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.