1. You get to clean the house thoroughly.
2. You get to work in the yard:
Mom looked really cute. We are glad that the weather is getting warm so that we can wear a new season of clothes.
Danny and Nan were our hosts. Danny can cook a tasty pig! Thanks for having us.
Sierra, Frank (not Sierra's date), Roy Lee and his wife Marie, and our friend Marie.
We were pleased to see Aunt Edna there!
This was what happened for most of the night: funny comments and lots of laughing. 
Uncle Calvin and Aunt Elsie came down from the Richmond area for the party. Uncle Calvin previewed a little karaoke for us, but we left before things got really interesting.
Granddaddy and Aaron probably talked about batteries.
Michael, Grandma, and Joey eating wellThis weekend we went to NC again! It was our 4th trip in 5 weeks. We are glad to go, though. On Friday we left in the early afternoon for Fayetteville. We met Aaron's family there at PeePaw's house. Uncle Tom's family also came that night and we had a big pizza dinner. We celebrated Ben's birthday since he will be in Iraq on June 15. On Saturday we hung out together until a big lunch, for which Aunt Julie, Casey, Johnny, and Emma joined us. It was a big party! We were glad to spend some time with family.
Happy Birthday, Ben (on June 15)!
We played outside a lot yesterday.
Bow didn't know what to do with all these people around! He was so excited that he hid in the bush to watch. He had the best day of his life yesterday- Peepaw has a fenced-in yard. He played and played.
Aunt Julie with her grandbaby Emma.
We will miss you, Ben! Come back safely!
We couldn't hold that pretty pose for very long.
On Thursday afternoon Aaron called me to let me know that we were having dinner that night with Uncle Charles and Aunt Angie and their crew. What a pleasant surprise! They were passing through Roanoke on their way to Maryland for Angie's sister's house. We met over in the Valley View Mall area to eat at Smokey Bones. They are an encouraging family.
Uncle Charles, Caitlin (12), Angie, Abby (8), and Caleb (almost 16)
They called us again this afternoon (Sunday) to have dinner with them again tonight on their way back to Greensboro. It was a treat. Uncle Charles (you may remember that he married us) had great insight for us on diversity within a church.
Fernandez and Flores family at dinner
A group from William and Mary sang for us while we waited to be seated.
Aaron and the birthday girl (woman)! Last week was Spring Break for me and I didn't have to work. I ended up working, though, at the house- from morning to night every day. I wanted to redo the upstairs guest room. It was the last room in the house for us to do. It was a nightmare! Here's what happened:
Nothing against lighthouses, we just had something else less thematical in mind.
That wallpaper border had to go! I started on Sunday night, and by Tuesday morning I was in tears. There was no way I could get it off myself.
So I called in some help! This woman came in at last minute's notice and used all kinds of special machines to get it off. Even she said it was really stuck on there. She was a great encouragement to me. As soon as they left on Tuesday afternoon, I got down to business. I painted all the trim, including two doors (from light brown to white). By Wednesday morning I was ready to paint.
But, another problem! I hated the colors! I thought I could pick out two shades side-by-side on the swatch, but it turned out way too bright. Needless to say, I was disheartened by Wednesday night.
You can see on the bottom I put wallpaper up (Tuesday night). It's the kind you can paint (Thanks for the idea, Kristen!). I only did one wall because it was taking so long- we just call it an accent wall and move on.
Don't forget his dirty feet, Daddy!
Thanks for inviting us to your Easter celebration, Cannon family!
Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Bobbit (her name is Liz)
These are some of Aaron's friends from high school.
Yes, Joseph became a chicken when we all circled around him to do the chicken dance.
And then the ZZTops showed up for a special performance.
Tim, Robin, and Squeaks (Emily, they all said to tell you hello!)
On Saturday we relaxed in Spring Hope and then drove to South Point in Durham to meet Jonathan and Joy for dinner.
I took my 2nd and 3rd grade Hispanic students to a bilingual play in downtown Roanoke this past week. It was Ferdinand the Bull...they loved it! It was nerve-wracking for me since it was my first time taking students outside of school grounds, but we didn't have any trouble. We've been in the middle of testing, so it was a good breather.
It's looking good! You can tell it's a beginner's quilt, but only if you look hard enough. At our last class this past Tuesday, we had finished the entire top and pinned it to the other two layers to begin the actual quilting. We only have two weeks to quilt the whole thing!
Last weekend Aaron and I went on a date to Texas Steakhouse (we love gift cards!), cleaned the house, watched a war movie, quilted, and watched the last of March Madness. On Sunday we separated...Aaron went to a NASCAR race in Martinsville with some friends, and I hung out here to prepare for hosting a makeup party. Here are pictures for both of those events:
Tim Bass, Jonathan, and I don't know...
making ourselves look beautiful! I hosted a makeup party at my house and invited the mothers of my Hispanic students. Maria and Maria were able to come. Lee, a friend from high school who is also teaching now, taught us how to take care of our skin and put on makeup. We had food and fun.
These sweet women were really an encouragement to me. They are hard-working wives and mothers.
