Briana Leaves Us!

So this is what I see this morning when I'm trying to get ready for work.

It wouldn't go away.

I kept hoping it would dissapear and it wouldn't.

I walked passed it a few times and it was still there.

Darn it!

My sweet Briana left me this morning to go have some

fun with her best friend in Tampa, Florida.

Remember the story?

She saved her money so she could buy a plane ticket?

Yep, so today was the day she left.

Ho Hum!

Wo is me!

She's SOOO happy

and I cried!

(no picture of that- that would be too scary!)

Have fun for 10 whole days!!
I already miss her!!

The Night Sky

I took these pictures a few weeks ago when it was raining

outside at about 10:00 PM! Amazing, isn't it?

What's so amazing about living in Michigan is that in July the

sky is still sooo bright at 10:00 at night. Two nights ago

I went outside at 10:15 and could see down the road in the

neighborhood still. If I remember tonight, I'm going to take

a picture to let you see what I'm talking about! :)

Our "Sweet" Friends

Two weeks ago our friends, Bob and Catherine Sweet called us to say they were "passing through" Michigan (Yeah, right! Who passes through Michigan?) and they wanted to stop in and see us. I was thrilled! These are our friends from our short stay in Virginia. We love the Sweets!! Actually, they live in Texas now. They moved about a year after we left. I guess they couldn't stand it without us. Just kidding.

Anyway, I invited them over for dinner and we had alot of fun. Their very grown up and tall children came over and played Wii with Brandi and Brooke all afternoon. That was fun! (Briana missed out on seeing them because she was at Girls Camp that week) They have an older son who is on a mission who is not pictured with them. But aren't they a great looking family?

Come back and see us!!

Jonathan trying to get away with NOT smiling for me! I'm sorry, that doesn't work in my house!! I know it's cool not to smile, but come on!

Much better!

Random SC pictures

My Dad and brother have 3 firework stands throughout

the Columbia area. Here they are one night

setting up and pricing before the holidays.

Show me the $$$!! :)

(my cute little mommy dear)

Me and my baby brother, Jeff and my older sister, Lisa. The men on Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day to some of the men that I love!!
(nice shirt, dad) :)

Lisa, me and Mom

Cousins on the Joyner side

Cousins on the Gantt side

Myrtle Beach for the day

Getting into the ocean...

These girls haven't been to the beach in many many years!

Our last beach trip was when we lived in Virginia and we

went to Virginia Beach- that was over 6 years ago!

Yikes! Where does the time go?

They had so much fun!!

Mermaid #1

Mermaid #2

The Flower Girls

The two flower girls. So cute, aren't they? Little poser...
Side view of the hair...

Back view of the hair.

Jimmy's Wedding

We had a fun trip going down to SC two days after school ended for Jimmy's wedding. It was a little unique in the fact that my dad married Jimmy and Elsa, Ronnie translated the ceremony from English to Spanish for Elsa's family who is from Mexico. And Brooke was a flower girl. So it was a total family affair. :) Here are a few pictures from that.

This is Ronnie's mom and dad. My cute little nephews, Caleb and Dylan. So handsome!!
The girls before the wedding.

Jimmy and Elsa at the rehersal.

I am so glad these two are happy!

Dancin fool--

Briana's dance recital was on Mother's Day this year. (I know... that was crazy!) But it was fun to watch her dance and all the other great dancers that day. So here's Briana in curlers. I'm sure she'll thank me later for posting this picture. :) And then in her costume. Their theme was an Egyptian theme.

This was taken on the day of the rehersal.

Some pictures..

Briana's hair BEFORE...

Briana's hair AFTER... I just love her new haircut!! Very cute!!

Mother's Day- Ronnie and me

Me and the girls

Briana's Birthday cake

(silly Brooke in the background) :0

Briana and her friends

(another silly look from Brooke)

Much Needed Updates

I can hardly believe that I haven't posted anything new in two whole months. The end of the school year was sooooo busy between church related activities, school awards programs, band concerts, dance recitals, and end of the year field trips, and other extra curricular activities that I could barely keep my own head screwed on straight. So I was gently reminded by Ronnie's mom during our recent trip to South Carolina that I need to keep this updated!! I know I have family stalkers out there who like to look at our pictures and what we've been up to! :) So here's for you, Grandma Cooley and the rest of the family!
I'll briefly summarize what we've been doing then I'll just post pictures.

Right after Briana stapled her thumb (yes, she's all better now!) She had a birthday! My not so little girl turned 13! ... she's an official teenager now. Heaven help us! :) Cause we need it. She had a small party with some friends from school and had a great time celebrating.

Ronnie is still plugging along at his job. He is a commissioned salesman for his company and has done quite well in the last few years. But this year his sales are in the tank, and it's really effected (affected?) our income. So we are thankful that he has a job and isn't doing as badly as some other salesmen at his company are doing. But we are very blessed to still be able to survive it all. We had to cut out everything that the girls love doing... tennis, swimming, gymnastics, dance. We decided that we'd rather pay our mortgage and buy food than pay for those other things. :) So with many of our expenses cut, we are doing okay. I also started looking for a job at the end of March. Which was very scary, because I haven't worked outside our home in NINE years! I can hardly believe it's been that long since I left the Governor's Office. Anyway, it has been- and I was so nervous. But I had several interviews within the two month period of April and May. (I think about 6 or 7- which was surprising for this economy!) I knew the girls were getting out of school for the summer, so I really didn't pursue it aggressively during June. However, one of the companies that I had interviewed with at the beginning of April called me back a few weeks ago and hired me. So right now I am working part time helping our family make ends meet. This past week they talked to me about going full time within the next few weeks. (because they like me, maybe?) ;0 I still don't know why or how I got this job exactly, I just know that when you keep God's commandments, He blesses you for it. It is a direct answer to our family's prayers. And we feel like God has always had his hand in our lives. For that we are so grateful.

We were just in South Carolina a few weeks ago for Ronnie's brother's wedding. We were able to stay for about 10 days. It was great to see all of the family! We also went to Myrtle Beach one day during our trip and we had a blast. Briana, Brandi and Brooke just loved it. Although they had to get used to the ocean water- salty, big waves. It's not like swimming in Lake Michigan!! No waves to knock ya down and no salt to get in your eyes!! And no chapped thighs!! :) Anyway, I will post some pictures now. I think that's it in a nutshell. We love ya'll! And I'll try to be better!! :)