Memories from Memorial Day

Every chance to spend time with the man of my dreams...its like a dream come true! Memorial day we didn't know what we were going to do. Mark took himself on a walk, a 7 mile walk. Came back exhausted and decided he wanted to go to the beach. Our friends, Aaron and Mandi, called to see what we were up to. So we went with them for their plans, and they joined us for dinner and the beach.

If you read our blog, you know we can't go to the beach without salivating over Campeche Bay! Which is why we went to the beach after joining the Jammes/Graden cookout. So we relaxed at the Graden's home for a while watching the kids play in the pool.

When we got to the beaches we went straight to eat dinner. That's all Mark could think about. To be honest, I was dreaming of those darn Campechangas! Because Jax beach was so crowded, we decided to drive down to Ponte Vedra. That wasn't much better. It was LOADED with people, dogs, a metal detector, horses and a HUGE kite that required the guy to wear a body suit/back brace thing just to control it. It was perfect weather for walking the beach.

Here's Mark walking ahead and Mandi and Aaron are right there with him...Aaron is almost completely blocked by the man walking his dog.

Here's Mark. Eyes closed and all...we'll have to try that one again.

Wait, his eyes appear to be closed again!

This was how beautiful it was on our way off the beach (picture monkies everywhere).

Aren't we lucky to be so close to such serenity?

This little guy couldn't keep his eyes open either! This is Aaron and Harris, their 3 month old.

Yes, this is a jersey. Now this isn't for a team. Mark doesn't like football, but he loves the Mac Tools Jersey. Just like Mandy Jarvis, Mark wears it any chance possible!

And what a romantic ending? Horses on the beach!

It was a fabulous day and I couldn't have been happier! Great day spent relaxing, enjoying the beauty around us and quality time together. Isn't that what life's all about anyway?

We Brake!

Saturday afternoon this turtle was trying cross diagonally at the corner of Hwy 17 and 220. He was literally coming off the curb into the street when we found him. Mark cannot pass up a chance to stop and redirect lost turtles. So we pulled over and Mark went running to save him.

This was right after Mark turned him around.

My oldest brother John was there for back up. Boy was that turtle truckin'.

In no time at all, he was gone!

Walking back after saving a life.

We brake for turtles!

Someone Stole Pigs Feet and Sausage From Meat Distributor

Can you believe that was the "breaking news" while I was checking the weather for tomorrow?

Could it get better than...
Roger McKinnon of McK-Hughs told police someone stole a case of pickled pigs feet, cases of sausage, three cases of salami and a case of pickled eggs.

I guess that story was better than "Westside Gator Surfaces." Just here to keep you informed! And people wonder why I don't watch the news!

Have I mentioned...

I have a GREAT husband!

Please allow me a chance to broadcast and even gloat a little.

He is so loving. He stands for truth! He's a peacemaker. He has a GREAT laugh. He's hysterically funny. He is a great example. He is a great friend. He LOVES my family...all of them, and everything about them (even when its hard)! He is quite the impressive man and I'm thrilled he will instill in our son those same qualities. The same qualities it takes to make his grandma proud...or even his wife's mama! Mark makes me incredibly happy/grateful/ecstatic this whole eternity thing is available to us. Sometimes I have to pat myself on the back...when it come to choosing my companion, I did good! I almost forgot to mention how sexy he is!!

Let the fun begin!

Now that I'm half way...that's right HALF WAY thru my pregnancy...I've been expecting the leg cramps. So guess what I woke up to this morning? A lovely charlie horse in my right leg. All I could do was ask Mark to rub it for me. And of course, he did. He's really sweet. I have to remember to appreciate him more often. Good news for him, these are supposed to stick around until Little Mark gets here. :)

Now if I could just remember to call the chiropractor! I hope my husband still wants to be married to me at the end of this pregnancy! I'm sure eternity is starting to loose its luster.

Georgia's on my mind!

I'm hoping she's on your mind too! How could 8lbs and 12 oz of squishy cuteness not be on your mind? Miss Georgia Rose Clarkson was born Thursday, May 14th at 11:50 am. Both mom and baby are great! Cassie did fantastically well. You'll see how great she looks in the pictures.

This picture was right before surgery. I just walked in flashing the camera. She's always loved the paparazzi!

Cassie and our beautiful mom, again before surgery

Cassie and I felt like we should take pictures too...we are sisters!

This was right after surgery! We were able to go back to recovery 2 at a time. At first the two in my group were both being carried by me. Then my brother John met us back there.

Here are the Clarksons! Again, only 2 at a time,

Christian had his turn first...so he wasn't in this shot.

Here's an up close shot of those cheeks! She looks a lot like Daddy!

Here she is with her number one man, Daddy!

We had a hard time getting him out of that outfit. He loved it!


We were in the waiting room and she went rolling right by us. Doesn't she look great?

We were all waiting...extra anxiously for Georgia to make her grand entrance to their room. This is our oldest brother John, me, Mom and Cassie.

Here she is all greased up and pinned down! Trying to raise her temp.

Here you can see all 21 inches of her!

After her taking this picture we thought Popeye was her dad! She was waiting to get some spinach from Mommy. Probably waiting on cheesecake, Cassie doesn't do veggies! :)

After feeding, they had a little skin to skin time. Who doesn't love holding a baby close to them? And it was something they made her do!

This is Georgia with her Proud Pappaw. He just got back from the mall having his shirt made. Our dad is so cute, each time a grand child is born, he runs to the mall and has a shirt made saying "I'm ____'s Proud Pappaw" it has the birth weight and birth date, there is always a baby in the middle holding things that would be characteristic of the parents. So this baby is holding Old Glory in one hand and Union Jack in her other. I can't wait to see what Little Mark's shirt will look like. The best part, he wears it each year to their birthday parties!

He's getting quite the collection. :)

Here's another shot of her sleeping...yummy cheeks!

It was such a beautiful day. To hold a piece of heaven right in my arms, nothing is like it! I can't wait to have my own piece of heaven in just a few short months! You know just by seeing, touching and feeling them, that they were delivered straight from our Father above. And you feel the importance to teach them of their royal birthrights! We are all so grateful for the safe delivery and the sweet little spirit that has joined our family! Welcome Georgia!

Now, back to kissing those cheeks!

Appliance News

Breaking news from last night... upon arriving at home after dinner at Cassie & Jason's house we Mark and Casey Gentle found stuff in the freezer was thawing out, sugar free pudding was warm, butter was soft and worst of all...milk was room temp. So guess what we're doing tonight? If you guessed refrigerator shopping...you win some melted cheese and warm sour cream. We're very thankful we have a freezer on our back porch. It saved most of our frozen foods (that weren't too far gone). Now it has more than cookie dough in it! By the way, if you're in town or close by and would like some cookies, please call 20 minutes ahead! We'll bake them up and bring them out to your car. :)

FYI- I've got a niece is being born tomorrow!!! We can't wait to meet that little lady. Oh happy day! Cassie-I love you and I'm SOOOOO excited tomorrow is almost here. I know you're nervous, but I also know you'll do great! I'll be there the whole time. You'd better have your camera in your hospital bag.

Come on Down!!!

My dad has a love affair with The Price is Right. He LOVES the excitement of..."A NEW CAR!" Something about Rich Fields' voice (No longer Rod Roddy, which is disappointing in outfits alone!). He shouts out a name and "come on down you're the next contestant" or "a new dining room"...my dad just thrives on it. His love is so intense that he records it to his DVR and watches it again. Sometimes he saves it for me to watch because it was that good.

Last week I was having a problem with my ankles swelling. I think its from sitting all day with weight on my legs. Anyhow, I went to my parents' house and my dad was sleeping while watching Pimp My Ride (yep, he DVRs that too) and he woke up, was delighted to see me and started up The Price is Right. I saw someone do cartwheels down the aisle as they called her to "come on down" and I saw lots of jumping and screaming and excitement. Some ballroom dancers were in the audience. Of course one was called up as the next contestant. His shirt said "We'll dance...if the Price is Right." Good news, the price WAS right and his group of ballroom dancers came up and broke out into dance. I was SO excited. It was like a musical or my senior prom. My friends and I choreographed a dance to "Groove is in the Heart" (still my favorite song) and broke out into our dance during our prom. It was so fun. It was like a dream come true for me! I always wanted to live life in a musical. Anyhow, back to my story... a girl got to play Plinko. Do you know how crazy people get when Plinko comes up? I don't remember exactly how it was said but I said "Mark would want to play Plinko if he was on" and my dad's response was something to the effect "Me too, I love Plinko!" I love my dad for loving the simple things in life. He doesn't get around like he used to. He's more limited than before but he still gets excited over simple things and wants to share it with us.

If you were on the Price is Right...which game would you want to play? Would you want to win a "NEW CAR" or a "CRUISE AROUND THE ORIENT" ???? What would your dream "Showcase Showdown" be?

I love my daddy. He is quite the handsome man if I say so myself. And he is a GREAT Pappaw. I'm so thrilled he'll have the chance to meet my little man and be his Pappaw. :)

Our Adventure Begins...again

5 years ago today, Mark flew in for the first time-first time to meet and Mark's first time to fly. He stayed from Friday-Tuesday. What a weekend. In the event you don't know the turn out...it was a great success! So good in fact, Mark flew back the following weekend.

While he was here, I wanted to take him to do things he's NEVER done before. We went to the beach and watched the sun rise. We went to Waffle House (he still hasn't recovered), took him to a Mormon church and Monday we went to Orlando to ride roller coasters at Islands of Adventure. If you look close, can see the wall behind us says "The Adventure Begins" and boy were they right!
This is a super cute picture of Mark as a baby. I love this face! He was a little warm, so he went for a swim. That's where you'll probably find me all summer long!

Here I am at 3 months. I was born in August...my parents were getting me all ready to see Santa. Can you tell this picture was taken at K-Mart? Their pictures always changed colors.

Here is Baby Gentle...and if you know us, you know that baby is giving it's first high-five!

Introducing Mark Joseph Gentle, III. Our little man was quite the modest dude today but we did get a little view of his little outdoor plumbing.

Little Marky was face down, so we didn't get a shot of his sam eagle. They are having us come back for a second ultra sound next month to check him out again. Mark and I are SO thrilled to be preparing for a son to join our family. This is certainly where our adventure begins again!

Farts

I love just about any story about farts! It can be a real fart or a brain fart and I'm in heaven. However, I'm not a fan of fake farts...unless made with a machine! Sorry Nathan, your fart noise just doesn't do it for me!

My mom just called, she said "Hey, I'm having a brain fart. What are those things called that you drive up and get money from instead of going to the bank?!"

I get those ALL the time. I also have been known for a real fart at all the WRONG times!

Have you recently had a brain fart? What were you forgetting? Have you ever farted (passed gas, fluffed, pooted- WHATEVER you call it) while playing a game with your husband's friends that you just met? Or anything similar? Please share!

**EDITED PORTION***
My original blog was called "What's for dinner?" And I thought I'd blog about dinner items...but then I quit cooking for a while. Anyhow, Larry & Jessica Chalmers still have me listed as "what's for dinner" on her blog list of friends. So it reads:

What's for Dinner

Farts

1 hr ago

Crazy 24 hours

Friday night I rode in the back of my dad's '55 Chevy pick up truck on the tool box holding my sister's changing table/chest from Mandarin over the bridge. If Mark would've known before hand, he would have shot me!
Saturday- 1:40 am 1st grocery trip preparing for Cassie's baby shower.
7:25 am 2nd grocery trip
9:17 am 3rd grocery trip...AHHHHH
Prepared food for the shower
12:09 pm 4th grocery trip, yep I need a helper...good thing there's a baby on the way, in 12 years I'll be all set!
2:00 pm running behind for Cassie's shower
4:00 pm shower over, clean up and start planning for another shower
6:30 pm Young Women put on a Chili Cookoff and Dessert Auction Fundraiser for Girls Camp
6:50 pm time to eat some chili and auction off tasty desserts.
9:43 pm EXHAUSTED! WANT TO PUT MY FEET UP!!!

Biggest achievement of the day, I wore a white shirt and didn't get a thing on it!!! But Cassie's puppies did get something on the back of my white shirt...but at least I can't see it and I didn't do it!

Thanks everyone who came to Cassie's shower, it is great to have such supportive friends! We love you. Pictures to come!

In case I didn't mention...5 days til we find out what is baking in my easy bake oven and 12 days until we meet our niece Georgia-Ellee-Abby-Eva-Molly-Maelee-whatever her name will be! :) I'm thrilled she'll be here soon just so I can finally have her name and get something monogrammed!