Spring Break--Small Reunion

This post is going to be incredibly out of order...but with this dial-up version, I figure it's best not to be OCD about the order! Over Spring Break, Scott and I made a trip to see some of my best college friends. We drove to Johnston, South Carolina and stayed with our friends, Jenny and John on their "farm." John's family has a peach tree orchard and he is in the process of building a chicken farm...so although they do not farm (yet) they live in the middle of farmland. It was absolutely beautiful---I've posted a few pictures of the trees which were just beginning to bloom. I loved it! Our other friends, Dane, Hovan and Elizabeth also made the trip. For a spur-of-the-moment gathering, we did pretty well! Elizabeth brought her 20 month old, Sara Clark, to play with Jenny's little one, Gracie. The girls were fast friends and who knows, might be roommates in college later in life?!? It was absolutely wonderful to spend a long weekend with my girlfriends and I love that even after a long drought we pick right back up and have the best time together. Thanks Jenny for having us!

I'll post captions to try to explain what we did. Once again, I have NO pictures of the group of adults. Well, there is one...but it looks like one of the kids might have taken it...

We went to the circus one night...


These ponies had cabbage patch kids on thier backs. Kinda weird.

How precious! They loved one another!

This is the group shot. We ate at a pizza place in Augusta before the circus. At this point, 2 of the 4 kids were having a major meltdown. Wow. Oh, and the "kid" taking the picture was Scott. hahah!

Scott playing with Sara Clark.

A quick trip to town meant loading up in close quarters. I bet the girls were wondering where my car seat was.

Gracie has a little pink loveseat that they shared...and bounced and bounced and bounced on.

Aunt Dane reading a morning story to Sara Clark.

John and Hovan....my how we have grown up. Check out all the little furniture!

Scott and John toasting. This was a trick they taught Gracie. She would tap their beers with her sippy cup and take a big gulp! Make your daddy proud!

Sweet Gracie. How precious is she!

The weather was perfect for lounging outside...with sidewalk chalk and bubbles.

I LOVED being with my friends and watching their children. Sometimes I really do wonder where the time went, but I am so proud of the women we have become. Over the weekend we talked a great deal about grown up things: selling houses, opening businesses, having babies, renovating houses, teaching toddlers, buying houses...the list goes on. Good times girls.

Birmingham Babies

I recently took a quick trip to Birmingham with Sarah and Hayes. We were visiting Brad and Bentley, which meant visiting with lots of good friends, too. We had a GREAT time catching up and laughing at the kiddos....and then rested for a few days to recover (especially me and B and B--it's hard to go from no kids to LOTS racing around!). It was a blast--thanks for having us! II did not get many pictures of the adults--imagine that!

Our friends Tommy and Blakely came over for a cookout and had their little ones--Jane and Mary Thomas in tow. I haven't seen either of their girls so it was great to actually meet them and play with them! They are precious and I am so proud of Tommy and Blakely. We have been friends since my Louisville days and have kept in touch via blogs, facebook, and emails. Tommy recently came to visit us for the Ole Miss/ UT game (but we won't remind him of that game!). We always have a great time together, so it was a treat to see their entire family. Oh, and speaking of treats...

Hayes eyed the desserts.

So naturally the kiddos got to eat lots of desserts!

Hayes and the girls were fast friends. Anything that Jane did, such as hid under the dining table...

Hayes did (or attempted to do)!

After lots of cookies the kids went wild--here, you see Mary Thomas is already in her pajamas and Jane is sweeping the television. Meanwhile, all adults are talking around the chaos and actually having a lovely visit.

Saturday morning walk to Magic Muffin (aka CRACK HOUSE because it's SO good and then they are closed the next TWO times I attempt to go!).

Saturday afternoon play date with my best friend and her children. I always try to visit Dana when I'm in town, and this visit, though short, was special because Hayes and Wells got to meet! They are only 5 days apart in age, so it was super fun to see them playing together....well, around one another. She also has a precious baby girl, Claire, and I always love seeing her angelic smile! Love your fam Dana!

To close out the weekend, we honored a Sloan family tradition and ate at Kobe, a hibachi grill. Hayes LOVED it and ALL of the food--especially the bowl of shrimp "yum-yum" sauce that happened to be in his reach.

Good times had by all. Love y'all!

Easter in Booneville

(These next few posts are out of order....kind of like life right now! ha!)

We had a WONDERFUL time in Booneville at Scott's parents home. Unlike years past it was just the adults so it was a bit different. Rather than hunt eggs we played fiddle, and rather than candy we ate slugburgers. Easter is always a special holiday for me because of the significance of the day and the time of year. Spring brings new life and Easter Sunday is a grand celebration of the life Jesus Christ gave us when he died on the cross. Unlike other holidays, I enjoy Easter because it makes me pause and reflect rather than race and run to parties and parades. I love it! This year was really fun to hang out with Cindi, Chick, Carol and Gerald. I love going to Scott's parents house because it is so relaxing and I always return home rested and refreshed.

Easter Sunday we went to Gerald and Carol's church and listened to a beautiful Easter cantata concert by the choir. The music retold the Easter story and it was a nice way to hear the message. Sometimes I get more from music than preaching (gasp!).

Slugburgers? For years I have heard about these infamous burgers and have yet to taste one (I know what many of you are thinking--Mary? Try new things?!). Friday afternoon we decided to hop in the car and head up to Corinth so that Chick and I could experience this together. We pulled up to the White Trolley Cafe...

...scanned the menu (nice--notice the bologna egg sandwhiches on the menu among many other interesting items)....

...and awaited the arrival of my slugburger with cheese (which was about $1.00!)

A slugburger was made popular in the depression because they used very little meat and lots of breading to make the meat stretch further. They deep fried it and tah-dah, a delicacy! Anything fried is good!

YUMMMMMMMMY!!!!

For entertainment after dinner, we were treated to some of Papa's music. He is a very talented musician (we found his old band pictures!) and has taken up teaching himself how to play the fiddle and the mandelin. Papa can play. Scott cannot.


But Scott can pretend!

We had a very nice time with the Thompsons---we look forward to our next visit!

NOLA-part 3

After the bowling bash, we moved on to not 1, not 2, but 3 bars....lots of dancing and lots of fun! One of the bars we went to had a cover for the pool table so that you could dance on it. Obviously our group took over! The craziest dance was when Elizabeth imaginary jump-roped with some random guys...never seen that before :)

This random guy took a little nap on the pool table/dance floor. John decided to join him for a few minutes, but the guy's friend did not find any humor in it. Before a fight broke out (which the guy slept through!), we moved on to another dance bar.

We had so much fun! My feet hurt from dancing :) I had to change my shoes midway through the night---that has to be a sign of a good time!

NOLA-2

I jumped the gun--I didn't tell you about our trip to NOLA before posting pictures from our trip! Sorry!

Elizabeth, my college roommate in Tutwiler, across the street "neighbor," holder of my spare key (which granted her the right to drive my car anytime...especially to church!), lifesavor in Jackson, and bridesmaid turned the big 3-0 this month. So, Scott and I headed down to NOLA for the celebration and a much needed break from the mundane.

Elizabeth's parents hosted a fantastic celebration--bowling and dancing! I love her parents and really enjoyed getting to visit with them. They are 2 of the neatest people and I admire them so much!

The added bonus of going to NOLA is that we get to see Scott's college roommate, fraternity brother, groomsman, and keeper of many crazy college secrets as well. Thank you John for allowing us to invite ourselves to stay with you!

NOLA-Post 1

While in NOLA, we toured the Lower 9th Ward. I have been to NOLA many, many times and even been since Katrina. However, neither Scott nor I had ever been to the 9th Ward...so it was quite interesting to head over to see what signs of damage were left and what signs of progress were noticeable. It was quite interesting...the pictures show the levee (that has been "repaired" but is still only yards from homes), the city skyline in the background (I didn't realize that this area of NOLA was as far from the city and the Superdome as it is....it's not super far, but I had envisioned it being mere blocks), FEMA trailers still in yards, and a few of the houses that Brad Pitt's funding with his restoration project. As we crossed back to NOLA, I counted my blessings.

Mardi Gras 2010

Cindi "won" a costume party at a silent auction for Junior Auxiliary....which means that she and a group of friends were the highest bidders! Either way, Scott and I got to tag along and party with the best of Batesville. The theme they chose was Mardi Gras...and I have to say that if there was a prize for best dressed it would indeed have gone to Cindi and Chick. What a hoot! Scott and I were more conservative, but partied with the best of them. It was a fun night and we enjoyed spending time with them. An added treat was that our good friends, Meredith and Will, were also there! We drank lots of hurricanes and danced to a great DJ (until he played Vanilla Ice for the 4th time...them we decided it was time to go! ha!)Thanks for letting us crash your party!