Vandy Weekend

September 19-20, 2008---This is the weekend we look forward to every year. Our nearest and dearest college friends come in town for one football game each season. We start planning it at least 7-10 months in advance. Everyone clears their schedules for this one weekend. Well, this year, six weeks before the big event, Rick's company tells him that he has to be out of town that week. Mind you, we ordered tickets for this game in March. All of our friends have hotel rooms and flight arrangements reserved. And Rick is going to miss seeing his fraternity brothers. He was not happy to say the least!!!!

Friday night we ate dinner in Oxford at Tequila's. I took all three kids which wasn't too bad. Unfortunately, Anna Catherine had fallen at recess that day and her arm was hurting all night so she wasn't in the best of moods (we'll talk about the arm more later). Afterwards, everyone went to the Bergeron's house to hang out. During this time Chloe knocked my camera out of my hand and it broke. So, thanks to all the friends who e-mailed their pictures from the weekend to me. I had none of my own.

On Saturday morning I took Jackson and Chloe to Grandmother's house (the daytime babysitter who took them to a cousins' house as the nighttime sitter) and Anna Catherine and I headed to the Grove. We were prepared for possible rain--which did come--with our rain boots. She and I did get caught in the rain after leaving the "Walk Through". You can see that we look a little soggy in the pictures. Anna Catherine's arm continued to hurt throughout the day so we iced it on and off for the entire day. It was also swollen and had limited movement. It just hung by her side all day and she preferred to sit and talk to the adults rather than running around and playing with her friends (more to come later).

It wasn't a very good football game. We lost. But that doesn't matter. Hurt arm and all, we enjoyed seeing friends we only see once or twice a year (if even that). We really appreciate them taking the time and effort to make the trip back to Ole Miss each year.

After the game, Anna Catherine and I went back to the Grove and packed up our things. Scott and Andrea helped haul our belongings to the van and we headed to the BMH-Oxford emergency room. After 4-5 hours of waiting, x-rays, and more waiting, it was determined that Anna Catherine had fractured the growth plate in her elbow. They casted her arm and sent us home with a prescription for Tylenol 3. She and I had been awake for 23 hours when we got home. We were able to sleep for about four hours before going to pick up Jackson and Chloe and my cousins' house around noon (only twelve hours later than planned). We were exhausted!!!!!!!!!! These photos were taken with Rick's camera phone.

Arm update: Having Anna Catherine in a cast was like having another baby. She couldn't feed herself, bathe herself, or dress herself. Did I mention that she is right handed and it was her right elbow that was fractured. We went to an orthopedist several days later who removed the cast. He said her arm would become stiff (and require therapy) if the growth plate were kept in the same position for an extended period of time. Anna Catherine wore a sling during the day but took it off at night and moved her elbow to prevent the stiffness. We saw the orthopedist at two week intervals for the next month. On October 17 Anna Catherine was allowed to remove the sling completely but her arm still had three weeks to heal. That was seven weeks of no gymnastics, running, playing, P.E., or recess which was a hard thing for a five year old to do!! She is much better now and I hope that she (and the others) never have to go through that again. It was not a fun experience for anyone.

Wake Forest Weekend

September 4-7, 2008---ROAD TRIP!!!!!!!!!! The Crawfords, Brady, and Andrea loaded up the family truckster around 9 pm on Thursday night and were "On Our Way to See the Rebels Play!" We drove the 750 mile (approx. 12 hour) trip to Greensboro (via I-40) straight through the night with stops for restroom, fuel, and breakfast at an IHOP in Asheville. We arrived around lunch on Friday, unloaded the van, showered, and were ready to enjoy our weekend. Papa Gator and Lady Sara graciously offered their home for us ans our friends for the weekend. Luckily, they were able to get out of Tacoma for that weekend as well so it was a much needed family affair. Katy and Whitaker flew into Greensboro and arrived just after lunch. There were some nice perks to having an away game near Greensboro---not only did we have a wonderful house to stay in and delicious meals provided by Papa Gator and Lady but one of our good friends from college, DeAnna, and her family live there too. It was nice to visit with them since we only get to see them once in a blue moon. Nick and Meredith were slated to take part too put the National Republican Convention and Hurricane Gustav prevented them from coming.










Speaking of Hurricane Gustav, we were totally prepared. All of the girls had water boots and we bought every red and blue poncho Target had in stock. We were ready for cooler temperatures and torrential downpours but barely got more than a sprinkle. I'm not complaining. It could have been a lot worse. It was actually hot and everyone (especially me) got sunburned. We were invited to tailgate with the Triad Rebels, the Ole Miss alumni group for the area which DeAnna is a member of. They were set up directly across the street from the stadium. We watched as the team arrived, band marched across the street, and the cheerleaders performed. We were honored to have the cheerleaders eat lunch at our tent. The alumni group provided a fabulous pulled BBQ dinner with all the fixings. Everything was wonderful!!!












Saturday was Brady's birthday. We sang "Happy Birthday" that morning while he blew out the candle in his brownie. Then Brady had his picture taken with the cheerleaders at the tailgate. The best gift the Rebs could have given him was a win over the Demon Deacons but our guys just couldn't hold out and we lost in the final two minutes of the game. Wake Forest is a good team this year and we played an okay game.

While everyone else went to the game, Lady Sara and Jackson went to the Greensboro Children's Museum for the afternoon. Jackson loves the Thomas the Train exhibit they have there. He also loves spending time with Lady and she with him, so they had an amazing day together.

Initial post-game plans were to go to downtown Greensboro after the game but everyone was exhausted so it was decided that we would do the same thing we had done Friday night---hang out on the back porch at the house, eating, drinking, and just enjoying getting to see people we don't get to see very often. We thank Lady Sara and Papa Gator for being so hospitable. We all had a wonderful time!

The ride home was a little shorter because we opted to go through Atlanta, taking about 100 miles off our route. We were all so tired and ready to get home. Thanks to Andrea and Brady for being patient with us and the kids for such a long trip. We really enjoyed getting to hang out with everyone. Just remember..."We may not win every game but we've never lost a party!!!"

The newest member of the Crawford family

August 25, 2008---Cullen Wesley Howard was born at 7:16 a.m., weighing 9 pounds and measuring 21 inches long. Isn't he just so cute!!! Cullen's parents are Wes and Presly Howard and big sister is Briley Elizabeth. Immediate Crawford family members include grandparents Don and Kathy Howard, great-grandmother Carmen Crawford, and aunt, uncle and cousin Andre, Heather, and Jack Prejean. We can't wait to see Cullen and the rest of the family while we are in Louisiana for the holidays!!!

Bodock Festival '08

August 22-23, 2008---For the third year in a row we attended the Bodock Festival in Pontotoc. The Bergerons drove over to hang out with us for the Friday night festivities. We had dinner on Main Street, browsed through the vendors (where Anna Catherine purchased her traditional container of sand art), listened to local musicians, and watched the Twilight 10K. Rick participated in the race along with many friends from church and the community. I can't remember Rick's exact time but he was a little slow on this race. Joe and I assumed the steak and salad he had eaten 30 minutes prior to running had not settled well and had held him up somewhere along the course. He never became physically ill but he looked a little green as he crossed the finish line. The pictures are very blurry thanks to the strobe lights from the emergency vehicles lining the street. Rick then participated in the Tour de Bodock bicycle ride on Saturday morning. It is not a spectator event so the kids and I did not attend. Participants have the option of biking 37 miles or 62 miles. Initially Rick was gung ho for the full race (which he had did last year) but opted for the shorter route in the end. Still very, very impressive. I don't know how he does it!