A picture speaks a thousand words...or something like that.

Has it Really Been...

almost a year since I updated the blog? Sheesh. Once again, I am recommitting myself to more frequent updates. This past year has been jam-packed! Charlotte started PK at St. Mary's and Gray is now a turtle at Lindenwood.

Updates in pictures...

December 2010:

November 2010

October 2010

Septemeber 2010

August 2010: Charlotte's 1st day of school

(I tried to put these pictures in some sort of order...but failed miserably)

Out of breath...

It feels like we have been full speed ahead for the past month! We were in Dallas for Taylor's wedding and a visit with Chris, Grammy and Papa, then we had BBQ Fest here in Memphis, and last weekend Charlotte and I headed to Baltimore while Tim and Gray went to Hartford to see NaNa.

BBQ Fest was so much fun...no suprise there though! My chicken was kind of a disaster (no thanks to Tim for dropping the thighs into the charcoal), but the seafood was yummy! Neal and Pat came in 10th place with their lamb in the exotic category. It was to die for...and our first Top 10 finish ever! Brooke came into town and I had fun telling everyone that she is a cage fighter (of course, she is still a lawyer by day). It was so much fun to have her here and we miss her already!

As for our trip to Baltimore, Charlotte took the town by storm. We were there for John's graduation, and I think I was a bit in shock that my little brother was actually graduating from law school. I kept thinking, "this just can't be possible...surely I am not really this old". But, yes, it did happen and Johnny did receive his hood and a real diploma! Huge congratulations to him!

This weekend we are headed to Monteagle with the Mathew's and company. I wish I could close my eyes and teleport us there right now. It should be a really nice and relaxing weekend, which is much needed after this last week of school and work. Of course, I still have 56 minutes until the students actually leave for the day. So far I have collected several dozen eggs and millions of water balloons. Last day of school antics are not nearly as fun when you are on this end...

Wish me luck!

Easter

Easter in Memphis was beautiful! Mimi and Grandpop were here, and the weather couldn't have been nicer. Charlotte won the Easter egg hunt by at least 50 eggs. She is a VERY serious competitor. We had a great brunch with special friends, and the kids had a ball trying to find the eggs with goldfish...or in Charlotte's case, the ones with chocolate. It made for a long, sugar-filled, nap-less afternoon! Happy April!

Charlotte and Gray decorating Easter eggs!

At the starting gate...

During the hunt...

Eating his winnings...

Getting into the chocolate.

Crawfish!

Charlotte had her first taste of crawfish last weekend...and loved them! Clearly, she gets her exquisite taste in food from her mother!

Could it be Spring?

Things in Memphis are FINALLY warming up! I don't know if it will last, but I sure hope so! Life is busy as usual, with January and February flying by. We finished the admissions process for Charlotte and we have decided that she will attend St. Marys Episcopal School in the fall! St. Mary's is very similar to RPCS, and I am super excited for her to start creating the same kind of the lifelong friendships that I am so lucky to have! She won't be in Roland Park blue, but it is close enough! This past weekend we went to Hot Springs with some great friends. Charlotte and Gray stayed in Memphis with Elza and Mike and couldn't have been happier. Charlotte told me that she was going to take care of Elza and Mike was going to take care of Gray...I'm not sure how that worked out, but everyone was in one piece when we got home! Here are a few more recent pictures!

The girls in Hot Springs

Elza, Gray and Charlotte

Catching Up...

I am going to do my very best to catch all of you up on the last couple of months. The holidays were a lot of fun, but very hectic! I will let the pictures tell most of the story...

Charlotte and Gray made Christmas so much fun this year. Santa Claus brought Charlotte a red tricycle and Gray got a brand new train set! Now that things have settled down we are back to the reality of school and work! Here's to another year!

To Dallas and Back...

We made a trip down to Dallas this weekend, and had a blast! Chris's house is absolutely adorable...Charlotte and Gray had a great time going through all of his things. Thankfully nothing was broken (I don't think) when we left on Sunday afternoon, and Helen followed behind us and left the place perfectly clean and good as new! If only she lived here in Memphis and could follow behind the kids on a regular basis...

Sadly, we didn't take very many pictures over the course of the weekend. Correction: I didn't take many pictures. Charlotte took a ton of herself but it is hard to see anything but her nose in most of them. Here is the best of the bunch (although I'm pretty sure this one was taken in Memphis):

While we were there we also got to spend lots of time with Fairy God Momma (FGM) Tif, and we got to have a fun girls night out with Olivia and Taylor (we missed you D!). Tim, Chris, Grammy and Papa watched the Sooners win and got to see Brad and Tiffany. Overall, the weekend was a great success!

Below are a few photos that I just cannot resist posting:

And I almost forgot...this video is one of the funniest things EVER! At least I happen to think so...

Chickens and Cows...

Halloween in our household was a great success, although I think I can safely say that we are glad it is over! Charlotte mastered the chicken dance and Gray was an excellent cow. Both kids had parties at Lindenwood on Friday, and they got to participate in the Halloween Parade. Charlotte was awarded "Best Legs"...I'm not sure if we should be proud of that or not;)

We hit several Halloween parties on Saturday evening and Charlotte ate her weight in chocolate and sugar. A great Ravens win on Sunday topped off a GREAT weekend!

Fall is here!

On Sunday we went to the zoo to check out Teton Trek, the new Grizzly Bear exhibit. It is really, really cool! I am sure we will return many times. That afternoon we put Gray and Charlotte to work sweeping up leaves...apparently Charlotte thinks this is a super fun activity. We can't wait until they can actually do some yardwork!

These lions were a definite highlight!

Updates! Updates!

It's been a while...I am renewing my vow to be better about updating the blog...someone hold me to it! The past few months have been filled with lots of travelling and we have been very fortunate to see lots of family and friends! We headed down to Dallas for Labor Day weekend and got to spend time with great friends and Uncle Chris! Tim and Chris went to the OU season opener and had fun despite the loss.

Later in September I got to go on a fun girls trip to Las Vegas (yes, we were celebrating my gasp 30th birthday!). The weekend was so much fun and filled with lots of laughs...and a little bit of gambling. Early October brought the JDRF walk that Adah's Rhodesters did in honor of Laura Coultas, our beloved friend. In the end we raised over $9000!!!!

Just this past weekend we were up in Baltimore visiting Mimi and Grandpop and lots of other family and friends. We had a wonderful time and are just starting to get back into the groove of things here in Memphis. We are finished with the whirlwind of travel and guests, and are excited to spend some time relaxing and enjoying the fall weather here!

Gray turned 1!

It is definitely hard to believe...Thomas Gray Stakem has already hit the 1 year mark!! We celebrated with lots of friends and family in Memphis on a gorgeous Saturday afternoon. Gray was especially pleased with his double chocolate cake, and Charlotte managed to subsist on sugar products alone for the entire day. On Sunday we all went to the zoo where Charlotte showed Grammy, Papa, Mimi, Grandpop, and Uncle Chris how brave she was when she held the birdies all by herself! Impressive. We missed Uncle John, who was busy packing for his semester abroad in Chile...maybe the whole clan will plan a suprise visit to the Southern hemisphere...brace yourself John.

Papa brought some beautiful window boxes that he made for our house and Grammy painted them for us! Mimi took the kids for lots of walks and Grandpop taught Charlotte to say "WTF". Nice.

Overall, it was a wonderful and busy weekend!