Class of 2008

It is hard to believe that Susanne has graduated from high school, but it happened. Almost 10 years to the day after Kathryn's graduation, we sat in the Greenwood Civic Center and watched Susanne walk down the aisle to Pomp and Circumstance and receive her diploma. It's hard to beleive that this day has already come.

Aunts, uncles, cousins, and friends came from Nebraska and North and South Carolina, as well as from across Mississippi for the celebration. We had a pre-graduation party at the Sturdivants' house and a post-graduation shin-dig at the Carroll County Market where King Billy played. Susanne couldn't join us for the shin-dig because all of the graduates were taken to Jackson on an all night mystery trip.

My cousin and the lead singer of the band really hit it off, so several of us met up with the band the next night - and Susanne was able to join us. We really loved their music. They will be featured on a Great American Country (GAC) special later this year (several of our group may have even made the video).

On Saturday afternoon, Kathryn went to Thomastown, MS with the girls of the family to see her great-aunt and great-uncle. It is always such a treat to see
them, and even more of a treat when they cook for us -which they did. Good old southern cooking at it's finest!

As always, it was so much fun spending time with the whole family and celebrating such a special occasion with Susanne. Congratulations and good luck at Birmingham-Southern! We love you!

Little Does He Know...

May Flowers

I know that it has been a month since I have posted and everyone is realizing that April showers are long gone by now. May was such a busy month that I never even had the time to post an update. I have alot to catch you up on. The Focas came for a visit, most of our family on Kathryn's side came into town for Susanne's high school graduation, Kathryn went back to Europe, and we went to Kathryn's 10-year high school reunion. I plan to post one event at a time in the hopes of not completely overwhelming you.

We had so much fun with the Focas when they came to Greenwood. The girls are getting so big, so it is always fun to see how they're growing and how their personalities are developing. When Ainsley learned that Uncle Gary was moving to Mississippi to become a farmer, she decided that she wanted to be a cowgirl when she grew up - that was even her costume for Halloween. She has been reading up on farm animals and singing lots of Old McDonald. At one point, she even said that she was very glad that Uncle Gary and Aunt Kathryn were going to give her a horse that she could take back to her house with her (thankfully she had forgotten about that by the time she got here). Although she was slightly disappointed when she got to our house to see that it was not ON the farm, she accepted Deacon as a substitute for the horses and pigs that she was anticipating.

On Saturday morning, we went straight to Kathryn's aunt and uncles's house so that Ainsley could see some horses. She wasn't even going to think about getting on the pony for a ride, but was very happy to stand next to him and stroke his mane. Emma was very content to just sit back and take it all in. Aunt Jan was so great with the girls and they were thrilled to get the "farm" experience with some good farm animals.

Next, we went out to Uncle Gary's farm. I have realized that it doesn't take much to entertain a 4 and 2 year old. They were probably just as happy playing in the workout room at the office as they were out on the farm. I think that Emma's favorite part was walking through the corn and looking at the ladybugs, while the highlight for Ainsley was definitely riding around with Uncle Gary in the tractor. We also got to see a pig and a snapping turtle while we were out in the field, so we got our fill of animals for the day.

Kathryn's sister had her prom on Saturday night, so Ainsley got dressed up like a princess and then went to see "Princess Susanne" before she went to the "Ball". We also had a dress for Emma, but unfortunately she turned into a pumpkin before she could make it out of the house.



It was a great visit and we will look forward to the next one once baby #3 is here. We couldn't resist getting a picture of Deacon one night after the girls had gone to bed. I think that he has finally met his match!