A weekend of family fun!

Cuzmo

Look how good Cuzzie looks! We are so proud of you! Can't wait to come visit!

To the Rockin' G Support Team:

Thanks for all of your thoughts and prayers... they are working... keep them coming!

Drew Newell

A week ago today a friend of mine, Drew Newell, was killed by a drunk driver. He and his family were on their way home from Thanksgiving in South Carolina when they were rear-ended. His mom and sister survived and but his father is in critical condition... the family blog is the Newell Report on the left side of this page.

Drew and I worked together at LoneStar. He was one of those people who always had a smile on their face... he lit up the room. He lived life to the fullest and was all around a great guy... This world needs more people like Drew, not fewer... he will certainly be missed.

Below is a posting from his best friend... it sums up true friendship and gives some insight in to the kind of guy that Drew was... I can only hope to have this kind of impact on another person and leave the world better than I found it... Thankfully we have another angel in Heaven watching over us now...


Dear Drew
By: Brian Mayfield

Drew,You were truly the best friend that I could have ever asked for. You were my go-to guy, my homie... my dawg, as we always said. It seems like all of my awesome memories from the past few years have you right there beside me in every one. We were the "Boone Boys", those rednecks in Colorado that always wore our Panthers jerseys while we snowboarded. Number 89 on me, number 90 on you...we rocked those out every Sunday, that was sick. They are both hanging up in my room now, right above the football that we used to throw almost everyday. It's really cool to look at the football, one the right side, all of the leather is missing from my right hand where my thumb gripped, and on the other side, your left hand is clearly worn through, too. I'm so glad that we hung on to that thing, it will always be a reminder to me of all the incredible times we had together. You were always down for whatever crazy plan I had, whether it be Wilmington, Costa Rica, Colorado, or the Spring Break trip we were supposed to take together this March. Thank you so much for being there with me for all of the adventures, the ups(camping on the beach in Costa) and the downs(camping on Buffalo Pass when it was snowing in August). You were always the voice of reason when we were doing something crazy, always keeping us in check. I always felt a huge responsibility to take care of you since I was the older one, but we all knew that it was really you watching out for me. I know that you will continue to watch after me and be that voice in the back of my head when I reach a fork in the road. Life goes on, but it will never be the same without you. I love you so much, and I'm just so grateful that we had a close enough friendship to be able to tell each other that while you were still here with me. I have no regrets, I know that you knew I loved you like a brother and I will never stop. Can't wait to see you on the other side...
Pura Vida,-Lunchbox

Thankful

I'm thankful for:
My amazing husband, parents, family, in laws, cousins, my grandfather, turkey, a Thanksgiving phone call from my brother, Dad's Strawberry Daquris, a safe car trip, a fun trip to Boone with my sister and brother, snowflakes, sitting in a cramped truck, LuLu in my lap, donations to the Men's shelter, the DeMasters, Sarah's new brakes, Officer Click, memories of Boone, college friends, Drew's smile, our home, our friends, our neighbors, DVR, Chris- our Christmas Tree, colored lights, homemade ornaments, Appalachian State, hippies, flag football, having more than I could hope for, the anticipation of the Christmas season, having people in my life that make me want to be more, do more, give more....

I'm thankful for you.

Quote of the Day

“ In life you can never be too kind or too fair; everyone you meet is carrying a heavy load. When you go through your day expressing kindness and courtesy to all you meet, you leave behind a feeling of warmth and good cheer, and you help alleviate the burdens everyone is struggling with. ”
- Brian Tracy (b. 1944) author, motivational speaker

Panthers Game

Mike and I got up really early to drive home from Boone for the Panthers vs. Falcons game. It was a close game right until the end. An absolutely beautiful day for football, Club level seats... AWESOME!

We took Sara and Shelley to the game and had a BLAST!!

Back to Boone we go!

Friday night, dinner at Beth and Jims- whatever Jim cooks, I'm eating.... A-MAZING! We had chicken-sausage pasta with salad for dinner... some Killer Juice wine... I wish I could better describe the meal, as Jim is an incredible chef!
Late night- to Shaun and Erin's to prep for the weekend of fun. Baked 3 loaves of Banana bread and some fruit for breakfast... and we are up and on our way to Boone.
Way too cold to camp this weekend... staying in the luxurious Red Carpet Inn (they allow dogs, ok??)

Shaun, Erin, Mike and I headed up the mountain, getting there at about 9am to meet Van and friends in the lot for some tailgating fun. Van bought an awesome custom pig cooker (there has to be a technical name for this... I don't know what it is though).

He cooked a 100 lb pig and made THE most amazing mustard apricot BBQ sauce. We battled Western Carolina for the Old Mountain Jug, though I don't know that you could call it a "Battle" 79-35 is almost laughable. Mike and I have a pact not to leave games early, we always make fun of people who do... PS- it was FREEZING and we left at half-time... Which means we got to go to my favorite- El Gato de Negro, or for or non-Spanish speaking friends, Black Cat. AWE-SOME! I'm such a sucker for Black Cat! Off to the Red Carpet Inn for a crazy night of partying... hardly! We had a few drinks and called it an early night.

SO much fun with Shaun and Erin and their pups, Addi and Wilson.