Building Bridges in Boston

I just got back from a couple of days in Boston. I went up for a training class with DHL Global. I really enjoyed the class and meeting my Boston coutnerparts. But the best part of this trip was meeting Deb. I believe Deborah Sweeney and I will be life long friends. It's amazing how you run into people who have lives that are as differnt from your as night and day, but at the core...are the same. We met on the hotel shuttle, only to find out that we were in town for the same class. I was returning from the T (the Boston subway), she was returning from Lloyd and Taylor. If this sounds like a sappy love story beginning, it kindove is. I found myself engaged to her less than 24 hours after we met. Funniest night I've experienced in a long time. We spent all day on Monday in class, went out to dinner Monday night, and stopped in the hotel lounge for a drink before going up to our rooms. Well, I should tell you before I go any further that Deb is a Jersey Girl, born and bred. So when a man approached us with questions as we took our seats in the lounge, Deb was all over him.

Man: "Are you ladies here for the review?"
Deb: "What reveue?"
Man: "The wedding band review."
Deb: "No, is there a problem with us being here?"
Bobbie: "We're here for the bands. We're engaged."

Too funny right, well it gets better. We had a few drinks and then left for the night. After Tuesday's class, Tom Powers, Domestic Manager of the Boston office--my counterpart, took me straight to the airport. I caught a flight out to ATL. (Which I will detail next as it was a nightmare trip.) Deb, who was in town for one more night, went out to dinner at the oldest still standing restaurant in the US, the Union Oyster House. After dinner, she stopped in the same hotel lounge for a nightcap. After sitting down at the bar, Deb was approached by a smiling man who asked where her fiance was. He had been sitting next us the night before and must have thought the whole scene was a riot. Did I mention we turned out to be the only 2 BRIDES who listened to the wedding bands that night. One exceptional band made me want to throw some kind of party. Deb said she felt like Simon Cowell all night. After the first two drinks, I felt more like Paula Abdul. It's been a while so I'm a little bit of a lightweight.

East Fayette @ Barnes and Noble

Destiny performed with her class tonight at Barnes and Noble in Fayetteville. They dress up in red, white and blue and sang patriotic songs. It was very cute. Peyton got stuck in traffic and didn't make it down in time to see the performance, but Grandmother Tingle, Aunt Adriene, Molly and Anna all came.

SPRING BREAK

We took the kids to Pigeon Forge, TN for Spring Break break. We've done this a couple of years in a row now and still found it very fun. Sam and the Bean are not quite old enough to go to the beach yet. Or....I should say, I'm not comfortable with taking them at this age. It's too much work with the sand and the surf. Our hotel had an indoor "water park" so the kids got had a couple of water slides, several heated pools, water basketball, and a lazy river to keep them busy. It was beautiful outside and since the outdoor pool was also heated, we got a lot of sun too. We spent a great afternoon with Bob and Brenda Durkee at the river/park. The kids played on the playground, skipped rocks, and caught fish while we cooked out. It is always so nice to see them. We took Jordan with us this year. Michael is old enough to take off on his own, so it was good for Destiny to have someone to hang out with. They spent a day riding go karts and playing in the arcade. Peyton sent me a pic message from his phone of the DEAL OR NO DEAL machine. Wanna guess where we went the next time we got into the car??? I had to play the game. I play it at home on the computer sometimes, but this was SOOO much fun. You win tickets, instead of cash. Very cool game. Sabrina took to the water like a pro. She was all over the place, even jumping in with her water wings on....not scared a bit. Samantha was very reserved. She held on to us for dear life, except for the 1 foot kiddie pool. She didn't want any part of the floats. It reminded me of how terrified I was of water when I was young. I hated it. I always thought that my mom drilled that fear into me after my dad drowned, but I think now, I might have been born with it. Now, when it came to the petting zoo and the pony rides, Samantha was very excited. She rode her pony like a pro. She was even doing the little bounce and heal thing..."must have seen it on the tele." Sabrina, however, had a little problem. Her horse decided he wanted his back scratched in the middle of her ride. He went down to the ground and tried to roll over in the dirt. Luckily for Sabrina, her big brother pulled her off of the horse just as he started to roll. Scared us to death. But Peyton convinced Sabrina to give it another shot. He put her on the smallest, little pony at the farm. She was fine for the rest of the ride. We wrapped up our vacation time together today at Monkey Joe's in Fayetteville. The kids had as much fun there as they did on the whole trip. They really got a lot of excercise. I have pictures to post, but will only add a couple for now. It's late and I need to get ready for a CRAZY week back at work. There's always hell to pay when you take an entire week off. I was really proud of myself...I hardly looked at the blackberry the entire trip. Really relaxing.

ING MARATHON

I always feel like I'm married to the most amazing man, but today Peyton really amazed me. He ran a FULL MARATHON. 26 miles in just over 5 hours. Michael, Destiny and I caught MARTA today and rode up to meet him at the finish line. We had him pegged to be running about 30 minutes slower and we almost missed him. He was crossing the line right as we walked up. I could not believe how great he looked out there. 26 miles with little to no training. Shaun and Heather Dailey also ran today. They both completed the Half Marathon. 13 miles, which is also amazing.

Don't Look So Happy

My sleepy heads didn't seem too excited until they opened their baskets and got to eat the candy. They went to bed the night before with no fuss. All I had to say was that the Easter Bunny was going to hop right by our house if they didn't go to sleep. Out like lights.....

For some reason they couldn't quit closing their eyes in these pictures.

First Letters
The kids all got their own cards in the mail from Mema and Papa Duren this week. They were so excited to have mail of their own. Great Grandmother Tingle sent them cards last year, but they were too young to really understand what it was all about.

Easter

Happy Easter !!!

We decorated eggs until late Saturday night. The girls had a lot of fun. They painted, dyed, colored and put stickers on them.

I feel so bad that I haven't posted in over a month. Life has been so busy. We had a lovely Easter weekend. I didn't get a head count, but I know it was at least 60. We hid a record breaking 552 eggs this year. Lots of fun. I am sad to realize today that I only got a few pictures. No real group pictures like last year. But, Jessica emailed me these two today that are just perfect. Check out the Tingle Twins and their haircuts. They each cut it themselves. Samantha on mine and Dad's watch. Beanie, right in front of Mema Shirley. I keep hoping it will grow out enough for me to even up before Brittany's wedding. Beanie was cold, so we put some pants and a jacket on. Samantha is still wearing her Easter dress. She was a real trooper. Beanie was a little sick, but it didn't stop her from eating cupcakes with pink icing. I'm amazed at how much Sabrina really favors Skylar. Jordan looks identical to me when I was growing up. This is the BEST picture Destiny has ever taken. She looks beautiful...and TOO grown up. Additions to this years party. My cousin Elaine, her husband and kids. Rustie, Chad, Chad's brother, Taylor, and Zachary. Robbie and Jennifer Baker. Paul's parents. Peyton and Joel pulled all of the kids in the wagon. Unfortunately, it dumped over and we had a couple of injuries. Poor Anna, who was also celebrating her fifth birthday, really hurt her lip in the fall. Samantha had a knot on her head. Destiny has a big bruise on her arm and Jordan had a nasty bump. Mitchell, poor guy, had a pocket full of rocks when he landed. Not a nice combo when landing on your rear.

Piedmont Park

Sabrina was not too happy that someone else was driving the firetruck with her sister. She was not in the mood to share. Destiny sitting by the pond.

Samantha and her hats. She cries when she can't find this one. It's her favorite. Look how fearless she is climbing up to the top of the slide.

The Varsity

We took the kids to lunch at The Varsity a couple of days before the flu hit us. Then we went to Piedmont Park for about four hours. The park was very crowded. It was a nice crowd...lots of families with little ones.

Careful What You Wish For

Once upon a time, this KING size bed was big enough for me and Peyton.