Welcome to our Virtual Open House! - Gooseberry Patch#close=1#close=1#close=1

Welcome to our Virtual Open House! - Gooseberry Patch#close=1#close=1#close=1

Christmas Countdown ’10

Check out Christmas Countdown ’10

This is a very helpful way to get ahead for the holidays! The countdown is on!!

Tap Intensive 2010

Mackenzie & her friend Bryant

Mike Minery and Mackenzie

SC Tap Intensive 2010


Mackenzie with Brittany C.!!

Mackezie and Mrs. Brenda!

Mackenzie attended the 2010 SC Tap Intensive again this year! I absolutely love this intensive. The instructors are fantastic and they always do such a great job with the kids! Mackenzie always learns SO much in the two days she is there, it simply amazes me!

Where did I leave off.....

I guess I left off at the dance rectial where I messed up my leg.... Well here is Mackenzie in her hip hop costume from this year... I am not sure WHY I have no picture of her in her tap costume but oh well!

Dance 2010

We are very proud of the dancer she has become!! She worked hard and it really shows! It is hard to believe that this was her 7th year of dance though. One of these days I am going to post her dance pictures through the years!

Catching up

Once again, I have let my blog take a back burner to many other things. Facebook is the main thing.. I am addicted I think. It is so nice being able to keep in touch with so many people! Hopefully now that school has once again started I will be able to keep up.. again!

You have waited long enough...

For an update that is...

School is out, summer is officially here!! The temps here are in triple digits and the humidity is CRAZY...

Jordan and Mackenzie both passed their grades, and I now have rising 7th and 4th graders! WOW! Time really flies! Mackenzie finished her 7th year of dance, her first year of competition dance, and had a blast the entire year. We went to 3 competitions and they got 2 golds and one PLATINUM!! We are very proud of the dancer she has become!

Jordan has become quite the little man around our house. He has become an awesome cook, and has really started helping his dad with the yards and anything else that Marty can talk (or con) him into doing!

I thought once school was out, our lives would slow down a little, NOT....Kenzie is taking summer dance classes and Jordan has started conditioning for football. I am working early hours so I can be done early enough to head to the pool! We want to soak up as much summer as we possibly can! We are so ready for vacation and counting down the days! No work and all play and we cannot wait!!

Dancing & Savvy

FIRST of all Savvy is having a giveaway today and it is awesome!!! this site has a lot of great photography hints & products! Check them out! www.thesavvyphotographer.blogspot.com

Second, this weekend wrapped up Mackenzie's year of dance, and OH what a year it was! Lots of practice, three competitions, 3 recitals, lots of pictures, makeup, hairspray, and bobby pins later, we are done for a few weeks anyway! This year was bittersweet. Lots of the seniors that we are very close to are graduating and will be very missed. Mackenzie and I were doing the ugly cries last night along with everyone else when these girls had their Senior Spotlight. I mean snubbing! It was not pretty there for a little bit. THANK GOD FOR WATERPROOF MASCARA is all I can say.

As a bonus, several mom & daughter groups participated in a mom and daughter dance. It was so much fun. The song was "I got it from my momma" and "We are family"(Chipmunk version) and it was great. It went off without a hitch, or so everyone thought. Just as the dance was beginning, I heard something in my leg POP....Then I felt it... OMG, I was in pain.. But I couldnt disappoint my daughter, and the show must go on, RIGHT? So I sucked it up (and limped a little) and made it through. It was so fun, and I was very thankful to see my chair when it was over! The look on Jordan's face on the front row was priceless. I am not sure if he was proud of us or thankful that it was Mackenzie up there and not him. Several of my dearest friends were in the audience cheering us on as we definatly shook what our momma gave us! One even yelled at me from the balcony (luv ya Matt)! I hope this is one little memory I can give my children that they never forget. No matter what... I will ALWAYS be there for them (and sometimes be on stage with them too)

Dear Summer,

Dear Summer,

Where are you and when are you coming back? We here in SC are really not used to Old Man Winter staying as long as he has this year. Could you text him, email him, call him or something and let him know that he has overstayed his welcome? We are ready for warm sunny days filled with lots of water (to swim in, not rain) sand, and sunscreen. Our jackets are ready to be put away for good. Our toes are ready to wear flip flops and Kenzie and I are ready for some cute pedicures!!! Please bring on the warm weather we are so longing for! I look forward to seeing you, SOON!

Your dear friend,

Freezing in South Carolina

Blessed

There are certain people in my life that I am thankful to ever have the blessing of knowing. I feel blessed to have met 3 or my four grandparents, and still have 2 of them alive today. There is never a dull moment when my grandfather is involved. You never know what kind of joke he is going to tell, stunt he is going to pull or what else he may have up his sleeve. He is one HOT MESS. I can remember growing up, my grandaddy had goats. He may have even had some cows at some point. But back to the goats for now. He would ALWAYS name the new baby goats Snowball if they were all white, or if not they would be named Michelle, Lori or Shannon, after the 3 granddaughters. I can remember him playing with us and sometimes he would get carried away and would end up being chased around the house by our Great Granny O. She always chased him with a wooden spoon! He has been known to sing the wrong verse of a hymn in church on purpose or just belt out Home on the Range! Like I said, never a dull moment!
My grandmother AKA Granny has always been the more prim and proper one. Or so I thought. She has also been quite the pistol lately. She says what she thinks, and if you don't like it, Oh well! She may be 84 years old, her birthday was yesterday, but she's still got it. If you don't believe me, ask her neighbor. She had him "watch" a snake in the yard one day so she could get the gun. Hit the snake on the first shot and made the thing jump several feet in the air! Needless to say. Dont Mess with Granny!! We (the grand daughters) fight every year over her cream corn, and the great grands have now started fighting over her deviled eggs. She loves every minute and think they are all "precious". We have decided though she wouldnt find them as precious if she could hear everything they say.

This is Granny

There is also another person that I am very thankful that God gave me! It is my cousin Michelle. She has put up with me and my sister like no one else ever had to. She stayed with us during the summer for a couple of years. My dad even bought a baby blue VW and taught her how to drive a straight drive so that she could take us to the pool. Sure we had a few incidents that involved a Lemon Meringue Pie, and some mace being sprayed in Lori's face, but who is counting? The good times far outwayed the bad ones. Michelle is one of a kind. Who else can give gifts like the net off of a turkey or a sex change kit to her grandfather and get away with it! We always have a good time when she is around or if we are just chatting on Facebook! She is very quick witted and you never know what she is going to do next. Her birthday is tomorrow and she will be turning 41. Happy Birthday Michelle!!! I hope you have a wonderful day and many many more great years!!

This is Michelle with a bra on her head and my granddaddy,

There are many more people I feel blessed to have in my life. I chose to blog about these today because of Granny and Michelle's birthdays and my grandparents anniversary is coming up next week. They will celebrate 65 years together!

They just amaze me!

A day in the life of... a Dance Mom..

Scatman

No, this is not Mackenzie, the blonde hair will fool you..

Mackenzie is the 3rd from left.

Kenzie and one of the student instructors! We love Brittany!

She is awesome with the kids!`

Mackenzie has been taking dance now for 7 years. Yes, she started taking when she was 2. I know. Crazy right? Well, she loves it, and I enjoy it too. All these years, I thought I was a "Dance Mom". You know.. Take your kid to dance, write the check for the classes, buy the costume & shoes & pictures. Get flowers for a job well done at the recital. Put their little makeup on, fix their hair, and wait for them to hit the stage.. All these years, I WAS WRONG.
Mackenzie made the Jr. Tap Team for the studio where she has taken dance all this time. This is her first year competing, so we are both learning, A LOT!
The SC State Dance Competition was this past weekend in Myrtle Beach. We got up Saturday morning and drove to the beach. Mackenzie insisted on having her makeup and hair done BEFORE we left at 9 (she didnt dance until 3). But I can always touch it up right? I decided that Jordan needed to support his sister and go to the competition because she always goes to his games and events. Anyway, we (me, Jordan, Mackenzie, Jordan's friend Matt, and his mom Debbie who happens to be a great friend of mine) loaded up the car with what seemed like her entire room, and headed to the beach. By the way, with makeup comes attitude as I figured out the hard way.
We took our time, went to the mall shopped for a while, had lunch and then went to the competition. All I can say is when we went into Justice at the mall we laughed because Debbie thought she was having culture shock there. Little did we know what we were about to endure.
We walk in to GIRLS EVERYWHERE, makeup everywhere, hairspray everywhere, it was crazy.. I had NO clue where I was supposed to be going, or what in the world I was supposed to be doing. Debbie (who has all boys) and I were definately in culture shock! HA! We finally got Mackenzie ready again, and were able to watch some of the dances before her. She could have sat there all day. Jordan and Matt on the other hand looked bored out of their minds. Thank goodness some other friends of ours were sitting right in front of us and they knew what was going on. We had no clue, I mean NO CLUE.
Now I think I can say that I am a Dance Mom.... In training.

Simple Pleasures

One of my favorite blogs is Kelly's Korner Blog. She posted today about simple pleasures and I thought I would join in on celebrating my simple pleasures.

Kisses from my children

Lunch with friends

The sound of the UPS truck at Christmas bringing me Summer Sausage from Crystal Creek Dairy.

Talking on the phone

FACEBOOK, which I spend way too much time doing.

Reading blogs

Trying out a new recipe

Baking

The sound of rain on a tin roof.

Dancing

Diet Pepsi

Snuggling with my husband on cold winter mornings.

Cheese Toast

Watching the numbers on the scales go down.

Watching the numbers in my checkbook go up!

Country Music

Georgia Bulldogs!

Capturing an awesome shot during a photo shoot!

Staying in my PJ's all day

The Beach

Going Camping

Kissing a newborn baby on the neck

Summertime

Going Barefoot

Sitting by the pool or ocean

Reading a book

Fishing

Shopping

A baby's giggle

Hearing a diapered child walk

What are some of your simple pleasures?

Oh the weather outside is.......

COLD.....

That is it.. Just cold. No snow. No ice. Not even any clouds. Just bone chilling, teeth chattering, COLD.

The weather people called for snow on Thursday night, Friday morning. School was delayed. Did it snow? NOPE.

Of course I HAD to go to the grocery store on Thursday because I was completely out of bread.. That is the only reason. As long as I have Diet Pepsi, I am good. But the rest of my family are bread lovers. Therefore, we have to keep bread in the house. Off to the dreaded grocery store I go and got the bread we had to have. Was I ready for snow? Yes. Did it snow? NOPE. It snowed in Florida but not in SC? What is up with that? Okay, if you happen to be reading this from somewhere other than The South, let me explain one thing... It may get cold here for a few days at the time, BUT never does it stay cold this long. Winter has officially been here for 22 days. Of those 22 days, it has been below freezing 16 of them. As I type this, I am under 2 blankets and have on sweat pants and socks and a shirt. I have no problem with cold weather as long as it doesn't stick around very long.. I like to see it snow and MELT because that means it is warming up!!! I think I may have been a bear in a previous life because I am ready to hibernate until spring. Hopefully warm temperatures are around the corner.

Happy New Year!

Wow, what a year 2009 was and how busy 2010 is already becoming! We are almost ready to get back to our normal routine. School starts back on Monday , as well as dance and youth group at church. We are busy planning the next 7 months. Mackenzie will have dance competitions every month starting in February and ending in May. We are trying to plan another trip to Moonshine Mountain this winter, Jordan is going to Revolution this month, then there is Spring Break, and then VACATION! So far, we have been very blessed to be quite healthy this winter. I just knocked on wood so I would not jinx myself. Hopefully, we will remain that way! Marty just went back to work tonight for the first time since December 19th. He has been off the entire time the kids were out of school. However, we didnt find out in time that he was going to be off, so that I could schedule time off as well. I had to work all Christmas break. Luckily, I work from home, so I could enjoy some time with all of them!