Memorial Day

A friend of Steve's took us out on his boat on Memorial Day for a nice swim in Jordan Lake and a few tries at wakeboarding and water skiing. It was a warm day, perfect for getting wet. Everyone had a great time and I survived a few rounds of wakeboarding. I was pretty sore for the next couple of days. Don't watch the last few second of the video because you will see me take a nice fall! =)

Creeper Trail Adventure

Over Memorial Day weekend, I brought a bunch of my friends from North Carolina to experience the hills of VA/TN. We enjoyed a beautiful, sunny Saturday on the Creeper Trail. We rode from White Top Mountain down to Damascus. Everyone appeared to have a great time and it could not have been a more perfect day!! We also went to the Carter Family Fold but I have no pictures to document. Lots of dancing occurred!!

Three Forks Decoration

Every fourth Sunday in May, my mom's side of the family has a decoration at the family cemetary. This year I was able to go and I brought Sarah with me. We get to the cemetary early and put flowers on the graves and visit with family. Afterwards, we go down to my cousin, Anne's house and have lunch. As a child, we always got to ride horses during the cookout. There is a cave across the street that is always exciting for the kids to explore.

This is my Aunt Lois, she is my grandmother's sister. The only sibling still living.

Here is Mama and Sarah next to Nana and my grandfather's grave.
The gentleman is 100 years old. We are related somehow!! =) I have an Uncle Shorty still living that is 104 but he was not at the decoration this year!

Christopher's Graduation

My little brother, Christopher, graduated from high school this year. He is going to attend Brigham Young University - following in his older siblings footsteps. We are very proud of him and excited for his future adventures. Love you Christopher!!

Ballroom Dancing

A couple months ago, I attended a dance competition with a friend and got to see several impressive dances by professional ballroom dancers. It was an enjoyable night with lots of pretty dresses and smooth moves on the dance floor.

Relay For Life

This video was taken during the luminary walk from the Relay for Life. It was a touching experience as everyone walked together, watched the video of names being honored and remembered, and listening to Amazing Grace.

Relay For Life

This past weekend, Steve, the kids, Andrew, Marianne, and myself participated in the Relay for Life to help raise money for the American Cancer Society. The event began at 6pm Friday afternoon and continued through the night till 2pm Saturday afternoon. Each team has a participant walking the entire time. The beginning ceremonies included a Survivors Lap which included individuals who have had and survived any form of cancer. My sister-in-law, Marianne, participated in this lap. She was diagnosed in 2001 and is doing wonderfully today. It was an emotionally few minutes thinking of how blessed we are to have Marianne and wishing so dearly that Catie could have participated with her. Throughout the event, different types of fundraisers were going on and lots of activities were organized for the kids to enjoy.

Mary, David, and Sarah walked several laps themselves. Here is our half of the team. We also had two other families participating with us.

One event which was organized was a slide show of names that were being honored or remember. Luminaries were put together for each individual and set out around the track and this slide show captured each person's name. I did not get a picture of Catie's name but wanted to show what it looked like.

Andrew and I are holding Catie's luminary.

The event turned out to be a tiring yet uplifting and special experience. I look forward to participating again next year and making it possible for more valuable research to occur and allow help to be provided to those many individuals that are facing cancer in their lives.