Hot Chocolate Race

I convinced my friend Becca to run in her first race! Saturday, January 24th we ran in the Issac Dickson Hot Chocolate 10K (6 miles). Becca was fired up from the moment I arrived at her house that morning and she didn't stop! She rocked out her first race and I think she might be hooked! The rain was trying to start and the wind picked up briskly as the race was beginning. By the end, the sun was trying to peek out; but the wind was holding strong. Becca's husband, Gabe, is a wonderful chef. He got back into town Friday night and was able to cheer us on with their son Waver. After the race, they invited me back to the house for a celebratory beer and breakfast! I think I was more excited about the breakfast! Bacon, hashbrowns, and an omelet to die for! What could have been better!
On a side note: Happy Birthday to my sweet mom! She celebrated her big day on the 12th by spending the weekend with me! Also, check out the Gribble's link when you get a chance...cute, cute!

New Baby

On Tuesday, January 6th Jill and Eddie Hughes celebrated the birth of their first child Holly Kathryn. I was able to go visit them a few weekends ago. I thought Jill looked good considering she was adjusting to "mommyhood"! Jill is loving being a mommy and it seems to suit her well! Holly was a bundle of joy...she loved to snuggle up with you!

Fire Fighter

I found a video still on my camera from Christmas. Sawyer is into firefighters; or at least he was at Christmas. Since it's now a month later and he's 3, he could have moved on to something else! Either way, Aunt Kathryn gave him a fire helmet for Christmas. Phillip taught him how to push a button and "sound like a real firefighter". One afternoon,I caught him and G.G helping save people...

Happy New Year

Feelin Fine in 2009!!!

I went with Phillip and Jammie down to Lake Norman to celebrate the new year. After stopping by Grandma Gribble's house for a visit and early dinner, we were on our way. Dana (Jammie's friend from preschool) and her husband Shane live on the lake. Shane is a crew chief now for Clint Bowyer. They have a beautiful house that sits on the lake. This morning, I enjoyed my coffee sitting outside taking in the views of the lake. What a fabulous, relaxing way to start the new year!

The Talker

The only time...

...when back fat is cute! She better enjoy it now!

Children's Museum

Mom, Jammie, and I took the kids to the Children's Museum. Sawyer was a little shy at first, but eventually warmed up to things. There were lots of kids there exploring.

They had a Krispy Kreme shop where the kids could "make" the donuts and Grocery Store for shopping in! This place was cute! Right now, they have an exhibit about staying healthy and fit. Sawyer enjoyed sliding, climbing, fishing, rowing, jumping, putting on a puppet show and making a craft. We had a blast!

Petty Christmas

The Monday after Christmas, my mom's side of the family got together to celebrate. We had family come into town from Ohio, D.C., California, and other places within N.C. All 6 Petty kids (my mom's brothers and sisters) were able to be together! The Williard's made their mouth-watering homemade pizzas (which taste even better in their pizza oven at their house!) which went along well with the other dips, veggies, cheeses, and desserts made by Kathryn, mom, and Marie.

After eating and having some cocktails, we preceded to play "dirty santa". This can become quite the game with this group; and we weren't let down this year either! I think in the end, everyone went home happy!

Just when we thought things were winding down, a game of cards got started. We ended up having 2 tables of card games going on at the same time! Phillip and I called it a night around midnight and headed back to mom and dad's. I'm not sure how much longer the games lasted. Either way, it was wonderful to be around family!

Happy Anniversary to Kyle and Marie! 29 wonderful years together! Thanks for spending your special day with us!

Christmas Fun

The Ohio Gribbles got into town Saturday night. After getting settled, we decided to open presents before dinner. Sawyer helped play Santa while Caroline enjoyed eating ribbon and bags. Sawyer got lots of cool new toys to play with; especially firetrucks since that seems to be his new "thing" right now.

Jammie has never been the "cheerleader type" as she played basketball growing up. So, for Christmas this year, I had her open Caroline's gift which just happend to be a Carolina Tarheel cheerleader outfit for Caroline. She will be so cute wearing this when she gets older! This can only mean one thing for the near future: I will be opening a "teacher sweater" present from Jammie sometime soon! This has been the running joke since Sawyer was born!