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.

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.

Wedding Weekend--The Reception

August 22, 2009---Carmen and Jereme's wedding reception was held at the Bayou DeSiard Country Club which is an absolutely gorgeous venue both inside and out. I wish I had photographs to post. So, once again, you'll just have to take my word for it. Everything was fabulous! There was more food than you could imagine.... prime rib, crawfish pasta, fried catfish fillets, various fruits and veggies, and so much more that I can't remember. There were seven tables of delicious food that were continually being refilled by the waitstaff. There's no way for me to do the cakes justice in my description. The wedding cake was a white five-tiered square cake with a scroll print on the odd numbered layers and topped with beautiful white and purple flowers (I don't know the types of flowers but they matched the wedding bouquets). The groom's cake was a three-tiered square chocolate cake with chocolate icing and the top layer had the LSU "eye of the tiger" in purple, gold, and white. It was very cool! Anna Catherine was amazed by the open bar. She felt so grown up when she was allowed to walk to the bar alone and order a diet coke without paying for it. I told her not to worry about it because Uncle Doug was paying for everyone's food and drinks that night!

The one thing I can prove through photos is what a stunning bride Carmen was!

Just look at the expressions on their faces during their first dance...

Aren't they such a cute couple!

Carmen and Doug during the father/daughter dance

I don't think there was a minute that the dance floor

wasn't packed with people shakin' their groove thing!

You'd of thought Don and Kathy were still in high school!

Chloe was VERY jealous that PaPa Gator was dancing with

someone other than her...even if it was the bride!



Then Chloe decided to join the bridal party

I even got to dance with Rick for one song

Jackson just loved to dance, even if he wasn't on the dance floor

One of the rare moments that Chloe wasn't on the dance floor

Anna Catherine couldn't leave without having her picture taken with Carmen

***Like I said before, I have 180 pictures from that weekend so please don't feel bad if your picture didn't make it into the blog. I tried to make sure there were at least one or two pictures of everyone somewhere in the wedding weekend posts.***