First Grade? Did it happen or not?

Alright, I'm done making apologies right out of the box...so I won't. However, it's clear here that I've lost quite a bit of time since the last post. This school year seemed like a whirlwind and I guess it was just that. Mostly a snowstorm to be precise...which was amazing by the way. Never seen that much snow here over the course of one season in anyone's recent memory. It got to the point where each new snow posting just looked like all the ones before it. You know, kinda like this:
Pretty impressive. I think this was the one that collapsed the (luckily, empty) greenhouse on the back of our property.

But, I digress. Here's a VERY brief snapshot of our winter highlights. My parents came out to North Carolina and finally got to celebrate Christmas at our place for the first time. They even managed to make it in the day before our first, of many, epic snowstorms of the season. I learned that my Dad is like the Energizer bunny when it comes to shoveling snow! And my Mom can make anything out of just about anything when it comes to food. Our little rural road didn't get plowed for 3 days, but luckily we have a 4-wheel drive truck. Needless to say, we had some pretty exciting and interesting trips to the grocery store to say the least.

In February, I got a chance to attend a conference at the Air Force Academy. Since it appears that I will have to 'retire'...yes, in the official sense too....Am I even allowed to say that? I'm waaaay too young for those words to cross my lips.....again, I digress. Since I am facing the last 18 months or so of military life, I decided to jump at the opportunity for one last "road trip" to the garden city of Colorado Springs. Okay, so Feb isn't the best sunbathing weather in CO, but it was very picturesque. I even had a couple of gobbling turkeys strolling by my hotel window one morning. Take notice! There is no snow on the ground in this picture!!


This winter also saw the passing of our beloved, albeit obnoxious, cat Alex. We adopted her from some church friends shortly after we got married and she's outlived 3 other pets of ours. Here she is after beauty-school dropout, Sarah, gave her a new look. In Sarah's defense, she was only 2 at the time and hadn't quite mastered the latest styling techniques.


Unfortunately, Alex's replacement showed up far too soon. Steve's brother had to change jobs this winter and found himself in an apartment that couldn't take pets, so we reluctantly took in Frank TEMPORARILY. (Here's hoping David still remembers our little deal!!)

Despite all the lingering snow and endless snow days, Spring finally arrived. Here's Sarah in front of our Cherry tree at Easter time. It surprises me every year at how eagerly I await those first daffodils and cherry blossoms to emerge.


Sarah is our resident artist and, under her wonderful art teacher's direction, comes home with treasures every week. We are going to have to add a cork wall to the house somewhere to accommodate all her priceless pieces. This one below was a self-portrait she made for Mother's Day....LOVE IT!

Also this Spring, I participated in my 'once-a-year' public plant sale to promote my mail-order business. (Growin' in the Mountains Plant Show & Sale at the WNC Farmer's Market) This year's show just happened to fall on the same weekend that our *ahem* esteemed President *ahem* decided to vacation in the area. Completely shut down traffic for the entire afternoon....and didn't help my stimulus efforts in the least. I'm just saying....



And here's a final shot of my 2 precious children. Sarah insists that if one wears the Mickey or Minnie pjs, the other one has to wear theirs to match. Maybe it helps her sleep better? Who knows.


So, where did that first grade year go? Good grief! That means she's a second grader this year. Yikes!