December 2022

 The themes for December 2022 were celebration and travel, two of my favorite things.

I got to visit my friend Jeanne and her mom Betty in Louisville.  We had lunch and drove through Mega Caverns Christmas experience.  It was a lot of fun.

And I joined my friend Lisa and her mom Elizabeth again, this time in North Georgia to tour Blue Ridge, Dahlonega, and Helen Georgia and their Christmas shops.  Although it was a little drizzly, we had a great time!

Our Wine Club celebrated 100 gatherings and 12 years together.  We had a wine tasting / food pairing at Savory Swine.  It was a wonderful night.

David and I went to see the Wallflowers in concert

And then we celebrated our 30th anniversary!

Our friends surprised us with the sign at the Crump.

We experienced our first Christmas without our moms and it was so good to be with family.  Their absences were deeply felt, though.  

Danielle, Thomas, Brennan, Natalie and Grandpa

Natalie braided my hair :)

We had a great time in Canton with so much of our extended family that we had not seen in awhile.  It was wonderful!

Brennan, Sara Brady, Elizabeth, Taylor, Ellie, and Thomas

The whole family.  I took this one.  So glad Daddy could join us!

The "next generation" including Christopher and Daniel.

Carey, Nina, and their 5 grandchildren - Rhett, Harper, Eliza, Curren, and Jane Marie

Our 2023 graduates - Thomas (IUPUI), Elizabeth (VA Tech), Ellie (Starkville HS)

Then it was on to Tylertown.  We celebrated Christmas at Uncle Zack and Aunt Rosemary's house with 28 family members.  Here are some photos we posed for.

Daddy and his two girls and their families

And our 2023 graduates

Hunter (Natalie's boyfriend) and Natalie - Ridgeland HS

Thomas - IUPUI

Noah - Northview HS

After a delicious lunch and opening our Secret Santa gifts, Uncle Zack and Daddy took us out to the family farm.  Many of the cousins and grandkids got to shoot targets.  We had a great time spending a little extra time together.

David, Brennan, and Uncle Zack

Brennan, Thomas, Noah, Danielle, and Keller

On our way back north, we took an extra couple of days to visit Natchez and Vicksburg, which we really hadn't toured before.  It was nice to spend a little extra time with Thomas and Brennan as well.

Natchez

Vicksburg National Military Park - this is definitely worth seeing.

May 2022

 We had a fun time at Luciana's for Cinco de Mayo!

Also in May I took Bailey and Remy to Bernheim Forest in Kentucky for a day of hiking and exploring. It's such a cool place to visit!

There is a hike to explore the giants!  They were very cool!

The boys were home for awhile for Mother's Day weekend!

We went to lunch together for Mother's Day and the guys got me some fun gifts.

Our co-ed book club celebrated our 100th book in May!  We discussed "The Silent Patient".  It was a terrific night!

I made a quick trip to Mississippi and got to spend time with my dad and sister Shelly.  

On the way home I saw some interesting landmarks including Tennessee William's birthplace in Columbus, Mississippi.

And famous Sound Studios in Muscle Shoals.

But the guys waiting for me after a long drive home was super special!

Brennan was with us for a couple of weeks in between semesters.  He's now getting ready for summer classes and an internship with Conversight.  We had a great time with Brennan!

Speaking of Brennan, I went with him back to West Lafayette and we Marie Kondo'ed his apartment (at his request).  It looks great and he's ready for a new semester!  2 years to go!

Two great movies in May - the Downton Abbey movie which I loved and Top Gun: Maverick - what a great movie!!

I shared this photo on social media.  It's from June 1986 after our friends saw "Top Gun" the first one.  We had a sleepover at my friend's house.  

And then in 2022 (at dinner wtih my friend Laura and a big group of friends).  We all went to see the latest movie together after dinner and we loved it.  Such a fun night!

Bailey!

Finally, I've had time to go on some walks with friends.  Here are some scenes from Brown County on a beautiful Sunday.

Happy Summer!