5.25.2009

Memphis in May

I made my annual trip to visit my sister and her family in Memphis Tennessee. She has been there for about 2yrs now and is finally adjusting to the move. I don't blame her though. Its a whole different world there.

Every May the city of Memphis puts on a month long celebration with a lot of VERY cool events. Last year we went for the International Rib Cook Off, this year is was the Beale Street Music Festival. My dad and my oldest sister, Marla came along to visit Denise for the 1st time.



I was SO excited about Beale Street Music Fest because its a huge outdoor park with 3 different stages going at the same time with great headline acts! We saw Jacks Mannequin, Katy Perry, Steve Miller Band and my fav... All American Rejects! They were SO GOOD!



Dad, Denise and I hanging out watchin the shows





It was really nice to spend some QT with my sisters.

Its very rare that we get the chance to spend any time together.

Thats the mighty Miss-is-sip in the background


Dad always has a good time if there's music involved



The best part of my trip was getting to cuddle and soak up my niece and nephew who are growing up WAY too fast! Ethan is 5 and Taralynn is 2. I miss these two terribly. They are the best kids anyone could ask for, and dang cute too!
When you're in the south it would practically be a crime if you didn't stop for some world famous BBQ!

Delicious!





As kids I used to make fun of my sister and call her "Mother Nature" because she thought she was ruler of all animals. She was always much more interested in the 4-H thing than me and she still is. She has a regular little funny farm in TN. Its not like working part time as an OR nurse, raising 2 kids, taking care of 4 acres and house with a husband who travels all the time is enough. No, she wants all the animals she can have.

She has chickens, sheep, ducks, dogs, a miniature horse and a cat. I think.


She loves it.



Her husband, Pete took advantage of having my dad there to help fix the riding lawn mower. I think it was some kind of bonding.




I had so much fun when we did the crawfish boil last time that Denise and Pete decided to do it again. The kids love to play with these little "mud bugs"


How can you not LOVE these faces





They look DISGUSTING! but taste so GOOD!
My dad was so disappointed that his daughters could be so GROSS.

Yep, we are your children.






We also took a trip to Graceland. Yes the home of Elvis. If you aren't a die hard Elvis fan, DONT GO! It was so tacky!

I just thought this was a cute pic of Pete and his baby girl



Here is the Jungle Room
so GROSS. Green shag carpet EVERYWHERE!


This was the main entrance piano room. The only decent room in the house.
Last but not least...

On the final night of our trip we had an unexpected visitor.


Somewhere between the hours of 1am and 5am my sisters house was broken into while we slept. They managed to steal my sisters TV, her wallet

and

MY PURSE!!

Thats right, every piece of identification and personal information- GONE!!

BASTARDS!!


Oh well, at least no one was hurt and yes I was able to fly home. Just a little extra security at the airport.


Until next year,

SO LONG MEMPHIS!






Paint'n

So I guess the biggest news lately is that I finally got the keys to my new house. It was so nice to finally have the house that I've been waiting SO patiently for. This was only the beginning of a long, painful process. We, (that is Taylor and I) still had a TON of WORK to do.

The entire interior of the house needed to be repainted
In case you don't know, THIS IS A HUGE JOB!!
Don't ever do it
Luckily, Taylor has a sprayer and has painted several houses,
so he knew what he was doing. (Although he swears he's never doing it again)


Here is a before picture of the front room

We were in a hurry to get as much done as we could before I left for Memphis to see my sister. This meant LONG hours for everyone involved
but, hey at least there was pizza



Eating pizza on the ledge because he can...
for now


I owe Taylor a HUGE thank you for putting countless hours at the house prepping, painting and fixing things. He worked SO HARD to make sure that we all got into the house as soon as possible and it looks AMAZING!! Thanks for being such a great guy. We love you and appreciate all of the sweet things you've done for us. I couldn't have done this without you.

THANKS HONEY!
15hrs later, just in that 1 day...
This picture just screams...
"WHY IN THE HELL DID I OPEN MY BIG MOUTH AND OFFER TO PAINT THIS HOUSE?"


A quick update:
The house is painted, carpets are clean and we are moved in. The girls started their new school and have adjusted very well. They start the new school year in July and have met some new friends.
I'm still working in Fallon.
No plans to change jobs yet.

I still have alot of work to do at the house. I have to finish the play room and try to organize the garage. All in do time. I'll post pics soon.









5.24.2009

Matt and Cynthia's visit

My oldest brother Matt and his wife Cynthia came to Nevada for a visit. They were married in September of '07 in Springfield, IL. The girls and I flew out for their wedding but I haven't seen them since. It was so nice to spend some time together and visit. It was Cynthia's first time out west and the first time meeting this side of his family. She's a great addition to the fam!

Here is Matt with my mom's parents, Nana and Grandad




My mom was glad to see them and very grateful that they would make the trip out to see us. Matt was just accepted into CRNA school so this was his last chance to get away for some time. It was neat to see the joy just radiating off of my mom when Matt was around. You tell that she is VERY proud of him and rightfully so.


We stopped by Robbie's house so they could meet Rob's wife and kids.
Its nice to be shorter than somebody for a change. We are definitely a tall bunch.



We all went to dinner at Ichibans Japanese Steakhouse in Reno to celebrate the occasion. I forget just how much I LOVE THIS PLACE!! The food is terrific, the show is entertaining and the company was fabulous.

A quick pic of Taylor and I at dinner. I just love this guy :o)



This picture just cracks me up! Like she has any clue what she's looking at.
She thinks she's SO BIG.


Dylon was the only one brave enough (and the only who had room) to eat the tempura ice cream that's TO DIE FOR!!!


Matt and Cynthia with their Saki shots.



We are sure gonna miss you guys!





5.23.2009

Easter


So I'm gonna make this short and sweet since I'm SO far behind on my posts...
My sweet little baby did the egg decorating this year and what a great job she did
:o)


Here is a quick little snapshot of the Carey grand kids at Grandma's before the
GREAT EASTER EGG HUNT OF 2009



Pre-Hunt at Nonnie's house
Here are Robbie's kids from left: Alan, Anthony & Alyssa (you already know my kids)
It must be nice to have like 3 hunts in 1 day
That's a busy bunny...



THE TREASURE HUNT

Every Easter the girls forgo the traditional Easter baskets, and in lieu get to have a treasure hunt. Its a fun little tradition that we've had for the past 4 or 5 years. I make about 5 different clues leading them to small loots then finally to the real treasure.

The girls found one of the clues (with the help of my mom's dog Oakie)




And the TREASURE is...









An extra guitar for Guitar Hero
plus the loot along the way


It was a GrEaT Easter