Friday, August 29, 2008

FOOTBALL FRIDAY!

SEC football, you gotta love it! It is finally time for AUBURN football weekends, oh how we love it. I will tell you though, little miss Anna Kate loves it even more so. I don't think I have ever known another four year old to sit through an entire game without wanting to leave, squirming, misbehaving and/or whining. Not Anna Kate. Nope, she is dressed in her AU cheerleader outfit equipped with orange and blue pom poms and ready to cheer her Tigers to another victory. In honor of the season kick off, here are a few pictures from past years. War Eagle!



























Oh, and I forgot to say that one of my dearest friends Spring and her daughter Avery are arriving this afternoon and joining us for a wonderful Auburn weekend :c) We are SOOO excited!!!

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Sunday, August 24, 2008

Tropical Storm Fay

...has come and gone. It was a long twenty four hours, that's for sure. Our power went off at 7am yesterday morning, came back on at 9:45, off again at 2:00, on at5:30, off AGAIN at 9:15 and finally on to stay (hopefully) at 4:30 this morning. Our yard is a mess and we did lose one tree, but nothing major. We made a little tour this morning when we went to get breakfast and WOW! I was surprised. Take a look...



I did get Anna Kate registered for dance class yesterday morning and then her BFF came home with us to play. Everything was fine until the power went out and then things started to go downhill. The girls were bored to tears, it was hot in the house and they couldn't go outside. We tried to make the best of it though. We set up a camp out in the den floor with sleeping bag, lantern, flashlights and the girls dragged out a load of toys. They were occupied for maybe 7.5 minutes. Anslee will have to come back when there are no power outages and/or possessed tropical storms swirling around outside. They did have a good time despite all that was going on around them :c)

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Friday, August 22, 2008

Battening Down the Hatches

Tropical Storm Fay is expected to move through our area tomorrow. The local weather is predicting 12"-15" of rain as well as 30-40 mph winds. Flash flood watches are already in place as Eufaula is a lake town. Secretly I am excited about Fay's arrival - I really should have been a storm chaser...


Anna Kate had a great first week of school. Her teacher said she is doing great and is so sweet. What a relief! On Thursday Anna Kate was the 'Hoppy Helper', which really means the class helper. She couldn't wait to tell me what all she got to do. So far, so good :c)

Tomorrow Renee' and I are supposed to take the girls (AK & Anslee) to register for ballet classes, however it really depends on the weather. Registration is from 10:00-12:00 which is in the time frame of Miss Fay making appearance - I hope we can brave the storm to get the girls signed up. They are so excited to take dance together. They really are BFFs.

Tonight Anna Kate was playing in her playroom while I did some laundry when she comes walking out to the den and says, "Mama, I want to take a bath." Huh? She never wants to take a bath, so I looked down at her and this is what my child looked like...
No wonder she wanted to take a bath. (Wow, I see a strong resemblance to her mother twenty years ago!)

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Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Happy Anniversary!!!

Thirteen years ago today Jeff and I got hitched. I can't believe it has been that long... ;c)



{Look how young we were}

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Monday, August 18, 2008

First Day of School

Anna Kate started back to school today and was so excited! She's the big kid this year - the senior of the school, lol. I can't believe my baby will start kindergarten next year!!!!! :c( She is in Mrs. Rena's class this year and loves her. These pics were taken this morning before leaving the house.

























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Build A Bear

As promised, Anna Kate made her annual trip to Build A Bear to pick out a new outfit for 'Teddy'. This year she picked out Hello Kitty pajamas and a sleeping bag. Here are a few photos from the outing.


First Teddy had to get an air bath/fluff






















And this pic was taken after breakfast yesterday morning - our last day at the beach...



















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Saturday, August 16, 2008

Anna Kate & Her Friend

This post has absolutely nothing to do with our trip to the beach, but you won't be disappointed - Anna Kate and her good friend Anslee are such goof balls. They have so much fun when playing together. Here is proof...






Aren't they cute!?

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Final Beach Day :c(















Today is our last full day at the beach and we are a little sad. We love our annual beach vacation so much and we have a ton of fun every year. This year was no exception. Although it did rain the first three days, we made the best of our time and enjoyed playing and goofing around with each other. Soon the sun came out and we hit the pool and beach. While here, Anna Kate has learned to swim with her swimmies on (and a short distance without them), jump off the side of the pool holding our hands and without, she can blow bubbles in the pool and can ride her bicycle all the way to the pool and back. We purchased her annual Destin sleep shirt and will make the regular trip to Build-A-Bear this evening, where Anna Kate will pick out a new outfit for her bear.

We woke up to rain this morning and as soon as it clears up and the sun comes out, we will visit the pool and beach one final time :c( It has been a wonderful trip but it is time to return to normal life...*sigh*






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Thursday, August 14, 2008

Beach Day #5, Part I

Sun, glorious sun!!!! No rain and just a nice ocean breeze today - hallelujah! We went to the beach this morning and had a really good time. Anna Kate enjoyed burying her daddy's feet in the sand and then asked us to do the same to her. After that she wanted to go to the pool. She is really turning into a little water bug. She loves swimming and is getting so brave, almost too brave for my liking.

Jumping off the side of the pool





















We were having so much fun we decided to stay an extra night. With all the rain and storms, we feel as though we were cheated the first three days of vacation and we want to take advantage of the next three days :c)

Anna Kate rode her bike to and from the pool today and did so well. Look at her go!


I think we are going to attempt our family portrait tonight. I have something special in mind, but the sunset has to be just right, so it all depends on if we can get our act together and down to the beach at the perfect time. Stay tuned.....

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Wednesday, August 13, 2008

Day #4

And it rained all morning. Finally, at 3:00 it cleared up and the sun came out. However, the wind was blowing so hard it created a sand storm...it was painful just to be out there. So we packed everything up and rode our bikes straight to the pool, where we spent close to two hours. Afterwards, we showered and then went to eat at one of our 'must dine' restaurants, Funky's. The atmosphere is so cool with folk art and jazz/blues music and the food is scrumptious! After dinner we went to have Anna Kate's annual beach trip airbrushed t-shirt made (she sleeps in it). This year we let her pick out the design and she did good :c) She is sleeping in it as I type.

Tomorrow and Friday are supposed to be beautiful, so we plan to spend the next two days on the beach and we can't wait! Keep your fingers crossed.

















Cool Cat Anna Kate






















The annual beach sleep shirt

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Tuesday, August 12, 2008

Day 3 At the Beach

And it has rained 80% of the time... *Sigh* There were some breaks in the rain and believe me, we took advantage of those few brief moments. The big news for the day - Anna Kate can swim without her arm swimmies. She didn't go far (from the step to daddy), but she did it. She was so proud of herself. We hope to work with her more tomorrow.

This next picture is really up to your individual interpretation. All I did was crop and add the white mat. Some say it looks embossed, but it's not.

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