Wingfest 09

It has been a very busy month. St. Patrick's day was fun on Hilton Head. I worked a concession booth for the Rec. during the parade. Afterward Stuart, Wayne and I went down to Wild Wings Cafe to meet up with some friends to celebrate.

Then came Wingfest which is the Rec's biggest special event. We gather local restaurants on Hilton Head to cook there best wings for the patrons to judge. The whole staff spent a lot of time getting it together. It is a very long and busy day. Everyone loved it and we had no complaints which is a pat on the back to us because 5,000 people came through our gates. I put together a little video of what goes on.

Lately, I have been trying to get some spring cleaning done. Even though it does not feel like spring. Going through the closet and sprucing up the house. The pollen is insane right now. After a few minutes of the windows being open everything is covered in a layer of yellow. So, all is fun in our house.

Gator

This past Sunday, March 1, 2009 at the Home and Garden Show I had my first up close and personal encounter with a South Carolina Gator. You all know about "Gilly the Gator" in our backyard but I would never get this close to him. The top picture he could have turned around and got me, but I was assured he couldn't as long as I held his neck and jaw. He then started hissing and that freaked me out a bit. It was neat getting to hold him and as you can see we became fast friends. As long as his mouth was taped shut.

We became an Uncle and Aunt Again

Arlen Geoffrey Murray Calvert. was born 21st of February at 9lb 10oz. Congratulations Ryan and Kezia!

Saturday, February 21 was also the first annual Casino Night fundraiser for my work The Island Recreation Association. It was a lot of fun and all for a good cause. I didn't get to gamble, as I had to work, but Stuart was a big winner. I never get to dress up so I went all out. Stuart was going to wear his suit but the pants mysteriously disappeared.

I have also finally created a Facebook page. It is a great way to keep in touch and I have many more photos of Stuart and my adventures.

Australia Day 2009

Happy Australia Day to all our Friends and Family!

We are thinking about you and wish you well.

New Orleans 2009

We drove our new Ford F-150 truck to the airport for our first 2009 vacation. We arrived in New Orleans at 3pm on Friday, January 9 and stayed till Friday, January 16. Both Stuart and My's first time. Our hotel was just a couple blocks from the River Walk and Bourbon St.

Saturday we went to the RACES! The first race I bet on, picking the horse by it's name, I won $40 on a $2 bet. Awesome! Though Stuart won more money then me over the course of the day. We just spend the day watching the horse races, betting, and that evening we watched the Carolina Panthers get slaughtered by the Arizona Cardinals. Which is all I have to say about that game.

Sunday we visited the World War 2 Museum. It was very educational. Laura came in that evening around 10pm and we caught up on all the gossip.

Monday we went to the French Market and ate beignets at Cafe Du Monde. YUMMY! We walked the River Walk drinking Hurricanes. That night we went to Molly's Bar suggested to us by Laura's friend who lived in New Orleans for 8 years. Great bar though had one to many Stella beers. Ouch in the morning.

Tuesday started off with the above hangover. Found a great all you can eat pizza place and asked our hotel which Haunted tour is good. Took a nap and was ready to go eat dinner before the Haunted tour. Belows picture is of the LaLaurie Mansion perhaps one of the best known stories of haunted houses in the city. If you want to learn about it here is a website: http://www.prairieghosts.com/lalaurie.html

Our tour guide was great and gave us more on the history on why the ghost stories came to be instead of getting us to believe in ghosts. He was also very funny.

Wednesday we went for a trolley ride to the Garden District. Their are the most beautiful houses. We ate at Slim Goodies having an awesome big American Breakfast. Walked to Miss Mays Bar had a few drinks and then went to another bar that Laura's friend works. Very fun just hanging out and enjoying each other company.Thursday we went out for Muffalettas and parted ways for Laura to go to some Art Museums and Stuart and I to go to the Zoo.They had a cool part at the zoo with all the old stories of the trappers who live in swamp house boats and how they caught alligators. And they say Beware of the Swamp Monster!
After the Zoo we met up with Laura and went to eat some good seafood. Then went to Bourbon St for some drinks. People were already out throwing beads for the Marti Gra. It was a great trip and if you are thinking about going DO IT!

New Years 2009

Happy New Year 2009! On New Year's Eve we went to our friend's house for a BBQ. We sat around the fire, ate and talked. I wish we could have stayed all night it was so cosy by the fire. Around 10pm we went to one of our favorite pubs Murphy's to bring in the New Year. We watched the ball drop and 20 minutes later we were in a taxi heading home. The older you get the more anything after midnight just doesn't make since...lol. Below is a picture of Paul the owner of Murphy's (yes he is Irish) and our favorite bartender Crystal. The Iowa game was on New Years Day at 11am. Our friend Grant came over to watch the game and see the slaughter of the South Carolina Gamecocks! GO HAWKS! It was awesome and if you want to see highlights click the youtube link below:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VPmJDmBetDU&feature=related

My new year's resolution is to blog more. I really want all of our friends and family to know what is going on with our lives. Hopefully 2009 will bring even more joy to everyone.

Christmas 08

Merry Christmas! This was a very fun Christmas Day with a beautiful 70 Degrees and sunny. Stuart went golfing and I started cooking at 9am. For apps we have danish meatballs, pickles wrapped in cream cheese and ham, sausage rolls, and lots of chocolate treats. Dinner was roast beef, roasted tomatoes, creamed spinach, roast onions, rolls, mash potatoes and gravy.

We had a near scare with the Roast Beef. Stuart was carving it, doing a great job, when all of a sudden with edge of the table got to close and off went the beef. Luckily, it all landed on the dinning room chair on the platter with just the juices going everywhere. Shew!

Our guests brought over desserts of cheese cake(my favorite), apple crumble and chocolate muffins all with fresh whipped cream. We were very full by the end of the day.

As you can tell by all the food we ate it was a lot of eat and rest, eat and rest, eat and play games. I made a Pass the Parcel game which was a lot of fun. If anyone doesn't know Pass the Parcel it is a present wrapped in many layers and each layer has a question, candy, or activity. The winner is the one who opens the last layer to get the present. Tim unwrapped the activity to sing his favorite Christmas Carol. Watch how it went:

Stuart bought me a interactive sports pack video game. It is like the Wii sports games. Each of us had a go at bowling. The last game was the party poppers. Each one had a little gift, a crown and a joke.

By the end of the night we were all getting a bit silly.

Thank you to everyone who sent us cards and gifts. It was a memorable Christmas and wish we can all be together next year!