Happy 50th, Frank!!!!

Wow…half a Century!!  The world is a better place because Frank Nolden was born!

 

He didn't want a fancy cake...as long as it was chocolate cake, with chocolate icing...and chocolate ice cream :-).

Opening presents...

 

A church music CD from Megan...

Megan explaining her gift...

Woohoo...the CampChef stove he had been wanting!!!

 

Yep...it's true!

A nice note from Mikayla...

That's me video-taping the whole event...and Liz looking on...

Megan...

Liz...

These are the beautiful roses that Frank gave to me for no reason right before his birthday...he's an amazing guy!

Frank in one of his new birthday shirts...

Frank and Sophie...

The Missionaries & Laurie Hale

Ok…so it’s a funny title!  We recently had a missionary go home from our ward…Elder Campbell…and we also had a visit from our Las Vegas friend, Laurie Hale…check out the pictures:

This is a group of missionaries that was recently serving in our ward. LtoR: Elders Campbell, Smith, Cleary, Del La Mare & Carter.

Donovan can't wait to be a missionary too!!! ;-)

The family with Elder Campbell, who was going home (to Utah) after his 2 year mission just a few days after this photo was taken.

We were so happy to get a visit from Laurie Hale, who is a friend from our Las Vegas ward. She was attending a Whole Foods Conference in Atlanta and we got to have her over for dinner one night.

Date Night – Covington, Georgia

Frank and I recently went on a fun date.  We checked out the town of Covington, GA.  I know….doesn’t sound that exciting…but it was a lot of fun.  First we took a hike along a river…we have no idea what river it was.  We went to Factory Shoals.  Someone had told us that they had some fun waterfalls on the river and it was a fun place to hike.  We never found the waterfalls, but we had a great hike along the river…it was REALLY humid though and the bugs were out….oh, yeah, we saw a snake on the trail too.

Frank on the River

 

 

The snake...

After the hike we checked out the local ice cream shop - Scoops. It sits on an old time Towne Square that is extremely quaint. There is a Back to the Future clock and huge magnolia trees.

Us with our ice cream on rockers outside the shop...

Frank in front of the clock and a Confederate monument.

 

Shayne in front of the monument.

Date Night – River Hike – Near Covington, GA…really not sure what river it is.

The Amazing Frank

So, on Facebook, everyone is listing something they are grateful for every day until Thanksgiving.  Below you will see one of my contributions.  I liked it so much I wanted to keep it on the blog for all to see .

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Today I am grateful for my AMAZING husband.  He is the most kind, patient, understanding person I know….one of the most Christ-like people I know…and he inspires me to be a better person EVERY DAY.

Frank is intelligent and a hard worker…he is definitely self-motivated…he accomplishes everything he sets out to do and does everything to the best of his ability.  He has natural leadership abilities.  He is an incredible employee and if you were an HR Manager…you would want ALL of your employees to be just like him . 

I COMPLETELY trust and RESPECT Frank…he gives me no reason not to.

He is an awesome Dad that brings a calm and peace to our home that is missing when he is gone.  He sees the great potential in our kids and works daily to help them achieve that through patience and kindness.

Frank is frugal, but not cheap …a great combination.  He is smart with money…which is a blessing.

Frank is one of those people that is NEVER down…he is perpetually “UP” and even when he thinks he is having a “down” day he is positive and kind.

Frank is the kind of spouse that ALWAYS has MY best interest in mind…not his.  He takes such good care of me!!

I hope that all of our kids can find a spouse just like him.

WOW…how did I get so blessed?????!!!!!  I am one lucky girl!!! 

Frank’s Birthday

Another year…a little older.  It happens to the best of us…just ask Frank.

Above: The big party for Frank. Sandi, Larry, Seth and Hannah joined us for a BBQ, cake and ice cream and some presents. Cody was home from college still and Christie Browne was visiting from Utah too...so we had a great big partay!

Above: Hannah, Megan & Christie

 

Above: We dared only put a portion of the candles on...we needed to comply with local fire codes :-).

Above: Gotta love Georgia!

Above: Oh, yeah...a Braves tie!

Above: A large BD Card from Grandma Browne.

 

Above: The missionaries dropped by later to bring Frank a birthday gift.

Above: Elders Lee (Utah) and Kilpelainen (CA)...they're awesome.

Above: They brought him a little tree with (DARK) chocolate-dipped strawberries!

Above: Elder Kilpelainen...what is that evil look??!! :-)

Above: Christie

VIDEO!! Click on the link below to see Frank and the large card from Grandma Browne!

Frank opening his Large Card from Grandma Browne

Annual Father Son Campout

Above: Seth

Above: Frank and Donovan (far Right) and some of the other ward members at the campout.

Above: It’s so pretty and green in Georgia.

Above: PJ and his mighty catch!

Above: Seth checking out the live bait.

Date Night — Atlanta

We were a little worried when we first moved to the Atlanta area that our “Date Nights” were going to be a little bit less exciting than when we lived in Vegas. But we have discovered that there is plenty to explore in Atlanta. Here are a couple of our outings:

Above: We went to the CNN Center one night. Unfortunately we were too late for the tours. We are going to have to go back though…Shayne is addicted to CNN right now.

Above: This is (Frank) outside of Coke World in downtown Atlanta. This is near where Centennial Olympic Park is (where they had the bombing when the Olympics were in Atlanta).

Above: This is Shayne – also outside of Coke World.

Above: We discovered this really cool restaurant in downtown Atlanta (it is derived from Gone with the Wind). The decor was very cool and the food was to die for. Frank discovered molasses over cornbread here…he had never had molasses. He was dying over it and then I took a bite and was like, “Hmmmm…yeah…yummy.” I didn’t get it .

You can check out the interior at: http://www.pittypatsrestaurant.com/lookinside.html

Above: After dinner at Pittypat’s Porch, we got to go to an Atlanta Braves game (they were playing the NY Mets). Frank is a DIE HARD Braves fan…so it was really fun for him. The weather was perfect (it was in September), and it was just really fun to sit in the park and take it all in.

Above: The Braves ball park: Turner Field.

Above: More of Turner Field.

Above: We rode the Metro Train (MARTA) into the ballgame. This was taken late at night after we got to our final train stop.

Above: While I was taking this picture some “MARTA guy” told us that we couldn’t take pictures in that fake bus front….which is silly because it looks like that is what it is for. He was rambling about some terrorist thing or something…I don’t know. But we still got the photo .

Frank’s Birthday!!! – and Life in Georgia

We celebrated Frank’s birthday this weekend. Cody flew in for the week (a little break before school starts up at BYU again)…and Frank’s parents drove up from Brunswick, GA.

Above: Frank on his Birthday Mower!! Wooohooooo!!

Above: PJ getting a feel for the mower…we are hoping he will spend a lot of time on it!

Above: Still trying out the mower.

Above: Shayne taking a test drive.
Above: Frank’s sister Sandi.
Above: Megan, “Uh, Mom, you’re weird.” PJ, “Am I missing out on fun?”

Above: A butterfly on our Butterfly Tree.

Above: Frank with his mom, Helga.

Above: “The Boys.” PJ (who’s just being silly), Cody & Donovan (actually smiling) on the back deck.

Above: PJ trying out the trails on the four-wheelers.

Above: Hannah and Uncle Larry (Sandi’s family). Hannah wasn’t so sure about the four-wheeler thing when she started out. But when they got back she was yelling, “That was AWESOME!!!” She is soooo cute!

Above: Sandi and dad, Harley.

Above: Frank and his birthday grill. A present from his parents.
Above: Trying out the grill.

Above: PJ helping out the best way he knows how…eating.

Above: Frank opening some presents.

Above: Our happy Frank.

Above: Frank loves kids.

Above: Megan gave him a steering wheel cover and told him “Thanks for ‘steering’ our family in the right direction.” That’s Seth in the background, Sandi’s other child. He’s Ashley’s age and they have a lot of fun together.

Above: Good times.

Above: Frank got a little bit of help from Hannah (and Ashley) blowing out the candles.

Above: A VIDEO of Frank on his mower.

Above: The Family. L to R: Larry, Hannah, Cody, Megan, Frank, Ashley, Helga, Seth, Sandi, Harley & Liz. Donovan, PJ & Mikayla were missing – and I was taking the photo. Frank also has a brother who lives in Brunswick, GA, with his wife and kids. It’s cool for Frank to be able to live near his family again.

Above: Frank, his mom, his dad, and sister Sandi.

Above: Ashley and her cousins, Hannah & Seth. It’s great to have cousins living so close.

Another Date Night – Danny Gans

We had been wanting to see Danny Gans for a long time. He is an impressionist that has been named “Entertainer of the Year” in Vegas for several years running.

We finally got to go at the end of April. It was a great show! We lucked out and some guy’s wife didn’t want to go at the last minute so we bought his 3rd row seats from him….it was great.

Above: OOPS! No flash photography??? OK…that’s why it so bad….no flash.
Above: I got in trouble for this one…used the flash .
Above: This is in the new Palazzo Hotel/Casino. We went there for Gelato after the show. Above: Frank and his “Boys”.

“Living it Large” in Vegas

We are trying to enjoy some of the fun that Vegas has to offer…while at the same time trying to stay away from the scary things it has to offer.

LEFT: Frank watching the water show in front of the Belagio on “The Strip.”

LEFT: Frank across the street from the Belagio on “The Strip.”

Above: Shayne across the street from the Belagio on “The Strip.”

Above: Shayne & Frank across the street from the Belagio on “The Strip.”

Above: Frank across the street from Planet Hollywood on the Strip.

LEFT: We got to participate in the version of “The Price is Right” that they do in Vegas. Neither of us got called up to be participants…but it was still fun.

LEFT: We LOVE the (free) water show at the Belagio…can’t get enough of it.

LEFT: The replica of the Eiffel Tower…it’s half the normal size. It’s fun to watch the Belagio watershow from up there too (it’s across the street).

LEFT: We got free tickets to see “The Producers” with Tony Danza playing the lead role. We had no idea what the content was…and were a little surprised…but overall it was a good presentation.Above: Shayne took Grandma Slade to see “Blue Man Group” at the Venetian in March. It was a great show!

Above: Grandma Slade before the show.

Above: Shayne (after the show) with one of the “Blue Men.”