tis' the season

thinking about making a come back...

And she's off...

kate rode for a few feet unassisted over spring break but was hardly ready to hit the open road. this past weekend after hearing a charming tale of a sweet little friend of ours, that is much younger, i think kate felt the time had come to really get "rollin". all it took was about 20 minutes by herself and she was off. here she is this afternoon taking a ride around. way to go kater!

** you've gotta give the video a minute. she makes her appearance several seconds into the footage.

let's hear it for the love birds!

congratulations john (pete's little brother) and cindy - on your ENGAGEMENT!!!
&


in the act ... sorry is it so small i stole the image.

congratulations allyson (pete's little sister) and mike

on your ENGAGEMENT!!!

No... they did not both get engaged on the same day my posting efforts are just slack. john proposed to cindy last month and mike popped the big question yesterday. both mike and cindy already feel like they are part of the family however it will be a treat to celebrate these two incredible bonds and officially welcome them into the family.

we can't wait to celebrate your love~

pinch ME!

feeling so very blessed these days and giving BIG thanks

for so many wonderful things in my life...

family; first and foremost;

my good health;

my childrens good health;

my husbands good health;

parents;

friends, old and new;

knowing that spring is near;

daffodils;

yummy nourishing food;

asheville;

hiking;

birds singing;

a great job that allows flexibility;

running again;

the warm sun;

security;

a good cup of coffee;

kate and trey dancing... together;

digger;

working out in the yard;

planting;

celebrating love and life, both old and new...

it's all good!

happy times!

gaw pushing kate
pete and his father enjoying time spent together, sunshine and a little cheer

the kids tearing it up on the drive

two of my favorite ladies!

how many boys can we fit ont he bench?

three gast birthdays to celebrate.

time for cake!

kate helped with the party preparations -

she really getting into that sort of stuff now

miles and pete having a moment...

and now it is time to show off some muscle

meme passing out some goodies!

i LOVE kates little head there in the middle

cheeeeeese

we couldn't have asked for a better time friday.

great friends.

good food.

meme and gaw.

yummy cake and

SUNSHINE!

WNC Magazine Brief

yep...that's our bedroom!

another cuz is taking the plunge!

congratulations amy and kevin!

probably the cutest darn save the date announcement i've seen yet.

can't wait to celebrate your nuptials~

ladies night out!

the ladies: val, megan, mary, liz, amy, heather, rebecca and heather the preggos!

happy birthday to you

happy birthday to you

happy birthday dear heather

happy birthday to you!

oh my dear friend - what would i do without you?

i am not sure how i ever got so lucky.

landing here in asheville...meeting taryn by happenstance... and then YOU!

here's to many more birthday days and many more memories!

you are my sunshine - no doubt about it~

an ode to molly-MOO~

tanner does too!

a very special little someone is having a birthday this week. we just wanted to let everyone know that we think you are

OUT OF THIS WORLD

and that we love you!

friends are like a good foundation...

it was 1996... pete and i had just moved from FL to Atlanta and we were starting all over... a big new exciting city, promising careers, endless amounts of energy and absolutely NO FRIENDS.

turns out i had a cousin living in atlanta. a cousin i had never met but it was still nice to know i had a connection to at least one person. my mom suggested i call her and introduce myself, so i did.

turns out that very weekend her girlfriends were hosting her bachlorette party. long story short i went. not knowing a sole i somehow mustered up the courage to arrive at this party and met my cousin sara "then archibald" now marslek for the very first time.

sara welcomed me into her home and into her circle of friends. that night i met a woman named ellen who captivated me. she knew a little bit about everything and she had a laugh that could fill the room. that night i made my first real friend in atlanta and to this day, some 14 years later ellen is still a part of my life.

she is one of those women who says she is going to do something and she does it WELL. she is one of those women who remembers the important dates in life. she is one of those women that you can share the uncomfortable and unpleasant moments of life with and she doesn't judge she just listens.

as fate would have it Ellen and her darling family came to visit last summer and introduced me to her husbands cousin that lives here in Asheville. as if history were repeating itself a new connection was made and another dear friend has been gained.

since that last visit Ellen, Becky (the new friend gained) and I have been dreaming of a girls get-a-way that involves something physically challenging followed by a day or two filled with sun, sand, shopping, sitting and perhaps even a few adult beverages.

Unfortunately schedule conflicts and the budgetary constraints as a result of 2009 have prevented some of our more grand plans HOWEVER... we have committed to running the Biltmore Classic here in Asheville in mid May.

last week a large envelope arrived in my mailbox. return address atlanta. i opened it to find the contents above. i laughed - and once again i gave thanks for ellen.

until may~

looking forward to it my friend!

be there or be square!

Our very own BlueRidge Roller Girls...First Offical Bout of the Season is on March 13, 2010 against ROCK (Rollergirls of Central KentuckyDoors @ 6pm - Bout @ 7pm$10 in advance/$12 day of. Fans 12 and under FREE. Get your tickets at The Asheville Civic Center box office or go to Ticketmaster.com

crisp corners are over rated!

i've been trying to step back and move away from my anal retentive tendencies so that i can truly embrace all the work kate and been working around the house...

i mean really, they are clean and folded and soon to be put away. it's all good!

we've got a 'workin girl...

because of technical issues i was having at work i purchased a new phone a couple of weeks ago.

kate and i were out running errands when she overhead a conversation pete and i had pertaining to how my new phone would also serve as my music source. she's a sharp girl this one... and she quickly said well if you don't need your ipod anymore i'll take it.

instinctually the word "sure" almost slipped right out of my mouth but fortunately i caught myself. i replied instead with a "let's talk about this"...

we talked about the value of the ipod and the value of many other things. we talked about earning money. having opportunities to earn money. creating those opportunities. making choices and choosing to work to earn money...

there were lots of questions and lots of answers. it really was one of those quintessential parenting moments where i felt the weight of the world on my shoulders. wanting kate to understand the importance of work ethic and responsibility.

at this time two things were made known by kate.

she wanted the ipod and she was willing to work for it so she could pay for it.

i told her i supported that completely but I didn't want her to take any money out of her piggy bank. the money had to be earned!

EARNED??

yes earned.

this lead to more questions.

what if i feed the dogs?

for week?

is that worth $60?

it's a great idea and i like it but i'll pay you 50 cents.

quickly she came back with 50 cents... this going to take forever she sounded a bit deflated.

i threw the mommy cap back on and came back with but it's easy and you can easily do multiple jobs every day and you'll have lots of opportunities to earn money.

for the remainder of the ride home i could tell she was in heavy thought. i told her when we got home we'd work together and put together a proposal, which of course lead to more questions.

above is what she came up with and i signed off on. it took her just under two weeks to earn the money and now she is the VERY PROUD new owner of an ipod.

pete and i were very impressed with her ambition and her every growing capabilities. it's nice know that our 7 year old is now fully capable of doing a load of laundry which at our house means collecting, sorting, starting, switching and folding!

A+ kater pie. Job well done!

mom and dad are very proud of you~

I think she’s growing up…

She received a gift card for Christmas. Two months after receiving the gift card I finally make time to take her to the store so she can redeem it.
We enter.
25 minutes later after having carefully examined all of the merchandise she quickly darts to the back corner of the store, looks up above her head and asks me to grab a small gray and white stuffed schnauzer.
"This" I ask?
Yes!!!
She is beaming.
Bright eyes!
Huge smile!
I hand it to her.
She immediately looks at the price tag... "OK" she says.
"I think Trey is going to love this."
My heart melts.
In a store full of all sorts of heavenly temptations for young girls...
she thinks of her little brother first.

I think she’s growing up…

This evening she and her brother spend 30 solid minutes solving problems in a “workbook” that she created at school during some free time she had. Before dinner she brings the completed workbook into the kitchen with little brother following close behind to show us their work.
Proud poppa says “great work you two.”
Little brother grins and shakes his head in agreement while sister quickly replies –
"oh no Dad this was all trey!"

That girl of ours – I think she is growing up…

asheville hosts another hit!

wickedly awesome!!! (trying out a little allyson roe lingo on you.) apparently this place had it's soft opening October 30th but we just stumbled upon it this past weekend while we were out celebrating a birthday with friends. the ambiance is totally hip - yet warm. it has an amazing rooftop seating area and very friendly staffers. can't wait for it to warm up a bit so we can really enjoy it. if you haven't been yet we totally recommend you check it out.

ORDERED!

3 pounds of packaged bees! our package is to be picked up the last week in March from Dixie Bee Supply. Dixie is out of Lula, GA and raises and sells small cell bees and queens. They have been pesticide free since 1993. They breed Russian crosses. The dude that operates the show has 50+ years of experience and 30 years experience as a commercial beekeeper. He offers several weekend courses that I am considering. Let's just hope the package doesn't spring a leak in transit!

our valentine's day~

here comes kate

back up!

it's been a perfectly lovely day chillin back at home with the fam.

life is good - OH so good!