Today is a sad day for Julie.  Scott informed me that my truck, which has been in "the shop" since Tuesday, is going to need to be replaced.  My truck, a 1995 Explorer, has been with us through almost our entire marriage so far.  We bought it after we unexpectedly adopted a giant breed dog!  We needed a car that was big enough to transport our giant baby around.  Here she is: 

Sadie's most favorite thing in the world was riding in my truck.  All I had to say was, "Sadie, do you wanna..." and she would be up and running to the door.  Her most favorite words were, "Go for a ride?".  I have a couple of good pictures of Sadie sitting in the back of the truck but I need to figure out how to blur my license plate before I post them! 

Growing up I had quite a few pets but I did most of my growing up with 2 dogs in particular, Mike & Micky.  They were named after The Monkees - yes, I had Peter & Davy too but they didn't make it as long....  Anyway, Mike was with me for almost 14 years.  (The hardest thing about getting married was having to leave Mike & Micky behind.)  When it came time to put Mike "down", I let mom & dad borrow my truck and the vet came and put him down in the back of my Explorer.  Here's a picture of the good 'ol boy...

Take a look at those kids.  Every time someone took a picture, Mike made sure that he was in it.  Here's an old picture of Scott; with Mike: 

I bet some of you had no idea that Scott used to have "long" hair.  Look at Mike...he was quite the character.  But, no post with Mike would be complete without his sister, Micky.  He sure knew how to get on her nerves but they were inseparable.  Here they are together:

Oh yeah, I was writing about my truck.  OK, here's a funny story....  Scott picked out the Explorer.  I took him to the dealership that night, dropped him off, and he drove it home.  He told me that it was silver.  When I woke up the next morning and looked out the window I said, "That's not silver.  That's a metallic green."  Scott didn't believe me for a while...he is colorblind.  I will be sure and post a photo of the old thing (the Explorer...not Scott) before we trade it.  It is at the transmission shop right now and we won't get it back until Monday.  I'll keep you posted on what my new ride is.  I'm sure it won't be anything exciting.  But I am sure that I will miss my big green truck! 

Wordless Wednesday

Happy Birthday Rana!

Today is my sister-in-law's birthday.  Happy Birthday Rana!  She turned 25...(many years ago).  For Dad's birthday, Friday night, Rana fixed his favorite Syrian dinner.  I have no idea how to spell it.  We'll call it chicken, hamburger, rice, peas & carrots.  Next, Dad opened his presents..

It was easy for him because he had a couple of very good helpers:

Rana even made bought a cake for Dad

Daniel had a piece.  Can you tell?  He loved it. 

He's very happy that it is Papaw's birthday

I think Dad liked his cake 

Hey, where's mom?  She gets to be the center of attention next week - Mother's Day. 

Let me find a picture of Rana

And finally, Scott

Hey....there's no picture of Kevin.  Wait, here he is....

Last night, we all went to the Olive Garden for Rana's birthday.  We had a great time.  Before we went, we decided to set up the tripod and take some family photos.  We didn't have any photos of the entire family!  Well, I can say that some of the photos didn't turn out great because of operator error.  We didn't have the tripod all of the way up.  Here are just a few....

We actually took a lot of pictures but I think three is probably more than enough for one post!  Why we have never done this before, I don't know.

This afternoon we had some sort of strawberry cake for Rana and she opened her presents.  My apologies to Rana for not bringing my camera!!!  Rana is probably very glad as she isn't a fan of seeing herself in pictures.  :-)    Frankly, family birthweek has worn me out!

OK....next post I will tell you about the bird that put a nest in my flower pot.  Have a great day!

Happy Birthday Dad!

My Dad turns 75 today.   Happy Birthday Daddy!  

Isn't our little high school graduate just the cutest?  Here's one of my favorite pictures of the two of us: 

Fast forward a few years and here we are again...

Maybe I should add a picture of my brother. 

Look how sharply dressed they were.  Mom looks like Donna Reed.  BTW, there are many more baby pictures of my brother than me; I was a product of that second child syndrome.  Here's one more of Dad and Kevin:

Dad is rocking those socks isn't he?   

Today I took the day off from work and rode to Salisbury with Mom and Dad to visit my Aunt Jean and Uncle Dick.  Aunt Jean is one of Dad's sisters.  Here is a picture of Dad and Aunt Jean. 

Isn't she beautiful?

Here he is with Uncle Dick

Mom and Aunt Jean

Finally, here's a picture of Dad and all of his brothers and sisters.  This picture was taken in 1991.  

Oh and Grandma is in the middle. 

I'll post more about them and their wonderful spouses later.  I have the best Aunts and Uncles in the world!  Well, this is going to be a busy blogging weekend. Tonight we are going to Rana's to celebrate Dad's birthday. Then, tomorrow is Rana's birthday.
See you soon! 

Daniel's First Birthday

Happy Birthday to my nephew, Daniel.  Today he turned 1 year old.  Warning - this post is a little picture heavy - Daniel has family on several continents that will be seeing these photos.  Here's a picture of Laura, Rana and the birthday boy!

Here's Dad (aka Papaw) wearing his party hat.

Laura didn't like his hat very much.  Just after I took this picture she took it off of his head.  Actually, she snapped it off of his head.  Poor Dad - OUCH! 

Here's our birthday boy...

Nana and Papa, or as I like to call them, Mom and Dad. 

 Daniel was starting to get hungry here...

Daniel got a toy dog for his birthday.  He loved it.

Rana is teaching Laura how to play with one of Daniel's new toys.  

Daniel also got a new refrigerator toy

Laura didn't like the "big" light on.  She kept turning it off all night.  That made it a little difficult for those of us trying to take pictures!

Here's a picture of a birthday bear that Daniel's Aunt Yolla and cousins Christel, Richard and Carol sent him all the way from their home in Marseille, France.  This bear sings the "Happy Birthday" song.  Daniel loved it so much.  He even sang along! 

We are all singing Happy Birthday here...

I think Daniel is wishing that mom would hurry up with the cake. 

His first taste of birthday cake!

 Laura is kissing Aunt Julie. 

 Aunt Julie is spinning Laura.  Laura LOVES to spin. 

Daddy and Laura.  Or, as I like to call him, Kevin. 

 Daddy and Daniel. 

 Uncle Scott is holding the happy birthday boy. 

 The men folk: 

 The End. 

Well, this is actually the end of the first out of three family birthdays this week.  Dad's birthday is Friday and Rana's birthday is Sunday.  That's a lot of cake.