Regional Golf Tournament

Ally had her last golf match of the season at Galloway. Everyone had to walk that day, EVEN the spectators, no exceptions! Whew...luckily it wasn't too hot that day. I made it OK, but by the 18th hole I was AS EXHAUSTED AS I HAVE EVER BEEN. I could barely walk to the car. I never would have thought in a million years that I would be able to walk an entire 18 holes of golf.

I am very proud of Ally and her golf season this year. She was an 8th grader on the high school team. She learned a lot and made HUGE improvements throughout the season. I am looking forward to watching her play again next year. I will miss our trips to Mirimichi for lessons.

Titans vs Denver

Boys Weekend in Nashville with Aunt Jan

While the girls planned their Student Council dance, Judson and Oney headed to Nashville to the Titans football game. They had a blast of course...and thanks to Aunt Jan...they were set! She had them the best tickets and a parking pass, too! Believe it or not, they were even able to drag her out of her "norm"  to the Cheesecake Factory to eat on Saturday. Now that was an accomplishment! The Titans WON the football game. It was a perfect weekend---according to the boys!

The picture below is of the Bald Eagle...Oney always LOVES it when they have the Eagles fly in to the field. For the record, Oney took all of these pictures with his camera!

Look at all of those T-Rexs...

Can you tell he is my son??? He even took pictures of the tailgates and food tables!

T H A N K S to Aunt Jan for the awesome visit to Nashville!

Rockin' Into Fall with Student Council Dance

The girls did an EXCELLENT job planning their first school dance! Ally is the President and Abby is the Secretary and they both worked really hard to make this dance come off without a snag! In the past, the school has not had a very good D.J. which has led to a not so exciting dance. Well, I charged my girls to stand out on a limb and go all out for this one. They really wanted the D.J. that did Ally's 13th birthday party last year, Rockin' Robin's DJs. We (me, Ally and Abby) convinced the sponsors to allow us to book them. Judson and I agreed that if for some reason the Student Council didn't raise enough money, we would cover anything to keep them from going in the hole. And then...the "campaigning"began. The students are supposed to buy their tickets in advance at school. Ally and Abby went on a mission to get everyone to buy a ticket, and I do mean everyone! The school sold around 40 tickets at the last dance and they ended up selling around 120 this year!!! That just shows what you can do when you put your mind to it. Well, not only was the dance a financial success, it was according to the students, "THE BEST DANCE EVER"! Judson and I were proud parents to say the least. I am sharing some different pictures from the night. Enjoy!

Good friends!

Fun and games!

O Man

Oney has been staying busy studying and he is doing a fabulous job in 4th grade this year! He loves Ms Daniel and he is really enjoying the 4th grade! She really makes learning fun and truly cares about how well Oney does in school.

Aunt Das has been at the beach. On her way home today, she and Champ stopped by for a visit.

All is well at the Sanford pondersosa. Just really quiet since Max and Britt are in Murfreesboro.

Oney helped me kill this snake in the driveway! It was a baby, but I still do NOT like snakes.

Duke TIP

Like Mother...Like Daughter

That's my Abby! I often say that she is so much like me. Well, academically she definitely takes after her Mother. She has been honored with the 5th grade Duke TIP award and now the 7th grade award. She gets to take the ACT or SAT college entrance exam as a 7th grader! GREAT experience for a student. She scored in the 93% of 7th graders in total language...WOW! Impressive! I am proud of you Abby and all of your accomplishments, not just this one.

While I am bragging on her, I want to give her a "shout out" to her blog. She inspired me to blog she did such an awesome job with hers! Check it out when you have time...

A Walk Down Abby Lane

Best Round of Golf Yet...Mirimichi

Ally had her BEST round yet at Mirimichi! It was a perfect day for golf...we had fun!

Ally's special requests on the back nine EVERY time she plays golf...thanks to an Aunt Das/Britt tradition! "It gives her energy to make it through the match!"

Air Show

Judson and Oney had a man day on Saturday. They snuck away to the air show in Millington while me and the girls were in Obion County at a basketball tourney. I think they had a great time together. It was a little hot and really crowded but outside of that it was a perfect day. They were sad that they didn't get to stay to see the Blue Angels but they were going to be the very last performers. Saturday was the TN - Florida football game so they had to sneak out early! Here is a picture of Oney standing near the Blue Angels.

This picture is too cute. Oney the pilot!

Here are some of the AWESOME tricks that they performed that day. It looks unbelievable. Me and the girls decided that we want to go with the boys next year!

How cool is this??? This is called a C-5 Galaxy. It is a transporter aircraft. It looks amazing. You need to google it to read up on the specs. You can fit 3 military tanks inside of it! WOW!

And they had to take a picture of this...GO VOLS!

Oney said he will definitely go to another airshow. Great time...thanks, Dad!

Homecoming Queen Times Two

Yep...you read it right...BOTH of my girls are Homecoming candidates for the 2011 Tipton Rosemark Homecoming Court!!! Can I brag for just a minute, please? I don't feel right typing this post but the proud Momma in me can't resist! Not because homecoming court is that big of a deal, but because I am so proud of my girls in general. They are both maturing so fast. They are beautiful inside and out - and I truly mean it. Yes, they fight with each other and their brother, they have messy rooms, they have to be reminded to use their manners, they moan and groan at certain requests, etc BUT for the most part they are just perfect!

Beautiful...Smart...Witty...Athletic...

Self Driven...Gorgeous...Motivated...

Intelligent...Leaders...Kind Hearted...

Loving...Prayerful...

Energetic...Full of Life...Funny...

Sympathetic...Respectful...

I know that may be a little much but I mean every bit of it. I probably do not praise them enough. I may be too hard on them at times, but I just remember the wise words my wonderful pediatrician always tells me. "Your job is to raise independent, well adjusted successful adults. You are not to be their best friend." She is so right. Sometimes it is hard to be the parent. I know they are better off though when they are disciplined.

So girls...THANK YOU for making me proud! Know that even though I do not always verbally express how proud I am of you two, I am ALWAYS feeling and thinking WOW am I lucky to have two PERFECT daughters!

I LOVE YOU and I cannot wait to see you in your dresses that your Daddy so graciously bought for you - BLUE of course to match your beautiful BLUE eyes!

Running Like Crazy

We took off to Memphis on Sunday to be at Lula's in Collierville the minute they opened. The girls love the dresses at that store and frankly its easier than going to a million different stores and not finding anything you truly love. So, we started there again this year. She opened the store at 1:00pm that Sunday and we had two BEAUTIFUL blue dresses in our hands about an hour later!! Yep, I was a lot poorer but the girls were delighted with their Homecoming dresses! So it was all worth it! I would post a picture but I do not want to spoil it for them. They BOTH are so gorgeous in blue...it just makes their eyes pop!

Me and the girls raced back to Covington because Judson and I were chaperones for the Church youth laser tron outing. We had to leave Covington again at 4:00 and head BACK to Memphis! Only a Mother would do such a thing! Laser tron was a blast! My family is so competitive at these things. I even got into it. We were all dripping with sweat when we walked out of there.

We had to make an emergency stop on the way home. Jason called and told me to pullover at Longtown because Jack had thrown up in the church van. Eeek...since I was the only "Momma", I was the lucky one to do the cleanup! I barely made it without throwing up myself...I never was good at cleaning up that stuff even with my own kids!

By the time I made it home Sunday night, I was so tired and ready for a long shower. It was an action packed weekend - Volleyball, Basketball, Football, Atv-ing, Cow-tippin', dress shopping, laser tron, etc. WHEW!

Trippin'...I Mean Tippin'...Cows That Is...

Who's bright idea was this anyway? The things you do for your kids...yes, we REALLY went "Cow Tippin'!  After the kids did a little research on You Tube, they informed the Dads of what we needed and a few pointers to keep in mind.

Did I mention that the Dads found their courage in the bottom of a bottle?

* Make sure that there are NO BULLS in the area you enter

* Take flashlights

* Be sure to wear boots because you will step in piles of .....

* Try to be very quiet

* After successfully Tippin' the cow, while laughing your rear off and dodging cow manure, get to a SAFE environment ASAP

Well as you guessed, we didn't exactly follow the rules!

On the count of three, Eric, Ryan and Judson were going to charge towards the chosen white cow and tip it right over! Well, on three, Eric and Judson froze and Ryan charged right towards that cow. The cow was standing with his rear towards Ryan. As soon as Ryan got remotely close to the cows rear, he raised his hind leg and gave him a swift kick in the chest. Ryan flew in the air and landed flat on his back in the pasture. No, this is not a joke. He really did get a karate chop from that big white cow. The picture below is him explaining it to the Moms.

Here is Ryan's chest right after. We really think that he broke a couple of ribs!

We never could get a picture of him a few days later when the bruising appeared. He wasn't real proud of it and didn't want Katie to worry about him. I can only imagine what he looked like!

The Three Amigos...at it again!

This is what Duncan did while we were in the middle of the pasture. Of course, Katie was sitting in the car with him so he wasn't alone. He is the best baby and has gone more places that any baby I have ever known!

This is Oney on the way home from Rosemark that night. Exhausted!

Ryan's new bumper sticker that I put on his truck.

Life as Usual

The clock just keeps ticking faster and faster. Golf, volleyball, and football...you will find us at one of those activities lately. Oh, and basketball...even though it is not quite basketball season. Our new Coach, Sharia, aka Coach "Summit", is so energized and interested in our program that she is already gearing up for the season! This picture is me  riding on a golf cart. I am learning to sit still and be a spectator. It is hard for me to just do "nothing" for hours on a golf cart but I am learning to relax and enjoy it...my Sister would be proud!

The week after Labor Day was the longest "short week" ever! Less days to prepare for tests, PTO room parent meetings, golf lessons, golf matches, volleyball practice, volleyball games, class reunion meetings, etc. Friday night we crashed at home and did nothing. Saturday morning the girls had a basketball camp in Memphis. This is the girls at lunch after the camp.

The girls had a nice surprise when they got home that day...Britt was home from MTSU!!! Ginny cooked us a huge meal and we loved visiting with her and hearing all about her new college life. We are happy she likes it so much but we were glad she came home to see us...that is why you came home-right Britt? We didn't take any pictures...we just visited and hung out at our house.

Joseph also came in town for the night and he and Oney played until Oney could barely walk. He actually went to bed in tears Saturday night...he was exhausted. They played outside all day long. Joseph tried out the kids newest pasttime...skiing and sledding on the grass behind the Polaris. Yes, you read that right. No snow needed. They burned an entire tank of gas! They had the time of their lives. I am not sure what the neighbors thought when they drove by the house. But, the boys had fun. Look at how dirty Joseph was...

Sunday morning we went to church. We started our new Sunday School book, In The Grip of Grace by Max Lucado. I think it is really going to be good. I am looking forwaard to it.

Tennessee vs Florida...Is This The Year???

NOPE...this was NOT our year...once again...but we are finally headed in the right direction! I think we can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel for our college football program at UT! We have not had a football gathering (UT wise) in quite sometime (years actually). We decided late in the week to have just a few friends over last minute. Those are usually the best parties and this one turned out to be one of those parties! It was just laid back, not a lot of preparation, not much food, just a few friends watching football, playing a game of backyard football and riding the ATVs. What more could you ask for, really?

Oh and we had a few "FIRSTS" that Saturday...

Duncan Blue's "First" piece of pizza...He LOVED it!

His "First" Funnel Cake...He LOVED it!

Mr. Eric's "First" (NOT) funnel cake...notice his black shirt...he likes it, he likes it!

Well, it was also our "FIRST" and probably "LAST" time we did the following activity...

WE WENT...

COW TIPPING!!!

It deserves its own post...