Grandaddy's Funeral at Arlington National Cemetary

Monday was Grandaddy's funeral at Arlington National Cemetary. I thought it was honorable and special. It was also very emotional for me to go through all that again. But now there is finally some closure. I know that because Grammy and Grandaddy are in DC I will definitely go back as much as I can to visit them. It is still so hard to believe that he is gone, but I am sure time will help it sink in. Anyway, here are some of the pictures we got during and after the ceremony. What an honor to be a part of such a wonderful man's life!





After the ceremony we got lots of pictures. This is my 3 brothers and me. From left - Ronnie, David, and then Patrick.
This is a picture of all the grandchildren. From left in the back row - Miles, Evan, Ronnie and then in the front row - David, me, Patrick, Anna, Vanessa, and Francis. It was special that we could all be there together. I hope that we will all still get together in the future.
Another picture of all of us with Blake, Dylan, and Patrick added.
Our family

Patrick and Traci
Blake and Dylan
Me and the boys
The boys browsing through all the stones. It was unbelievable how straight all the stones were. It was so symetrical and very impressive.
Blakesters

Dylan - who I know needs a haircut and will be getting one on Sunday.

After the ceremony, we all went out to lunch and then I took Blake and Dylan to the airport to fly to their dad's. Dylan is on Spring Break this week and is in GA spending some time with his dad. I know he is having a great time! They will both be back here on Sunday so Blake can spend his Spring Break here and Dylan can get back to school.

All the boys in the family.
My baby brother, Ronnie and me. Ronnie is 9 1/2 years younger than I am. I didn't manage to catch a picture of me with Patrick. Most people would think that out of all of us, Patrick and I look most alike - probably because of the eyes.
David and me. David is the oldest of my brothers. He is not quite 2 years younger than I am.

Our DC Trip

Last Friday we left for Washington DC and we had such a great time. Logan stayed with Patrick's mom and Dylan, Patrick, and I drove up. Blake flew in on Saturday and we headed straight out for the sights. It was such an awesome place to be and so patriotic. I am dying to go back! Blake and Patrick rang the bell and it kind of scared Blake
Patrick and me in front of the capital
Blakester


We were so lucky to see the president flying in to the White House. I thought this was so cool!
Washington Monument
Blake and me on the steps of the capital
Blake looking up at the capital and he picked a leaf from the tree as a souvenier - what a goob!

Blake being silly

Isn't that breathtaking???

Blake at the tiny little fountain area on the capital grounds - Apparently a lot of private meetings have been held here.
Blake and Patrick at the front of the Capital
Sunday we rented a Segway tour and had the best time. We all did very well. There were 9 of us total. My 3 brothers and my brothers girlfriend also came with us. We had a blast. The name of the rental place was called "Segs in the City." I thought that was so clever. So, here we are in front of the White House. That was pretty neat. The WH was a lot smaller than I expected and our tour guide said that people say that all the time.
So Beautiful!
My three brothers racing

This man sitting down was preaching about something regarding Muhamed Ali - so, Patrick stopped to listen to him for a minute.
Dylan on his Segway
We were freezing by the time we were done, so Patrick was warming me up!
We took the Metro everywhere and it was so quick and clean. I couldn't believe it. Of course, we did get on the wrong one a couple of times and went the wrong way another, but we eventually figured it out and now we are pros!
Patrick and me with my brother, David

That night (after the seg's) we had pizza at the hotel in the lobby.

We were in town for my Grandaddy's funeral at Arlington so all my cousins, my two aunts, my brothers, and my second cousins were all in town.

It was nice to see everyone. It is kind of sad to wonder if I will ever get to see some of them again.

Anyway, I did have a nice time visiting!

I know you have probably noticed and wondered why when we were on the capital steps and walking around and taking all the pictures Dylan isn't in any of them - well, there will definitely be a post to follow with all the pictures we got of Dylan. He was NOT left out!

Easter with Logan

Since we were leaving to go to DC on Friday, Patrick and I had the Easter Bunny bring Logan his Easter basket Thursday night. He saw it right away and kept trying to pull it down. So finally, we let him have it. He got lots of fun stuff, but his favorites are always the books!

Easter Pictures

Last Tuesday Logan had his Easter pictures made with Sara Grace at the Horseshoe at USC. He did very well and now that he is walking it was very hard to pin him down. For some reason, I didn't get any pictures with my own camera with the two of them together (probably because I was worried that Logan would hurt the baby or fall on her). But, you can go to my photographer's website and look - www.naturallywonderful.com The pictures are in the photo gallery under Sara Grace and Logan. I think they turned out so great!! Stacey always does such a good job for us! She did comment that she thought it was the first time I had ever dressed Logan in anything other than blue :) I just love the way he looks in blue because it brings out his little eyes so much! Anyway, I hope you enjoy the pictures!
Logan had a leaf that he was holding up to his ear and "talking on the phone" to while he walked around. I am not quite sure where he would get that! He just babbled on forever. It was funny.



Logan's first steps on his future college campus.
Go Gamecocks!
The two daddy's leaving with their babies and the babies Easter baskets - how cute are they?

Visit from Sara Grace

Last Monday (St. Patrick's Day) Sara Grace and Aunt Chappell came over for a visit. It was so nice to see them and Logan for the first time actually paid attention to the baby. He usually just ignores her and does his own thing. Logan can't figure this out.
Daddy stopped in for a visit before going back to work and while he ran to the restroom, Logan stood at the door knocking. He loves to follow his daddy around the house.
Sara Grace in her Easter Basket
Patrick got me a new washer and dryer and before the pedestals came, Logan could reach the buttons. So, that was a fun game. Luckily, the pedestals came and now they are way out of his reach!

Thanks for the great visit, Sara Grace and Aunt Chappell!

It was good to see you.

PS I am working on getting the blog updated. I have been out of town a lot lately and because of that I have a million things to do when I am home and I am also extremely tired. This pregnancy is very tiring - maybe my 13 month old has something to do with that!

New look completed!

Let Traci know how you like her new look!

Jennifer

New Look...coming soon!

This is Traci's friend, Jennifer. She's got a new look coming soon! I hope to have it finished this weekend so it will be a nice surprise when she comes home from her trip. It's 12:30 am...I wanted to at least get the background changed in case she looked at it in the morning. I'll be working on the header tomorrow-hopefully! Good night for now.

Our last dinner together :(

We all decided that we wanted to go back to Tramonto's for dinner on Thursday night and I was definitely getting that steak! We were all very sad, but we still had a great time. Did I mention that we could not get a reservation before 9:30???
My beautiful friends!
More of us!
So sad - I haven't mentioned this yet, but I have been best friends with all these girls for a very long time! Heather was my very first friend I ever met when I moved to Arkansas (at age 4). Linda moved 2 houses down from me right before 1st grade. Jenifer and I played on the same t-ball team at age 4 or 5, and I met Shannon in the 7th grade (20 years ago). So for us to be able to still be so close and to have remained friends for so long is quite special. I love all of them so much and already miss them!!!
My steak and pasta - what I wouldn't give for another one of these right now! I love the way it is shaped like a heart - because I asked for it to be butterflied!

Thursday - Day 5 at the Spa

Thursday we decided to hang out at the pool and get some massages, facials, etc. Heather had one also, but she was already in her appointment when we got someone to take our picture.
Jenifer and I decided to get a couples massage, but we explained to the girls that we were NOT a couple really. It was pretty funny.
We talked the whole time, so it was a little hard to truly relax and enjoy it! It was a really good one though. I was afraid that since I was so burned it would hurt, but they lather you up with so much oil, it wasn't bad at all!
Jenifer is going to kill me for posting this picture, but it is just funny that we even have it. Who in the world asks the lady to take a picture of them on the massage table??? Only us!