Sunday, March 29, 2009

New Gazebo!

My awesome family, David and David's parents all pitched in for my awesome birthday gift - a backyard makeover! We got a new gazebo from Target, then David repainted our old patio furniture black and we got new cushions. The best bargain was our outdoor chandelier - I had seen it at Target for $129, but found the IDENTICAL one on Craigslist for $50!!! Some poor lady had bought it for her dining room, but didn't realize it had a plug because it's meant for outdoors. Since she couldn't hardwire it into her dining room, she put it up on Craigslist! Yeah for me!!!

David's little helper...



Drum roll please.................


Please forgive the fuzzy picture - I can't get my new little Olympus point and shoot camera to work very well unless it's perfectly bright light. Gotta figure that out.

Oh, and I'll let you enjoy the sunsets we are able to see for our back deck, which we'll now be enjoying from underneath our beautiful gazebo!

Saturday, March 28, 2009

March Game Night

Yeah, yeah...my siblings and I are just a bunch of dorks. We totally love Game Night! We're going to try to be good about having Game Night every month or so - it's just a fun excuse to hang out together!

David made a wooden set of boards for us to play our new favorite game - Marbles. Yes, it's very 1923, but it's fun! We learned how to play Marbles from David's Grandma Hullum and Cecil. The best time we ever had with them was in Georgia this last December where we played Marbles! David traced out the pattern for the board and came home and made it, then we ordered marbles off the internet.







Our level of fun on Game Night is directly proportional to the amount of alcohol consumed. Tonight sure was fun!


This is a re-enactment by Grayson of a particular time when she and Grant were in a train station in Madrid, Spain. Some nut came up to Grant and gave his best Rumpelstilskin impression, then next thing Grant knows his wallet and passport are gone! He hadn't even felt the pick-pocket! It's still a sour topic for him because you can only imagine the problems it created to lose your wallet, ID and passport in a foreign country. We still get a laugh out of it!



My sweet sister gave me these earrings tonight for my birthday. She said she picked them out because they matched my eyes! Awwwww!!!! I was so touched when she said that, I began to cry. Then they made fun of me for crying, so I cried some more. Just kidding - I'm used to the torment. The earrings really do match my eyes, don't they?


Apparently, David said something that Jenn didn't like?!?!?


Jenn gettin' her groove on.




Next game...Trivial Pursuit! Jenn and David don't like to play this game because the Norwood kids are a bunch of brainiacs!



And this is how our hostess, Grayson, ends the night with her guests. She quietly leaves the fun, then we find her crashed in the bed. How rude!


Freedom Journey


In December of 2006, just 2 years after Byron died in Iraq, we decided to take a "Freedom Journey." We spent 3weeks on a road trip through the eastern US - from Austin east to Savannah, then all the way north to New England, and back a little inland to Texas. We traveled over 6000 miles in an effort to see our beautiful country and understand what Byron sacrificed his life for. We drove scenic routes, through small towns and big cities, stopping at places that held history in shaping our nation. We stopped at Veteran's Memorials, National Cemeteries, historical monuments and some of the most beautiful places in America. In each place, we left a "Freedom Rock," a smooth stone that had Byron's name and KIA date on one side, and said "Freedom Isn't Free" on the other. It was our way of taking Byron with us and leaving a bit of him in each special place. This experience was so healing for us, and truly one of the most memorable and special events of our entire lives. Here are our favorite pictures from the Freedom Journey.