{Late and Random}

  We were up in PA two or three weeks ago and stopped in to see the little grandson

Victor instantly took to Nate, thinking he was Paul. The little guy hadn't seen his daddy for quite a while, since Paul moved ahead of them (Priscilla and Victor moved down a couple weeks ago). He and Nate were quite a comical pair:

Victor, Nate, and Vincent (Victor's cousin)

He enjoyed hearing "Papa" read the books
we got him.

We spent several days at Aunt Betty and Uncle Gary's dairy farm. The guys had fun playing farmer boy for a while, and we girls helped Aunt Betty with some projects around the house.

Bethany took a million and one pictures of this little jersey calf:

{Quit pestering me!}

Daniel had fun playing and getting wet in the
 little creek

(Just how long IS a cow's tongue???)

Only got a few pictures while we were at our grandparents. The Bryant kids came over for a day and (despite what the pictures indicate) we actually played volleyball the majority of the time. But we also played ladder ball (a.k.a. Hillbilly Golf), which was a new game for me:

  and four on four fuseball! Oh, with two balls. (I think we also tried three and four)

Yes, it was very interesting =)

Lately, here at home, we've been painting quite a bit with Dad and Nate. (Praise the Lord for all the work they have right now!) Oh, have I mentioned? Daniel is done with school!!! Beth will finish the end of this week!

Another project jumped out at us yesterday. We were at Walmart with a friend and found a bunch of nice quilting material on sale for a dollar a yard!! We started brainstorming and calling Aunt Irene who we always contact for quilting help. Long story short, we came home with all the material for the front of a log cabin quilt.  Mom started on it that evening and got everything cut into strips. Today, Anna came over to help and we started piecing the blocks.

 We haven't gotten all the blocks done, but we have a good start. It won't be long before we get this in the quilt frame, because now we have "quilt fever."

Spring

 The weather is warm, and the flowers are blooming! 

the azalea bushes make the yard look so pretty!!

Nathan put mulch around all the flower beds, which made the house look sharp.
{Despite the goofy picture, he was actually working! =D}

and Bear is looking cool this spring! =)

We got some corn planted in the garden on Friday but were in a hurry to beat the coming rain and didn't bother to get pictures. {The rain caught us anyway and got us soaked!} But we'll be putting other things in soon, probably next week when the soil dries.

Dad's Birthday

This past Saturday was Dad's birthday! We didn't do much since we were all pretty tired after the graduation! Dad turned down a choice of dessert because we have leftover cake, cupcakes, and ice cream; but we'll make him vanilla pie later on, when we don't have dessert coming out our ears!

 We had a cookout for supper. Didn't get many pictures, but I have a few:

Pizza mountain pies! Yum!

Happy Birthday, Dad!

Graduation

  Though I finished school over a month ago, my official graduation ceremony was this past Friday. On Wednesday, Gram and Pap traveled down and brought me a big surprise - Courtney, Cassie, and Dee Dee Bryant! They completely took me by surprise! I never suspected a thing! {and they had fun laughing at my gullibility!}

{playing Scattergories}

 It was great to have them here! I think it helped get my mind off the ceremony, and it was nice to have extra help getting the house ready for the reception!

{dipping pretzels in white chocolate and coating with sprinkles}

{we played a lot of volleyball while they were here. I think this picture was
actually taken a little after 7 on the morning they had to leave. Yes, we
were on a volleyball craze!}

{practicing a song we girls are going to sing together at their
church when we are up there on Mother's Day}

Getting the house ready...

I'm all for edible decorations!

{we had extra time before we had to leave for the church, so we took a couple pictures!}

At church, before the ceremony, we played a slideshow of pictures of my life since kindergarten. It really helped everyone feel relaxed and informal. {I actually didn't get nervous until Pomp and Circumstance started!}

The Ceremony:

{Pastor Webb, Pap, Dad}

{Mrs. Hutchins played for us}

Pastor Webb opened the ceremony and led  "Trust and Obey" as a congregational hymn. Pap prayed and gave a short charge (Well, it was supposed to be short, but he went over his six minutes! LOL).

{and of course, I had to give a speech}

{Nathan, Bethany, and Daniel sang "My Life, Lord, is Yours to Control"}

{Dad preached...}

{... and presented the diploma}

{All that trouble just for a piece of paper!! LOL}

The reception:

{Mom made the cake}

{thank you, Anna, for taking pictures!}

After most people finished eating, I opened my gifts. There were so many cards, we decided just to do gifts now and I could open cards later. I won't go through and list everything I was given, but I got some very special gifts that really surprised me.









Thank you to all those who made that night special for me!!