Beautiful Day

We started off this beautiful day by hanging out at River's house (sorry Melina and Greg - she has spoken!). There were lots of great people, and plenty of kids to play with. The weather, company, and food were perfect.
There were even outdoor crafts for the kiddies. She made a pine cone bird feeder. The birds will love it - if the squirrels don't first! (hey - everyone has to eat!)
Thank you guys for having us over!


We continued the day, after the nap, by going to the local theater. She was a little stuffy, and we figured - perfect time to hang out in a theater! We saw Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium. We thought it was a really fun family movie. First of all, it is Rated G. That alone, is rare these days. Also, it was truly just a fun kid's movie. No adult humor that is over their heads, etc.

After grabbing pizza from Mighty Joe's - our brave little girl decided that she wanted to go see Santa at the mall. Of course, I realize, that this was probably part of a stalling for bed tactic. However, she decided she was 'in' for seeing this guy - up close, and personal. Well, we got there, and she did some serious thinking. After Daddy and Mommy went up to chat with Santa with her - she posed for the shot, by herself. It probably worked out because we didn't plan to go. No special outfits - no back-up Mommy camera, etc. It was easy and great. She even discussed the produce selections she would be leaving out for the reindeer (her favorite - grapes). What a brave little girl! What a beautiful day!

Self Portrait

Red is my favorite color - and I captured some type of self-portrait in the Christmas tree on the City Promenade last night.

Everyone Loves a Parade!

If you have read any of the local blogs, and I have, you know that everyone LOVES to go to the Christmas Parade downtown. Well, not everyone. See, the problem is that it is TOO LONG for little children. And, from what I see - that is who it is supposed to be entertaining!

We enjoyed watching the first 45 minutes or so. Then, I was waiting for the 'pay off'. See, there are just too many non-band, non-horse, non-dance/sing things in the parade. And, the cool 'show stopper' acts are crammed together in the first part of the parade. Anyway - we did have a nice time while there......
This photo represents which list she is on after we took her home tonight. WE kept her out 1 hour after bedtime, to entertain HER. Well, we paid for it! She threw a fit. This child is nothing, if not a scheduled girl. We know better!

Ok, here is the 'pay off' for the parade. Santa and Mrs. Claus at the end - on a firetruck lift. What is that about? More curiously, what is so important that the Santa 'guard is text messaging during the parade? Anyway, we were excited to see Santa coming.

Merry Christmas!

Brown Day at Montessori

Apparently, brown wasn't her color. She felt that she needed a little 'wine' lipstick to complement the outfit!

Happy Birthday....

Phillip!

We had a great time helping with dinosaur birthday puzzles last week at the farm!

Christmas in November

The Sunday after Thanksgiving is the official 'start' of the Christmas season in our household. It doesn't always work out that way - but, this year it did! We shopped for the tree and put up the decorations (at least started them). This year was a little more fun, because we had an enthusiastic helper!

You Should Always Have Great Grammer! -OR- Syv!

After our fateful meeting yesterday, we got together with our friends, the Grammers, on our way out of town. They were leaving today to go back to Memphis. We haven't seen each other in about 2 years (right after I had this new person enter my life!). Anyway, it was like I had seen her last week. We are always so comfortable and really familiar when we talk or see each other. It is just the best feeling. Anyway, I got to meet little Mr. Greyson and to see the beautiful Miss Savannah, and, of course, see Greg and Sylvia.
Catching up was a blast! Not sure how she will feel when she sees the photo below!

This photo is scary! (how curly is our hair?!) It is from my senior year at Auburn. Syv and I had decided that it would be a great idea to go to Chewacla State Park at night and hang out with a couple of guys. We had the best time, but it would have made a lousy 'coming of age' movie. It was completely platonic - just loads of fun. It was, however, pitch black (note the crazy look in our eyes) - so, we had no idea what we were shooting in the photos until they were developed.

It was great to see you Syv!

Gingerbread Men and Oranges Slices...

Saturday morning started by (1) dressing in Auburn attire for the big game today (War Eagle!), and (2) decorating the kitchen Christmas tree with cinnamon gingerbread men and dried orange slices. She had a blast helping Grammie and Grandpa get ready for Christmas.

Black Friday

We left the Farm and went North to visit Grammie and Grandpa. Our Friday was anything but black, as we shopped around my home town all morning. We started at my favorite hardware store, U.G. White. It has old fashioned toys and housewares. It is always an experience! We found the best new toys from a company in Germany. I would go into detail, but, I would ruin many a Christmas surprise! Here is the website, if you are interested in cool, old hardware/gift stores! http://www.ugwhite.com/ugwhite.html

It was an even better experience in there, because I ran into one of my dearest friends (and Matron of Honor in our wedding), Sylvia. (More on her later).

After that, we all had lunch - then the boys took our little one home for a nap. That is when it was 'game on' for shopping! I got great books at Pablo's for lots of little ones on the Christmas list. THEN, Mom took me to a wonderful little consignment/boutique store. It is called Changes Resale. It must have been my day - because I found a shirt, jeans, shoes, necklace, frame, and sunglasses for $42. Can't call that Black Friday!

Happy Thanksgiving!

We had a great time at 'The Farm' this Thanksgiving. Her Daddy's side of the family has a reunion of sorts each year at the family farm. It is always a treat to visit with everyone. We did miss the Cleaveland clan (ALL of them!) - and many others. However, our Sweet Girl had a blast hanging out with her cousins, Philip and Anderson. She just can't/couldn't quit talking about them!

She has 4 cousins (and 1 on the way), and I do wish that she could see them more. I know she does too.

As Promised...

Well, it was, mostly, a promise to myself. I have been saying, for 5 years, that I was going to stop on Country Club and take some photos with my 'Favorite Tree'. Well, today was the day. The tree itself would have been at it's PRIME leaf luster about 2 days ago - oh well. However, the leaves on the ground were stunning. A blanket of beautiful yellow. We had fun running around the tree for about 30 minutes. The owners say they get several people every year that stop to take photos. I'm sure I will update with some more later - I just love it!

I hope everyone is with someone you love tomorrow (or, at least, someone you can tolerate for 4 hours over giblet gravy and football!) - Happy Thanksgiving - we have so much to be thankful for in our lives.

Sing, Sing, Sing

These girls had the best time singing, running, and playing this morning. Hopefully, 'Lou's' Mom and Dad got a little break, and our Sweet Girl loves having friends over.

To be honest, it is such a break for me too. I don't have to think of what to 'do' for a couple of hours. The girls pushed each other around on the tricycle while I pulled up the 'retired' tomatoes and zinnias. It felt good to tidy up the raised bed. Maybe I'm on a roll with cleaning?

Priceless!

25 bags of 'trash' - $4

office supplies - $100

containers/organizers of all types - $300+

spending the weekend with one of your organizing sisters - priceless!

(yes, BOTH of my sisters are very organized - I didn't get that gene!)

p.s. there were lots more rooms involved in the process, we spent 3 full days 'purging' the downstairs while organizing by business supplies - don't know that I could thank her enough for all her help. Oh! Also, thank you to Daddy for taking our little one to the farm for the weekend - it made cleaning so much easier!

Guest Blogger - Daddy

Here is a photo that Daddy shot on his camera phone today at the farm. They were away visiting with Grandmother and Granddaddy while Mommy and Aunt Leslie cleaned the offices. They had a great time with the new horse, Belle, and, obviously, she enjoyed checking out the other farm equipment!

Before.....

Crazy out of control - stacked to the ceiling - you can already see the bags from The Container Store in the first shot.

To Be Continued...