Aly's Mid-Summer's Dream Come True

We were all happy to 'welcome' Mama and Daddy home, from their trip to Orlando for General Assembly, this past week. Aly was so excited when she saw her Memaw and Papaw... she just about came unglued! LOL I honestly believe that she thought they had moved away and were gone forever or something! I am personally grateful, that when the business side of things in Orlando were completed, they ALLOWED themselves a tiny little bit of 'vacation' time in the sunny South-Lands of Savannah & the Smokies! If anyone ever deserved to take a break, the two of them certainly did! Though it was an extremely short vacation (following a very long Assembly), I know after spending every day, all day in (Assembly) meetings, in addition to the year they have had thus far, this is just the kind of thing that had to be done! While jealous of their time to some of the most beautiful places in America, I'm indeed thankful that they were able to come back to the hum-drum of everyday life, feeling a little more relaxed and ready to face what had to be faced! Upon their arrival home, it was such fun to watch both of their faces brighten up when they saw Aly and her face just absolutely GLOWED at the sight of them!
On Saturday, Cousin Cassie held an all-girl Birthday Party and Aly was 'in her prime'! While being one of two of the youngest in attendance... she didn't seem to notice or care, she was 'just as big as the next one', in her own eyes! It was adorable to listen to several little girls enjoying themselves, there was an abundance of giggles and lots of Cinderella-talk going on! They each brought their own dolly and the dolls had a table of their own, as well! The girls 'pinned' the crown on Cinderella, sang Karaoke and just GIGGLED! Thanks, Cassie for a fun time... Aly had a 'Ball' no pun intended)!!!
NOW, FOR THE BAD NEWS OF THE WEEK!!! Unless, by some miracle of the dear Lord above, it appears that we have either lost our camera or it has been stolen! We were able to take pictures of Mama and Daddy's return (which were loaded to picasa that same evening) and we were also able to take pictures of Cuz Cassie's Birthday Party. However, sometime between taking those and getting ready to load them onto picasa... IT'S GONE (the camera, that is)!!! We don't know what we're going to do without it!?!?! It's a big part of our lives... how can we 'Blog' without it? Well, we 'made do' this week, by borrowing a few shots for our slideshow below. For a larger picture, you may want to click on the center of the slideshow and it will take you to the actual Photo Album. We'll have to wait and see what happens from this point with our camera situation!

'Great' (My) Papaw J. also celebrated a birthday on Saturday and while we were unable to attend, Daddy drove over for a little while and enjoyed time with the family. We are SO blessed to still have Papaw and Mamaw with us!!! (As well as Mamaw S.!) God is good, to not only give us this kind of heritage, but to ALLOW us to keep them for a while! Papaw, we love you (Mamaw, too) and we are sorry that we weren't there to celebrate with you!!! We are proud of you and can't wait to see you, again! Happy Birthday!
Well, we were looking through our calendar on this morning and realized that our Anniversary (July 24th) was a mere 10 days away!!! One of two of the best days of our lives... our Wedding Day, (with the second being the day of Aly's birth)! We plan to 'hold off' on a celebration trip until Labor Day weekend, thus giving us a longer weekend (or if Greg's job requires, we may have to wait further into September). GREG! "You're still the one I love, the only one I dream of, you're still the one I kiss Goodnight. You're still the one I run to, the one that I belong to, you're still the one I want for life... and after all this time, you're still the one I love."
Last evening, (the 13th), I opened our home for an event called L.N.O (Ladies Night Out), which began with my local 'Facebook Family' a few months ago. This particular event was called, "Shelly's Spa" (because it was held at my house) and hosted by a dear friend of mine. Thank you, America, for an amazing evening! Everyone in attendance felt relaxed, revived and rejuvenated at the close of the evening. (I know I'm still 'feeling' it today, as well!) We were treated to foot soaks, foot rubs, instant manicures and facials... a PERFECT "de-stresser" for any girly-girl, especially comforting with 50+ candles burning throughout the house, 'zen-like' music in the background and a Spa-inspired menu!!! The menu consisted of Tossed Salad filled with Dried Cranberries, nuts and drizzled with (Paula Dean's) Southern Peach Pecan Dressing, Pita Chips and Roasted Red Pepper Hummus, Cucumber Slices with Ranch and a Fresh Fruit Salad. YUMMY!!! Boy, I can barely wait til the next Spa... but, more than that, I'm excited to find out about the upcoming 'end-of-the-summer' L.N.O. event! (If you are a 'local FBer' and are interested in our group, just contact me and we'll put you on the guest list for receiving event invites and information.)
Til next week...........