Charlotte

So I am way behind on posting, and I have a lot to catch up on. Ill start with our round one Christmas celebration in Charlotte. We spent Christmas with my family a couple weekends before the actual date. It was so nice because everyone got a chance to get together, open presents, eat LOTS of yummy food, and just catch up. We also managed to get a family photo of ALL of us.

Budge came home with a meat smoker, and I a new camera! I don't know how to really upload photos yet, but I am working on it. Budge smoked ribs the very next weekend and they were delicious. Its his new favorite toy from Christmas. I see a lot of smoked meat in my future...

Like I was saying I have a new camera, and once I figure out the uploading process I will post pics from our trip over Christmas to Maryland. I have lots of pics with the new camera, including ones of our Godson Oliver!

Go Pirates!

This past weekend we traveled to ECU for the conference USA championship game against Houston. Despite the horrible weather (rainy, and freezing) the Pirates pulled out a HUGE win, securing us a spot in the Liberty Bowl. Winning this game also gave us the title of back-to-back conference USA champions. It was a great Saturday watching some really good football. So glad we got to go!

We are trying our best to make it to the Liberty bowl, but its pretty expensive to fly to Memphis, and a really long drive! We will see what happens. Either way we will be rooting on our Pirates, either live, or from home!

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/recap?gameId=293390151

Giving Thanks.

We had a lovely holiday last week. My parents and grandmother, and Budges dad joined us at our house for Thanksgiving dinner. I made way too much food, but it was all good! We have been eating leftovers for days. I think Budge and I could both safely say we are over them!

The weekend before Thanksgiving I decided I would get out all my fine china a crystal and wash it to use for the holiday. The story behind my crystal and china is that my mom bought it for me from Iveys dept store (which are now called Belks) when I was born. So it is nearly 29 years old, and has never been used! I thought it was about time! I unwrapped all of the pieces and hand washed each one. It was a task, but the result was a gorgeous table setting. Luckily I had my mom and grandma to help with the hand washing after lunch.

I didn't take any photos of the holiday, because I was kinda busy cooking. But I did manage to snap one of my pretty table. The napkins and place mats are from a wedding gift. They go perfectly with the china!

Hope everyone had a lovely holiday!

Its a boy!!

Lauren and Tony welcomed Oliver Garreth Stephens to the world November 21st! He weighed in at 8.5 oz, and everyone is doing great! Here is the first pic of the new baby, and new mommy! Congrats Lauren and Tony, we can't wait to meet our Godson at Christmas!

Trip to MD

This post is one week late, but last week was such a busy week I just didn't have time.
To catch everyone up we went to MD the weekend before last to see the rest of the Knott family, and to shower Lauren (baby shower that is) who is due November 19th! It was a whirlwind of a weekend, but great to see everyone, and great to see Lauren, who last time we saw her didn't even look pregnant!! Leave it to her she looks great, and literally doesn't look like she has gained much weight!! Here are some pics from the shower that Adrianne and I threw, with the help of Linda. Since we didn't have a clue where anything was at Garys house Linda really helped get everything we needed, thanks Linda!


Hazel visiting with the shower guests.
Hazel slept the whole way home...she had such a busy weekend!
Adrianne made pumpkin cupcakes with cream cheese frosting...YUM!

Outdoor Adventure cont.

Here are pics from zip lining! Feel free to have a laugh at my expense today!

Into the Woods

This past weekend I was taken way out of my element, but it was for a very good cause!
I am participating in a program called "Leadership Johnston" Its a yearlong program where a group from Johnston county (where I work) learns all about the county. The ultimate goal in the group is to work on a project of our choosing that will better the community.

So last Friday we set out to Efland, NC for the annual Leadership Johnston retreat. Friday was a FULL day. We did a ropes course, we hiked all over the woods, and we finished it all up with a zip line (lots of fun, but kinda scary). For those who know me they know that this was all way out of the box for me. Ill be honest, I am not an outdoorsy type, but I would like to say that I held my own, and tried things I never thought I would before!

We spent the night Friday, and then Saturday morning was dedicated to coming up with what our year long project would be. I am so excited because the topic that I was passionate about and wanted to do was the one we chose! Johnston county has no real recycling plan, and as a class we are going to work to change that, or at least inform people where and how to recycle.

I got home Saturday afternoon, and was beat. Budge traveled to Greenville for homecoming, and I parked myself on the couch with the remote for the remainder of the day. Oh, and the Pirates actually won!! Which was great news!!

I really wish I had pics to share of my outdoor adventures, but with the hiking, and zip lining it wasn't condusive to carry a camera. However we did have someone taking photos, so as soon as I can get those I can hopefully post some!