What a month!

This has been a sad, happy, momentous, bewildering month in our family.  We suffered the loss of a dear friend, watched Laurie graduate and then lost another dear friend.  I feel like I've been on a roller coaster of emotions over the last month.  The shock of Caryn's passing still lingers.  I still barely believe it.  I can't believe we won't sing together again in this life.  Chloe's passing was more expected and I can feel nothing but joy for her now.  She lived a long, productive life and touched so many people for good.  

Laurie completed her high school career on June 11th...graduating from Cary High with honors.  We couldn't be more proud of her accomplishments!  We will be taking her to BYU later this summer.

My neice, Brittany Hanson, married Dan Wilson last Sunday. We are excited for her and are delighted to welcome Dan into our family (although it seems he has been a part of the family for a really long time already!).  

I am looking forward to a summer of reading, rearranging my home and playing with my grandson.  Ahhh...summer!

Mother's Day

Mother's Day 2009 was a lovely day.  Church was uplifting and inspiring and flowers are always welcome!  Chuck did a great job grilling out for dinner and it was nice to have family around to enjoy the day together.  I missed not seeing Noel and Ashley, but the phone call was nice.  I hope my mom liked the pictures I sent.  Susie and I ended the day watching one of my favorite movies "Pride and Prejudice".  It is not as good as the A&E version, but it is shorter.  There isn't enough time right now to watch the six hour version!  I guess I'll have to wait until summer for that.

Laurie is going to BYU!

It is official.  Laurie will be heading out to BYU in the fall for school.  She will be living in Hinckley Hall and already has a roommate.  They have talked online and it looks like they will get along just fine!  I will miss her heaps next year, but I know she is doing the right thing for her.  I think she will be really happy at the Y and will really gain some very valuable experience from it.

We are grandparents!

Well, it is hard to believe but it is true...we are now grandparents.  Lindsay and Curtis had a son born to them last week.  His name is Anderson Carter Haynie.  He is absolutely gorgeous!  Plenty of dark hair and a smile like his dad's.  I think his dark hair will eventually fall out though and turn blonde.  Laurie's and mine did.  

Things have been crazy busy at our house this past month.  Carl Finch, my nephew, had a 10.5 hour surgery at Duke followed a few days later by another 1 hour surgery.  It has been an emotional time for all of us, most especially his mom.  Susie is staying with us while he recuperates in the hospital.  

Spring Break

Hello!

I can hardly believe we are coming to the end of Spring Break, but it is Saturday evening and it's back to work on Monday!  Laurie and I went down to Ft. Lauderdale to visit Lindsay and Curtis this week.  We had a fun and mostly relaxing visit.  We began the week slowly.  We visited the Everglades and rode an airboat to seek out alligators and other wildlife.  We found a couple of gators.  They came right up to the boat.  A little too close, if you ask me!  It was interesting that one of the handlers was missing a few fingers!!

We went to church on Sunday to the Plantation Ward.  Laurie had fun reconnecting with the youth there.  I went to Sunday School on my own and then went to help Lindsay with her little Sunbeam class.  The title of her lesson was:  I am thankful for fish!!  They learned the story of Jonah and even went fishing!  Later that evening the youth (from around the Stake) gathered at Curtis' aunt and uncle's house for game night.  It was fun watching them play get-to-know-you games. Laurie had no difficulty joining right in!  

It was sunny and warm and we spent some time on Monday and Tuesday out at the pool.  We went shopping on Monday evening and on Tuesday we went to Miami.  We visited a mall that had mostly designer stores like Prada, Versace, etc...  It was interesting to see how the rich shop!!  Needless to say, we didn't buy anything there!  

Wednesday we headed to the beach.  Linz and Laurie got some sun, but Curtis and I were a bit burned from the day before and stayed in the shade.  Later, we headed to Disney World.  We were able to go to Hollywood studios and then to Animal Kingdom. Ashley and her former roommate, Katie, met us for dinner Thursday evening and we planned to meet again on Friday at the Magic Kingdom. We were able to do all these things because Curtis' friend, Mary, works at Disney and she gave three of us passes for the two days.  We really appreciated her generosity!   We had a great time riding the rides, seeing the shows and feeling the magic!  It was fun hanging out with the kids, but I would have loved it even more if Noel and Chuck had been there, too.

Laurie and I flew home this morning and I now have two half finished novels to read!  I hope I can finish one tonight.

It was great to find out that while we were gone, Noel was awarded a scholarship from his department.  We are so proud of his accomplishments!

Well, if I have any chance of finishing, I'd better get to my book!

First time blogger

Well, I took the kid's advice and started my own blog!  I hope they like it!  I am really excited to have a day off from work!  I had plans to sleep late, finish my grades, do laundry and shop.  "Oh, the best laid plans..."  Laurie came in late last night from hanging out with the Mormon group and reminds me that she has 8 am soccer on Friday and would I please wake her up.  So, I do and think I can go back to sleep.  Kujo and Gus had other ideas.  Like barking non-stop at the neighbors and their dogs and bicycles and anything that moved! So I got up and began grading papers and the laundry.  I was doing pretty well and turned on the computer to put in my grades when "BAM"! The power went off and so my plan to finish the laundry and record grades went out the window!  It is still off 3 hours later!  I love the sound of generators in the spring!

It has been a busy week.  Laurie had games on Monday and Wednesday nights.  They lost on Monday to Middle Creek 2-0 and to Green Hope in the rain on Wednesday 7-1.  Laurie played well even though she found out on Tuesday that she has a stress fracture in her back and a slightly bulging disk.  The doctor said she could still play, if she wears her back brace.  She's not too happy about it, but at least she can still play.

Yesterday, I got to tour the new Cary High building.  I will be on the 3rd floor in room 2321.  I am so excited about it!  It has a prep room with a refrigerator and a dishwasher!!  It even has a rock cabinet!!!  I am so pumped!  We even went up on the roof.  It would be a great place for a party!  Wayne said that you could see the fireworks from SAS soccer park, the fairgrounds and Regency park from up there.  It is so cool!

Well, I guess I could still shop! What a crazy day!