Mexico!

Resort
Trying out the hammock
My sweetie.
Birthday dinner for Tiffany at Chef's Table
Goodbye Mexico!

Bryan and I went to Playa del Carmen this past weekend. We went with his brother and sister-in-law, several of their friends, and our friends from South Carolina. We stayed at the Royal in Playa del Carmen....it was great! The highlights of the trip for me were jet skiing and then a massage to try to repair my body from the jet skiing. :) We pretty much layed around the pool all day long and requested all the different drinks we would see walking by....bahama momma's, mango tango's, miami vice's, dirty monkey's....etc. Whatever would catch our eye. They were all frozen, and all pretty good. Lots of nice sugary calories, but that's what vacation is for. The food was also pretty good...I can survive anywhere I can eat guacomole at every meal of the day (including breakfast)....and I did. I could eat it again right now...kind of a sick obsession. Overall, a wonderful trip with family and friends!

Dad's 50th Birthday

Suprise!
Cool glasses.
Dad, myself, Joe, Liz and Bryan
His kids!

Father/daughter dance skills....

HURRICANE IKE!!

Dad turned 50 on September 9th....we had a party for him on Saturday, September 13th....that also happened to be the day Hurricane Ike decided to make an arrival in Arkansas and dump rain and wind gusts that were about 50 miles per hour. Anyway.

We had the party at Landry's in Fort Smith. Tons of his old buddies were there....you can make a very eclectic group of friends in 50 years. We had a blast. Dad knew there was going to be a party, but was not given ANY details. He assumed small...family....a couple of friends. Dad kept saying things like:

"Your going to way too much trouble." (After he spotted some of the decorations in the car)

"Stop all this fussing over me."

"The five friends I have aren't going to come out in this rain/hurricane."

Well, we had 52 RSVP'ed guests, all of which showed up.....along with a few extras. I think he might have been a little overwhelmed at first...but slowly made his way around the room.....and had a wonderful time. I saw people I haven't seen in years. It was nice to spend an evening "visiting" with old friends. The evening really got exciting after dinner when he decided to show off his dance moves with all the women on the dance floor. It was hilarious. I went for a spin around the dance floor with him. I know where my dancing skills came from.

We got to the party before the rain really started pouring down....and when we left the party and walked the 3 or 4 blocks back to our hotel we got soaked. I mean, the most soaked I have ever been. It felt like I had put my clothes in a bathtub full of water, taken them out and then wore them around. I just can't explain how wet we all were. And the umbrellas were just thrashing in the wind. The boys ran off and left Kati and I....as usual......and I had to give my feet a break every 5 feet while Kati patiently waited on me....shielding off the rain. The courtyard marriott had never looked so good. We made quite an entrance into the hotel....

Tailgating!

Our set up. Notice the two flags (way to go boys!)
The ladies.
Aren't they cute??!?!?!
Watching the boys play washers.
I'm not sure about this one....

Here are some pictures from our tailgating set up. We have really grown (we started with lawn chairs, a $5.00 grill, and some coolers). We now have two tents, a TV, etc. If you would like a timeline of our day please check the Bullington Bulletin. I LOVE football season. GO HOGS!

Baby Shower for Elizabeth

Aunts, Grandmother's, and Mommy to be

Here are a few pictures from Elizabeth's baby shower. We had so much fun, and she got lots of good stuff for Baby Hadleigh. I am SO excited to be an aunt.

My Brother the Police Officer

Getting his award
Joe and I
Dad and Joe
Mom and Joe


I'm a proud sister!

Joe graduated from the Fort Smith Police Academy on Friday. He received an award for ranking third in shooting skills (a skill I knew he would be good at, but one I hope is only reserved for hunting). I am glad he has found his thing, and I know he will be an excellent police officer. He's smart and quick witted. Two qualities that will serve him well.

I have given him some grief over this career choice, just because I worry. I know that we need policemen, I respect them, but I'd rather him be doing something nice and safe. Unfortunately, I'm not calling the shots....and really, what defines nice and safe these days.

There was a very good speaker at his graduation, that addressed the new grads. He has worked in the Law Enforcement field his entire life...I will have to get his name from the program. Anyway, he left them with some very good words of wisdom. He kept it simple, but to the point.

The first being:

"With authority comes responsibility."

The second was two rules he gave them:

1. Do your job.
2. Don't embarrass yourself, your family, your chief, or your community."

He said if they followed these two rules, they would be fine. Pretty much good rules for everyone.

A few more John Lleyton Pictures

Poppy Pictures

I love the little "wrinkles" on his side :)
Missa Cindy, look at the blanket in the background! :)

Hanging out with Mom
Sweet face.
Kristy asked me to come do some pictures of John Lleyton, he was SO cute today. He did cry, spit up, and fuss at me some, but who can blame him with all the flashes going off?? He is one of the most handsome and sweet boy's I have ever seen! We had a lot of fun doing the pictures, and plan on doing more later when Mom and Dad can both be in them! I use to take pictures alot, but after undergrad/grad school and life I just haven't done as many these past several years. I love doing it, so thank you kristy for letting me come over and stretch my camera legs with Poppy!