The Stuff Dreams are Made of

Saturday was the 50th Annual National Barbie Convention.
It took place in the Marriott in D.C.
Tickets to this 4-day doll extravaganza were gone within minutes
of the announcement. I didn't stand a chance!
But I did get to attend the public sale held in the hotel....

There were literally thousands of other Barbie freaks there.

The public sale included lots of one of a kind dolls
made by some really talented designers.

Also for sale were doll clothes that cost just as much as their people-sized counterparts.

The ballroom held more dolls than I have ever seen in my life.

I only had ONE HOUR to look at everything!
Probably good, since two outfits and
one doll later, I was down $100.

Zoo-tastic

Last Saturday we battled 524,238,009,188,533 other drivers to visit the Smithsonian National Zoo in Washington, D.C.

No animals were harmed in the taking of this photograph.

This is a red panda, and completely adorable.
The line to the viewing areafor the giant pandas was like 2 miles long.

Parker and some random kid who wanted his picture taken.

Parker insists that this is the "real" Toucan Sam.

"Do these feathers make my butt look big?"

"HEY MOM! MOM! LOOK AT THIS! MOM, DID YOU SEE IT? MOM, MOM!"
If you are a kid, nothing is worth seeing unless you also get your mom to look at it, too.

Yes, Parker would have made an excellent meal for a young cheetah.

Parker's favorite.

That rock looks very menacing.

Guitar Hero

For Fathers' Day, we got Jeremy Guitar Hero for his PS2.
He played for 8 hours in a row.
Oh wait, he did take food and bathroom breaks.

A package came today!

Probably the best thing about being a grandkid is when your Grandma sends you a package.Grandma Williams loves to send Parker all kinds of things.
This time, it was a big box of Lego candy that she found
at a candy store.

Last summer when Parker was visiting, she described Lego candy to Parker and he was intrigued by the concept. Her note said that she had been looking for some ever since his visit, and had finally gotten her hands on some.

Thanks, Grandma! It is delicious! And you can actually stack them, too.

Angela's Graduation

Angela graduated today- the last of the Hancock clan to finish high school. She spent her senior year taking classes at Peidmont Community College, though.

We all crowded into the middle school gymnasium to cheer her on amongst the rednecks of Madison County.

Presenting the class of 2009!

Congratulations, Angela! We love you!

Last Day of School/100th post!

It's the last day of 4th grade!

Can ya feel the excitement?

As the buses leave for the last time, the teachers (and this exuberant student) blow bubbles to send the kids off for the summer. They wave and cheer as the buses drive off.
It's really cute. Parker's writing assignment was to talk about what he's planning to do over the summer. It's about Grandma Williams' house, because apparently Parker "usually" goes to spend the summer with her and "Sabor."This is Parker's "weaving" that he worked on in Art class.
After school, Parker and I went to Coldstone to celebrate
the end of the year and all of his hard work.

Last, but not least, Blogspot informed me that this is our 100th post!

Male Bonding

Aaron, Adam, Isaac, Jeremy and Parker went camping at Pocohontas State Park (just a few minutes from our house) last weekend for some male bonding. Thanks for the new tent, Grandma Williams :)

Ah, some manly survival skills in action!

Adam, celebrating his 28th birthday a couple days early...

Chillin' by the fire with Grandpa in the early morning hours...

"Wait, if my marshmallow falls in the dirt, do I still have to eat it?"

Isaac cooked up some manly eggs for breakfast! You'll note Adam's feet are burned almost beyond recognition. This happened in a completely unrelated incident.