Hershbine Family

Some Halloween Pictures!

2009-11-09T17:40:00.000-06:00

Just a couple of cute pics of our hotair balloon and our dinosaur nephew

20 Years In The Making ????

2009-08-30T09:37:00.006-05:00

We are SOOO proud of Jody!! After started his college career about 20 years ago, he finished it this summer! Over the last two years Jody has work very hard to complete his degree. It has been very difficult to juggle everything but the fact that he is now finished, and preparing for his Master's is so exciting. We spent the day Saturday, celebrating with him and attending his graduation in Athens.
The ceremony was great... it was brief and to the point!

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The kids got to go, too and they are so proud, too!

Alex and Grayben love the hat!

Is this the QUEEN MUM????

AND APPARENTLY MY COUSIN GREG GOT HIS DIPLOMA AT THE SAME TIME!! BUT WHERE ARE HIS TATOOS??

SENIOR YEAR!!

2009-08-26T16:33:00.004-05:00

Okay so it has been a long time since I blogged... I thought I would do lots of it this summer, then it turned out that my computer freaked out on me (only I just found out last night, that it was more like I freaked out on it!) So, anyway ... here is what I've got for now... and it has been a while since there was a Jordan post as well!

This year is Jordan's senior year, and I think he is pretty pumped about it. He is high ranking in ROTC and is continuing to play football. So, one of the things that the cheerleaders do for the seniors, is to put one of these jerseys in the yard, and decorate their cars with red and blue shoe polish. I was not quite quick enough with camera on taking a pic of the car because they did it over night and Jordan had to drive to school the next morning and therefore had to clean much of it off. But, I think that it is a very cool tradition and was neat seeing it in the yard.... question is??? How long are you supposed to leave it there?? It reamains in our yard but the number is fading... should I redo the number and leave it, or take it down?? The dogs are finally getting use to it being there, so maybe I will leave it up... for several days, everytime they looked out the window they would bark, I guess thinking that there was a person in the yard...

June 6, 2009

2009-06-07T09:39:00.004-05:00

Long Time No ~~See~~ Blog

It's been a while since I have posted. School consumed me! (I did make two A's and a B.. woohoo!)

I have taken lots of pictures just never posted. I will start with my catching up, with a picture of Alex's first lost tooth! It had been loose for months (it seemed) and never came out. She now has a hole and a tooth coming in behind it (literally... it is not lined up :( ) so we will be going to the dentist to see what this means. The one right next to it is also very loose but has no other tooth coming up... we will just wait and see where it decides to poke through.

Did I mention that Mimi pulled it with dental floss?? OUCH!

Jury Duty

2009-04-08T15:53:00.004-05:00

I was summonsed for Jury Duty this week. I have to admit, I was really dreading it. I thought it was a burden, and the only thing that I could find positive about it was that I got a break from work... but, then I always miss the kids! So, I showed up Monday and sat in the Jury Room all morning and part of the afternoon. I got called to the court room for a jury selection mid afternoon on Monday. I was selected Tuesday morning, and the trial began Tuesday afternoon. It was a criminal charge, which sorta frightened me. We were all selected in front of the defendant and all of his family. (Pretty revealing and intimidating situation.) I never knew that is how it was done. We heard all of the testimony and I took diligent notes. There were lots of in and out of the Jury Room that I did not expect, so I assume that there was a lot going on and a lot of information that we did not hear. The judge (who I absolutely loved and reminded most of us Damon Wayans) was great! He let us ask questions to the witnesses, so that we could have a full grasp of the information that we were receiving. The State rested, then the Defense, and then we went into the third day for diliberation. We gave our verdict, and were released back into the jury room. After sitting in there for a little while, the judge came into the room with us, and allowed us to ask him anything that we wanted to at that point. He answered all questions very carefully, but he did answer questions. Alex had wanted me to ask him why he was not using his hammer, and I did. He very quickly told me to inform her that it was called a gavel (which I already had). Then he told us that he prefers to give a "look" before getting out the gavel and that usually works. And then the best of all... he was asked about a line of questioning that went on with the defending attorney (who was out of order) and he replied (remember he is a Damon Wayans look alike and talk alike)...... "I don't play that!" CLASSIC!! All he needed was a sock to hit the attorney across the head! We all thought it was pretty funny! no one ever got up the nerve to ask him if he had ever gotten the resemblence comment before.

My New Favorite Picture.

2009-03-11T18:45:00.002-05:00

check out my new favorite picture... here it is!

Snow in Alabama

2009-03-01T10:36:00.002-06:00

And the Winner Is...

2009-02-28T10:00:00.006-06:00

ALEX!!!!

The following is Alex's speech, that she wrote so that you can follow along with the video. She spoke rather softly and Jody was videoing from across the room, so I tried to work with the sound but it was still hard to hear.

I am Alex. I hope you like my cookies and brownies. I want you to be nice. I hope I get Mayor. I want to help you be nice. Even if Frank or the others win, I will be happy because they are nice. But if I win I will be Happy, too. I hope I get Mayor. Vote for Alex.

Vot for Alex

2009-02-25T16:32:00.002-06:00

Alex got nominated to run for Mayor of Kindergarten. So, she has been running a small campaign this week and they will have a vote on Friday. She made 4 campaign posters to put outside of all the Kindergarten classrooms and I neglected to get a picture before we took them today... but they said "I wot evrebode to love ejuthr" and had people that she drew holding hands on a grassy field. The translation for those of you who can not read "kindergarten" is "I want everybody to love each other" I guess that is her slogan... not a bad one. Anyway, the above picture is what all of her flyers and the main part of her posters look like. They are being turned into stickers for her to give out when she hits the campaign trail tomorrow. She will have to give a speech Friday and they will have the Mayor of Homewood there to introduce all of the candidates. (she has 7 opponents) I will try to remember to blog about the outcome. She is very excited!

Some Pictures I had Forgotten About

2009-01-24T12:13:00.002-06:00

These were taken several weekends ago. It was cold and rainy and Alex was grumpy. She couldn't play outside, and I had told her no more T.V. for the day. My intentions were for her to play with all of the Christmas gifts that she had received. The next thing I knew, she was telling me how tired she was. I was doing laundry so I thought she went to her room. This is where I found her! She is REALLY asleep!

Copper begins to get annoyed!

He got out of his bed, to let her sleep.

A Christmas Post... a little delayed.

2009-01-17T08:02:00.007-06:00

The following pictures are just some of the things that we did during our busy month of December.

When we returned home from Ohio, the next day we went to pick out our Christmas tree. We usually go to the Farmer's Market, to pick out our tree, on a Saturday or Sunday during the day. This year we went on a Monday night. Dad, Jody, and Jordan were not able to make it... and there were not a lot of places that were open. Some years when we go we are wearing shortsleeves to pick out a tree, but this year, it was was pretty darn cold. So, this picture is of Alex in front of the tree that she picked out, all bundled up in a hat that (I think)my Aunt, Eloise had given to me when I was a little girl. Mom had just found them in some storage stuff at her house.

Here is Alex and Grayben, visibly cold!!

Jordan's birthday falls right in the middle of the holiday season. We celebrated it this year, at Corey and Erin's house. You can see in the next two pictures, the apple cinnamon cake that Jordan requested... and his ever favorite mint chocolate chip icecream.

Alex had a little bit harder time "believing" this year. But, she did want to go to see Santa. And, I am glad she did. She looked very cute in the outfit that my mom made for her... I am just sorry I did not get a good full length shot of her in it.

Alex had asked for a Veteranarian Doctor Kit this year. My mom found one and she was soooooo excited when she opened it. She probably would have been okay with just that and nothing else. She immediately started pretending. There is a picture in her vet attire below... but, the following pictures got out of sequence again.

Dad opening his Ranger Windshield from mom.

Alex and Grayben, waiting to open their presents.

We also went to Samford to see the Nutcracker, and Alex really enjoyed the first half. I forgot to tell her that there would be an intermission and we would need to sit there for another 45 minutes. She was really good about it, and LOVED the first half (it ended with snow! in the auditorium) but really thought that we should be able to go after the first act. This picture is of her in front of the Christmas tree at Samford.

This is my cousin's oldest girl Evan.She was just a doll. She got the Hannah Monana guitar from Santa and just performed her little heart out for all of us. Precious! http://www.thefreemanfamilyalbum.blogspot.com/

The Brother's and Sister's or Aunt's and Uncle's. Rhonda, Darrell, Mom, and Doyle. This year was one of the best Christmas' we have had in several years. There were some key family members that were dearly missed, but we still had a great time without them. Jody even commented on how different things were this year (in a positive way) Can't you just see on their faces how much fun they were having. We only had about 42 cameras going off to capture this moment in front of the infamous mural.

Alex opening her Wii from Santa on Christmas morning.

Mom opening the portrait of Alex and Grayben that we (Corey and Erin and Jody and I) had done for her.

Alex in her Vet attire.

These are the stockings that I made for us this year. I loved what we had, but Erin had gotten these really cool looking ones from Christmas Village, and I decided that I wanted some similar, too. So, mom drew up a pattern for me and I picked out the fabric and sewed and monogrammed them. I think they turned out pretty cute.

So, when the season started rolling in. Jody and I decided that the washer and dryer, that we had to purchase in October would be our Christmas presents to each other. They are really nice front loaders that I have been wanting for a long time. And if any of you knew what I was going through just to wash clothes.. you will agree that it was at least time for a new washer! Anyway, he also surprised me with tickets to Robin Williams that I am very excited about. He loves him, and so do I but I think I am most excited about a TRUE date night, even though I have to wait for another 2 1/2 months. But, between our schedules we are often too tired to go out and do anything together. We usually just spend time at home watching a movie or something like that. So, this should be fun!... watch for a post about that later.

Probably, though, the most sentimental and thoughtful gift of all came from Alex this year. She planned a "photo shoot" with Erin back in the spring or early summer. She was supposed to spend the night with them and she had planned out everything from where they should go to take the pictures, to what she would wear, etc. Well, Corey and Erin got the news of Grayben's arrival the same week that this was all supposed to happen. So, everything got postponed sort of indefinitely. But, in September, around Alex birthday, they were able to follow through with everything. And Erin and Corey created this slideshow
And Alex all on her own created a scrapbook which she has inherited quite a talent for from her Aunt Rhonda, entitled "A Perfect Day". I wish that I could have taken pictures of every page to show... it is really sweet, down to every last caption.

Thanksgiving Trip to Ohio

2009-01-03T08:15:00.014-06:00

the captions on this post are off... hope you can figure it out, cause I can't figure out how to correct it... not sure what I did! :)

We left for Ohio, and headed for Athens. We were going to visit Ohio University for Jordan. We started Tuesday afternoon after I got off from work. We drove until we got to Lexington, and it was pretty late. I had packed up some groceries... so, we stopped at a "fine" hotel (It was really the only one we could find as we drove around late at night not really knowing where we were.) that was being remodeled if that is what they wanted to call it! We finally went to sleep and woke up semi- early and started getting ready for about 5 more hours of driving. The following picture is Jody drying Alex's hair because it was entirely too cold (20 degrees) to go out with a wet head. As we were pulling out of our hotel, the temperature guage started doing weird things... Jody got out and tended to that which wound up being an easy fix, but definitely set the mood for travel on a bad note! The directions were kinda screwy that we got off the internet. Needless to say we passed about 25 NICE hotels, that if we had just driven about 5 more miles, we would have gotten to them. I got us lost once and Jody got us lost once and it was just a very tense and crazy drive on back roads that were not clearly marked!

On those back roads we went in and out of West Virginia into Ohio two or three different times (not because we got lost but because that is actually what you were supposed to do the way went! CRAZY!) Every time we went in and out of W. V. and Ohio we crossed the Ohio River and traveled over some cool bridges like the one below:

We also went past a Nuclear Power Plant and Alex insisted that we take pictures. She thought that the structures were neat and had no idea what it really was.

We finally made it to Ohio University. It was pretty desolate because of the holidays, but it was still a beautiful campus and a good opportunity to just walk around and see what it is. We walked into the city of Athens, which I thought was very cool. We went to the book store... Jordan got a t-shirt, and Alex got a book.

Jordan at the "Main Gate" of Ohio University!

This is Lindley Hall. Where the ROTC is housed and hopefully if Jordan gets to go here, he will be doing the ROTC, also.

Finally... We made it to Scot and Tracey's house. AND... THERE WAS SNOW! The girls played out in it... A LOT!! They really do have so much fun together!

They played with their sweet dog Nicki. And Aunt Tracey was kind enough to pose for pictures, too.

Alex loved it there and Chase loves his Mommy!

Jody caught up with his Dad, who came over for Thanksgiving Dinner.

Alex and I went to the Pittsburgh Zoo and Aquarium, while Uncle Rob and Jody worked at Pap-Pap's house to fix the ceiling in his bathroom. The zoo was pretty cool! But I especially like the aquarium.

Alex petting the sting rays and sand sharks!:

Some really big fish!:

The zoo had two really cute baby elephants that were only about 4 months old! We spent about an hour in the elephant house. They were so intriguing... I just wish I had had my video camera with me!

And the other large animal of our trip!! Hunter, the golden retriever. None of the pictures that I took do justice to the mammoth size of this dog. He is my father-in-law's dog... and he loves him so much. He also feeds him a ton. Now, as Dennis says, he is naturally (or unnaturally) a very large golden to begin with... but the size that he has gotten to is CRAZY! He eats as much as Denny! He is literally the size of a coffee table!

Alex and Pap-pap! LOOK! they have the exact same expression!

Alex helping put the finishing touches on Pap-pap's bathroom ceiling.

And now relaxing with Hunter! the Mammoth Dog!

TAG

2009-01-02T13:51:00.001-06:00

On my cousin's blog she did one of these TAG games, anyone who reads the blog should look at their own 4th folder at the 4th picture and post it... This one is mine! Thought it was pretty funny! This is from our trip to Ohio for Thanksgiving (that I never blogged about... I need to do that!) Alex took a shower and would not let me dry it and it was 19 degrees outside. She let her daddy, so I took a picture!

Pawpaw Nolen

2008-12-30T08:44:00.005-06:00

As I mentioned in the last post, I lost my other grandfather, "Pawpaw Nolen" earlier this month. I just thought that I would pay a little tribute to him and his life here. His death, for me, was difficult but comforting. You see, he was 94, and had lived a very long and full life. I had a moment the other day, that was very sad. Just the thought of not hearing his silly little laugh (he found himself very funny!) again was very sad. I starting thinking about all of the things about him that makes me who I am. Pawpaw always had very strong family values. He was an only child in a time that it was very uncommon to only have one child. He loved his parents. I never met his dad (he passed away when my dad was 9, and was the only grandfather that my dad knew... Papa Nolen ) His mother, "Mama" or "Granny Haley" (what I called her) lived to be almost 104 years old, and Pawpaw took care of her the last 33 years. My dad has said before that he remembers that it was always his dad who was the nurturer and telling everyone how much he loves them. When Pawpaw and Granny married, they took turns with Granny's sister taking care of Granny's mother, Mama Peek, and having her live alternately with them. She passed away in 1967, and soon after, Granny Haley moved into the one room apartment that Pawpaw had built for her behind their house. And when he had to make the difficult decision to put her in a nursing home, I am not sure he missed a day of visiting her there. When Granny Haley passed away in 1991, he then focused his caregiving on his wife, Granny Mary. Although at that point she was in pretty good health, he was still her caregiver. As Granny Mary's health deteriorated over the next several years (Parkinson's Disease) he continued caring for her, lifting her, feeding her, and loving her. He eventually again had to make the difficult decision to put her in the nursing home... and again, I dont think that there was a day that he was not there to visit with her. I know at this point that he really became lonely. Granny had gotten to the point that she was not communicating very much, and he missed her being at home. After she passed away in 2001, he was very sad... He had spent his life taking care of others before himself, and now he had to take care of himself! He did just that for several years... playing dominoes, going to Church, and going to Jack's to meet with the other ROMEOs (Retired Old Men Eating Out). And although his physical health was relatively good, his mental health began to deteriorate. And this past summer my dad and aunt, then had to make the same difficult decision that my grandfather had made several times before, of putting him in the nursing home. There are so many stories that I could tell about Pawpaw, and his inherent love for all, but I believe that the life he led tells his story best. He and my Granny Mary, were constant givers, and carers. They together raised us all to make wise decisions and try to do to help others to the best of our abilities. I will miss both of them very much for the rest of my life, but I know that they are both some place together Granny fussing at Pawpaw for acting silly about something... and his sweet silly laugh that I hopefully can remember forever.

Some of my favorite memories and things of Pawpaw:

breakfast by pawpaw when I would spend the night
always wash your hands before a meal
trips to "the country"
trip to Savannah
pictures every Easter (cant put on your play clothes until pictures were made)
naps on the front porch
naps
more naps (pawpaw could fall asleep at the drop of a hat)
clean feet before I went to bed
stories, stories and more stories (sometimes the same ones over and over :) )
He always said he loved me and I always knew it.... even if he did not love me as much as Grayben :)

I love and miss you Pawpaw

Pawpaw (right) age 2 or 3

Pawpaw (below) around age 30 as he joined the Navy for WWII

Family Picture ca. 1955 (?)

Lawrence, Mary, Eloise, and Larry

Above: Lawrence, Mary, Larry (1967?)

Below: Lawrence and Mary 1985 (50th Anniversary)

Below: Easter Late 80's early 90's (?)

Below: Pawpaw's 90th Birthday with the four Grandkids

Below: Pawpaw's 90th Birthday with the seven Great-grands

(has two more since this pic... 9 total!)

Lawrence Gay Nolen

Sept. 10, 1914 - Dec. 2, 2008

Christmas at the Old Place

2008-12-28T13:16:00.004-06:00

This year for Christmas with my dad's side of the family, we decided to have it in The Country. I was very excited about this! We love to go out there anytime, but when more people come, it is even more fun! We have talked about doing something like this out there for a couple of years. The original talk was to have a pig roast, and have all the men be in charge of that and stay up all night with the pig (I still think that sounds like fun). We have put it off for one reason or another, and for the last couple of years, papaw's health has prevented us to all be out there at the same time. Well, this year, Dad and Eloise decided that it was time for Papaw to go into the nursing home (a very difficult and sad decision but it was time) so because there was help for him the planning went on for going to the Old Place for Christmas. Sadly, right before Thanksgiving, Papaw's health really started to deteriorate... and on December 2nd he passed away in his sleep. He was 94 years old and had a very long, happy, and healthy life.

Our plans were to take place the following weekend. Dad planned lots of fun and games, and I think that everyone had a good time! The following are pictures from the day Saturday!

Early morning, I went out in the sub-freezing weather to help Dad get some things set up and prepared for the day. Dad had set the flag on the property at half mast and there was a beautiful full moon setting behind it.

As everyone arrived, Dad took them for rides out on the property to show property lines and new trails. The new ranger really helps in carting around more than one person.
Here is Dad giving the instructions of the first game of the day... A sort of Scavenger Hunt with a little riddle at the end. Each team had to follow compass directions in search of a skiing canary, and pick up small orange flags along the way, to show that they had taken the correct path.

Grayben did not join in this game, but sure did stay cute in the cold weather all bundled up!

The first team getting the skiing canary (a canary yellow towel tied in a tree with ski rope).

The second team realizing defeat as the come back toward base.

The first team was such good sports about their win!!

Then there was some four wheeler riding... GO ELOISE!!

Cutie Patootie

Warming up by the campfire!

More riding... GO PATTI!!

All of grandkids and greatgrandkids after a game of capture the flag (with flour as ammo).

Parker (3) and Alex (6) I KNOW!!

Some of the Greatgrands about to go on a hayride! Aren't they all cute??

And the night was topped off by another beautiful full moon!

MERRY CHRISTMAS

2008-12-24T17:08:00.006-06:00

Alex making brownies on Christmas Eve! MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Thanksgiving Parade (Kindergarten Style)

2008-11-22T08:04:00.002-06:00

NOTE: I have posted twice in 24 hours!! be sure to check out yesterday's post!

So, one of the perks of teaching at the same school as Alex is that even though parents aren't really invited to a lot of the everyday fun things... I can sneak a peek and take pictures!
This was a Pilgrim and Native American Parade through the school by the 5 kindergarten classes. There were 3 Native American classes and 2 Pilgrim classes. I told one of the teachers I never wanted to be the pilgrim when I was little because the "indian" was so much "cooler" ! But look what they have done for the pilgrims... what an awesome Mayflower! Too Cute!

"A" and Alex doing their best Native American War Dance
"A", Alex, and "J" (Alex loves "J", they have been in the same class for two years now!)

One of the two Mayflowers!

S and B

2008-11-21T16:19:00.005-06:00

Okay all you Hershbine Family Blog followers... sorry it has been so long!

Last week mom's Sewing Circle/S and B/B and B had a painting party. They usually do this just the 10-12 of them, but this time they invited daughters/daughters-in-law to join in. They had an artist to come and bring a painting to instruct us in (much like sip n strokes). The teacher brought all of the materials and we just had to sit down and follow her directions and start painting. so here is what the result was... and I really have to say, I like my real life version much better than this picture!! they turned out so cute! and even though we all did the same thing, they all looked so different, we took a picture of all of us with our paintings, but not with my camera. If I get a copy of it, I will post it. It was such a relaxing evening for me... and alex went got her favorite meal that her daddy makes, and went right to bed for him.

Be Sure to Check Out ...

2008-10-19T12:41:00.003-05:00

My Photo Blog... Just pictures that I take that I like! Feel free to comment there as well!!

Alex's Drive-In Party

2008-10-18T18:55:00.005-05:00

We delayed Alex's "friend" birthday party because she wanted to go to a drive-in. There were no kids movies showing until the first weekend of October. So, we took 5 6 year olds to the drive-in to see Beverly Hills Chihuaha. It was definitely a fun trip for the girls, and it was an okay party except for it making for a late night. We had pizza, popcorn, sprite, and cupcakes. The best part of the party was that it was so easy to plan and pay for. I will suggest it again for next years party.

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Cultural family Anniversary

2008-10-12T08:30:00.003-05:00

Well this past weekend was mine and Jody's 7th anniversary!! So he asked me a week ago what I wanted to do so as not to "forget" and we could actually have a plan for once. I, of course, gave my standard "I dont care as long as we just spend time together." So, it just so happens that one of the greek festivals happens this weekend along with Oktoberfest. Friday we went to St. George's Greek Festival, and Saturday we went to Oktoberfest. Both as a family. Friday was fun and we discovered that Alex really likes Greek food!! Yeah... because we really love it, too! (Jordan not so much) We brought back Jordan a Falafel sandwich, which, I dont think he really cared for but, he was at the football game so I wasnt sure what if anything to bring back for him.

Saturday, we all four went to Oktoberfest. We knew Alex liked this sort of food, because I fix this sorta food more frequently since Jody and Jordan like it so much. Alex tried the Schnitzel and the rest of us had the brat combos (only I had to share about half of mine with alex cause she likes brats so much).

Here are some pictures from the Oktoberfest... the sweet old lady is not only german but also a WWII vet! AWESOME!! she was very spunky!
Here are the pictures

Poor Alex

2008-09-25T06:11:00.006-05:00

Alex has been asking for the last 2 years to have some sort of Birthday Party at the lake. Since it is a lot to ask 4, 5, and 6 year olds to drive 2 hours to a birthday party... we decided that it should just be her family party. So, this past weekend we were all able to get together on Sunday for her party. When we all get together, the birthday person gets to pick out what we eat and what kind of birthday cake you get. We (mom and I) had invisioned hotdogs and hamburgers, maybe even a weinie roast... Alex said she wanted just pasta with her "special dressing" on it. And for her cake she followed my influence and said she wanted a pound cake. Mom, Dad, Alex and I went down on Saturday morning... at lunch on the pier, listened to the Alabama/Arkansas game on XM... then it was on to riding 4 wheelers. We did this for several hours (dad put up road/trail signs... so we have our own little neighborhood back there) Then we went to gather rocks and wood, to have a bon/camp fire. We roasted hotdogs (see mom and I were still able to fit it in) and marshmallows and made s'mores. YUM! YUM! ... listened to the Auburn/LSU game and went to bed.

(Watching and feeding the ducks or geese or whatever they are)

(Alex loves dogs!)

(The WEENIE ROAST!)

We woke up Sunday morning and mom and I started decorating for the party. Alex took a bath since she fell asleep before she could get one the night before. She woke up complaining that her head and neck hurt a little but that she was OKAY! (she did not want anything to get in the way of her party) While she was in the tub, she said that her neck was better but that her head still hurt. Then she got out of the tub, and it was a little chilly in the house, but she could NOT get warm! She came to snuggle with me to get warm and gradually I could feel her body temperature rise!! it was the weirdest feeling. so, I got out the ancient thermometer that has been at that house for years, in extreme heat and in extreme cold... and took her temp. I was over 102 in less than a minute... so, mom went and got her some motrin and she was really going to try to act as if she was not sick... but she couldnt. We tried to call Corey and Erin to tell them, so that if they did not want to bring Grayben, they would not come... but they did not get the message... so they showed up and we attempted to have a party.

(definitely not feeling well!)

(She can't even get excited about opening presents)

(Grayben seems to be enjoying himself!)

(There's a little smile!)

Helping Papa

2008-09-14T08:36:00.005-05:00

Alex loves helping Papa! She actually gets to drive with him now. Grayben doesn't... but it wont be long!

Alex is 6!!

2008-09-13T14:09:00.011-05:00

Our baby is 6!! Holy Cow! She was so excited about this birthday! We let her decide where she wanted to go for dinner, and she chose what we affectionately call the Mexican/Chinese Buffet. She likes it because she can always get shrimp there. We went to pick out a cake and ice cream and then came home to let her open presents. She got more stamps for her scrapbooking and a game and a pucci pup (basically a dog in a purse... very Paris Hilton). But thank you daddy for remembering that she REALLY wanted one at target on alex and daddy day a couple of weeks ago, because it is her absolute favorite... along with the microphone headset from mimi. (I'll try to have a video of that later... very funny!)

When we got home we realized that we had not gotten the candles... so we scraped the drawers in the kitchen and only came up with two candles... sooo... we lit them and she blew them out three times!

The Old Place

2008-08-31T17:59:00.009-05:00

The Old Place (Above) The Barn (Below)

One of our favorite places to go, to get away is "The Old Place" or "The Country" or "The Lake". (All the same place, what we refer to it as is dependent on the context of our conversation at the time.) Alex and I got in several trips this summer together with Mom and Dad there for the weekend, and Alex and Jody even got in one day trip together there. We are enojoying it more and more. We are getting more and more "toys" for down there, and I feeling a closeness to my ancestory and family history there. I find myself asking more questions about my family who has lived in Clay or Randolph County, AL for over a hundred years. "The Old Place" is really what we refer to the actual house as. My Pawpaw Nolen, who turns 94 on the 10th was born in this house. He did a lot of work on it in the 70's to "update" it and so thanks to him, we have an indoor bathroom and not an outhouse, and we dont have to go out to the well to "fetch a pail of water", we merely turn on the faucet and can take a shower, flush the toilet, wash the dishes with the luxury of indoor plumbing.

Alex and Dad in the Ranger
Pretty Creek on the property

Yesterday we went to spend the day. Dad had gotten a Polaris Ranger and we wanted to test it out. Mom and I went antiquing while Dad and Alex went riding around on the trails (Dad also had some new trails cut since the last time we were there at the end of July.) Alex and Dad have really enjoyed riding together. She is very good and working her way around and not getting lost. She has a great sense of direction, and does not get scared of very much on the trails.. she's a little dare devil. When we got back from shopping, we went down to the lake and spent a couple of hours laying out and I napped. Then it was time to head back home for the Bama game.

ROLL TIDE!

A Rareity - Mom riding the four wheeler alone.

And He's Off!!

2008-08-14T06:05:00.003-05:00

The Sube was officially finished last night!! Jody and Jordan have worked SOOO HARD on getting it ready, especially for this school year (the first that he could really drive to school). The last of the issues was a water pump, which apparently is a fairly easy fix, but the part had to be ordered!! Now that it is done... I am sure Jordan feels a great sense of freedom. Too Bad for him that gas is nearly 4 dollars a gallon. It was 75 cents when I started driving. So, his first trip in it was with his friend Eric to Office Depot, and was gone for 30 minutes tops!! and boy was Jody nervous! I was a little, but I think that I have stressed over it all for all of these months as they were getting the car ready, that I was pretty okay for this. My nerves will come out on the weekends, when he "goes out"!!

Here are the pictures as he was leaving for his first official trip alone in the Sube!

First Day of School

2008-08-11T19:14:00.003-05:00

"Pickles"

2008-08-05T10:14:00.006-05:00

Granny has for a long time related to the comic strip "Pickles". She says that it really reminds her of her and Papaw. I think that probably for the most part any couple in their "senior" years could relate to the couple in this comic. The neat thing about the couple that is drawn is that they actually favor Granny and Papaw. I think that this is what makes it even more of a draw for Granny.

Granny loves this so much that she as written Brian Crane, the writer and illustrator, several times. Each time he has returned a note to her or a special drawing. He seems to be a really kind person.

So, I check this strip out every once in a while because there are times that it really reminds me of Granny and Papaw. I did not check it out this weekend, but met up with Rhonda and Granny yesterday, and Granny told me that if I still had the paper I should look at it... It reminded her of Papaw and Beth (even though the girl is supposed to be the daughter in the strip) . I read it and it really did remind me of the two of them! Beth and her sweet, caring, gullable heart ( I love you , Beth) and Papaw in his sweet, caring, jovial, joshing heart.

HERE IT IS:

so whats all the fuss??

2008-07-16T09:08:00.008-05:00

corey came back from montana with lots of really great neat pictures of wildlife. there was a black bear in a tree:There was some sort of ground squirrel (called a marmot):

and there were some grizzlies:

so alex an I went to st. louis with rhonda to visit beth (more from that trip later) and we saw:

a black bear in a tree:

a ground squirrel (called a ground hog):

and some grizzlies:

and bonus... we got a shot that corey did not get... a hippo underwater!! Top that Corey!!

I just dont understand why everyone thinks his pictures are so cool! It did not take us long to get similar shots in St. louis.

Funny Picture

2008-07-10T08:54:00.003-05:00

I made corey and erin a sling for baby grayben. when we got ther erin was taking care of grayben so corey decided to try it on, and alex weight tested it... she thought it was so funny and they thought it would be even more funny with a bottle so I was just glad to know that it holds 50 lbs.
Bonus Picture: Another Alex and Grayben picture... one day we will have a picture of the two with Grayben with clothes on.

Fourth of July

2008-07-06T19:49:00.004-05:00

We had fun on 4th of July. Mom had out two slip n slides and a sprinkler and a pool. And we all had a blast. Beth, Erin and I even did the the slip n slide. Alex liked to have races with everyone, so the first two pictures are Luke and Alex racing. Then, somehow Alex convinced Beth that it would be great fun to let her ride on her back down the slip n slide. At least they both have smiles on their faces in the picture, I guess that means that it did not kill Beth at the time. (Although... Beth, Rhonda, and I went shopping the next day and Beth and I talked about how sore we were from doing this... I had forgotten at the time that Alex had done this. Beth, maybe an extra fifty pounds on your back might make you a little more sore.) I also got some pictures of the great grandparents and Grayben. He is named for family on my dad's side (my grandfather that is holding him had family named Graben) and coincidentally my grandmother's mothers last name was Gray (she is holding him in the next picture). We had lots of fun for the day... and went to see fireworks that night... which I have to say is pretty impressive when you get in the right spot for viewing! Our favorite every year is the smiley faced ones... and it seemed that every time I tried to get a picture of one my camera would try to focus on something else. But finally I got one of one upside down and then one okay one of it right side up.

Early Return from the lake...

2008-07-03T15:51:00.003-05:00

Alex and I came home a day or two early from the lake ( I will have pictures to post from that later) because Corey and Erin got the call on Monday!! They had been placed for an adoption of a little boy, born June 19th (2 weeks old today!). They got to bring home Grayben Andrew today and we got to go see too!!! Alex and I are with him right now so that Mommy and Daddy can get some sleep... they have not gotten a lot of sleep over the last several nights filled with excitement, anticipation, and I am sure a little stress, and they are looking ahead to many long sleepless nights. Here are a couple of pictures from today... I think he is absolutely gorgeous!!

Just Had to Post

2008-06-26T06:09:00.004-05:00

We went to my friend Mandy's house yesterday to let the girls play together (she has three 8, 6, and 1 1/2) We went to Chic-fil-a for lunch (because the girls could still play) and Mandy and I got to catch up!! YAY! It was long overdue, we were together for about 4 hours and we probably could have caught up for another 8... not that it has really been that long (we do keep in touch) we just always have other distractions. I made sure I took my camera because I had come across a picture of Abby, Emma, and Alex when Emma and Alex were babies... so I wanted to take another picture of them now... about 5 years later. The funnier pictures probably would have been me and Mandy Then and Now. We have been friends since 5th or 6th grade...(that would be approximately 22 years! WOW!! Now that is a friend!) Maybe I will try to at least search for a then picture of us to post... that might be funny... What do you think, Mandy??
So here are our girls THEN:

And NOW:
(When I finally remembered to take out my camera Sarah was taking a nap... she is a cutie patootie, too!... Don't we have cute kids?)

You Got a Friend

2008-06-25T10:28:00.002-05:00

WoW! it has been a while. We have not done A LOT lately, but what we have done... I have not brough my camera with us. So, here is a picture from a play date that Alex had the other day. We have been going to the pool A LOT and I was really sorta tired of it, and had plenty of things that I could do at home... so, I asked Alex if she wanted me to see if CB could come over and play? Having a friend over helps me and it is great for her. I called her mom to see if she could come over, and it was great timing for her mom as well. they were leaving to go out of town the next day and she needed to get some things done before they left. I can really appreciate having some time to do things without a 5 year old around (as much as I love her!!) and it is now so much easier to have friends over... she is finally at an age that I dont feel like I have to constantly watch her every move. They played outside in our kiddie pool, and inside played school, and then practiced for a performance. they "wrote" these songs and sang for me several times, and then for CB's mom when she came to pick her up. i have a video of it, too that I want to post... but I have to get jody to show me how to download it onto the computer. i will try to post it later, it is really cute. So here is a picture from the show (Corey and Erin please do not judge... I realize this is NOT a good picture, but it is the only one that I got! and I wanted to post something from the day!)

"Summer, Summer, Summertime"

2008-06-10T10:26:00.008-05:00

We made our first trip of the summer to the lake weekend before last. Alex and I left Friday evening... it had been a long week for us being the last week of school, so I wanted to get there Friday rather than Saturday morning. Alex and I took the two dogs, and left Jody and Jordan behind. BTW!!! Can't believe I have not done a whole blog on this alone... BUT... Jordan finally got his driver's license!! YEAH!!! Jody just has one little thing to do to the SUBE and he will be able to drive it... Woo-HOO! Anyway, Jody had to take Jordan to the airport for him to go to his mom's for the summer. Jordan left late Saturday, so Jody did not get to come until Sunday morning and was really only going to stay for the day, but he rode his motorcycle and there were thunderstorms all around the area on sunday evening, so he decided to stay until Monday morning. Mom and Lexi and Attie all came on Saturday morning. When mom got there on Saturday, she, Alex and I all went to the lake while dad piddled with something that was wrong with the circuit at the barn. We had fun laying out and eating our lunch on the pier. Mom and I decided that we needed to do something to repair some weather damage around one of the windows at the house, so we went to Anniston and bought the materials to do it while dad and Alex rode four wheelers (Alex is getting really good). Mom left Sunday afternoon before all of the storms hit... Jody left pretty early Monday morning, and Alex and Dad and I went to the Hub for breakfast. Then I had been wanting to go visit the dam for a while, and Alex had begun to ask quesions about how the lake got there and we decided after breakfast to go and do some driving around and looking at some things that we had not seen in a while... like the dam. Here are ome pictures of our little adventure ( R.L. Harris Dam)
(R. L. Harris Dam a little closer)
(warning signs on the dam... I want to go back when they actually open the gates... I think it would be pretty cool to see all of the water coming through)
(The Tallapoosa River looking the opposite direction of the dam.)

After we left the dam... we decided to do some riding around and Dad wanted to see what had happened to this little development that they were advertising as a "restricted" community... and I laughed as we went through, because I thought that was a silly way to describe a neighborhood. Well as it turns out I guess the few houses in this non-water community took the term restricted pretty seriously.

(First we had a deer cross our path.... that was pretty cool)

Then we drove to what apparently was a dead end into a driveway... and here is what greeting us... several nice signs!

(This truck was sitting kinda up an embankment to the side of the road... I thought it was sorta funny at first... but then the more you study the situation, you realize these people are pretty serious about the "restrictiveness" of thier neighborhood.)

(Yes... that is the sign on the back of the truck)(look closely in the tree and I guess that we were videotaped as we drove up to the property... I actually did not notice this while we were there, I just saw it in the pictures as I was cropping for the blog)(And yes... even though these people are going to kill us... they are apparently believers in keeping the ten commandments in the courts... Go Figure!)
(And if you dare to venture on to the drive, which by the way does not look much different than the street itself, you will be greeted with even more signs)(DON'T WORRY... WE WERE'NT!!)

Remembering Papaw...

2008-05-23T06:24:00.003-05:00

Today is the one year anniversary since my Papaw Jack passed away. It is really hard to believe! His death was one of the hardest things (emotionally) that I have ever been through! I have always respected him, just as being my grandfather, but in his death I realized how many other areas of my life that he had influenced and I respected him for. I know that he was a great father, his four children and wife can attest to that. But being a grandfather, he was the "awesomest" . I was telling someone the other day, about every softball game that he came to of mine, was the greatest. I wanted to do so much better because he was there. He had played softball for years, and that was a good connection that I had with him. Papaw and Granny have nine grandchildren spread out from me, 33 (the oldest) to Luke, 11 or 12 (the youngest). I always thought that I had it the best because Papaw and Granny were in their early 40's when I was born and I had them all to my self until I was 5!! But then I look at the younger cousins, and realize that when they went to granny and Papaw's to spend the night over the summer, Papaw did not have to go to work the next day. I got to spend time with him in his youth, and they got to spend time with him in his retirement! We all got to have wonderful realationships individually with both of them. Papaw was a devout Christian, and that I also respect him for. He was very active in his church and there are all kinds of things that remind me of him, there when I visit with Granny. He was one of the charter members (I believe). Even as the membership there started dwendling, he continued to love and charish it as his home.

I think the hardes thing about Papaw's death, was that two days before, I had stayed with him in the hospital, and he seemed to be doing a little better. I guess I was in denial, but I just thought that it would be just one more time that he would fight and get better and go home... possibly more frail and maybe in a wheelchair, but I had it in my head that he would get better... Wishful Thinking.

Also, another thought on him, was his relationship with Alex!! I think he was just as excited about her birth as my mom and dad. He was in the waiting room the whole time I was in labor and delivery and was there when they brought her out to show everyone. He couldnt stand to stay at home after we came home. When she was two weeks old, I still could not drive, but he was dying to see her, so he drove over by himself (Granny was sick so she did not want to bring germs over) and visited and held her and took us to lunch at Applebees (He loved the ribs there). Then every chance he had he would come to see her or we would go see them. He made his way over on her first Birthday (granny was not feeling well again) and he was the one that showed her what she was supposed to do with the cake. He took her little hand and mashed it into her cake and had her taste it... that was all she needed to get going in her messiness and cake eating. As he got more frail over the next couple of years, he still would muster up some energy to play with Alex while we visited. He would get down in the floor with her and play ball or something with her. And in the hospital those last couple of weeks and days, if she came in the room to visit, his demeanor would change immediately... and if she wasnt with me, he always was asking about her! He loved her! as he did all of us!! That is one thing I never ever doubted... his UNCONDITIONAL love... and even as our family elements changed over the las several years... I never heard him say a cross word... only concern and love for those whom had distanced themselves. As all of these changes occured, that was my concern... that he would pass away with turmoil going on in a family that had been so close for so many years. But, in his death I learned alot about him and the situations... and I realize that he was at peace with it all and loved everyone no matter what... I guess I should learn something from that!

I MISS YOU PAPAW!!!

Spring Training

2008-05-18T16:27:00.004-05:00

Yesterday was Jordan's spring jamboree in Oxford. All in all they all did prett well. But guess what?!! I got about half way there (an hour away) and realized that my camera was not in my car... and I did not think about bringing the video camera. (that is usually jody's job... I take pictures) Jody had guard so it was just alex and i going. Well the JV played the first half and I watched so intently for Jordan and never saw him play. (i did not know that it was the JV... Ugh!) so the second half was the varsity, and so I tried to watch so intently again... and I never saw him go in... this is all I saw... (he's number 73... I used my cell phone)

Turns out he did play one or two plays... I just missed them! I dont know how. I guess he just did such an awesome job that they were really quick plays! turns out, I dont know a whole lot about spring jamborees... they dont keep anybody in real long... some more than others!

Takin Care of Business

2008-05-10T15:52:00.002-05:00

Jordan's new job is Security. He quit Kmart a couple of weeks ago, to spend some more time with his friends before he left to go to his moms. Then one of his friends' mom asked him to do security for her company at the Crawfish Boil. So, I guess he has a new job. He was really pumped up after last weekend's job, because as he put it, he got to be Fergie's bodyguard. Apparently, her one bodyguard was not enough and they needed more security guys to help with crowd control. Anyway he seems to really be enjoying busting up fights and confiscating paraphernalia. This past weekend, he worked a Country Music Festival, which he said was not near as exciting... as far as breaking up fights go (I think that is his favorite part). But, it seems he will also have this job when he returns from his moms this summer. I think he will be able to work around his football schedule as well. And guess what? before he snuck off for the country gig, I shot a couple of pictures of him in his security event uniform. He went from red and black Kmart, to red and black security.

Dancin' in the Streets

2008-05-10T14:03:00.005-05:00

We love Homewood Day was supposed to be all day last Saturday but the rain prevented all the park activities. Jordan was working at his new job (I will post about that later), Alex was at Mimi's, so Jody and I got a romantic breakfast at "the Wayffle". But the weather cleared up for a gorgeous afternoon and evening. So, the parade and the street dance were lots of fun. There were games and rides for the kids, since they did not get to do all the activities in the park. I should mention that Alex dressed herself for the occasion... she was so excited about the "dance party".
Not sure what this dance is?!?!?!
This little girl is a friend that Alex has met at school and she will be going to kindergarten with her in the fall.

Day Two: Homestead Hollow
We did not buy anything but dinner for dad and Jody, and Alex this ride. It was still a lot of fun, I love going and just checking the crafts.

Fifty by Bike

2008-05-03T22:18:00.006-05:00

So, I mentioned in the previous post about some interesting guest that we were going to have. and they were! Laura and Aaron came to stay with us, and take a shower while riding their tandem bike through the center of all fifty states. They came to us through http://www.warmshowers.org/ I know it sounds like it might be a porn site or something... but it is actually a really good idea for touring cyclist. I know that jody will use it the next time he tours. Anyway this is the link to their site... they had a lot of stories that were very interesting and we loved talking and visiting with them. It was sort of inspiring to see them give up all wordly possessions for two years and live life, taking in everything as they travel together.

Jody Finally got his nose out of the books...

2008-04-30T06:15:00.003-05:00

And noticed the "girly" blog!! Ha! Ha! It didnt quite take two weeks! I am actually surprised... because he has really been studying hard! He just happened to been looking over my shoulder when I was doing something! This is his last week of taking soooo many classes. He has vowed never to do a semester like he did this one again. YAY!! (24 hours) We are really looking forward to this summer and actually getting to spend some time together... He is only taking three classes!! More later... we have a fun weekend coming up so, and some surprise visitors... so maybe I'll blog about that later... (Their story is very interesting)

Slip Slidin Away...

2008-04-25T16:13:00.002-05:00

A little summer fun in the Spring... Alex did this for a while, while Jody and Jordan cut the grass. Then she and Jordan had a water fight!! She had so much fun. Funny how Jordan always excapes the camera. Actually I had already put the camera up by the time they started the water fight.

Willoby Wallaby Walex....

2008-04-24T22:22:00.003-05:00

Kangroo Kountry is OPEN!!! and at least Alex and I thought it was awesome. The exhibit itself is very nice. But bonus was that they had a little baby Wallaby that this man was having to play surrogate mom to for the next 5 or so months. He carries "Skippy" (he wanted to call him "Boomer" but got overrode by his Australian boss) in a Baby Bjorn baby carrier in a pouch! Really Cool! "Skippy" is being raised by this man so that he can be an eduacational animal and socialize more with other humans. Here are just a couple of the pics we took.

Rollin' Rollin' Rollin'...

2008-04-19T09:49:00.004-05:00

Does it look like Riley is up to something in the next picture??

Well, since Becky had the baby... it has given us the opportunity to get Ally and Riley to come over and play. (Noah had perfect timing with me having two days off this week to keep his big sister and brother) So, Alex and I worked out in the yard most of the morning and early afternoon. It really does feel good to have your yard looking good, and your house semi in order! So, Ally and Riley came over to play... and we stayed outside almost the whole time (they were predicting rain, but it was a gorgeous afternoon). the kids had a blast! These are pictures of them rolling down our hill in the front yard. I remember loving doing this so much as a kid! And watching them and seeing the pictures is such nostalgia!

feeling a little girly...

2008-04-18T08:10:00.003-05:00

As you can see from the new background I was feeling a little "girly" today! We'll see how long it takes Jody to realize it and ask me to put something different up ;0) I was surprised how often he actual reads our blog. I had put up a funny picture of him with a funny fake magazine cover layout, and it only took him about 24 hours to see it and say something about it. so, if you were lucky enough to get a glimpse of him in that time frame, you probably got a good laugh too! I might be persuaded to show the pic again, on the downlow if you ask!

Now I have to figure out how to get the icky blue and orange off of the top blogger stuff.

Excitement for the week... My friend Becky had her third baby this week. She had been scheduled for induction on the 21st, but the little booger decided to come on his own a week early! Here is the cutie!

HOLY COW!!

2008-04-06T18:12:00.003-05:00

Harry Caray was one the reasons that I really love the cubs!! And I forgot to mention in the last post that one of the highlights of going to chicago was hearing the 7th inning stretch "take me out to the ball game" being sung by Harey Caray and actually going to Harry Caray's resteraunt (although I was not all that impressed by the food... I loved that I got to go!) Here is the video of my favorite part of the game about seven years before we went but still classic none the less.

Baseball Season Begins!!

2008-04-05T09:11:00.005-05:00

Go Cubs!! I changed templates in support of the Cubs! This year marks 100 years since their last world series win!! Maybe they are just due one every hundred years, and this will be the year! The season has not started out great (they are 1-3) But still have approximately 159 more games to play... so there is room for improvement. Below are pictures from my 20th century archives, before everything was digital! I just spent about a half an hour trying to convert a picture (tangible) to a file that I could work with on this blog. Part of the difficulty is I am not extremely computer saavy, and part is that I am so spoiled to just plugging in a compact flash card into a usb and "voila" there are my pictures...

Anyway... here are some pictures circa 1993 from our family trip (a combination birthday present for Corey and I) to a couple of Chicago Cubs games. They were playing the Pirates.

This is the front gate... I love this place... I want to go back!!The Scoreboard behind the "Cheap Seats" Only if I remember correctly they arent so cheap. Notice that everything on the scoreboard is done by a person sitting in there!! Only one or two things are digital on it and they are very "Stone Age" compared to modern scoreboards.... Also, I dont think you can tell in this picture, but I took a closer look at the original... it looks like they were ahead 6-5 in the 7th, but if I remember correctly... they did not win either game we went to see... Maybe Corey or Mom or Dad could correct me if they remember differently! I LOVE THIS PLACE!This is the funniest picture of all to me... We all look so young!! I loved that hat... I searched specifically for it, and now I see how retarded it looked! And those HUGE "Top Gun" aviator RayBan's ... "What a dork!" I guess this is before Corey got is "away" jersey that I was so jealous of. I think that mom and dad still have it at there house. Have I mentioned??? I LOVE THIS PLACE!! I WANT TO GO BACK!!

I forgot to mention earlier how mom gave us these as a present... she put each of our tickets to a Cubs game in a box of Cracker Jacks and we opened them at the same time. We were clueless, the prize in the cracker jacks (instead of a sticker or cheesy tattoo) was tickets for four to two Chicago Cubs Home Games. I have to say... I have had lots of great birthdays... but that one was the biggest surprise and probably the most fun! I LOVED THIS TRIP!!

Seeing Birmingham...

2008-03-30T10:38:00.004-05:00

I cant remember when it was that I went to Vulcan last. What I do remember is that I am terrified of heights and there was this glass elevator that my dad practically forced me to look out as we rode up. When we got to the top I was really, really, scared! I was ready to go immediately!! So, when we got ready to go back down, I was not excited about getting back on that elevator! so, my dad told me that the only other way down was the staircase in the middle of the pedestal and that I would have to do that by myself (I think he thought that would convince me to just take the elevator!... Well... it didnt) I took the stairs by myself (maybe mom came too... I really dont remember) I remember taking at least a portion of them on my bottom!
That little story is just to prep the fact that I had never been back again until this past week with Angel and Mike. I decided one afternoon that I would just drive them around Birmingham and we would just look at the city and possibly go to Vulcan. So, Angel jumped in the front seat, Alex in one of the middle seats of the van and Mike and Jordan got in the way back. As I drove around I acted as tour guide to Angel about some of the different sites while Jordan gave his version in the way back to Mike. Jody wound up calling and he got out of class early so we decided to go to Vulcan. After dark it is very pretty! We got there and the remodeling is really beautiful (I cant believe it has been done for 4 years and I am just now getting back up there. Much less never taken Jody to such a landmark of Birmingham). Guess what?? the remodeling still has the glass elevator and the walk at the top is no longer enclosed... and not only is it not enclosed, the walkway was a grate walkway!!!! Try to guess whether I went up!! NOPE!!!
The picture above was my view of vulcan for the evening... and the below picture is Mike, Jordan and Angel sitting at the same place that I took the above picture, except out over the city! As you can see I was already high enough! Alex did go to the top with Jody and was not scared at all. (She kept calling me a "Scaredy Cat, Scaredy Cat!!")
The picture below... is the picture that Jody took from the top of Vulcan!
That evening we also went to The Alabama Theatre. I was hoping that they would have something going on so that we could just go in and look around. But we just took pictures outside and peeked in through the windows.

The next afternoon... I took Angel out again because I was trying to show her some of the "castles" around Birmingham... I could only find this one, and it was smaller than some of the ones that I have seen before. But, it was across from a very gorgeous view!

Here is the "castle"s view below...

Note in the picture of the beautiful view... the couple to the left... we think that we may have walked up and intruded upon a proposal!... OOPS!!

What We Did On Our Spring Break!

2008-03-23T10:46:00.008-05:00

So this is sort of a lengthy post with lots of pictures, but I just wanted to give a glimpse of what we did for our Spring Break.
It started with towel making. Susan, my nextdoor neighbor and friend, came to me with this cute idea of making these hooded towels for bigger kids. Completely someone else's creative idea... but we started brainstorming all the different things that we could do to make them even cuter! The following two pictures are just the simplest of what we came up with! I am stashing away a couple to give as gifts, and am even contemplating making and selling them if anyone out there thinks they might be interested in one for themselves or for a gift.

ON MONDAY... We went to the Zoo!!! They have a new Camel ride which will more than likely be her only camel ride of the season, because it is entirely to expensive... $5.50 to have the camel walk around in a circle!

YAY!!! The baboons are finally back on exhibit!! Well, maybe they never were gone... but I dont know if there has ever been a time that Alex has seen a Baboon at the Birmingham Zoo! These McCaws are very similar to the ones that I just posted on the cozumel post, but they are just so beautiful! ON TUESDAY....Alex went to play with her good buddy, Rainesy Roo! And after they played there for several hours, Raines came to our house and played and at dinner and attempted to spend the night... The girls had lots of fun together ... they had not seen each other since November! Despite the looks in the pictures... they were really excited about seeing each other! ON WEDNESDAY... Alex could wait no longer to dye eggs... so arent they pretty??? (Funny Story... we dyed eggs in our class at school the week before we let out for spring break, there is a little girl who got very uneasy about us doing this. She kept asking us why were dying the eggs, why would we want to do that? She was afraid that we were killing the eggs by "dieing" them) ON THURSDAY... Alex and I had a slumber party at Granny Betty's. We took Granny to Jasper to see my grandfathers Aunt Vera... and came back and painted. Alex has been asking to do this again for a long time. I could tell that Granny was very tired and "give out", but she got out the paints for Alex and they started working on a flower painting. I finished up mine that I had started about a year ago. And we slept and woke up and Granny fixed us breakfast and we had an Easter Egg Hunt inside. My City Scene... Alex signing her masterpiece So zonked out that she was hanging off of the bed and her pajama top had come untied and she did not even know. Easter Egg Hunt... Can you guess where Granny and Alex hid the eggs from me?? Look very carefully...LOL!
ON FRIDAY... Alex drove the military street sweeper... and we picked up Angel and Mike from the airport. We all ate at Lonestar ... and I did not have to cook!!! I took the following pictures across the runway while we were waiting on Mike and Angels flight... I know Beth, you have to be jealous that I got three good ones... (btw... I never saw the plane in the picture you took) Maybe your husband should buy you a cool camera like mine! ;0)

ON SATURDAY.... We went to the lake to ride bikes and four wheelers... Lots of fun!!

Angel, Jordan, Mike and Alex at the Old Place

Pooped after a long day in the Country... ON SUNDAY... It was Easter... The Easter Bunny came to see all four kids and Mom, Alex, Angel and I all went to church together at Trinity... then it was off to Granny's for lunch! I dont think I have mentioned on this blog how much I miss Pawpaw!!!

Some More Colorful Cozumel Favorites!

2008-03-19T09:31:00.004-05:00

As I think I had stated in an earlier post here Corey was giving me some quick little photography lessons during our excursion, so all of the following were pictures taken manually. Some better than others... but, remember this was my first day working with the camera this way... I will have some more recent pictures to post later from Alex and I's trip to the zoo this week for Spring Break.
Here is one of the many outdoor bars that you find in Mexico! I took the picture just because I thought it looked cool!

This was the outside of a resteraunt (or bar) we just stopped to see what was on the menu. I like the picture because this is how just about all of the area that we went to was... random paintings on the walls, all the buildings are different colors. Yes it was a beautiful day... but that was just enhanced by all of the cheerfulness of colors on the city buildings. Really makes Birmingham drab.
As most of you know... Jody loves to ride bikes!! Although he does not get to do that much of it lately because of school. He likes art that has Bicycles in them. We have this piece of art in our bedroom, that is pretty cool, but it has this naked lady on it, so I really do not want it out in our living room. But, after I took this picture, I really liked it so I think I may get it and the following ones of bicycles printed to display somewhere in our living/dining room area.

Okay! I know that it is trash! but it looked like art! (I think Erin took a picture of it also!) It was just interestingly sitting next to the sidewalk as we were heading back to the ship.
This is such a common site along the buildings and sidewalks... What I noticed in Cozumel. The three most popular forms of transportation were/are:

1. Bicycles

2. Mopeds/Motorcycles (which BTW do not follow any traffic laws... I know we saw at least one "almost" wreck... Oh, and interestingly these people can fit whole families on their motorcycle/moped... I think we saw up to four on one!!

3. Volkswagon Beetles (ca. 1967-1980) This was humourous to us while we were there because there were so many of them... but, I just did a little research and apparently Mexico had a big manufacturing plant of the beetle for many years.

I LOVE THIS PICTURE! I know Jody was really feeling bad at this point in our excursion and and we had to pay $5 to take a picture with our own camera of this iguana! I know it sounds silly... but like I told Jody at the time... they have to make their living somehow... Some of the areas we were in were very, very poor! Anyway, I think the picture is great and it was worth the $5 to me!
This was just sitting outside of one of the market stores, to show what sodas they sold! NOTE: the Coke Light (Not Diet Coke!) Apparently, according to Jody, The US is the only country that calls it Diet... everyone else calls it Light!
Just thought this was interesting! We didn't see people doing this all over the place, just this one lady but I thought it was neat! It reminds me of the girl in the "Jungle Book"
STREET PERFORMERS!! The one above was a clown, entertaining people at The Hard Rock Cafe!
The above "performer" was dressed as a sculpture! He would sit still for a long while and then move and scare people.

COZUMEL COLOR!!

2008-03-16T07:28:00.000-05:00

One of my favorite things about Mexico, is all of the color... Here are some of my favorite pictures that I took... with lots of color!
A pier that was at the beach "Paradise"
Pretty McCaw's
The entrance way to a home!
Not sure what these were (maybe maraccas) but they were so colorful!
More items from the Market!

I WANT TO RIDE MY BICYCLE... I WANT TO RIDE MY BIKE!!

2008-03-15T18:42:00.006-05:00

Jody took Alex out to the park this afternoon to ride her bike. This past fall we had taken her training wheels off, and she did okay... but was too concerned with getting hurt to concentrate on balancing and pedaling. So, as she was getting on her socks and shoes, she asked if Jody would put the training wheels back on so that she could ride alot. We told her no... that she had to practice without and if she went back to training wheels, she would never learn how to ride without! So the following is what happened today within just a matter of a few minutes!

And here is what she looked like just an hour after returning from the bike ride!

Easter Egg Tree...

2008-03-15T13:13:00.003-05:00

This week Alex reminded me that we had not done our Easter decorations. This usually consist of a cheap wreath on the door, and a couple of rabbit Easter related things to set out on the dinning room table and coffee table.... and of course the Easter Egg Tree. My mom did these trees for us when I was little, and when Alex was born I started doing them for her. When she was two years old though, she imagined up this whole Easter Bunny/Egg Hiding Scheme!! All on her own, she said that all of those eggs on the tree were there so that when the Easter Bunny came, he could hide them all for her! Only she told me this after we had hung approximately 50-75 eggs. So the tradition continues... and the Easter Bunny does hide the eggs (usually not all of them though)... the weather has hindered the outside hiding over the last couple of years, though... Maybe this year will be better!

New Addition to the Hershbine Family

2008-03-08T08:26:00.003-06:00

Well, we had promised Alex a puppy for her birthday in September, and for one reason or another every attempt to adopt was not the right one or time for us. So, last Friday, Jody calls me from work asking me to bring Alex by there when we got done with school! I of course asked why? He said he had a surprise for Alex. I asked, can't it wait until you get home? He said well its kinda a puppy!! What?? Long story short... somebody had him on base, and if they did not give him away they were going to take him to the pound. That was all Jody needed to hear... since we had been talking about getting a puppy anyway... he said why not? So Alex and I headed to base to get the puppy... only I did not tell her why we were going! She was very excited to get him and after going through a whole weekend of deciding what name... she finally decided on "Copper" (Like from "The Fox and The Hound") He really probably looks more like Tod, the Fox than Copper, the Hound... but she liked the name copper best! So here are some pictures of our new baby!

SNOW AGAIN??

2008-03-08T08:13:00.004-06:00

How is this possible?? All my childhood, the most frequent snow that stuck that we got was maybe once every 5 years! And now, Alex goes to Ohio in November and gets snow... then in Birmingham one pretty good little snow in January, and now in March (enough that Alex wants to be in it) and they said it probably would not stick here this time! I am just glad that it did not fall on a school day! We should still get an inclement weather day in April, now! So hear is our March Snow Pictures.

Cozumel Meriachi

2008-03-07T16:57:00.008-06:00

The main thing that I loved about cozumel is all of the color. After our trip to the beach, we took a much more pleasant taxi ride to downtown Cozumel with a really nice guy.. (cant remember his name... maybe corey and erin can help me out?) Anyway, we had him drop us off at his recommended restaraunt. We specifically asked him what he thought was good, not a "touristy" kind of place. He took us to a place called "The Mission". A really neat place that was an completely outdoor restaraunt but you would never know it by the shelter overhead. I thought it was a very quaint place. We were getting pretty hungry, and they brought us out our "chips and salsa" (just like the mexican restaraunts in the u.s.) only they serve the chips around what is the best guacamole I have ever had... and I think everyone else agreed. We were pretty hungry so Corey asked the very Mexican water/bus boy for some "queso" (in the u.s. that is cheese dip, right?) Well, as I said before, the guy was very ethnic... ie did not speak english... very nice though... So he brought Corey a plate of grated cheese! We laughed at ourselves, and very politely waited for the waiter who spoke english to come back. So, when he came over, Corey explained that he wanted melted cheese, like a dip. That seems pretty logical, right? Well, they brought out a small iron skillet with melted cheese in it (probably the same cheese that was on the plate earlier). We all got a kick out of that... apparently cheese dip is an American thing... or it is just called something different there~! We all placed our order. the menu was translated so it was not that hard to figure out what you want, only apparently I cant read Spanish or English because I thought I was ordering something really authentic (Dont know exactly what it said, but it was interesting enough that I read the English as something authentic also.) Only when my plate came out... I had ordered shrimp cocktail! Albeit a good shrimp cocktail, it was not quite as authentic and exotic as I had hoped it would be. But, I loved this little place. About the time that we were finishing up lunch, a mariachi band came in... and I loved them! Corey proceeded to give me some quick lessons in photography for my new camera... so that I am not using the automated settings all the time... so the following pictures are the ones that I thought turned out pretty decent.

COZUMEL!!!

2008-03-05T19:15:00.007-06:00

Okay, I have sorted through my pictures and have picked out some of my favorite ones!

This one is... for obvious reasons! I really just took this one to show Alex that her name was written in Mexico!

This one is not the greatest of photos on my part but the circumstances were pretty funny... I thought! When we got off of the ship we decided to go to the beaches first. We got a taxi"van" with Erin, Corey, Rhonda and Gary. Only Corey and Erin got the boxseats (and opposite of sporting events... this is not a good thing!) They were litterally sitting on a box covered by a blanket. There were no seatbelts or bars to even hold on too! To make matters worse for them... or at least for Erin, there are no speed limits or as it appeared on this 5- 10 minute 60Mph trip, no traffic laws either! and erin who tends to get a little nervous about even the safety of an escalator had to endure this "rumble seat"

Here is Jody once we arrived safely at our beach spot. I must add he was much the trooper. He had the flu! He starte feeling bad, at dinner on thursday night, and continued to feel bad all day on Friday. He made his way up and off of the ship on Saturday for my benefit and the fact that he reallywanted to see Mexico! I think he was really glad he did!

(photo deleted per Jody's request)

The following are just some random beach photos that I took and thought were kinda fun. I will post more later, I need to get Alex to bed.

Gymnastics

2008-02-26T18:27:00.003-06:00

Thought I would post some pictures of Alex in Gymnastics. She is absolutely loving this "Cheer"nastics class. But, she also wants to play soccer... so that season will start in a couple of weeks and we only have about 4 more weeks of Cheernastics. Anyway... enjoy... I am still working on compiling some pictures from our trip... hang on a little while longer ... all four of you readers.

Funny Video

2008-02-25T19:22:00.002-06:00

We have been playing around with some new stuff we got for the computer. One of them is so that we can convert all of our old videos onto dvd. Here is a funny one of Alex when she was about 2 1/2 or 3.

Cruise Wedding

2008-02-24T19:52:00.003-06:00

Okay... here is the first of what will probably wind up being several posts about the trip. This is the first part while we were still docked in Mobile. Everything was great... we got to go on board the ship before the ceremony and look around and eat (which was great since we stupidly skipped breakfast that morning). The ceremony was very sweet and quaint! We really enjoyed it and the reception. Here is a slideshow of the wedding and the boat reception. Beth looked beautiful and soo happy!! The song on the slideshow is "Love Song" a version by 311, because even if she doesnt still love them like she used to... they still make me think of her.

Perspective

2008-02-19T18:29:00.002-06:00

I want to post a lot of pictures from our trip to Cozumel... but I am trying to sort through them and figure out if I am going to just post them or put them in a slideshow. (if any of you have a suggestion please feel free to tell me) For the time being, just know that it was beautiful weather and enjoy this picture of our ship... which we thought was huge until we pulled up in Cozumel next to the one on the left. I thought that we had pulled up right next to a hotel... because all I could see were these balconies from this ship that looked like a hotel.

Indigo Girls... Bummer...

2008-01-28T16:57:00.001-06:00

Got all "dolled" up last night, ready go to the Indigo Girls Concert that I have had tickets to since the beginning of August 2007. I was going with my friend and nextdoor neighbor, Susan, and another friend from work, Emily. We left early and went to Surin West (one of my favorite places to eat). I tried something new, the service was great and we enjoyed some good conversation. We got ready to walk out the door and the waiter asked us if the concert we were going to happened to be the Indigo Girls. And then he said that he heard a rumor that they had cancelled!!! What?!??!! So, we ventured on to the Alys Stephens Center and guess what?? It was cancelled due to "illness". Very disappointing... so, we get this little flyer that says they are rescheduling... Good news, right??? NO!!! NOT FOR ME!! They are rescheduling for while I will be going on my cruise!! Susan and Emily said but just think, you will be on a great vacation, and it wont matter... my response... But I could have done both!! Boo Hoo!!! I'm so sad!! Anyway to make matters worse for the evening, we went to O'Henry's for dessert and coffee (that's not bad), but I ordered a medium cafe latte and went to bed just fine! But I guess all of the caffeine kicked in around midnight and I was up for the next three hours!! So, now I am having a Red Bull just to stay up to prepare dinner!

Can you hear the violins playing in the background of my life???

Before and After...

2008-01-26T15:42:00.000-06:00

Two blogs in one day!! Wow! I can get alot accomplished when no one else is here!

Here is the Closet Before (a little embarrassing)

AND HERE IS THE CLOSET AFTER!! (WHAT A RELIEF!)

Linen closet (check)

Samford and Son Closet (check)

Coat closet (the one I dred most is next)

Time to Blog...

2008-01-26T09:40:00.000-06:00

Today is Alex and Daddy day!! and Jordan is at work! So, I have the house to myself and some time to post a blog! Yay!! Jody tries to have one of these days at least once a month. It is usually the same routine every time... Breakfast at IHOP and then on to Chuck E. Cheese's for fun and games and pizza! Alex loves these days and once Jody gives her a date, she counts down the days. XX more days until Alex and Daddy day! This morning she woke up around 7:00. I had fallen asleep on the couch (a common thing for me lately when Jody studies in the bedroom). She woke me up and said "MOMMY, IT'S ALEX AND DADDY DAY!" She said she wanted breakfast , but knew that she had to wait. (I think she inherited some trait from my brother somehow, because I remember this about Corey, loving breakfast and needing it immediately upon waking up. Anyway, she wanted to wake up Daddy too, not sure if it was the excitement of the day... or just needing her breakfast. I made her wait for a little while ( I wasn't sure how late he had stayed up studying) and we made coffee. If Daddy doesn't get his first thing in the morning caffeine "fix", Alex and Daddy day may not be as much fun... Ha! Ha! She finally got to wake him up around 8:00 and Jody said I knew I would not have to set an alarm for this morning. Jody had coffee, and took a shower. Then Alex took a shower, and put on the outfit that she pick out on Wednesday that was what she needed to wear for this day! And off they went! No pictures from the day (except maybe some before and after pics of the closet I am about to takle.. LOL!) Jody does not take the camera everywhere like I do!
Have I mentioned before that Jody got me a new camera for Christmas?? A Canon Rebel XT ... I love it. I took pictures on Christmas Day... and long story short something happened and I had to send it back to canon for repairs. So I just got it back last week (I think maybe the week before) Anyway... Ilove it... the picture quality is so much better... and maybe I can get Corey and Erin to give me some tips to make them even better! I especially cant wait to take pictures on our upcoming cruise to Cozumel!!
I dont think that I have blogged about this either!! My cousin Beth is getting married on a cruise and has invited us all to go along for her Honeymoon!! Just kidding not really but it kinda seems that way! She will get married at port in Mobile and then she and Raja and a group of family and friends will sail to Cozumel, Mexico!! I am so excited! Jody and I have only had one nonkid vacation since we were married 6 1/2 years ago! We are both so excited! Mom and Dad are keeping the kids, and Corey and Erin are going on the cruise too!! I think they are the official photographers! Maybe they will give me my "lessons" while we are there! I am sure I will have more to post about that when we get back and I hope lots of beautiful pictures!
I better get started on my tasks around the house, before everyone returns.
Here is the slideshow from Alex's 5th birthday session that Erin did for us back in September. I just got them and LOVE them. We went to downtown Homewood on a Sunday afternoon, and despite Alex being a little bit of a twirp (this is all so old hat to her, she is so used to Aunt Erin always having a camera around, she thinks she can just goof off the whole time) Oh and she had to use the bathroom REALLY bad and we were in Homewood on a Sunday... NOTHING was open!!

Who says you have to go to the north for snow!!

2008-01-19T21:58:00.000-06:00

Okay, okay! for any of you Yankees (Jody included). This is kind of a joke! I know it didnt really SNOW! But in Alabama, this counts! Even Erin who grew up in Tennessee and has seen a little bit more snow in her day than I have... got excited about today! She called this morning and asked "Anyone at your house want to build a snowman?" How could we turn her down? Anyway, it turned into a snowbear instead. You know how when you look in to fluffy clouds and you just start to see things like animals and boats and cars and stuff... well... that is sorta what happened with our snowman! as he was coming together, we realized that he looked more like a bear than a man, so we invested all of our artistic ability at that point and you can see how he turned out... I think he is cute!

Jordan and Alex had a lot of fun too! Jordan turned his skateboard into a snow board and then he and Alex made a couple of tiny snowmen and worked on some ramps and stuff for the snowboard.

Jody was completely unimpressed and studied all day... I dont think he ventured out one time. except to go to the drugstore early and he joked that he might need to find a shovel to get out to his car!! Ha ha! (What a meanie!)

Oh... and related to the last picture... Alex learned one very important thing in Ohio when we were there in November and it snowed... And that is NEVER EAT THE YELLOW SNOW!! and we found some today, and steered away... THANKS ATTIE!!

Christmas Pics...

2008-01-06T10:54:00.000-06:00

I have alot that I could talk about... just short on time lately! so I thought I would at least share some pictures for the time be ing.

Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow!!!

2007-12-07T20:33:00.000-06:00

Oh yeah!!! While we were in Ohio .... It snowed!!!! Yeah!!! It was really not alot, but to a 5 year old who has never seen snow that sticks before and to a southern girl who has seen a good hard snow may 5 or 6 times in her life, It was the most exciting thing in the world!!! Also, in these pics with Alex was Autumn, another cousin, who for some reason did not make it into the other pictures. I think she was hangin' out with Angel (yet another cousin) who they call the "Pied Piper of Children". She is really great with all of the younger kids and was such a delight to talk to, as an adult!

Cousins, Cousins, Cousins!!!

2007-12-07T16:06:00.000-06:00

There is one big thing that I hate about us living so far away from Jody's family...it is being so far away from Jody's family... for our benefit of just getting together and hanging out... and for the kids to get to hang out with their cousins! You can tell how much fun they all had together when we went up to Ohio over Thanksgiving. Although we went sorta unexpectedly and for very sad reasons (Jody's grandfather had passed away.)We wound up having a very nice trip up there. I finally got to meet one of Jody's cousins and his wife and child, that I had somehow never met in the almost eight years that Jody and I have known each other. That is Rick (the big kid) playing with kids in the picture, they all loved him!!

We Got Elfed!!

2007-12-05T06:16:00.000-06:00

Check out the link below... and have a Merry Christmas!!

http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=1173176817

More Halloween

2007-12-01T06:20:00.000-06:00

I have been wanting to post more (and I will soon hopefully). But had misplaced my camera usb cord, found it, and now left it at school!! Argh!! Anyway... I have been meaning to share these for a while so here is the Halloween slideshow that Erin did of Alex. www.erinnolenphotography.com/alexhalloween

Jordan's Car

2007-11-04T18:47:00.000-06:00

"The Sube"...As we have affectionally called it over the last several years. Jody's car for 10 or 11 years... out of commission for about 3 years... and now for the past 9 or 10 months, Jody and Jordan have been working on it doing various things, most of which I know nothing about... but what I do know is that they rebuilt the whole engine and replaced the transmission. I mention all of this because I had planned to blog today that it is complete and running and that all that was left was getting the tag back up to date and Jordan getting his license. But as it seems every time they get close to being done... something else goes wrong... so one day (soon I hope) I will be telling you about the complete project and how great it is. I will say now... they both have worked extremely hard on this car, and the fact that Jordan was gone for 10-12 weeks over the summer and they only truly have weekends to work on it... they really have done extremely well...sure, we probably could have just bought him a used car and spent about the same amount of money, but the experience that Jordan has gotten out of this work and the quality time spent between Jody and Jordan is truely priceless!!! It is looking really good, I hope to have pictures the next time I post about it.

Boo at the Zoo

2007-11-03T06:54:00.000-05:00

There are some days that I wonder, do I have more fun doing the kid stuff than my kid does. I had so much fun at the zoo, and I think Alex did too. Although she did go to her first "Haunted House" there and was not real keen on that. I thought it was kinda clever. It was in the primate building and was led by the apes from Planet of the Apes, and you went through the building to view the Humans in cages. It kinda freaked Alex out though. But there were more young kid friendly activities to do also. She really liked the hayride... it was really kinda cute. The pictures show her in her Halloween costume and there are more on Erin's website http://www.erinnolenphotography.blogspot.com/ They are really cute, I cant wait to see all of them.

Alex and Mommy Day

2007-10-28T15:35:00.000-05:00

Well, Jody takes an Alex and Daddy day every once in a while and they usually go to IHOP and Chuck E. Cheese's. Alex always has sooo much fun, and I think Jody does too!!! Well, Alex asked me the other day if we could have an Alex and Mommy day like she does with her daddy. I guess, even though we are always together, as weird as it sounds, we don't always get good one on one time. So, I told her I would take her somewhere that Daddy probably wouldnt go. Sweet n Sassy! I know, I know... glamour shots/pageant girl sort of look!! Not my choice, she has a little friend that has been and talked about it, and she has been wanting to go for a while, so I finally just caved!! It kept me from having to go to Chuck E Cheese (her second choice) and it wound up costing less than C E C too... so really it was a win-win experience and boy did she feel like a princess... she thought she was the most beautiful girl in the world!! It was a fun day to spend with her, I am glad we did it even though I am not crazy about the look!

Pumpkin Carving

2007-10-28T15:07:00.000-05:00

Here is one of our pumpkins/jack-o-lanterns for this year. Mom bought this pumpkin for Alex last weekend. Alex was eager beaver to get it carved, I was not quite in the mood to carve pumpkins because I really thought it was a little early and as you can kinda see it has already gotten a little yucky!! We had a hard time deciding what to do on it, Alex kept on picking out these really elaborate designs out of the carving package that we have. We finally decided on this one and the paper pattern would not fit on the pumpkin so I just free handed it and I thought it turned out pretty neat! It does look really cool lit up, the picture is a little blurred (I could not figure out my camera setting to get it right... I am obviously not the photographer that my sister- in -law and brother are... but that is okay... I guess I have other talents). Hopefully we will get another pumpkin to carve with Daddy and maybe Jordan (He has done one too, in the past).

Six Year Anniversary/ Fall Festival

2007-10-21T10:13:00.000-05:00

Last weekend was our anniversary! Six years!!! Erin talked about on her blog on her 4th anniversary... Is that a long time or not??? I feel the same way! It feels like a really long time at certain times and not so long at others. I was talking to someone at work the other day and they asked me how long we had been married and when I told her six years, she said "Wow! Good for you!" so I guess at least to her, that is a long time and somewhat admirable??!! Anyway, I have felt lately a little disconnected in our marriage... not because of any problems that we are having.... but because we never see each other. Jody works full time and is taking 19 hours in school... I have started a new job working longer hours myself. So needless to say by the time Jody gets home, I am either already asleep in bed or well on my way. We talk briefly and then I go to bed and he stays up to study some more. On weekends we rarely get to see each other either. He uses ever minute he has devoted to studying, and doing little projects around the house that he feels need to be accomplished. I have been going to all the Alabama home games on Saturdays... and kinda staying away and keeping Alex occupied while he gets done what he needs to. (I should note that all of this studying time is really paying off because he is maintaining an A average!!!)

All of that to say... With such little time spent with each other, I felt like we really needed to spend our anniversary together. But guess what??? The Fall Festival fell on our anniversary. So, we decided we would just do that for our anniversary. It would give us some time together, and some time spent with Alex. (Jordan had to work all day and then had some friends he wanted to hang out with that evening, since he is working all weekend and has football every afternoon during the week, he does not have the social life that he use to) So the day started out with a Fun Run (1 mile). We started sorta towards the back of the crowd, not real sure what to expect of the Run. Jody, Alex and I ran that together... well sorta... I am very out of shape and so Jody and Alex ran together and I sorta jogged behind. I was really impressed with Alex's performance, because we had also walked/ran to the school from our house before the Fun Run. They made it to the finished line a ways before me. We sat around talking for a little while and we told Alex that she did such a great job that we would make sure that we got to the front of the group next year. Then they started announcing awards! And Alex won 1st place for the preschool girls!! yeah!!! I hope to get a picture of that later. I did not take a camera cause I did not know what to expect. But the school took pictures and I hope I can get one... she was SO proud!

That evening we went back to the school for the festival. Which was Way more than I expected! ... carnival rides, a DJ, and more inflatible fun than you can imagine. We went inside to do some of the "walks" ... cake, donut, ice cream, cookie, dvd/video... Alex was determined to win them all and by the end of the night, she had all but the cookies, but we came home with two cakes so I think that makes up for not winning the cookie one. All of this brings me back to the anniversary. I had "eyed" this cute elephant cake when we first went in to the festival. I just casually made the comment... I hope we can win that one. Jody had to leave about halfway through the evening to get back to studying... When I came home I found my 6 year anniversary cake!!

Alabama game

2007-09-17T05:51:00.000-05:00

Alex and I went to the Alabama vs. Arkansas game on Saturday. Jordan had to work and Jody needed to study. (Sociology clep is today... Monday). We went with Mom and Dad and what wonderful football game weather we had. Okay... so I tried to get my picture downloaded from my camera on my phone and couldnt for such a long time. I finally came up with a solution if I ever do that again. So you can see from the picture that Alex and I were sitting with the birds at this game!! Needless to say I was literally crying when we got to our seats, it was very scary!! I am a terrible wimp when it comes to heights and to top that off I had a 5 year old with me who does not have the same fear I have and therefore made me even more frightened!

So now I tried to upload the picture and can't get it to do!! Oh Well!! maybe I will try again later! Anyway it was a fun game to go to... Alex got hot and (and I guess Mimi did too!) By the end of the third quarter they left and I got to go back down to earth and sit on row 18 again! I am so spoiled and thankful that dad bought these tickets! I guess everyone that follows Alabama football know what an exciting game this was... so glad I got to go!

Starting a blog...

2007-09-04T23:13:00.000-05:00

I felt like it was sort of the thing to do. Maybe I am the only person out there without a Myspace or a blog to document life. So, this is my first entry. I am trying to make this our family blog to let people know about what is happening with us... especially those in our family that do not live close by. That's it for now.