Daughters' Visits

What a great few days Alden and I have had ~

with daughters!

Last night ~ we had surprise visits from BOTH

Courtney and Hannah........separately!

Courtney was in the area for a friend gathering and "dropped" by to see us for a

few minutes. (um....she was so cute...had on skinny jeans with boots....) We rarely get alone time with JUST Courtney. How special!

Then.....just a few minutes later.....the door opened once again....

and in walked Hannah!

She came right from work....still had her scrubs on.

She said she thot of calling us that she was coming....but decided to SURPRISE us.

We talked til all hours of the night!!!! (Alden has now had two consecutive nights of staying up PAST midnight...on a work night!)

Hannah stayed the night and headed back home around noon today.

What a GREAT time getting caught up and laughing....so special.

Monday night ~ Phill, Christy, Brittany and Andrea were scheduled to go to the Redskin

game. Well, sadly, Phill came down with a virus or food poisoning...and was unable

to go. So......

Alden got to go with the girls AND I got to watch Ayden.

Soooooo sad Phill was sick......but we all enjoyed the evening!

(Christy showed off her new SLIM and beautiful body....she has lost 52 pounds!!!!!!

She's beautiful!)

We enjoyed some dinner together before the crew headed to the game ~

These guys made their way to FedEx Field... And enjoyed the game ~ even with the TERRIBLE game the Redskins played..... and the rain. What wonderful times we have had this week!!!!!!! Thankful for daughters (and granddaughters!).

Weekends ~ Such a blessing

Our weekend began a bit early ~

Alden and I both got off work early!

What a blessing!

I stopped by Starbucks and got us both a "fancy" drink ~

(we actually call it our dessert!)

I curled up in the sunroom to read a bit ~ just a tad chilly thus the blanket. :)

It was still WONDERFUL ~

Of course the leaves are gone mostly ~ but the sight is STILL so peaceful

and wonderful. Alden had a house project to work on ~ and enjoyed doing it in the daylight.

I just LOVE how "handy" he is ~

he is known for being able to do ABOUT anything with his hands.

Friday night we met up with Gabe and Nancy ~

who now live in Arkansas.

It was GREAT getting caught up with them!

Saturday morning ~ bright and early ~

we met the Cassada crew for their soccer tournament!

What fun we had ~ seeing each one play so hard and have so much fun!

Bailey was first ~

yep, she has the beloved family number 11

She "gets" soccer, but doesn't care too much if she scores or not

Papa and Sawyer were buddies through the day :)

Papa ~ More!!!!!

Courtney giving Bailey some advice

And Bailey ..... having so much fun!!!! (she is good at that ~ spreads cheer where ever she is!)

She MADE her coach a card ~ adorable!

Proud mom and dad cheering on the kids!

Next was Rebekah ~

She is serious about her soccer!

and was rewarded with a beautiful goal ~ what a treat for us to SEE it!!!!!!

Joshua is a pro at this ~ quite the natural athlete

He is fast ~ and can kick that ball!!!!!!

We had a short lunch break ~ so of course, went to the nearest Chick Fil A!

Yum.....

Courtney and I SHARED our first peppermint shake of the season!

Alden and I left the games ......

to get a little exercise ourselves ~

AND enjoy the GORGEOUS weather we are having.

Enjoyed our time together on the W & OD trail.

We headed home to do some chores around the house.....

then enjoyed a movie. We hardly ever go to one, so it was FUN!

Today we headed to church ~

great message ~

did nursery (held babies and had a GREAT social time with all the other helpers!)

This weekend ~ was certainly ~

a fun weekend of "Alden and I" time.

Thankful.....

and ready now for the week ahead!

Weekend with Ken and Lynne

Ken is Alden's brother ~ Lynne, our wonderful sister in law

What a treat for us to spend the weekend with them. We hardly ever get to spend time ~ just the 4 of us. We soooooo enjoyed it! Alden and I drove down Friday afternoon

What beautiful skies we saw ~ just beautiful.

Saturday we enjoyed a delicious southern breakfast ~

eggs, grits, biscuits and coffee. Yum!

The brothers enjoyed watching the NC State football game together. :)

NC State is quite evident around the house ~ love it!

What a fun place to be.......

Peaceful ~ relaxing

Ken and Lynne got to enjoy a video of Steve's band playing a show

Everyone got into it!

Alden and I headed to the beach for a bit ~

Ahhhh..........

Simply BEAUTIFUL!

It filled us up listening to the waves.....seeing the dolphin..... walking hand in hand.

We celebrated Ken's birthday ~ the BIG 5-0!!!!!!

Great dinner.......and the best company.

Um yes......fantastic dessert as well!

As we ate.....and enjoyed the evening.....

we pulled out the "50 Things We Love About Ken"

What a great time it was ~ honoring Ken.

It opened up lots of conversations about their childhood ~ just fun to

reminisce together.

The guys did a little work on the house ......

before we headed out on Sunday.

We got to visit with Aunt Louise on our way home ~

she is doing GREAT!

Enjoying some "Wild Berry Smoothies" together :)

Ate at one of our favorite places on the way home......

Blessed with family ~ and our time spent together.

Happy Birthday Ken!

We love you guys.