College Visits

We spent winter break visiting colleges. The first one we went to was the University of Mary Washington right here in Fredericksburg. I didn't think to bring the camera and take a photo there.

VCU is in downtown Richmond. He liked that there was a Five Guys and Coldstone Creamery on the first floor of one of the residence halls. Bridgewater is in a little town called Bridgewater. It was by far the most favorite school we visited with all four of us.

Shenandoah University is in Winchester. It is renowned for its physical therapy program.

George Mason is in Fairfax. It is not quite as large as VCU, but it seemed bigger and more crowded.

Chef Devin

Devin is forever in the kitchen mixing up something. This time I actually thought to take a photo of the end product. He made a fabulous blackberry chocolate spice cake. It was four layers and had LOTS of ingredients even though it started with a devil's food cake mix.

Orchid Sitting

I had the privilege of orchid sitting while my friend Sandra was gone to Florida for a couple of weeks. I got to witness two buds opening, which was very exciting for me. I was worried I would endanger the life of the little plant since I have no green thumb, but we made out just fine. This photo shows the second bud part way through the opening process. It actually happens within a few hours.

Knee Exercises

Derrik is still working hard on getting his knee fully functional. He can almost touch his heel to his behind, but not quite.

My boss lent us this contraption that turns a regular bicycle into a stationary cycle. Derrik rides it for 20-50 minutes a day to build his muscle endurance.

Just a Swingin'

We stopped at a big swingset and enjoyed the 60+ degree sunny weather on this February day.

Natural Chimneys

We saw a sign for the Natural Chimneys when leaving Bridgewater and decided to check it out. When we pulled into the parking lot, this was the first set of chimneys we saw. :)

These are the natural chimneys. They have tunnels in the base of them and stand very tall.

This is a side angle and has Dwayne & the boys standing there for a little size perspective.

Skyline Caverns

The Skyline Caverns was in between two of the schools we went to visit. We hadn't been there for about ten years, so we decided to take a tour.

Our tour guide, Thomas, at the entrance to the Skyline Caverns.

Anthodite crystals are very rare and only found in a few caverns in the world. They were first discovered in this cavern. They grow in a vacuum, so now that the vacuum has been broken they are no longer growing.

Colored lights make this look like a fantasy land. We were expecting Gollum (from Lord of the Rings) to show his face.

The one thing you're allowed to touch in the caverns. It looked like fudge had been poured over this stalagmite. It gets shiny and polished from all of the oils and touching.

This formation was called the Capitol Dome.

Dwayne's 42nd Birthday

One nice thing about birthdays is being able to put your feet up and relax.

Dwayne got a new paintball gun.

He also got a leather jacket, but the sleeves are a bit short for his long arms if he wants to wear it while riding his motorcycle. I guess we'll have to try again on that one.

Darrell is 40

Darrell managed to turn 40 pretty quietly. Kay just had the immediate family and Auntie Frances over for pizza and icecream cake.

Valentine's Day

Devin & Derrik made this pecan fudge heart for us for Valentine's Day. It was quite delicious. Devin is the main chef, but Derrik did do some stirring.

Dwayne had been gone to school for several days and got home late on the night of Valentine's. The boys & I had a steak & lobster dinner waiting upon his arrival.

It was VERY tasty!

Grandpa & Grandma stopped by earlier in the day bringing bags of truffles. You can see that Rocky is quite interested in the chocolate of which we have to be very careful.

Brandy's Bedroom Makeover

Brandy became a teenager this month. She wanted a bedroom makeover for her birthday. She picked the colors and the rest was a surprise. This is what the room looked like previously.

This is her new room and she loves it!

Will You Be One of the Lucky Ones?

Lucky you! The first five people to respond to this post will get something made by me! My choice..for you. This offer does have some restrictions and limitations:

1- I make no guarantees that you will like what I make!

2- What I create will be just for you.

3- It'll be done this year. (might be a little while)

4- You will have no clue what it's going to be.

5- I reserve the right to do something extremely strange.


The catch? Oh, the catch is that you must repost this on your blog and offer the same to the first 5 people who do the same on your blog.The first 5 people to do so and leave a comment telling me they did win a FAB-U-LOUS homemade gift by me! Oh, and be sure to post a picture of what you win when you get it!So....who will be the first 5 people?????