each other, but yet they went to the same camp. Only to think that 15 years later they would get married & have two BEAUTIFUL & AMAZING children:] I've circled & numbered the faces so everyone can take a look & laugh.

1. this is mom [age 8]

2. this is daddy [he was a stud]

3. phil pierce [i thought this would give brett a good laugh:]

[[it's just crazy to see my parents as kiddos]]

DOUBLE CLICK THE PICTURE TO MAKE IT BIGGER

ANoTHER ADVENtURE 2,636 MiLES AwAY

WELL, i received the phone call today offering me the chance of a lifetime. I was offered a full-summer internship at JH RANCH in Etna, California. It was a long application process & took a lot of patience not to get my hopes up, but in the end it ALL paid off. I leave at the end of may and come back august 16th. I'll be doing everything from being a horse wrangler to helping with the rafting and ropes course. In addition to that at the end of the summer I will have the option with the Trac II campers(college age) to climb 14, 162 Mt. Shasta or bike 109 miles and camp on the Pacific Coast. I am oh so excited.

This is the "big top" where alot of the main things take place.

.hiking.

Mt. Shasta here I come