Its a BOY!!!!

It's a Boy!!!

20 weeks!!!

Doug and Leigh Anne recently found out "its a boy"!!!  We are all excited and will be thrilled to welcome Caden Chance Lionberger to the family.

Reuniting with a Neighbor

Ann Hughes Nolen lived across the street from me when we were children - from about the age of seven until we were both grown.  We had lost contact with each other but recently reconnected.  She came to spend the weekend with me.  Great fun!!!!  It was hard to believe we hadn't seen each other in over 20 years.

The Parthenon at Centennial Park

Ran into Elvis downtown.

At the Orchid

Thursday afternoon we toured Franklin and had a glass of wine at JJ's Wine Bar while we caught up with each other.  Friday we headed out to Centennial Park, went to downtown Nashville for lunch and the Orchid Bar to listen to music, and then to the Grand Ole Opry.  Saturday we spent the day at Fontenal touring Barbara Mandrell's house, walking the trail, and indulged in some shoe shopping on the way home.



 Sunday we spent the day on the Natchez Trace - gorgeous!!!  After our hike, we sat and read and enjoyed the perfect weather before heading to Franklin for the Ghost Tour.  Monday we went by the quilt shop and had lunch at Noshville Deli before Ann needed to catch her flight.  There were some great meals and lots of walking and talking included during the visit BUT we were both good and actually lost weight.  That was a first:)  Wonderful weekend!

Reconnecting with a friend; Virginia Creeper Trail

Friday morning we said our goodbyes and headed down the interstate to Roanoke to meet a friend for coffee.  Donna and I lived down the street from each other years ago in Sugar Land.  Her daughter, Amanda, is the same age as my girls and they were all in kindergarten together.  Donna found me on FB and we have reconnected!

Donna and I at Starbucks

Our next stop was Damascus, VA so we could ride the Virginia Creeper Trail - seventeen miles DOWNHILL!!!  We rented bikes and were shuttled to the top of the trail.  It was absolutely gorgeous and great fun.  I would love to go again and take a picnic with me.  Lots of great places along the trail to sit and read, relax or nap.

I deserved it!!!

By bedtime, we were back in Franklin!!!  The next morning Ardell went to Huntsville to see Janet and Nick and their new house before heading home to Houston.  The car has been delivered.  Great trip - thanks to Doug and Leigh Anne for letting us drive their car:)

The Drive!!!

We're off!  Like I said - dark thirty:)

The purpose of this NYC trip was to drive Doug & Leigh Anne's car to Houston for them.  This meant DRIVING in NYC!!!  Scary:)  At first, Doug was going to drive it out of the city for me but I finally decided if we left before the NYC traffic I could do it.  That meant getting up at 4:00 a.m. and hitting the road about 5:00.  Even Doug thought we were crazy for leaving that early!!!!  We had a couple of mishaps getting to the Lincoln Tunnel entrance but we made it.  Once we were on the NJ Turnpike it was like driving on an interstate anywhere.

Peggy, Mary, Ardell

Within a couple of hours we had been in four states - New York, New Jersey, Delaware and Maryland!  There is something about Maryland that makes me feel like I am "home".  When I was mentioning that to Ardell, she said she had always felt the same.  Weird!!!  We were both born in Maryland so maybe its some weird connection (like salmon and Ridley sea turtles:)  Our first stop in Maryland was to have lunch with our cousin, Mary.  We had not seen each other in years so it was great fun catching up.   We are hoping to visit each other again now that I live so much closer and we are both retired.  Thanks for lunch, Mary!!!

Just starting to turn colors!  We were too early!

Ardell at Shenandoah NP

After lunch Ardell and I headed south.  We spent the night in Port Royal so we could get an early start at Shenandoah National Park and Skyline Drive on Wednesday morning.  As always, it was beautiful but we didn't get to see much fall color.  It is late this year.
We headed to Staunton, VA  to visit our Aunt Joyce and our Lamond cousins (my mother's side of the family).  My cousin Bruce and his wife, Linda, had us all over for dinner.  It was so much fun seeing everyone!!!  We then spent the night with Joyce and Sue.  Joyce took us out sightseeing the next day - we visited the quilt store in downtown Staunton and then headed out to the Dayton Market.  Cheryl came for dinner so we to catch up with another cousin.  It was a great visit!!!

The cousins!!!!!

New York City - again:)

Brunch at the Popover

American Girl Store

Saturday, October 1st, I got up bright and early and headed back to NYC!  My sister, Ardell, flew from Houston and met me at the airport in NYC.  We planned our arrival times to match closely so we could share a cab to Doug and Leigh Anne's.  We had a fun filled weeked!    Activities included a visit to the Guggenheim Museum and dinner Saturday night.  Doug and Leigh Anne's friend, Megan, was also in town and joined us.  Saturday we had brunch at the Popover Cafe and headed out to explore.  Ardell, Leigh Anne, and I paid a visit to the American Girl store-fun!!  In the past, I made a lot of doll clothes.  We met back up with Doug and walked through Greenwich Village and that area of the city.

Doug, Leigh Anne & Megan at Washington Square

Add caption

Sunday night we headed to Brooklyn to have dinner with Drue, Andrew and Miriam.  Drue and I are still amazed we both have sons that are attorneys living in NYC.  Both are in the process of moving - Drue was in the city helping Andrew and Miriam pack for their move to California.  It was great fun but the restaurant was too dark for pictures.  We also saw a fireworks display when we were crossing the Brooklyn Bridge.

9/11 Museum

Monday morning Ardell and I headed to the 9/11 Memorial Site.  Tickets are really hard to get and you must make reservations weeks in advance.  We did visit the museum and church.  Ten years later it is still a very emotional place to visit.  Following our visit, we had lunch at Shake Shack, did some shopping,  saw our celebrity of the trip, and went back to the apartment to rest.

Ardell with Colonel Sanders - the only
celebrity we saw:)