Bulldogs Fall

What a heartbreaker. The bullies fell this week to now 4^th ranked LSU, but not without putting up a fight. There were a couple of times in the game that the cards fell our way. A couple of times the cards fell in favor of the Tigers. All in all, a well played game. And, it was exciting to watch. Lots of scoring early on pulled everyone into the game. The crowd was electric. How quickly I’m reminded of how early I’d have been leaving the game last year because we’d be getting stomped at halftime. Croom would have probably had us taking at knee with under two minutes to play as well. Nice to see a coach like Mullen that doesn’t give up and is never satisfied with a loss.

Trey boy got to see his first game.  I’m not sure if he liked it, but he sure didn’t complain.  Quite a change from Haley’s reaction at her first YEAR’S WORTH of games.  I’m thinking it is because Trey is a little younger than Haley was when she started coming to games, so he isn’t as “scared” as she was. 

Haley absolutely loved the game.  She cheered “go bulldogs” and did the “maroon, white” cheer.  I don’t think she sat down more than 5 minutes the whole game.  And the only reason she sat down was to get some Skittles.

In other news, Laura’s not feeling so well. She went to the Kroger clinic last night (which is awesome by the way) to have a H1N1 test. We just wanted to be sure she didn’t have the Swine Flu. Or regular flu. Or bird flu. Or any type of flu. Test results came back that it was just a virus and that she’d need to wait it out. So far, everyone in our house other than her is feeling okay. Knock on wood.

I was supposed to go to Honduras this week for a mission trip with Bellevue. Thanks to the political unrest, the trip has been cancelled. I shouldn’t say cancelled, I should say postponed to an undetermined date. I know that we’ll go when the time is right, but I’m a little sad that it isn’t this week. Not only was I geared up to go, I was excited about going with this group. Hopefully, everyone will still be able to go at our reschedule date.

Celebrate!

We just got back from a wonderful week at the beach! We went to Seaside, FL (near Panama City Beach) with some friends who are definitely veterans of the area. The little surrounding towns were very quaint and fun to explore. We ate at some great restaurants and let Haley go crazy in the local candy and ice cream shops. Her face lit up! She wanted each piece of candy in the store and we didn’t hear a peep till every drop of her ice cream was gone! Hayden and I took the kids to the Gulfarium during one of the rainy days…there was only one sunny day. Not only did we get some great pictures of the “Ocean Zoo” but Haley had fun watching the shows and checking things out. We laugh, and should have known better, but the most exciting part of the day was walking on the Pier (a $2 event) and watching the fisherman and trying to catch sea gulls! We took advantage of every non-wet moment and ate outside as much as possible…especially if there was live entertainment. Haley and Hayden were quite the dancers. Both kids were awesome travelers-much credit to the new TV/DVD player for the car.

Hayden and I celebrated our 5 year anniversary while we were at the beach. He surprised me with breakfast in bed, a very sweet card and a huge digital frame to put our pictures in. For us, this is going to be awesome! I can never decide which pictures to print and frame because we are constantly taking “my favorites”! It was a very thoughtful gift. I, on the other hand, dropped the ball and wasn’t prepared to let him know what a great pick I had when I chose him 5 years ago. My favorite parts of the trip were just spending uninterrupted time with Hayden- laughing, joking, and playing with the kids.

Hayden also celebrated his birthday…most of it was driving home and unpacking the car. We left Friday night to take advantage of driving while the kids slept, then stopped in Tupelo to get some rest. We had a big breakfast at Shoney’s and got to visit with Hayden’s grandpa before finishing the trek on into Memphis. We loved getting away, but as always, there is NO PLACE LIKE HOME! We grilled some great steaks and snuggled on the couch as we watched MSU take the win over Vandy…Go STATE! All in all a great week, anniversary, and birthday!

Laboring on Labor Day

At least we didn’t labor too much!  This weekend was jam packed.  My parents came up on Friday with Laura, Ryan and Seth.  One of the main reasons they came into town was for the annual Simons family reunion in Medina, TN on Saturday.  It always falls on Labor Day weekend.

Medina isn’t too far from Memphis, but it is far enough that you actually have some time for conversation in the car.  We made the most of it.  My parents, me and Haley and Trey were in my car.  Laura, Ryan, Laura and Seth in the other.  Gave me a good chance to talk with my parents, which was nice.

The reunion was good and we were back on our way to Memphis by 3 on Saturday.  Most of Saturday night was spent eating a tasty dinner.  Shrimp and grits was what we had on the menu.  Always a success!  We spent the rest of the evening sitting outside on the deck enjoying the weather.  My family left after church on Sunday, but not before we had a chance to get a good family portrait in.  I actually managed to get a bike ride in on Sunday afternoon.  50 miles.  I’ve had better rides.  It actually made me a little nervous about the MS 150 that I’ve got scheduled for this coming weekend.

Monday brought a load of family fun.  I woke early to read the Gospel of Mark in preparation for the small group meeting I had this morning.  I’ve been listening to it on my IPod, but hadn’t “officially” read it yet.  When that was done, we took our time getting ready and headed out to the Children’s Museum for a couple of hours of fun.

After the Children’s Museum, the kiddos took a nap, Laura worked on her scrapbook and I went out to work in the yard.  We’re looking to put in a flower bed in the front yard where the grass isn’t growing too well thanks to the shade.  Before Ryan (who by the way is a rocking Landscape Architect) left on Sunday, he drew us out a plan for what we could do with the area.  So I spent about an hour and a half digging out all of the grass that was there.  Luckily, for the last 30 minutes or so, Haley was my little helper.  She was never satisfied with the gloves I gave her so we kept switching between us.  It was cute.

And now here we are, another holiday in the can.  Man, time sure does fly.  Its scary how fast the kids are growing up and the calendar pages are turning.  Reminds me how I need to make the most of every day.

Baby Girl is getting older

We had a happy and sad day on Monday.  Haley’s first day of preschool.  Haley is now going to preschool two days a week.  We were really nervous about whether she’d like it or not.  She seemed to flip flop when we talked about it. 

Her first day was a smashing success.  She was giddy that morning and squealed at EVERYTHING that night after her big day.  She even prays at night now for Ms. Debbie, Ms. Kimberly, School and her New Friends.  So sweet.  I know she’s only two and a half, but seeing her walking around in her backpack reminds me how short this special time with her is.  I’m so happy to be taking advantage of it!