Brag Page

This weekend was pretty crazy, but all the madness was worth it. John Jacob has a degree in agriculture systems management from the University of Missouri, and Lauren Jane was awarded her high school diploma from EHS. Here are a few photos from this weekend:




I also wanted to say thank you for everyone who came to the graduations and receptions. I know it meant a lot to John and Lauren, just like it meant a lot to me - at graduation times and marital celebrations. You can really tell who you can count on in life by the people who take the time to share it with you, and it's really nice to know what a large and wonderful support group we are blessed to have. God bless you all!

Happy Mother's Day

I have the best mom in the whole world. It's true. I came down to see her and the fam sans Jason (he is still in Maryland playing Army) on Sunday. Little did I know what a feast there would be! John manned the grill and produced some very delicious steaks while Lauren helped fry seasoned potatoes. (NOT "taters," as we discussed at lunch.) There also was salad and deviled eggs. My contribution was a coffee ice cream cake from Cold Stone Creamery. Mom loves coffee ice cream, and everyone else discovered it's really not that bad.

Mom usually asks for no fighting on Mother's Day, but it didn't happen this year. With three ornery kids, something usually gets stirred up sometime.

After lunch, you'd think she would get to relax. Nope! The whole family began preparing for SchadFest 2009, otherwise known as Lauren and John's graduation party. (which John will be skipping to fly to England. Sigh. Priorities. Have a party with all your family and friends after graduation or go to England to complete your credit requirements so your graduation is legit. Hmmm...)

Anyway, sorry you couldn't take it easy, but Happy Mother's Day, Mom!

Weekend with AJ

We haven't seen much of AJ since he went to Rolla...in fact, we really haven't seen much of each other. It's funny how you get caught up in your own lives and forget to reach out to others...

Anyway, AJ came back this weekend and there was much rejoicing and friend-gathering, including lunch at El Jimador. (Erin is holding an Eeyore TB.)

Then AJ and I went geocaching - two in Stephens Lake Park and one in Cosmo - and hit the mall. It was a blast! I just wish AJ didn't live sooo far away.

In other AJ-related news, he is doing some support-raising because he is going to Japan in August to minister to Japanese college students. If you would like to support AJ's missionary work, please let me know. I would be glad to help you get in contact with him.

The last FFA banquet for Lauren

Lauren had her last Eldon FFA Banquet this past Thursday. The last time to call the roll of officers. No doubt, she has had some great experiences and opportunities in the Eldon program, but I think she was ready for the end. I cried before she did!




Now all that's left is graduation and my baby sister is off to college. Better make sure Jason is packing tissues on Sunday...

Prom Queen 2009

Lauren Jane positively glowed before prom. I traveled to Eldon to take some pre-prom photos and meet the boyfriend, Braxton. He seems like a nice guy. Maybe he'll be around for a bit.

They went to Osage Beach to eat dinner and to play around at Miner Mike's before the big dance. Luckily they got there in time to get crowned king and queen!

Later, Mom, Dad and I went to the middle school to chaperone the after-prom party. Boy, did I feel old! Anyway, it was fun to see the hypnotist show and we got some free food out of the deal.

End of a visit

Jason and I were glad that we were able to come down to visit the Southern Stapps. We had fun playing with Oliver, and we were happy to lend a hand getting the new house ready for the recently expanded family to move into. But, all good things must come to an end, and soon it was time to go.

Luckily, there was less rain leaving Georgia than there was going down.

We stopped to eat at a Crackerbarrel in Tennessee. Jason said he hoped that he was wearing the right gang colors for the area, but he seemed to fit right in with the locals.


Farther up the road, we stopped in Paducah, Ken. They were having a quilting festival. I hoped that I could find a few patterns that I liked, but all we did was check out the giant cow we spotted from the road. We did find a neat fountain in a cute park near the town center.

Baby Bella is born

Isabella Mio Stapp was born the morning of April 22 (Earth Day). I'll spare you all the photos of a proud aunt, but if you're interested you can find them here.

Spending time with Oliver

Once we made it to Georgia, we spent some time with our nephew and godson, Oliver. He just turned 1 on March 15, but you can already see the family resemblance.

I found out he likes to pretend to drive cars, so I let him "drive" our white one. I think he really enjoyed his trip.

We also took Oliver to the zoo in Albany while his parents went to some last-minute doctor appointments. The zoo was a little run-down, but they had the normal zoo menagerie: zebras, ostriches, alligators, rhinos. We didn't have anything to put Oliver in, like a stroller or baby pack, so Jason and I took turns carrying him. I can't wait until he can walk by himself, and I'm not even his parent!

Oliver also got to hunt for a couple of geocaches with his aunt and uncle. We found one at the zoo and one at a Confederate memorial across the street.