TOONFEST!

September 17, 2011 ~ Misty and I loaded up my nieces and nephew and headed to Marceline, Missouri to TOONFEST! This was the 13th annual celebration at the boyhood home of Walt Disney. The weather was a little cool and there was a chance of rain but we wanted to take the kids to see it anyway! When you pull up to Main Street USA the whole town square was full of tents with vendors selling jellies, cookies, kettle corn and funnel cakes and they had game tents too! The kids had the most fun "milking the cows" that they took wood cut out cows and put udders on them with a 5 gallon bucket of water. It was so funny watching them milk cows! We were able to tour the Walt Disney museum while we were there too! Such neat history and to see that he hand wrote a lot of letters.... something you rarely see these days. It was a great day and I always enjoy time spent with my best friend! :)

Jya, Olivia & Mikel!

Our 14th Anniversary!

September 13, 2011 ~ Today we celebrated our 14th wedding anniversary! Brandon and I met back in high school at age 16 and married at 21. I can't imagine spending my life with anyone else and each year that passes I can't help but fall in love even more with him. He woke me up and whispered "Happy Anniversary honey" in my ear and then when I got to the office this was waiting on my desk. He had went to town to get my favorite drink (Venti whole milk hot chocolate with 7 pumps of vanilla) and a piece of pumpkin loaf with 2 cards. We don't ever really buy each other anything but we always get cards... yes more than one... for special occasions. I love that man and can't wait to grow old together! :)

A surprise birthday party!

Saturday September 10, 2011 ~ My Aunt Janie is turning 65 next Friday so my mom and her son worked really hard to plan a surprise party for her. Since 65 years old is a great milestone we thought we would do a tropical theme to make it a little more fun!

Of course when you are at the Hammered Hog (my dad's shop that we named) we almost always have a little karaoke with a lot of great memories! 

We set up a little Tiki Bar with some frozen drinks to complete the theme! 

Now we just need the birthday girl to arrive......

She was so surprised! She thought she was going to come over for some pizza and karaoke with mom and dad and instead there was about 25 people waiting for her!

She was in shock that someone (her family) could pull off something like this for her! 

Let's blow out the candles and get this party started! 

After opening her gifts she was so happy! She was still in shock! 

But it didn't take long for Loretta Lynn to start singin'! It was a great night and I am so glad that she was surprised and still had a great time! :)

His big green tractor!

Monday September 5, 2011 ~ My husband is spoiled rotten! He had a perfectly good tractor that he bought brand new 5 years ago but since then felt the need to have something that had a cab with heat and air and a "buddy seat" for me to ride with him. So they delivered his new tractor on Friday and we got to test it out on Monday....

So I drove up to our property in Midway to ride in the tractor with him. Here he comes.....

 

It's a huge tractor that is about as big as Brandon's smile! He's always wanted a big tractor to brush hog on and he finally has it! Happy Birthday, Anniversary, Merry Christmas and anything else for the next 10 years! 

 As long as Brandon's happy......

I'm happy! :)

Take me out to the ball game......

Sunday September 4, 2011 ~ Hawthorn Bank gave us 4 tickets to a Cardinals vs. Reds game and we took some really good friends with us! It was a perfect day for a game!

We always enjoy getting to spend time with the Greening's! Although the Cardinals should have won it still was a great day to spend time with wonderful friends at a place we all love... Busch Stadium!

It's Football Season.... GO TIGERS!

Saturday September 3, 2011 ~ As the Chamber Ambassador Chair this year I was invited to a special breakfast at Chancellor and Mrs. Brady Deaton's home on the Francis Quadrangle. Brandon was not interesting in going with me as it was his day to sleep in so I asked my friend Kate to go with me! (My Date Kate as I call her)

Kate and her little boy, Rob, had a great time! It was fun seeing their house all decked out to kick-off the first football game of the season!

Ann Deaton came down to see the guests that arrived early! She is such a sweet lady!

Rob was ready to go back outside! He was so stinkin' cute!

Brady Deaton was outside greeting everyone as they ate breakfast! He's a great guy!

What a beautiful back yard! I could just set up camp in their backyard when I need a vacation! :)

I loved the simple table decorations! 

I was surprised to see some of my other favorite Ambassadors there! These guys always know how to make me smile! It was a great day and I really enjoy anytime I get to spend with Kate! She is a wonderful friend and I love her little boy too! :)

Arnold Palmer.....

So a few months ago I purchased a signed Arnold Palmer print from an auction. I didn't really know much about it but thought since it was signed I would purchase it.... if I could get it pretty cheap that is. An older gentleman was selling this because he was trying to pay his medical bills. It was bittersweet because I knew I wanted this print but sad he had to sell it to pay for his medical bills. He said that he won this back in 1985 and at that time they valved this (signed) at $3500.00 which he had to claim on his taxes. He then had it professionally framed with conservation glass to protect it. Well I bid on it and won it for less than $100.00. So I tried to do a little online research and didn't find anything. I had kind of gave up on it until I had a bright idea (oh boy... Michele and her bright ideas) and thought I would call a shop in Pennsylvania and sent them pictures of my print to verify.

 From my "research" I had no idea about "Fitz" and they told me that it was artist James Fitzpatrick and would value this signed print around $700. (I am jumping for joy because this is A LOT more than I even thought about paying for this print) So my next mission was to find the artist..... I searched the internet again and just found an Irish artist named James Fitzpatrick and his work didn't look anything like this print. I gave up hope again and set the print off to the side. I would see it everyday and thought it's a shame that I don't know anymore about this then the story I was told at the auction. I got another bright idea (here she goes again) and decided I would write Arnold Palmer a letter and attached copies of this print for him to review and see if he could tell me anything. It was worth a shot right?

 So less than one week after sending my letter to Arnold Palmer I get this in the mail! Holy smokes that was fast and I have so much more knowledge about this print! This print was taken from the 1985 U.S. Senior Open on the then - PGA Senior Tour was played at the Edgewater Tahoe Golf Club in Stateline NV and was the setting for Jim Fitzpatrick.

 They also sent this (I asked....) to compare the signatures! Pretty sweet I thought!

 This is the signature on my print.....

So I thought, if I was lucky enough to hear back from Arnold Palmer and his assistant how lucky will I get to find the artist, Jim Fitzpatrick? So I found his website and sent an e-mail to them. I left the office for a lunch meeting and as soon as I walked in the phone rang. I answered it and it was Jim Fitzpatrick.... the artist! Holy moly! We visited about the print, history of the print and Arnold Palmer. He was a super nice guy and great to talk to and gave me an idea on the print. It is a lithograph that was from 1985 and is no longer in print. He personally had 10 of these prints signed by Arnold Palmer for his own collection and said that with the signature they shouldn't be sold for less than $5,000! That's the WOW factor! Although the print he was talking about was originally 24" x 20" (approx) and my print is called a mini print (8 1/2" x 11") it would still be valued close to $3,500+/-.  I think I'll be hanging on to this one for awhile as it will only increase in value and now that I have the full story on this print from the main people involved in it's creation I am very happy!