Perini's, Happy Anniversary and Happy Father's Day...

What a busy agenda this weekend...spending time with family and friends and just having a great time. We have a lot to celebrate and be thankful for this weekend. We went to Perini's on Saturday night...because that was the boy's choice for their Father's Day dinner. If you will remember back to my Mother's Day post, that is also where us girls chose to go too. We are a Perini Loving family. My sweet cousin Bren and her boyfriend James came over to watch Jolea for us while we were gone. That means that Andy and I and Grammy and Poppy all got sit at the table together the "whole" time for dinner...and that hasn't happened in a long time...it was really nice. Bren and James said that Jolea was an angel baby while we were gone and that she thoroughly enjoyed using Bren as her own human jungle gym. It was past her bedtime when we got home so she jumped in the bath and got her a nighttime snack and then off to bed she went. It was so nice outside we decided we would have a "game night" out on the deck. We played Taboo first and I must say the girls kicked some rear...we actually didn't even have any competition!!! It's always such a sweet victory when the girls beat the boys!!! Then we played the DVD game Scene It and that was a lot of fun too, till the end of the game when the boys ended up pulling off a crazy victory...but I still think they cheated :) We stayed up entirely too late...and we didn't even manage to get up for church this morning...Oops!!! Its Father's Day today and our Anniversary, but those two things are special enough for their own post...so more on that later. Here are a few pictures from dinner last night.

Yummy Prime Rib Before:

Yummy Prime Rib After:

Refreshing Sangria:

Mom and Daughter

Grammy and Poppy

Family...I adore these people

Just Sign On The Dotted Line Please....

Its really embarrassing how "boring" the last couple of weeks have been. I haven't even been able to blog because it has been so uneventful around our house. Now don't get me wrong, we have been really really busy, but nothing blog-worthy has been happening...that is for sure!!! I am really happy to announce that we have a closing date set...and all we have to do now is sign on the dotted line. We are officially closing on July the 7TH at 8AM. I don't think its even hit me that we are moving back to Abilene yet. My life is about to get a whole lot easier...no commute to school and I will have a Wal-Mart at my fingertips which is enough to make me all GIDDY on the inside. Did you know that in Anson at the Lawrence Brothers grocery store, a can of green beans was almost 2 dollars? That is highway robbery, but they are the only store in town and they can get away with it. It has always been such a hassle to go grocery shopping and then lug it all the way home...and on top of that, we could never buy ice cream in Abilene because it would melt long before we got home...and if green beans are 2 dollars can you imagine the cost of Blue Bell ice cream? YIKES! I cant believe I am blogging about green beans and ice-cream...but I told you its been boring lately. So that's it in a nutshell!!! Lots of things going on this weekend...hopefully I will have pictures to post. Its mine and Andy's Anniversary (6 years) and Father's Day and Andy's brother Jansen is coming down for a visit. Stay tuned...and have a great Wednesday.

So...it's not the best picture...but at least I found one that would work :)

Say Cheese...

These are the professional photos that we spent a small fortune on!!! I knew I was going to be a sucker for these...but I don't gamble, so this was mine and Grammy's play money and we chose to spend it on memories that would last us a lifetime!!! Cha-Ching...jackpot for us!!! Its also nice to be able to get pictures of our whole family...and we can only do that when "someone" else is snapping the pictures!!!Enjoy!!!

I Love this man (most of the time :)

I have been packing up the house all night long and I have the first load ready to go tomorrow. For those of you who don't know, we are going to move into some rental property of my parents for now, till I get done with school. It just makes sense...and we are so Thankful that my parents are willing and able to let us live there. (Maybe we will get a discount on the rent...wink wink) I will post pictures of our new home...as soon as we get there!!! I love changes...and I think this is going to be a good one!!! Happy weekend to everyone!!!

My Dad Is A Loser...

I am proud to announce that my Daddy is the Gold's Gym Biggest Loser for 2009 and the recipient of a 1000 dollar check. That's Right! He lost a whopping 52 pounds in 12 weeks...and he looks totally fabulous. He wasn't thrilled at the idea of having his pictures posted on my blog, but I am so proud of him and I wanted everyone to know how hard he worked...and the pictures tell the story. He has joined the Fit Camp at Dyess...and gets up every morning at 3:30, then after an hour of that, he heads over to Gold's Gym to train with his trainer and do cardio!!! He didn't just lose the weight, he changed his lifestyle too. Now for most of us, the thought of getting up at 3:30 in the morning to work-out is.....well.....just a thought, but he LOVES it. For as long as I can remember he has always been the hardest worker, no matter what he was doing and I knew he was going to win this contest without any doubts...and so did he. I know he feels great...and I think he looks 10 years younger!!! What a great lookin' Poppy!!! Way to go Dad we love you!!!

Check out those abs :)

Vacation Is Over...Back To Reality

Oh goodness time flies when you are having fun but...have I missed blogging lately. Its almost like I am having withdrawals or something. So allow me to fill you in on the Ward Family vacation aboard the Carnival Conquest. First of all I will say...I think I need more of a vacation now, then before we actually left. For those of you who thought I was CRAZY for taking a toddler on a cruise...you were RIGHT. Jolea is only 19 months old so she falls just short of the 2 year minimum age limit to be enrolled in the Camp Carnival program. This program would have been AMAZING if we would have been able to take advantage of it. They have activities, and crafts planned all day long on all "at sea" days and they offer late night "babysitting!" at night. Well, as I stated earlier, we fell just short of 2 years old, so the only time Jolea could go to camp was between the hours of 12p and 2p...which translates into...not enough time for Mommy and Daddy to have adult time. She cried nearly every single time we dropped her off, but by the time we went back to get her, she was having a ball. The camp workers were really great, and they just thought Jolea hung the moon :) Too bad we missed out and the next time we go on another cruise she WILL be old enough. Overall we had a good time, but I do think she was just too young for such a big adventure. When I think about it, I am glad she was with me, because if she wasn't I would have worried about and missed her way too much to actually have a good time. One of her favorite things about the whole cruise was climbing all the stairs. Grammy and Poppy literally climbed the stairs with her for a solid hour one night while Andy and I were eating...needless to say she slept really good that night. We had a nice little system worked out so that Grammy and Poppy ate at the "early"dining room sitting and Andy and I were on the "anytime" dining, so we took turns having baby duty which worked out really well. The food on the boat was my favorite thing...there was always something to munch on...and we ordered room service almost everyday, just because we could...and it was FREE. Jolea lives on corn dogs and green beans, so she was practically starving by the time we got home, because we couldn't find either of those things on the boat. The waiters around the pool were great...they always had your favorite fruity drink ready and they waited on us hand and foot. I love how they knew all of us on a first name basis by about the second day. Our stateroom was FABULOUS with a big ocean view window and alot bigger than I had expected. We were joined with Grammy and Poppy so that was even better. Jolea had free roam of two rooms instead of only 1 so that was an added bonus. Every inch of this boat was super clean. The crew worked round the clock and you could practically eat off the floor if you needed to. It was great. Our beds were turned down for us every night and sweet Jolea always had an m&m cookie on her pillow in the crib. We were supposed to make stops in Jamaica, Grand Cayman and Cozumel, but because of the Swine Flu we had to postpone the stop in Cozumel. I was really disappointed in this because the boys missed out on some of the best diving in the world...from what we hear. Jamaica is not one of my favorite places at all, but we did find a beautiful beach called Doctor's Cave Beach that was perfect for us. It wasn't too busy, it provided lots of shade for Jolea, the sand was beautiful and the waters were blue. Jolea even took a nap on the beach...if you can believe that! She is fearless about the water...she got away from me once on our way out to the water and she took off running right in on her own. It was very shallow of course, but she showed no hesitation at all...which is a good thing and a bad thing I guess. We did a little shopping after the beach and lunch and then headed back to the boat. A huge storm hit right as we were loading the boat, but thankfully we got on just in time. It was really nice to see and hear the rain. There is only 1 word for Grand-Cayman...GORGEOUS. Its a very wealthy island and although it has its slummy parts, the places that we saw were so quaint and beautiful. The water is crystal clear...I mean you can see all the way to the bottom when you aren't too far out of course. Its aqua water...and its beautiful. The boys did a 2-tank dive in Cayman and they weren't thrilled with anything they saw. I think they had really high expectations of this dive and they were a little disappointed. We hit Senor Frogs and did some shopping in Cayman as well. We made out with some AWESOME Coach purses, wallets and sunglasses. Pure Bliss :) Of course we are such typical tourists and we came away with some great t-shirts and other things. After Cayman it was back to Galveston and we had a few more days at sea to enjoy. Being on the boat was so much fun. Its unreal how big it was and how intricate the details were and how beautiful it was on the inside. Some of the things we enjoyed the most on the boat were the casino, the shops, the piano bar, the disco, the wine and martini bar, 24-hour pizzeria, room-service and of course the POOL. So without further jibber-jabber, please allow me to show you some of my favorite pictures from this vacation. I have no idea when the Ward Family we be able to go on another vacation...but I know that we cant wait!!!

(As always to enlarge each collage just click on it)

There will be even more pictures to come if you can believe that because I really want to share with you all the professional photos that were taken on the boat. There are some really cute ones. I also wanted to share that Andy and I are thrilled to have our house officially "under contract!" We are waiting to set a closing date...and then we are back to Abilene. Andy is also the new Defensive Coordinator at Hawley...so the Lord has richly blessed us and answered our prayers. More to come...

See You In A Week...

I just dont know what I am going to do without the ability to blog for a whole week!!! I guess I could blog if I was desperate enough, but the internet aint free on the ship and it also aint a price I am willing to pay. Too bad I guess I will just have to find better things to do to occupy my time. LOL! I cant wait to get on the ship, get my camera ready, get a fruity drink in hand and let the fun begin. I will have MANY pictures and MANY stories to tell when I get back and I cant wait to share them with you :) I wish everyone a happy first week of June...and first week of Summer. See you soon!!!

Bad Girl...Good Girl

So here is my little "Whiny-Poo" child on the way home today...she just sat in the back seat and went on and on about nothing. I even noticed a few times where she had to "try" really hard to be so upset. I can already tell I have an academy award winning actress on my hands. "And the award for best actress goes to...Jolea Dru Ward!" Please notice how she starts to bite on her own leg as though it were a corn-on-the-cob...its very cute!

And here is my little "Angel-Face" child on the back porch (10 minutes later) in baby la-la land completely obsessed and totally content with putting the rocks in the bowl...dumping the rocks in the bowl...putting the rocks in the bowl...dumping the rocks in the bowl...you get the point. Some days its like she is a miniature Jekyll and Hyde. Anyone else ever have days like this? I'm convinced that we are already in the "Terrible Two's" and its going to be frustrating at times. I pray to God for patience, because I know I fall short in that area and I would hate to miss out on so many sweet moments with this precious child of mine because I was too busy being frustrated or in a hurry. I know these are the sweetest moments and I also know in the long run they are the shortest moments too.

Good News...

Yea...we have accepted an offer on house and are in the process of having the contract drawn up today. God is so good and He does hear our prayers. The gentleman who came to look at the house last week likes it enough to want to buy it! Its going to be a great little house for him just like it was for us. Anytime you get into all this "contractual" stuff its a little bit nerve-wracking, so I will be totally at ease once we both sign the dotted line. So with all that said this summer is really shaping up to be a busy one.

• Cruising to the Caribbean
• Moving
• Father's Day
• Luau party with The Tomlin's in Lubbock
• 4Th of July festivities
• Annual family trip to PK in the Honey (our OLD SCHOOL RV...chuggalugga down the road)
• River Trip with the Tomlin's and the Lubbock gang
• Small Group stuff
• Andy starts football in July
• and...did I mention 12 hours of summer classes :(

So the next 3 months are going to fly right by and it will be August and back to school before we know it. In the mean-time we are gonna soak up the summer sun, enjoy good times with good friends and just have some fun.

Just Because...

There is really no reason for this post, other than to share these sweet pictures. Jolea is wearing her new "floppy" hat from Old Navy, the one she will be "required" to wear at all times on the boat so her sweet baby face doesn't get sun burned. She played outside at Grammy's today and actually left it on her head long enough for Grams to snap a picture or two. I have to admit, these pictures only make her appear to be a "sweetheart" because today was a rather wimpy and whiny day for her...she even had to go to timeout :( Maybe tomorrow she will be in a better mood :)

Memorial Day Memories...

We had a great holiday weekend jam packed with lots of fun. We had a NASCAR party on Sunday evening...and boy did we treat ourselves to some good "eats!" We had ribs and chicken, beans, corn-bread salad, potato salad and Grammys famous bread pudding. Some say...she runs a close race with some of the very best bread puddings in this town...so way to go Grammy. The race ended up getting rained out...and we were showered with a light rain for most of the afternoon as well. The deck at my parents house is the perfect spot for entertaining...it didn't rain our parade :) Here are some of the pictures from Sunday's party!!!

Monday I was off work :) which makes me very happy. My baby girl slept till 9 o'clock, which means I got to sleep in till 9 o'clock...this also makes me very happy. I laid out in the back yard for about an hour...it was just perfect and I am trying to get that last minute tan before we set sail. Needless to say I over-did it and I am now looking a lot like a red lobster. I got Jolea's new water toy out yesterday afternoon...and boy did she have fun. She played really hard for about an hour...and I think Grammy will definitely get her moneys worth from that purchase. Here are some of my favorite pictures and a sweet little video too :)

After playing in the sun we ran to Old Navy and Walmart to get a few things. Here are the bathing suits Andy and I will be sporting this year...they are from Old Navy...what do you think?

This week is a busy week and I have a lot of things to do in preparation for our trip. Traveling and packing for a 19 month old is somewhat like packing for a small army...but its better to have too much stuff than not enough!!! I will try my best not to over-pack...but I will take pictures and let you decide!!! If anyone has ever been on a cruise with a small child, I welcome any tips or advice you have to give in regards to packing. I hope everyone had a great 3 day weekend...I know I was blessed to spend time with my loved ones...and that is always a real treat. Happy Monday everyone...Ooops I mean Happy Tuesday :)

Saturday Stuff...

Today has turned out to be quite a busy day. We got up early this morning...which is nothing out of the ordinary with a 19 month old. Andy and I made pancakes, bacon and eggs...and little Jolea got her belly plenty full. I decided today was a great day to clean Grammy's house, and as I have mentioned before I am her own personal Merry Maid from time to time and it gives me the chance to earn extra money. Since we are leaving for vacation on Saturday...I am itching to make all the "extra" money that I can. Daddy and Baby spent the day together and I think they really had a good time...they were already outside playing this morning when I left at 10:00. I went with my Mom today to Target to pick out some black benches for her front porch. She wanted two of them so that it was balanced. We have been to several places and we landed the perfect ones at Target...and they were only 100.00 a piece, which is considerably cheaper than other places. She wasn't "over-the-top" about the cushions...but they turned out to work pretty well. We both agree that the bench needs a little "something" more, but the wind howls out where she lives and she thinks it would be a lost cause at keeping them. The new door mat is my favorite thing...so earthy...but so cute. The plants on her front porch are the ones that we planted together from Hardwick's a few weekends ago.

We also came across the cutest water toy for Jolea today while we were at Target. She had a small blow-up pool last summer and we spent hours in that thing...just soaking up the sun. This year we decided to try something a little different and I think she is going to LOVE it. I cant wait for it to be warm enough again to get it going in the backyard.

My little Jolea is 19 months old today...and she gets bigger and smarter by the second. She has learned so many new things over the past month. Her vocabulary has really grown and she is doing things that "big girls" do. We plan on hitting the potty training really hard when we get back from vacation and we plan on finding a way to get rid of the paci too. Once we get those too obstacles out of the way...we will be doing really good. If anyone has any pointers on either of these...PLEASE share.

Summer Sprinkler Fun...and More

Summer is here...don't ya think? This weather says...get out in the sun and have some fun...and that's just what Jolea Dru did. We put the sprinkler on in Grammy's back yard, and although she wasn't sure at first...she got used to the idea very quick. We tricked her a few times by kinking the hose and then getting her real good in the face, but she caught on quickly and wasn't falling for it after that. I hope my little girl loves the water as much as I did when I was her age. I took lessons at the Sun Fish...and I remember it like it was yesterday. I loved that place...and I lived there in the summers. My mom had this silly rule though...if it wasn't 90 degrees I couldn't go to the pool? I still haven't ever figured that one out...but you can imagine my anticipation as I called the weather line nearly everyday just to see if it was going to be hot enough to be a Sun Fish day. Ahhh...good memories!

We had a very nice gentleman come and look at the house tonite. It was the most "promising" looker yet. His wife has passed and his children are all grown and out of the house, so our home would be perfect for him. I don't think he was thrilled about the hot pink nursery, but hey that's nothing a little paint cant fix. He loved what we had done with the place...and called back pretty quickly after he left to let me know he was working on something he could bring to the table that would hopefully work for both of us. The great thing is...he says he can pay cash...which means not a long waiting period for financing! We have been in prayer about this for a long time and we really hope this is the break we have been waiting for. The Ward family is about to be going thru lots of changes and diving into new things...and I have to admit...its all a little scary and exciting all at the same time. Yay for the 3 day weekend but I have so much to do!

Countdown To Cruising ...

Please click on the images to enlarge them and to read this post :)

Its A Hard Knock Life...

I am delighted to share the news with you that my daughter has fallen in love with one of my all time favorite movies. The name of the movie you ask...Annie! Apparently Grammy DVR'd the Hallmark version from Lifetime TV and Jolea was hooked the first time she ever laid eyes on it. So I just had to pick up the "original" version when I was at Target...and whats even better is the fact that it was only 9 dollars! Isn't it so neat how some movies are just timeless. I can remember watching that movie almost on a daily basis...just like my Jolea is doing now. I can remember wishing I was Little Orphan Annie, playing dress up like her and singing all the songs! Oh...how long ago it seems! I managed to catch this little video tonite...its a little too dark, but its still kinda funny. Jolea is watching her very favorite scene which is the pillow fight scene in the orphanage. She gets VERY excited about this part...a cute little squeal and some head bobbing for sure :)

I also wanted to show you the "then" and "now' photos of Aileen Quinn...the little red headed star herself. Kinda random, but I was curious to know what happened to the little red head. I don't really think she ever made her mark on any other films the way she did with Annie.

What movies do your kids watch? Are there others out there that I "must" show my sweet girl? I know that our friends Whitney and Morgan Johns will say...Little House on the Prairie...as I know sweet Morgan just adores Laura and Pa' (go look at her blog for pics...too cute)!

Zoo Day...

Yesterday's weather was just too beautiful to pass up, so after our Sunday afternoon naps, we packed up and headed to the zoo. I was thinking we weren't going to have time to look at everything and then it dawned on me how "not-that-great" and how "not-that-big" our little zoo is. We actually ended up having plenty of time...and I think Jolea would've had fun with or without the animals. She just LOVES to be outside. If she could roam free and just go where-ever she wanted, she would be lost in her own bliss. She is so fast too...if she gets a good head start, its hard to catch her and I have found myself panting rather heavily after chasing her a few times. I think her favorite thing was the ducks, birds, flamingos and anything else with a beak that resembles a duck...she loved looking at them, pointing and saying "quack-quack"...over and over and over again!!! Total Cuteness!!! Since I am on the topic of her saying the same things over and over again...her latest obsession is when she sees a bug she totally gets distracted. I'm talking something as teenie-tiny as an ant...she ain't moving till its dead and picked up. I have just left it alone before, thinking she would forget about it, and 10 minutes later she was still standing in the middle of the kitchen on her tippie-toes saying "Ewww, Gross" "Uh-Oh...Mama...Uh-Oh" It's pretty cute...I must admit. I can probably thank Sid The Science Kid for her obsession with bugs...because its one of her favorite shows in the whole world and one of the episodes I have on DVR is a bug episode...Go figure!!! Anyway, I have gotten slightly off topic but below are some of my favorites from the Zoo. I just love snapping pictures...and its makes me happy when I get some good ones!!! Enjoy!!!

Double Date Night...

First off...let me mention the much anticipated haircut...its basically the same cut just a shorter version...and I totally chickened out on the color. For some reason I just feel like blonde's are much better candidates for color than brunettes. Putting dark highlights on a blonde is so much safer than trying to lighten up a brunette that is almost black. Trust me I have seen some bad color jobs before and that is not a club that I really wanna join.

Last night we went a double date night with the Hughes, but before we left, I managed to get some really cute pictures out of my daughter. She actually sat in her Daddy's lap and she looked right at the camera and even smiled. Not sure whats going on there...but I will take it. Please take note, that me and my little Diva are all decked out in Zebra...

(just look at those poetic skills would ya:)

On our date night we hit Abuelos first, then the Ruff Rider game and to top it all off we decided on a couple of games of bowling. Sounds like a funfilled night...and it was!!! Every time we get to do fun things like this, it just makes me realize how lucky we are to have Grammy and Poppy here. They really are the best and Jolea just adores them!!! Thanks for keeping our girl last night Grammy!!!

Today the weather is so beautiful...we are really thinking about taking Jolea to the zoo. I'm not sure if they are open on Sundays...so I will have to look into it. So pictures to come if we make the zoo trip!!! Happy Sunday to everyone!!!

There Is A First Time For Everything...

So there isn't really a whole lot going on in the land of the "Wards" but I do have a couple of things that I thought were worth mentioning. First off...my baby girl went night night WITHOUT the paci for the very first time tonite and she only screamed for about 10 minutes. I am so not a fan of her being a "Big" girl and having a paci...because...Duh..."Big" girls don't have paci's. So wish me luck that the next few nights are as easy as tonite was!!! Moving on...I just want everyone to know that if you are in the market for a manicure...my husband totally rocked my socks off tonite when he painted my fingernails for me!!! So Cute!!! He wasn't really thrilled about it, but lets face it...I cant do my own left hand!!! Thanks honey for being such a trooper. Tomorrow is the big day...I'm getting my haircut!!! I will post before and afters for anyone who cares!!! Hope everyone is having the start to a FABulous weekend.

Ugh...a post with no pictures is like a cupcake with no frosting :(