Friday Free For All

Whew! I am so behind it is almost sinful! I am just now beginning to make my way around bloggy world to say howdy to all of you. Where does the time go? *sigh* But I am also behind in posting a little of this and a lot of that too. Here are some images from last weekend! Oh my was it ever jam packed. Not only was it a weekend filled with football, family and food but we also met friends at a local club to hear our favorite band, The Stumps. What a treat it is to sit and chat with friends and hear one heck of a band play the songs of the 60s and 70s. And then it was on to even more fun and frolic!

(And yes. I AM too old for all of this but I keep plugging away. Pop in a Tylenol Arthritis, have a jolt of Diet Coke and I can do anything. Okay, not ANYTHING but...well...)

Friday evening was spent at our high school's football field. Is there anything more American than an Autumn night, under the lights, watching your local high school play? Grace, and the other cheerleaders in her grade level, were asked to perform along with the High School squad.

She was SO excited. We hopped on over to the field with my brother Jim.

Here is Grace with one of her coaches...beautiful lady isn't she?

Grace with her oh so pretty and just as sweet Middle School cheer mentor.

The sky was so blue and clear. The air crisp and cool.

The perfect night for football!

A little pre-game performance by the band...

A tunnel was formed by the teachers, staff and students

for the team to enter the field...

The balloons were released as part of the tribute to those we lost

on 9-11 and to those who serve in our armed forces.

The game begins...

The girls enjoyed being on the field and being a part of all the fun.

Grace is already excited about going to high school...even if she

DOES have a few more years to wait! Grace with 2 of her cheer friends!

Saturday dawned bright as we headed out to an early game.

Our squad had an early morning start but with a day as pretty as this,

who could mind getting up to greet it?

And yes. The team is usually very supportive of their cheer squad. *smile*

What a lovely group! Hello girls!

Look who stopped by! Grace's Aunt Lisa and Brady!

And there is Grandma & Uncle Jim...um...Jim? I support Ohio State too but shouldn't Boo do one of OUR cheers? No? Okay...O...H...I...O!

Hey Boo! We won! Our team is 5 and 0 baby!

Brady wanted to be a part of the victory tunnel...here he is

with his Mommy and his Uncle Bill!

Here come the cheerleaders too!

There is Grace just about to run through...

The next day we headed to Lebanon and A Day Out With Thomas!

Boo ran the corn maze with his Dad...

And had a chat with the big guy himself...

And posed for Auntie Sue with Mommy and Daddy!

Then he just had to show off the new duds...

A cute T

(The front reads, "I spent a day out with Thomas...")

And stylin' Thomas shoes...

Equal one happy Booman!

Then it was time to celebrate Grace's Gotcha Day!

She chose The Cheesecake Factory and wow. Did we eat well!

Grace and her Grandma deciding what to order...

And after dinner, Grace and her BFF, the divine Ms.K, sampled

a little dark chocolate mousse cheesecake and a little white chocolate and raspberry cheesecake. Believe me. They WERE as good

as you might guess them to be!

Thank you for breezing through a recap of last weekend's fun just as we get ready to begin another jam packed Fall Saturday and Sunday!

I do hope your week was a sweet one and that you are

enjoying this, the sweet beginning of Autumn.

I am beginning the decorating process and loving this season's arrival.

It is this time of year when my heart truly springs to life.

I hope you will enjoy each day of it.

Love and Hugs,

Susie Q

Girls Gone Wild...

...on Spring Break! Uh huh. Wild. Crazy. Unfettered. Silly even. Singing show tunes and spending all that birthday loot my girl had saved. First stop, Grace's choice for lunch, The Cheesecake Factory. There's our smiling girl! Could this be why she was so happy? And this was the smaller lunch portion! This kid loves pasta, the spicier the better! Then it was off to Sephora for a little makeover. Now, before anyone pops in to tell me that she is too young to wear cosmetics, let me say this. No wearing anything to school is Mom and Dad's rule. And the beauty experts at Sephora chose only a slightly pink tinged moisturizer (SPF 30!) and some pretty pink lip gloss. We also picked up some pale pink eye shadow that they showed her how to use as a very light blusher. These are only to be used for special occasions like the weddings we are attending this Summer. But oh how she loved it and I think she truly felt pretty. It has been a difficult road for her, self image wise. If doing something like this helps our girl feel good about herself, than it is a very small price to pay. That is "Justice" just over her right shoulder, with the blue awnings. This kid loves that store more than I can say. They all know her in there and she is nothing short than a walking, talking advertisement for them. She saves her money from holidays and birthdays and chores and then is allowed to use some for clothes. Oh but she loves clothes. Today's shopping adventure included picking up this year's bathing suit. Summer will be here before we know it! Now, the BIG event. Grace got her hair cut! We went to see our wonderful hair dresser, Julie, at Utopia Salon and snip, snip, snip. 10 inches were gone just like that! Grace has been growing out her hair for almost 2 years so she could donate it to a very worthy cause. Here is the proof! Off to "Locks of Love" go Grace's pretty tresses and they go with our prayers and love for the recipient. The new look...our beautiful girl. Can you imagine how proud we are of her?