Grayson Hyatt

My good friends Dana and Trent, that now live in CO, came home to NC for the holidays. I was able to spend a few hours with them and meet their son. Grayson was born on October 22nd and he was just dying to meet his aunt Bethany! I drove up to Hickory for the day and spent the afternoon loving on him. I could just eat him with a spoon! They will be flying back to CO this week so I'll have to wait until next summer to see them again. However, there's always Skype to get me through the months!

On the go

After Christmas was over there was still fun to be had! Phillip, Jammie, and I went out one night to watch the Carolina basketball game. Back home, Caroline was busy going through my Christmas dress-up bag. Watch out Hollywood!!! Mom and I took Sawyer to the Children's Museum and out to lunch. Everyone else in W-S had the same idea that day! There was also the dinner I had with Kyle and Marie and the visit from Kathryn that we all enjoyed.

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Christmas Morning...again

Since the Ohio Gribbles came Sunday afternoon and we were over at Kathryn's late for the family celebration; we decided to exchange our presents Monday morning. So, it was like waking up Christmas morning minus that fact that Santa didn't come visit again. Caroline and Sawyer had a good time handing out the gifts and then the opening began! Since I gave Caroline a cheerleading outfit last year, I knew that payback was coming. Sure enough, I opened up a lovely teacher sweater this year! After it was all said and done; it looked like a tornado had come through! After checking out all the gifts again, we headed over to grandmother Gen's to get out some energy. Since it's been so snowy and rainy; Pattie was loving being able to run and play too!
(If the slideshow starts on the video, press play a few times until pictures pop up after the video finishes. There are a few pictures but for some reason they aren't showing up first?!)

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Petty Family Christmas

Sunday evening, the Petty side of the family got together for the annual dirty santa/white elephant gift exchange. We were missing our northern (NY, MD/D.C area) relatives, but we gained our west coast relatives for this celebration. The Ohio Gribbles got into town around 2:30 Sunday afternoon, unpacked, played a bit, then got back in the car to head over to Kathryn's for the festivities. After a delicious spread of dips, flank steak, and divine desserts; the games began! Of course, this year proved just as entertaining as past years with the award for best gift going to John. The lucky recipient of his gift was Uncle Kyle who gained a snuggie and light set complete with a chia Obama!

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Merry Christmas!

I was awoken Christmas morning by a video text message from the Ohio Gribbles. Jammie, Caroline, and Sawyer said "Merry Christmas! Call us!" That of course had me jumping out of bed and ready to start the day. I woke up mom and dad by playing the message for them. Once we got ourselves up and awake, we jumped on Skype to watch the Ohio Gribbles. Sawyer was so excited because he spent his first Christmas morning waking up in his own house! He showed us everything Santa had left while Caroline proceeded to eat donuts and chocolate! A girl after my own heart!

After saying our goodbyes, mom, dad, and I opened up our presents. Mom ended up wrapping Caroline's pretend vacumn cleaner as a clue for me to use the money to buy a new one for the floors. I am tired of using the broom and quite frankly it just doesn't work all that well as I watch Pattie hair and dust float away. So, I returned the pretend one back to it's spot in the toy cabinet and will venture out soon to get my own real one! Mom had also taken the time to paint a Pattie ornament for me. She found an ornament, but it was brown. So, she had to doctor it up a bit. It looks just like Pattie if you ask me! I can't wait to hang it on my tree next year! Don't worry, Pattie was not left out from her first Christmas. She got some bones and a few new toys; one of which was destroyed within the hour!

After presents, we headed over to Gen's for breakfast. There were about 25 of us that gathered as we always do for breakfast. This tradition began at my grandparents house many years ago and was passed along to Gen and Ken's house. Now the tradition has continued and will hopefully never be broken. I always hear it's good to start new traditions, but this is one I'm not willing to let go of just yet. We met at 10 to chit chat and enjoy a plate full of goodness! The afternoon was spent napping, Christmas movie watching, and eating a late lunch/dinner before calling it a night. I was to meet at Kathryn's house for a 5:30 a.m. departure time to go sale shopping!

The Gribbles Gather

Christmas Eve we traveled over to Grandma Gribble's house for the Gribble Family Christmas. Unfortunately, we don't get to see this side of the family very often so it's always nice to sit around and catch up with each other. Uncle Steve, Aunt Martha, and my cousins Margaret, Russ and his wife Jessica joined in the festivities. We were missing the Ohio Gribble's from our gathering, so we will go see Grandma Gribble next week after they have arrived.

We enjoyed an afternoon of talking, eating, a few cocktails, and presents before we had to head back for the lovefeast. The service started at 10:30 and we were back home after midnight. I had coffee at the service, so I wasn't able to go to sleep until 2:00! I knew that there would be a nap taken Christmas day!

Holiday Cheer

Monday morning I awoke with a huge list of things to do before my evening party. My friends had requested another girls night out (for them) at my house and it was decided that the Monday before Christmas would work out best. So, I started my morning by finishing up the cleaning of the house before tackling the "decorations" of the coozies and cups that we would be using that night. I found these for a dollar back in November and decided I would dress them up a bit and give them out as presents. Then I remembered that some people might only want to drink wine, so I found a way to "dress up" the wine glasses I found for a buck also. So, the finished product was ready and I was off to my rescheduled hair appt. since I couldn't get out of my driveway or road on Saturday. It was after that appt. that things changed.
Mother nature had another idea for many of us. Slick driveways, snowed in cars in garages, black ice, and powerless homes had now postponed the outing until January. However, a few of us were determined that we could get out and that we would still get together for the holidays. So, we met at Brixx pizza for our outing. I was a little bummed at not having the girls over, but saw the bright side to all of this: we can get together twice and maybe next time more people can come over that were originally out of town for this planned event! There's always a silver lining to everything; sometimes it just takes a little time to figure it out or accept it.
All in all, it was a lovely evening spent with friends (new and old) before we all begin our holiday travels. Merry Christmas to everyone and just know, "we can do it again in 2010"!!!

Let It Snow!

Every year, I have rushed out of my house the moment I begin my winter break. This year, I decided I was going to take things easy, go with the flow, and take it all in. Why rush? I love being with my family, but when I'm gone for two weeks I miss out on the Christmas season at my own house. The joys of waking up in my pajamas, drinking coffee, and maybe not changing into real clothes until the early afternoon. I miss holiday time spent with my friends and taking in what my town has to offer. So, this year marks the first year EVER that I have not rushed home. Am I growing up?!
Friday was supposed to be our last day before the winter break, but mother nature had another plan for us. School was called off after 6 that morning; after I had showered, gotten dressed, heard the coffee pot start, and dried my hair. So since I was awake, I watched the snowfall...back in my pajamas of course! I watched as the snow fell heavy at times looking almost like a blizzard. About every hour, I would walk outside with Pattie and take in the winter wonderland that was falling around us. Pattie loved the snow this year and it was hilarious to watch her reaction as the snow grew higher. I had a total of 10.5 inches fall at my house and it's still around three days later. The roads have all been scraped, I shoveled my driveway and my walkway, and sent my friends back home. Some friends and their dog came over to stay Saturday morning after they lost power Friday. They ventured back home Sunday night around 9 when they got the phone call from a neighbor that 50 hours later the power had come back on. It was a little quiet in the house last night, but after sleeping on the couch Saturday night I welcomed the stillness of no puppies playing and lying in my warm bed. So, now it's off to clean the house, make some food, and get the drinks ready for the girls Christmas party at my house tonight!

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Love and Licks

Wishing you all a Happy Holiday Season!

Tis The Season

The Sunday after Thanksgiving, I arrived back in the mountains determined to decorate for Christmas. I know it might seem early to some, but since there is some traveling during the holidays I don't want to miss out on the season. This was the first time I have ever bought a tree and brought it into the house by myself. I was determined to complete this tradition by myself and I have to say that it all feels different this year. This is the first year that my house has that warm and inviting feel to it. I have decorated my house with roommates all seven years I have lived up here, but for the first time I really feel like it's home. It all looks so good, if I do say so myself.
Pattie was not so sure what to think about the tree when she first saw it. She did some barking telling it who was boss in this house. (I'm sure she said that was me!) She has taken some more sniff tests, but luckily hasn't messed with it too much...yet! Decorating the tree is always an enjoyable experience for me. I love getting out the old ornaments like the ones I used to help hang on my grandparents tree and adding the new ornaments that somehow represent a place I have gone that year or an event I have done. The past few years at Christmas, my mom has given me one ornament that represents something memorable from that past year. I had forgotten all about the Kiawah Island Half-Marathon ornament she made for me last year. And might I add that thank goodness I am not running that race today, because there's no way I could make it 13.1 miles!
We had a beautiful snow fall here Saturday morning, but nothing really stuck to the ground. I ran out in the morning to try and gather a few more presents for the angel tree names I took. Of course while I was out, I found some other items that would just be perfect for some gifts. So, those were purchased as well. I met some friends at a local sports bar to watch the Carolina basketball game. Even though they lost by 2, it was an intense game to watch; well at least the 2nd half was! That evening, I went with a friend and met a new friend up to Dillsboro. They open their shops up the 1st two weekends in the month and set out luminaries. It really felt like Christmas when you put the hot cider, decorations, and cold weather together. We each purchased a few little items, filled up with some cider and sweets, then called it a night after about two hours. We stopped at a favorite restaurant for a late dinner before heading home.
Pair all this with a special viewing of Christmas Vacation and you have a nice little beginning to a Holiday season!

More Music

Sweet Sound

Here are a few videos of Uncle David playing at the campfire. In the first one, you can hear him playing the spoons. If you look closely, you can see his shadow from the fire light. I believe the second one is nothing but black so then I got smart. The other videos focus on the fire while hearing him play in the background. Enjoy!!! We certainly did!

okay, more videos to come...this is taking a long time!!!

Sittin' By The Fire

Friday we ate again...surprise! We had homemade waffles with strawberries, blueberries, walnuts, and nuts for toppings. Yum-o! Since we didn't finish up breakfast until around 10:30, we decided that eating Dairi-O at noon would just be crazy! So, we had our hotdog lunches around 1:30 after the Williards arrived. After lunch, it was time to do some serious playing and exercising. However, only the playing really happened! I walked with some of the kids down to the creek with Pattie, Phillip, and Jammie. Pattie loved the water and flipped out when jumping in it! It was nearing time for the campfire, so I decided to get Pattie out of the cold and me into my cold weather clothes. So, off to mom and dad's we headed. After drying Pattie off, she laid down and I don't think she moved much after that! She was worn out! With cold clothes on, I headed back over to Kathryn's to get ready for the campfire.
It took time, a leaf blower, and some scrap dry wood from David's van to get the wet wood to finally lite for the fire. After it was blazin', we cooked our brats, opened our beers, and listened to David play and sing. Saturday morning most everyone was heading back to their homes. It was our last night to enjoy each other and be thankful for such a wonderful family to love.

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A Day of Thankfulness..

and eating! We started our day with coffee and a nibble or two before heading to Kathryn's house for brunch. There was still some family coming into town, so we opted for a late breakfast and a late lunch/dinner for our Thanksgiving meal. Kathryn went above and beyond with the brunch! It was amazing; complete with mimosas! I took Pattie over to run around, so after brunch I walked her back to mom and dad's house. This was more for me because I had to get my body ready to eat again in a few hours! I of course did not want to miss out on any food opportunities!
Just after brunch, the Bruntons made it down! We were excited to see everyone and meet Katy for the first time! After some more play time with the kids, a little bit of exercising, and some resting, we all headed back over to Kathryn's for our Thanksgiving feast! And what a feast it was! I forgot to take pictures of the spread this time, but I do have some pictures from the fabulous brunch. Our campfire was postponed due to the rain, but that has never stopped the Petty clan from having some fun!

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Hometown Thankfulness

Wednesday morning, I packed up myself and the dog and we headed down the mountain for home. The Ohio Gribbles had already made the trip and I was anxious to hug them all! We spent Wednesday afternoon having lunch, playing outside, and getting ready for dinner at Kathryn's house. Some of the NY Petty's and the Washington Petty's had already made the trip down that day. We gathered for appetizers, drinks, salad, and lasagna before settling in for a game or two of Oh Hell. We called it a night sometime around 10:30 in preparation for the long day of eating ahead of us!
Enjoy the slideshow of pre-Thanksgiving fun. There are lots of pictures, so more slideshows to come!

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Good Ol' Days

It's a rainy, cold day here and after church and running some errands I decided to sit on the couch and watch a movie. I opened the cabinet looking for Christmas Vacation and stumbled upon the DVD of my MeMe and Pa. For some reason, I have never watched it. When I got it, I wasn't ready to see them again thinking it would be too hard to watch. Listening to them sing on the CD David did for us one year got me emotional enough. So, I tucked the DVD away and knew that one day I would come back to it when the time was right. Well, I guess that someone thought today was the right day for me.
David videotaped MeMe and Pa walking around the house telling stories, explaining changes they had done, and what the rooms had been used for throughout the years. Towards the end, David videotaped a dinner that some "Rural Hall family" had before MeMe and Pa moved down to Salemtowne. Listening to those stories had me laughing through my tears. I certainly remembered being in that house each day with them. I was lucky enough to live a block away and got off the bus at their house in elementary school. I'd have to say I probably spent at least some part, if only for 5 minutes, of the day at their house on a daily basis. I remember I loved taking showers in "MeMe's shower" because she had the good smelling Finesse shampoo. After cleaning up, Pa would share his Rocky Road ice cream with us. If memory serves me correctly, this was a typical Saturday evening for me. I'm pretty sure I would even spend the night over there sometimes too. As the video drew to a close, MeMe was putting together flower arrangements for the graves at her home church. It was when she said, "Bethany is coming to pick me up" that I lost it. That was our thing. Every year, I would go with her to place the flowers on the grave the Saturday before Easter. When I was able to drive, I came to "pick her up" in her own Cadillac. Seeing her emotional over getting the flowers just right and hearing her say my name just made my heart ache. This was when I put Pattie in my lap and let her wipe the tears from my cheeks.
So, this Thanksgiving I am thankful for the memories of my dear MeMe and Pa; and for having known the love of a small town family.

Saturday Shower

Saturday I had this brilliant idea to go watch the Christmas parade downtown. I have wanted to go since I moved up here and have never made it. So, this was going to be the year! I was supposed to meet at the Anders house that morning. However, since the parade didn't start until 11:00 and lasts for 2 hours, there was no way I could be at Dinah's house to help give a baby shower for her daughter by 2:00! So, I had to cancel my plans with the Anders and get myself ready to throw a shower. I hung around the house vacuuming up some dog hair, taking Pattie for a walk, and wrapping some gifts. The Kindergarten and First Grade team got together for gifts; so I was able to do the shopping and the wrapping!
I headed over that way just after I watched Carolina score 3 touchdowns...Go Heels!!! I sent out 72 invitations to this floating baby shower and probably 50+ people showed up! It was a house full! It was nice seeing teachers from school outside of the school halls where you could really talk and get to know each other better. I finally headed home a little before 6 and just relaxed that evening.

Santa Visits Early

Friday night, Biltmore Park was having a tree lighting and Santa event. It turns out Maggie, Justin, and their two boys were the only ones that could make it. I dropped off Pattie to play with Chloe then headed over to meet the Anders. We walked over to the festivities; stopping to get some free hot chocolate, cider, and cookies first. After our treats, we got in line so the boys could see Santa. He was sitting on a bench outside of the new Barnes and Nobles store. While waiting, there were carolers, a juggler, and a man singing and playing the mandolin. The local weatherman was also out in the middle doing his 6:00 weather reports.
We were two kids away from seeing Santa when he stood up and said he would be right back?! Turns out, he stood right in front of us to conduct the countdown to light up the trees. I think we might have been on TV!!! Of course, I forgot to call anyone especially the 2 friends I know that have DVR. Oh well!!! There are trees that line the middle of the square and they were filled with Christmas lights. So, at 6:30 the lights were turned on for the first time. It was beautiful! Santa sat back down and the boys were able to talk to Santa. Well, Miles talked to Santa at least!
After walking back to the cars, I said goodbye to the Anders, picked up some dinner, and headed over to Ann and Brad's to watch the Carolina basketball game. With 3 minutes left and a terrible looking team, Pattie and I called it a night and headed home. Can't win them all right?!

A walk in the woods

Sunday morning, mom and I sat around for about two hours talking and enjoying our cup of coffee. We enjoyed having leftovers from Saturdays breakfast before heading to church. After church and a quick snack, we decided to take Pattie into the Pisgah for a walk in the woods.
I haven't taken her on this small trail since early summer, so I was interested to see what she would do. Plus, mom has been in the Pisgah but has never walked around. So, we loaded up the car and went out to enjoy the beautiful weather! At one point in the walk, I let Pattie drink some water. The water must have had some hidden drug in it, because she turned crazy! It was hilarious to watch! I think maybe the slap of the water with her paw or maybe her reflection was making her flip out! Either way, we let her play for a bit. We finished our walk then headed back to the house for lunch outside before saying goodbye to mom.
It was a perfect, relaxing, mother/daughter weekend.

Christmas at Biltmore

Mom and I have been talking about doing this for a few years now. This year just finally felt right! So, Friday evening mom came up to the mountains! I fixed dinner for us Friday night so we enjoyed talking, eating, and having a cocktail. Saturday morning, we went to the yummy breakfast place I discovered a few weeks back when my friend Becca came into town. After a delicious breakfast at Sunnypoint; we ran a few errands, took Pattie for a walk, then showered for our evening plans.
We had tickets to the 6:00 entering at the Biltmore! I haven't been there in several years and mom hasn't been since high school (I think that's right). Neither of us had been at Christmas before which I recommend. Even though it was November and I usually try not to do Christmas things until after Thanksgiving, it was worth the exception! It certainly got me in the Christmas mood..well, minus the mid 60 degree weather! We arrived around 4:45; leaving plenty of time to take some pictures, walk around the grounds, check out the shops, and buy a few bites of chocolate. We needed some energy for all the walking we were about to do!
We entered the house around 6 and exited about an hour later after seeing the house all decorated for Christmas. The main Christmas tree was amazing, but I was almost more impressed with all the smaller trees throughout the house. While touring the house, we heard a harp, saw some dancers, and heard some singers in the distance. It's just amazing how massive the house is, how small the beds are, and how huge the rooms are! Of course, the swimming pool and bowling alley in the basement was pretty typical!
After ending our tour, we went back into one last shop. It took about 20 minutes to exit the grounds after a quick stop in front of the house for a picture with the trees lit up. As we exited the grounds; we did see at least one deer, were 15 minutes late for a tour of the winery but did see it all decorated, and listened to Christmas music on the way out! We were certainly ready for some yummy dinner. So, a trip to Brixx pizza on the way home made the evening complete. We were both certainly tired after finally arriving home and called it an evening after playing with a playful puppy.

Halloween

Saturday morning, Jess and I got up and went jogging in the rain. Yes, rain and humidity galore! This was not exactly October 31st weather! Let's just say that Halloween has not been too much fun the past few years and I was looking forward to being with friends, dressing up, attending a party, and then trick-or-treating! After jogging, we showered then picked up Heather to run some errands. Eliza, Jessica's oldest daughter, decided she wanted to be Pattie for Halloween. So, we ran to get some items to make the costume. After errands, we headed back so I could meet up with Jill and her family for a bit. It was a short visit, but great to catch up with Jill! It was nice to get some good words of encouragement, hear about what's been going on, then see a sleeping baby that luckily woke up right before I had to leave! I had to cut the visit short because it was time to get ready for the neighborhood party! The party started at 4 and it was 80 degrees! So, the costumes I had taken to wear got changed at the last minute. I ended up wearing a short sleeve shirt, a skirt, and chacos; and I was still sweating! However, the party was fun! I loved seeing the kids play the games, eat some good food, and meet new people. We stayed at the party until dark, then took the kids trick or treating, then headed back to the party! I think we all finally left around 10:30 when all the parents started realizing how late the kids were staying up! After watching Anna and Eliza go through their stash, we all called it a night! It was so hot I didn't even dress up Pattie until Sunday morning. We woke Sunday to rain, wind, and about 55 degree weather! So, I got her dressed long enough for one picture! Overall, it was a fabulous weekend! (I forgot to put Pattie in the slideshow, so she made her own debut up top!)

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