FISH FRY

Last night we went to a FISH FRY at the home of one of Brian's coworkers. For those of you who don't know, this is a southern cookout! Southern people, southern food, and southern weather! Add in a game of "cornhole" and a kiddie pool, and it describes our fun Saturday night!

Brian was happy to do some extra fishing in the last few weeks to provide the fish for about 15 people. He's been telling me he needed to make sure we had enough (which we did)! We also took some homemade mac & cheese and banana pudding. Brian ended up making our first attempt at mac & cheese while I fussed over the banana pudding, which was not cooperating, but it was all delicious in the end.

The banana pudding, especially, got Breeley's seal of approval!





Breeley had a lot of fun being doted on as the only child at the cookout. She also enjoyed climbing up their deck steps and playing in their kiddie pool, which was actually their doggie pool that they emptied and refilled just for Breeley.

Gotta love a good fish fry! Yet another reason why we love the South!!

Don't leave kids in hot cars!!

I was appalled today to leave Kroger and find 2 kids locked in their car with no AC or windows rolled down while their mother shopped! It was 93 degrees outside!! The boy looked like he was around 5 or 6, and the little girl looked around 18 months. I waited by their car for 20 minutes until the mother came out because I was afraid something would happen. At one point, the boy slumped against the window, and I thought my heart was going to jump out of my chest before I could get up and rap on their window!

Several people have asked why I didn't call the police. I guess because I didn't know who the person was and I was kind of scared in case he or she came out before the police got there. I also didn't say anything to the mother (who had 2 more kids with her), which isn't like me. She got the point though because I was obviously waiting there and she looked embarrassed. I think she could tell it was bad judgment -- obviously! I mainly just wanted to make sure the kids were okay.

I know it's inconvenient to take kids into the store when we are only stopping for a few things (and I only have 1 kid compared to her 4), but the extreme heat made this a very dangerous situation! Hopefully I'll never encounter this again, but if I do, I'll say something to the person because it's still bothering me!

The rest of the weekend

The main event for the weekend was Amy's graduation, but we also squeezed in a few other fun activities. On Saturday, Brian went fishing with his dad, and Breeley and I went with my mom, Amy, and DJ to watch the RHS girls' soccer team win the state semi-final. I enjoyed watching some of the kids I used to babysit, and then I got to see some of them that night at a cookout for the graduating class. In between the game and the cookout, we went to Lindsay's house to play with Breeley's cousins. She ended up sleeping almost the whole time, but that's never a bad thing since it helped us avoid any meltdowns later!

We left this morning, but not before some playtime. I think this will be a new favorite game!






Breeley loves spending time with family in VA, but she continues to HATE riding in the car, and she always loves when we get home. She spent a while this afternoon in one of her favorite spots!



P.S. The girls' soccer team had a heartbreaking loss this afternoon in the state finals, as did the returning-state champ boys' soccer team. Sad for them. But, in better news, two of Amy's friends won the state doubles tennis match on Saturday, and one of them was the singles champ as well.

Salute the Salutatorian

What better way to celebrate your 5-year wedding anniversary than attending a high school graduation? Just kidding, Amy. On Friday we had the pleasure of watching the youngest Hill kid graduate from Radford High School!

It's pretty crazy to see Amy graduate. But boy did she make a grand exit! She's worked extremeley hard and we're all proud of her for being the Salutatorian for the Class of 2009!

Here she is giving her awesome graduation speech, using the analogy of maple seeds. (Excerpt: When I was a little girl, I used to play with maple seeds every fall. I called them helicopters because they spun like propellers as they flew into the air and back to the ground. These helicopters had spent their entire lives being built up by the roots of a common tree. Then, when they were ready, they left the tree to fly...)

Getting her diploma! Earlier, there were gasps and cheers when her McNair Scholarship was announced, valued at $112,000, to the University of South Carolina!

Amy's graduation marks the end of an era in a way. We started in the small school system in 1987, when Kevin was in 3rd grade, I was in 1st, and Brian (my brother) was in kindergarten. Since then, DJ and Amy started as kindergarteners, and now we've all graduated! Also, Brian (my husband) started at RHS in 9th grade and graduated the year before me.

Dad, Kevin '97, DJ '07, Amy, Mom, me '99, Breeley, Brian '98

We're missing my brother Brian (who was the Class of 2000's Salutatorian) and his wife, Tina.

I've often thought that one of Amy's greatest achievements is being able to follow four siblings in a very small town and school system and be able to be unique and make a name for herself. I doubt she could start any class or school year without hearing, "Are you Kevin/Susan/Brian/Daniel's sister?" And I'm sure she got called "Susan" more times than she could count!

This week marked the 10-year anniversary of when I last graced the halls and classrooms of RHS!


Proud parents, who, after 30 years of raising kids, will soon be empty-nesters!

DJ and Ames: they're growing up but will always be "the kids" to me.

Loving "Auntie Ames"

Breeley was more interested in Amy's hat and Salutatorian medallion than Amy was.


Breeley was pretty good, but it's a lot to ask a 13-month-old to sit through an hour-long graduation ceremony. Brian spent graduation in the back of the stadium fighting with her to stay out of the mud. She enjoyed being on the field afterward.

Our 5 cars for 8 people, including Breeley. There's a joke in there somewhere.

After graduation, we enjoyed a family dinner at CiCi's, kind of a tradition.



Amy's cute graduation dress.


We're so proud of you Amy! Now, on to USC!!! Yay!

5 Years of Wedded Bliss

Today is our 5-year wedding anniversary! It has been 5 fantastic years!

Here are a few of my favorite memories:

• Jeep ride and all the rain on our honeymoon
• Moving to Columbia and our awesome apartment at Ashland Commons (finally having a dishwasher and no cockroaches!)
• Trip to Arizona and Grand Canyon with my family (this was actually the December before we were married; we were engaged so close enough)
• Buying our first house and making it a home
• Bringing Reesey home and loving her so much (Lexi too, but that's also a sad memory)
• Paying off student loans
• Weekends at the River and the Mountain
• Lazy days on the boat, fishing (Brian) and reading magazines (Susan)
• Trips to Santee (most memorable: big boat that broke down immediately; getting a ticket and losing an anchor because of the trot line; almost sinking the boat--haha)
• Wheel of Fortune! and trip to LA
• Pregnancy and delivery of Breeley
• Jamaica vacation, courtesy of Wheel of Fortune
  

Here's a video montage that celebrates some of our happiest memories and biggest events, starting with our wedding! How sweet it is...

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

In honor of our 5 years together, here are 5 things I love about Brian and our relationship:

1. He cooks! It was never my intention for Brian to be the main cook in our family but it happened naturally because Brian had an apartment and had to cook for himself while I lived on campus during college and ate in the dining hall. Therefore, by the time we lived together, he'd been cooking for a few years and I never really had (and I hated it), so rather than endure nasty food, he just continued to cook. He's really good!! Our deal is that he cooks and I clean up. This fits better with our personalities too b/c he'd rather do his thing right away and then relax the rest of the night, while I need some down time when I get home and don't want to have to cook right away, but don't mind doing things later.

2. I love that he does things right away (refer to personality type mentioned in #1). He never procrastinates. Example: When our new license plates came in the mail, he put them on THAT day! If it were me, they'd sit on the counter until the day before the old ones expired (or a few days later after I got pulled over!). He doesn't say anything about me being the complete opposite. He knows I'll get things done by the deadline. But, I'll never forget his worrying before we got married about my different bill-paying habits (he pays them right away, I wait until the due date). I finally looked at him and said, "You can be in charge of that if you want." It was instant relief for him and he's done an excellent job keeping on top of our finances ever since!

3. We don't fight about petty things. Some things just don't matter. Who cares if you squeeze the toothpaste from the middle (me) or bottom (him)? Who cares if the toilet paper goes under (me) or over (him)? Are these really issues people have? I can't recall one single comment ever about either of these issues, or other dumb ones. In the grand scheme of life, there are MUCH bigger things to be concerned about. Luckily, we both feel this way.

4. I love that Brian is super handy around the house and with our cars. He has saved us soooo much money!! He would never dream of paying someone to replace a toilet, pressure wash the porch, install a ceiling fan, replace brakes or spark plugs, etc. When we moved into our house, he designed and installed a new bathroom counter. He even installed our sprinkler system, even though he'd never done it before! Whenever I compliment him on these things, he acts like it's simple, like every guy can do these things. I credit his dad for teaching him some of these things, but he has a natural mechanical ability that I love and appreciate.

5. I love that Brian has hobbies. I know I joke about his fishing and hunting, and the time and money devoted to these activities, but I am truly glad that he has something he enjoys and a way to relax and unwind from working 50 hours/week to support our family (as well as cooking, paying bills, and doing stuff around the house)! And besides just having hobbies, I actually like his hobbies. He's such a MAN! I don't think I'll ever go for the plan of quitting his job and trying to become a full-time professional bass fisherman, but I am proud when he catches a big one and I especially enjoying eating fried fish in the summer and having a year-round supply of deer meat in the freezer. (I also appreciate that he understands my need for "me" time. We love doing things together and with Breeley, but we also both understand that we need our own hobbies and time for ourselves. He hates that I go to bed so late, but he knows I need that alone time for me.)

As you can see, he's an amazing husband! I haven't even mentioned what a great daddy Brian is because I'm saving that for Father's Day, but he is! We have a wonderful life together and I love Brian today more than ever! When I was 11-years-old I said I was going to marry Brian Hudson... I'm so glad my dreams came true!! It's been a great 5 years!!

Duck, Cow, Pig

Apparently Breeley knows her Hill roots and is getting in touch with her farm side.

Old McHudson had a farm E-I-E-I-O. And on his farm he had a DUCK!!

She said "duck" in the bathtub tonight! She said it twice, but it doesn't seem like it's going to become a staple in her vocabulary just yet. She's mainly making a lot of sounds. "Da," "ha," "na," and "aa" are favorites. Besides "dada" and "mama," and now "duck," she hasn't said anything that we can decipher. Like most other developmental milestones, she's a bit of a slow starter and does things at her own pace. She often seems to study what we are saying and think about it, but can't seem to form the sounds herself. Luckily, she's starting to understand more of what we're saying and so far she seems to listen pretty well!

Old McHudson had a farm E-I-E-I-O. And on his farm he had a COW!!

Breeley seems to be weening herself from bottles. She's only been taking a bottle in the morning and right before bedtime and occasionally before naps, but she's taken fewer and fewer ounces and seems less and less interested. Her new thing is to take her bottle while standing up. She's perfectly capable of holding it herself, but then she can't continue playing, twirling her hair, or pulling on her ears. The result is like feeding a calf from a bottle.

She really likes drinking out of her sippy cup. As with other things she does, she enjoys over-exaggerating tipping the (full) cup.

Old McHudson had a farm E-I-E-I-O. And on his farm he had a PIG!!

Pretty much, Breeley enjoys anything having to do with eating. She loves all foods and has recently started playing with her food. (I think she's not as hungry at dinnertime because she eats too many snacks at daycare...need to talk to them about that.) Her antics include intentially dropping food in the floor for Reesey, spreading everything to all corners of the tray, and smashing her food with her sippy cup. She's started spitting things out, just to return it to her mouth for a second try. She also likes smearing her food in her hair and wearing it all over her face.

Quack, quack! Moo, moo! Oink, oink! Dad, can you please explain to your granddaughter that she can like the farm animals, but she doesn't need to be one?!