Turning 10 on 10-10-10

I HAVE TO DO A HUGE SHOUT OUT TO MY BEAUTIFUL NIECE, YASMINE, FOR HER BIRTHDAY TODAY!!!

She turns 10 today on 10-10-10!  Gotta also give props to my baby sis Pamela for making the cake (and taking the pic) AND hosting Yasmine's birthday slumber party. Our little girl was so worth it.

HAPPY  10TH  BIRTHDAY,  YASSY!!! 

Nothing Could Be Finer Than To Be In Caroliner

After my week in New England, I flew south to North Carolina to spend a few stolen moments with family. It was a short week-end visit spent outdoors amid cheery sunshine and myriad backyard activities.


Here are my parents and my sisters buzzing around the food table. LOL.

People say I favor Mom. What do you think?


My sister Pamela and Sis n'law Holly holding her daughter Piper.

Isn't my sister Mely gorgeous?


See No Evil. Hear No Evil. Speak No Evil. Har!

My eldest niece Yasmine.


I love this pic of my brother John with his daughter Piper, and his son Zeb riding his trike in the background.

Check out how BLUE my niece Piper's eyes are!

More father n' son moments. John with his son Rex above, and both of his boys below.

My bro n' law Terry and bro John played baseball with their boys.

It was a wonderful afternoon of memory building!

And then the big boys decided to play a little basketball.

John showing off his mad skillz....

Even Daddy got some shots in, but Terry had to prove that he was a baller too. LOL.

The kids could've played with Legos for hours!

And then it was time to jump in the pool. :) I love that Zeb and Skylar felt it was their job to fill the pool. LOL.

All the cousins taking a dip! Good thing they weren't doing laps.

And then the cousins got creative and made a water slide! LOL.

As dusk settled in, reminders of our afternoon activities were still scattered throughout, and the baby pool started to deflate, and yet we remained outdoors not willing to go in and end a precious summer day that was filled with copious amount of family love and laughter. I LOVE MY FAMILY!!!!

The Greatest Show on Earth!

On my last wkend home in NC, I treated my nephews and niece to see the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus. Unfortunately, my niece Yasmine came down with a stomach bug on the morning of, and regrettably could not go with us. :(



The circus was spectacular from the get go! The circus's genesis can be traced back to 1860 when James Anthony Baily started a small circus before teaming up with P.T. Barnum in 1871. Then in 1907 the Ringling Bros. purchased Barnum & Bailey's circus, but didn't merge circuses until 1919. Since then, the long titled circus with the familiar moniker, "Greatest Show on Earth," has continued to entertain large audiences across America.



Kudos to my sister Pamela for suggesting that we go to the circus! Here she's with her hub Terry, and their adorable son Skylar. The expression on Skylar's face was priceless. I love that boy!



Awww, here's me and my nephew Rex; one of the tiny tuggers of my heart strings.



My brother John went with us, and enjoyed the outing with his sons, Zeb and Rex. I thought Zeb was so cute, as he was scarfing down his cotton candy! LoL.



Bring in the Clowns! They were hilarious!! Especially when 20 of them climbed out of a small Volkswagon Bug. That gets me every time!

BUT!!! The elephants were my fave! One day I'll go to India and ride one. Count on it!

The Tiger Tamer was utterly fearless. There is NO way I could ever enter a cage full of tigers. Yeesh!

I totally held my breath the entire time the Tightrope Walkers performed their death defying act! I kept muttering "don't sneeze! don't sneeze! don't sneeze!"

♫ Oh, he floats through the air with the greatest of ease, this daring young man on the flying trapeze! ♫

I loved how John was totally into the show, and that Zeb was totally into Rex. LoL.

Here are the cutie patootie brothers again during intermission. Rex got a cool hat, and Zeb (lover of swords) got... what else? A sword! LoL. I heart them.

And then, the elephants came back out and did this amazing trick. Ironically, they brought out the Egyptian dancers. I traveled sooo far to get out of Egypt, and there I was facing Egyptians all over again. LoL.

Ride / Walk like an E-G-Y-P-T-I-A-N!

Then, the Finale drew near....

and erupted into a frenzy of confetti and wild applause!

It truly was the "Greatest Show on Earth!"

The Yesterday Faces of Maxine

Writing previously about my grandmother Maxine's 90th birthday celebration, compelled me to look at the slide show again that I presented at her party. It's remarkable what she has seen in the course of her 90 years. Born 2 years after the end of WWI, she lived her childhood in rural NC on a small farm during the depression era that saw millions of Americans out of work and/or homeless. Fortunately, her family was able to keep their farm and and make ends meet with a large family. Maxine was the youngest of 8 children. Her eldest sibling Elah was 20 years her senior and already out of the house by the time Maxine was born to middle aged parents. As a child Maxine was a chubby, blue-eyed towheaded tomboy who was kind-hearted, feisty, and "stubborn as a mule". In my speech at her party, I told the story of how an older boy on a neighboring farm used to bully her timid sister Phyllis, who was older than Maxine by four years. One day he came over to bully Maxine too. The next thing you know, her parents came running out of the house in response to shrieking sounds coming from the backyard. The sounds came from the neighborhood bully who was up in a tree being pummeled by rocks pelted by 5 y/o Maxine. LoL. My grandmother was, and is, a tough little lady. Jokingly, I tell her that's the reason why she has lived so long. Grandmother laughingly agrees with me. She is the last remaining sibling alive, and it is the family's hope that she will live to see her 100th birthday and beyond. In celebration of her 90 years, here are some vintage gems from her 90th birthday slide show. Enjoy!

2 y/0 Maxine with her daddy Armenius standing in the shadows. (1922)

I love this photo of little Maxine struggling to hold onto a farm bird, which her family raised. She is standing here with her siblings Donald, John, Phyllis, and Elah.

LoL. Maxine the tomboy with her brother Donald.

More of towheaded Maxine as a 3 y/o toddler. (1923)

Maxine being pulled by her brother John. (1925)

Maxine with her mother Hettie. (1928)

8 y/o Maxine riding her bicycle. (1928)

15 y/o Maxine riding her bicycle. (1935)

Maxine's 1938 high school graduating class. She is the last one on the right in the front row.

19 y/o Maxine laughing with her sister Phyllis. (1939)

Enjoying summer of 1940 with John's wife Loraine, brother John, and sister Phyllis at the family farm.

Maxine with grandaddy Rex, along with siblings and spouses Loraine, John, Elah, and Elah's husband Raymond. (1945)

Maxine with her son "John Rex II"; my chubby, blue-eyed towheaded father as a toddler. And so, the circle of life continued.