USA Cares Gala

Charlie and I had a nice evening on Saturday with our friends, Jay and Stacy and Charlie's mom, Barb, at the USACares Gala. The event was held at the Seelbach Hotel in Louisville and celebrated USACares' 5 year anniversary. We got all dressed up and had a really nice night.

The guest speaker was LtCol. Oliver North. He was a very funny and friendly guy. He really resembles George W, but Ollie was a much better speaker than W.


USA Cares exists to provide military families with financial support and other critical resources in their times of need. The Cpl Nich fund is an endowment for USACares, which is growing by the day.

Go Muskies!!

XU beat Bob Huggin's team last night and it was a great game. We went over to my parent's house to watch the game and the boys were troopers. Charlie and Landon were great cheerleaders; they have some nice moves. They play UCLA on Saturday...GO MUSKIES!!

Easter Weekend

We had a great weekend and made all the stops around town to see the families. Charlie flew his first kite on the farm.

He received an enormous bunny from g-ma Barb.

The boys looked so cute in their new shades and spring outfits.

The Easter Bunny Update

Since big Charlie was out of town at a Bachelor party last weekend, Charlie and I had a great day planned. First we went to the new public library, it is incredible! Our old library was small and dingy, but the new one is open, modern and very well stocked. We got some great books, DVD, and books on CD. After the library we headed to the Y for an Easter Egg hunt. It was wet outside, so the activities took place inside. The second meeting with the Easter Bunny was similar to the first - Charlie really doesn't trust adults dressed in furry white outfits.

The event was a scavenger hunt around the facilities, so every participant got lots of eggs. It ended up in the basement with cookies, fruit and veggies for a snack. Charlie would not agree to get close enough to the bunny to get a good picture. He was more interested in the guy making balloon hats and animals. After the scavenger hunt we went home and took a nap on the couch while watching Shrek. I love Saturdays!

A visit from the girlfriends

Lauren and Maggie paid Charlie a visit last week and they all had lots of fun. We ate pizza and cookies and had a great time catching up. Although, things with Medpace did not end up well, I am so glad that I remain great friends with two of my Medpace colleagues, Peggy (Maggie's mom) and Sarah (Lauren's mom).

This time last year...

Charlie is very excited to see the Easter Bunny this year. Last year he was a little bit apprehensive at the Easter egg hunt that we attended at a local park. The kids were really aggressive and he only had the chance to get one little pink egg. A nice boy came up and gave Charlie a few eggs out of his basket, it was so sweet. Poor kid couldn't even eat any of the treats inside, because they were not part of his peanut free diet (mom enjoyed them though).I am thinking that he might still feel the same say about the strange man dressed up as the Easter Bunny, but we'll see...

Snow, Snow and more Snow!

We knew it was coming, and we were prepared. Mother nature dropped about 12 inches of snow on us this past weekend. Charlie made plans with his friend Jeff to go skiing (his first skiing trip ever). He came back in once piece and looked very cute in his snow gear : ). Little Charlie and I stayed home and played in the snow. We got bundled up and headed out into the blizzard. After daddy got home, the real playing began and a fort (with a chair for Charlie) was built in a matter of minutes.

On Sunday we headed over to Memaw and Pepaw's house and went sledding and built a snowman. Bob operated the SUV lift for sledding (without it our sledding experience would have been cut short - carrying a 34 lb toddler up the hill is too much!). What a blast! One storm that like a year is so much fun.

The Circus

We decided to go to the circus after a long day of house hunting. We bought some great tickets when we arrived and had a blast. Charlie loved watching the horses, dogs, zebras, tigers and elphalents (as he calls them). He also liked to see the clowns and performers who climbed "way up high". We did not fall prey to any of the $20 lighted toys or $12 snow cones. Instead, we ate Subway on the way and brought snacks in the diaper bag!

Say Cheese Mom!

We decided to take some pictures before going out to dinner one night. After a few shots, Charlie decided it was his turn to be the photographer. Some of them turned out OK, others not so good. What would we do without digital cameras?? He got some good shots of the pictures we had taken by a great photographer named Carla Essen - her blog is http://www.carlakeepsclickin.typepad.com/ and she does some really creative work. Carla, you can thank Charlie for the shout out!

California dreaming....

David and Nancy paid us a visit in February and as usual we had a great time! Jon even had a chance to meet his parents while he was one leave from the Naval Academy. He looked so handsome in his uniform (I had to grab him to get these pictures because he ran right up stairs to change as soon as he walked in the door!). We had dinner at home on Friday and prepared for a busy Saturday. First, Charlie and Jon got their hair cut and picked out a lollipop, or two (the first one got some hair on it), then off to the museum.

The men intended to see the BODIES exhibit, but the line to get tickets was over an hour long (just to get the tickets!). We changed our minds and all headed downstairs to the children's museum. By the way, the exhibit is cool, I saw it in Amsterdam last year. We received a season pass to the museum for Xmas, and what a great gift! Charlie had a blast and we will be making frequent trips back this year. He loved the ball room and playing in the sandbox. He also had fun climbing through the woods with 'uncle Jon'.David and Nancy stayed home to play with Charlie that night, while mom and dad went to a euchre tournament and lost really bad!

Cinderella's Closet Club Tea Party

It was my turn to host club in January, so I decided to mix things up and have a tea party. My cousin Julie suggested that I hold a dress drive for a great organization called Cinderella's Closet.
This charity collects gently used formal dresses and accessories (and cash donations) and turns dresses into dreams for financially disadvantaged girls. We collected over 20 gowns and lots of accessories and shoes for Cinderella's Closet!


We had 3 courses with two specialty teas at each course. The menu consisted of:

- Scones, biscuits and salad

- A variety of tea sandwiches

- Cookies, dipped strawberries, biscotti and other desserts

It was a great time and I plan on making this an annual event. If you would like to volunteer for Cinderella's closet, go to their website (http://www.cinderellasclosetnky.org) for information. Annie, Julie and I are going to volunteer on March 29th!

McKnight Visit

We had a visit from the McKnights and their new addition in January. Charlie loved holding baby MaryClaire and had lots of fun playing with Caroline. It was great seeing our friends from Louisville. Caroline is a a tough little chick - she put Charlie in his place.