Mom turned 70 this past Tuesday!

We had a surprise birthday party for Mom at my parents this past Tuesday night! Mom turned 70 years old! We brought pizzas, cake and ice cream, soda's, and of course birthday presents :-) Everyone had a great time. We ate, talked, laughed and did what all good Jarman's do - we sang! :-) It was such a rainy night, but we really enjoyed the birthday celebration. I've posted more pictures from the party in our Yahoo Photo Album entitled "Mom's 70 Birthday Party" at: http://new.photos.yahoo.com/jarmanmichael/albums

Took Meredith to the doctor this past Monday..

I took Meredith to her doctor appointment in Goldsboro on Monday. After her appointment we went to Applebees for lunch where I grabbed this picture of those blue of hers :-) I really enjoyed spending the afternoon with her! We had a great lunch and then went to Starbucks for the largest coffees we could get :-) I got a machiatto, and Meredith got a mocha latte with skimmed milk (I think). We are both confessed coffee addicts :-)

Halloween at Ana's Workplace...

There was a day of festivities at Ana's workplace on Halloween Day! Many of her co-workers decorated their work cubicles and donned creative costumes. And everyone enjoyed a covered dish lunch! Ana Maria fits right in with the color scheme of the day :-) We've posted more Halloween pictures from Ana's workplace at: http://new.photos.yahoo.com/jarmanmichael/albums entitled Omega Halloween.

Fall Festival at Our Church..

We enjoyed the annual Fall Festival at our church last Saturday night. Lots of kids running around in costume, and everyone enjoying games and food, which included hotdogs, chips, soup and pumpkin desserts! The decorations were pretty with mums everywhere. Also, there was a soup contest, and Ana Maria won "Most Creative" for her famous Portuguese Green Soup (the green comes from collards, a main ingredient)! And... Ana and Mom both won door prizes -- beautiful mums! Beautiful ladies with beautiful flowers :-) I included a nice picture of Mom, Grandma and me. I also decided to display a serious picture of me because it shows off my week-long vacation goatee:-) I had to shave it before going back to work on Monday morning though :-(

We have more Fall Festival pics in our Yahoo Photo Album at : http://new.photos.yahoo.com/jarmanmichael/albums entitled "Fall Festival."

Our Anniversary Vacation - leaving Gatlinburg..

On Thursday morning we left Gatlinburg and got on the Blue Ridge Parkway right outside of Cherokee, North Carolina. We stayed on it until we reached Hwy 74 below Asheville. It was a cold day, but we put the top down on the miata, turned the heater on, and enjoyed the ride! The top three pictures were taken along the Parkway - look at the icecicles! By evening we arrived at Chimney Rock where I took a picture of Ana outside a replica of an old country store complete with an old Gulf gas pump. Ana used to work for Gulf in Africa.

Besides the pictures here on our weblog, we've got a few more vacation pics in our Yahoo Photo album at: http://new.photos.yahoo.com/jarmanmichael/albums entitled Anniversary Vacation.

Our Anniversary Vacation - Day Four!

Today we ate a quick snack in our motel before heading out to the Arts and Crafts Community. This was a really enjoyable adventure because we had the opportunity to visit with the artists who created the many arts and crafts for sale. We visited woodworkers, candlemakers and potters! We bought a few things here and there; we're especially proud of a small piece of pottery we bought from a potter with whom we enjoyed a delightful chat. The hi-light of the day, however, was eating at the Wild Plum Tea House! The top three pictures were taken at the tea house - just look at the delicious spread! We were served a citrus flavored tea - it was so good! I think we must have had at least four cups apiece:-) Ana's soup was delicious, and the chicken salad was wonderful too (I'm getting hungry again...). If we ever have the opportunity to go back to Gatlinburg, we will definitely try to go back to the Wild Plum! The last picture here is an attempt to capture the last rays of sunlight on Gatlinburg since this was our last evening here. We decided to stroll downtown one last time before leaving the next morning.

Our Anniversary Vacation - Day Three!

On this day we decided to eat a light breakfast in our motel room so we could save room for an early afternoon meal at the Hofbrauhaus Restaurant, a German style restaurant in "The Village" which closes at 5pm. Before that, though, we drove a really neat motor nature trail on the north side of town! The top three pictures were taken along the motor trail which was extremely winding, and extremely beautiful this time of year. The bottom picture was taken at the restaurant. The window behind Ana Maria is roughly 80 years old, and was taken from an old church building years ago. We really enjoyed the sandwiches at this restaurant - mine was their famous reuben, and Ana had a pastrami on pumpernickel. Yum yum!