Farner Family Reunion: Part I

A few times a year, it's a treat for all of us to get together for a visit! It's especially fun to watch the little cousins play together; they are ages 5, almost 4, 3 and 15 months, so they have a lot in common. :) This is the first time we've met at a "non-resident" location, so it was a little drive for everyone. We arrived at the Kentucky Dam Village last Monday afternoon and settled into our cottages. That evening, we enjoyed a delicious meal prepared by Andy and Laura: grilled pork burgers, fried corn nuggets and carrot sticks! Then, Polk treated us all to a German chocolate cake (my favorite!) to celebrate Keith's birthday (June 3) and mine (today!).

On Tuesday, the guys went golfing and Papa Ollie dominated! The girls (and Benji) went for a dip in the lake and some playtime on the beach. A huge success is that they ALL seemed to enjoy the water! Here are some pictures from that day. Stay tuned for updates on the rest of the trip...

Our Summer So Far...

Just like many of you, June has been extremely busy for us so far! In fact, I am beginning to feel like it's December due to our hectic schedule. But, all of the activities have been good ones and there are blessings all over the place, so we are thankful. Here's a little recap of what we've been up to...

Clara is enjoying her 2nd season of tee ball this year and is doing a great job. Her coach is the girls' high school softball coach and works really well with the kids. The past 2 games, Andy has been a "field" coach (i.e. telling them all when & where to run)! Here she is pictured with two of her friends, Libby and Mia. I've been excited to see her swing develop and her running up to the plate and to each base get faster and more focused.

I have done harp demostrations at 5 libraries in north Mississippi and have been interested to see other small towns and meet many kids. I think I've played for at least 100 kids so far and almost all of them had never seen a harp before. The summer reading theme for these libraries is "Be Creative at the Library"--so, they thought a music demo would be fun.
Andy has been busy getting our new intern (for the summer) settled in. Jake is here for 2 months to lead the youth and help Andy in other ways around the church. We are delighted that he brought his wife and son along with him!
Right now we are in the middle of VBS. I am teaching 5th and 6th grade, Andy was a skit character this morning and will lead the ending celebration and Clara and Benji have been participants. The lessons are about the life of Jesus and the theme is "Upward Bound" since we are on an upward bound journey (to heaven) as we follow Christ during our life on earth.

And, we have a new addition to the family! A sweet kitten named Rosebush (can you guess who came up with that one?!). She is the daughter (or maybe the son!) of our outside cat, Silly. Rosebush is inside only at this time and we love watching her play. Unfortunately she is still pretty scared of us and only just this week will be in the same room with us--not in our arms yet! So, I don't have a good picture of her to show you.

We're so excited about our Farner Family Reunion next week! Stay tuned for pictures and stories sometime around the end of next week.

Abigail's first dance recital!!

On Saturday we all attended the long awaited Style Dance Academy year end recital at Shelbyville High School. Our group took up almost an entire row in the auditorium! Polk and Pops, Grandma Aggie (Abby's great grandmother), Grandma Sharon, Aunt Evelyn (Abby's great, great aunt), Hannah, Andy and I were all there. Abigail's 'tot dance' and 'tot gym' classes each performed and she did a great job! Above is the video of her dance class. We had a ball watching each performance and we are so proud of Abigail's growth and development over the past year. Dance seems to have helped her come out of her shell and has definitely strengthened her feet and legs. How's that for two birds with one stone? After the recital she received flowers from Pops and Grandma Sharon and Grandma Aggie and a huge trophy from her teachers, Miss Kari, Miss Holly and Miss Alicia.

On the way home from the recital Andy asked Abby how she thought it went and she said "I had SO much fun!" Next year she will be in the "Mini Movers" class. Now, let's all take a minute to be thankful that I don't have to fix hair and makeup for my preschooler for another year!

**Special thanks to ICI for letting me borrow the office video camera, and to our very patient IT guy, Patrick. He helped me post this video.

Kentucky Lake planning

With a week before the trip upon us, I figured it'd be a good idea to make sure we're all on the same page with an unofficial itinerary.

Monday:
Since we're all coming from various distances, let's do lunch on your own, and meet up for dinner in mid-to-late afternoon after naps, check-in, unpacking, etc. Gracie or Laura is open to cook their meal for dinner.

Tuesday:
Lunch will be provided by the K&K Cafe, featuring a kid-friendly menu, and everyone's favorite uncle in costume. Show up for further details on the meal and entertainment.
Pops also would like to rent a pontoon boat today to take on the lake. We can discuss what time would be best for everyone's schedules (i.e. naps, snacks etc.) Whichever sister didn't cook on Monday will cook tonight.

Wednesday
Lunch will be TBD or on your own, depending on activities. Pops also has suggested golf today with Uncle Keith and the brothers-in-law. Tee time TBD. Polk will put on the grand finale dinner of the week.

I will stay with Halseys. Kristi will stay with Bridges. Hasleys will host meals because they will have the most room. Other activities include tennis, horseback riding, and swimming. If anyone knows of other things to do, or corrections, feel free to comment. Also offer any suggestions or change in plans.

Uncle Keith

Benjamin's 3rd Birthday

Thanks to everyone for the good wishes and gifts sent for Benji's birthday! We had a nice weekend enjoying our little guy (who is not so little anymore!) and all the things he likes to do. On Friday, June 5, we took a trip to the Memphis Fire Museum as a birthday outing. Benjamin loves fire trucks (really trucks of any kind, but especially ones that make noise), so this seemed like an appropriate activity for him! He liked seeing the old trucks and getting to try them out himself. We even saw some that were driven by horses! We read about some historic fires in the Memphis area and how they were fought. It was a great day! On Sunday, June 7 (his actual birthday) he stood on the pew in church while the congregation sang to him (!), then enjoyed his requested lunch--cheese pizza--after church with some friends. All week long, he anticipated making and eating his firetruck cake!

Belated birthday post

Well, of the 27 birthdays, this one was one of the most action-packed.

Kristi and I started in Athens with a trip to a doughnut shop for some red velvet, chocolate covered doughnuts. Umm...umm...my favorite. Then went to Buckhead Diner for some crab cakes (Kristi had grouper) and their famous appetizer potato chips. Unfortunately, it was average at best, but at least she had a gift card, so the price was right for me. =)
The afternoon took us to Piedmont Park in Atlanta where we rented bikes and rode for an hour. Boy, were we sweaty! We're talking high 80s and sunny, c'mon.
Then we headed over to the game, Cubs-Braves, and the Baby Bears prevailed, in 11 innings, 3-2. We were joined by my home group guys and their girlfriends. There was Dan, Mike, Greg, David, Robin, Scott, and Tara. Nine of us all together. We cashed in on 2-for-1 priced tickets because it was on Wednesday. And my ticket was free because of a birthday promotion all season. (We plan to go back for Kristi's birthday in August...It's in February, but they match year round birthdays throughout the season)
I couldn't have thought of more stuff to do for my birthday, especially if you include the entire week.
Bruce cooked Sunday dinner before the big day. Fall-off-the-bone chicken wings as an appetizer, a slab of beef with goat cheese, spinach, prosciutto, and noodles for the main course. And a blackberry, peach cobbler for dessert.
Gifts included a drill, 25-foot, tape measure and tool tote from Bruce and Carole, white golf shirt, and plaid shorts from Kristi, money from the AARPs and Ruthie, and an Olive Garden gift card from Clefster.
Whew! I'm gonna need most of the year to get ready for the big 2-8 at this pace.

Franklin College Welcomes the Indianapolis Colts!

Saturday was a full squad practice for the Colts at Franklin College. Andy and I took Abigail, met mom and dad and walked from their house in Franklin. Hannah's a little young to be interested in the NFL...especially when it involves hours on bleachers! Larry and Sharon (Andy's parents) have been working very hard to prepare for the practice. Larry (below) was largely responsible for the event, he worked to have the field in perfect condition, extra bleachers brought in and all amenities available that the Colts had requested. Frankly, he's glad it's over!

Ben (who is painted on a regular basis) was dressed to welcome the team!

Peyton Manning, Quarterback, team captain, all around good guy.

Abigail (with Grandma Aggie) waving to Peyton. She didn't understand why he wouldn't wave back! Besides Grandma, Dawn, Marc, Mckenzie, Jacob, Susanna, Clint and Gavin were also there.

One of the new punters, if he makes the cut. He's also Polk's new favorite player, can you guess why?? An interesting connection is that Keith wrote a feature story about this guy (a UK alum) when he was an intern at the Lexington Herald Leader.

Dallas Clark, tight end. Another fan favorite.

The final huddle.

We had such a great time watching the practice. Mom and I took it all in and tried to make sense of all the drills. Some of them were similar to soccer drills that I did in college but that feels like it was a century ago! Also, we could see the entire team and it is amazing to me how 99 players were all so organized. Dad, Clint, Mark and Andy obviously were more familiar with the game and football practices in general so it was interesting to overhear their observations. The weather was perfect and I'm very proud of the way my alma mater (and my in-laws!) hosted such a big event. Our family (Bridges side, especially) is full of Colts fans and we were so excited to see them in person! Oh and by the way Keith, AJB did NOT wear his Bob Sanders jersey, it was 'too hot!' But he did wear an FC shirt, so that counts for something, I guess!

Happy Birthday to the Little Brother!

1983

Okay, so he's not so little anymore! 

But, I couldn't resist a trip down memory lane. 

We love you!

Memorial Day Camping Trip!

Okay, this first picture isn't the best one ever taken of our family, but we were having fun! Over Memorial Day weekend we took our camper out for the first time. We met up with Megan and Stuart Rogers and we took our niece, Hailey (8) along for fun. The weather was perfect, the spot on a friend's farm in Brown County was ideal and we had a nice, relaxing time.

Hailey and Abigail, wading in the water and looking for rocks. We 'creek walked' most of the time. The water was cool and refreshing and very shallow, about 6 inches or so in most places.

A collection of 'pretty rocks for Grandma' which included a geode! Hailey and Andy were able to crack a geode before we came home.

The new-to-us camper.

We can't wait for the next chance to head out again soon!