The Latest from Broties

We're in the process of wrapping up a job creating some logo stickers for Broties. I can't wait to share them! In the meantime, I wanted to share these latest photos from Aubrey. 

She has been stamping the logo I designed on some gray bags that match her Gerald & Joan-designed business cards. Didn't the stamp turn out great?!?! I'm so proud of this logo!

I also wanted to share this photo from her Facebook page. This girl is so talented! It has been such an honor to work with her.

By the way, Christmas is just around the corner, and it's not too early to do a little handmade holiday shopping in her Etsy shop. She makes Broties for men and little boys, so you could easily find something for every guy on your list!

Lauren's First Halloween and Long Distance Memories

Perhaps the most memorable Halloween of my life to date was my sister Lauren's first Halloween. I have blurry memories of those days.

My sister was barely a month old, and somehow my mother had time to make costumes. We were bunnies.

Me and Lauren on October 31, 1986.

The cat and her two bunnies. Here she was showing off Lauren's pom-pom tail!

Shortly before Lauren was born, my grandma Joan came to stay with us for several weeks. I remember sitting together in the kitchen on Lauren's birthday before we went to the hospital to see her for the very first time. I was eating Goldfish crackers that she brought from California out of my favorite red bowl. I can still see those crackers in the bowl after all these years, and I can hear her telling me it was almost time to go meet Lauren.

My grandma Joan and her granddaughters. 

As you can see, we loved having her with us. Now that I'm an adult, I realize just how difficult it must have been for her to be away from her house, her dog, her job and her life for that many weeks. It's funny how time does change our perspectives about some things. 

Long faces (and whatever face I was making) as my grandma prepared to leave us to return home to California. She sure was dressed nicely for that long flight from London to LAX!

I'm pretty sure she was telling me to be nice to my sister and help my mommy. 

In the days before Skype and the Internet, London and Los Angeles felt like different worlds. Visits were never long enough, and all of the cards and presents that were mailed lovingly back and forth across the Atlantic couldn't replace the feeling that existed when we were all in one place. It was a little easier once we moved to the States, but long distance phone calls were still expensive. During the last years of her life, she purchased a Gateway computer and we were able to enjoy using Internet messengers (specifically ICQ and Yahoo Messenger) and email to talk back and forth. I still find myself wondering what she'd think about iPhones, Skype and FaceTime. She would have loved being able to connect with us, but she probably would have hated seeing herself. I must have inherited that trait from her. 

What are your favorite Halloween memories? 

Little Jonathan and those Hardin genes

As we're only a few weeks away from the arrival of the first Hardin baby of the next generation (our nephew Haze Dayton), I thought it was a good time to share some adorable pictures of the first Hardin of the previous generation. 

Jonathan was such a cute little boy, wasn't he? Even that unfortunate camo tank top can't cover up his cuteness.

Oh, and he still makes all of these funny faces.

Here's to the next generation of Hardin genes!

The Yates Sisters

Jonathan's grandmother Sadie was blessed with a large family. She was one of eight children, and seven of the eight children were girls. Sadly, her sister Ernestine died as an infant, but the remaining sisters (Kass, Lois, Olivene, Martha, Sadie and Linda) were very close. Here are a few photos from their family gatherings over the years. There were some good genes in this family!