Only Chloe

...would come to me, place my finger on her nose, and say, "Mom, get it out!"

I'll spare you the details but after several attempts I was unsuccessful at getting the purple object out of her nose. When Rick got home, he put on his running spotlight, got the tweezers, and went into doctor mode.

Voila! A purple sparkle jewel thing.

Big Weekend

October 23-26, 2009---This was a big weekend for two reasons. The first being that Mimi was coming to visit. After arriving Friday afternoon/evening we had a quick but delicious dinner Trace Grill and then came back home for a little relaxation and socializing. I say "little" because everyone had to wake before the crack of dawn to make our trek to Oxford for an early game. We left our house at 5:30 am in order to get to the Grove in time to unload our van, get a bite to eat, and make it to the Walk Through.

Everyone was excited for the big game against the Arkansas Razorbacks, Houston's Nutt former employer of ten years. We knew the U Piggies wouldn't stand a chance against our Rebels and in honor of this event, a few of the foods at our tent included:

BBQ pork butt

ribs

and football shaped brownies

along with a smorgasbord of other tasty treats like sausage biscuits, sausage stars, sausage balls, muffins, various dips, chips, crackers, and sweets.

And, of course, Brady brought a worm bucket.

Our table centerpieces were chosen to honor our defensive line, also known as the "Landsharks":

As usual, the kids enjoyed being in the Grove.

Chloe brought a baby and had Mrs. Heather read her stories.

Anna Catherine and Mimi worked on hidden picture books.

AC had a new friend to play with.

There was a great turn out for the tailgate and the game.

Jackson enjoyed the game for the first 8 minutes. Then he asked if it was almost over. How that boy can not like football is beyond me! He lasted until half-time and Mimi took him to the Union. He had a backpack full of dinos and animals that he played with while she watched the game in the Union lounge.

Meanwhile, we enjoyed one of the best football games I've seen in a long time!! Our offense was amazing. Jevan had a career high throwing game, not to mention the fact that he ran in a touchdown on a trick play. He was 22 of 33 with two interceptions. Dexter was on FIRE!!! He set career highs in rushing and receiving.

The Rebels won, for the second year in a rown, beating the Razorbacks 30-17.

What a beautiful sight! Brady showing his Rebel Pride during "From Dixie With Love".


Afterwards we went to the Union steps to watch Molly cheer and who did we run into???

COL. REB!!!

Then it was back to the tent to spend the rest of the afternoon relishing in our win.

The girls love to shell and eat peanuts.

One of the college students at the next tent spotted Jackson ...

...and came over to make him a proposition.

She asked him to take an acorn from the ground, sneak over to the guy in the black chair, and drop it in his beer without getting caught. Well, he did it and thought it was the funniest thing ever. The other college students were quite amused in the prank as well. Then the girl got him to do it again. Jackson opted to do it on his own three more times. Luckily, the guy and his friends were good sports about it. They decided to get Jackson back. One guy kept an eye on Jackson as he attempted to pull the prank off for the 6th time. As he got closer to their tent, the guy nodded to his friend who turned and roared at Jackson.

He must have jumped three feet in the air!

We had enjoyed a spectacular day in the Grove and it was time to make the drive south to Madison. The kids were exhausted and slept the entire way home so they were full of energy just as the adults were ready to crash.

We spent a lazy morning around the house Sunday morning and then Rick, Mimi, Anna Catherine, and Jackson went to the movies to see "Where the Wild Things Are". They said it was fantastic and the kids behaved well in the theater. We continued our lazy evening with dinner and an early bedtime for the kids which allowed the adults to watch the movie "Mr. Brooks" which was hard to follow and had a horrible ending. On Monday we were forced to go back to our typical school routine but Rick was able to take the day off and spend it shopping with his mom before she had to leave. Her visits always seem to fly by but she will come back after Christmas. I am hoping we can go to the Jim Henson exhibit at the Mississippi Museum of Art. And if we want to have a "Muppets" themed visit, we can drive over to Leland, MS to the birthplace of Kermit the Frog.

UAB game

October 17, 2009---We left my dad's house, dropped Jackson off at my mom's house (because he's not a big fan of football games), and drove to Oxford for the second of three straight weekends of home football games. After an embarrassing loss to Alabama, there wasn't much hype for our homecoming game against the University of Alabama at Birmingham...aka UAB. The Grove was emptier than I can ever remember it being in recent years. Our tailgate crew attendance was down by more than 60%. We did have a few tried-and-true members of the Dixie Clique who ventured out to support our Rebels on a cool and damp fall afternoon/evening.

Chloe couldn't get enough honey bbq twist fritos:

Uncle Brady explaining football to Chloe:

As cold as it was, Molly had plenty of spirit during her cheer performance:

The band spelling out "Ole Miss" during the pre-game show:

The team running out of the tunnel and rubbing Chucky's head on their way to the field:

Being as it was the Homecoming game, our half-time entertainment consisted of the homecoming court and the band. I do not have pictures of all homecoming court members and escorts but two of Houston Nutt's daughters were on it. This year's queen is Hart Wardlaw and her escort, ASB President Artair Rogers:

I called time-temp plus to find out the temperature during the 3rd quarter...it was 37 degrees. To say we were cold is an understatement. We had coats, hats, scarves, gloves, blankets, and hand warmers. It wasn't the coldest game I've ever attended but it was very chilly. There was a small crowd at Vaught-Hemingway and it continually got smaller and smaller throughout the night. Of course, we never leave until the very end...because Anna Catherine insists we stay.

I'm not sure if the girls were cheering or just trying to get

their blood flowing by dancing to get warm.

We won 48-13. I can't remember anything eventful about the game.

I'll blame it on near hypothermia--hahaha.

A Visit with Granddaddy

October 17, 2009---This was our first trip to my daddy's new house. We were all excited to get to see him and his new home place. We've seen the property before when it was just a pasture for his horses and mules and a place to have trail rides. He has done a lot of work on it and it looks beautiful. I wish I had taken more pictures because my words will not do it justice. Much of the kudzu and overgrowth has been cleared away. He has two large flower beds on either side of the entry of his driveway. He has another flower bed at the bottom of the steps to his front porch. The front porch is filled with various potted plants and several hanging baskets of ferns. Daddy has plenty more renovation plans in his head but is waiting until warmer weather to execute them.

Daddy had decorated the entry to his driveway with scarecrows, hay bales,leaves, sunflowers, pumpkins, orange twinkle light, and a light up Mickey Mouse jack-o-lantern. It was all so cute and festive and the kids just loved it! We drove to his house Friday night so the kids could see the decorations all aglow, spent the night at a local hotel, and then returned Saturday morning to have our visit before heading out to the Ole Miss football game. It was very cold, damp, muddy, and windy and the kids were not cooperative when it came time to take pictures.

We all talked about this and that and everything else and all too soon, it was time to go. I don't get to see my dad as often as I should so I try to make the most out of every visit.

Bama Weekend

WARNING: THIS IS A VERY LONG POST WITH LOTS OF PICTURES (45 of the 129 taken). THIS IS OUR ANNUAL "COLLEGE REUNION" WEEKEND AND IT'S HARD TO WEED OUT PICTURES OF PEOPLE YOU SEE VERY RARELY.

October 9-11, 2009---Each year our many of our college friends attend one Ole Miss football game. It is always a weekend filled with love, laughter, too much food and drinks, old stories, and the makings of new ones. The Alabama weekend was chosen for this year's events.

On Friday night we all met at Tequila's, a Mexican restaurant in Oxford, for dinner. The food is fabulous and it is very kid friendly, which is a must for our group.

Then we all went to the Bergeron's house to allow the kids to play until they

passed out and the adults to socialize until said passing out occurred.

Saturday morning Molly's cheer group performed on the steps of the Union.
Of course she was fabulous!

Then it was on to the tailgate where we had to make adjustments to our normal set up due to the hype of the game and the weather. Here's a little background to explain: We hire a guy to set up, take down, and store our two 10' x 20' tents, five 6 ft. tables, and twenty chairs. It's just easier than some of the guys to get there to set it up. According to the "rules" no one can set up in the Grove until 6 pm on Friday evening. Our guy does a fabulous job of setting us up in the exact spot we asked for each week. Well, our guy arrived at 4 pm on Friday and the Grove was PACKED. The closest he could get us was 12 tents to the east of where we normally set up. This didn't surprise me because the Bama RVs started rolling into town on Tuesday. This was a big game and the crowd was proof that everyone expected an exciting day. Thanks to the fact that it had rained for almost two weeks straight before the game, the Grove was one gigantic mud pit. We put down six tarps and three square bales of hay to deter some of the mud from getting on our shoes or the kids. It wasn't 100% successful but it did help tremendously. It was a muddy, cold, wet, and just generally yucky day but we didn't care. This is something we look forward to every year.

The big match-up


delicious chocolate chip cookie cake


our chairs




our stickers

Even though we don't see each other as often as we would like, the kids act as though they are together every weekend. Everyone is well-behaved and gets along wonderfully!


Ladderball was a popular game with the kids (and some adults).

The kids loved climbing the tree.

Chloe loved eating Mrs. Heather's cupcakes!

Molly was cold and made a fashion statement in Whit's sweatshirt. So Cute!!!

Chloe can't get enough kisses from Aunt Julie!

Anna Catherine loves hanging out with the adults just as much as playing with kids her age.

After the game many of us went back to the Bergeron's house for pizza and more NCAA football on TV. I gave the camera a break but did snap a picture of the girls building pyramids.

Several of us were able to meet for brunch on Sunday at Proud Larry's before going our separate ways. Whether we are many or few, we always have fun and pick up right where we last left off.

These weekends come and go way too fast. I really wish we didn't have to wait a year to see each other but that's what happens when you grow up and life takes over.

***I did not post pictures from the actual football game because Chloe and I stayed in the Grove with several of the other moms and children who did not have tickets. (Ole Miss sold out of tickets this year so our friends were forced to either purchase them from a scalper or not enter the stadium.) We lost...22-3 and was told that it wasn't pretty. I hate Saban. That's all I have to say about the game. ***

Rick's Birthday

October 2, 20009---The kids were super excited to have a "party" for Rick's birthday!

They picked out his gifts---Anna Catherine chose for her dad a fishing pole, fishing net, lures, running shoes, and a new book, "Off the Beaten Path". Jackson wanted him to have fancy clothes but we told dad he could pick those out himself.

Chloe wanted to give the "Danger Mouse" dvd as her gift so we cheated and checked it out from the library. I think Rick will understand that there was no reason to purchase it.

Rick chose to eat at Nagoya for his birthday dinner. It's always a family favorite.

The kids enjoy the chef's show and the food is always delicious!!

Jackson always eats his salad with chopsticks. He's pretty good at it too.

Chloe even gave the chopsticks a try...but she tried them with her soup.

Not a good combination.

Afterwards, we enjoyed ice cream cake at home.

HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY AMAZINGLY WONDERFUL HUSBAND!

Bus Rider

Before school started, Anna Catherine asked to ride the school bus. We debated for several weeks and decided to compromise with her. Rick will still take her to school in the mornings (1--the bus runs at 6:28 am and we sometimes aren't fully awake and 2---that is their special daddy/daughter time). I was having to wake up Jackson and Chloe from their naps to pick up Anna Catherine. This made them grumpy which made me grumpy and "when Mama's not happy nobody's happy". So, she now rides the bus home in the afternoons. She LOVES it!! She already knows a few people on the bus. This is just another way for her to feel more independent. Ace is just growing up way too fast!!!