our famous family member

Every family has to have one claim to fame! Our fame right now is Neil's sister Melissa who works for Disney. She is so famous her name is listed at the end of a long list of credits following (read in cheesy announcer voice) your favorite movie and mine . . . Chicken Little!! Saturday Neil's parents came back home with us and we all went to see Chicken Little! It was Mitchell's second movie and Mark's first! Mark slept through most of the movie and Mitchell, being the sensitive kid that he is, covered his ears through most of it! Well we liked the movie and liked seeing Aunt Melissa's name at the end too! Melissa is working with Toy Story 3 right now and we really can't wait for that one! Mitchell already loves Buzz and Woody. When he plays pretend he always gets to be Buzz and I have (get) to be Woody. Mitchell gets the cool line, "To in-i-fin-i-tee and beyond!" Mark is the horse, Bullseye. No, I don't let Mitchell ride on Mark's back, and neither do I for that matter! Neil is prospector, "that old man in the box", as Mitchell described it!
Well I got a little off subject! If you see Chicken Little watch the credits for Melissa Bradford! We are so proud of her!
Pretty creepy pictures huh? Well, they were taken in the dark! It looks like our kids don't get out much by the looks on their faces at seeing a movie! The stairs picture was taken post movie, they look a little tired! Mark is actually throwing a fit! And finally, if you don't make it to the movie, I will show you Melissa's name! Can you tell I have a new camera that I just can't put down?

Thanksgiving and vomit?

Can you believe our sweet little Mitchell threw-up at the table during Thanksgiving dinner? Yes folks its true! Neil and I were catching it in our hands! The culprit was GiGi's homemade cranberry sauce with a little too much ground orange rind! To GiGi's cooking credit Mitchell was recovering from a stomach virus. He had been throwing up all night Monday and Tuesday and had not eaten much Wednesday to prepare for Thrusday's feast! Other than fevers and coughs and vomiting and trying to keep a very zealous big brother away from a very tiny baby brother to avoid contamination, we had a pretty plesant and uneventful Thanksgiving Holiday! Neil and I even got up early on Friday to catch the sale at Target! We left the sleeping kids home with Mom Mom and Grandad! It was like a date, only very early in the morning! We came home with a new digital camera at, I am sorry to say, not a price worth getting up that early for, but we were already up and at the store and the really cheap one in the ad was just that. After we got home at 7:30 am the rest of the family got up and we went to the Opryland Hotel for breakfast and a stroll to look at the Christmas decorations! We had fun walking around together, and I got to try out the new camera!

fun activities

This week was filled with quite a few fun activities. All of which I do not have pictures of but really wanted to share. On Tuesday, the ladies at church hosted "A taste of Homewoood" to celebrate the release of the new church cook book. Everyone made and brought one dish that they had submitted for the cookbook. The food was great! How cool! I usually only use the recipes of people I know, so this was a great way to expand the use of my book. Also sometimes you read a recipe and go, yeah right, that sounds awful! My favorite was Mountain Dew Apple Dumpling! The ladies here are so good at making occasions "special". I am sure it is a "suthern thang dawlin"! There were small table clothed tables with center pieces and candle light to gather your friends around and a few "table scapes" of fully decorated tables for holiday decorating ideas! I felt like I had had a wonderfully special girls night out! The night out feeling was quite unexpected due to the fact that Neil was working Tuesday night and I had to bring the boys with me. Nothing new really, I drag them everywhere by myself, but I got smart/brave/fed up this time and asked a friend's high school daughters to watch them in the nursery while I dined! I had such a good time!

Another fun thing this week was Mitchell's 1st Thanksgiving party at preschool! They made stew and the parents got to come and see the fun fall things they had been making! His favorite is a macaroni necklace! He is still wearing it around! I have one or two pictures to add when I get them developed.


Friday night Neil and I went to a fondue party at our preacher's house! We took the boys to a friend's house! What a treat, an evening alone! By alone I mean without having to chase a child, or feed a child! We had planned on going on a real date but the party came up instead. I only ate one piece of fondue cooked meat. I stayed very near the "heavy hors d'oeuvres " table, it required less work and provided instant gratification! Another highlight was the chocolate fountain! Yes, you read that right! A fountain of chocolate accompanied by strawberries, pound cake, and marshmallows! Wow! good stuff!

Busy week! And as it worked out free babysitting! What could be better?

leaf rain

Thursday Neil was raking the back yard when we came home from the store , and Mitchell begged and cried, literally, to go and rake with daddy. So after the crying fit, Neil graciously took Mitchell outside even though he was really finished raking! Who can resist a pile of leaves? And what mommy can resist pictures of their cuties playing in them? I was slow at getting the camera ready so by the time I could get a picture, Mitchell had lost interest. I had to bribe him with candy to go back to the leaf pile and throw leaves so I could get a picture! All the while Mark was lying in the middle of the floor crying because it was time for him to eat! The question is, "Was it worth it?" Of course! Crying babies and candy bribes are a normal part of every day. My philosophy? A little crying won't hurt anyone and we would have eaten candy anyway, so why not get a cute picture? Oh! and Neil was quite dismayed after working so hard to clear the lawn for it to be completely covered again by Sunday! Such is Alabama in the fall! We love seeing the trees change colors and the leaves fall. We even love the really loud sound of nuts falling and rolling down our roof! Ah Nuts!!!

fall fun playtime

We spent some good quality time outside today! The weather was great, in the mid 80's, so as soon as we parked the car in the garage from picking Mitchell up from school we went straight outside. We did not even go inside to unload our things! I was trying to think of something new to post so I got out the camera and decided to share our afternoon! Aren't they cute? Mark went for his first ride on the scooter today. I held him on it and pushed him. The picture is not a correct representation of the ride! While Mark rested in the car seat he decided to try some acrobatics. Mitchell and I had to run over and rescue him several times from falling out! Of course the afternoon would not have been complete without a few wagon rides down the driveway. Mitchell was the rider and I was the puller. He made me sit in the wagon and as a kind gesture tried to pull me too, but needless to say it was a very short ride! Ahh, someday soon he will be bigger than me, and then I can ride!

a visit to GiGi's

Last weekend we went to visit GiGi (AKA Lucile, Neil's grandma) and had a great time! Mitchell helped her pick spinach in her back yard garden, and Mark was just glad to be included. We do have a pic of Mark smiling while being held by GiGi but she was not looking! I chose to let GiGi look pretty instead of Mark. GiGi's wagon was a hit. Mitchell and Ian loved riding and begged any adult they found to pull them! They also loved swinging and playing in the yard, but they had to watch out for Pepper's droppings! Ian is Neil's cousin Edward and Alicia's son. He is 4 months younger than Mitchell. They get along well! They played chase and tackle in the house and then stopped and sang a few songs for us! It was really cute. Neil and Edward are just one month apart, so it is neat that they also have kids close in age! They are expecting another son in February so Mark will have a playmate too! Pepper is the newest addition to Lucile's household. She is a one month old Siberian Husky! Lucile and James take care of her, but she lives at Lucile's house. I have included their 1st "family" picture together!

Mark and Mommy

Just Mark and I having fun with the camera!