Raise your glass and toast to Good times, Good friends and Good food!

Check out the pictures of Mommy Niki and Zoe, my GOD-DAUGHTER!!!!!!!!!! :)

 Ok people, Nicole and Zoe! Yes, I know they are photogenic. We snuck in a little visit with the growing family earlier in the month. Let me tell you guys, this little bundle of joy is such a sweet pea! I mean, I am speechless! It doesn't happen often but watching this little girl with everyone... she is a social butterfly in the making! She should fit right in ;-)

 It was also pretty amazing to see Sophia with "Baby Zoe"! She knew that she had to be "sweet". Yes, I keep using quotes because we had to stress those words every time Sophia was around the baby. Lets just put it this way, Sometimes, Soph aint the most gentle thing... So, we had to make sure she understood this was a real baby doll :)

 This picture captures the trip in a snapshot! Soph asking, "but why?" at Zoe, longing to play with her! She just can't figure out why Zoe is just going to lay there and not play with her! I mean she had to get on the airplane that goes really fast to see baby Zoe!!! :) Then there's Grandma Bren in the distance, not to far distance :) Grandma Bren saved our bacon on this trip! Thank GOD! She was able to take some time off of work and watch Soph while Mommy and Daddy (yup! Daddy went too!) went to work :) Love you Grandma Bren!!!

                 

Now for the most adorable picture of the day! Sophia and Zoe with matching outfits!! The only 2 people missing were Abi and Ali! Then we would of had all the girl cousins together!! Not to worry, we will have more opportunities in the future:)

Now for some pictures from the 2nd NG attended, Jacksonville Suns Baseball game! We at work have been looking at opportunities outside of work to get together and have some fun! Those of us that like attending baseball games sure do enjoy the hotdog good time we have at the JAX Suns games:) No, Sophia didn't get to go on the field with Southpaw this time.... :( Maybe next time! Oh, something cool at this game was the tribute to Roger Maris. That's right! To the left is Roger's widowed wife and his children. We also got some free plaques. Which, we like anything that's free... well, most of the time :)

There is he is on the jumbo tron! Is Jumbo tron a word? Gosh, that looks strange written down. Any-hoo, what a legend! I think the symbol* should be deleted from the english dictionary. Yeah, and Roger should be in the hall of fame!

Now, on with the show! So, to the left is a picture of Rae and Sophia! We met Rae a few weeks ago, she's the daughter of a great friend of mine and Mike's, Christy Foutch. Who is the girlfriend of another great friend of ours Conrad. So, we've been hanging out with them because Christy just finally moved here!! Well.... you will notice Rae and Sophia jumping on Rae's bed before her bed was put together.... :) And - Rae is such an awesome person! She would let Sophia follow her around everywhere, "RAE RAE!!!!!"

 We (Daddy, Mommy, Sophia and KJ) spent the night Friday with Conrad, Christy and Rae! We cooked out, swam in the pool and had great conversation! Oh wait, conversation is a two way street, right? So, in that case, they did a great job listening to Mike, me and Sophia!!! 'Cause we sure did talk their ears off! ha ha!! We had alot of important life... uh well, we just like to talk :)

 

Now, for the grand finale... drum roll please.... My hibiscus! I love this plant! Here's why, it doesn't require an over abundance of maintenance to be healthy and strong! Don't get me wrong, when we first planted her, she did require nourishment and supplements but that's like anything entering into a new environment, right? Now, 5 years later it has everything it needs to grow and produce beautifully! All we have to do is water her occasionally and in the winter I cut her back down to a little stem. So she can grow again the next year. That's right! It also seems that with each year, she requires less and less maintenance, yet she grows stronger and more vibrant with the passing years. Such a gem to have :) Such a nice reminder of what it really takes to grow up and become self sufficient. Now, I'm not saying this plant doesn't require any TLC - what I'm saying is, over the years we've grown with this plant to know what she needs and just how much to give her :) Love you hibiscus!