Basketball Diaries

So, Jack & I headed down to Athens yesterday to take in a UGA women's basketball game with Mema. Jack loves reading his Hairy Dawg book, so we were pretty sure he would enjoy the hoopla and fun that comes along with a college game. Since taking him to a football game is still a little risky...not sure anyone would really enjoy themselves, we opted for the basketball court. We had a great time. They gave away Santa hats, which Jack insisted on wearing right away (despite the fact that it was way too big!) He kept his eyes on Spike (the inflatable volleyball mascot) a.k.a. "BIG Dawg" and of course recognized Hairy Dawg. He had his picture made with both and shared high fives with both Dawg celebrities. He seemed to have a great time. We sat right next to the pep band, so each and every timeout was like an audition for "So You Think You Can Dance." Below is a video of Jack bopping to the beat and yelling "Go Dawgs!"

Family Times

What a beautiful weekend it was...in more ways than one. The weather was wonderful, and we had the opportunity to spend it with family. Josh's family journeyed over from Rome on Friday evening, and we all traveled to Athens for the game on Saturday. Jack enjoyed some time with Memaw and my sister joined us at the game.

Afterwards, we grilled out at my parent's house. It was a great chance for Jack to chase his cousin Sean around the yard. It was so nice to be able to relax and enjoy the company of those so close to us. Here are some snapshots from the weekend.

Enjoying a game of football with cousin Sean

Getting a photography lesson from Aunt Kristy

Peek a boo!

Here I am!

Whew...it's over!

Yes, the inaugural Kitchens that Cook is officially over. Could you hear my deep sigh of relief on Saturday around 6:30? I would have liked to have seen a little more traffic, but for the first time holding the event and the fact that it was a holiday weekend, we were not disappointed. I don't know the final numbers, but we raised about $5,000. Josh enjoyed cooking & filming with Kathy. We heard lots of positive feedback, and we're hoping it can become an annual event.

I was thankful to have my mom come up and watch Jack for us most of the day on Saturday. Dad was able to join us for dinner. He brought Jack a harmonica, which he enjoyed playing. After cleaning up the depot, putting in an appearance at the after-party, I was ready to crash...but managed to stumble into El Campesino with the rest of the family for dinner.

Sunday morning we packed up the cooler and headed to Atlanta for the Braves game with the Walshs, who live in Charleston. Mike went to med school with Josh, and he and his wife were in Atlanta for a wedding. Since this week is Mike's 30th, we met them at the Varsity for lunch and joined them at the ballpark. I just knew our day would be spoiled by rain, but it was a great day! We actually took Jack to one of the faux-Varsity locations before one of the Thrashers games last year, but this was his first trip to one of the official greasy Vs! He was a big fan of the frosted orange, but who wouldn't be?? The big crowd and loud "what'll ya haves" seemed to intimidate him a bit at first, but he settled in quick and enjoyed a naked dog and his first FO.

Liz bought a big group of seats together and we actually ended up being in the shade and having a great view of the field. Because of the steep seats, Jack couldn't really walk around though. He grew a little restless a few times, but managed to make it through the whole game with the help of frequent paci breaks, a giant chocolate chip cookie, dancing to the loud music, peanuts and of course...a coke!



Today we joined some friends for a Memorial Day cookout with ribs and all the fixings. I'm having trouble keeping straight what day it is since Josh was home today and we missed church yesterday. Anyway, it has been a busy, long weekend, and I'm so thankful that the rain showers seemed to cooperate with our schedule.

Happy Birthday, Big Mama...Oops! I mean grandma to be named.

Everyone keeps asking my mom what she is going to be called by Jack. She always says the same thing, "I don't know whatever he picks. I just don't want to be Big Mama." Anyway, Saturday was my mom's birthday. We were able to spend some time together last weekend during the bike races, but she had no idea that Jack & I planned to surprise her on Sunday.

Josh was working a day shift in the ER, so Jack and I headed down to Athens and showed up at my parent's church. I checked with my dad to make sure I wasn't busting up any important plans. They ended up skipping the Senior Adult luncheon (which my mom only qualified for b/c she's married to an old guy, I mean an older gentleman). I don't think they were too disappointed to dine with me and Jack instead.

Unfortunately, I totally flaked and didn't take any pictures. So, sorry mom...but hope you had a great birthday!

Extraordinary

This past weekend I traveled to Greenville with several girlfriends and my mom to attend the Extraordinary Women conference. There were a host of speakers including comedian Chonda Pierce, Angela Thomas, Julie Clinton and author Karen Kingsbury, which was pretty much the whole reason my mom came. She (and my sister) loves Karen's books and has read pretty much every one of them.

Friday night during one of the conference breaks, mom bought two of Karen's newest books and then stepped in line to have them signed. Luckily, she spotted me coming out of the bathroom and hollered for me to come over. I was able to snag a photo of mom & Karen, who is very tall! After the break, NewSong performed. It was an uplifting concert full of several of their greatest songs.

After the session ended, we raced through the rain to the car and set out in search of the nearest Krispy Kreme (something that is at least 45 minutes away from us back home). We were able to find one about 2 miles from the Bi-Lo Center and it was packed with dozens of hungry (presumably) extraordinary women. We waited patiently and then carried a dozen piping hot doughnuts back to our room at Embassy Suites, where Andrea had gotten us a free room with her rewards. The doughnuts were better than I remember, and we stayed up late gabbing and giggling.

Six-fifteen came early the next morning, but if we wanted to take advantage of the free breakfast...we had to get going. We all managed to stumble out of the hotel and make it to the conference where we met up with the rest of our group. We were pleasantly surprised to hear Karen Kingsbury speak first. She was incredible and had the entire place (about 7,000 women) in tears when she read her book Let Me Hold You Longer. If you've read it, you know what I mean. If you haven't, you should...but make sure you have a tissue handy.

After hearing a couple more speakers, we headed home a little early...but not before a stop at Chick-fil-A for lunch/snack. Although, Jack was a bit grumpy because he's been teething and a little under the weather for the better part of a week, it was so good to see him and give him a big hug. Josh was such a trooper to give up two weekends in a row to be full-time dad/mom so I could get away for some girl time. Thanks, Josh!

LOVE-ly Weekend

We had a wonderful weekend with family and friends. Our church hosted a Parent's Night Out on Friday. We took advantage of the free babysitting to join our Sunday School class for dinner. We all love our kids, but it was great having the chance to talk without interruption. Afterwards, we had dessert and discussion back at the church. In the meantime, Jack had fallen asleep. We got him out to the car without much trouble, but once we got him home and in the bed, he was not happy. He refused to go back to sleep, which is very unlike him. So, we let him get up and play a while. We finally put him back down to bed around 10:45. Yeah, crazy!

On Saturday, Josh's parents and nephew came for the day. Mostly to see Jack, but they tolerated hanging out with me and Josh, too. We also celebrated Josh's mom's birthday (which was last Wednesday). My mom came up for a few hours too. We did a little browsing around town and enjoyed a big lunch. While Jack took a nap, we watched the Georgia basketball game. The one where they actually won (after 11 straight losses). They beat Florida (which is always nice!) Anyway, we spotted my dad on tv several times, which Josh's nephew, Sean, got a kick out of. Later, we all enjoyed cake before they headed home. It was a fun day. They all got to see Jack do a little bit of walking and lots of his sounds, like woofing and growling.

Saturday evening, I made a Valentine's treat for me and Josh. Chocolate-dipped strawberries. They were so good. We enjoyed them while watching a movie. Here's a picture of the yummies. There were so many of them, but they didn't last long!

Asleep?

It's 7:45 p.m. as I begin this entry, and Jack is already in bed (actually has been for about 20 minutes!) And, I think he's asleep. He was a little grumpy this afternoon, so I decided early to bed tonight! Maybe it's all the fun from this weekend. Friday night we had the opportunity to meet my parents in Commerce for dinner. My little sister joined us too. It was a lot of fun to catch up and about a 20-30 minute drive for everyone. Jack enjoyed seeing his grandma & grandpa and of course Auntie Em! They also brought the prints from my photo session....one of which was this beautiful piece (this was hung on Sunday afternoon.)

We spent a good part of Saturday at home. Josh had some rounding to do, so Jack & I did our typical morning routine. After lunch, we went to Lowe's to price a few items and ended up finding an instant home improvement project. Later that evening, we headed to the York's for dinner. Jack had such a good time playing with Andrew and his toys! These two are so fun to watch. Jack really loved watching James & Josh juggle, and we all enjoyed watching Andrew taking a few steps here and there. That kid is going to be walking in no time...he's eager and has no fear. Our little guy on the other hand is still content to crawl as fast as the wind. He did get up behind Andrew's push car and go for a quick stroll. Andrea got it on video and it was hilarious. He kept running into things and eventually toppled over it head first! Don't worry, he was fine. I think our laughter helped stifle his tears!

After church on Sunday, Josh began to tackle the mini-home improvement project to only to find we had purchased the wrong size...or had we? Anyway, after a quick trip back to Lowe's, he was back at work only to find that this was definitely the wrong size and the first one was going to have to work. So, after his second trip to Lowe's (third in 24 hours), we had the project finished. So, now we have enclosed blinds on the back door. I've been letting Jack scurry around without his shoes the last couple of days hoping that will help him in his cruising. Thanks to the bare feet he has rediscovered the joy of his tasty toes! Silly boy!

Time to (thow a) Party!

Friday morning Jack and I left town and headed for Athens. We had a shower to help throw for one of my best friends, Terri, back in Winterville. On the way we stopped in Commerce and met another great friend, Brooke and her 3 cute boys at Chick-fil-A for breakfast. They live in South Georgia but were up visiting family and friends for the week. Although it was a brief visit, it was great to see them and meet the newest member of the family, baby Ben. Here are a couple of pictures of these cuties!










Once Jack and I arrived in Athens we met up with my mom and did some shopping and running errands. Later we went over to Watkinsville to meet my dad for lunch. Jack wasn't a very cooperative diner until Grandpa got out the ice cream. Since we were in the neighborhood we stopped by to see one of my best friends at work, Stacie. We got a tour of her new office. Finally, we headed home for Jack to get a nap.

Friday night Stacie joined us for dinner at Rafferty's, one of my favorites. Yummy...cheese fries and soup and salad! Jack did pretty well until it got a bit too close to his bedtime. We headed home although Stacie asked about stopping by the Haunted House first...ha, ha!




On Saturday, I needed to help with party preparations so mom watched Jack while I helped get things ready. It was a bit hectic, but we pulled it off. Angie & Jill, two great friends and excellent fellow hostesses, did a great job. We had the party at a pavillion in their backyards. It was a lot of fun. Here's Jack flirting with Angie's daughter Andee Claire. Jack and AC have the same exact birthday; they were born just a few hours apart. I'm not sure she was in the mood for his antics.

What a Weekend

What a weekend it was. It was a busy one that was full of fun...with the exception of a few hours on Saturday evening. But at least both Florida and Tennessee lost too! Friday night some of us tailgated at our house before the Raider game. Andrea made some excellent Taco Soup. After packing up and heading to the game, we settled in our seats. We hadn't been there more than 30 seconds when the rain began to fall. We hadn't brought umbrellas or hoods or anything! So, we headed back home. Jack played for a bit before heading to bed. Here's a shot of him playing with his new laptop from Cissy. In case you haven't noticed in my last couple of posts, he's pulling up on just about everything these days. He's a big explorer.

We waited up for the Walshs to arrive and were excited when they rolled into town. They got a tour of the house and even a sneak peek at sleeping Jack. We hadn't seen Mike & Liz since they got married over a year ago; so we did some serious catching up before finally letting them get some rest. After all, we both had a big day in Athens on Saturday.

Early Saturday, the Walshs got to meet Jack before heading down to Athens for their full day of tailgating. We took a little more time getting ready and leisurely made our way to Athens. We ran a few errands before joining most of the family for lunch. Jack enjoyed the moose at Loco's. He wore a new outfit for gameday :)

Later we headed downtown for an afternoon with food and friends. We had a great time tailgating with the whole Carr clan, my family and the Walshs. It was a big day for Jack too. He loved Ms. Mickie's mac 'n cheese and banana pudding. There are tons of pictures with the group. The food was great, and the fellowship was even better. Here's Jack getting some banana pudding from his Aunt Lisa.

My mom took Jack home with her and the rest of us headed to the game. In case you were in a cave all weekend, we lost...BIG. It was painful to watch, but we stayed till the bitter end. I have to admit that if I had been at home I would have quit watching.

Sunday morning we went to church with my parents and then all went to lunch afterwards to celebrate my dad's birthday. We also dropped in on a shower for Terri and John, who are getting married in less than 2 weeks. Then, we headed home. It was a long day, but we enjoyed spending time with family and friends. Here are a couple of cute photos of Jack waiting on his daddy to get out of the shower tonight b/f Josh headed to work.

Catching up from the weekend

What a great Labor Day weekend it has been. It's drawing to a close as I type this and I'm actually missing some college football to do this, but it's just UT v. UCLA. Anyway, our weekend began on Friday as we hurried down to Athens to take in the Habersham Central football game at Cedar Shoals. My mom met us there and enjoyed spending time with Jack. My dad does the play-by-play radio broadcast for the small high school I graduated from. (So small they didn't even have football when I went there). So, you'll notice mom listening to their game while she watched a different one!

Since the visitor's stands were packed we ventured onto enemy territory. Luckily, we happened upon Bo, Madeline, Derek & Tate. Jack enjoyed playing with two familiar faces. It was a pretty hot and humid evening and the night quickly turned unfortunate for the Raiders as they fell to Cedar 23 - 14. Jack was very well behaved for his first game, which is good news since we have season tickets to the home Raider games.

Saturday was the official start of college football for us because it was Georgia's home opener. The dawgs took on Georgia Southern. My mom happily watched Jack while Josh, Dad and I headed to the game. It was a pretty hot day. The temperatures hovered around 89, but it felt much hotter. We stuck it out and stayed for every snap. Next week kicks off at 3:30, so maybe we'll get a little bit of relief from the sun.

Saturday's game also signaled the introduction of UGA VII, the newest english bulldog to grace the sidelines at Sanford Staduim. He's a cute little guy, although I'm still partial to VI, who was a perfect looking bulldog. This photo of him on ice is pretty cute. Sometime in the second half they showed him on the big screen asleep in his dawg house. I guess he knew we had the Eagles under control.

After the game we joined my mom and Jack to visit my Papa, (Jack's great grandfather) who has just moved into assisted living. It was good to visit with him, but he's quite confused and pretty sad. Next time you say a prayer lift one up for him as well. My parents and uncle are working very hard to ease the transition, but it's just not that easy.

The five of us grabbed a quick dinner before Josh, Jack and I headed home. We got home in time to see most of Bama's derailing of Clemson. The ACC is not looking so strong this year. Oh, and we watched it in High Definition. Yes, I broke down and ordered the premium content. We've had a HD television for several months, but I just didn't think it was worth it to pay extra for HD channels. This summer I agreed to order it in time for football season, and not a moment too soon...they hooked it up on Friday afternoon!

Our Sunday was pretty normal. We had the nursery, so I managed to snap a few pictures of Jack in his class, which was neat. We just had 2 kids...our Jack and another Jack. Go figure...we picked the new most popular name for a boy! After church and a fun lunch at the japanese place, we all took a nap! Josh had to work, so then Jack and I headed to evening church. I subbed for KidzLife, so I missed our great discipleship class we've been participating in, Boundaries w/ Kids.

Monday was a pretty lazy day for us. Josh caught up on the sleep he missed while working all night in the ER. Jack and I just played as quietly as possible. Later Josh joined us to hang out. I was cleaning up after dinner, when I heard a lot of rustling in the living room. I found Josh reading the paper, and Jack in the floor destroying the sections he had already been through. Needless to say, he was covered in newsprint!

You're So Vain

On Monday, I had the truck serviced and my teeth cleaned. Lots of fun stuff. Jack and I had lunch with Grandma Jan and one of her coworkers at my favorite spot...Chick-fil-A. Then, Jack and I spent the rest of the day hopping from place to place until we were scheduled to meet up with Stacie and Terri at Five Points Deli (the one that is not in Five Points...but still has my favorite Heath Bar Crunch cookies). We went there because it is right next to David's Bridal, where Terri would be trying on dresses...fun, fun, fun! Stacie fed Jack while I scarfed down a Pimento Cheese sandwich and then we headed next door.

Jack pretty much entertained himself by talking and smiling at himself in the enormous wall of mirrors, which was great at first. Then as if someone had flipped on the Carly Simon hit, "You're So Vain"...Jack began to kiss himself in the wall of mirrors. It was sort of cute, but also insanely gross. We took a few pictures, then he was pulled away from himself kicking and screaming. Don't get me wrong he's cute, but there is such a thing as being a little too self-evolved :)

Terri tried on lots of pretty gowns and even a few not so pretty gowns. I'd show them here, but wouldn't want to reveal her dress before it's time. By the end of the evening she had it narrowed down to two, both of which looked great on her. One is more simple and classic, the other a little fancier and sparklier. Jack made his choice clear...

Five Years of Bliss with Soda Pop Fizz

On Saturday, Josh and I celebrated five years of marriage. Five years doesn't really seem like that long; I guess because we've been together for almost 10. Since Josh was scheduled to depart for Honduras sort of early Sunday morning, we arranged to stay near the airport Saturday night. My mom agreed to watch Jack. So, we dropped him off around lunchtime on Saturday. After checking in, we headed downtown to the new World of Coca-Cola, which is right next to the Georgia Aquarium. We had to wait for a bit to get in, but had a great time once inside.

We had discussed going to the aquarium, but really only had a couple of hours to spend before having dinner. So, we decided to save it for a day when we had more time on our hands. The WOCC is basically a glorified museum to the creation of one of the most widely recognized soft drinks. The tour begins with a cute little film and then self-guided tours of a history of coke area and a small scale bottling plant, which really makes coke for visitors to take home. Upstairs there is an area to watch Coke commercials from around the world, see pop-art and a funny display about the debacle that was New Coke. The best part, by far, was the 4-D movie. The seats in the theater move, shake, vibrate and you even get spritzed with a bit of water in certain parts.

Our final stop was the tasting room. In here, you can sample many varieties of Coca-Cola owned soft drinks from around the world. Some are tasty...others not so much. My favorite section was just the good old-fashioned favorites area that included Coca-Cola Classic, my favorite, and Josh's fav Coke Zero. Before leaving (if your shoes aren't stuck to the incredibly sticky floor), each visitor gets their own coke in a glass bottle (of course) to take home. We had a great time. After our tour we walked across Centennial Olympic Park to the Embassy Suites and had dinner at Ruth's Chris Steakhouse. It is one of our favorite places. It's definitely pricey, but well worth it for a special occasion and a great steak!

The next morning, I got Josh to the airport and then headed to Athens for church and spend a couple of days with my family and friends. Only 5 more days until we go pick up Josh!

Fun on the Fourth

We had a wonderful holiday weekend. The fun began on Thursday afternoon when Jack's Grandma and Grandpa arrived for a visit. We played all afternoon and made trips to both marts (Wal & K) looking for printer cartridges. (Thanks, mom & dad...I dread these trips a lot less with shopping companions!) Once Josh was home from work, we loaded up and headed out for dinner at one of our favorites, Zanzo's Italino Ristorante (it's on the square in Clarkesville.) For those of you from around here, you know how great it is and should go more often. Those of you reading from afar should put it on your list for when you make your mountain and lake trips and pass through Clarkesville.

On Friday after breakfast, we headed to the booming metropolis that is downtown Demorest to watch the July 4th parade. We had never been and weren't sure what to expect. I kept asking friends, but most of them skip out on this event (I guess everyone is usually out of town). I've been pretty adamant about checking out as much stuff in our community that is offered. I guess I feel like it's the only way for us to decide what traditions we'll continue as Jack gets older.

We arrived downtown in plenty of time to walk around and see the dozen arts and crafts booths (kind of slim pickings). We found a spot in the shade to watch the festivities...although it happened to be across from the stage, which meant very loud singing. Anyway, Jack fell asleep just before the parade began, but awoke in time to catch part of the show. Overall, it was a decent parade, but was mostly full of candidates for office and lots of candy for the kids.

After lunch, I filled Jack's pool with some water and took him out for a swim. He enjoyed it, but not as much as he likes the big pools. It took him a bit to warm up to the cool water. He even recovered nicely after a tipping over incident, but was pushed over the edge when Josh created a mohawk with his hair. It was pretty funny to everyone but him. We're still working with him on taking a good joke.

We grilled out for dinner before mom and dad headed back home. Then Josh and I packed up Jack and headed over toward Piedmont College for the fireworks display. We weren't really sure where would be a good place to watch from, but we found a place that we were tickled over. There was plenty of grassy areas and the fireworks were out over the pond. It was so picturesque. We've already decided to return there next year even earlier in the evening with a picnic, games, etc. Maybe we can talk others into joining us!

We weren't sure how Jack would enjoy the fireworks, but he didn't cry at all. He was pretty exhausted from a long day hanging out with his grandma and grandpa. He was a little fussy while we waited for them to start, which explains why his outfit is soaking wet...we appeased him with water from a water bottle. He would take in a bit and spit about half of it back out. Once the show began, he watched pretty intently. It was a perfect day (except for the fact that we made it to DQ at 10:03...no ice cream to cap it off)! Oh, well!

As usual...there are dozens more photos on our Picasa site.