A Crimson Halloween

My 'sparkle girl' from Crimson Cabaret

My TIDE football player......love him, but was a little sad that I didn't have a super hero this year. This is the first year since he has been choosing his own costume, that he didn't pick a super hero. :-( He's growing up!!

Months ago, Daniel said that he was going to be Captain America for Halloween, so a few weeks ago, when I found the 'girl' costume for Captain America, I asked Laura Ann if she wanted it. She loved it, but Daniel chose that moment to decide he wanted to be a football player instead. I told them that I wanted them to coordinate.....so to decide on Captain America or football player/cheerleader. They went up stairs & I heard some arguing & then they came back down. Laura Ann had the contents of Daniel's piggy bank & said that she would be a cheerleader. Yep, Daniel paid her off! How do they come up with these ideas??? Anyway, as time went on, Daniel stuck with football player, but Laura Ann did not want to be a cheerleader & just couldn't decide. A couple of weeks ago, she saw the *sparkle girls* in Tuscaloosa & immediately said that she wanted to be a Sparkle girl. Some dance attire, a sew on patch, some hand-me-down sparkle pom poms from Morgan, curled hair & make-up later........and we had ourselves a *SPARKLE GIRL*!

We had a great Halloween with the Bettis family! They came over for a chili supper & then we all trick or treated in our neighborhood. The kids couldn't get from house to house fast enough & got TONS of candy & goodies! I enjoyed it all, but can hardly wait for tomorrow & the BIG surprise for Daniel & Laura Ann.......DISNEY!!!!

Trent Richardson

If you need a good laugh today......here it is.....

Ok, so Daniel has always been great at costumes & today was no different. He plays football constantly & always has on his uniform. Today, he comes downstairs with his coonskin hat on under his helmet. I knew immediately what he was trying to accomplish, because like every other TIDE fan, he LOVES Trent Richardson, but I asked him just to be sure. He said that "those are my dreadlocks", pointing to the coonskin tail. Seems a little hot & uncomfortable to me, but maybe there is something in those dreads that makes a great player?!?!

My Cowboy

This is the only picture I took at Daniel's game today......love him!!!

The Big THREE-FIVE!!!

Dan & I aren't big gift givers & don't usually do very much for birthdays, or any other occasion for that matter, but he outdid himself this year! He has been telling me all week that he has gotten me the best gift & that he can't wait to give it to me. I admit that I got a little excited to see what in the world he had up his sleeve! They gave the gifts to me when Daniel got home from school today......yes giftSSS. A few weeks ago, Dan & I were shopping & I pointed out some serving pieces that I liked. Well, he was actually paying attention AND remembered! One piece would've been a great gift, but he bought the entire set.....cake stand, large tray, small tray, divided server, chip & dip, pedestal stand, salad servers & bowl. AND, he wrapped every individual piece with butcher paper & let Laura Ann 'decorate' (as she says) it. Wow! Way to go, hubs!!

The birthday fun continued......on our way to dinner at Chuys, we stopped at Edgars & everybody chose their favorite thing from the counter to have for dessert when we got back home!

Anyway, gifts & sweets aside, I am one blessed THIRTY-FIVE year old (can't believe that!!! Didn't I just turn 25???) and I can't wait to see what this year has in store!

We got boo'd a few nights ago & decided to BOO our neighbors tonight. Laura Ann chickened out & stayed on the porch, but Daniel was ALL ABOUT IT! And if there was ever any question about how fast he can run, well, he put it to rest tonight. He put the bags for Jeb & Merrill on their front porch, rang the doorbell (we could see them sitting in their living room) & FLEW, literally, back across their yard! This boy is going to be trouble when he learns about yard rolling......he is sneaky, quick & quiet!! :-)

Fall Party at the Daniel's

 
Michelle, Parker & Merritt hosted a super fun fall party today complete with mummy dogs, pumpkin cake pops, owl cupcakes & pumpkin painting. Laura Ann had a blast! I am so going to miss all of this preschool fun next year when all of my babies are in big school!

Goodie Bags & Costumes

 
Laura Ann was excited to get a Halloween goodie bag from Gran today.
 
 
And Daniel was thrilled that his costume finally arrived today!
 

Oak Mountain Field Trip

 
I tagged along with Daniel's class to Oak Mountain today & we had a great time. I enjoyed getting to spend some time with his friends & am amazed at how grown up they all are!!!

Fall Fun on the Willingham Farm

These two had a blast at our annual Sunday School Fall Party. Splashing (actually, it was more like swimming, but in October we do in clothes & call it splashing) in the Cahaba, running wild in wide open spaces, roasting smores, hayrides, feeding the goats, wagon rides pulled by Ross's Robot........could it get any better?? And all of this was with the sweetest friends ever!

Cowboy Buddies

 
I snapped this pic of these 3 sweet boys after their game today.....Carson, Daniel & Nigel.

Date Night with Daddy

 
 
Daniel went with some friends to Treetop Adventure tonight, so it was a great time for these two to have a date. Laura Ann chose to eat at 'Lobster'......because she loves their mac n' cheese (it is kraft straight out of the box). So, Red Lobster it was. She loved getting all dressed up & had a great night with her prince!

Clark Kent

 
We were SO EXCITED to see Clark Kent again today! It has been a couple of years since he was with us for Halloween & 50's Day at Paine was the perfect opportunity for him make a come back. Daniel was beyond thrilled to get to dress up for school. He got home & reported that everyone loved his costume & lots of people took his picture! We had coke floats for snack to top off the 50th Day of School! Wow, wasn't the first day just last week????

WEE Center Pumpkin Patch

 
Laura Ann had a great time at the WEE Center Pumpkin Patch today......complete with face painting, a train ride, some time with the Trussville Fire Department & picking a pumpkin......such fun!!! Oh, and out of the blue, it was COLD today!

Coloring is Life

 
 
 
Laura Ann got a new coloring book & crayons today. And as usual, she spent hours in the floor coloring!

The James Family 2011

 
We haven't had family pictures made in 3 years, so we were due some.......thanks to Stephanie Benzaia!

Go Cowboys!

 
The Cowboys got off to a little bit of a slow start, but they have improved lots over the past few weeks & have won their past several games!!

Laura Ann at FIVE

The winner..........
I got opinions from lots of people about which picture I should use for her oil & NO ONE picked this one, but it is my fave. She isn't so 'posed' and it really reflects her personality right now. I love it!
 
I did Laura Ann's five year portraits today. She was in quite a silly mood, but that is much easier to work with than her ill mood, so I was happy. I was going through them deleting all of the ones that aren't an option for her oil & just starting laughing. Most of them aren't 'oil worthy' but they are all so 'HER'! Her personality is really reflected in all of them, so, I kept them all! :-)

Making Progress

 
Daniel had a great progress report again......3s in all areas except for handwriting. And Mrs. Johnson even called him a sweetheart!!!! :-)

Army Men

I took these today from the kitchen window.......love them!!

The Great Pumpkin Patch

We took total advantage of our little fall break this morning & spent the morning lounging in our pjs. Then we headed to Hayden for our annual trek to The Great Pumpkin Patch. Daniel & Laura Ann had a blast picking a pumpkin, jumping in the hay, playing on the inflatables & doing the big bounce jumper. All of that was followed by a very late lunch of some grand carnival style food. We visited their halloween junk store on our way out & left with some great toys that were broken before we got home! It was a fabulous fall afternoon, complete with great weather & great company!!

Homestead Hollow

 
Daniel tagged along today with the Bettis' to Homestead Hollow. He & Jeb came back armed with marshmellow guns. Our street is super safe now!

Birthdays & a Homecoming

We started off our day celebrating Big Daddy & Nanna's birthdays.
 
And ended up in Tuscaloosa for the Tide's Homecoming game against Vanderbilt where we met Leigh Anne (Daniel got a little sweaty playing football with Tyler)
 
We had a great time. Daniel loved the game. Laura Ann loved the sparkle girls. And they both L.O.V.E stadium food!!
They weren't in photographic moods, so Dan & I did a couple pic instead of fighting the battle.
 
I didn't get a picture of this, but we left our seats a little early & took Laura Ann down to the field where the dance team was. A couple of girls from Moulton are on the dance team this year & Caroline waved to Laura Ann. It absolutely made her day. Guess what she wants to be for Halloween now???