The Library.....

Well, this weekend Lee and I traveled to Roanoke to go out to dinner for my Grandfather's 90th birthday. Granddaddy has been RAVING about this restaurant for YEARS!! So, naturally, I was really looking forward to it. We got to Roanoke around 5:00 yesterday which gave us some time to relax and visit with the family before getting ready for our 6:30 reservation. Once at the restaurant, we were seated in a room with only a few tables, one set for the King....G-Daddy. Dr. Rip was seated and we took our places around him. He was just smiling the entire time. The waiter decided to get our drink order, only we had not received a wine list, or menus, so we had no clue what we wanted to drink. 1st Strike!!! After the wine was ordered and poured, I decided to make a toast to Granddad on his successful 90 years on this Earth. Food was ordered and brought out. I was really looking forward to the salmon dinner I had requested not 15 minutes prior. Wow, that was the driest piece of salmon I've ever had. Oh, and the shrimp and crab that was supposed to be on top consisted of one piece of shrimp. Super!! Well, G-Daddy was definitely enjoying his salmon so I couldn't complain. It was his night!! My aunt had ordered a cake to be delivered to the restaurant and brought out for him to blow out his candles. Well, there was an "oversight" and the cake was never ordered. 2nd Strike!!! So, a few folks ordered their desserts and I ordered coffee, and it was time for the bill to come. There were 11 of us, so I knew the bill would be pretty hefty. Turns out, the waiter took it upon himself to go ahead and order 2 bottles of wine without asking if we wanted them. We never knew we had more. They kept pouring it, and we didn't pay much attention. So, my father, took the waiter aside and let him know that he didn't appreciate him ordering these extra bottles of wine ($40 a piece) and had them removed from the bill. 3rd Strike!!! Well, at least G-Daddy had a wonderful dinner and made a beautiful speech about how we were his greatest friends he has.

After dinner, Granddaddy opened his gifts. From my aunt and uncle, he received a beautiful framed piece of art about Charles Lindbergh (his childhood hero) which included all the stamps that were created about Charles Lindbergh and his flight. From the grandchildren, we made a donation to the World War II Memorial and also registered him as a Veteran of that great war. He was extremely touched and told us he couldn't be happier. It was truly awesome to see the look on his face. He was just so happy. Then, my mother explained the book we all put together for him. This book included letters and cards from family and friends the world over. He was just in awe. He couldn't wait to sit down and read all the incredible words people wrote about this incredible man.

All in all, it was a wonderful weekend. Lee and I celebrated 5 years together on Saturday, but will really celebrate in a few weeks. I can't believe it's been 5 years already, but I know they have all been truly wonderful!!! I can't wait to see what the next 5 bring!!!!!

My Grandfather......

Well, today is my Grandfather's 90th birthday. For those of you who are unfortunate to have not known this great man, here are a few of his accomplishments:

• Became an Eagle Scout in 1930
• Graduated from Belmont Abbey in 1934 as Salutatorian
• Graduated from the University of Virginia Medical School in 1940 where Franklin D. Roosevelt was the speaker.
• Interned at the Emergency Hospital in Washington, DC
• Began his Orthopaedic Surgery residency at the Indiana University Medical Center in Indianapolis on July 1, 1941
• On-call on December 7, 1941 when he received the call about Pearl Harbor
• Enlisted in the United States Navy that very night
• Went on active duty in April, 1942 at Great Lakes Naval Training Station which was north of Chicago.
• Served as a doctor for the Navy in the South Pacific on Guadalcanal and Tulagi
• Separated from the Navy on June 6, 1946
• Returned to the Indiana University Medical Center and completed his residency in August 1948
• Opened the Roanoke Orthopaedic Clinic on June 1, 1955
• Served as the President of the Roanoke Academy of Medicine and the Virginia Orthopaedic Society
• Served as the Co-chairman of the Polio Vaccine Inoculation Drive and the Chairman of the Seatbelt Drive
• Served as the doctor for the Virginia Tech Football Team for 18 years and missed only 1 game!
• Inducted into the Virginia Tech Sport’s Hall of Fame in 1995 along with Bruce Smith
• Was granted an Honorary Membership in the Virginia Tech Monogram Club
• Retired from medicine in 1994
• Traveled all over the world walking the war zones in Vietnam, Normandy, Iwa Jima, and many more

Well, I know this doesn't do him justice, but I thought I'd share some of his accomplishments.

Happy Birthday Granddaddy!!!!!

MAKE IT STOP.......

This is the most insane thing you will ever see.....well, probably not, but I caught your attention....right??

http://www.weebls-stuff.com/toons/57/

There's a first time for everything.....

So, I have been reading a ton of blogs lately, and I was encouraged to start one of my own. I honestly couldn't think of another way to waste more time at work, so when this was suggested, I thought, GREAT!! I'm typing, so people will THINK that I'm working. It's genius!!!

Well, I haven't thought of what I'm actually going to write about yet, so I guess I'll get ideas as I go along.

Let's see....past and upcoming events, that's fun to write about!!! Two weekends ago started off our insane month of functions. May 7th was the Wintergreen Assent , check the third photo down. Lee did this race last year and did it again this year 5 minutes faster!! What a great job!!! I personally think he's crazy, but then again, it's an awesome accomplishment. Next was the 12 Hours of Lodi Farms in Fredericksburg, VA. For those who do not know what this is, it is a 12 hour mountain bike (off road) race that starts at midnight and ends at noon. The objective is to ride as many laps (8.5 miles each) as you can in that 12 hour period. As long as the last lap starts before noon, it counts!! There are solo riders, duo teams, and trio teams. Lee was on a trio team. This year he rode with Joe Foley , and Matt Donahue. They named their team Single or Geared? Again, for those of you who don't know much about biking, they are making reference to which bike they will ride, either a single speed (only one gear) or a geared bike. See how much you can learn when your boyfriend gets involved in cycling?? I'm so bike savvy!! Anyhoo....I digress.......The guys started off strong with Matt in the lead and Joe taking the second lap, then Lee pulled up the rear. Unfortunately for him, his light went out halfway through his lap so he had to follow some other folks pretty closely to make his way out of the woods. Well, it's Matt's turn again.....well, he hit a tree with his face....not pretty. After moving a bunch of stuff around the campsite, Joe managed to get his truck out so he could take Matt to the hospital for some stitches. It definitely put a damper on things because you never want to see somebody get hurt. Lee and Joe ended up doing one more lap each after Matt got stitched up in the ER. Another guy named Phil did 2 laps just for the heck of it to bring their total up to 8. All in all, aside from the facial injury, the team was a good fit and worked very well together. Oh, and I made pancakes and bacon for the guys.....apparently I am pretty well liked by those guys after those scrumptious flapjacks!!! Oh, and speaking of pancakes...... http://www.weebls-stuff.com/toons/59/. It will just make you laugh....for sure!!!

Ok, so on to the next adventure.....my grandfather, Dr. Ripley, will be 90 on Friday. Go G-Daddy!!! Lee and I will be traveling to Roanoke on Saturday to celebrate with the family at a restaurant called The Library. I hear it's a pretty nice place. It's granddad's favorite place to eat, so it must be pretty tasty!! We're all looking forward to spending his 90th birthday with him. What a great man!!!

Next on the agenda is a family journey down to Selma, NC to attend a party for Staci, Lee's niece. She is graduating from high school so the whole family is heading down to go to the party!!

Let's see, what's next.....Oh, our good friends Rob and Alecia are getting married on June 4th, so we'll be heading to Herrington Harbour in Friendship, MD for the night-before-party and the wedding itself.

The next weekend I will be finishing up my last finals for my Bachelor's of Business Administration degree!!!

The next weekend I will be GRADUATING!!!!!!!!!!! YAY!!!! I know, I know.....it's about time!!

That just about sums up the crazy months of May and June!!! Stay tuned for more hectic schedules to come....... As for now, I've wasted enough time today at work, so I will just post this thing up!!!!