Binfield family

2011-11-06T10:02:00.001-05:00

An updated picture of our expanded family!
From left to right
Emmie (4)
Hayden (8)
Nick (14)
Arielle (13)
Ryan (7)

Halloween

2010-11-03T15:49:00.004-04:00

I've been really bad at posting pictures lately. I'll try to do better..
Halloween came and went, but buckets full of candy is still here. The kids picked their costumes pretty quick. Hayden wanted to be Mario so of course Emmie wanted to be something similar, but instead of picking one of the female characters from the game, she chose Luigi. They were super cute though together. The mustaches didn't stay on very long, but it doesn't matter.

Hayden posing at the Easter egg hunt

2010-04-18T09:08:00.000-04:00

2010-04-18T09:03:00.002-04:00

Emmie didn't want to visit the Easter bunny as he had come during the night and taken her pacifier...

Easter at Fripp

2010-04-18T08:57:00.002-04:00

Our friends, the Calkins came to visit us at Fripp. Sonja, Maeve, Kaleigh and Finnigan. We had our own egg hunt in the yard, and then went to the annual egg hunt at Ocean Point golf course.

Mamma, Jenny, Benjamin och jag

2010-04-18T08:56:00.000-04:00

Emmie och Benjamin

2010-04-18T08:54:00.001-04:00

Emmie tyckte det var jättekul att leka med Benjamin när han satt i lek grejen.

Hayden och Benjamin

2010-04-18T08:52:00.001-04:00

Kusinen Benjamin var på besök från Sverige. Emmie ville inte vara med på bild men pojkarna klarade ju sej själva.

Merry Christmas

2009-12-25T18:54:00.002-05:00

Merry Christmas from us all. We had been very good this year because Santa brought tons of gifts for us.

2009-12-05T11:05:00.000-05:00

Reptile park

2009-12-05T11:01:00.001-05:00

We visited a very cool reptile park where you could pet most of the animals, including the snakes. Emmie loved the kangaroos and would go up behind them, push on them and say; jump, jump!

Terregal Beach

2009-12-05T10:57:00.002-05:00

One of the beaches around the corner from us. The water was surprisingly cold. The kids didn't care though!

Taronga Zoo, Sydney

2009-12-05T10:48:00.001-05:00

Australia

2009-12-05T10:42:00.003-05:00

We had a fabulous vacation in Australia. We went with our friends the Toner's from Cincinnatti (Gary, Suzy, Georgia and Tommy). Gary is from the Central Coast so he took care of booking and organizing everything. We rented a house on the beach in North Avoca for the first 2 weeks, and finished our trip with 3 nights in Sydney. During the 18 days we ended up seeing and doing a lot of stuff and we had a great time.

Fripp Fest 2009

2009-10-18T16:25:00.002-04:00

Every October there is a festival at Fripp with all sorts of fun stuff including a 5k race. We have participated the past 3 years. This year the author of Prince of Tides, Pat Conroy and his wife Cassandra King (they live on Fripp) had a booksigning. The weather was great and we got to play on the beach and ocean. Unfortunately, it was not as great of a weekend for the 77 year old man that lost his arm to an alligator while playing golf! We all got to keep our arms though.

Moose safari

2009-07-15T09:25:00.001-04:00

10 minutes from Perstorp is a Moose safari. Or that is a very fancy word for it. Two moose families in a fenced in area. Anyway, the kids had fun running around trying to spot the moose.

2009-07-12T15:18:00.002-04:00

Kids are swinging at Mormor and Morfars house. Petting some huge bunnies at a bird park outside Helsingborg.

European vacation

2009-07-12T15:10:00.003-04:00

We went to Sweden and England during the last 3 weeks in June and did lots of fun stuff and visited family and friends. It's always great to catch up with everybody and the kids did amazingly well going all over the place.

First up was a visit to Helsingborg and my oldest friend Elisabeth and her family. Our kids are the same age and played very well together although they really couldn't communicate that much. This is from the playground.

Baseball End of the Year celebration

2009-05-22T21:12:00.002-04:00

Tonight we had our end of the year celebration for baseball. Hayden has really enjoyed playing especially since Uncle Alan has been the coach. We all went to see the Gwinnett Braves play and had lots of fun.

Kindergarten graduation

2009-05-22T21:02:00.003-04:00

Hayden graduated from Kindergarten today! It's hard to believe he's finished his first year of school already. Graduation was a big deal where all the students received their diploma in the gym, and also sang and performed for their families. Hayden was selected to stand up with 5 other students and say the Pledge of Allegiance in front of everyone. Enough to make his mom tear up...

After graduation they had a reception in their class room and they got to say good bye to their teachers, Mrs. McDuffie, Mrs. Lisa and Mrs. Jamie who all have been wonderful this year!

Mother's day weekend at the beach

2009-05-12T14:53:00.002-04:00

This past weekend was a big one for us as Friday would have been our 10 year anniversary and Sunday was Mother's day. So we decided to go to Fripp for a quick weekend and just relax. We had a great time although I got sick withbad upper respiratory crap. Oh well, nothing a few beers can't cure. We had great weather and ended up slightly sunburned, or I actually got fried. I'm so much better putting sunscreen on the kids than myself. I tend to forget my back...

Hayden's field trip at Elachee Nature Center

2009-05-01T19:54:00.002-04:00

Hayden's kindergarten class had a field trip to Elachee Nature Center this week. They learned about wild animals, hiked through the woods, and got to pet a snake. As always, the best part is when you get to sit down and eat your lunch...

Emmie's Spring consert

2009-05-01T19:48:00.002-04:00

So Emmie had a concert at her preschool. Emmie's room were too young to really sing and participate, butthey all still managed to stand up front dressed up as butterflies while the older kids sang. Emmie did really well until she saw me and started yelling "Mommie, mommieeeeee..." but maybe it was only loud to me. She did end up standing in her place the whole time so that was good.

Easter at the beach

2009-04-20T18:42:00.002-04:00

We went to Fripp over Easter and Spring break and it was a fun week. Since the Peck's house is now finished and huge, we all went over there every night and had dinner together. Another family from Atlanta joined us too with theire three kids, so some nights we had 12 kids running around. It was crazy but so much fun. The kids felt like they were at camp, but with the parents there. My camera died so I don't have any pictures to post yet. I'm waiting for some to be sent to me.

Swimming Reunion

2009-04-20T18:39:00.004-04:00

I haven't written in ages, been to busy! This past weekend I went to Athens for a swimming reunion. It was great to see old friends, who all still looked absolutely fabulous. I realized when I was driving to Athens that I'm now twice the age of kids going to college!!!
I only went on Friday although the whole weekend was filled with activities. Staying out until 2am in a bar, almost did me in, so there is no way I could have made it another night. But it was so much fun. The next morning I got up early and went for a 10 mile run with Kelly. It's so much more fun running with somebody else, time seems to fly. It was also fun running through campus and see how much it has changed since we went to school there.
PS. if you are looking for me, I'm not in the group picture but I thought it was such a nice pic.

Celebration of Gary

2009-03-21T18:19:00.002-04:00

Here are some pics from our celebration of Gary. We had about 50 people that came even though it was freezing cold and had rained the entire weekend. The beer warmed us up though and we all shared some good laughs and memories about Gary. The bench will also have a plaque naming it Gary's bench. Thanks for everybody that came, it was great to see you all. And also thanks for all the kind emails, cards, phonecalls etc. during the week.

A day we will always remember!

2009-03-15T09:48:00.003-04:00

A year ago I received the dreaded phonecall from the gym, "your husband has collapsed and is having seizures". In my mind I was cussing at Gary since I thought he had low bloodsugar for not eating prior to heading to exercise. Little did we know that less than an hour later, Gary was declared dead! What followed was just a daze, making phonecalls, decisions etc. How do you pick a funeral home when you were just discussing ordering pizza for dinner!! Thanks to all our amazing friends, neighbors and family we made it through this past year.

We are doing better, the kids are amazing, and we have slowly adjusted to a life without Gary. In all my wildest dreams I never thought I would end up as a widow at 38, raising two little kids by myself. But it is what it is, and as one of my neighbor's girls said "you get what you get and you don't pitch a fit" (although she said that after the election, and not to me ,but it is still very wise especially since she is 5).

Today I've chosen to have a small gathering in Gary's honor up at our pool pavilion. Some neighbors got together and ordered a bench in Gary's honor that will be placed there. So hopefully the rain will move out and we'll be having a nice afternoon remembering an amazing man, friend, husband and dad. We will always love you Gary!

Happy Birthday Gary

2009-03-13T08:09:00.002-04:00

This is probably how we would have spent the day, eating salt & vinegar chips! The kids have gotten daddy a birthday card and we are going to make cupcakes. And mommy will drink lots of beer or wine (or both)!

Another birthday (with snow!)

2009-03-02T07:21:00.002-05:00

Another birthday came and went, of course this one was pretty emotional, as all the first occasions will be. It started snowing, sleet at first but then snow. The kids thought it was so much fun. Unfortunately it didn't stick so we couldn't go sledding.

Booster Fun run

2009-02-25T22:06:00.002-05:00

Hayden had a fund raiser at school today. They had to raise money for their school for each lap they would run. Hayden (or mommy) had raised over $11/lap so he did very well. Especially since he ran 35 laps. Thanks to everybody that supported him toady.

Will the toothfairy come?

2009-02-16T14:38:00.002-05:00

Hayden has now lost both bottom teeth. The first one was lost in McDonalds and was never found. The second one came out this morning when he wiggled it so we can keep that. I put it in a small silver tooth box but Hayden didn't want me to as then the toothfairy wouldn't find it tonight. I assured him that the toothfairy will still come, and can't pick up all the teeth little kids lose, so we can keep it.

more zoo pics

2009-02-16T14:34:00.000-05:00

More pictures from the zoo. Emmie and Hayden with the lions. Hayden and I on the train.

Atlanta Zoo

2009-02-16T14:19:00.002-05:00

We were supposed to go to Cincinatti, OH this weekend to visit the Toner family. But since we had all been sick with the flu this past week, I felt it was stupid to push it and sit in the car for 8 hours. We have to plan to go up there a different time (and I believe we would fly not drive). So since we had a long weekend ahead of us we decieded to go to Zoo Atlanta. It was a gorgeous day and all the animals were out and about. We had a great time and rode the train, petted the animals and took lots of pictures. Emmie really liked petting the goats, she even wanted to kiss one. Hayden was more interested in the Komodo Dragon, snakes and the lions and tigers.

Angel in Garden

2009-02-04T15:27:00.001-05:00

Alan, our neighbor took this beautiful picture of Emmie in his garden earlier in the fall. I just love it. Where does that blonde hair come from?

2009-02-02T14:56:00.002-05:00

The Peck boys had a sleep over after the party. Little did I know that they had a nintendo game hidden in the sleeping bag and played after I thought they had fallen a sleep...

2009-02-02T14:40:00.002-05:00

Spike the dinosaur, a gift from Auntie Jenny and Uncle Stefan, Mormor and Morfar. He walks, roars, ets, sleeps etc. And the other picture is the cake, of course a dinosaur that pops out of the cake and roars!

Happy Birthday Hayden

2009-01-30T08:58:00.003-05:00

Today is Hayden's 6th birthday. He had a hard time understanding that you have to go to school on your birthday, but after I convinced him I would be bringing cupcakes at lunch he decided it could be fun. His birthday party will be at Lazer Tag city once again. He loves that place and his cake is of course shaped like a dinosaur. I will post pictures later after the party.

Grand Cayman

2009-01-14T21:16:00.003-05:00

This past week I went with Gary's work PMG to Grand Cayman. It was great to see old friends but at times also very emotional. The weather was nice except for the day we went snorkeling and swimming with the Stingrays. It was amazing anyhow to hold and feed these large animals. The picture is not taken in a swimmingpool but out in the ocean at a place known as Stingray City.

We also ate a bunch and of course drank. The favorite was champagne brunch at the hotel. You got to order as many courses as you wanted together with unlimited champagne. We got there at the opening at 11am and left a whole lot drunker and heavier at 3pm. Mmmm lobster risotto and seabass and seared tuna!

In Memory of Gary

2009-01-04T16:21:00.003-05:00

We have purchased a brick at the playground on Fripp in memory of Gary. It just got installed before Christmas and this is what it looks like!

Is it Santa?

2009-01-04T16:16:00.003-05:00

Awaiting Santa!

2009-01-04T16:11:00.001-05:00

The kids were eagerly awaiting Santa's arrival by the window...and then finally he arrived. Next year Santa will have a nicer sack for all the presents!

Christmas

2009-01-04T16:07:00.002-05:00

This is a picture that Hayden took of us all. Pretty good for a year old.

2008-12-09T21:21:00.000-05:00

The girls with Elmo!

New York City

2008-12-09T21:09:00.005-05:00

This past weekend I flew to NYC to visit Paige and family. My awesome neighbors Alan and Bev watched the kids Friday night and Saturday night they spent with the Peck's. The kids had a great weekend although they kept Beverly awake for a while in the middle of the night.

We had the best time in NYC. Sonja took the bus up from DC with baby Kaleigh, and we just spent the weekend hanging out and getting in the Christmas spirit. It was freezing cold, I have definately gotten thin blood and get very cold easily. But Sonja and I got dressed and went for a quick run in Central Park Saturday morning. The rest of Saturday was spent shopping and to look at all the Christmas decorations. Oh yes, we went jeans shopping because I wanted a really nice pair of jeans. My budget of $100-150 was easily exceeded, but that wasn't the bad part. It was hearing from a snooty New Yorker in one boutiqe that they didn't carry my size! I didn't realize I was that big!!

We went to Union Square and bought the neatest gifts, ABC homestore just to look, and finished by going by Rockerfeller Center to fight the crowd. After shopping all day we went home had a glass of wine or two, dropped kaleigh off with babysitter Nick ( he was a trooper) and went to a nearby Wine and Taps bar. While we were sitting by the window which was covered with a nice wreath it started snowing....so nice.

Happy Birthday Emmie!

2008-12-02T20:57:00.002-05:00

Emmie turned two on Sunday. It's hard to believe she is two already, time flies. We had a great birthday party with lots of kids and adults. The absolute favorite present is this trampoline, that plays a really annoying song nonstop. Emmie loves it and can jump nonstop. The hardest part is to share with her brother

Happy Thanksgiving

2008-11-23T22:27:00.002-05:00

This is a picture from last Thanksgiving that we celebrated on Fripp. We want to keep up with the traditions so we are heading down there again this year. They have a great buffet at the Beach club and on Friday Santa arrives on the firetruck. Hayden has his lists ready for Santa. One list that he wrote himself has 7 items on it and the other list that Auntie wrote has 23 items. I told him that he will not get all the things on the lists and what did he want the most. Of course he wants this giant dinosaur from Target that costs $130! His response when I said it was expensive, "it doesn't matter mommy, you don't have to buy it, Santa will get it"!

Grattis till Morfar på födelsedagen!

2008-11-08T14:12:00.000-05:00

Gary's blanket

2008-11-02T13:45:00.002-05:00

Sonja's mom made this blanket for us out of Gary's favourite shirts. There is a mixture of Olympic swimming shirts, work, running races, diving expeditions, skiing vacations, Fripp and also a Corona shirt from our last weekend in Mexico. What a treasure, we all love it and it's already our favourite blanket to snuggle with in the evenings and mornings. Thank you Mrs. Leiter!

Princess Fairy and Bunny

2008-11-02T13:41:00.002-05:00

Emmie and Maeve are getting ready to go trick or treating. We had to give them some candy to sit still for the shot! But they both did really well and it didn't take them very long to figure out to ring on every one's door and grab some candy out of a bowl.

2008-11-02T13:38:00.000-05:00

how about this one. it's works to sit on it!

At the pumpkin patch

2008-11-02T13:33:00.001-05:00

it's hard to find that perfect pumpkin for the carving

Happy Halloween!

2008-11-01T19:49:00.004-04:00

Not the best picture but the battery on my camera decided to stop working so this is taken with Beverly's camera phone. Anyway, Princess Fairy and Black Spiderman had a blast going Trick or Treating and we got so much candy that we are eating it for breakfast, lunch and dinner!

Posing with Monster truck

2008-10-27T09:39:00.002-04:00

Can it be more Redneck than this??

Hayden at monster truck show

2008-10-27T09:37:00.001-04:00

Hayden had a busy weekend. He went to Nascar racing on Saturday and monster truck show on Sunday. He was one tired boy Sunday night. Every boys' favorite monster truck has got to be the "Grave digger"

Gooo Dawgs!

2008-10-20T13:30:00.000-04:00

UGA Homecoming

2008-10-20T13:25:00.003-04:00

This past weekend was Homecoming at UGA so of course we had to head to Athens as we do every year. Emmie stayed at home with babysitter Alan, so Beverly, Hayden and I went to enjoy some football and catching up with old swimmers.

I have to say I only managed to have one drink at the tailgate, must be some kind of record, and I actually followed the football game, also some kind of record! We had fun and broke the bank at the book store. It was great!

Fripp fest 5K

2008-10-20T13:21:00.003-04:00

Every fall they have a Fripp fest with a 5K running race. Gary ran this race two years ago when I was pregnant with Emmie, so I figured I had to carry on the tradition this year. There were more than 80 people participating this year so it has grown. And I have to brag that I actually won for the women and was third overall. Although one woman at the store asked me after she heard I won, if I ran or walked...hmm!

2008-10-20T13:18:00.000-04:00

Emmie finally wanted to come down and say Hi to the buck as well. He is very nice!

Our pets at Fripp

2008-10-20T13:13:00.002-04:00

We spent the weekend at Fripp and had a mixture of rain and sunshine. Fripp is filled with deer that are very tame. Although you are not supposed to feed them or the alligator, it's fun for the kids to do (not the alligators but the deer). This buck is always around our house, and when we first bought the house it used to sleep in the little dug out in front of our house. So now the buck is called Gary!

Emmie's first ponytail

2008-10-20T13:07:00.002-04:00

Emmie finally has long enough hair that I managed to pull it up in a pony tail. The creation lasted until the pictures were taken. But she is cute!

2008-10-06T10:37:00.000-04:00

The cheer leaders did a great job cheering on the team!

3 touchdowns!

2008-10-06T10:33:00.002-04:00

Hayden is ready to get that football. In the beginning he was just standing there, waiting for the ball to land in his hands, until I asked if his feet were glued to the ground (competitive mother, yes). The he figured out how to steal the flags and run with the football, and he actually scored 3 touchdowns!

Hayden's first football game

2008-10-06T10:30:00.001-04:00

Emmie is cheering on her brother during flag football. One gets very thirsty from all the cheering!

Lost my voice

2008-10-01T19:21:00.002-04:00

I've lost my voice, it's gone since last night due to a nasty cold. Headache, sore throat and no voice, fun fun. I just hope the kids won't get sick. They've both have had coughs and runny noses for a week, but hopefully it won't get worse.
On Friday I'm having some girls over for cosmos and Sex and the City...so I better feel better or if nothing else the alcohol will kill the bacteria in my throat!

Hayden the photographer

2008-09-29T19:13:00.001-04:00

Hayden is quite the photographer. He just took this picture of Emmie and I in our office. Pretty good for a 5 year old!

Hayden and Emmie

2008-09-29T19:10:00.001-04:00

Sometimes your kids can be such pains, then other times they are this cute!

Emmie in Halloween dress

2008-09-29T18:54:00.002-04:00

Emmie and Hayden are fortunate that they have a nice Auntie and Uncle that like to spoil them. This is the newest dress Emmie got just to get in the spirit for Halloween. And one of her newest words is "cheese" so apparently she likes to have her picture taken.

Field trip to Jaemor Farms

2008-09-26T13:53:00.005-04:00

Today Hayden had his first field trip to Jaemor Farms for some apple picking. I went as a chapperone and had a great time. We picked apples, watched the apple grinder, rode on a hayride and had lunch. And of course we bought a bunch of apples to take home!

Hayden's first sleepover

2008-09-26T13:47:00.003-04:00

So it was time for Hayden's first sleepover. His friend Julia who had never slept at a friend's house wanted to stay the nights. We did all the fun stuff ate, played, watched movies, took a bath etc. After going to bed at 9, Julia comes out 15 minutes later with her bag, with Hayden in tow, stating she changed her mind and she wants to go home. So I had to do some convincing and some more story telling and they were both asleep fairly quickly.

This is how cute they looked the next morning.

2008-09-16T15:57:00.001-04:00

To my friends, who enjoy a glass of wine, and those who don't.
As Ben Franklin said: In wine there is wisdom, in beer there is freedom, in water there is bacteria.
In a number of carefully controlled trials, scientists have demonstrated that if we drink 1 liter of water each day, at the end of the year we would have absorbed more than 1 kilo of Escherichia coli, (E. Coli) - bacteria found in feces. In other words, we are consuming 1 kilo of poop.
However, we do NOT run that risk when drinking wine & beer (or tequila, rum, Whiskey or other liquor) because alcohol has to go through a purification process of boiling, filtering and/or fermenting.
Remember: Water = Poop, ...........Wine = Health
Therefore, it's better to drink wine and talk stupid, than to drink water and be full of shit

Six months!

2008-09-14T19:34:00.002-04:00

So tomorrow it's been six months since Gary's passing. It' hard to believe it's been that long already. In one way it feels like forever ago, because every minute of the past six months have been so painful. On the other hand I can't believe we have already gone on living for six months without him. We miss him so much! I miss my partner, my confidant and my everything. Most nights when Hayden goes to bed, he wants to talk about Gary and that he misses him. It really sucks! I know God has a plan for everyone, it's just very hard to understand the plan of taking a good father away from his small children, when there are other dead beats out there that don't deserve to be here! Maybe one day I will understand it!

On the other hand, I've learned a lot over the past six months. I used an electric drill to hang curtain rods, burnt of my eyebrows turning on the grill, had my air conditioner and ice maker fixed, had the roof and siding replaced, had two flat tires, written a will, been to court, and learnt not to mix wine, champagne and rum in one night! "What doesn't kill you will make you stronger"

I'm also really thankful. I'm thankful for the wonderful years we had together and all the great memories! I am really thankful for the great children we made together. I'm thankful for the wonderful friends and family we have, that have helped me and the kids through this hard time. I'm thankful for that we can go on living without the stressors of having to move and me having to return to full time work! And finally I'm thankful that we are still alive, because living is after all pretty wonderful! Gary we miss you!

Emmie in the frog pool

2008-09-02T10:51:00.002-04:00

At Fripp there is a kiddie pool that Emmie just loves to go down the slide.

Hayden starts school

2008-09-02T10:46:00.002-04:00

Hayden started school on August 7th at Friendship Elementary. he is having fun and is enjoying himself so far. The only hard part is getting up early early. Yuck!

Celebrating 4th

2008-07-15T21:44:00.001-04:00

Our annual golf cart picture in our 4th of July clothes. Aren't they cute!

4th of July

2008-07-15T21:35:00.003-04:00

We celebrated 4th of July at Fripp again and participated in the annual golfcart parade. This year's theme was "under the Sea" so we created a shark. We were so proud of our golfcart (Allen and Beverly did all the work so I'm not taking any credit) but unfortunately there were several other golf cart that outdid us so we didn't win. It was fun though and we had a good time. Fripp had a small carneval afterwards for the kids to do some activities but it was soooo hot.

We had a very nice time and it is so relaxing to be on on Fripp.

Hayden in Summer League

2008-07-15T10:09:00.002-04:00

Hayden participated in a swim team this Summer and did really well. He only participated in three meets but dropped his times by a total of 30 seconds in 25 yards in both free and backstroke! Of course his favorite was 25 y backstroke (like dad) with a perfect streamline. Anyone who has ever seen me swim knows I couldn't do either backstroke or streamline, so watching Hayden swim is watching a mini Gary.
He had fun and was so excited in his last meet when he won his heat and got 5th total (in 6y and under) and got a ribbon.

Charlie and Emmie

2008-05-31T22:57:00.002-04:00

Charlie and Emmie sitting in a tree, k-i-s-s-i-n-g! They have so much fun together these two!

My two angels!

2008-05-31T22:54:00.000-04:00

Can they be much cuter than this??

Hayden graduates from Pre-K

2008-05-31T22:44:00.003-04:00

Thursday was Hayden's graduation from Pre-K. I cannot believe he will be starting Kindergarten this fall. He was very excited, probably because he found out graduation = presents!

The school had a slide show from this past year which of course was a tear jerker. They also made predictions for the future and Hayden's was his love for dinosaurs will lead him to become a paleontologist. He also received some Laffy Taffy for always making people laugh!

9 year anniversary

2008-05-08T12:09:00.003-04:00

Today is our 9th wedding anniversary! 9 years ago we got married in Athens, GA. It was a gorgeous day although the days leading up we had some severe tornadoes hitting the area. I'm not sure how Gary managed to get off in May to get married in the middle of pool openings ( I know he wouldn't have given anybody the time off!), but I'm glad because it was a great day.

I remember the caterer shaking his head at all the alcohol we had bought for the 130-140 guests, and said you bought way too much. Needless to say, we knew our friends and there was one case of beer left and one bottle of champagne! We had a great time and when the time came to cut the cake, we used the cutting knife to feed eachother and then the caterer proceeded to cut the rest of the cake with the same knife! After the reception we went downtown and continued partying all night in the local bars. It was fun!

Our "honeymoon" was spent on Fripp Island with 16 members of our familes and friends and this was when we first fell in love with Fripp. We always laughed talking about our honey moon because it wasn't the traditional way of honeymooning. We even brought our cats Norm and Elaine. And anybody who's ever heard of Norm must know that Gary loved me a lot to bring him on the honeymoon.

I'm grateful for all of our memories and just so sad that we didn't get longer together. The night before Gary died we were planning our 10 year anniversary trip. I had found this amazing little private island in the Carribean, and I was showing Gary all the pictures that I found and I was getting annoyed b/c he was watching the tornado that was hitting Atlanta during the SEC basketball tournament.

Thanks to all my girlfriends who are joinging me tonight for dinner. It will be fun!

Fripp Island

2008-04-11T19:30:00.000-04:00

Fripp Island, S.C. has been our sanctuary for the past several years and this is the place we came to relax and enjoy eachother. Therefore it seemed to be the right place to spread Gary's ashes. This past Saturday, April the 5th we got up at Sunrise and headed for the beach. Gary was always up at sunrise when at Fripp and took the dog for a walk. It was a sligthly windy morning so after Hayden and I got the first shovel full of ashes and were ready to throw it in the ocean, the wind got hold of it and blew straight into Hayden's face!! Needless to say, Gary will be Hayden for a long time!

Thanks to our dear friends the Pecks, who have been visiting us almost every day and even joined us at Fripp. Their boys have been providing the best therapy for Hayden, and it brings a smile to your face to see them play and enjoy eachother. Even Emmie's got her first boyfriend in Charlie!

Celebration w/ PMG

2008-04-10T23:15:00.000-04:00

Later that night PMG had arranged for a celebration of Gary's life down in Buckhead. All GMs and their wifes had made the trip to Atlanta which we all appreciated. The celebration included a slide show of Gary (thanks to Allen and Jen for doing this), food, drinks and a lot of speeches and tears. I'm so glad I came to this event, although I didn't feel too good the next morning thanks to Steve's gin and tonic mixing which only included gin, no tonic or lemon! Everybody here have been such a vital part of Gary's life (and mine although it seems like it was more in May less in November). I will miss being a part of this great team and I also know Gary will be greatly missed!
Love you all!

2008-04-10T23:12:00.000-04:00

People enjoying a Sam Adams beer (one of Gary's favorite's)

I love you guys!

2008-04-10T23:07:00.000-04:00

Thanks for being there for me!

Paige and Sonja (not sure about the baby!)

2008-04-10T23:03:00.000-04:00

Reception at the house

Thanks for all your support

2008-04-10T22:45:00.000-04:00

The past month has been a blur. We have all been hurting so much and we are missing Gary terribly. It's hard to believe he is gone, and yet life continues around us like normal! Iwould like to thank everybody that attended the visitation and the funeral. Everybody who knew Gary can agree that the service was very fitting. The entire service was arranged by my wonderful friends Paige and Sonja who left their families up north (DC and NYC) and flew to be by my side, and Kimberly who in turn used her amazing skills and set of friends to pull the entire event off. I am so grateful for all their help and their friendships. Our friend Jonathan, (old swimmer from Athens, now Father Jonathan) officiated and created a very nice service which included some special moments he had shared with Gary. Our friend Heather who also sang at our wedding were able to sing her heart out, it was magical! Three very special people in Gary's life (Sharon-sister, Tim-friend from UK, and Jim-boss/mentor) had some great things to say about Gary and I do appreaciate all the kind words and good memories. My sister-in law Jenny was so kind and took photos of the funeral and the event at our house and I'm so glad because I hardly remember anything of it. Booze, pills and crying will do that to you..!

Thanks once again for all your support and friendship during this difficult time. Your thoughtfulness is appreciated and I am forever grateful for everybodys kind words and love.

Our hearts are broken

2008-03-18T22:32:00.000-04:00

this past few days have been a blur as Gary passed away on Saturday. He was the love of my life, an amazing father to our children and a great friend and rolemodel to so many people. It's very hard to comprehend, and we are all trying to cope by telling funny stories and memories. And there are lots!!! Just remember that you are missed by all of us and life will not be as bright with you by my side. I will always love you and you will live on in our children!

It's Spring

2008-03-02T16:25:00.000-05:00

This weekend was absolutely gorgeous. Saturday was my birthday and it was so nice to be able to sit outside and enjoy the deserts Hayden and Gary had picked up. We were supposed to go out for the evening but Hayden got an upset stomach and threw up so we stayed at home instead. Sunday was even nicer than Saturday and it got really warm. Hayden got a new game for his Nintendo (a monstertruck game of course) that he had been earning money for. He spent some time on Saturday picking up sticks in Allan's yard and earned his last two dollars that he needed. Emmie just loves to be outside and climb on everything. Her poor knees are so banged up and we feel like we should put a helmet on her because she falls so much.

Emmie och Hayden

2008-03-02T16:18:00.000-05:00

Emmies nya favorit sysselsattning ar att aka traktor med sin store bror. Det gar bra (an sa lange) och desto fortare det gar desto battre.

Emmie's new favorite thing is to ride on Hayden's tractor. The faster the better. He's being very sweet and likes to take her for a ride.

more presents

2008-01-31T13:42:00.000-05:00

Hayden is very excited about his dinsosaur skeleton puzzle. He got so many presents, it was like Christmas all over again.

Nana and Emmie

2008-01-31T13:39:00.000-05:00

Emmie had fun too at Hayden's birthday party, running around and eating everything in sight.

Hayden is 5!

2008-01-31T13:33:00.000-05:00

Hayden turned 5 yesterday (January 30th) and had a party for his friends at Laser City in Buford. It was great, and I'm not sure who had a better time, the adults or the kids. We all played laser tag, and the red team kept on winning. The kids got tokens and played all sorts of games as well, had pizza and ice cream cake. The cake was decorated with a dinosaur of course. We had some exhausted kids when we got home, but they had fun!

It's snowing in Georgia

2008-01-17T12:27:00.000-05:00

Last night it snowed in Georgia, first time in two years I believe that the snow actually stuck. The kids had a blast catching snowflakes and having snowball fights. However, today it's slowly melting.

Emmie couldn't keep her gloves on so her little hands got so cold. Hayden had on his rubber boots so he was good to go.

Tack Mormor och Morfar

2007-12-25T11:36:00.000-05:00

Hayden tyckte om sitt nya flygplan som han fick av Mormor och Morfar. Nu kan han flyga och halsa pa dom nar han vill.

Gymnastics

2007-12-25T11:33:00.000-05:00

Hayden just graduated from his first session of gymnastics. He's going to continue for a while longer as he enjoyed it. Here he is on the uneven bars, with his ribbon around the neck.

2007-12-25T11:29:00.001-05:00

Emmie slept through Santa's visit, but did wake up and open a few gifts. She especially liked the box it came in.

2007-12-25T11:26:00.000-05:00

Santa came to visit with lots of presents. Hayden was impressed by Santa's ability to know exactly what he wanted.

Merry Christmas

2007-12-25T11:16:00.000-05:00

The entire Binfield family on Christmas Eve.

Jean, Gary, Emmie, Annika, Hayden and Allan.

Christmas is here

2007-12-25T11:10:00.000-05:00

We have enjoyed a great Christmas with lots of presents and food. We are frying a turkey today Christmas day (with the rest of the rednecks in Georgia). Hopefully we won't burn the house down. The kids had a great time opening gifts. Emmie likes everything shiny (she'll have some expensive habits later I'm sure). Hayden was sooooo excited with all his gifts, and was slightly over tired last night.

I'll post some pictures so enjoy!

Hayden's Christmas Party at school

2007-12-25T10:50:00.000-05:00

Hayden had a performance at his school for Christmas. They sang Jingle Bell and We wish you a Merry Christmas. Enjoy!