Dental Conference

I'm at the beach again! This time I'm at North Myrtle Beach for the SCDA annual dental session. It's such a hard life! Anyway, these are the views from my hotel room. Terrible isn't it? I will be in classes for the next couple of days and then Lee and I will be beach bums for the rest of the weekend! :)

I have been to many dental conferences over the years but today I went to a course that has far surpassed anything I've ever been to before. The name of the course was "Why Happiness is your Enemy" by Bruce Manchion.

I have done my best to become a very positive person. It's hard to live with my husband and not have some of that rub off. :) He's the most positive person I've ever known!

Anyway, the next time you are dealing with someone difficult in your life, whether it be personal or professional - remember this quote I heard today. "Some people are put in your life as sandpaper. Avoiding them just keeps you rough around the edges." I think we all have people that are like sandpaper in our lives. And we love them anyway. :)

Happy Birthday Lauren!

Tomorrow my baby girl will be 19!! I can't believe it! Tonight we went out to eat at Percy & Willie's (Lauren's choice). Lauren brought her boyfriend (Cameron) and Erik brought his girlfriend (Jordan). It was so much fun hanging out with all of them. Then we came back to the house for cake and ice cream. What a fun night! Happy 19th Birthday Lauren!!

As you can see my cake decorating skills have greatly improved since Erik's birthday last month!! Okay, not really. We ordered this one from Freeman's Bakery. Five layer fudge cake. YUMMY!!

Holden Beach

This weekend, our friend Glenn asked us to join him at his place at Holden Beach. So we went Friday afternoon and spent the weekend there. I LOVE Holden Beach. It's so peaceful and doesn't have all of the high rise hotels like Myrtle Beach. It's like a dream there and if I didn't have to work, that is where you'd find me, hanging out on the beach somewhere with my toes in the sand. Glenn's father in law came by and picked us up and took us on a boat ride through the canals of the Folly river near sunset. It was magical. And now, I want a boat!!!! :)

sinking ship

Can you tell that the guy that owns this is a dentist?! Cute!

The only house at Holden that I could afford to pay cash for. :) I just can't afford the property it sits on!!

The black stuff that you see here is actually ashes that washed ashore from the N. Myrtle Beach fires. Unreal!

This, is my happy place. The ocean stretched out in front of me and a good book... what more do you need??

Hillcrest High School Girls night out

Thanks to facebook, I've been reunited with a lot of girls that I graduated with. I didn't socialize much in high school. I don't really know why. Guess I was shy, or thought all you needed was one "best friend" or I had zero self-confidence. Whatever it was, it's in the past. I sooo enjoy getting together with this fun group of girls every month or so. This past time we went to Charlotte, NC to go to IKEA (my fav new place!) to shop and then to The Cheesecake Factory for dinner and desert. FABULOUS!! Can't wait to get together next month with the girls in Greenville! :)

Erik's 17th Birthday

I have a hard time believing that my baby is 17!! This little boy that used to lay on the floor and play with matchbox cars for hours is now driving all over town. I love you and I'm very proud of you Rik Rik! :)

We had a very low key birthday this year. We took him out for a big steak dinner and then came back to the house for cake & ice cream. He asked for clothes for his birthday so that was his gift from us. He always has to look cool, ya know? Thanks to everyone who sent him gifts on his birthday. The thank you notes he wrote are still hanging out in my purse waiting patiently for stamps and to be put in the mail.

As you can see, my cake decorating skills have NOT improved... but this was Erik's request. Lemon cake with cream cheese frosting.

This is what 17 looks like... you can't tell by this picture but he's sitting in bed with his laptop. He loves to play his WOW game. Another 3 month subscription was part of his birthday gift too.

Prom 2009

Erik and Jordan (Coker) went to their junior/senior prom a few weeks ago. She goes to West Florence HS and Erik goes to South Florence HS, but they opted to just go to her prom, which was held at the Florence Civic Center. They ate at Myami's before the prom with Erik's best friend Kenny Lee and his girlfriend. Erik claimed before the prom that he was "not going to dance." He told us later that night when he got home that they danced the night away! I am posting the pictures that Jordan's Mom took since they are much better than mine! Aren't they a gorgeous couple? I LOVED seeing my boy all decked out! He's so handsome. And Jordan was absolutely beautiful and I loved her dress! By the way, whatever ideas I had that prom was cheaper for the boys than for the girls were definitely put to rest. It's all expensive. But so worth it, especially since they had such a good time! :)

My pretty girl...

I don't know if I ever posted this photo of Lauren. It was one of Lauren's after photos from Welch & Bonds (orthodontists) that they sent in the mail after her treatment was completed. I'll never forget how it caught my breath when I saw it. She's so gorgeous. In a week my baby girl and her best friend will be getting their own place. I'm so scared for her. I worry so much, mostly about her safety. Everyone say a prayer for her. It's so hard to let them out and watch them spread their wings. Any words of wisdom on how to handle the feeling of anxiety that makes it hard to breath will be well received! Breath in.... breath out. One day at a time. Anything else?? Lots and lots of PRAYER!!!!!

Long time no post...(especially for Uncle Jim)

It's been so long since I've posted that it will take me a while to catch up. Big surprise, Lee and I went on another cruise. I know, hard to believe. No kids this time (again) just Lee and I and his lifelong friend Louis Anderson (single-but looking). Sorry Big Lou, I had to throw that in for you. :) Anyway, this time we went on the Carnival Glory for 7 days. Too long without the kids and I worked myself into a headache every night but of course they were just fine without us. We went to Belize, Cozumel, Costa Maya, & the Bahamas.