Photography By Carrie

*First I want to apologize for taking so long to post these pictures. I've had them forever, but so many things have been happening in the Parrish household lately that I just haven't gotten around to it. Sorry!


Last month I arranged to have some pictures taken in Cape Girardeau, Missouri at Carrie Perez's studio. I had the pictures taken as Father's Day gifts for Bronson, my dad, Stacy, Doug, and Frank. As you can see, the pictures turned out great and the hardest part was just deciding which shots to purchase.

I know the Osh Kosh overalls are a little cliche, but I LOVE them and they did make for some pretty cute pics. Also, the other outfit I picked up at Janie & Jack because it was sooooo irresistible...and that fedora is what pushed me over the edge! What's cuter than a little boy in a fedora??!! I will definitely be using Carrie again for professional pictures in the future.

Layoffs & Eclipse

Yesterday was a very busy day for me. I managed to keep my job with King after a little less than 10% layoff yesterday morning. These things are always brutal and it's just something you accept when you take a job in the pharmaceutical industry, however this time it was without any warning from the top. I literally got a call from my manager at 8:30am and he told me I still had a job, but he was no longer my manager! Approximately 35 people in my company were on their way to their first office to find out they didn't have a job!! SO BRUTAL!!




I also went with some friends to the midnight showing of Eclipse last night. I have been anticipating this movie, especially, since the book was my favorite of the series. I was a little disappointed, as always though, because the movies can never live up to the books. It's just something I must accept!

I was a little crazy at the theater last night with 7 midnight showings sold out and we waited in our theater seats for 3 hours, but it was all worth it! I had a great time with great friends!!

Celebrating 100 Years

Last week Bronson's Great-Great Aunt Eva turned 100! It is a side of the family we don't see very often, however it was really fun for everyone to get together and I met a lot of new people!

We also got an opportunity to talk with Aunt Eva and hear a little bit about her life. Being the historian, I immediately started listing, in my head, all that she has seen in her life....literally, almost half of our American history!!! She is living, breathing, walking history!! (Sorry, can you tell I get really excited about these things?) But I didn't want her to think I was totally off my rocker by bombarding her with 100 questions so I asked one: Did she remember WWI? She of course said, yes. However she said the hardest time in her life was the Great Depression. I know my grandma also lived through the 1930s and it was one of the most challenging times in our history. Life was mush harder than hopefully most of us will ever know.

It was truly a wonderful celebration of Aunt Eva's life and we are so fortunate to have shared it with her. She is a very sweet and wise woman. She also made Bronson promise that we would come visit her sometime and you better believe we WILL follow through on that promise!

Birthday from Nanny and Poppy

I don't have any pictures yet of Jack actually using his portable dvd player, however he has already used it several times and LOVES it. He can watch Thomas, Nemo, and Shrek anywhere now. I think the portable player makes more sense than just a player designed only for the car. It came with straps so he can watch it in the car during trips, but also just around the house or in his room, and even sit it on his lap for plane travel or while at another house. It's a wonderful thing....both Jack and mommy are really excited about this gift!

Birthday from Mamie and Bom-Bom

Last Friday, my dad came over with Jack's bed and spent the better part of the day putting it together. Actually to take a step back, part of that time was spent actually getting it through the door. Not to rat out my dad or anything, but we encountered a minor hiccup when the captain on the front of the bed was literally standing between us and getting the bed in the room. So my dad's answer, after employing all his ingenuity, was to saw the captain off the bed! So after a trip to the hardware store, some sweat, and a few curse words, Jack's bed finally made it into his bedroom and you would never know the poor captain had been decapitated! Major crisis averted!!!

Jack absolutely LOVES his bed and has done very well sleeping in it for the last week. He did fall out once the first night, but I anticipated it and lined the floor around the bed with pillows.

Keep in mind his room is not complete yet. The chair is going and we're working on getting some real furniture to match like a chest, toy box, etc. I will post another update when things are complete.

Birthday From Bumpa & Nina

(As promised I'm highlighting gifts from the grandparents and this is the first installment of that three-part series.)


This would be the present that Nina and Bumpa got for Jack. Jack LOVES going to the park to climb and especially slide, so as you can imagine, he was pretty excited to see this in the barn at the farm!


It's not fully assembled yet...but I think you get the picture. Jack was one happy little boy.

Jack's Birthday Party (Part III)

I can promise you that this is the last post on Jack's birthday party, however, I can't promise it will be the last birthday post!

The first pictures are of Jack and his birthday cake. I made a "dirt" cake with brownie chunks and crushed Oreos and put it in the back of a toy dump truck. He LOVED it...I just hope he doesn't starting eating the dirt out of the backyard!

The last pictures are highlights from his gift opening, or rather my opening his gifts. Jack wants to immediately play with everything he opens, which is really great because he loved every gift he got! However, it doesn't make it too much fun for everyone watching. At Jack's pace we would have been at it for 5 hours, so I was forced to expedite the process a little. And by no means do these pictures include all gifts....but I think you all understand that might be the longest post in history.

The last photos of the green tractor was a gift from Brons and me and I will be saving separate posts for the gifts his grandparents got him. Trust me....they each deserve their own posts. Bronson and I should just give up now! The grandparents will NEVER be outdone!!!!