Home Sweet Home...

So I know that I already posted something today but I had to add these photos.  As some of you know my parents' black lab Chole died on July 23rd after 12 years of being a member of the Nelson family, she was a great dog and we have so many great memories with her.  My favorite memory of Chole was when we lived in Park City. We lived over a Golf Course and she would get out and run down the hill and harrass the golfers on the green.  After several attempts of calling her from the back deck we would give up and pretend she was not ours (horrible I know).  I also remember that after I moved away from Utah and would come home for a visit, she would always be so happy to see me.  We will miss our Clo-bo!  

Max and Maddie love this little puppy.  So sweet. 

My parents other dog Zeus had been so sad at Chole's passing that my parents rushed to get a new dog as a companion to Zeus.  They got a Cheasapeake Bay Retriever and we named him Brownie III.  My great granfather had a Cheasapeake Bay Retriever named Brownie and so did my father and they have always been great dogs.  Brownie is soooo cute (as all puppies are) and we are all pretty much smitten with him.

My parents purchased a playhouse for Maddie and placed it near the apple orchard. It is not all completed just yet but will soon be fully decorated and be every little girl's dream playhouse.  In this picture we were ordering ice-cream from "Mimi's ice-cream house".   She is too cute.

And lastly, I have posted pictures of Sunday dinner made by my mom.   Anybody who knows her knows that she is a five star cook and that her food is pretty much awesome.   The salad is a comprise salad with fresh Mozarella and for the main course we had Pork Tenderloin with Chevre lavender and a lavendar apple jelly sauce.   For dessert we had homemade ice cream with homemade sauteed cherry lavender sauce.  It was to die for and I have big shoes to fill and hope one day to be the kind of cook she is.  

We Welcomed Henry into the world on July 19th

Our baby Henry has arrived and we have never been so excited (except for when Max and Maddie were born).  Brooke went into labor earlier than expected and I was able to hop on a plane and get there three days earlier than planned.  I missed him being born but was able to get there soon after.

Henry is beautiful and as expected looks like a Bartholomew.  I have always told Brooke and Steve that one thing they are good at is making beautiful babies and they have done it yet again. He is so chill and honestly just precious.  I took the kids up to my parents home in Millville for the weekend so Brooke can rest and Maddie keeps telling us that she misses her baby and tells anyone who will listen that her baby is out and his name is Henry......so cute!

Welcome baby Henry, we are so thrilled you are here!

Seersucker is so southern........

When I first moved to the South I would see Seersucker suits on the Southern gentlemen and was not sure how I felt about them. Then over time I began to like them. Garrett, who attends our church would always wear his seersucker suit with a tie that just popped and I grew to really love the look.

So one day Thad and Mark were in Belk and saw some seersucker blazers on sale for $30 plus a tie that they loved. Thad was being good and said that although he wanted them he did not need them. I made a point the next day after work to go over and get the tie and blazer for him because he is always getting me things and putting my needs and wants above his, so it was fun to actually get him something. We took a picture of my hansome Thad in his seersucker blazer and new tie after church. So sharp, so Southern and I love it!

Forester Reunion

This past weekend Thad and I were able to go to Haleyville and see Patsy and the kids who were in town for a few weeks. We had a great time swimming and playing categories (a fun pool game), eating Pat's home cookin' and just chillaxin. Here is a picture of Thad and myself and some of our neices and nephews. We love those kids to death and miss each of them already. We were missing Katie, Claire, Max, Drake and Ada that weekend who would have made that picture complete.

Also Thad, Randy, Nick and Blake were able to fly these cool little airplanes. It was a good time!

July 4th Weekend

So it has been too long since I have updated our blog but here we are and Thad and I hope you all had a great July 4th weekend because we sure did. We left on Friday night to head up to Haleyville for the night and then spent the 4th just relaxing at the Forester's pool. There are specific things that both Thad and I need to make a July 4th complete, Thad's is homemade ice cream and mine is fireworks. So we gathered up the ingredients for homemade ice cream and got it going as we swam and played. The ice cream turned out creamy and delicious. We then headed home to Tuscaloosa that night to catch the fireworks. We opted out of dealing with the crowds and watched fireworks from the back of Thad's truck in the Publix parking lot close by.

I honestly love fireworks. Growing up in Walnut Creek, CA we would have a picnic/bbq with friends and then about 3-4 families would load up in several cars and head over to the fireworks where we would munch on homemades treats and lie underneath a blanket of fireworks. Such great memories. Thad and I being newly married are trying to create our own memories and traditions and are off to a good start........ice cream and fireworks, you can't go wrong.