"YOU'RE A CHEAP DATE"

{Saturday's drink stop at Sonic}

shooting hoops

It's that time again. Basketball time.

Carly's 3rd-4th grade basketball team played their first game on Thursday. She was ready when practice started to get back to playing. She really hasn't done anything since October {and the broken foot}.

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Neither of these is a good picture {my goal this year, to get a few good basketball shots. I think I will have to use a tripod?} but good documentation of the game. Carly jumped for the jump ball to start the game. No one had ever explained to her what she was suppose to do, like aim it toward a team mate. She just spiked it like a volleyball! If a player from the other team had not got in the way it would have gone out under the goal!

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Carly is tall right now in comparison to the other players so she played in the paint and down on the blocks. She scored 9 points but had a lot of good attempts but she was just so excited that most were shot too hard.

Looking forward to a great season!

it's all about the swing

on cloud nine

{Carly and Miss MM at the Morgan Keegan Tennis Championships}

As we entered the stadium, their eyes grew wide and they chattered nonstop. They fired millions of questions at me as they soaked in their surroundings. Obviously, to them, the men's match flew by because they both wanted to know if it was really over. After a trip to the restroom, they returned with the holy grail of information - the answer to the question of how to get an autograph. They had been talking about getting an autograph since we left the house. I had told them that I had no idea how to accomplish that. But they said the "bodyguard", told them when and where they needed to go. And sure enough, they ended the night with Melanie Oudin's autograph! As the night came to and end {at 10:30!!}, there were at least 2 little girls on cloud nine!

wordless wednesday

Win * Place * Show

Happy Birthday Kenny!

Kenny and I took off for a long weekend to Hot Springs.

{It had been a long time since we had gone out of town just the 2 of us.}

ABOUT THE FOOD: Before we left we did research on restaurants - nothing like planning a weekend away around food! Reading reviews on Trip Advisor {I think that's right} really helped us find what we wanted. We ended up eating some really good food in places with great atmosphere.

We ate, what they called Latin American food, at Rolando's which was delish and probably our favorite. We also had Italian at Belle Arti which was good and in a wonderful old building downtown but probably too busy which is what you get when you choose a highly recommended Italian restaurant on Saturday, February 13th! Our last evening we had Chicago-style pizza at Rocky's which was a great sports bar right across the street from the track. It was packed, busy and loud, but it was suppose to be. I had the bianco pizza which had an alfredo sauce, chicken, spinach, and topped with Parmesan. delish! . But, the main reason we were in Hot Springs in February is that it is race season! And when you are at the track in Hot Springs, you eat corn beef. Kenny said he started to take a picture of me trying to eat my huge Reuben but thought I would rather he didn't. I should have taken a picture of me just holding the box that they served it in before I attacked it! YUMMY!!

ABOUT DAY ONE: After leaving really cold weather and multiple days of rain or snow, we were really excited that the forecast for Saturday was SUNNY! It was a gorgeous day. We had awesome seats because Kenny made friends, and we ended up sitting in reserved seating on the finish line.

I learned alot about racing, wagering, horses, jockeys, track conditions, positioning, and luck! Kenny and I had a blast making decisions about our wagers and then cheering on "our" horse. One of the best payoffs I had was winning against Kenny and him having to go stand in line to buy lunch. Amazingly, we also won some money!

I also got to wander around with my camera. It was a fabulous day to take pictures outside. As usual, I think I am taking a crazy amount of pictures but later wish I had taken more! The jockeys were such fabulous clothes and the horses were amazing. ABOUT DAY TWO: Initially, we had not planned to go back to the track, but we had such a good time we decided to go back. The weather was completely different than the previous day. By the time we got to our seats {thanks to our new friend Connie}, it had started to snow. No standing on the rail today and minimal outside photos. Our luck, much like the weather, was not as good either. Although in the end, I came out even which is pretty good for 2 days full of fun. I think it is funny that there is a TON of information about these horses, jockeys, trainers, owners. There are "tip sheets" that advertise their percent of winning picks. There is a whole T.V. channel kinda like ESPN SportsCenter. But even with all of that, the last two races were won by a horse that was 70-1 and then 90-1. It really snowed and if the temperature had not reached 50 the day before there probably would have been significant accumulation. Instead it was melting and the track quickly became muddy and the official track condition was changed to "sloppy". I would have never known that their are horses that are rated higher on "sloppy" tracks and horses that are considered "snowbirds". It was a whole new experience! The regulars who we sat in front of were a wealth of knowledge and loved that I was a newbie. ABOUT LEAVING TOWN: Kenny and I had a fabulous time and decided it shouldn't be so long before we get out of town again! And as soon as I say that, I think, Carly would have loved the track. I would not have been able to get her away from the paddock or the rail.

Happy Heart Day

Now that Carly is in 4th grade, there are not as many opportunities to be in the classroom. I miss seeing the whole group and it amazes me how much they are all growing up. It is a tough age of being a big kid but wanting to grow up.

Carly's school puts restrictions on holiday activities and for Valentine's Day they are only allowed to swap Valentine's and have a special snack. {This makes me a little sad but I guess I should be thankful that they can do that?} At least I was able to plan a fun special snack. We had red & white ice cream sundaes including vanilla ice cream, strawberries, M&M's, sprinkles, whipped cream and cherries. The kids loved it but can you believe only about a fourth of them wanted whipped cream on their sundae?

The kids delivered their valentines and enjoyed every minute of delivering and receiving. They were super cute and it was fun to see how much simple things make them happy.

{I thought it was kinda funny that Carly is sitting between 2 boys and I wonder if that is to keep her from being chatty with others?}

surprise!!

What a big weekend that we had planned. Mom, Dad, & Kacey came on Saturday bearing gifts for Carly {no surprises there}. Mom & Dad gave Carly her lifetime Mississippi Hunting License. Not an immediately fun gift but one that will keep on giving for many years to come! Aunt Kacey gave her a glitter filled bouncy ball and cute spring yellow box flip flops.

The girls got out and did a little shopping {Gordmans, JoAnn's, Marshall's} before deciding that it was just too busy and ended up at the Goodwill. I took Mom and Kacey for Happy Hour Sonic drinks since they are still without a Sonic.

The main reason for the visit was to see Jersey Boys. I gave Mom and Kacey tickets for Christmas and we have been anticipating this weekend. Our tickets were for the Sunday matinee. We ate lunch at King's Palace on Beale Street and if you want to experience the food on Beale Street, Sunday at lunch is a great time to do it. . The show was fabulous! I was expecting it to be good but it exceeded my expectations. The show moved so fast and the music was so good. I've even been listening to the soundtrack on my iPod. It was definitely a hit. We came home just in time for the Super Bowl. Kenny and Daddy had been at the house getting the game food ready {BBQ meatballs, sausage & cheese, then burgers, rotel dip}. We were excited the Saints won. Our families have been Saints' fans for a long time and pretty much thought that they would never go to the Super Bowl much less win one!

The plan for Monday was for Carly to go to school, Kenny & I to go to work, and Mom, Dad & Kacey to get on the road to go home. I got up at 6:00 and got dressed. I quietly went to the kitchen because Carly was asleep on the couch and had a few more minutes to sleep. I started getting breakfast ready and then went to the back door to let Gabby outside. That is the first time I paid attention to the fact that we had already gotten 4+ inches of snow. And Holy Cow, it was pouring down. Surprise, not one weather forecaster had mentioned snow much less accumulation!

We ended up with 6 inches of pure snow. That is unusual for us. When we do get "wintry precipitation" it is usually not much and it usually has ice in it.

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So throw out all those earlier plans and slow down! That is what I love about snow days. School was cancelled which means my work is cancelled, Kenny's work was delayed and the family was temporarily snowed in.

Friends invited Carly over to spend the day playing in the snow. Kenny dropped her off on his way to work. She had a great day outside with friends and did not want to come home at 5:00 when I finally said "that is it".

double digits

After the winter swim, we came back to the house for pizza and birthday cake. The girls got a quick shower and put on their pajamas. They at pizza, fruit, and cheese puffs because "what's a party without cheese puffs"!

Carly opened gifts from the girls. Her gifts were a perfect picture of things that are in right now. She got a couple of packages of silly bands {religious & rock - slightly ironic, huh?}, a rat webkin {voted the BEST rodent to have as a pet}, a peace sign necklace, and gift certificates from Justice and Claire's. She had also gotten a couple of gifts from other friends including a Vera Bradley wallet, bath sprinkles, couple lip glosses, and a super cute clipboard with ribbon tied all over the handle {should have a picture to add but don't}.

What else should you do at a sleepover but eat cake and ice cream at 10:30 pm?

Carly was super delighted with her peace sign cake.

We cleared out the living room floor and put out sleeping bags. The girls climbed into their sleeping bags and put in Mall Cop. 3 out of 4 of them were asleep before their heads in their pillows. Swimming all afternoon made for some tired little girls!

The next morning they started the movie over and ate breakfast {cinnamon rolls & fruit} in their sleeping bags. After a couple games of hide-and-go-seek and balloon volleyball, it was time to get dressed. Carly said the only thing that would have made it better was if it hadn't been raining so they could have played on the rope swing.

After packing up and getting dressed, 1 very happy birthday girl with 3 good friends!

winter swim with friends

spending a fun afternoon

with a couple of friends

at the Tunica Aquatic Center

today is going to be a good good day

happy birthday donuts

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{seriously it was an act of love since there is no donut shop in town anymore. The grocery store doesn't put theirs out until after 7:00 which is too late and Walmart's shelf was empty too? Next time I will be more prepared for traditional birthday donuts!}

cards from mom and dad

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{mine played "you are my sunshine" which I wake her up with every morning and

Kenny's came with a big box of Sour Patch Kids}

in car line, Carly came out loaded down with

balloons from mom & dad, cards & gifts from friends and her teacher

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At school: Carly had a "lunchable" in her lunchbox. Her traditional school lunch on her birthday. It is the only one she has all year and she thinks it is such a treat?? We didn't talk about it this year so she was surprised {she thought I had forgotten}. She also took chocolate chip cookie brownies for her classmates, teacher and the principal {who shares her birthday}.

after an afternoon getting her ears pierced,

running the battery completely down on my phone by talking and texting everyone,

eating taco salad for birthday supper,

she opened tons good mail!!!

[Aunt Kacey, Uncle Rocky, Aunt Libba, Uncle Beege, JC, Nonna, D, MamMam, G'daddy, Finn]

including her traditional card from MamMam & Gdaddy with this year's "10" dollars She is looking forward to seeing them next week.

. Nonna and D's card with snack money for when she goes to the Morgan Keegan Professional Tennis Championship in a couple of weeks Carly is so excited she will be seeing Oudin play!

. Uncle Beege, Aunt Libba and JC sent good mail last week and there was no stopping Carly from opening it early. They sent a super cute cloth purse with a peace sign. She loves it.

Kenny and I gave her a new tennis outfit and some private tennis lessons

She had the first one Wednesday. Even though it was so COLD she loved it!

Happy 10th Birthday Carly Bug!