HAPPY FATHER'S DAY

Paul is the most wonderful father and our sons love him so much. They went to play golf (after giving him some new equipment and clothing for the event).

Another love of "the guys" is firing up the grill and smoker.
Here they are getting some chickens ready to smoke.

Chef Dianne Has Arrived!

I had a wonderful week in Columbia, South Carolina at USC Culinary Institute. It was a great oportunity for me to learn and practice my kitchen skills. Now I know what the culinary teachers have to go through. I met some great ladies and we ate our way from Sunday to Friday.

The McCutchen House



Sunday Evening Reception

In the Kitchen with Chef Thorr

Setting the Table

Napkin Folds
USC Campus Tour

Herbs and Spices

Happy Birthday to Me!

I had a great birthday this year. Thanks to all my friends and family.

Mother's Day in Memphis

Because Paul is working night shift:( I just knew 2 boys and 2 dogs plus myself would not make for good daytime sleeping, so Mark and I (and Annabelle) headed to Memphis to see Matt and Duke. We had a great time, the boys treated me like a queen. I am so blessed. Here are a few pictures of the weekend
Duke and Annabelle played so hard and drank gallons of water. ha!

Matt and Mark played horseshoes and bocce ball.

They even grilled steaks for supper.

Old Home Site

While we were out riding around looking at the land, I saw what at first appeared to be just a pile of bricks but after looking closer it's an old fireplace. It must have been someone's home years ago. I wonder who it belonged to and what stories it could tell?

Yes I played around with the effects on the computer.

The Landlord

Late Sunday afternoon, Paul wanted to drive up 61 north to check out some land that was for sale. (For Hunting) So off we go, we had no problem finding the land and as we pulled off the road, I saw a splash in the creek.
As we walked up to the bridge I saw the cause of the splash.
A nice big GATOR!
See him in the water.


We made sure he was way down the creek before we walked over to check out the land.

While the guys hiked around in the woods, I took pictures of wildflowers.




God's own Easter Colors

Easter Weekend

We had a great Easter Weekend, plus a little extra drama over the crawfish.
The guys heading to play golf at Black Bear (one of these days I am going to go along and take pictures of this event) I stayed home and got everything ready for our Saturday night and Sunday lunch. The "promised" crawfish did not work out as planned so we went to plan B. It all worked out in the end.
Easter was a glorious day and we had a great day. Church was crowded as usual for Easter. Here are a few pictures
The guys getting ready to hit the links.

Duke plays the part of the Easter Hound Dog.
Attacking the "mud bugs"
The family photo.

I am so blessed to have such a wonderful family, my darling husband and two sons that have made me so proud.

Matt's 28th Birthday

Matt turned 28 on Feb. 26 but we couldn't all get together until March. Paul and I drove over to Hattiesburg since Dianne and Jeff were there visiting Meme. Mark and Lauren arrived about the same time Friday night even though Mark drove from Vicksburg and Lauren from Starkville, Matt got in later that night. We had a great time celebrating Matt's birthday and then he added to the news that he had been offered a new job with Trust One Bank and had accepted the offer. Congrats.
Here are just a few of the pictures. Matt blowing out the candles on his cake.

Celebrating with champagne and a good game of Rook.

I missed an entire month???

I looked at the calendar and then looked at my blog and realized that I had missed the entire month of March. Wow. Sorry about that, let me see if I can catch up.

Valentine's Day

Somehow between the snow, a marathon, a mini family reunion Paul and I managed to take a few minutes to celebrate. Paul gave me a dozen red roses and he took me to the Vera Bradley store in Birmingham to shop. Yippee. I got 2 more pieces of my Vera. I gave Paul a digital picture frame with the following pictures.
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