my momma...

she is beautiful, fun, creative, loving, talented, smart, caring, awesome....i could go on and on. she is pretty much the best mom in the WORLD!!!!

happy birthday mom...i sure do wish i could be there celebrating with you. i love you forever and for always.

i'm back...

from KY that is. last weekend I traveled to the bluegrass state to celebrate Christmas at the funk’s (thank's to my wonderful parents). my weekend was packed with many ‘fun’k-filled adventures…such as dying my dad’s hair, surprising my grandparents, staying up late with my mom, enjoying childhood christmas ornaments, catching up with friends, and sleeping in. the only downfall to my weekend was missing my husband…curt stayed in NC in order to study for finals, which are now over, YAHOO!

well, I will not tire you with my text; instead fix your eyes on the pictures below to see my KY escapade for yourself.

my parent's house...so beautiful and so full of christmas cheer...

the stockings hung by the chimney with care...

dying my dad's hair! before you judge please know that this was only a joke and we must inform you that it all washed out before we could show off his "touch of gray" hair. despite the disappointing outcome, we had a blast attempting the darkening task.

job well done, well at least we thought...this was before the rinse.

next, christmas at the funk's...

my pop and me, aka his favorite grandaughter

the annual wrapping paper ball war. mike is always an easy target.

mike debuting his singing talents, not to mention his angelic voice...the idol judges even agreed, but hey who wouldn't, this is the year all about him!

yes you are reading correctly...we are 'team funk.' thank you nick and michelle for the awesome shirts...we will always wear them with pride.

a grand old time...

we did indeed have a grand old time in the sunshine state. curt and i, along with the entire Deskin’s family spent thanksgiving on Daytona Beach this year. we played putt-putt, fashioned crafts, strolled the beach, ate way too good, snapped family photos, opened gifts, stayed up late, woke up early….you name it and we probably did it. our three days in florida were filled with splendid delight. instead of rambling on and on about our trip, i have decided to attach lots of photos to tell our story. please enjoy our family and our fun…


waiting on our flight

we made it...just in time for crafts

the kids and their wonderful creations

too cute

strike a pose...

curt and ella grace up to no good...

on wednesday morning we headed down the beach to watch patty, a 250 pound sea turtle return to the ocean...

wednesday afternoon we headed to pirate's island to play putt-putt...p.s. ask curt who won...I DID!

hayden and haley taking a break for the camara.

wednesday evening...

1.2.3...JUMP

yahoo for the ocean...

did i mention the starfish...they were everywhere

it's been a long day...

cullen enjoying his gift.

kelly enjoying a midnight swim

and now for curt's favorite part of the whole trip...family photos

the hite's

the rowe's plus the lowndes'

kelly and i

the grandson's

curt tell us how you feel about pictures...

thanks aunt jess and uncle ron for sharing your home with all 18 of us. and a big thanks to our family for loving us and filling us up this holiday season.

special delivery...

from corrieberrypie aka corrie alvaro (corrie, her husband john jay, and son judah have been such a blessing to curt and i here in durham). anyway, corrie is super cool and way talented and a superb wifey and a splendid momma...you get the picture. she recently opened an etsy shop to share her many talents with the world...so i indulged and bought potential christmas gifts for the fam and maybe for myself ;) i just received my first five purchases...check them out...and if your lucky, santa may drop you a corrieberrypie original under the tree.

all of her earrings are hand crafted

i love this necklace...santa said i could keep it.

meet the artist corrie, along with husband john jay, and look-a-like judah

please check out her stuff...if you look to the right, you will see her link, and check back after thanksgiving...she will have lots of new stuff.

oh so happy...

for my great friend mary ellen...she is engaged to the lucky jay harden...WOO...WOO! i am so so so extremely happy for the two of them. it has been a blast watching them grow with each other over the last four or so years...lots of sweet and funny memories (i.e. like the first time they said i love you..ha.ha.). the invites will be perfect, the wedding will be fantastic, the bride will be breathtaking, and their love will be forever...i can't wait ;)

also, i am oh so happy for jessie and vince...one year of marriage...HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!

and last, but not least, i am oh so happy because my in-laws came to visit. we had such a great time hanging out, catching up on sleep, eating fabulous meals, and exploring durham. and the best part is, we get to see them again in a week...Thanksgiving. thanks guys for coming to spend time with us...it was a much needed break.

our trek to bobbitt hole

although curt is barely treading water with school work right now, he did accept the life jacket I tossed him on thursday afternoon to take a well deserved break. we decided it was just the right time to head over to the eno river state park to indulge in the splendor of fall. the leaves here are spectacular right now; they are every conceivable shade of orange, yellow, red, and green. isn't fall lovely ;)

we hope you are able to soak up our scenic and captivating hike to bobbitt hole....and please observe the sky...it was so blue, it reminded us both of our wedding day.

and we're off into a sea of yellow...

we love self timers...

we met a friend on the way...

so yellow...

the reflection was awesome...the water was so still

we also met a family of five...the turtles were sun bathing on a log

bobbitt's hole...we made it...and the water was freezing..burrrrh

look what we found...a tree with a built in toliet

thanks for sharing in our first trip to the eno!