No More Braces

My beautiful girls with beautiful smiles! NO MORE BRACES....EVER! WOW...they have had braces on since the 2nd grade...6  years! Now, we just have to survive the special retainer. For the next 48 hours, they have to wear a retainer that keeps their mouth shut. They can only take it out to eat, drink, and that's about it. They have dry erase boards to communicate...pretty quiet house tonight. After the first two days, they will just wear it at night and 4 hours during the day. Eventually, they will go to a regular retainer.

Birthdays on Beale

Great Friends...

Believe it or not, all of our friends pictured above have either September or October birthdays (except for Eric). We decided to celebrate them again this year at Itta Bena's on Beale Street. I made the reservations earlier in the week and we had the best table, the Chef's Table,  in the house! It was perfect for our group because we are so loud and obnoxious - it was almost like we had our own little room! After I sent out the email inviting everyone, Judson followed up with a new set of rules for our group. He said whoever is the last to reply has to be the designated driver...sounded good to me!

Kerry and Brad picked me and Jud up and we met up with the Regis's at the Hughes's. The ride down there was pretty tame. Our reservations were at 8 and we were seated right on time. Luckily Lori had her little camera and we took some couple pictures!

I bought the girls a tiny happy for their birthdays from Patina. I went to Target earlier in the week and came across these adult games...they were PERFECT for each of the guys! I also had cards for everyone because I LOVE CARDS!!! They were all pretty funny, too! And yes, even though Eric's birthday had already passed by, we included him in the festivities. We did NOT want to see a grown man cry...just kidding Eric!

Eric's game - Truth Be Told...for the person who would rather lie than tell the truth...

Ryan's game - Smart Ass...well you get the picture...

Brad's game - What's Yours Like?....the game that tells it like it  is...

I think by the looks of this picture the boys liked their games. What do think? We have been talking about starting a game night and just haven't done it yet. We may just have the motivation now!

Judson demonstrating what he WANTED to give the boys for their birthday...

I dared Ryan to do a cartwheel on Beale Street...well guess what? I am glad that is all I dared him to do! 

 Great night with great friends...and yes, Eric snuck in our girls picture!

Abby and Volleyball...Lucky #13

Abby LOVES volleyball! She is really enjoying her team and her Coach, Brad Smith, this year! She was so excited when she got her jersey. The coach just randomly selected the numbers and she got number 13, her favorite number! The picture above is of her team after their first game! They played SBEC. They won the first game and lost the second one. They probably would have won them both if there had not been a misunderstanding. They didn't realize they were scheduled for an A and B team so we would have played a little differently had we known. Oh well, they still did great!

Abby's serve is so much more powerful this year than last. You can really tell that she has been practicing. She looks so cute in her little shorts...can you believe how short these girls wear their spandex? I would die if I had to wear those at any age!

I can't help but chuckle when they are in the "huddle". This is Brad's first year to coach a girl's sport- he is the boys baseball coach. He is so animated and tries so hard to communicate on a "girls level"...it's funny!

WE WON THE FIRST GAME!!!

I think I took about 500 pictures that day. I don't know why, but I can NEVER get a good picture in a gym. Oh well, at least I ended up with a few good shots!

St. Louis Cardinals

Judson, being the lucky little man that he is, got invited last minute to a Cardinals baseball game on Tuesday. Randy and Rick have taken their sons, Zach and Taylor, to a game every year for several years and were planning on going out with a bang this year. However, Zach got a job and couldn't go this year. Judson was lucky enough to take his spot! When I say they were going out with a bang, I mean it. Rick got tickets in the Comissioner's Box. They were right beside the dugout.

They also got to go out on the field and take pictures. Outside of it being HOT and the Cardinals losing to the Dodgers, they had a great time!

Pictures in the dugout! So cool!

Jud took this picture on his way back to the hotel that night. I think St. Louis is a great city to visit.

Pat Summitt

A Legend. A Mother.  A Force. A Sister. A Coach.

A Winner.

A Friend.  A Leader. A Daughter.

A Teacher. A Tennessean.  A Team Player. 

A Student.

An Inspiration.

You get the idea. An accomplished woman to say the least. There was a startling breaking news announcement concerning her on Tuesday, August 23, 2011.

She has been diagnosed with the beginning stages of Alzheimer's. Unbelievable. Yet, if anyone is determined enough to beat it, it is Pat Summitt! We have always had a special place in our heart for her and Lady Vol Basketball. Our girls have attended the Summer Camps with her for several years past. She is a class act. A total package. The picture below is from the year that Sittie and Jidi picked the girls up at camp. What a treasure this picture has become!

Ally had to write a letter for her 6th grade teacher a couple of years ago. Her assignment was - if she could be anywhere in the world, where would she be? Well guess what Ally's answer was...at Thompson Bowling Arena playing basketball for Pat Summitt and the Lady Vols! Her teacher mailed her letter to Pat Summitt and look what Ally received in the mail from Coach! What a woman!

In HONOR of her, the entire STATE OF TENNESSEE wore their ORANGE today to show their support for her and her battle against this terrible disease!

Oney's Bible

I got this letter on a Thursday before Oney was to get his Bible on that Sunday. We had already planned the weekend at the Lake and couldn't back out. Sittie volunteered to keep Oney for the weekend. I would have NEVER missed Ally getting her Bible or even Abby. I remember those Sundays very clearly. It was a special day. It is funny how you learn to take everything in stride with the 3rd child. You realize that you cannot possibly be everywhere for everybody all the time. It is also better for the child to know that you don't ALWAYS have to be at EVERY event. I was so proud of him and he was proud to get his Bible. He and his good friend Meredith Owen were the only two fourth graders.

He also celebrated Joseph's 10th birthday that weekend so they had a blast! Sittie took the three amigos (Jeanne Claire, Joseph and Oney) to the Smurf movie, Benihana's, shopping, and who knows where else! Then they came to Covington for the night.

Comedy Relief - Part Two

If you didn't read my post titled Comedy Relief, then you need to read it to fully appreciate this post.

Comedy Relief Post

The same day that I typed that post I came home to guess what???? A big metal turkey at my front door!!! See the picture below of my guard dog, Biggs!

He even had a sign around his neck!!! Thanks to my friend-you know who you are-you made my day!

Max's 21st Birthday

WOW! I can hardly believe that my oldest nephew just turned 21! It seems like yesterday that I would bring him a little brown paper bag of candy when I would come home from college. He would always say, "Aunt DaDa, you have a prize for me?" He was the cutest little thing and has grown up to be a handsome man. Here are some pictures of him at our birthday lunch last week. Instead of a brown paper bag, I gave him a little purple cloth bag with a bottle in it!

 Max and his friend Ashley

Max and Britt

I wish I had a picture of our celebration last Saturday night in Pickwick but I don't. Daph and Rob had a Fish Fry to send them both off to college. Max will be transferring from Memphis as a junior and Britt will be a freshman at MTSU! I am so happy for them both...they are going to have so much fun together. Here is a picture of their bedrooms in their apartments (across the hall from each other)...

We are going to miss them both so much! I see a trip to Middle Tennessee in our near future!

Luau with MeeMaw

Family day was a few Saturday's ago at the assisted living where my Grandmother has moved. Everyone was at Pickwick for the weekend except for Britt and Oney. Britt was so sweet to go and to take Oney with her that day. You can tell by MeeMaw's face that they made her day:-) I still cannot leave from a visit with her without crying. It is just a harsh reality that life changes...I am not a little girl going to visit my MeeMaw for a play date or one of her delicious meals or a weekend at Cold Creek. It also brings back a flood of memories with Papa...picking the garden, putting up 1000 ears of corn, going to the field at 5:00am,. I was his little "Angel".

My Golfing Gal...Al

I know...that title is a little on the cheesy side but I couldn't resist! Ally decided to be on the high school golf team about 3 weeks ago. Since then, she has practiced golf EVERYDAY! I am so proud of her! One thing is for sure, if she has her heart in it...she is committed!

So far, she has played at Galloway, Orgil, Mirimichi, the Farms and the CCC. She has improved with each match, 135 (18 holes), 62(9 holes), 58(9 holes). I think if she didn't have to walk she could do even better. Her asthma is really giving her fits this year. I hope when it cools off it will get better. I am afraid it won't though, because the Fall is when it is usually worse because of the crops being harvested all around us.

A shout out to Aunt Das for taking her to one of her matches! Actually, her best match yet.

Here are a few pictures of her playing/practicing.

Bad Boys

This is what the boys did ALL weekend long...oh, and they went to the farm at 10pm every night and spotlighted deer!!!

No words needed...

Boys will be boys...

Nashville Bound

Ally had a student council state executive board meeting at Montgomery Bell State Park August 13-14.  We have been trying to get to Nashville all Summer to visit with Aunt Jan. So, I decided to plan a "girls weekend" in Nashville and a "boys weekend" in Covington. Jud and O did "man stuff" and we did "girls stuff"! We all decided that we should do that more often. It is nice sometimes to be able to focus on one or two kiddos instead of all three. We always have such a good time in Nashville when we go...we leave saying we are coming back soon...and then life happens!

Friday when school was over, we hit the road. We made great time. We went to Aunt Jan's place and unpacked. Then we all decided we were ready for our pajamas, so we ordered The Cheesecake Factory to go. Just as we were starting to eat Aunt Jan walked in the door from her happy hour for her friends birthday. We just sat and visited and enjoyed each other's company. It was a nice night and we went to bed by 10pm! FYI...food was delish and cheesecakes were AWESOME!

We hit it pretty early saturday morning because we had "things to do" before Ally had to be at the meeting. We started out at The Donut Den a Naifeh tradition! We got the usual...glazed, chocolate, blueberry cake, and donut holes...

We grabbed our goodies and went to Signature Nails & Spa for another Naifeh Nashville Tradition - a pedicure! Ahhh...it was great...I hadn't had one since before July 4th! It felt wonderful. Thanks to Sittie for treating us!

Then we went to the sporting goods store that always has great deals. We picked up some spandex, UA, running shorts, etc. After that, we raced over to the shoe store, Off Broadway, where we had NO LUCK and NO FUN. We left there and raced to have lunch at yet another Naifeh Nashville tradition...Otters Chicken!

We devoured our lunch and raced to take Ally to the meeting. She DID NOT want to leave us and miss out on our plans for the rest of the day, but she had to. We dropped her off and then went to the mall. We had a little success there. Abby's favorite store was the candy store, of course!

Abby (and I) was POOPED by then and we were ready to go back to Aunt Jan's and rest and veg. We went back to the house and started working on Aunt Jan's Ipad! We had lots to do to get her setup. She is new to Apple so we were trying to teach her the basics. We downloaded a ton of Apps - her favorite - Pandora. We started getting hungry and decided to go to Mafiaozas for pizza. It was delicious. They have the best breadsticks with cheese. We watched a little of the Titans preseason game and then headed back to the house.

Abby went straight to the pajamas and bed. I think we had worn her out! Jan and I worked on her Ipad a little more and had another early bedtime! NICE! This picture is of Abby going through the "toy trunk" from when the kids were little. I remember Abby wearing this visor that the Easter Bunny gave her one year. Her Daddy brought her the Groovy Girl from Las Vegas one year!

We left Nashville around 9am and went to pick Ally up. When we got there, she wasn't finished yet so Abby and I took a picture through the peep hole!

We  met Dad and Oney in Jackson for lunch at Coyote Blues'.  We got back home around 3:00pm. What a fun weekend! Aunt Jan - we are coming back REAL soon!

P.S. I will have to do a separate post on what the boys did all weekend:-)