Premiere Jewelry Party

About a year ago, Mom and I were invited to a jewelry party at Janet's house. Mom was currently in the hospital and was unable to attend even though she really, really wanted to do so. I went to the jewelry party and booked a party so that Mom would be able to attend a jewelry party in the comfort of our own home. The party was given in Mom's honor and she had a blast picking out all kinds of jewelry that she just fell in love with. Russell was so excited to purchase her some jewelry for Christmas.

Well, as many of y'all know, when she passed away, we had her buried with her "Laura" necklace, earrings and ring that Russell gave her for Christmas from Premier Jewelry. She looked absolutely beautiful!!

Shortly after Mom passed away, I attended a training show for Boogie's cousin Sheena. I decided since I had previously had a party in honor of Mom, I would have one in memory of her.

On July 29th, I had my jewelry show. We had lots of fun and I got some nice jewelry as a result. I know Mom was looking down on me influencing me to pick the pieces of jewelry that I did.

Here are a few of the pictures I took at the show:

Our Circus Outing!!

On Sunday, August 3rd, Kirston, Triston, Tabetha, Boogie and I went to the Barnum and Bailey Circus at the American Airlines Center. This has become a tradition, Kirston and I have gone three years, Tabetha and Triston joined us the last two years and this year Boogie joined us. It was a fun family outing. I hope that we get to enjoy many more together in the future.

Time for the Princess Party!!!

Between party preparation time and party time, Kirston and I went back to the motel for some beauty sleep and prepared for the Royal occassion. Kirston got all dressed up in her party outfit, got the presents wrapped and we were ready to head out to the party.
When we arrived, we found no other than Princess Snow White herself, looking beautiful but a little bashful due to all the attention. Guest started arriving and the fun began. The kids had a lot of fun going on a scavenger hunt for coins and jewels and then experimenting with a new type of Cinderella pinata. There was lots of good food to eat, hamburgers, hot dogs, wonderful dips, etc and of course the two beautiful and tasty cakes.

Next came the gifts, Bailey got lots and lots of nice gifts from all in attendance and several others who couldn't make it.

After all that was done, the Princess was presented with her very own Cadilac Escalade!!

All of Bailey's friends had advice on how to drive her new vehicle, Kirston even decided to take over the wheel for Bailey. I am sure that Bailey's Escalade will provide her and everyone watching her lots of entertainment and stories to tell.

After the party was over, we had to say our "goodbyes" and head back to the motel to get a good nights rest before heading back to Kaufman. We had a great time!! Thanks to Pam and Bill for letting us tag along and to Judd and Jenn for having us, we love y'all lots!!

Off to visit the Cochran's Casa

When we arrive at Judd & Jenn's house, Bailey was awaiting our arrival by standing in the window...too cute!!

This was mine and Kirston's first time to see their new home in Sealy and it is beautiful. We got the grand tour and stopped off in the master bedroom to enjoy a little fun.

After the playing was over, well for the adults anyhow, the preparations for the Royal Party began....the cake decorating that is. Jenn decided she was gonna make Bailey's birthday cake, Snow White. She wasn't exactly sure how it was gonna turn out but as you can tell, it was beautiful. Of course, Jenn had two little supervisors, Bailey and Kirston.

Maw Maw (Pam) had helped Jenn out by having a back up cake in case Snow White decided not to cooperate or just wasn't big enough to feed all in attendance at the Royal Party by getting a castle cake for the Princess.

The Royal Castle was beautiful as well. WOW...two beautiful birthday cakes for her 3rd birthday, I can't wait to see what she is gonna have for her 4th birthday, just imagine what her 40th might be like! :)

Off to Sealy for a Princess Party

We, Pam, Bill, Kirston and I, left for Sealy on Friday, August 8th so that we would arrive in time to visit before the Royal Gathering for Princess Baileys' 3rd Birthday!!


We must not forget that we had Lady, Lucky and Lucy, Pam's dogs, on board for the ride. Kirston was so excited about helping out with Lucy on the way down, I think Kirston enjoyed it a lot more than Lucy, but she was a good sport about it. :)

When we arrived in Sealy, the first thing Kirston and I did was check out the room and then head for the pool. Kirston just had to have a two piece swimsuit when we went school shopping, it came in handy for our trip.

After swimming for a while, we went in and got ready for dinner. Jennifer brought Bailey and Campbell over to Pam & Bill's room to stay for the evening. Bailey, Kirston and Campbell had to have their warming up time to get used to each other.

After everyone got reunited once again, we headed out to Whataburger for dinner and then back to the motel for more swimming.
Don't the little cousins, Kirston & Bailey, look too cute. Maw Maw (Pam) and Bailey were having a good time taking off like speed fish in the water. Kirston was showing off by going under for Bailey. We all had a blast in the pool, I might add that I originally wasn't gonna swim but I was missing out on too much fun so I went swimming in my clothes, that is right, my shirt and capris - they were awfully heavy when I went to get out but it was well worth it - glad there were no pictures of that!! After their swim, we had a good nights sleep!

Blessed Birthday!!

My birthday celebration started out a day early by going to lunch at the Olive Garden with Dorinda, Amanda, Ashley and her friend, Tiffany and a shopping trip to Sam Moons - what a wonderful place.

That evening we went to Kobe Japenese Steakhouse with Johnny & Janet. It was lots of fun and the food was excellant.

Today, we went to Canton and had lunch with Kirston, Triston and Tabetha at Juanita's - my favorite mexican food restaurant. Kirston got to come home with us, she is gonna go with me, Pam and Bill to Baileys, my great niece, birthday party. On the way home from Canton, we stopped and visited with Dorida at Fisherman's Delight, was too full to eat! After being home for a short while, Kirston and I went to town to drop off jewelry to Jackie and Diane. On the way out, we met up with Angela and visited in the road for a while. I was blessed with some really nice gifts from family and friends, thank y'all so much.

Today has been really hard not having my Mom to share this day with, but thankfully my day was filled with supportive friends and family. I know my Mom was looking down, so proud of everyone who helped make my birthday a blessed day.

Newest Additions to Our Family

On July 7th, when we arrived back at the home of my Mother-in-law, Doris, from my Moms graveside service, we found some new additions she was adding to our family. She had 5 ducks, a goose and a puppy waiting for us. I asked her if she thought that was gonna take the place of my Mom, she quickly answered "no, but will keep you busy!".

For those of y'all that are not aware, we have been desperately trying to get some ducks on the tank this year. We have now had 12 out of 58 ducklings make it on their own. Doris is determined that we are gonna have ducks on the tank.

Our new puppy has been named Dotty, in memory of my Mom, whom a lot of people from her earlier days used to always call her Dot, short for Doris. Dotty is mostly white but she does have black dots all over her belly. She is part Great Pyrenees and Anatolian Shepherd. She was 4 weeks old when we got her, she is now about 7 weeks old and has grown a lot. Here is the most recent picture that I took of her and our German Shepherd, Shelly.

My Mom & Dad, My Best Friends, My Angels in Heaven!!

Russell Watson Bruner

May 19, 1925

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May 31, 2008

Doris Elda Bruner

October 9, 1930

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July 2, 2008

Sharing a memory of Mom (Nana)

This was a rather interesting day...Mom was determined to learn to play solitaire on the computer. Keep in mind, she had never even sat at a computer other than to view slide show that was on 24 hours a day at her request. The slide show contains pictures of family and friends and she loved sitting at the table watching it.

We worked and worked at teaching her how to use the mouse, how to point, click and move the cards, etc. She was so excited about learning and was concentrating so hard that she had a death grip on that mouse. I would have to keep reminding her to relax and not let it cause her stress because that was the point of her playing to relax and release stress. We practiced several times but she decided that she would just play at the table using real cards. The main thing that would give her fits was the curving of her hand due the arthritis, this would intefere with the use of the mouse.

Paw Paw's Little Texas Ranger

Last week my niece, Jennifer, and my great nephew, Campbell, came by for a visit and we started taking pictures of Campbell holding the flag that draped my Dad's casket and was presented to us in memory of my Dad and his devoted and selfless consecration to the service of our country in the Armed Forces of the United States, Navy. Boogie decided since we were taking pictures of Campbell with the flag it would only be fitting to have a Texas flag as a backdrop, so we proudly used his idea for this picture.

After our picture taking session, we headed to La Pradera for lunch. Jennifer and I visited and ate while Campbell sleep soundly the entire time.

Thank you Jennifer!!

Wow, Jennifer (my niece) is teaching me all kinds of ways to spend any and all spare time I might have on the computer by introducing me to Facebook and getting me interested in Blogspot due to loving her post. Jennifer tried to get me interested in blogging a long while back but I didn't have a clue what it was at the time. I maintained a blog for the longest time to keep family and friends aware of my Mom and Dad's current condition. If anyone has someone with a terminal illness, www.caringbridge.com is a great way to keep family and friends updated. Thanks again Jennifer!!