THIS IS CALLED COMMUNICATION, PEOPLE

So Dayna & I had a phone conversation today. As a result, I am posting a picture of our Southern cousins. I'm sure even the other FL residents have not seen this picture as we are a family of staggered & horrible communication skills. We love each other very much, but we're so dang big we forget who already knows what.... you know the deal.

MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM DAYNA, DEBBIE, EMILY, KAITLYN, LEO, DAVID & CHRISTOPHER! (I may have spelled someone's name wrong...)

Merry Christmas

Pictures I Just Found

I was just looking through pictures on my computer and I dont know how or when I got these but I had to share them.

Happy Thanksgiving to All!

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving this year. There's so much to be thankful for. I wish I could have shared mine with all of you, but we had a wonderful day at Dave's parents. The weather was great, although a little too hot.......but we got to spend our day outside. Here are some pictures. Hope to hear from some of you and see some of your pics as well.

Maddox LOVED the sweet potatos!

Addison looked to sweet in her shades!

And then there was the game of Cornhole! It was a first for me but I liked it!

And then Maddox had to try on his new Christmas outfit that G-mama bought for him.

Love you all!

Maureen

Gotta Love Him!

Listen Up! Hearing the world thru Strayer ears.

On Sunday I stopped at Mom & Dad's to wish my Momma a Happy Birthday. Here's a transcription of a conversation between me & my Dad. Please note there are two versions. The one I heard & the one that really happened.

Setting: Dad is in the dining room. I'm in the next room talking to Mom. The three doggies - Tundra, Molly & Ginger - are all begging for me to pet them.

Dad: Careful with Mommy. She already drew blood this morning!
Me: What?!?? (Assuming my dad is kidding, because her birthday is Halloween & I figure he's making some Dracula joke. I turn around and he holds up his finger with a bandaid on the top where she bit him! I got up and went to the dining room to talk about this event.)
Dad: I reached down to give her some food and she bit me! You know how she can't see up close anymore, right?
Me: No - I didn't know that?
Dad: Yes, you did. Geez, I told you a hundred times (rolls eyes). Anyway, she must not have known my hand was right there and she bit me.
Me: (insisting in my head that my dad is nuts because he never told me mom can't see up close, but decided to let him win this one. I am also wondering why he was reaching down to hand feed my mother? He's not THAT tall...?)
Dad: I worry about her with Stevie's kids, ya know? (my dad has always had dry humor, and his frankness is cracking me up at this point).
Me: (playing along) Yea, seriously. Dangerous. (I walk back to the couch in the next room and I hear my dad still talking about it, mentioning something about milkbones. I get up, walk back into the dining room as I realize what has just transpired and say...) wait...Dad...did you say Molly? Oh my God you did. I thought you said "Be careful around Mommy"! This whole time you are telling me this story, I'm wondering why you're hand-feeding mom and when she started losing her sight!! I just figured you were joking about her being born on Halloween & being like Dracula!

FIN.

I think my parents are STILL in tears from laughing.

My Little Kitty!

Trick or Treat!

Cruise Pics

Here are a few of our cruise pictures. We had a great time! I wish everyone could have been there. Our next vacation will be CANCUN!!! Yea.....my favorite! We're going to plan it for April/May or June of next year. We'll take a poll and see what works best for anyone interested. I'll also post a site with all the information.

The Ship - Carnival Dream




Here's the whole crew, getting on the Ship. Notice Addison holding her nose......and Ange cracking up. Maddox had a dirty diaper!!! Of course, he's smiling!




Checking out the cabin.....

Angela and Maddox, checking out one of the 11 hot tubs on board the ship.




Addison with Uncle Q........getting ready to enjoy a relaxing dinner.

Of course we had to get our Casino fix in before going to bed..............................

We're heading to Belize....had to take a small boat from the Ship to the Port. Not much to see in Belize, but the boat ride was cool.

We went zip lining in Roatan...What a great time that was! I'm glad I didn't chicken out! They also had a Monkey farm, with lot's of little monkeys running around. They were so cute!

Dave, Mike and Steve (Mike's friend) went Skuba Diving in Cozumel.

And it was the beach in Costa Maya, where Quentin and Brianna went Jet Skiing, while several of us enjoyed massages on the beach.

Last, but not least is Addison, having a blast at the pool deck on Ship.

New Experience

Well, Dave and I had a new experience this weekend.......We semi-attended a "Hand-fasting" wedding ceremony! Yes, it's definitely a story you want to hear Dave tell, but I'll give some highlights. This was a co-worker of Dave's from 10 years ago that had invited us to his wedding. I never saw the invitation, but Dave described it to me as a "luau" on the beach. So of course, I plan a nice flowing sundress! Well, on Saturday, the day of the wedding, Dave says that we are suppose to bring our own chairs.......okay - I think beach chairs, but also think I'm over-dressed. So I quick run out and buy some capris and a nice shirt. So, we get in the car and head out to New Smyrna and I see a "copy" of instructions????? So I begin to read.

First I see that the ceremony will be a blood sharing ceremony. Really?? So I read on. It's going to take place at the "Glynn" and will be a traditional drum circle ceremony. We should bring our own "camping" chairs. So now I'm thinking Deep Woods Off! Well I have my new nifty I-phone so I decide to look it up "drum circle" on the internet, and much to my surprise it states "CLOTHING IS OPTIONAL!" OMG - what kind of wedding was this?

Anyway, we get to the "Glynn" which was way in the back woods of New Smyrna, and we get to the place with lot's of people dressed (thank goodness they were dressed!) like gypsies. We leave our beach chairs in the car and start to walk around. We checked out the "altars" and saw some interesting stuff and watched as gypsies danced around with incense. The ceremony is about to start and we are ready to go.....but didn't want to look obvious. We're outside, in the dark, with drums beating and the bridal procession is approaching. Dave and I are slooooowwwwlllllyyyyy backing away. We head for the car and we were OUT OF THERE!

Obviously his friend didn't notice we were gone because he called Dave on Monday and thanked us for coming. What an experience!

Addison's First Soccer Game

Addison had her first soccer game today. What a riot watching a bunch of three year olds play soccer. Just keeping them on the same side of the field, or on the field at all in Addison's case, is quite the challenge! Well, of course she looked addorable in her little cleats and shin guards. But in true Stayer fashion, five minutes into the game and Addison had to go potty! When she came back and went into the game, a little boy knocked her down. That pretty much sealed the deal for her for not playing the rest of the game. She did go in for one more round when the coach bribed her with gummies. We'll try this again next week........................


Addison trying out her new cleats and shin guards.

This picture is from practice.....she can kick the ball pretty good!

And Maddox is just so darn cute I have to throw this picture in!!! This is him just vegging out in Bob and Lisa's pool.

A weekend at the Beach

Hi everyone. Thought I'd share some pics with all. Miss everyone and can't wait to see you! Dave and I are planning to come in December for the Christmas gathering, which we're assuming is going to be on the 19th. I think Ange and Addison will be there as well. Jenn, Maddox and Mike may not make it this year. We'll keep our fingers crossed though. I'm so excited that Linda will be there this year too.