The Noble Family

Happy 6th Ethan!

2011-03-27T01:11:00.009-05:00

I can't believe my baby boy is 6 years old! We celebrated all weekend long - trips to favorite restaurants, yogurt places, Monster Jam and a party at The Children's Museum. It was a fun weekend! Nina and friend Maddy before the party starts

Ethan and some of his guests - waiting for everyone else to arrive

Cookie Cake!!!

Yes, there are trick candles!

We love FedEx!

Miss Cathy and the kids - she's always so sweet to come to their parties.

Ethan and his girls

Ethan with sweet friends! The 2 Ethan's

Mark's FedEx winging ceremony

Downtown Memphis with the Birthday Boy

Sunday Brunch at The Majestic

Monster Jam with Daddy!

A football birthday!

Gracie and Sydney came to Ethan's Kindergarten Rocks program and Open House

Can leave Nina out....

Traditions that will be hard to end...

2011-01-05T15:29:00.007-06:00

I know things change constantly in life...but some times those changes are just really hard. There are 2 things that I have a feeling might change for me in 2011 that I will have a hard time stomaching. 4th of July and Santa. My dearest, best friend in the whole wide world is moving across the whole wide world (or just the US) to California. Chris, her husband, is actually already there and Melanie is moving with the girls at the end of January. We've done so much together in the past and 4th of July and our yearly visit with Santa are 2 of those things that I look forward to so much each year. This year they might be different.

Here are some pictures from 2010 4th of July and our Santa visit. Some precious memories!

Getting ready for the parade

The kids having fun playing before the fireworks

Nona with Ethan and Nina

Walk across the golf cart bridge

All 5 kiddos

Ethan and Nina talking with SC

This year we were able to get all the kids with Santa and I love it! Ashton was NOT happy - but that's what makes it even better!

I love Santa!

Melanie and I always stop in the main area of Phipps to get pics of the kids - usually hoping to get our xmas card pic - it's generally the most chaotic time I've ever experience and I love every second of it. We usually end up breaking a sweat before it's all said and done. I think this picture is hilarious because of Nina, Avery and Ashton...hilarious! And then there's sweet and somewhat grown up Allie and Ethan who are FINALLY doing what they are told to do - look at the camera and smile!

Sweet life long friends!!!
Standing in line to ride The Pink Pig

Riding The Pink Pig!

2011 will be an interesting year - maybe the 4th of July and Santa tradition will be able to continue...but if not, we've had the best time in the past years doing this together and I will never forget these memories we made!!!

Beach 2010

2011-01-03T22:11:00.007-06:00

I have been HORRIBLE with blogging...so I'm trying to get caught up. We enjoyed 2 trips to the beach this past summer. The end of June we went to Grayton Beach (inbetween Destin and Seaside) with my Mom. We stayed in a charming cottage right behind our dear friends the Hallfords. It was during the oil spill, but we didn't see any tar on the beach at Grayton. The weather was awful, due to the tropical storm that went to TX, but it was still an incredible week with great food, great company and we were at the beach....nothing could be better than that! Then in September we went to Hilton Head with Mark's family and had another fabulous week at the beach. As I'm writing this, it's January (obviously) and my hands are freezing....the beach sounds fabulous!

Nina and her favorite Mr. Norman!

Swimming in the Hallfords pool

I think that's Nina on top of this huge sand hill on the beach - supposed to guard the washout

Mr. Norman's beach truck

The Red Bar - one of our favorite places to eat!

Nona and Nina dancing in The Red Bar

Partners in crime Sydney and Gracie were also at the beach that week - we met up with them for shaved ice in Seaside

Hilton Head - much different beach....

The kids with RoRo

Before dinner at one of our favorite places to eat - The Black Marlin

Ethan and his zoo

One of the many perks of going to the beach during September - NO ONE else is there. Ahhh, it's incredible!

Nina sharing a daquri with RoRo

Ok, I'm one caught up blog down, now how many more to go....?

Nina is Pinkalicious

2010-09-01T15:43:00.007-05:00

Nina is all pinked out for soccer! We went yesterday to Dick's to buy pink cleats, shin guards, ball and of course, pink Umbros. The guy that helped us didn't have shin guards (or shinneth guardings as Nina calls them) that fit her and asked if she would wear blue instead. I kid you not, she looked at him, put her hand on her hip and said, "no, I want pink." So her shin guards are a little big, but it saved quite a bit of drama, and of course made for a matching outfit. Now, game day is going to be a different story, especially if the uniforms end up being Tennessee orange, or something like that, but oh well, for now she's completely happy being all pinked out to play! So what if she doesn't score a goal, she's so dang cute, what does it matter??? Ethan isn't playing this season, but he went to her first practice last night and they played monster in the middle, and guess who was the monster? Yep, Ethan. He loved that!

If you will notice here, even the Umbros are a little big...ok, a lot big...but they didn't have her size and to save from a LOT of drama, I just bought big ones and pulled them as tight as they would go and roll the waistband. Didn't we used to roll our waste bands on our Umbros anyways? Oh wait, that was 1989, so never mind!

First Day...

2010-08-17T23:50:00.012-05:00

Today was the BIG day - Ethan started Kindergarten and Nina started preschool. There is nothing to prepare you for leaving your 5 year old across town all day long. That was the worst feeling. Thank you Melanie and Sonic for being there for me ;-).

I wasn't sure we had left the house in plenty of time, but we did. The conversation on the way was quite amusing. Ethan was full of questions. His main concern was tomorrow's agenda...today was only a phase in day and his next day isn't until Thursday, so Wednesday he's able to sleep in! He's already talking about that, not good! I was able to walk Ethan into his classroom today. Miss Debbie, the Kindergarten principal was there to greet us with a smile. She's such a lovely lady and obviously loves what she does! Miss Claire was at the door waiting for Ethan to arrive. As soon as he got to her, he informed her of his trip to the beach in a few weeks. Great, so we're already talking about sleeping in and when he's going to be beach. We snapped a picture and in he went. He did hug and kiss me, but by that point, I was fighting back the tears, so I got out of there.

I was able to get home in time to take Nina to her first day. She was more than ready and I don't know if she knew I even left. She's going to love going to preschool and I suppose I'll get used to the peace and quiet everyone keeps talking about. However, today, I did not get to enjoy that peace and quiet because Mark thought it was funny to "check on me" throughout the morning. Oh, and he did go on a bike ride and while he was gone, someone had to go get Nina. After getting back in the car to come home, I checked my phone and he had called several times. I had this panic feeling thinking that Harding had called and there was a problem. I quickly called Mark back only to have him answer in this really ticky tone and ask me where I was. "Um, honey, someone had to pick our daughter up from preschool." His tone changed drastically at that point.

Tonight I had to make the trek back to Harding (only 11 miles, but at least 20 minutes) for parent orientation. It was nice and very comforting to know that these people will be with my baby everyday all day. Once I ran an errand and got home, I went to check on Ethan. He was passed OUT and had only been in bed a few minutes. I leaned over to kiss him and he finally jumped a little and opened his eyes. He looked up at me and said, "Mommy, I just can't hold my eyes open anymore, I'll talk to you in the morning." Bless his sweet little heart! I'm surprised he actually ate breakfast - 2 pieces of bacon and cereal

Let's go!

Ethan and Miss Claire - by the way, I found out tonight that she started at Harding when she was in 1st grade. She graduated from there, went to Harding University. Went back to Harding Academy for her student teaching, graduated from Harding University and went back to Harding Academy to teach and has been there ever since - 21 years teaching there. She's going to be perfect for Ethan and us this year! And Muddy's strawberry cupcakes are her favorite - mine too, so we're already on the same page - and I know how to get on her good side!!

Nina ready to go!

Oh me - drama!

Out of order, but this little one got a gift from RoRo today - a pink backpack! When Ethan's new backpack came, I didn't order Nina one and RoRo felt sorry for her....Nina was thrilled to get this today!

When I went to pick Nina up this morning, the director asked her if she was going to go home and play with Ethan's toys while he was in school. She said no and I said, let's go home and jump on his bed while he's gone. Well, it wasn't 3 minutes after walking through the door, she went upstairs and put his Easter CD in and cranked it up as high as it would go....I knew what she was doing. Sure enough I went up to his room to find her jumping on his bed. Of course, I had to capture it on video!

Ethan and Miss Claire at pickup - looks like they both survived!!!

Hope these smiles continue!!!

Meet the Teacher

2010-08-13T20:14:00.004-05:00

Ethan exploring his classroom

There are 16 kids - 8 girls and 8 boys - 2 Ethans....

Ethan finds his desk ON THE FRONT ROW.....Mr. Wendel's class was the only class I ever sat on the front row - all the other classes I'd sit towards the back so I could get away with chewing gum. I could never get away with chewing gum in Mr. Wendel's class. E won't be chewing gum, but I still chuckle thinking of him on the front row!

Ethan finds his locker

See you Tuesday!

Nina and Daddy at dinner

Ethan was done eating, so he played.
Nina showing off her new haircut!

Summer is over, well, for us, it's the last weekend of summer. We've had a good last week. Unfortunately we couldn't do much outside because it's been ridiculously hot - temps in the high 90s-100 and heat index has been up to 125 lately. Yes, it's been that hot. But we've had a great week of fun before reality sets in!

Tonight was meet the teacher night at school. Miss Claire is his teacher and seemed like the perfect teacher. Ethan will be in kindergarten, first day is Tuesday. Nina starts preschool, also on Tuesday. I now have a new appreciation for those that have birthdays in August and I now realize why I received items like my white Guess jeans and new shoes for my August birthday. Back to school is worse than Christmas on a wallet. I've been bleeding money right and left!

I have so many pictures from the summer to post, including our really cool (and by cool, I mean temperature) week at the beach with my Mom. Oh to have those temperatures and to be at Grayton Beach right now....sigh....enjoy these pics and hopefully this weekend I can post a catch-up post.

VBS

2010-06-06T23:07:00.006-05:00

Mark is the deacon at church in charge of the kids 5th grade and under, and VBS is one of the things he's responsible for. Last summer it seemed like it was no big deal. Even late last Fall and early this year as we finalized the theme and started planning, it seemed like it wasn't too bad...WELL, WE WERE WRONG!!!!!!!!!!! We started many weeks ago having work nights up at church to start getting things drawn, cut, colored, painted, laminated, etc....then this past week we pretty much lived up at church getting everything decorated. Our theme this year is "Galactic Blast" and Mark put our dear friend Cathy (although she might not be our dear friend anymore after these past 2 weeks) in charge of decorations. She had an incredible vision and with lots of help we were able to pull off incredible decorations! Tonight was the first night. We had 92 kids and they all had such a great time! Everyone has done such an amazing job and we are blessed to have talented members that are willing to help and get their hands dirty! Beginning to hang all the black sheeting down the halls and getting the sun in place

Just a cute picture of my cutie patootie!

One of our members owns a steel company and Cathy went to him to ask him to make a world... he made this steel frame and 2 of our other talented members covered it in a tarp and cut out the land masses. This is the entrance to Great Oaks Galactic Blast! Pretty cool, huh?

Yet another talented member made this control panel. Everything turns off and on and the kids love playing on it!! Cathy just asked him to make something and this is what he came up with.

Ethan trying on Mark Baker's gorilla mask....he's part of the assembly team for VBS and last year he was Perry the Polar Bear. This year he's a green gorilla. Saturday when we were all up at the church working, Mark got his costume and put it on and we literally had several crying kids. Sooooooo, he cut the face out of the mask and put several coats of green spray paint on his costume. See pictures below - I don't think we had any crying kids tonight, except his daughter Gracie kept going around telling everyone that she didn't like her Daddy! Baker is always a huge hit at VBS!!

Karen hanging the last few planets in the usher hall.

Ethan playing with the control panel

The breezeway was completely blacked out as well and one wall had the sun and Cathy hung 3 bright lights with yellow bulbs.

Mrs. Pattye getting the glow in the dark tshirts ready for the kiddos

Inside the gym at the craft area looking out at the dining area. The lady that heads up the preschool at church was in charge of food for VBS. She and her crew cook dinner and serve it every night for everyone and it's just so nice not to have to worry about dinner! They do an amazing job and this year they went all out decorating the gym.

This is where the kids eat - and they put black lights inside the tent. It's so cool!

The hall from the sun to the gym was completely blacked out from floor to ceiling and we hung glow in the dark astronauts, planets, stars, etc....all the way down the hall and ceiling and replaced the bulbs with black lights. The kids love this!

Our moon and moon rover!

The rocket that Jeff made - while the kids were coming in and out of the auditorium, he put dry ice under it so it looked like it was about to blast off.

Ethan and his friends Charlie and Nathan at crafts

Nina's class ended up with 17 kids - it was a disaster getting them from the auditorium to the gym, so we got a rope for them to hold onto and it was much easier. They were so cute!

Les (our Involvement Minister) and Jason hanging out in the lobby

Mark the green gorilla Baker

Mark and Les reviewing their lines for the assembly time

Nina enjoying her first night of VBS!

The rocket that was constructed this afternoon in just a couple of hours for the front of the stage - many people pulled together at the last minute to make this! Whew....are we in charge next year too????

Oh, and I'll post more pictures later in the week, including the last night when Mark Noble will get hit with a pie, or multiple pies, from the kid that brings/invites the most visitors!!!!! (That was my idea)!

Nina turns 3!!

2010-05-30T23:33:00.007-05:00

So after I uploaded all these pictures, I realized that they are out of order. Oh well. Nina turned 3 on May 8th. We drove to my Mom's house and spent the weekend. It was a packed weekend full of dentist visits, haircuts, pedicure, 5 year and 3 year pictures of the kids, tractor rides, playing outside, birthday cake, presents, yummy food and Mary Poppins. Ro Ro flew down from Maryland to spend the weekend with us. It's just so hard to believe that our little Nina is 3! She seriously is a complete MESS, a huge riot and just a blessing to us! With the "real" Mary Poppins after the fabulous show!

Nina enjoying her birthday brownie and ice cream at Papasittos

Ethan in the birthday sombrero

Nina loved having the servers sing to her!

Obviously Ethan did not want to have his picture taken....silly boys!

Ro Ro and Nina

Nona and Ethan

Ethan always goes and gets a ball of dough before it goes into the tortilla maker - this entertains him for HOURS!!

Nina ready to open presents!

For Ethan's 4th birthday, Nona and RoRo were in charge of buying candles....they "accidentally" purchased trick candles, therefore making it a tradition for both of the kid's birthdays. So Nina is waiting for the candles to re-lite, again.

Getting a little help from Bubba

Oh yea, Mommy remembered to get trick candles....

Happy Birthday, Nina!!

Recent Happenings

2010-04-26T22:05:00.008-05:00

Easter has come and gone and Spring is here! My Mom was in town for her Spring Break and that was nice. Mark and I celebrated 8 years of marriage and since Mom was in town, we spent the evening downtown Memphis. I've always wanted to stay at The Peabody, so I booked a room there and we went to dinner downtown and had a nice evening. It's hard to believe we've been married for 8 years and have 2 kids!

The kids have been busy playing outside and just enjoying this nice weather. Ethan and Nina both keep talking about the beach though - we're all looking forward to that! Nina is almost 3 and has been potty training....it was so much easier with a boy! She's been doing well though. When my Mom came a couple of weeks ago, she brought my old "big girl bed" (I called it "antique old bed") and we're having it fixed for Nina. Today, I got the big idea to go ahead and put her in the toddler bed. So Ethan and I moved it into her room and she loves it. Now, we're only one day into it, but so far she took a great nap in it this afternoon and tonight she went to bed just fine. There are lots of changes going on for her....panties, big girl bed, about to get rid of pappy (just has it at nap and bed)....and she's finally down to 1 nap a day. Yes, my child is almost 3 and would still take 2 naps a day if I would let her. I love this child!

Ethan is down to his last 4 weeks of preschool and I'm a little upset about it. We've made some great friends and it's just hard to believe that his 2 years of preschool are over and in August he'll be going every day, all day. We're all looking forward to the summer break!

Enjoy the pictures! Ethan and Nina on Easter morning

I thought this was funny - Nina is just a ham in front of the camera sometimes!

The EB brought MORE stuffed animals....just what we needed....

Miss Drama Queen....loving my sunglasses!

It's just hard to believe this one will be leaving me everyday next year! He's so sweet (when he wants to be!) And I should brag on him here....I took him for his 5 year old check up 2 weeks ago. I had been dreading this one - shots, finger pricked, peeing in a cup, eye and hearing test...it just wasn't going to be pretty. And I knew it. So I told him I scheduled the appointment and sure enough he started getting antsy....he said that if he didn't cry at all during shots I would take him to the toy store and get him a toy. "Absolutely, yes, Ethan!"...was my response. He said, "2 toys" ....."Yes, Ethan!" ....he said, "3 BIG toys"...."of course, Ethan!"....Mark was ticked at me for doing this. But I KNEW that there was NO WAY Ethan wouldn't cry at his shots. Well, we went to the dr. He was a little apprehensive, but no tears. The nurse came and pricked his finger. He did everything they needed him to do. The dr. came and went and all was fine. Oh, he's over 97% in height and weight and was perfect in everything else. The nurse came in with 4 shots and he started getting squirmy.....she asked him to lie down and he didn't want to. So he sat UP and NEVER flinched during all 4 shots. Not only was I impressed, but the nurse said she had never had a 5 year old sit up for kindergarten shots. Sooooooooo, we had to go shopping......I followed through on my word and I learned a valuable lesson.

Here's our little drama queen!!

After the storms came through this past weekend, it was like a completely different day. The kids loved jumping in the puddles in the cul de sac.

A rare moment when they weren't fighting or screaming at each other....

You know how when you put your kid's pacifier in their mouths for the first time and they are HUGE...and then all of a sudden they grow into it? Well, same thing with their Big Wheels, or as Nina calls it, her "wheel." Both my kids looked hilarious when they got their Big Wheels. My Daddy bought Ethan his 2 years ago at Christmas - Ethan was almost 3. He looked ridiculous riding it. Well, now he looks even more ridiculous. But he still loves it. And last year my Mom bought Nina her "wheel" for her birthday. I would keep telling Nina to say "where's the beef?" because she would look like the Wendy's lady in her big car at the drive through asking "where's the beef?". She was hilarious. Now they've both grown into (or out of) their Big Wheels and it kind of makes me sad. They both love riding their Big Wheels down our drive way into the cul de sac. I'm quite positive that our neighbors hate us because the one thing that Nina has seemed to inherit from me is my BIG mouth!

These eyes make me want to have another one......

Nina loves the toddler bed!

I've been hitting the Pottery Barn outlet consistently recently and found this duvet cover to go in our guest room for $22! I love it!

I've wanted a back splash in our kitchen since we moved in, so I finally went and bought the supplies and made Mark install it. It took him 3 days because he's so precise - but it's perfect and I love it! Spring projects are in full effect here!

Happy Spring!

Trip to Maryland

2010-03-28T21:44:00.009-05:00

For Ethan's Spring Break we flew to Maryland. The weather was perfect - warm and sunny and Spring was in the air! We had such a great week and did a lot of fun things! We have a friend here at church that is a Secret Service agent and a few months ago he sent of request for us for a White House tour and a Capitol tour. It's great to have some connections! Our Capitol tour was with our Senator Bob Corker's office. One of his assistants gave us the tour. His office building is across the street from the Capitol, so we actually got to ride the underground subway from the Senate office building into the Capitol. It was neat and there was a lot of positive and negative buzz around the buildings with the health care vote about to happen. We did get to meet our Senator and he was very nice. The new visitor's center inside the Capitol was very nice! Ethan, of course, just wanted to go back to the Air and Space Museum....

Friday was our White House tour. We were all really excited! I hadn't been inside since the 3rd grade. Of course the kids were thrilled and kept their eyes out for the First Dog, Bo. Once inside, Ethan asked one of the agents in the Green Room where Bo was....she told him that we had just missed seeing him outside for his walk. The kids were so heartbroken! It was really gorgeous inside and was just neat to be in the house where so many important people had also been. We walked down the hall and stood in the exact spot that the President and Vice President stood just 2 days later speaking about the health care bill. We really enjoyed seeing people coming in and out of the White House again and we were thrilled to have that experience ourselves. After leaving The White House, we walked over to the American History Museum - my favorite. It has recently been overhauled and the changes were very nice. It was a perfect day to be in the city!

Enjoy the pictures of our wonderful visit! Nina and RoRo at the Science Center in Baltimore, MD

Ethan and Mark playing at the Science Center

Astronauts RoRo and Ethan

Mark and the kids at The Inner Harbor in Baltimore

Air and Space Museum

We were a week early for the Cherry Blossom festival....but there were several that were already in full bloom in the city and they were gorgeous. This is one through a window at Air and Space

Making our way to the Capitol

Ethan outside Senator Bob Corker's office

Standing in the heart of DC for good luck - inside the crypt room in the Capitol.

The Rotunda

Outside The White House

RoRo didn't plan on matching us....but of course, I planned it! I had asked Mark to wear his pink shirt...but didn't tell him what we were wearing. He didn't put it together until we were already in the city, thank goodness! I thought it made for a good picture and that's what mattered!

Having lunch at The White House

Yes, they still fight in front of The White House

After our tour - we couldn't take cameras inside, so this is from my phone

Reward for behaving inside The White House - they were both so well behaved!

This is not my picture - taken from the American History website. This is the new Star Spangled Banner exhibit. It was very moving! It's very dark and all that is lit are the lights on the floor. The flag has been in renovation for almost 7 years and last year was placed in this display. Worth going to see!

As soon as we started walking to the museum, Nina passed out

First Lady Obama's inaugural gown - my favorite exhibit at the museum!

I don't know if I had a pair of Jimmy Choo shoes, if I would have given them up - although I'm sure this isn't her only pair!

Ethan had gotten a few new airplanes at the Air and Space, so I took Nina into the gift shop at American History to pick something out. Of course she spotted a stuffed animal that was First Dog Bo and wanted it immediately. Well, Ethan wandered in and found us and of course HAD to have one too. I said no. RoRo bought them both Bo dogs - they LOVE them!

On the way back to the car, we were almost back to The White House and heard the motorcycles coming and soon realized "someone" was heading our way....so we stood by to watch who it was -Vice President Biden was heading home. It was neat to see his motorcade.

Ethan took this picture of Nina

Ethan took this picture of his new A380

The kids with Uncle Carl and Aunt Jaime

On the way home, we got in First Class. This is how Ethan enjoyed his first First Class ride

This is how Nina enjoyed First Class!

5 Years Ago...

2010-02-20T15:12:00.005-06:00

We love you Ethan Justice Noble!!! Happy 5th Birthday!

Ice 2010

2010-01-31T22:27:00.007-06:00

Friday morning we started getting freezing rain/sleet/ice/snow...and it continued through Saturday morning. It was gorgeous, but when we went outside to walk over to Cathy and Donnie's, we quickly realized it was ice and not snow. It looked like snow, but it was like walking on a frozen pond - it kept cracking and finally our feet would fall through. It was crazy and the kids had an extremely difficult time walking through it. They did, however, have an absolute blast riding on Donnie's 4-wheeler and then sledding on a golf course nearby. Church was cancelled today but by the afternoon the sun came out and started melting the ice quickly off the roads. However, school is still cancelled again tomorrow.....ugh! Cathy giving Nina a ride

Nina's first ride...she didn't know what in the world to think!

Nina and Daddy riding again!

Taylor, Cathy's nephew, through the sandtrap

Nina and Daddy walking back up the hill

Mark giving us a big push

Mommy and Nina walking back up the hill

Ethan being fearless!

Ethan was literally fearless....here he is jumping a sandtrap on the golf course. He loved it the higher and faster he went!

Daddy and Nina riding again

Nap time

Magic Kingdom...late night

2010-01-25T22:37:00.004-06:00

After Animal Kingdom, we had dinner and took Nona and Nina back to the condo. Mark, Ethan and I headed out to the Magic Kingdom. They were open til 2am...I think we made it til almost 1am and just were exhasted. We had so much fun and Ethan loved every second. On the tram heading into the park. Just a little excited..

2nd time in 1 day seeing Mickey and Minnie...wow how times have changed!

Late night visit with Mickey and Minnie Mouse
Ethan taking Daddy for a ride

Riding the Astro Orbiter - SO glad we did this at night when there was very little wait. I would have been ticked if we had waited in the ridiculously long line during the day for this 30 second ride. Ethan enjoyed it though.

Riding It's a Small World - we were literally the only ones in our boat.

So gorgeous at night!

Snow on Main Street as we left the park that night (or morning)

We weren't even out of the parking lot and Ethan was already passed out!

Mickey Mouse rice krispie treat...$5, Ethan's ticket to Disney World...$275, Not having to put your child to bed because he's so worn out after a full day at the park...PRICELESS!

Animal Kingdom

2010-01-25T22:05:00.004-06:00

Our first day at Disney was at Animal Kingdom. I don't think it was the wisest of choices....the kids were both kind of sick (colds) and weren't in the best of moods and they didn't understand why Dumbo wasn't there and kept asking when they'd see Cinderella's castle. It was a gorgeous day and we still had fun. The kids loved the Nemo and Lion King show and of course the Safari ride.

Nina felt horrible! But she was a trooper and we kept going!

We finished the Lion King show and were back at the character greet area. We stood in line for Donald Duck and were in line for Minnie Mouse. Ethan saw Mickey in the area next to us and wanted to go, but it was close to park closing time and they had already shut his line down. Ethan was not happy....the cast member you see standing behind Ethan came up to him and asked him what was wrong. He told her he wanted to see Mickey. So she took Ethan and Mark and walked them right up to Mickey Mouse and fulfilled one little boy's dream!

A very happy Ethan!

Santa, the real Santa

2009-12-17T22:27:00.007-06:00

Those of you that know me, know that I love Santa...the real Santa...he lives at Phipps Plaza from mid November through Christmas Eve. Now, growing up, he lived at Perimeter Mall and then moved to Phipps years later. We would get all dressed up and go to the mall and stand in line for HOURS to see Santa. Hours! Then he moved to Phipps and I seem to remember getting a number and then you'd come back when it was time for your number to be called. Still waited in line though. It was a Justice family tradition to go see Santa and ride The Pink Pig. It was a day that I looked most forward to growing up and a day that holds some of my fondest childhood memories. When I had Ethan, I was thrilled that I would get to take him to see the same Santa that I had grown up seeing myself. You don't stand in line anymore, this year you called to make an appointment. It literally took me 3 hours to get through - and that was using 4 different phones. I was that serious about making sure Ethan saw my Santa, the real Santa. As I put Ethan on his lap, I hugged his neck and I know he knew who I was. He may not have remembered my name, but I know he knew me. He just had that twinkle in his eyes. Even when I went to pick up Ethan's pictures, he made eye contact with me and gave me that same twinkle, smiled and waved at me. It thrilled me! Ethan was able to see my Santa the first year - that next March he died. I was crushed! The article about Santa Ray is in Ethan's baby book. Seriously....like I said, if you know me you know how magical I thought this Santa was. His best friend replaced him as the famous Santa. He's good, but not as good as my Santa. Now I go online in October at midnight to get the coveted appointment. Now we make our appointment with Melanie and her girls. It's become our tradition to do this and as long as I'm able, I will continue to bring my kids to go to Santa. I hope that when they are 32, they look at Santa the way I do and see the magic! I believe in the magic!

Merry Christmas!!!

Halloween 2009

2009-11-09T23:23:00.007-06:00

October has been quite the busy month for us (no surprise there). We went back to Atlanta the first of the month for the U2 concert. I was planning on staying there with the kids until Melanie had her baby on the 13th. Well, she ended up having Ashton earlier, on the 8th....so we stayed through that weekend and headed back to Memphis. Ashton is the perfect little one and I was thrilled to have gotten to see her! Makes me want another one...

RoRo and Nona came to town for Halloween. We've known for awhile that RoRo was coming, but then Nona decided to use a last minute buddy pass and come too - so we had 4 extra hands in the house. It was so nice! The kids of course loved having them here and enjoyed some alone time with RoRo on the front end and some alone time with Nona on the back end of their visit. Their visits are never long enough (hint hint)!!!

I love it when the kids get great use out of their costumes. This year Ethan really got great use out of his costume. I purchased it while on vacation and he wore it at the beach....to get bagels @ Panera, to the fire station for a visit, wanted to wear it to putt putt....then he got to wear it Trunk or Treating at church, preschool and Halloween. I would say that I got my full value out of this one!

2 days after Nona left, Nina started running a fever and ended up with H1N1. I had already been feeling some sinus stuff starting and it hit me hard. Ethan got the flu mist when we took Nina to the dr -so he started running a fever because of that. Mark got a little cold too. So we were all out of commission and NO RoRo and NO Nona....do you want grandparents in town to help when you're healthy and can do whatever you want or do you want them in town when you're sick and need help? Luckily I have the best husband and Mark really stepped up and nursed us all back to health. Saturday night I went to bed around midnight and woke up around noon on Sunday....by 2pm I was back asleep until almost 6pm. During that afternoon nap, he took a picture of me sprawled out on the floor in the family room with my iPhone and then posted it on facebook for everyone to see. What irritated me more than the picture of me is that you can see all of my ironing piled up on the love seat above me....he knew I would be furious! He also posted a picture we had taken of Nina the day before. They had been playing outside and she came inside, took her shoes off and walked in front of me and said she was going to get her pappy and take a nap. I was like, ok, whatever. Ethan and Mark came inside and Ethan went upstairs to play a little before his nap. Finally Mark went up to put them both down for naps and couldn't find Nina anywhere. She's gotten quite good at hiding quietly, unlike her Bubba, so he just thought she was hiding. She had gone in her room and turned her music on, gotten her blanket and pappy out of her crib and went in the corner....behind her crib....curled up and fell asleep. We picked her up and put her in her bed and she still slept another 4 hours! All that being said....we are finally coming out of this yuck. Nina did have H1N1, but less than 12 hours after medication was a completely different child. The dr couldn't believe that our kids have only had 1 antibiotic a piece - we have been blessed with healthy children...but when we get sick, we get sick! I finally went to the dr today and 3 hours later....just a bad sinus infection, luckily. I guess I'll post the 2 pictures here too so everyone that isn't on facebook knows what my husband did to me....payback will be fun (or expensive)!

Nina, a couple of weeks ago, Sunday after church....chunkier, before the flu

Birthday outfit I made for a friend's daughter in GA - I thought it turned out cute!

Nina and Ethan one Sunday morning....don't ya just love Sunday mornings? Ethan sure does!

I never did get him to smile. Oh well - the outfits were cute though!

The back of Donnie's truck that Cathy and I decorated for Trunk or Treat - she won this year!

Macie Mae and Charlie

Cathy and Nina

Ethan and Cathy (although he was undressing already)

RoRo got to read to Ethan's preschool class at the Fall party. All the kids were so cute in their costumes....Ethan wore his to school and then took it off after the class party and sported his wife beater tshirt all day...Halloween tshirt that Mommy made stayed in his bag, unworn. Nice!

RoRo with Ethan and Nina before she flew back to Maryland

Ethan, once again, did not want to take a picture...so she told him to make funny faces - I thought this was cute. Maybe I should realize that he does not want to have his picture taken on Sundays?!

Monkey see, Monkey do....Ethan was wearing his Home Depot goggles to help Mark cut the apples for our apple pie because RoRo wears reading glasses. Like I said, Monkey see, Monkey do...especially in our house!

Halloween afternoon, I took off shopping to a Junior League Christmas market with my Mom, Mark's Mom and Cathy. When we got back, Mark had actually carved our pumpkin. I couldn't believe it, because he does NOT like the guts inside. I thought they did a nice job!

I'm inside making soup for us for dinner before Trick-or-Treating and the Moms, or RoRo and Nona, are outside getting pictures of the kids. My Mom comes inside and says, ok I got pictures of the kids. They are good. I think to myself....yea right they are good....so I go outside and take a few more. You know, just in case. I'M SO GLAD I DID. HOLY COW, MOM? ARE YOU SERIOUS??? See the above picture and exhibit A and the below picture as exhibit B. Good grief!

I took over and got a pretty good one, but by this time the lady bug had already started eating LOTS of candy. Seriously, I'm not exaggerating...by the end of the night, she was at one point, literally on all fours on the sidewalk somewhere in our neighborhood barking and growling. That's how much candy she had. It was hilarious!

After church on Sunday. Well, I actually give my Mom props on this one - she actually got a picture...now, Nina isn't looking at the camera, and she isn't smiling....but she got it! Way to go, Char!

No lying...this is Wednesday night after church around 9pm. Does this look like a child that has H1N1? About 2 hours later....102 fever and see pic below for next day in the dr. office. Bless her heart!

What stinks is that my Mom is going to think this post is funny....and she can't check the blog from school and her computer at home is disassembled...so someone please show this to her.

Hilton Head 2009

2009-10-25T22:03:00.008-05:00

We met Mark's parents, Carl and Jaime in Hilton Head a few weeks ago for our annual beach trip. Every year it gets better and better....but I think this year topped them all. The kids being a little older was a plus for sure! This year we were in a house that was huge and had our own pool. That was so nice! The weather was fabulous - no rain and still very warm temps, but not July/August hot. The kids absolutely loved the ocean - the rougher the better! September was just the best time to go to the beach!

Ethan and Nina had breakfast out by the pool every morning with Ro Ro. Oh the life!

Happy Birthday Pa!

Ro Ro took the kids up to the fire station at the front of Palmetto Dunes one morning. They were there for a long time and the kids loved it. Then Ethan had to go back later in the week for one more visit.

Ethan and Nina with Uncle Carl and Aunt Jaime before leaving for dinner and putt putt

Etretat

2009-10-01T22:53:00.004-05:00

So, once we left Paris, each little town we toured became an instant favorite. The Normandy region was incredible and full of quaint little towns that I long to visit again. This afternoon, Eric took us to a cheese factory....we could have done without this part of the tour. But, it was a means to an end. We endured the arrogant French cheese maker for awhile, and then took off on our next adventure. Eric had us walking through this field (pictures below) and we had no idea where we were going....kind of thought at one point Eric didn't know where we were going either. Anyways, all of a sudden we popped out on this path walking along the cliffs of Etretat and they were breathtaking. This was an intense walk up and down this path - with cliffs on one side and fields and a gorgeous golf course on the other. The water was gorgeous, the sky was gorgeous and it was just an incredible afternoon. The pictures just don't even come close to showing how beautiful this area was - you must go and see for yourself! The cheese maker's house

Faye Roberts with the goats

Starting our walk to the cliffs

And we're still walking...

And we finally made it!

Cleo (my roomie) in front of one of the famous natural made arches

Finally the town is in view! Notice the church on top of the hill - if you go back up to the picture of Faye with the goats, you'll notice the same church...and you can get a little idea of how far we walked that afternoon

Normandy

2009-10-01T22:36:00.002-05:00

There's so much to catch up on....I still have TONS of France pictures to share, as well as many other things we did this summer and our recent beach trip. Anyways, here are a few pictures from the cemetary in Normandy. It was an incredible experience to be there - just days after the 65th anniversary of the invasion. I am so thankful that this area of France was on our trip and that we were able to go and experience this place. You must go!

Move Over David Beckham...

2009-08-28T00:19:00.004-05:00

Ethan had his first soccer practice tonight. He loved it! There are 10 kids total on his team (only 3 girls).... Gracie, Macie and Nathan (from preschool) are all on the team too. They all seemed to have a blast tonight and they, of course, were all so cute!
Gracie is standing in front hugging her pink ball and Macie is in the back with her pink bow

Ethan ready to show Coach Baker his mad skills

Ethan and Nathan goofing off while Coach Baker is getting the rest of the team ready to see if they can pass a ball around the boys

A much needed drink break

I love Macie and Gracie's expressions!

What your Mom doesn't know, when it happens, won't hurt her...

2009-08-23T14:04:00.007-05:00

As some of you know, we have friends here in Memphis that have airplanes. Mark goes out to the airport every chance he gets to hang out, fly, help out, etc....Well, since my birthday was this past week, Dave told Mark to bring me out so he could take me flying in his little aerobatic airplane. I have never done anything like this, but knew I'd love it. I, of course, was not prepared....I kind of remember Mark telling me to change shoes, but was thinking sippy cup, snack, diaper (for Nina, not me), so didn't change shoes. I had on flip flops! I ended up wearing Mark's tennis shoes - my feet are big, but not man size big....so I felt like a clown! Regardless of the shoes, it was a fabulous ride! Dave is an amazing pilot! As soon as we took off, he had us in tight turns and a low, high speed fly by over the taxi way (right over Amy). The airport is close to downtown Memphis and right off the Mississippi River, so he took me over the River and over creeks - low....like below the tree line low. It was so cool! Then he climbed up to altitude and started doing barrel rolls and all this totally cool stuff - taking the plane straight up and then turning and coming straight down....I know my Mom is cringing right now.....thus the title of this blog! She, up until this point, didn't know that I went up! But, I came back down....had a fabulous time....and want to go back!!! Thanks, Dave for a great ride!!! Heading out to meet Dave at the fuel pump....old school style!

Jay getting me in the parachute

Ok, I've got my parachute and clown shoes on....ready to go!

HOT shoes!

Ok, hurry up before I change my mind!

As we were sitting at the fuel pump, he came in to refuel....Ethan and Nina loved this!

Ok, we're in and ready to roll!

And we're off!

Jay, Amy, Rocket and Nina waiting for us to come back

We're back - and I didn't lose any contents of my stomach!

Where are my flip flops?!

One of the coolest, most generous guys I know - and a great person to be friends with ;-)!!!

Ethan's First Day of Preschool

2009-08-21T23:13:00.005-05:00

Ethan started preschool this past Wednesday. There are 16 little kiddos in his class this year and 2 great teachers. He is also playing soccer and has informed us multiple times that he will play soccer, but he can't go to preschool too - like his social calendar is full or something?! Anytime we even spoke the word "preschool" he started giving us fits and I thought to myself, "oh no, it's going to be horrible!" So, we had been talking it up with him for several days. I had recently made a tshirt for one of his good friends in Georgia, so he requested I make one just like it for him to wear on his first day. Our power went out Tuesday night after I had done the alligator but before I had done his name - luckily it came back on and I was able to finish it. Wednesday morning he woke up and we did our thing, got him ready and I took him to preschool. As soon as you walk through the double doors, the director, Kim, is standing there to greet every kid and parent. If you remember, Ethan became fast friends with Mrs. Whiteside last year because she would come and get him every day to let him call me just to "check in" at home. That stopped within a month or so, but I thought that we might be heading that direction again this year. She immediately dropped to her knees and threw her arms open for Ethan to come running into them for a huge back to school hug. He just stood there and looked at her and then slowly inched into her arms - had this look like, "I'm too cool to hug you Mrs. Whiteside, but I'll do it anyways." It was hysterical. I walked him to his classroom and he looked inside, kind of hung on me but then walked in and never looked back. Whew! Let's hope this Monday when he goes back, will be that easy, or easier! As a first day of school treat, we took him bowling. That was so much fun! Even Nina had fun just running around and eating Skittles. So we're back into the swing of the routine around here - that is, until we go to the beach!!!

Ethan ready to go to school!

Mark picked him up that day and I asked him to take a picture - he let Ethan choose his favorite spot in the room and this is what he wanted. They had to bring a stuffed animal to meet the class mascots - Darcy the Dog and Kasey the Koala. It should be an interesting year!

Nina and her Skittles at the bowling alley

Bowling was a hit and he says he wants to go bowling everyday after preschool...

He was actually pretty good!

Uh, I think it might be time to go home...
I turned 32 on the 20th - man it stinks when you get older...birthdays just aren't as fun as they used to be. But I still had a very nice day - slept in a little, went to aerobics, ran some errands and had dinner and dessert cooked for me. Mark is fabulous in this department - always asks what cake I want and always delivers with an incredibly yummy cake! This year was the fail safe in our house...the Boston Creme Pie!!

Here's to another year!

2 year old with a tude!

2009-08-16T21:20:00.004-05:00

Nina has quite a little attitude on her....don't know where she got that from...

Ethan hasn't had any swimming lessons and is swimming all over the pool by himself. He loves swimming at Cathy's pool!

Miss Nina loves the pool too!

Miss Attitude in her "choo choo train" as she calls it

Ethan and Nina today after church

Nina did something funny this afternoon and I said, "Nina, you are so cute!" She then replied, "No, Mommy, I'm not cute yet....I'm not cute til I have my watermelon dress on...." Yes, it's pure drama around our house!!!

Vegas

2009-07-23T22:18:00.008-05:00

Mark and I went to Las Vegas at the end of June for Amy and Dave's wedding. Mark and I went to Auburn with Amy and she ended up here in Memphis and met and fell in love with Dave...and they got engaged last Christmas and started planning their wedding in Vegas. Dave is a doctor but loves to fly and loves airplanes - and owns several. Mark spends some of his free time out at the airport hanging out with the guys - it's just a fun group of people that have expensive toys! About 55 met out in Vegas to hang out for several days around this wedding. Mark and I made it out there Saturday morning, the day of the wedding, and stayed through Monday night. It was a great trip and a gorgeous wedding!

Saturday night we stayed at Planet Hollywood which is right across the street from The Bellagio - where the wedding was. Planet Hollywood was really nice, very modern and chic....loud and young.

Our private cabana for the day - everyone hung out here through the day before the wedding

The flowers in the garden area off the lobby at The Bellagio were gorgeous!

The lobby of The Bellagio

The area to the right of the picture is where the wedding took place

Amy and Dave getting married - and if you notice, we were right off the water where the fountain show is....as soon as they were pronounced husband and wife, there was a special fountain show for them. It was really cool!

View of Vegas from Amy and Dave's suite

When Mark and I got back to our room....this was down the hall....I guess he had a little too much of Vegas?

Mark was in Civil Air Patrol in Maryland with Alisha and she now lives in Vegas with her husband, Mike and their 2 kids (and one on the way). We met them for dinner at Paris and sat outside and enjoyed the wonderful food and had a front row seat to watch the fountain show across the street and people watch - Vegas is the best place to people watch!

The coolest thing in Vegas - they go off every 20 minutes and dance to a different song each time. The last show is midnight and it's always to the Star Spangled Banner

Sunday we moved down the strip to The Venetian - very nice!!! The rooms were incredible - 3 flat screen tvs and very plush furniture and comfy bed. I could have stayed here for a long time!

Madame Tussuad's was museum was connected to The Venetian and they brought MJ outside - he died just a couple of days before we were there. People were lined up to take pics of his wax body - when we walked by, no one was there, so we stopped for a quick pic

Our trip is over...heading back to the airport and back to reality!

Mark left about 6 hours before I did....so I got to watch them taxi and takeoff

Honfleur...a perfect and quaint little town!

2009-07-20T12:32:00.008-05:00

We spent the entire morning and afternoon in this quaint little fishing port called Honfleur. It was perfect! The weather was wonderful - very nice and cool and a gorgeous day to walk around and experience this perfect town in the Normandy region. Many painters have captured this town on canvas and is familiar in art galleries around the world. After Eric (our tour guide) showed us some of the highlights of Honfleur, we were on our own the rest of the day. Many of us took our time walking in and out of the little shops and found some great things to bring home with us. It was a perfect day!

Pont de Normandie - cable-stayed bridge that was opened in 1995 to connect Honfleur with Le Havre. One of the little shops that sold Calvados - an apple brandy that is made from apples from the Normandy region. Eric arranged for us to go inside and the owner had a sample for anyone that wanted to try....I have pictures of some of those that tasted, but I won't incriminate them just yet. Mark and I have a pork chop and apple recipe and we might try adding some of this while the apples are sauteing - yes, I bought a bottle.

Carousel built in 1900 - it was lovely!

This hotel was right at the edge of town and had a gorgeous view of the town - I could have stayed there several days!

Cathy and Mandy in Honfleur

This church was built at the end of the 15th century by shipbuilders. It still remains France's largest wooden church.

Mom, Cleo and Faye enjoyed their seafood lunch here

This shop was incredible - filled with lovely linens and china, light fixtures and door knobs. It kind of reminded me on Anthropologie - which is why I probably loved it so much.

Another gorgeous day in France!

Paris

2009-07-16T23:02:00.004-05:00

I am finally getting around to posting "some" of my Paris pictures. It's so hard to believe that this trip has already come and gone. It was a wonderful trip with fabulous ladies and I can't wait to plan our next one!!

A windmill tucked behind some trees on our walk up to Montmarte

Sunset from Montmarte - it was truly stunning that night

Sacre Coeur - one of the things that Montmarte district is well known for. It's also considered one of the most famous night club districts and it's extremely well known for all the famous artists that have lived and worked in this area - Salvador Dali, Picasso, Monet, and van Gogh.

The Ritz Carlton Paris - where Princess Diana stayed

The tunnel where Princess Diana's car crash happened

Notre Dame

This was our first day - we dropped our things at the hotel and headed straight for the Louvre. I thought Savannah and I looked pretty cute after being awake for so long and flying all night....

A Crepe A Day...

2009-06-22T23:54:00.009-05:00

I thought it quite fitting to start my blog about our trip to France with food. Those that know me know that I don't miss a meal...and know that I love to eat! This trip was no exception! Our food was all good - nothing exceptional, but nothing inedible either. We were on our own for lunch and most days us younger chicks would just grab a sandwich (or as I called it, a baguette) and just walk around. When we left Paris for the countryside and beaches, we didn't want to miss a thing...and didn't want to sit down and eat a meal at a restaurant.

The first night in Paris I decided that I must have a crepe a day! I almost made it - 2 days I didn't have a crepe. I had other yummy things though! This creperie below was in the Latin district in Paris - the Mont St Michel area. We all loved this area and were there several times. This guy made the best crepes any of us had the entire trip! We started and ended our time in France with him! He told me that he went through 500 jars of Nutella a day. Mark still doesn't believe me on that one, but that's what he said. You should have seen the Nutella stacked up on pallets in the back - unbelievable! A dream for me....! I still don't know how I lost weight on this trip! I hope you enjoy looking through some of the "food" pictures I took - I took quite a few. If you're not hungry now, you will be in a few minutes....Bon Appetit!

La Mere Poulard is a restaurant and hotel at the entrance to Mont St Michel in St. Malo. The restaurant dates back to 1879, and is known for the wall of autographs from over a century of famous diners, which includes Ernest Hemingway. They are most famous for their giant omelette's, which are several inches thick. They are made in hand hammered copper bowls, and cooked over an open fire. You can walk into the entrance of the restaurant and almost into the kitchen and watch them mix and cook. It was quite amazing. Oh, and the cost for one of these traditional omelette's....30 euro....which is about $45!

This was our lunch the day we spent all day on the D-Day beaches. We sat on the wall of the beach in Arromanches and ate a cheeseburger and fries...and they had free wi-fi so I was able to facebook. It was a great lunch!

Wouldn't it be amazing to just walk into this place and grab one of these to take home for dinner?

Mom, Cleo and Faye enjoying their seafood lunch in the adorable city of Honfleur

I pretty much lived off these....

Anna Reid's incredible choice!

Several of us ordered this yummy dessert. I don't know what it was, but it was fabulous!

Girl's Nite Out in Caen - you would have thought that we were 16 again....our Moms were all in the lobby of the hotel making sure we knew where we were going and asking us what time we'd be back. I'm sure they thought we were going to get in some kind of serious trouble! They were probably right in thinking that....

Sitting down for lunch in St. Malo
Cathy's yummy pizza!

Our last day in Paris - Leslie, Julie and Savannah having lunch at a little cafe...not a care in the world!

Home from Paris!

2009-06-17T15:45:00.002-05:00

I am home from a fabulous trip to France! Words cannot describe what we did, what we saw and how much fun we had. Pictures will not do everything justice. I took 1100 pictures and have uploaded them and am trying to edit some. I haven't decided how to blog about the trip yet, so you'll have to keep checking back to see some tidbits.

Welcome Summer!!

2009-05-31T23:25:00.006-05:00

Ethan's last day of preschool was the 21st. I now know why Mommy's aren't so thrilled about summer vacation...it means your kid is home ALL THE TIME! We've kept busy though. Last weekend was the final weekend of Memphis In May - which is the airshow weekend. Mark spent most of Friday and Saturday out at the airport hanging out and helping around the hangar and I went out several times with the kids. Friday we went down the the river banks downtown to watch the practice airshow. That was great! Then Saturday it actually rained and they weren't sure if they would fly, but they did and they put on another great show. It's amazing looking at these planes and watching them fly - makes you think about the young boys that were flying them many, many years ago and how they were flying those planes fighting for our country.

This past weekend was Gracie and Sydney's birthday party. We spent Saturday outside with them and just had the best time! They rented several inflatables and the kids had a fabulous time playing on those and playing in the pool too. I will say Summer is officially here....sunscreen and baths everyday! Love it, love it, love it!

This time next week I'll be on my way to France with 22 other fabulous ladies! I cannot wait! I've been to Paris at least 10 or 12 times, but have never left Paris to see other parts of France, so I am looking so forward to that part of the trip. There is much to be done here though to get ready to leave. It's so much easier when you don't have to worry about anything except packing and going....but I've got to make sure all is copacetic around the house before I leave! I'm not worried about the kids at all. Mark is wonderful with them and his Mom is coming so he didn't have to take much time off from work. They will have a great time and are looking forward to going to Cathy's pool to swim, playing outside on our playground and maybe going to the zoo. I hope they miss me! Ethan with Mrs. Whiteside - Kim was wonderful with him early on in the school year....she would come get him so he could call me to say "hi" during the day. She said that he could call me everyday as long as it took to get him comfortable at school. It didn't last long though, but he became close to Mrs. Whiteside after that. She's always at the door greeting every student, parent and sibling everyday as we drop Ethan off. She knew my name, Mark's name and Nina's name quickly - and all the other kids that went there. She was a great director and we're glad she'll be back next year!

Ethan with Mrs. Albin and Mrs. Rieman - they were wonderful teachers!

Nina playing inside on her big wheel that Nona got her for her 2nd birthday.

Ethan and Nina sitting on the banks of the Mississippi River waiting for the practice airshow to begin

Ethan and his friend Lindy hanging out in one of the airport Jeeps

Watching the airshow (eating whatever they could find in my bag)

Skip Stewart flying around Mud Island....he lives here in Memphis and is a pilot for FedEx. He was one of the most incredible pilots I've ever seen fly. He was truly amazing to watch. At one point he was flying sideways over the Mississippi not even 20 feet off the water - holding our breath for sure!

Nina in her Memorial Day attire

Nina playing in my purse - making a mess!

Wednesday night before church, I wanted to get a picture of them. Mark was at work, so it was just me trying to get their attention and get them to smile. Ethan doesn't smile much at the camera anymore, he just says "cheese" and gives me this funny look. I finally got a somewhat cute pic of them, but it took many to get that one. They are too funny!

Can't you tell it's Wednesday night? Dazed and confused!

Ethan leaned over and kissed Nina and then he pushed her away and said, "there Mommy, did you get it?" Hilarious!

As good as it got that night!

Gracie and Sydney's birthday party!!

Ethan is in the back (with his back to the camera), but every time I thought I could get a good shot of him, he was coming at me with the water tubes, so I got outta there. They had a blast on this thing!

Sydney, not wanting much to do with anyone! She's 2!

Nina playing on one of the other slides

The party was at Mitzi's parent's house (which is just 2 doors down from Mark and Mitzi) and they have the best set up. Inside the pool area, they had several Little Tykes houses and play things, so the kids just ran from that to the pool, back out to the slides, to the playground.... it was great! They live out in the country, or what I call the country, and have beautiful land and it's just a kid's dream out there!

Ethan playing in the pool. This is the first year without a vest, but he got in Gracie's ring and just took off all over the pool. I didn't want to get in all the way, so it was perfect for me and he loved it!

The swimsuit cover up I made Nina. I wanted to get her pic in it at the party, but of course she took it off before I could get my camera out.

Bon Voyage!!!

Happy 2nd Birthday Nina!

2009-05-12T22:41:00.008-05:00

May 8th was Nina's 2nd birthday. We went to Georgia and spent the weekend with my Mom and Mark's parents. We had a great time and Nina, of course loved being the center of attention. We were able to have a night out with Chris and Melanie and enjoyed dinner with them while the kids enjoyed getting spoiled by the grandparents. One of the things that Ethan has always looked forward to at my parent's house is riding my Dad's tractor. Mr. Roy is taking care of it now, but hadn't been over to make sure it was running....so we didn't get it out, but Ethan stayed in my Dad's shed for hours playing on the tractor. He even had Ro Ro bring his lunch out there to him and he had a picnic on my old wagon in the shed. It was funny. The kids stayed outside almost the entire weekend - they just love being in the yard playing together!

Nina is quite the 2 year old already! She is such a huge talker and loves to sing and dance. Among her favorite songs are ABCs and Let's Go Fly a Kite. She sings both quite well and it's adorable. She cracks us up all the time - we never know what is going to come out of her mouth. She and Ethan play well together, most of the time, and she loves her Bubba! Nina is a delight to be around and such an amazing blessing to our family! Happy 2nd Birthday, Nina! It only took Ethan 2 days to figure out how to flip himself on the rings.

Here I come, Mommy....watch out!

This is Kaylee from Ethan's preschool class. Let me just tell you, this girl is already throwing off the scent. ALL the boys in the class fight over her. ALL of them! I witnessed it one morning as I dropped Ethan off - Brian and Kaylee were talking and Ethan walked in and put his bag up and then started talking, or trying to talk, to Kaylee. Brian literally stepped in between them and put his arms out at Ethan....like he was telling him to stop. Ethan's teachers say that this happens many times during the day, with all the boys. She is the one that all the boys talk about when they go home. How funny is that? Ethan is going to miss her!

The birthday girl giving someone a dirty look

I'm 2!!!

Ethan on Poppa's tractor

Waiting for her party guests to arrive

How cute are they?

Nona, Ro Ro, Melanie and I took the kids down to the clubhouse to play on the playground there. On the way back, Melanie and I put all the kids in the back of my Mom's truck....evidently they were quite wild driving through the neighborhood - but then again, my Mom does exaggerate a little.....!

The cake

Nina attempting to blow out her candles. She blows up instead of out....so she never can get it. She had several helpers though!

Enjoying cake and ice cream!

Mommy and Daddy with the birthday girl

Melanie with her girlsSunday (Mother's Day), we drove to Chattanooga to spend the morning and afternoon with my grandparents. Here we are with Mema.

Nana and Papa with the kids

Ethan loves to climb on the side of their swing - except this time, he kept trying to use the top of the swing like his trapeze bar. "He's all boy"!

Nana made Nina a birthday cake and a chocolate pie. Ethan had 2 pieces of chocolate pie before we left - everyone loves Nana's chocolate pie!

I just had to throw this picture in here....Mark made these grilled sweet potato fries with cilantro tonight. They were super yummy!

Outside in April

2009-04-26T22:13:00.007-05:00

April has been another fun month. We've spent almost the entire month searching for a playground for our backyard. Pa and Ro Ro said they thought the kids should have a playground in the backyard and for us to start looking....who am I to argue with that? So we started our search and let me just tell you, there's a lot out there! But, we finally found something that we really liked and placed the order. This past Friday, they were coming to deliver and install and everytime the kids thought they heard the truck coming, they would run to the window and look. They finally got here and Ethan was soooooo excited (Nina was already down for her morning nap). He literally stayed outside all day long Friday and Saturday (except for nap). Ethan already has a farmer's tan. They absolutely love it and don't want to come inside. There is a phone on the platform and that is the prized possession right now...not sure if we're going to order a second one or not. Maybe that can be Nina's b'day present! Tonight we went to dinner after church and it was almost dark when we got home, but they didn't care! They still played and played and played, in the dark! Thank you Pa and Ro Ro! Can't wait for you to come see it in person!!!

I went to Nashville Friday afternoon to run in the Country Music Half Marathon on Saturday morning. I stayed with our good family friends, Julie and John. Julie's parents, that live in Peachtree City and go to church with Mom, were in town for a visit and we had a great time together. Friday night after a fabulous pasta dinner, we stayed up til midnight playing Mexican Train Dominos and had a blast! We had great conversation and of course, John had to blame his loss to the fact that we talked too much...although I think he's the one with the reputation for 2 minute stories turning into 10 minute stories...! I got up early Saturday morning and headed to LP Field and then to the race start. There were over 30,000 that ran this race and it was so much fun! I was proud that I finished in under 2 1/2, especially in that heat and humidity! It was 85 at race time - yikes! I had a great run and actually got to see several friends from my time at Lipscomb. After I got back to their house that afternoon, we went to the Franklin Main Street Festival and walked around. It's just such a cute town with adorable shops and the festival just had the best smells....fresh funnel cakes, kettle corn, smoothies, lemonade, chicken on skewers, bbq, fresh potato chips....the smell of Summer! I hated to leave before I could redeem myself at the game table, but I promised Ethan Dairy Queen, so I had to head home. I feel so blessed to know the Hallford/Cottrell family and to consider them friends - they just radiate goodness and are the perfect example of wonderful Christian living! I want to be a better person just by being around all of this family! Thanks for opening your home and making me feel welcome! I can't wait for Paris - we really need to figure out a way to get the Dominos over the pond with us! Mark and I were still eating dinner one night and the kids started coloring with markers - somehow, some one started coloring on themselves and it turned into a green nightmare! They thought it was so cool that I told them they could keep doing it and for a few days after kept asking if they could do it again.

They have been all about the sandbox recently, which is great when I'm cooking dinner because I can keep my eye on them while still in the kitchen. They play here for a long time and love it!

I think someone gave this hat to Mark when he turned 30 and Nina found it in our closet the other day and refused to take it off!

The playground!!!!

Nina goes up the ladder and comes down the slide before you can even turn around. She's fast!

Having a little snack in the fort

Heading to church tonight. Ethan was so excited that I told him he could finally wear his green flip flops! He keeps saying, "oh, Ro Ro is going to love these and we'll wear them at the beach." I don't think he realizes that our beach trip isn't for 4 1/2 more months!

This "dress" as my Mom calls it, was mine when I was 2. Can you believe I wore dresses that short? I know my booty had to have been hanging outta that! So, I made the pants to go with the "dress", that is now a "top". Nina just thought she was the stuff wearing this outfit and her white sunglasses!

Hope everyone has a good week!

Easter

2009-04-17T16:20:00.008-05:00

Last Thursday after Ethan's Easter party at preschool, we headed to Georgia. The kids were both good travelers, even though Nina only napped a little and Ethan didn't nap at all. Towards the end of the trip, it got a little hairy, but we made it. Friday we went into Atlanta to see the puppet teams at Lads to Leaders. Ethan loves this little girl from church so he was excited to see her....although when he did see her, he got very quiet. Saturday we went to Cedar Grove's cookout and egg hunt. It was fun to see all our old friends and the kids had a good time - it was so chilly though. Sunday was Easter and it was so pretty outside. The kids loved running around the yard and finding eggs. I love seeing all the pretty trees, flowers and bushes blooming!

Ethan and Kate before the puppet competition

Ethan looks really excited

Ethan and Allie at the egghunt Nina had at least 2 Lindt lambs before church....and yes, she's in Halloween pjs - not great planning on my part!

Ethan caught in the middle of a yawn looking through his Easter basket

I thought Ethan and Nina's expressions were hilarious - neither were interested in taking pictures (surprise, surprise)

Hope everyone had a great Easter!

Egg Hunt

2009-04-05T23:46:00.006-05:00

We had our church egg hunt this past weekend. It was so much fun and a LOT of hard work. Since we do Lads to Leaders Easter weekend, the smaller kids that don't participate, get looked over around this holiday. So, I got the bright idea to have an egg hunt. Everything went well and we had about 40 kids and over 125 total. The weather was perfect - 75 and sunny! We were originally forecast for rain and in our class on Wednesday night, several of us that had worked so hard on getting this together, asked that good thoughts and prayers go up for sun and no rain. Well, it worked.....and I kid you not, on the way home, after all was said and done, it started pouring down rain....for about 3 minutes and then it stopped! Anyways, the kids had a great time and so did the adults! Nina already eyeing the cookies!

Nina and Sydney don't quite know what to think....

...so let's just point to our shoes....

Kelly painted Easter eggs and bunnies on the kids

Nina is off to find the eggs

Mark is already trying to steal Sydney's candy

The older kids dying eggs - all the kids had a blast doing this!

A physical therapist, pilot and police officer...and a few others...now which ones charred the first 4 hamburgers? After that, they knew what they were doing - but when I saw those first 4, I thought we might be in trouble!

Ethan stopping mid grab to smile for Daddy

Ethan and Daddy making their craft together - a bunny windsock

Whew....nap time!

March Fun

2009-03-23T09:33:00.009-05:00

March has been a busy month - I don't know why I even say that because every month seems to be busy. We started with the huge snow in Memphis and that was fun, but I was so glad to see the last part of that melt. Spring is in the air (along with pollen) and it's so nice. The kids are loving playing outside as much as they can and are shopping for a playground for our yard, compliments of Pa and Ro Ro. I ran my second half marathon last weekend. I was a little nervous because I was running by myself - last time I had a girlfriend from church run with me. But this was a small race and there were no rules against ipods, so luckily I was able to have that get me through. I finished 10 minutes faster than my time in December and that was after Mark had given me strep throat the week before, so I was pleased. I've got one more in April in Nashville and I think I'll be done until the Peachtree in July.

This past Wednesday, I packed up and headed to Chicago with my friend Mitzi Baker, her Mom, Vicky and friend Angie. They have a friend that is a producer at Oprah, and he got us tickets for a taping. They have been several times before - Mitzi's Mom and Dad were there for the red show with Bono. How cool! We got up early and took a taxi to the studio. There were 2 tapings that day and we were the afternoon taping, but we had to be at the studio no later than 11:30. We were there at 10:15. Once we got inside, they took our phones and cameras and we went upstairs to a holding room. Finally they started calling groups down to the studio to seat people. The studio is, of course, incredibly nice and actually large. We had great seats and saw ourselves on one of the monitors several times, so we'll see if we made editing! Once we were in the studio, there were staff members making sure everything was perfect before Oprah arrived. They were playing loud, energizing music to get the audience going. Finally they started talking to us and told us that it was going to be a great show - Dr. Oz and Michael J Fox were the guests. We were all excited - how can you not love Michael J Fox?!?! Of course, we would have loved to have been the recipients of a new car....but we were given something that was intangible and it was fabulous! All of a sudden the music got quieter and everyone was running around saying she's on her way...and out she came. It was really exciting to see her in person. I've watched her show off and on - not a huge fan or anything, but it was fun to see her and see the show being taped. Of course when Michael came out everyone went crazy - but it different because it was emotional too. Anyways, the show was great! Right now it's scheduled to air March 31st.

That night we had tickets to Mary Poppins - another great show! The theater was gorgeous and the play was fabulous! By the time we got back to the hotel, we were exhausted! Friday morning we got up and got dressed and hit Michigan Avenue - which was half a block from our hotel. We literally shopped all day long. It was a lot of fun though. Our weather was perfect - locals kept saying it was a heat wave...it was in the high 40s and low 50s during the day. By the time we left Saturday, our coats were not needed at all.

Mark had the kids while I was gone and did a wonderful job, of course. They went to the park, played outside, Chick fil-A with Mark Baker and the kids. He cooked dinner and I even came home to a completely clean house! Yes, I've got it good and I know it! Now, when I got home around 1:30 Sunday morning, Ethan was up waiting on me! Well, he was actually waiting on his presents. It was rather funny, but nice to have him excited to see me. We had the best time and it was so nice to get away for a few days but wonderful to come home! The snow fort that Mark and Ethan made with Jackson and his cousin - this was day 3 of the snow too...I can't imagine what they would have made the first day!
Finally it was warmer outside but Nina wanted to wear her hat

A few things I did for a lady at church to give at a baby shower

Cute appliques on onesies that I did for the same shower

Nina and Ethan watching a little tv

Ethan and Nina after church

Arriving in ChicagoThis is Jenna, a friend from Auburn. She now lives in Chicago and is a pilot for the Wrigley Company. She met us for dinner our first night in town. It was good to catch up with her!!! Mitzi and Miss Vicky outside Oprah's studio

The 4 of us before Mary PoppinsInside of the Cadillac Palace Theatre - it was gorgeous!
This was inside each bathroom stall in the American Girl store

This church was in the middle of all the tall buildings on Michigan Ave and it was so pretty

So cheesy - but Mitzi made me pose....Matt (my boss) gave me a Tiffany's gift card for Christmas, so I went shopping!

The Wrigley Building - this was our view across the river from our hotel

Snow update

2009-03-01T14:26:00.005-06:00

We ended up with anywhere from 8 inches to a foot of snow. In some places in our yard, it was so deep it went past my knee and up my leg. It was crazy! We went over to Donnie and Cathy's and played outside for a little while. Now we're home, fed, warm and dry and heading for naptime! What a way to say Spring is around the corner!

Ready to go play!

Mark had to leave his car out last night because I had left the Jeep and all the toys out....he might had difficulties getting to work like this!

Snow

2009-02-28T20:01:00.004-06:00

The weatherman in Memphis said it was going to snow....but I didn't believe it. Today around 2pm (of course, right at naptime) it started snowing. The flakes were huge and I didn't think they would stick. About 30 minutes later the ground was covered. I got the kids all bundled up and we went outside for a little while before their nap. Once they woke up we went out again before Mark got home from work. It's supposed to be 70 degrees in a couple of days!

This was our first trip outside. Ethan loved riding his motorcycle around. The second time he got his Jeep out and that was funny.

This was the second time out and we were about to go back inside but I thought I could get a picture of them together. It didn't work out so well.

Mark came home from work and made waffles, eggs and bacon....Ethan was digging into a waffle with Nutella and strawberries! Yummy!

Ethan's 4th Birthday

2009-02-27T22:16:00.012-06:00

My Mom was on Winter break last week, so she was here all week long. It was fabulous! Mark and I had Valentine's Day date night with a free babysitter! That Monday evening, we had a Paris Party at a friend's house. There are 12 of us here from Memphis going to Paris with a group from Georgia (well, actually just a few from GA now and some from Nashville and Chattanooga). So we got together to discuss the trip and eat some wonderful food. Mark started baking and making his pastry dough on Sunday. Monday morning he started in the kitchen and didn't turn the oven off until we walked out the door at 6pm to go to the party. His class at Viking paid off!

Thursday (the 19th) was Ethan's 4th birthday. I know people say this all the time, but seriously, where does the time go? It seems just like yesterday Mark and I were at the hospital when Allie was born....now she's 5 1/2 (Ethan's birthday is her half birthday). Anyways, he's such a fun and loving child and Mark and I enjoy being around him. He loves preschool and has quite the imagination. We are so blessed with an extremely healthy and happy little boy! Mom read to his preschool class that day - "Drummer Hoff", one of his favorites. That evening, we picked Ro Ro up at the airport. Mark was at work that night, but we started celebrating Ethan's birthday.

Friday morning we met some of his friends at Chuck E Cheese! It's so nice going there during the week when no one is there. The kids had a great time - and so did Mark and Ben. They had so much fun that Mark missed Ethan blowing out the candles on his cake.....well, he missed the first couple of times....Nona and Ro Ro left a little early to get the cake and run a few errands. I called them and asked them to pick up candles too - Ro Ro ran in a store and grabbed some. Well, she grabbed the trick candles, but we didn't know it until they kept relighting. It was seriously the funniest thing I've seen in a long time. Ethan did not know what to think. We had a great time!

It's always so nice to have Nona and Ro Ro here with us - it's even nicer when they're here at the same time! Happy Birthday to our Ethan!

Chocolate Eclairs filled with vanilla pastry creamProsciutto and Parmesan palmieres (puff pastry dough)Almond palmieresThis is an outfit I made Nina for Valentine's Day - she was showing it off.Ethan playing in preschool Nona reading to Ethan's class Ethan showing Nina the birthday chair that he got to sit in Ethan showing off his birthday hat and shirt (Ro Ro had the shirt made for him)

Happy Birthday to you!
Can you tell I couldn't find my candles....thus the tea lites!
Nona and Ro Ro with Ethan and Nina
The kiddos enjoying pizza at Chuck E Cheese
Any excuse for Mommy to get a Cookie Cake! Although, they didn't quite follow all of my instructions - I asked for more chocolate icing. Oh well, still incredibly good!
Ethan blowing his candles out
He literally took a huge step back as they re-lit. It was hysterical! Having cake with Gracie and Macie
Nina and Sydney are serious about their cake
Playing some skeeball!
Ethan and Macie Mae loved playing air hockey together

Ethan loved the Monster Truck, but Gracie wasn't so sure about it

Trying to get a group shot....after 4 hours at Chuck E Cheese wasn't the best time...Sydney wasn't happy when the Mouse started talking behind her. Gracie wouldn't sit on the stage because of the Mouse.
Ethan loves playing with Ro Ro's glasses
This is the shawl that Ro Ro made for Nina - it's gorgeous and she had so many oohs and aahs over it this past week

Another BIG truck in the house
Lots of dollars for the birthday boy

Visit to Maryland

2009-02-04T18:28:00.008-06:00

I'm finally getting around to posting the rest of our pictures from our trip to Maryland. We had a great time! The kids loved everything we did - we took a trip to the Baltimore and Ohio train museum in downtown Baltimore, the aquarium, Old Ellicott City train museum, a trip to DC and many visits from friends and family. It was quite a busy 9 days!Ethan and Nina enjoyed watching the Inaugural Parade and were waving as President and Michelle Obama got out of their limo. Ethan loves telling everyone about the parade and the new president and the other day saw Michelle on tv and asked why she didn't have her yellow dress on.Nina enjoying the snowEthan loved using Ro Ro's shovel to clean the drivewayOn the Metro heading into DC

Ethan and Daddy in front of the Capitol - can you believe how few people are behind them? This was Friday after the events on Tuesday - no one was in DC and it was fabulous!

Ethan playing in an airplane in the Air and Space Museum

Going to see an Imax movie in the museum

Ethan and Mark took a spin on the carousel on the Mall

A much different view of the Lincoln Memorial - and if you notice the reflecting pool is frozen over and there are some people walking across

Ethan petting Stonewall at the Washington Monument

Outside the back of The White House

Ethan was so excited because planes were coming into Reagan right over the city and that's all he wanted to watch

Standing on the driveway at the gate used during the Inauguration events

The front of The White House

Ethan loved DC and was exhausted coming back on the Metro - so tired he fell asleep leaning backwards on his seat

Jane and Erica came for a visit

Mrs. Chedester and next door neighbor Nicole, taking Nina for a walk

At the Old Ellicott City train museum

While there, a real train was coming by, so they went outside to check it out

Mark and Ethan enjoying the dolphin show at the aquarium in Baltimore

Ro Ro and Nina at the dolphin show

We enjoyed our trip in Maryland - thanks Pa and Ro Ro for letting us invade your house!

Part of American History

2009-01-20T22:51:00.010-06:00

So, I should be in bed....but instead I'm posting these pictures of a fabulous day! Mark and I are in Maryland (with the kids) visiting his family. When we decided a couple months ago that we were going to come to MD in January, I made sure we would be here during inauguration week. We immediately started making plans. Last night, Mr. Noble drove us to the Metro station and we went into DC to stay with Bill and Diana. Bill is Mark's best friend growing up. We enjoyed a great dinner with them last night and dessert by the warm fireplace. Bill drove us down to the action area so we could try and figure out what our final plans were going to be for the actual day. We finally got our plan together, WARM clothes all laid out, sandwiches made and in the bed....well after midnight for our 5am wake up call. All I could think about going to bed was what in the world were George and Laura thinking and were Barack and Michelle able to sleep (yes, I'm on first name basis w/ them). Finally, sleep.

Tuesday morning we were out of Bill and Diana's house at 6am. Walked to the Metro and got on with no problems. We made it to our stop and once outside my hopes sank...the crowd of people, wait, the sea of people was unbelievable. I knew it would be, but was hoping that if we got there early enough it wouldn't be too bad. WRONG. All I kept thinking was I wanted a front row seat at the parade. The security lines were supposed to open at 7am - supposed to. They didn't open on our side of the Mall until 7:45 or so. It took us almost 2 hours to get through. Once at the security tents, we had to get rid of all our water and also they made us pull the sticks off our flags. We didn't know this until this evening, but apparently there was a significant threat to the actual inauguration, so security was tighter. We got in and that's all that mattered. Ok, so here's the scoop. You could go to the Mall with the millions to watch the actual inauguration on the jumbo tvs....or you could go to the parade route and maybe get to see the President. I opted for the later. We got front row seats on the curb on the parade route - we were right at the Newseum, right under where everyone (CNN, etc...) was broadcasting. It was a prime location and was incredible. By the way, the parade doesn't start until 2:30 but they were only letting about 300,000 on the route, so we knew if we didn't get there early we wouldn't get in. That's exactly what happened to so many people - they were turned away by security and they didn't make it inside. I would have been devastated.

We realized soon after we were in, that the motorcade would more than likely come right in front of us heading to the Capitol. Sure enough about 10:30 the police came screaming through and then all the SUVs came through. We saw Barbara Bush and realized that everyone would be taking this route. Before too long we saw the first ladies in a limo together, followed by the VPs and then President Bush was in President (elect's) limo. It was so cool!

We were able to see the inauguration area (closer with binoculars) and hear the inauguration. This is when the worst part set in for us...after the swearing in was over and the waiting for the parade started. Their lunch took forever, or so it seemed. They were running late too, so that didn't help. It was COLD, frigid cold and we had no fluids. No one was selling anything to drink so that was bad. We could have walked about 5-6 blocks to stand in line for 2 hours for coffee, but we would have run the risk of them closing down the side street and not getting back to our front row seat. So we sat. Bill had a hand held tv, so we were able to keep up with what was going on. We were hoping that because we were so close to the press box that would mean that President Obama would get out and walk near us - also, on the tops of all the buildings were snipers. We felt safe.

Finally the lunch was over. The announcer had told us that we would know the lunch was over because they would have what was called a "10 minute dash" - this is where the VIPs that are at the lunch with the newly sworn in President are also supposed to be at the viewing stand for the parade, which is at the White House. So they would have about 10 minutes to get people loaded up and down to the White House - thus the dash...and they weren't kidding. All of a sudden police escorts come flying down the street with 4 or 5 buses (Greyhound type) behind them.

The parade started. I can't describe to you the level of excitement at this point. The excitement was tremendous from the very beginning of the day, but now it was only growing. We saw the press trucks coming, so we knew President Obama was right behind. He didn't get out and walk in front of us, but he did look right at us and waved. He made eye contact with us as we waved. And the girls were just bouncing in the limo waving and smiling. It was incredible!!!

The entire day from the time we left until the time we got back was incredible. We ran into some wonderful people that wanted to be a part of history. We were a part of history. It doesn't matter who you voted for or who you stand behind, you respect the office and the person in the office. There were people today that weren't respecting the one that was leaving office and that made me sad. He deserves our respect, and so does the one that's in the office now. I was proud to be an American today, I am proud to be an American every day. I should be in bed right now because I'm exhausted, but I seriously can't wind down - just thinking of the President and First Lady dancing at 10 balls in that gorgeous white dress and wondering what the girls are doing and thinking about. Getting settled in a new home, the White House? Can you imagine? It was an impressive event and I loved it! I didn't really edit these pics because I just wanted to post them quickly - so hope you can get the feel for the day! Enjoy! Mark took this pic of the White House Monday night as we were driving around - kind of cool

The sea of people waiting to get into the security checkpoint - about 6:45am

About 8:30am underneath a building almost to the checkpoint

We're through! The view of the Capitol building from Pennsylvania Avenue. So beautiful!

Where we stood for the day - in front of this museum

The view from across the street from where we stood

Trying not to freeze our buns off! Actually the only thing that was cold were my feet - should I write to UGG and tell them their product is defective?

The motorcade heading to the Capitol for the inauguration - I think this was First Lady Laura Bush and Michelle Obama - we could see both of them in the limo and they were just so elegant looking and waving and smiling the whole time.

Barack Obama and President Bush in Obama's new limo - it's so big, so we couldn't see Bush, but we saw Obama as they drove by - I didn't try to get a pic of him as they drove by because I actually wanted to see him for myself

The Capitol during the swearing in

Very cold and windy - but a gorgeous day!

President Bush on his way to Andrews to go home to TX

Snipers on the roof of a building down the street with ropes down to the street....this is actually about where President and Mrs. Obama got out to walk for the first time - did they plan this???

More snipers - they were everywhere!

The Presidential Motorcade begins

Part of the parade - the uniforms were immaculate and beautiful! Perfect!

This is when we could see the beginning of the press trucks

Press

This new limo was MASSIVE - nonetheless, here he is!

He looked right at us and waved!!!

Secret Service that followed the limo

Vice President Biden followed

Back at home - this is Bill and Diana and their adorable house in DC

Finally...

2009-01-13T22:27:00.001-06:00

I've finally gotten around to posting some Christmas pictures. January has been kind of crazy already. I won't write a lot - just comment on the pictures.

Nina got into Heidi's cage one night and thought it was so much fun!Last Christmas, my Daddy gave Ethan his first Coca-Cola in a bottle....a HUGE Justice family tradition. We love bottled Cokes! So as soon as we pulled up at the house, Ethan was asking my Mom for a bottled Coke. She held him off til Christmas Eve. I seriously lost count of how many he had the week we were there....he LOVES them, just like his Poppa did!!!This is where Nina spent most of her time....in Hunter's carseat. She loved playing in it and would even take a cell phone and just sit there, rock and chat.Nina, Ethan and Hunter on Christmas Eve - yes, if you look closely you'll see Nina has just eaten M&Ms. I'll do anything to get a picture!Ethan got to open 1 present Christmas Eve - he had asked for a bathrobe and loved it! In our PJs ready for Santa!!! Here you'll notice that once again, Nina has eaten something right before a picture so her mouth is yet dirty again! Ethan and Hunter on Christmas Eve
Ethan let Santa take his pappies to give to another baby that needed them....here he is taking one last drag off this one...
...and this one...
...and this one... Ok, Santa, here they are!!!
SANTA CAME!!!
The first reaction to Santa's arrival Chaos!
Ethan thought it would be funny to hide in this giftbag. He fit in there and he had a blast playing in this bag. He would get in and we'd put tissue paper over him and Nina would open it and laugh. It was funny!While Mom was wrapping presents, she found this Nutcracker that my Daddy had bought for me last year after Christmas (he was always shopping for a deal) - she forgot about it but found it and gave it to me. Very special!!! The first ride on his new bike Santa left
Nina playing with her dollhouse Ethan still popping out of the bag

Mema and Nona with the kids

Landon and Courtney with Hunter on Christmas Day Ethan playing a little Christmas tune

My bribes no longer worked - Nina would not cooperate!

Ethan taking a little ride down the driveway on his new wheels.

Playing on Poppa's trailer

Once we got back to Memphis, we still had Pa and Ro Ro's gifts to open. The kids were so excited there were more gifts. Nina loved her dollhouse furniture and people.

Ethan was thrilled with his scooter!!

He's very good and loves riding it!
Ok, now we're in January - this is actually today....Nina woke up early (6:45...and that's early for us) and by 9:30 so was so tired. Mark and I were both in the office and she passed out on the couch. It was funny.

It was sooooooo cold today, but we took the kids out for a little while anyways. Nina stylin in her coat and hat Nona and Poppa bought her last year. She loves this coat!Ethan helped Mark change the oil in the car and once again had to "work" on his Jeep. He has the best imagination!

My latest creation. Miss Priss!

Pacifier update on Ethan....we think we're home free. Once we got back from Georgia, Ethan kept stealing Nina's - naptime, bedtime, anytime. He would get out of bed and go in her room and literally take it out of her mouth. Mark would sit at the bottom of the stairs and watch for him. Ethan would get so mad when he realized Mark knew what he was doing. One day at naptime, Ethan told Mark that he should go in the office and get on the computer or go do the dishes. He told Mark not to read his book. How funny! This week though, he's gone to bed fine and is back to taking naps without trying to get Nina's pacifier. Oh, Santa left him a toy weedwacker as a special thank you for the pappies....! Thank goodness we can say that he's done with them!!!

Word for 2009

2009-01-03T13:27:00.002-06:00

It's that time of the year again...I'm not sure if any of you remember last year, but Heather T. and Randi K. challenged us to think of a word to focus on for the year. I had no idea when I decided last January that my word (Impact) would be so fitting for 2008, as well as my Mom's word, Become. Anyways, my Mom thought of her word while sitting on the beach in St. Thomas this past week and I thought of my word while driving to the grocery store with no kids in the car - beach in St. Thomas and car with no kids....both peaceful! My word for 2009 is Hope. There are many things that I hope for, but I mainly hope that I can find peace from the impact of last year's loss. I hope I can grow and can remain a faithful Christian, wife, mother and friend. I hope I can fill just a small piece of the huge void that is in my heart and my life. One thing that has been so hard is trying to move on from the extreme disappointment and I "hope" that I can do that. Not just disappointment in what happened, but disappointment from friends and just life in general. My Daddy always told me that you can't count on people, but you can count on God. This is so true and I really never fully believed that until this past year. My Mom has so many wonderful friends and so many people that are constantly around her and showing her their kindness and compassion. I hope that I can be a better friend than even her best friend (she has many) has been to her. I think this is going to be difficult to do, but that is my word for this year, hope.

My favorite time of the year....

2008-12-30T00:21:00.004-06:00

This is my favorite time of the year. I love going to the mailbox everyday to see who has gotten their Christmas cards out. I can't wait to clear off the front of my refrigerator in preparation for the pictures that are coming. I also love to go through my basket of old pictures and cards to see how things have changed in the past year, or two, or three. Even after all of my trees are down, all of my Nutcrackers are put away, all of the decorations tucked back in the attic, my cards will remain on the refrig (until Mark gets tired of them falling off)....and then they'll go in the basket until next year when I pull them out to start my favorite time of the year all over again!