Zoo Trip

Recently, we went to the Memphis Zoo. MamMam and Grandaddy have given Carly a zoo membership each Christmas, so we go frequently. Carly loves it. Her "favorites" change frequently. Her first trip was when she was 11 months old. On that trip the manhole covers were the highlight? This time the excitement was bringing her friend Caroline and seeing the sea lions or it might have been playing on the playground?

Mudbug Bash

Saturday was the 3rd annual

Mudbug Bash.

It is a fund raiser for Palmer Home for Children

(www.palmerhome.org).

Kenny and I have been involved from the start helping with the event. It is a fun, causal event held outside on the town square in Hernando. We could not have placed an order for better weather. The crowd was fabulous and everyone was having a great time.

Thanks Mom and Dad for inviting Carly for the weekend. It makes tent and light set up on Friday night, decorating all day on Saturday, party Saturday night, and clean up Sunday morning less stressful. Love you.

Barbecue

Ever been to a barbecue cooking contest? I'm sure it is like other regional cooking contests. But, we live in northeast Mississippi a suburb of Memphis, Tennessee which is one of the, if not THE, mecca's of barbecue. Annually, there are contests all around the region that can qualify a team to participate in THE contest - "Memphis in May". This week is one of those contests at "Southaven Springfest". Yes there are fair rides, games, concerts, but the center of the festival is the barbecue cooking contest. There are some serious cooking teams. These guys (well by far mostly guys) live to travel around the region perfecting the art of barbecue. This is not just a little hobby. First you have to have a cool name.....

Then you need a really cool (expensive) set-up. Think Monster Garage or Pimp My Ride but with fancy barbecue grills (yes, multiple grills, one several thousand dollar cooker will not suffice). And keep in mind, there is serious cooking going on but it would not be a cooking contest week without serious entertaining.

You should also not leave home without proof that you belong at this party.

The bank my husband works for occasionally puts together a team to participate in local festivals. It is more of an opportunity to entertain, network, and get the bank's name out in the community. But I guarantee they are planning on winning something. Last night, was family night. The team cooked for the bank employees, their families as well as customers and their families. That's Kenny in the middle.

Kenny and his coworkers/buddies have been going strong since Wednesday...setting up the tent area, getting the grills ready, organizing supplies, preparing food, "networking", having the party last night. Did I mention that barbecue around here means pork cooked really slow. That means the grills are constantly full of meat at different stages. That also means there have to be cookers close at hand all the time...yes that means all night. The actual judging is tomorrow morning but so far they have had a great Springfest. Here are some more pictures of the guys...

Homerun

Carly had her 2nd coach-pitch baseball game yesterday. It had been threatening to rain all day. We even sat in the car waiting to the last minute because it looked like the bottom was going to fall out BUT no rain. I was still unconvinced that we were going to make it out without getting soaked SO I changed my shoes, got an umbrella AND left my camera in the car! As usual, when you don't have your camera the perfect photo-opt presents itself. Carly smacked the ball past the left fielder (there is no fence so the ball rolled forever) for her first HOMERUN! When she rounded homeplate she had this wonderful "I'm so proud of myself" grin.

I missed the BIG hit yesterday but here is a snap from the 1st game. Her and Kenny have been practicing in the front yard. Sometimes they recruit me to be the ball girl - not so much anymore since I let the baseball roll into the storm drain...oops, I'm not quite as speedy as I use to be. Okay, I was never speedy :)

Easter

Easter is full of wonderful memories and family traditions. I guess I am more nostalgic because we spend Easter weekend at my mom and dad's with the rest of the family.

(Kenny probably does not think of it the same way I do, although secretly I think he would be sad if the Easter bunny forgot his basket!)

But what could be more fun than dying Easter eggs (out of the same coffee cups we did 30 years ago), waking up to an Easter basket overflowing with goodies, wearing your new Easter dress, going on a "real" egg hunt at MamMam and Grandaddy's church (my childhood church) and eating a Sunday lunch of all our favorites.

Looking forward to doing it all again next year!

Here we are!

Here we are - me (Kim Sue), Carly(7), and Kenny. This was a snap of us all dressed for Easter. We were at my mom & dad's on the way to church.

Blogging

I have to admit that I'm feeling a little left out of the blogging scene. I want to post pictures, make lists, brag about my sweet girl, or just ramble on - like I am now!

So here goes.....