A Night to Remember

WHAT. A. NIGHT!!!  We drove down to Tuscaloosa this afternoon for the Auburn basketball game.  We stopped for a quick supper at 15th Street Diner (Dan's favorite) & then headed over to the coliseum for the game.  The game was great, very close, but Bama pulled it out at the end.   Auburn's SGA president presented the Iron Bowl trophy to Coach Saban & the football team at halftime & then led the crowd in 'Yea Alabama'.  Daniel thought all of this was grand!  Daniel & Laura Ann both caught t-shirts thrown by the cheerleaders during time-outs.  Daniel made the FAN cam cheering and dancing- he was ecstatic!!  He got high-fives from everyone around us after that.  And we got lots of waves from Jane-Anne & Caroline (our favorite dance team girls) throughout the game (I sent them a message & gave them a heads up before the game that we would be there).   It was nonstop fun, seriously!
The fun was only getting started though, when the game ended.  We met Jane-Anne & Caroline at the railing & got to go down on the court, meet the Crimson Cabaret & get pictures.  It was literal *Sparkle Girl* heaven for Laura Ann!!  Daniel didn't complain one bit about it either.  We got to visit with the Elliotts & McCulloughs for a few minutes, who were there for Caroline's last home court game.  We missed seeing our favorite college student William though......he was the dedicated student who stayed home to study for his French test tomorrow.  We finally said our goodbyes & started to leave.   Laura Ann & I stopped at the bathroom on the way out & when we came out, Daniel had found Brandon Gibson (Bama football player).  Daniel asked him for a picture & explained that I was in the bathroom with my camera, so he kindly waited with Daniel for me to come out.  Such a nice guy!  Anyway, it was a super, super, super fun trip for the whole family to our most favorite place! 

Favorite quotes of the night:
Daniel- One time during the game, the Crimson Caberet lined up in the aisle & Jane-Anne was right beside us.  She waved at Daniel & he said, "MOM, Jane-Anne just waved at me & it made my face feel hot!  I think it's red!"

Laura Ann- Walking to the car, "This was the best night EVER!  My favorite part was when Caroline stood up in the middle & did that wiggle dance!"

NIKES

Who knew that New Balance shoes aren't cool??? Apparently, all of the cool kids wear Nike and I am happy to report that Daniel is joining the cool kids in Nike kicks today! He was one happy boy leaving for school this morning. Oh, and we went to get these cool Nikes yesterday after his orthodontist appointment. Apparently his bite is total mess AND he doesn't have enough space for his teeth to come in AND one tooth is laying sideways in his gum. Looks like we will be spending lots of time and money with the orthodontist. :-( Since I had to check him out before his lunch for his appointment, we made a date of it. Of course he chose Cracker Barrel for lunch & had pancakes. He literally talks my ears off on our 'dates' and I love every. single. minute of it!!

Saturday Morning Coffee

Daniel's last Upward Basketball game wasn't until 12:30 this morning, so I was thrilled to get to sit in bed & linger a little longer enjoying my coffee than most days. This is what greeted me at 6:30 a.m.........on a Saturday, no less!

Gymnastics!

Laura Ann LOVES gymnastics!!

Oreos and Bubbles

Laura Ann's most favorite treat is oreos and milk.  She asks for it daily & is quick to remind me when the oreo bag is empty & that I need to get to the grocery store to buy more.  I am always encouraging both her and Daniel to make healthy choices with food and Laura Ann is generally very good about it, but oreos are her weakness.  She'll say, "I know they aren't healthy, but I just can't stand it."  She said the other day, "Mom, I sure do wish God would've made oreos a healthy food."  Ha!!

And, the bubble baths continue to be a huge hit.  I let her take one tonight while the boys were at practice & left her unattended while I was working on supper.  When I checked in on her, she was almost overflowing the tub with bubbles.  She admitted to adding 'just a little bit' more soap after I left the bathroom.   Just a little......yea, right.

First Baseball Practice

We found out a couple of weeks ago that Daniel will be playing baseball for the Trussville Braves this year and that his coach will be our friend, Jason Blake. Yay! He is so excited! I snapped a quick pic as he & Dan were heading out the door this evening for their first practice.

The Stomach Bug Bites Again!

There's nothing like sitting down out dinner with friends in Birmingham and getting the call that Daniel has started throwing up......in Georgia at Big Daddy & Nanna's. Lovely! We rushed through dinner & headed home, where I changed, packed a bag & headed to Douglasville at 10:00 pm. Dan had to stay home with the dogs. Daniel was a pitiful sight when I got there at midnight & was sick a good part of the night. We were a sight to see heading back home this morning. Daniel had gone for several hours without being sick & had nothing on his stomach anyway, but I was just waiting on Laura Ann to start. So, I used about every towel in Nanna's linen closet to line my car & got out the barf bags from Children's that we aquired during Laura Ann's stomach bug stint last year. I'm happy to report that as of this blog post, the rest of us haven't gotten sick....yet.  Did I mention how much I HATE the stomach bug!?! My poor babies!

More Valentines & TEAM IMPACT

Daniel and Laura Ann were very excited to get Valentine Surprises in the mail from Big Daddy and Nanna today. Daniel didn't have time for a pic though, because he had a Team Impact show to perform in......there was a new feat today.......crushing a coat hanger.

Happy Valentine's Day!!

We had a great time today celebrating Valentine's Day! In addition to celebrating our love for each other and the love of Christ, we got to celebrate Daniel's first spiritual birthday!

More Team Impact

Daniel got home from school today and immediately changed into his Team Impact 'suit' and started performing. Jeb rang the doorbell in the middle of his show & was so excited to tell Daniel that his mom had brought home REAL phone books from school for them to use in their show. They headed outside & this is how I found them a few minutes later...... GREAT idea, Ann!! Haaaaa!! I am happy to report that I remained calm, praised their great effort & informed them that they did not have a stage crew & must clean up every single shred of it. They were so giddy & impressed with themselves that they did clean up every single shred without any argument. Love these two!!!

Show Girl

Laura Ann refuses to be outdone by her brother, so she has started doing performances for us as well. At least once a day over the last few days, we have to go up the playroom for a dance performance. It has to be in the playroom because that is where her stage is........the train table. It's awfully small for a stage, but she makes it work. And can I just say how much I love that table!?! It really looks awful....Dan is ready to dump it, but I already know that I will keep it forever in exactly the same state it is currently in......covered in etched train tracks. I look at those ugly etches and see a precious 3 year old Daniel!!

Her performances are pretty precious too. She is quite dramatic and my favorite so far has been the one where the lights had to be out and Dan had to keep a flashlight shining on the stage......he makes a pretty good spotlight guy!

TEAM IMPACT

They are BACK!!! Team Impact is back at our church this week and guess who is PUMPED about it?!? Daniel absolutely LOVED the show last night and of course, we got a full show of our own today complete with Big Chip and an announcer.

Disney Art

Laura Ann spent the afternoon today working on this drawing of Disney World............  I especially love that she made up a 'Mickey Ride' with Mickey & Minnie.  And of course, it isn't Disney without a Castle and some princesses.

Deer!

Just before lunch today, I heard something outside & looked out our bedroom window in our front yard. There were 3 female deer on our driveway & I was hearing their hooves! Laura Ann and I quietly moved to the back deck and watched them walk down our driveway, through the Bettis' backyard and into the woods. Not long after that, something caught my eye again & when I looked out the window, this buck was in our front yard, no doubt after those females. I grabbed my camera & Laura Ann and we went on the front porch to watch him. He didn't seem to be too bothered by us. When he started around the house, we moved to the back deck & watched him take the same path as the females. Dan sees them all the time EARLY in the morning, but they aren't usually in our yard this late in the day. So neat to watch them!

Every. Single. Day.

This is what Daniel does every single day after school, as well as on weekends......plays a football game in our side yard. Sometimes he plays by himself & sometimes Jeb joins him. Notice that he is still sporting the 'dreadlocks' (aka coonskin hat).

A Valentine Package

It was all excitement today when Gran's Valentine package arrived in the mail!

The Bubble Bath Craze

When we moved almost 2 years ago, we quit bathing the kids together in our tub & started bathing them in their own bathrooms, and Daniel has since started showering himself. But even when we did bath them in our big tub, neither one of them liked the jets......they were afraid of them......especially Laura Ann. And we seldom ever do bubble baths.....mainly because the soap we have to buy for their sensitive skin is $10 for a tiny bottle. Anyway, while Laura Ann was sick, I decided to bath her in our tub, just for convenience & because she still felt so bad. I offered a bubble bath, along with the jets & she surprising agreed & L.O.V.E.D. it!!!! She has had several & guess who else just had to be in on the fun????