Life with the Stancils: September 2009

Happy 4th!!

We had a great 4th of July with the family! We went to Suzanne and Bill's(Stephen's aunt and uncle) house for a cookout and then over to Bill's parents house to watch Colonial Country Club's fireworks which is our tradition! We(Stephen and I) have been doing that for 12 years now! The very first time he called to ask me out was the 4th of July in 1997 and he invited me over to his aunt's house to hang out with the family and go watch the fireworks. So we get very disappointed if we miss a year since it's such a special thing for us to do together! It was a great night! Burgers, homemade ice cream, hanging out with family, and fireworks!! Does it get any better than that?

Caroline and Kathryn(or as Caroline says Kathfrin) on our way to watch the fireworks!

Florida

My great aunt passed away at the end of June and she lived in Pensacola. My mom was close to Aunt Boots and especially close to her daughter Joan. So my sister and I felt like we should be there because Momma loved Aunt Boots and Joan. She lived a long life...most people don't make it to their 90's but Aunt Boots did! She was a school teacher and loved to learn new things and teach new things to anyone around her. We will miss you Aunt Boots!

So, since we were all the way in Florida and so close to the beach we decided to stay a couple of days longer and enjoy some beach time. I didn't know what Caroline would think of it because I hated the beach as a child. The sand, the salt water...I just didn't like it! Well, she LOVED every minute of it. She just played and played in the sand and we took a cheap inflatable pool for her to play in as well. She didn't know what to think of the ocean though. She would go in with us but you could tell she didn't really want to because she had a death grip on us the whole time! Now the traveling part and the sleeping issues were not all that fun but we still enjoyed being with family!

My nephew Austin made Caroline a chair out of sand and she thought it was so fun!

Caroline and Daddy playing in the sand!

Notice she is not smiling in the water!!

We went to Oxford for the day shortly after our anniversary to visit Stephen's Aunt Monica who moved their last summer. We hadn't had the chance to go down and see her house and visit with her since Stephen works every Saturday and I work every Sunday. So, he took a Saturday off and we drove on down to see her. We got the tour of her home and then went to a local farmer's market there. While at the farmer's market Caroline couldn't help but notice there were horses that had carriages you could ride in so we went for a ride and she loved every minute of it! Then we had a yummy lunch and visited with more family who were bringing Monica a piece of furniture she had ordered. We all sat outside on the front porch of this antique store and I saw something that I had never seen before! A bed swing! I mean these adorable day beds that had cute cushions and throw pillows on them that were SO very comfortable! One day I would love to have a big front porch and put a couple of those out there on the porch. A good book and a bed swing=HEAVEN!! Once again, I didn't document these adorable inventions because I was chasing after my two year old! I HAVE GOT to do better....

Caroline and her cousin Isaac hanging out together!

Aunt Monica, me and Caroline enjoying the carriage ride!

9 years...

Things were so crazy with the birthday party and the excitement of the engagement and making wedding plans that we decided to slow it down and just stay in for our anniversary this year. On June 3rd we celebrated 9 years together! I cooked a yummy meal and Caroline spent the night at my sister's so we enjoyed a nice quiet evening at home. We started the meal with some delicious creamy squash soup. Then we had beef tenderloin, twice baked potatoes, and green bean bundles. We've sure had some highs and lows during our 9 years together and I wouldn't want to share my life with anyone else in the world!!

The Big Announcement!

So I know it's been awhile but I'll try to fill you in on what's happened over our wild and crazy summer! We kicked off the summer on Memorial Day with a big birthday bash for my mom #2! It was her 6oth birthday and we partied! Her sister Suzanne and her girls(and a cousin) sang their very own version of YMCA except it was D-I-X-IE and they had us in stitches....very funny! But before that was the big announcement.....Dixie and Charlie announced to all of the family and some friends who were there that they were engaged! We were so excited(well they had told their children before the party) and it was especially neat to see every one's reaction! We love Charlie and are so blessed that he and his kids and grandkids are now part of our family too! There aren't too many great pics of the night. I have found it gets especially hard to document such joyous occasion with pictures when you are chasing around a two year old!