We got our MOJO back!

Woohoo! That was the final score tonight for Zach's Grizzlies (home) team. Six of those 27 points were provided by Zach. The game was suppose to start at 5:30, but by 5:40 we realized we didn't have any referees. Our options were: cancel the game, or wait until the refs arrive at 6:30. CANCEL?!?!? I took off work earlier to pick up my son and have him at the gamesite by 5:10. It takes me 15-20 minutes to drive here. Don't you dare cancel that game on me and make me waste my time and gas money getting here! So we waited....Then there was a polling of the audience - can you ref? HELLLLLOOOOO... I don't know a single rule of basketball. I watch the referees and am impressed by their ability to direct traffic on the court (they look just like those NY cops). When I'm asked what just happened, what was that call, I carefully repeat the hand gestures made by the refs. Except that I look like I'm trying to steer the 747 to the gate for deboarding. And the person who has just asked me that question has no better idea of what just happened. And at that point we have both just missed the next 2 minutes of the game. I didn't know a single rule about lacrosse either, but fortunately nobody else seemed to either and we could make up our own rules and interpretations of referee calls. So while I'm grateful that you might think I have the ability to decide a team's fate, I thank you, but I must decline, because I don't know the gesture for "that way to the basket..."

All Aboooaaard!!!!!!

The Tennessean restaurant is an old train that has been converted to a very nice, $$ restaurant. It’s really cool – you can eat on a train and not worry about motion sickness which is good since you just paid all that money for your dinner! Just after Thanksgiving The Tennessean converted its train restaurant to The Polar Express. So we invite Nikki and Mason and the Scott Family to join us.

First, we get there first. First! We are never first. So while we wait I take a few pictures of the girls in the Town Square.

Yes, they just LOVE each other. Best of friends. Isn’t this how you treat your BFF?

Next Nikki and Mason show up. They BEAT the Scotts! So I subjected Mason to the photo shoot as well.

Then the Scotts showed up. So while we wait to board the train, I take their picture too. Maybe it will be their Christmas picture. After all, I’m a fabulous photographer and one day when I’m famous they will be able to say – yes we know her – she has taken our family portrait. Maybe not.

So I add Carson to the photo gang.


When it’s time for our trip, the train conductor gave each child a golden ticket…

Then we board the train and the conductor punches the golden tickets.

We are the FIRST group on the train. Seriously, I should’ve played the lottery that day.

And the kids are very excited.

Here’s our “punched” golden ticket.

…And the other side.

First course – Hot Chocolate. And I’m not kidding. The first one to try it said, “Wow, that’s really hot!” Only to have the next 8 people say the exact same thing, like we didn’t believe the person before us.

Apparently Mason burned his tongue really good and had to let it cool down.

Main Course? Why chicken tenders and fries because what else would a fine dining establishment serve?


And then we were treated to a reading of The Polar Express by this gentleman. I wish I had gotten his name – he was fantastic – an actor in his spare time.

Then it was time for dessert – a warm chocolate chip cookie. Sydney can attest to the fact that it was finger lickin’ good!

At the end of our journey each child received a magical bell…


They’re magical alright – they can ring for hours on end in the hands of these children. Plus, they can “magically” appear when you decide to chance it and walk through the house barefoot. Luckily they ring when you step on them – loud enough to cover the verbiage flowing from your mouth as you hop to your bed…

A Tough Game

Zach and the Grizzlies played another game tonight. They were down at halftime, but gained some momentum during the second half. Unfortunately, the Pistons got their game back during the last few minutes and managed to win the game 20 to 12. Zach did an excellent job though and there's always next week!

Biopsy

That title will grab your attention, won't it? On Monday I had a biopsy done. Wes and Nikki came with me to the doctor's office. Mom wanted to be there but she had jury duty (lucky dog - yeah, right!). After two sets of mammograms, an ultrasound, the actual biopsy, and 2.5 hours of my life, I walked back into the waiting room. My support system (including Mom after she had been released from jury duty) was there waiting for me. THANKS GUYS! Of course, it took so long that they were the last people in the waiting room. The clinic called this morning to say the spot was benign and I'm good to go.

I'm grateful for those moments when my prayers coincide with God's plans for me!

How do you sleep?

Sydney was a little worn out Sunday afternoon. So I sent her upstairs for a quick rest. As it turns out, she decided to nap in the guest room. When I went looking for her, this is how I found her, arms tucked under her body, sound asleep. This is close to how I envision Dracula napping.

Decorating the Christmas Tree

Although we pulled the Christmas tree down last week, we didn't get it decorated until yesterday. Mason, my nephew helped us out. Every time I tried to take a picture of the kids, Katy would disappear behind the tree....

Finally, I just had to ask them to pose.

Dinner at Firebirds

Every Christmas season Wes, Nikki, and I join my parents and their friends for dinner one night. It is my parents' Christmas present to us, for which we are extremely grateful and appreciative. Thanks Mom and Dad! This year we headed to Firebirds. The food was good, the service was good, and the company was great!

Clockwise from bottom center: Nikki, Wes, Mom (Lyn), Bonnie, Dave, Dad (Dave), Gary, Linda, Valerie, Betty, and Tommy.

Go Grizzlies!

Zach is playing basketball for the youth association. His team is called the Grizzlies and his first game was last Wednesday night. He played a good bit of the game and even scored. He had a mass of cheerleaders on the sidelines: Mom, Dad, Sydney, Katy, Nana, Aunt Nikki, and Mason. A good time was had by all and it didn't hurt that we won the game!

That's my guy - Number 3!

He goes for the shot........

And he scores!

Grizzlies win!
On a side note - Zach is 2nd from the left with the red shoelaces - hairiest legs on the team.

I was tagged

I've been tagged by Heather to do the following:

1. Choose the 4th picture folder on my computer

2. Choose the 4th picture

3. Explain the picture

4. Tag 4 people to do the same.

For our 14th anniversary (October 2005) Wes and I took the bike to Nashville then on to Chattanooga. We both packed for 1 week in those two saddlebags and half a backpack. When we left Memphis it was sunny and about 80 degrees. You see that black backpack on the back of the bike? That is my laptop! I had a job in Union City, so we traveled through Union City on our way to Nashville so I could inspect the property. CRAZY - I know! It was still warm when we left Nashville for Chattanooga. However, we ran into a HUGE storm on the way and the temperature dropped about 30 degrees. Wes had on a long sleeved shirt and I had on a very lightweight jean jacket. We had to stop at every rest stop along the way to use the air hand dryers on our clothes. By the time we got to the bed and breakfast we looked like drowned rats. The innkeeper was so kind to us and took our clothes and shoes (they were the only ones we packed) and put them in the dryer for us. We bought sweaters in Chattanooga to keep us warm on the way back to Nashville. In Nashville, our first stop was the leather store at Opry Mills Mall where we bought coats, gloves, and boots. This is a picture of me on the way back to Memphis. Even with all that gear on I was still cold. Wes and I joke about the old saying "It's not about the destination, it's about the journey." You know what? Sometimes it's about the destination!!!!!

I tag:

1. Nikki

2. Jocelyn

3. Katy

4. Christine

All I wanted was a new pair of glasses.....

So I go to the optometrist about a month ago. He tells me my vision is changing while I'm sitting in the chair. While it can be normal, there are a few medical conditions that it can be caused by and he would like for me to have a physical before he gives me a new prescription. So I call and make an appointment for a physical and while I'm at it I remember it's time for my annual "girl" check up, so I make that appointment as well. The physical shows I have high cholesterol. The check up shows high cholesterol, low iron, low vitamin D and a small mass on my left side. So now I'm taking an iron supplement, a vitamin D supplement, have to go on a low cholesterol diet (but not until after Christmas she said, THANKFULLY!), and have a biopsy done next Monday.

GEEEEEZ! All I wanted was a new pair of glasses......

Ralph

On Thanksgiving morning, Elf on the Shelf showed up at our house on the fireplace mantel. The girls have named him Ralph. Ralph leaves every night to update Santa on the kids' behavior. He returns every morning to a new spot. He has shown up in some of the craziest places!

Petri Dish

Sickness ran rampant through the Alexander House over the Thanksgiving holiday. My nephew, Mason, was sick Thanksgiving morning but felt better by that night. Saturday morning Zach's stomach had started to hurt so he laid on on the couch all day Saturday and Sunday. At one point I walked in to find him with an ice pack on his stomach. Apparently, his belly was hot. Saturday night Wes and I took the girls to the hardware store and all was well. However, by 9 o'clock that night Sydney was ice cold and revisiting her dinner of Cocoa Puffs. The good news is that by 9 o'clock the next morning she was fine. By Sunday night Katy was still feeling good so we thought we'd missed the bullet with her. Unfortunately, about midnight, Monday night she got sick in the bed. Luckily she has a GREAT big sister who cleaned her up with a towel and changed her clothes before they came and got me. Thank heavens for Sydney and her big heart! Katy missed school on Tuesday, but when she asked for mac n' cheese for dinner, I knew she was all better. Here's hoping Wes and I can escape it!

Movin' on Mondays!

For her 7th birthday Katy asked for and received gymnastics lessons. She goes with her good friend Kate every Monday evening. This week she focused on kartwheels on the floor beam and backwards rolls. Here's a peek at her rolls. She does an excellent job of staying on the line while tumbling.

Surprise, Surprise!

Sydney discovered the camcorder function on my camera a couple of months ago on a trip to Hot Springs. I was downloading pictures a couple of weeks ago and when the thumbnails appeared on the screen I thought to myself, I don't remember taking a picture of the den floor...

Sydney had left me a little surprise. When she talks about painting, she's talking about Wes letting the girls paint the back of the house on the patio. The Red Day she's referring to is the Just Say No To Drugs campaign at school. Sydney took 1st place in her class from kindergarten through 2nd grade. This year we had our Alexander afternoon at the dentist scheduled and she wasn't there for the competition, but trust me she was red from her headband to her socks!

Chick Magnet

While out shopping the other day Zach says to Wes:

"You should get a sweater vest - they're chick magnets."

Wes is taken aback for a moment and asks, why they are chick magnets. Zach explains that at the moment he (Zach) seems to be repelling the women and since he doesn't own a sweater vest, this MUST be the reason... I love Zach's humor. During the last 12 months he has really developed a good sense of humor and can crack jokes about and poke fun at himself. He has joined a youth basketball league and practices are underway. Games start 12/3 - Go GRIZZLIES! His social advancement (talking) during school is not popular with the teachers. We received an email from the Geography teacher about him putting his head down in class and napping. His grade in that class??? - 99 average. It's tough to come down on him hard with a grade like that.

The Big Muffin Pow Wow!

Several nights ago at dinner, the question was asked: "What is a Pow Wow?"

Wes' response: "It's where a bunch of girls sit around together and one girl punches another girls and says 'Pow'. The girls who is hit obviously yells "Ow!"

Hence, Powow!

A busy night at the Alexander house. Sydney is participating in a Brownie Pow Wow event this coming weekend where she will learn about indian customs, habitats, and food. To get ready, she decorated an Indian vest made from a brown pillowcase. Katy couldn't stand to be left out. Good thing pillowcases are sold in pairs!

After decorating their outfits, the girls made muffins for tomorrow's breakfast - blueberry cheesecake and strawberry. YUM!!

Open House at FES!!

Tonight was Open House at Farmington for Katy and Sydney. First we stopped by the cafeteria for some yummy BBQ. Mmmmm! The girls were not as excited as Wes about the menu, so when they finished pushing the meat around on their plates, Wes was happy to finish their dinners for them. Then it was off to the classrooms....

First we stopped by Sydney's class. Ms. Crockett proudly demonstrated the clickers and smartboard. We also watched a video of Sydney's speech while she was running for "Governor". She didn't win the election, but had a fantastic platform of: support for senior citizens, picking up the trash, and providing more crosswalks! We were able to bring home her diorama of a yak in its habitat and her worm habitat (yep - a couple of worms in a cup of dirt with a hole at the top). I hope the worms stay put today, as we had to leave them in the house since it was so cold this morning....Here is a picture of Sydney's desk. We couldn't believe it was so clean and organized. Then Ms. Crockett told us she made the kids clean out their desks today. Figured I'd better get a picture of this while it lasted.

Then we visited Ms. Cooper's 2nd grade class with Katy. We had to take a quiz of Katy's favorite things (color, friend, restaurant, book). Seriously, book???? This kid reads a book every three days. I can't keep up with what she's read!!! Katy will be grading our quiz tomorrow and let us know how we did when we get home. From her class we got to bring home the green-haired monster (sock filled with soil and grass seed).

After the classroom jaunts, it was time to head for the gym to the raffle and silent auction. Each girl had 25 raffle tickets. Sydney spread hers out between the music basket, girls sports basket, and the Nintendo DS drawing. Katy picked the girls sports basket, Ipod Nano, and Nintendo DS. I think the girls sports basket got maybe 3 or 4 tickets and the rest were shared between the Nano and DS boxes.

We're keeping our fingers crossed!!!!