2025 Review

 

January

We start off the year celebrating some very special birthdays after the New Year.  First, we celebrated daddy turning 47.  Wow, where do the years go?  We have celebrated 24 birthdays together and spent more of life together than apart.  A week later, we celebrated our princess Maggie turning 6 with some special cupcakes at home with her favorite Gabby's Dollhouse characters. Later in the month, she had a larger party with her school friends at a local jump park.  We also got to experience a little bit of snow again.  It doesn't take much to make us happy! 

February

For Valentine's, Maggie and Daddy enjoyed her school's special Daddy Daughter dance.  She was such a beautiful belle at her ball.  Mommy and Daddy also got to have another get-away in Nashville where Daddy attended a conference at the National Wild Turkey Federation convention.  It is held at the beautiful Opryland Resort, and we always enjoy exploring Downtown Nashville.  It is such a fun city! 

March

In March, we started celebrating two more special birthdays.  First, we celebrated our very special Mattox turning the big 10.  How has a decade passed since that wonderful day when we finally held our rainbow baby in our arms?  He has brought so much love and joy to our household...and a whole lot of laughter!  Boy, is he funny!  We also celebrated our oldest officially reaching adulthood.  Wow, how is our first baby a full grown man?  What an amazing journey it has all been! 

April

We enjoyed some traveling as we finished some college touring with Evan to see his dad's alma mater in Raleigh, NC.  While they did an official tour of campus, the younger kids and I explored mom's alma mater and the amazing North Carolina Museum of Natural History.  After a couple of days in Raleigh, we made the drive to the coast to re-visit one of our favorite places on Earth...the NC Outer Banks.  These beaches really are magical!  From multiple beautiful lighthouses and sandy white beaches full of natural wonders and even exotic wildlife, it is a national treasure.  We ended the month celebrating our beautiful Brody's 14th birthday.  This kid is always so appreciative of everything and is so fun to share experiences with.  We have enjoyed some very special trips with him this past year and look forward to many more adventures in his bright future. 

May

We took our traditional Spring family pictures together while we were at the Outer Banks.  May was also a very busy month celebrating our first baby's high school graduation, our last baby's kindergarten graduation, and a special Mother's Day together.  I know these days of having all my babies together under one roof are growing shorter. 

June

In June, we enjoyed finishing up celebrating graduations, celebrated father's day, and Evan took off on a special senior trip with his friends to Miami before he would begin his journey at the U.S. Naval Academy.  We also celebrated our 22nd wedding anniversary and our beautiful angel Mattie's 12th birthday.  With the passing of time, we will never forget all that our beautiful angel gave to our family.  She was one of our precious miracles! 

July

After dropping off Evan at the U.S. Naval Academy and watching him taking his oath to serve his country, we all tearfully headed home for the long wait until we would see him again.  We did enjoy a few precious days with him in Annapolis before leaving.  We made the best of the rest of our summer with celebrations for Independence Day and lots of pool time.  

August

In August, we finished up summer with a quick trip to Edisto Island beach which we had not visited before.  We wanted a less crowded beach experience.  Despite the weather being a little cloudy and even a little rainy, it was a nice little beach town. Then, the kids started back to school with Maggie going into 1st grade, Grayson starting 3rd grade, Mattox beginning 4th grade, and Brody starting his first year of high school. 

September

In September, we all got to be together again for Mommy's birthday weekend in Myrtle Beach.  Yep, the kids still love it! 

October

This month was full of lots of fall and spooky fun as the kids dressed up for school events and went on fall field trips to pumpkin patches and farms.  

November

November is just always a month to celebrate what we are thankful for, and of course, family is high on that list.  We celebrated Thanksgiving together as tradition in our home.  Earlier in the summer, we had also had a big family reunion with Eddie's family as it had been a while since we had all been together.  Almost the entire family was there with 21 of 24 great-grandchildren attending and all but one grandchild.  

December

We ended the year celebrating our sweet little Christmas blessing Grayson's 9th birthday and enjoyed an entire month of fun and festive Christmas memories. 

Sherry's 45th Birthday

Well, I do like to celebrate kind of big these days as these trips around the sun seem to get shorter and faster.  We celebrated over several days from our Myrtle Beach vacation and then back at home.  

First, we celebrated with some special edition Harry Potter cupcakes.  

Miss Maggie chose the Griffindor cupcake although she may be my little Slytherin girl. 

Mattox chose the Hufflepuff. 

Mommy got the special sorting hat cupcake.  

The video reveals my House, but it was not accurate.  It was Hufflepuff, but I am either a Ravenclaw or a Slytherin.  I don't like people well enough to be a Hufflepuff.  Haha! 

Grayson is definitely my little Ravenclaw. 

Brody is actually probably our Gryffindor.  He is very brave. 

Eating the Gryffindor because no one else seemed to want to eat it.  The kids don't actually like really sweet doughnuts and prefer just the regular glazed. 

I enjoyed a nice dinner and dessert while on vacation. 

Evan also enjoyed the dessert. 

Miss Maggie just enjoyed her balloon from an artist outside the restaurant.  

Back at home, we enjoyed some yummy ice cream treats.  Sonic is always a favorite. 

And Eddie took me on a date to see the newest Conjuring movie because I am a big fan of these scary movies.  I probably just have a thing for the actor, Patrick Wilson.  Ha! 

A yummy chocolate cake speaks my love language. 

And some beautiful roses from the hubby. 

It has been a year filled with so many wonderful moments with my babies! 

Myrtle Beach Vacation 2025

We renewed our tradition of going to Myrtle Beach for vacation since moving to South Carolina, and we have been loving staying in a nice condo complex just down the road from the resort we used to stay at.  We actually dream that we might buy one of these condos one day.  They are in an excellent location right across the road from the beach in a quieter and more peaceful part of the city.  There are mostly large beach houses around this area.  These condos have been around for a long time and have been kept beautiful and just feel better built than most new constructions properties.  It also has a nice pool and other community amenities.  I could see this being an easy place to retire with room for the grandkids to visit.  For now, we like spending our vacations here.  

Our home away for the week: 

It had two bedrooms downstairs and one loft bedroom upstairs so plenty of room for our kids. 

  

Maggie was so happy to have her biggest brother back home with us.  We weren't sure we would get another vacation with him for a while if he had stayed at the Naval Academy. 

An after dinner stroll on the beach.  Maggie wanted to make her mark on the beach and wrote her name. 

Grayson wanted to do the same. 

We are pretty far from the busy strip with the lights and sky wheel glowing.  We love the peace and quiet. 

The kids enjoyed using the pool. 

Popsicles on the beach are the best. 

Grayson enjoyed his chocolate ice cream cone. 

Mattox did not want any ice cream although I offered him some of my coconut cream popsicle. 

Evan and Brody enjoyed a game of football on the beach. 

Brody has officially passed me in height. 

The waves were pretty great one day for some good boogie board riding. 

Mattox caught some good ones. 

Brody looked like a surfing pro. 

He rode some big ones all the way in to the shore. 

Grayson is ready to catch a wave. 

And there he goes. 

Maggie really got brave in the surf. 

For some extra fun on a rainy day, we took the kids back to the wax museum.  If you have a little girl who loves playing dress up, I highly recommend a wax museum.  Ha! 

Eddie bonded with his ol' pal, Sammy L. Jackson. I am pretty sure some f bombs were dropped. 

I do love these two smart guys...Robert Downey, Jr. and Morgan Freeman.

Maggie loved meeting Angelina Jolie.

Bill Murray will always have a special place in my heart.  

I helped him do the weather forecast for Groundhog's Day. 

Grayson loves this loveable crazy ol' pirate. 

Ol' Jack Sparrow is a family favorite. 

Indiana Jones is another favorite ol' rascal. 

They better be careful with that golden idol.  We know it is booby trapped. 

Drinking from the cup of Christ.  Nope, I don't think it gave me eternal life.  I do know the real way to get that. 

Maggie enjoyed working out with John Cena and the Rock. 

Grayson is definitely a strong man. 

Mattox likes these weights because they aren't as heavy as they look.  

Maggie enjoyed having breakfast at Tiffany's with her buddy, Audrey Hepburn. 

Brody enjoyed hanging out at the Playboy mansion with his pal, Hugh Hefner. 

Eddie definitely would love this lifestyle. 

Maggie liked the strong heroine version of Sandra Bullock. 

Me and my pal, Snoop, go back a long time. 

Brody wanted to try out that gangster thug life. 

Mattox enjoyed rocking out with Carlos Santana. 

   

These guys need to look behind them while talking on the phone.  

  

Dr. Frankenstein was quite pleased with his creations. 

  

Uh oh, Mattox may be a vampire now. 

  

Grayson enjoyed reading the Tales from the Cryptkeeper. 

  

 

Daddy had an encounter with an alien while we made friends with some nice guys who like knives. Ha! 

  

Miss Maggie enjoyed being a beautiful bride, but this will not be allowed for many many years. 

  

Daddy tried out his fighting skills against a Mission Impossible agent and Bruce Lee. 

Evan met the greatest racecar drivers. Go #3!

  

Maggie and I both met our favorite singers, Taylor Swift and Ed Sheeran.  

Mommy received an Oscar for her starring role in the drama of the Reese family. 

  

Grayson and Maggie enjoyed jamming with Bob Marley.

  

Brody and Eddie enjoyed meeting two of their fav funny guys. 

Maggie and Grayson might just have aspirations of making music in Nashville. 

Brody would love to play the ivories and sing like Frank Sinatra. 

  

Miss Maggie may just be another legally blond girl.  Old Tom in his role as the iconic Mr. Rogers was pretty legendary. 

  

Ancient Egypt held some fun secrets. 

  

Maggie and Brody felt like royalty. 

Mattox wasn't sure how he felt about being a pharaoh although he does want to be a super villain. 

Beam us up, Scotty! 

   

Grayson will either fly a spaceship or an airplane someday. 

  

Visiting Jurassic Park was interesting. 

  

Eddie met his ol' hero, John Wayne, the duke. 

   

I think Brody and Robin Williams look a lot alike, and Grayson would be a very handsome country singer like Johnny Cash. 

The kids had a fun party with the celebs. 

   

Eddie met his ol' bestie, Sean Connery, in the Red October submarine.  I enjoyed rapping it out with Eminem. 

   

Brody enjoyed singing and dancing with his favorite, Bruno Mars. 

   

Postie Malone has become a new friend as we seem to have so much in common.  We both "had some help" with our crazy.  Princess Maggie found her throne. 

   

The kids all got special awards.  Evan is our best graduate!

  

   

Daddy got best lover while Grayson and Maggie gave one another best brother and sister awards. 

   

Brody got a special best son, and I just couldn't narrow down my awards between best wife, best girlfriend, and best actress.  Ha!

Mattox got a special best teacher award because lately he likes to help teach Maggie.

     

The kids fell asleep with their glow lights. 

A Family Game of Putt-Putt

Grayson and Maggie found Peter Pan in Neverland. 

Our Hole-in-One champ Mattox

These pirates got put in the stocks.

They got the girls too.