Wednesday, October 31, 2007

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Hope you have a good day!!

Saturday, October 27, 2007

Reed's Dedication

I know I post everything a week after it happens, but at least I'm posting again... Last weekend Brookie and I got to go to Nashville for Reed's Dedication at church. We were so glad that we could be there to celebrate this special occasion. The above picture is of me and Reed during church right after his dedication. He did so good!!
Here is me and Brookie about to leave for church!

Silly Reed playing with his Aunt Ava's sunglasses..

About 10 minutes after we got to Jeff and Abbey's, Reed noticed somebody he had never seen before: his Uncle Brookie. This is the look he gave him for a good 5 minutes. He was so cute. Uncle Brookie and Reed had lots of fun making silly noises and laughing!



Of course, the first thing I did was give Reed a great big hug, then a kiss and then a present (like any good Aunt!) :)


We had such a good time!!





Sunday, October 14, 2007

Carrie's Shower last weekend

My mom and I gave my college room mate a baby shower last weekend. It was a rubber duckie themed shower and it was a lot of fun! Here is a picture of me with Carrie.



Here are some of the duckie decorations...

The flower arrangement.


All the food...we had blueberry pound cake, Quiche, sausage cheese muffins, grape salad, and cream cheese tarts. It was a baby shower brunch!





The plates, napkins, and forks...




A few of the guests...


Everything went great! It was wonderful to get to see Carrie. She lives in Minnesota where her husband is a pilot with Delta. They are expecting their first child in January! And they don't know whether it is a boy or a girl!

Saturday, September 29, 2007

Reed...

His first car ride in a car seat... "How many people does it take to strap me in?"
Reed and his Auntie Ava

Talking to his favorite bear...



"My entire life is being blogged." Onesie...so true!!




Tuesday, June 12, 2007

My Etsy Store




I added a few items to my etsy store! Click here take a look!

Sunday, June 03, 2007

This Weekend...

We went to Belzoni this weekend for Brookie's 10 year Class Reunion (even though he's only been out 9.) We went to the farm on Saturday afternoon and drove around and looked at the cotton. This little turtle was crossing the road and we stopped to make sure it got across.














Brookie spotted this dust devil in the cotton field so we had to stop for me to take a picture of it. It's my first dust devil to ever see! I can also tell the difference now between soy beans and cotton.



















Here's a picture of the two of us in his Dad's truck on the farm.















And here we are just about to go out to eat and then head to the reunion...


Wednesday, May 30, 2007

T-Minus...Six Months

This is one of my most favorite deer pictures. Whoever took it obviously pictured a doe, because nobody in their right mind would try this number on a decent buck. Ingredients for this was a rifle scope and a digital camera. Pretty neat, huh?? We have approximately, 5 months, 17 days, 20 hours, 24 minutes, and 0 seconds until the next rifle season. At some point soon I am going to plant some summer plots, which I have never done. This past season was very promising so I am going to give the deer a buffet complete with cowpeas, soybeans, lab lab, milo, and millet to feast on this summer. It should be a good protein mix so hopefully it will pay off this winter. I will post pics of the planting....

Tuesday, May 29, 2007

Birthday Bikes

Sorry it's been so long since we last posted. We don't have any excuses- we just haven't posted. :) Our birthdays are less than a week apart- which is fun because we can just have a week long birthday celebration! This year (which is only our second year to celebrate our birthdays together) we decided to get something we can enjoy together- we got bikes! And yes, we have actually been riding them! Which is unusual for me because riding a bike would be somewhat athletic...Anyway, here we are after a bike ride...





Yesterday was Brookie's birthday! We had a really good day! Below is a picture of his cake (look at all those candles!) He requested the smallest cake I could find. He had been telling me for weeks that he didn't want a cake and then the night before his birthday, he decides he wouldn't mind a small one. So, off to Wal-mart- and it was between this red, white and blue one or hot pink roses...


Friday, April 13, 2007

Happy Birthday Dad!


Today is my Dad's birthday! I hope he has a great day!!

Wednesday, April 04, 2007

Happy Birthday!

Today is my mom's birthday! Jeff, Abbey, (I'm sure Flat Reed), Brookie and I are going to visit this weekend to celebrate her birthday!

Thursday, March 29, 2007

A very proud Aunt!!

I'm so excited with the news of my new little nephew! He was born February 16, 2007, weighed 6lb. 3 oz. and was 18.89 inches long! Abbey and Jeff will go pick him up from Taiwan sometime this summer!! He's the cutest Taiwaiin baby ever. For more pictures and even a video check out their blog Landlife. (The link is to the left.)

Tuesday, March 20, 2007

Wife in Training

My wife always finds some way to brighten my day. In most cases, it usually occurs when she says something absolutely random. A friend of mine is a residential and commercial landscaper and he is in the process of shaping up our yard. He has a "tractor", which happened to spend the night in the backyard with Mon-roe, that is nearly identical to the attached picture. After Patrick left for the evening, Ava had an idea that she wanted me to take a picture of her sitting in the seat of the "bulldozer" while she was wearing her red cotton logo t-shirt so she could put it on the blog. Well, babe, it made it on the blog, but not exactly how you wished. I know that Bateville isn't considered to be in the Delta (strangely enough, North Delta Academy happens to be located there), but I thought it was close enough for her to be able to positively identify a tractor. That's what you get for assumptions. Granted, she is a lovely front yard farmer, but it is going to take a little more work than I originally anticipated to transform her in to that of a cotton farmer. I guess a few more gin shows and she'll have it down.

Monday, March 19, 2007

Weekend Pics...









We had a great time this weekend. My parents came into town to visit. We got so much accomplished around the house (Dad did most of it!) We put down our new rug, hung curtains, hung a mirror in the dinning room, and Dad fixed our disposal! We took Mom and Dad to Nagoya for them to try sushi and Hibachi. They really enjoyed the hibachi, but I doubt they'll be having sushi anytime soon! After they left on Sunday, Brookie and I worked in the yard. I potted a few flowers for the front yard and trimmed some bushes, Brookie finished trimming the crepe myrtles and then we both worked on planting flowers around the mailbox. It was hard work for such a small area!


Friday, March 16, 2007

Monday, March 12, 2007

Sunday Yard Work...


Brookie and I went to the Pinelake Madison campus and Sunday and afterwards made a trip to Lowe's for various items. While we were there, we picked up two yellow hibiscus for the front porch. I planted them once we got home and I washed off the front porch. I think they are going to look really good with the yellow wreaths once they both bloom! Brookie also worked in the yard- he fertilized the front yard and tried planting seed in the backyard.














Lindsey and Lee's Wedding




This is Lindsey and Lee's engagement picture.
We headed to Monroe, LA this weekend for my old roommate's wedding! Everything was beautiful and went so well! Here are some pictures...










































This is a picture of me and Lindsey. You can see the groom's cake in the background.

















This is the beautiful arrangement under the main tent.
















From left to right: Christy, Zach, Mamie, Brookie, me, and Allison. Mamie and Zach will be getting married in June!
















Lindsey and Lee got married at her parent's house. The ceremony was on the front porch and the reception was in the backyard. This was a shot of the front of the house.
























And here is the wedding cake!

New Hobby on the Horizon


Since my duck hunting has been pretty much a flop over the last couple of years, it is time to research a new outdoor hobby. I have been bitten by the hunting bug again and have been chomping at the bit to get back into the woods. It appears that spring is here and I must admit that there a few things prettier in the woods this time of year than a gobbler in full strut. Although I have never chased one of these birds, their reputation precedes them as being being very wary adversaries given their keen senses. Nicholas is responsible for my newfound interest in trying to claim what Benjamin Franklin suggested to be our national bird. I have yet to invest in an owl call and a good slate call to get started. The mouth calls are just too tricky and since I am a newlywed, I don't exactly feel that my wife will want me to practice yelping all over the house. We'll just have to see whether or not I actually pursue this new venture, but I have tons of friends who swear by it. Who knows, maybe if I get good at it I can get Ava to get up at 4:00 in the morning and dress in full Mossy Oak, including facemask and snakeproof boots. Well, at least there's always wishful thinking.....

Wednesday, March 07, 2007

It's about time for us to post!

















Sorry we haven't posted in forever. We bring our camera everywhere and we always forget to take pictures! These are pictures of the cookies that I brought to a super bowl party we went to. They were a big hit! And no, I didn't make them. I've been home the past two days with Bronchitis and haven't been able to do much. This is the first time that I've been sick since Brookie and I have been married so he's been taking care of me. He's doing a great job especially for his first time!

We're head to Monroe, LA this weekend for my friend's Lindsey's wedding on Saturday. Hopefully I'll take some pictures and be able to post them when we get back. After I learn to post links, I'll have to post the links to Jason and Leslie's blog and Molly, John and Brady's blog!! Now the pressure is on for Richard, Karen, and Hugh! :)

Saturday, February 17, 2007

A Year Ago Today....



Brookie and I met at Family Bowling in Pearl, Mississippi, specifically at the snack bar. There was a large group of friends from Pinelake that decided to get together for a night of bowling. A friend and I went to get a bottle of water, and Brookie just happened to get thirsty at this very same time even though he had just visited the snack bar for a drink 15 minutes earlier. He had noticed my excellent bowling skills earlier in the night, though he really just thought I was hot (he's helping me write this post).

We introduced ourselves and then we didn't speak to each other for the rest of the night at the lanes. Then we all decided to go to a friend's house and order pizza. Somehow or another we both ended up next to the pizza and chatted for a few minutes. Right before he left, my friend suggested that I invite Brookie the next night to another friend's house for a strange night night of karaoke. He asked for someone's number to call the next night. Of course, I volunteered mine. After I gave him my number, I made sure to ask, "Do you even know my name?" The sad thing is he shook his head no. A few days later he text me out on our first date and I responded- Sounds good. A year later....we've been married for three months.

Tuesday, February 13, 2007

Big Buck Down

The Lord works in mysterious ways in our lives and that same rule applies to the deer woods. Dad, Shelton, and I went to the farm on Sunday to put out our new Cuddeback Trail Camera to take after-season photos of the survivors to give us an indication of what lies ahead for next year. We were walking around one of our fields trying to find a favorable location to gather some Kodak moments. Dad decided to ride the 4-wheeler to another location. He returned moments later and expressed his excitement about what he had just seen. A sad daddy had rubbed a tree that I couldn't put my hands around completely to the core. I then walked to a small opening at the back of the field and saw something that resembled an antler lying on the other side of a ridge. Dad and Shelton both saw it shortly thereafter and to our surprise this is what we found. It was like discovering the pot of gold at the end of a rainbow. Based on the wear of his teeth, he was probably no more than three and a half years old. However, I guess that he will score close to 140 on the Boone and Crockett Scoring System. He was 15 inches wide and had 13 scorable points (11 typical with a split brow tine and a kicker off the left G-3). We obviously have created a habitat conducive to producing deer with genes such as these and it is incredible that a deer of that age sported such a fine set of headgear. His dad is out there somewhere and he may just be the new county record typical if we are fortunate enough to harvest him. The problem is that these old deer have been around the block a time or two and know all too well to only move at night. Maybe we can get a snapshot of him on the game cam since it has the capability of taking pics 24 hours a day.

There is no way of knowing for sure if this was the final piece of The Trifecta since there is no definitive evidence (though coincidental) to prove it. It is a lot like instant replay at the Super Bowl....there has to be indisputable evidence to overturn the ruling on the field. At any rate, it is a memory and trophy that the family will enjoy forever. What may or may not be will certainly look outstanding on the wall.

Sunday, January 28, 2007

Here Kitty Kitty

Well, the Trifecta didn't quite come to completion. There was really no opportunity to go back into the Congo with the bulldog to find my deer. It pretty much rained every weekend since the incident. Weather in the Deep South is so unpredictable. It is clear and cool all week, but the rainclouds will always open on Saturday. Not very conducive to successful tracking. At any rate, I did happen to go hunting again with my old hunting buddy in search of another fuzzy forest creature to replace the lost one. We got into our enclosed elevated shooting house very quietly around 3:45 and just like clockwork the deer started coming to feed around 4:00. At first two twin yearlings emerged and then a four-point appeared at the opposite corner of the field seconds later. The trail the buck used was fairly open just inside the woodline so I was able to notice the back of another animal creeping towards the field. We really thought we hit the jackpot. Suddenly the year and a half old buck started getting really nervous. Of course I was thinking old sad daddy (a really old mature buck to you novices) was going to slip in on us. The new guest happened to not be very popular with the party crowd.

Dynamite in a 50 pound package. The meanest, nastiest, gnarliest, bad to the bone, Eli's Coming critter in the woods. These guys don't go to the store to get their Kibbles and Bits, they get theirs direct. You seriously can't intimidate these dudes and you don't want to be in a briar thicket with one. They have a growl (yes growl, they don't meeeow) that will turn even a human's blood cold. As Nicholas (one of my esteemed groomsmen) puts it, "You don't wanna be tied up with one of them. That'll put you in a bind quick." Anyway, little bucky could just tell that he was being followed. He went full alert and started stomping and snorting (of course the whole day was shot now). Too young to know any better, he went to investigate. Adolescents! About two steps later, felis rufus comes over a a small ridge and flicked his claws at the face of the youngster, who happens to be three-and-a-half times his size. Bucky wasn't all too keen on this mess so he skirts on out of the way. In the meantime, the little devil sees the fresh meat in the other corner of the woods so he breaks back on another trail. Seconds later, he eases out across some water that was ankle deep on us (they aren't afraid to get wet either). Being the expert stalker he is, he slips totally undetected less than ten yards behind the twins making not a splash or a ripple trying to get downwind of them. Knowing what I know now, I should have flipped him with the 325 grain Hornady's I was slinging, but it was only 4:15. He never showed his face again, but the twins were restless for the rest of the afternoon. By far the largest and darkest of that sort I had ever seen, he was seriously pushing 50 pounds and was almost pure coal color. I had always heard that deer were terrified of them, but I had no idea until I witnessed this fiasco. Trappers have told that they were the fiercest and fearless of all southern predators. They have been known to pounce on deer from branches and take them down to the ground using their inch long teeth and razor sharp claws, which happen to come five to a paw. The wonders of the Delta flatlands.......