WEEK AT HOLDEN BEACH WITH THE SIMONS, STEELES, AND FRIENDS

We have had some to come and go and we are having a great time together at Holden Beach, NC.

"Uncle Greg" had to return to Charlotte and "Aunt Caren" arrived yesterday morning.

Yesterday we played at the beach, took walks, rode bicycles, made sand castles, swimmed, played hop scotch, played Wii bowling and tennis, played princess, practiced our ballet steps, read books, cooked meals together, and ended the day at the ice cream shop. YUMMMMMMMMM!

Everyone is at the beach right now except Bubby and Poppie. We better get down there!

"Uncle Peter and Aunt Jane" will arrive on Friday or Saturday at the end of the vacation.

We wish you were all here with us!

TRIP TO THE POOL WITH MOMMY, DADDY, BUBBY, AND POPPIE

Even though the weather started out today a little gray with a few sprinkles, the sun came out and got warmer as we had our picnic lunch. Amelia loved jumping into the pool and practiced swimming. We cannot wait until we have our family week at the beach the first week in August!

WAITING FOR MOM TO RETURN HOME

The puppies (Zeke and Zoe') were sitting at the front door with their toys when I returned home last night from Columbia, SC. It was good to know that I was missed. I received lots of kisses and barks as I came into the house. Also, last week Zeke and Zoe' were in the Raleigh News and Observer "Pet of the Week"! Their first publicity photo!

Certified Nurse Aid--Judy

We had a little scare this week as Mama (Grandma or MaMaMa) had an emergency visit to the Columbia, SC hospital while Jane and Peter were in Europe. As soon as I returned from a business trip to New Orleans and recovered from a little "bug" I picked up from traveling, I was off to "Still Hopes" Retirement Community where I spent a week. I checked Mama out of the hospital and made sure she followed doctor's orders.

I was able to visit with a dear friend, Mary Beth Sawyer and her family. We had a great dinner together and she caught me up on a "missed girls' weekend" to the beach in May. Little Atti is precious! I think she looks just like her GrandMa! I enjoyed spending time with their family!

Jane and Peter returned home safely late Wednesday evening and I then moved to their home and staying with Mama during the day. I got to know all of the staff and residents at Still Hopes Retirement Community. What a great and friendly group of folks. It appears that I made lots of new friends....we did some quilting, played cards, bowled on the "WI" video / big screen t.v. in the Garden Room, etc. and even stayed up past midnight listening to the Atlanta Braves baseball game while the lights were out during a terrible storm.

Joe and Sarah McGinn came down on Saturday. We had a nice long visit and a great dinner at a downtown Italian restaurant tonight. It was a wonderful family day. I returned to Raleigh as everyone departed about the same time. Mama looked pleased that we were there. The only thing that could have been better was if the entire family could have been together!

We hope that Aaron and Caren return home safely from their trip to Indonesia.

MEMORIAL DAY IN THE BIG APPLE

It has been great spending some time with Aaron and Caren in Brooklyn and New York City. The first couple of nights we stayed in the new Le Jolie hotel just a few blocks from their condo. Very convenient and very comfortable....very European! Then we moved in with them to spend some "together time" over the weekend and tried out their new inflatable mattress. It worked great!

The first day while Aaron and Caren were at work Maury and I explored "Ground Zero", Financial District of lower Manhattan, had lunch with Aaron, visited the NY Stock Exchange, we cruised around the Statue of Liberty, toured Ellis Island, and then came home to a fabulous 5 star dinner with Aaron and Caren in their own gourmet kitchen. The filet of beef was out of this world! The most tender and flavorful we have ever had. We are thrilled that they enjoy cooking and entertaining in their new home.

Yesterday Aaron had the day off and took us on a car tour of all of Brooklyn, had lunch at the beach at the word famous Coney Island and had my first Nathan's NY hotdog, walked on the board walk, tried to ride the famous ferris wheel (closed for repainting), went to his favorite gourmet grocery store, and walked to a nearby plant nursery where we purchased an herb garden for the gourmet chef. Today we plan to go to a couple of Brooklyn museums and maybe to the Botanical Gardens. Tonight we have reservations at a new NYC restaurant "Craft"! Can't wait. It should be very special.

Tomorrow Maury and I are going to a Broadway Musical and shop around the city and will return to Raleigh on Monday night. It has been a wonderful 6 day trip away from work and from Raleigh.

This was Maury's first visit to Aaron's and Caren's new condo. We are both impressed with their new home and what they have done to get it decorated and organized. Aaron and Caren have more company coming in next Saturday as Jason, Meredith and Amelia will be flying in for four days to visit with them and to see Meredith's brother, Michael. I am sure that they will always have plenty of family and friends coming in as Brooklyn and the NYC areas are fun places to visit. Always lots to do!

HAPPY MOTHERS' DAY

We had a delicious breakfast prepared by Amelia and Daddy Jason at their house this morning. The Steeles were there also for a little while this morning before they left to return to Charlotte.

Even though it was a rainy Mother's Day, we had fun reading books, playing games, listening to music, and enjoying Amelia practicing her art work and writing her name. She is so smart! It was a very relaxing day. So relaxing that Daddy Jason and Amelia tried to take a nap for a few minutes.

Bubby loves the decorative garden stone that Amelia and Mommie Meredith made Bubby for Mother's Day. Bubby also loves the beautiful petunia hanging basket and the card with photos. Amelia enjoyed wearing her new "CUPCAKE" apron that Bubby bought back from a business trip to Charleston, SC this week. We can't wait to make cupcakes with sprinkles!

We will have a delayed Mother's Day celebration with Aaron and Caren in about 10 days when we visit with them in NYC. Can't wait! Today was another special day with family!

SATURDAY NIGHT SLEEP OVER AND SUNDAY AT NC ASHEBORO ZOO

We had a fun night last night watching Amelia's favorite t.v. shows on Poppie's big HDTV then off to bed for an early morning trip to the NC Asheboro Zoo. Amelia's favorite animals were the monkeys; Poppie's were the elephants; Bubby's favorites were the garaffes and zebras. We ate chicken fingers and fries at the zoo after we rode the animal carrosel. Poppie and Bubby had a hot dog and lemonade. Then we went to the gift shop where Amelia picked out a new monkey friend named "George". We had a great time and just left before it began to rain. When we got back to Raleigh we stopped by Amelia's favorite popcicle store on Hillsboro St. Amelia wants to go back and see the North America side of the zoo sometime!

RAINY SUNDAY, ELITE EIGHT, AND LOTS OF COOKIES

Today was a rainy Sunday outside but lots of activity inside. How lucky we were that Daddy Jason and Amelia decided to spend their Sunday afternoon with Bubby and Poppie. Mommy Meredith was at home in her studio and with art students and their art lessons all afternoon. Daddy Jason and Poppie loved watching the NCAA basketball games while Bubby and Amelia were busy in the kitchen. Amelia got to choose what she wanted to cook and as you can see, she choose her favorite chocolate chip cookies. We cheated a bit and used the Pilsbury packaged cookies since we had dinner to prepare as well. Amelia got her lesson on portion control with the cookie scoop and placement of cookies on the parchment paper. They turned out perfect! Not a burned one in the lot! I believe that she learned how yummy cookie dough tasted and she was very impatient while we were waiting during the cooking process. She agreed they were worth waiting for! YUMMY!

SUPER BOWL and BUBBY's BIRTHDAY

We had a great time celebrating Bubby's birthday with family and friends at the 42nd Super Bowl game. We enjoyed a barbeque dinner and the game on Poppie's new HDTV.

Mike, our neighbor, and Bubby were the two winners at the Super Bowl party.

HUNGRY PUPPIES

It's hard not to give these sweet little faces puppy treats in the morning!

Zeke and Zoe' Love The Lake Lynn Ducks

We don't know who was walking who? Zeke and Zoe's raced around the lake to see how many ducks and geese they could chase and bark at....they loved to pick fights with the bigger dogs.

THE BIG LION COMES FOR A VISIT

Bubby almost forgot that she had MLK Day off in mid January. Therefore, Mommy Meredith and Daddy Jason got to take in a movie and Amelia got to have a sleep-over at the Raleigh grandparents.

FIRST SNOW OF THE WINTER!

Zeke and Zoe' did not know what to make of the first snow a couple of weeks ago. Of course it only snowed for about 6 hours and did not even cover the ground. It was just too warm!

2008 HAPPY NEW YEAR

It's 2:00 pm in the afternoon on January 1st and we are just getting motivated to get dressed to begin another party again with friends in the neighborhood. We had a great time with Amelia for a "sleepover" last night at Bubby and Poppie's house while Mommy Meredith and Daddy Jason went out for the evening with their friends. We too had friends over (The Lindley's) for a wonderful New Year's Eve celebration dinner and get together. Amelia was so good and loved "partying" with "the OLD folks"! We managed to make it to after midnight to view the festivities at Times Square in NYC. We were hoping to get a glimpse of Aaron and Caren if they happened to be in the city...but I bet they were watching the fireworks from their balcony in Brooklyn. We hope all of you will have a HAPPY, SAFE, AND PROSPEROUS NEW YEAR!