Happy Birthday Aunt Margie!!!

Okay, so growing up, my Aunt Margie was the coolest person that I knew. She's my mom's younger sister and was the most wonderful aunt to ever live. I wanted to be just like her when I grew up and thought the world of her. I still do. She's amazing and I hope my nieces and nephews look at me with the kind of wonder and awe that I have when I think about my Aunt Margie.

When we were little, we'd go to her house all the time. I swear we spent the night there all the time. It was always fun. She let us play dress up with her clothes, she let us put on her make-up and look like clowns, and she never yelled at us. She was the most fun.

In the summer, she'd have sleep-overs at her house and invite other kids from her neighborhood to come over. I remember spending the night in a gigantic tent once. She was cool, funny, and always made us happy.

She was always happy to have us come over for dinner and she would make grilled chicken and would ALWAYS burn it... it was "char-grilled feathers" as my dad would say. She made a mean mustard potato salad that to this day is untouched by anyone I know (yummmmmm). 

She took us to the lake several times during the summer... and we'd spend the whole day there just having fun and enjoying the water. I can't express how awesome she is to have as an aunt, so you'll just have to trust me.  :)

My Aunt Margie grew up with my mom and Uncle Bill and they lived in Arizona. She was a cheerleader and FFA princess. She's very pretty and was probably pretty popular in school. She has three children, Brandon (he's a couple years younger than me), Corey (he's the middle child and just came to NC with his wife Heather for a visit), and Derek (he lives in France).

When I got married (the starter wedding), I asked her to be one of my bridesmaids. I know she didn't really want to be in my wedding, and she kept saying she was too old. But I really wanted her to be in my wedding and I basically begged her and she agreed. It meant so much to me that she'd put aside her own feelings, just to be in my wedding and support me. That's the kind of person that she is.

Once, when I was working with her at the podiatry office with my Uncle Daryl (her husband), she had these AWESOME dark denim jeans on. I told her how much I loved them and how great they looked on her. Without hesitation, she gave me $50 and told me to go to the mall and get myself a pair. I told her I couldn't... but she insisted. She let me leave the office (while I was working) to go get the jeans. I can't wear them anymore, but I still have them. When I see them in my closet, I think about her and how generous she's always been.

I think the reason I love her so much is because she always treated me like I was her own daughter. She loved me and kissed me, and always made sure I was happy. She did the same with both of my brothers, and I'm pretty sure, they think of her with the same admiration and love that I do.

I had the fortune of working with her at the office back in 1995. I worked along side her for five years and they were wonderful. I spent lunch breaks walking with her and talking about various things in my life, I ate lunch with her at the office, we went shopping together, and I was able to really get close to her. I cherish the memories of working along side her as some of the best. She made each day fun and it was enjoyable to go to work while working with her. She's a great boss. Very fair, respectful, and caring. I've never had another boss like her.

Here are some pictures of my Aunt Margie throughout her life:

 

On the left and then my mom is in the middle and my Uncle Bill is on the right

 

With Brandon

 

With Corey as a baby and Brandon

 

With my Aunt Fran and Uncle Herb and Brandon (Aunt Fran was my Grandma Burney's sister)

 

Sitting on Grandma Burney's lap (her mom)

 

At her house when we were reunited with my Aunt Karen and Uncle Tom

 

Mom, Grandma, Aunt Mary (bottom), Aunt Margie and Aunt Helen

 

At Megan's Baptism

 

At my starter wedding's rehearsal BBQ (June 1, 2001)

She lives in MI and has a lot of farm animals. Whenever we go to MI, we usually try to see her if we can. One time we went when Dave's family was in town and we stopped by her house so Eamon and Aine could see the sheep.

When we were in MI for Gus's adoption, she called me up and asked if she could come by the hotel to see Gus. It was so great to see her and be able to introduce my son to my favorite aunt.

So here's to her birthday and that she be around for many, many more. I hope that her children and now grandchild know how amazing she is, and always remember that she rocks!!

Happy birthday Aunt Margie!!!

:D

Day 78

 

Gus ready for bed

Today was a gorgeous day here in NC! The sun was out and we had temperatures in the low 80s. I am most definitely ready for spring to arrive (in about three hours)!! There's supposed to be an amazing moon tonight and I keep peeking out the window to see it and I don't see anything. I honestly don't care that much or I'd go outside... but it's supposed to be super big or something like that.

I found it incredibly disturibing that all day I've been getting tweets from CNN breaking news that we're involved with the UN attacking Libya. It's scary and I'm not sure why it's not considered WWIII but Steve assures me that it's not. At one point today, we were grocery shopping, I got a tweet about the UN launching 110 Tomahawk cruise missles from US and British ships, It seriously upset me and I looked around me at all the people shopping that probably had NO IDEA what the hell was going on in the world at that exact moment. I know there's not a lot (if anything) that we can do here, but it just seems like a lot of people don't know much about the world around them.

Anyway... we had a good day and Gus has been walking all over the place. He's getting more and more confident and it's fun to watch. Here are some pictures from today:

 

Playing a learning game on Steve's iPad

 

Chillin on the floor playing (and laughing) with his remote

 

He kept laughing while playing with the remote

 

Devilish little grin...

 

Yummy remote!

 

In the middle of walking across the livingroom

 

Post-bath crazy hair

 

His hair cracks me up!!

 

Look at those curls!!

That's about it for today... I'll write again tomorrow!

>^..^<

Day 77

Today I got up and Suzanne was coming to clean, so I had to pick things up a little. I don't like to be here when she comes, so I decided to go with Wendy to Discount Tire and the mall. I have been sore all day (from the zoo) and felt a little off.

We went to the mall and I got Gus some clothes on sale ($2.99 each) at Crazy 8's... what a cute store! It's like a Gymboree but cheaper! We also went to the Disney Store and I bought Gus his first Mickey Mouse. He loved it and immediately smiled when I made the Mickey dance (it was a little one and can go in his diaper bag so we have it with us at all times). While at the store, Ashley tried on the wig from Twisted and looked super cute.

The hair was longer than her!! She especially liked it when Wendy took her to a mirror to see how fabulous she looked.  :)

We headed to the pretzel place so I could grab one... it was sooooo good. I shared it with Gus and then we went to the cookie place and Wendy got the girls a cookie and then some mini cookies for us to share. She's the best.

We picked up K from pre-school and then we said our goodbyes for the afternoon. I had a 2:00 play date that I had wanted to attend, but I just didn't feel well. I still feel tired and very sore. Here are other pictures from this afternoon:

Anyway, Gus took his afternoon nap and then I uploaded and photoshopped the zoo pictures. When he got up, we went into my bedroom and we just relaxed and I laid on the bed while Gus played. Then Steve got home and we decided on a movie to see for our date night.

We dropped Gus off at Wendy's at 4:30ish and headed to Longhorn Steakhouse for dinner. It was soooooo good. Since the pretzel was the only thing I ate all day, it was even more delicious than usual. I got the new BBQ chopped salad and the 7oz filet with a baked potato. It was heaven. Even better was that I had a coupon to use with dinner!

After dinner we headed to the movies and saw "Just Go With It" with Adam Sandler and Jennifer Aniston and Brooklyn Decker. It was predictable, but very cute and had a lot of funny parts. Nicole Kidman and Dave Matthews were also in it and were hilarious!

After the movie, we drove home and Steve rolled down the windows and blasted some Rolling Stones... it was amazing!! We don't ever drive with the music blaring with Gus. It was so fun to just be a couple and enjoy the time together. He opened the door for me and was a complete gentleman (of course). We talked about how seven years ago today he said that he loved me for the first time. 

I was standing on the stairs in my old apartment (1021 Washtenaw #3)... and he said, "You deserve to hear this is a much more romantic way, but I can't hold back anymore... I love you." It was so incredible!!! <3

We got home at 9:30 and it's well past my bedtime. I'm off to sleep and rest...

>^..^<

Day 76

So yesterday (the 17th) I got Gus dressed in the best St. Patty's Day outfit EVER! He looked so darn cute in it!!! I took some pictures of him and then we had to get ready for our first ever trip to the NC Zoo! Here are the pictures of Gus from the morning:

We got on the road and stopped at Panera for bagels and then we got to the zoo around 11ish. We stopped to get Gus changed and then Wendy got a stroller for the girls.

The first thing we saw were the alligators! I had the perfect opportunity to use the telephoto lens that Steve bought me. I'm so glad I had it because it took amazing pictures!!

 

The kids posing together

After the alligators we headed over to see the Harbor Seals and polar bear. We got really lucky with the seals because they came right to where we were and there weren't any other people around us at the time!

Once we were done with the seals, we headed over to see the polar bear. On the way there was a polar bear den that you could crawl into and I took some pictures and then Wendy took some of me with the kids and one of me with Gus.

We came out of the polar bear exhibit and there was a cute play area for the kids to play in. Wendy took the kids in while I watched our stuff. I got a picture of Gus on the bee that they had... it's super cute! I took it for Steve.

After that part of the zoo we headed into the uphill part of the journey. Holy smokes am I out of shape... I was exhausted pushing Gus uphill! I have to say that the zoo is in the beginnings of the mountain region of the state and is pretty hilly anyway, but add to it a stroller and a baby and I was tired!

The animals that we saw at the top of the hilly part were the bears. They were so cute and playing together... I got some great pictures of the black bears and one of the grizzly sleeping under a waterfall.

We got to the connecting area where you walk between the North America section (where we parked and started) and then we were informed that the path to Africa was closed and we'd have to take the shuttle. Well... we ended up waiting in line for an hour for a shuttle. It was ridiculous. Before we got in line we checked out the Senora Desert part of the zoo. It was okay, but considering that I've been to the actual Senora Desert zoo... I wasn't impressed.

We got on the shuttle and then headed to Africa. We got off and headed into the cafe for lunch.

 

Wendy with Gus on the shuttle

After we had lunch we headed over to see the gorillas, monkeys, and baboons.

Then we headed over to see the grasslands and I was quite disappointed to not see anything. We had to walk way out of the way to see the rhinos...

 

Nap time for Gus

Along the way I took some great pictures of the flowers and trees.

After seeing the rhinos, we headed over to see the lions... but they weren't out where we could see them. I did take a picture of Wendy and the girls posing on the lion statue, but I was way disappointed to walk all that way and not see anything.

We headed back over to where the rhinos were and saw some elephants. They were cute and I took a picture of one in the middle of a poo... it made me laugh.

Once we were done looking at the elephants, we walked over to see my most favorite animal of all... the giraffe!

By this time, not only were the kids exhausted, but we were exhausted. The zoo is more than five miles long from one end to the other, and add in that we were back and forth in Africa (which is VERY hilly)... and I saw we put in at least an extra mile. 

Before we left for the day, we headed around the corner to see the zebra and giraffes together. Wendy took some pictures of me and Gus together and I love them!!

We got to the car at around 5:00 and then got on the road. Thankfully my GPS told me the back way and we didn't have any traffic. We got home around 6:30 and met Steve for dinner at Michelangelo's for pizza.

I went to bed early last night (like at 8:30) because I was exhausted and didn't fell well. That's why I am posting this today!!

>^..^<