Hays' Mom

I just wanted to let everyone know that Hays' mom, Cindy, fell and broke her right wrist a few weeks ago, and is having surgery today. It is such an inconvenience for her, she does everything with her right hand and is still having complications from when she broke her other wrist a few years ago. Please be praying for a speedy recovery!

Sick Baby

Well, this is a picture of Daisy on Sunday. She did NOT feel good. She didn't eat or poop all day long, and she was so needy and sad. She wouldn't even eat her treats from Petco that smell like cookies and people food! Sunday night, she slept under the bed and I could hear her stomach making awful noises! I was so worried about her all day yesterday, but she ate two treats yesterday afternoon and two bowls of food last night, and was very excited about her treat this morning, so I think she is definitely feeling better now!

Thanksgiving Day with Hays' Clan!

Well, after Thursday, we came to Birmingham of Friday and did it all over again with some of Hays' side of the family. It was a great time as always, and the kids, Carter and Camden, were as cute as ever and the stars of the show! Carter looked so cute in his football shirt, and Cam had on his Thanksgiving turkey attire! They were introduced to Lincoln logs, and they were hilarious! They definitely used them more as drumsticks and things to chew on, but it was still really precious. Cute little Cam hates to change clothes, and when it was time to change him he screamed, but then he was fine afterwards! Carter with his Lincloln Logs and football shirt...
Cam telling us what's up!

Thanksgiving day with the McCools

Well, Thanksgiving this year was as fun and crazy as always! It started with a discussion about who was going to sit at which table, and since we don't have any little kids in our family any more it's hard to decide! We decided that we were going to squeeze everyone in at one table, and it was worth it, we had a great time. I will have to say that after eating, I was so uncomfortable that I could only lay down. That can't be healthy! The dogchildren were all tormented by the smell of turkey, which some got and some didn't (Hays is so strict, but I think my mom doesn't care about his rules, she says she and Daisy have "secrets"). My brother made an obscene gesture at the table and had to think fast when my uncle pointed it out to my 91 year old grandmother and he had to explain it. He decided to call it the microphone and she believed him! He also got a some new hats to keep his head warm in the oh so cold Dothan weather. I am adding a picture of one.

Here are some more pictures from the day.

Mom getting the appetizers ready...


The crowded table... notice the piano bench?!

Family Picture!

Sweet baby Chloe and Hays in his PJ's!


Ferocious Beast Chloe!

Birthday Bowling for Lulu and Maggie!

We went to the good ol' Riverview lanes to celebrate Laura Lou and Maggie's birthdays and had a great time. I have to say that I talked a lot of unnecessary trash about my bowling skills. I need some serious practice!

They have started a $1 bowling night where it is only $1 per person per game. It used to be kind of expensive, but $1 per game is a steal!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LULU and MAGGIE!!!!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!

I am so excited that it is the last day of school before Thanksgiving! I think the thing that I am the most thankful for right now is the fact that I have a whole week before I have to go back. Hays and I will be traveling to Gadsden for the holiday, so I don't know how much blogging will be accomplished. I hope that everyone has safe travels over the week and weekend.

After Thanksgiving, Hays and I will be headed down to Auburn for the game day festivities. We don't have tickets, but hopefully we will have a good time and we will get to see some good friends that we haven't seen in a while.

Daisy has been acting SO needy lately! She is always under our feet and is snuggling up on one of our laps, constantly flipping over for unlimited belly rubs. Maybe it is because it has gotten cold and she needs the warmth. She has no idea that soon we will be going to Granny and Granddad's house and she will get lots and lots of turkey (aka dog crack). In this picture we are playing her favorite game, known in our house as "the crackhead game," because she acts so jacked up when she plays it! Doesn't she look crazy?

Date Night

Lately (well, since the school year started) Hays and I have been having trouble making time for each other. We spend lots of time at home together, yes, but not really "quality time." Most of it involves me watching recorded episodes of "Oprah" and "The Hills" or "The Bachelor," and Hays playing Wii. While I think it is COMPLETELY important that Hays and I indulge in some time for ourselves, no matter how trivial it may seem, we have kind of gotten out of that habit of trying to make an effort to spend some time with each other. We both devote so much time and energy to our jobs that when we get home we just want to relax!

Because of this, Hays came up with the idea of Date Night. We have decided that once a week, no matter what, we are going to catch up with each other and spend some of that much needed quality time together! Our first date is tomorrow night, and I am so excited.

I was watching one of those DVR'd Oprah episodes yesterday and Oprah was showing great love stories. I think the thing that struck me about every story was that people talk about how they really WORK at keeping their relationship alive and showing each other how much they care, and that it is in the "little things" that happen each day. I feel like so many people expect magic and for everything to fall into place, and it doesn't. It is real work, and it is so worth it for what you get in return.

The picture in this post is our very first date (taken by Laura G), and every time I see it I remember how excited I was to go on that date and how lucky I felt to be out with such a great man! And the amazing thing is, he is so much more wonderful than I ever imagined.

The National Peanut Festival

Well, the Peanut Festival was all I expected it to be and MORE! As soon as we got to Dothan, we threw Daisy in Alan and Sandi's house and left to go straight to the festivities. As we drove up, there were MANY flashing lights on the rides and attractions and Alan almost wrecked because he got so excited. We met up with several people who are friends with Alan and Sandi, and they were SO nice. We had trouble deciding if we should eat first or ride rides. We were all starving, and there was so much food, but lots of the rides spun around pretty fast and we were scared we would either eat and be sick or not eat then be too sick to eat. So we decided to get a snack so that we wouldn't be hungry and then ride the rides!

I have to say that these were the best "pop up rides" that I have ever been on. Hays wasn't feeling good (I think he was faking), so I had to ride most of the rides with Alan and Sandi. The first one was a little iffy, it was fun, but if it had lasted longer I definitely would have gotten sick. It was like a pendulum where the end spins around. The second one was called the "Ring of Fire" and it was just a big loop that went around, but stopped at the top to let you hang upside down. This one was the one I wanted to do most, but it was so scary! I got on with Alan and right off the bat, the bar across my legs was not tight enough! It was tight on Alan, but not me, so I was completely convinced that I was falling out of this ride almost the whole time. I had on gloves and my hands kept slipping from the bar I was holding and I thought I was going to fall... then I realized when the ride was almost over that we were basically in a cage and there was no way I could have fallen out, but it sure felt like I was coming out of my seat, so my brother was trying to hold me in the whole time.

The best ride was the "Mega Drop." It was a big free fall. Hays even rode this one! Sandi had stopped riding, but we talked her into doing this one with us and she loved it too! It's funny how scared some people are of the rides. Most of the guys didn't even want to do it, but we talked them into it, and they loved it.

After the rides, we went to experience some lovely fried creations. The first was a corn dog from "the corn dog man." It was definitely the best corn dog I've ever tasted. Then we tried the thing that I was the most excited about... a FRIED SNICKERS! It was SO good! Very rich, but yummy. Hays and I shared both of these, by the way, to cut some of the fat content! Hays also had fried oreos, but I tried them and I liked the Snickers better.

When we got back to the house, Daisy was very upset. I am pretty sure that after the way we put her in the house and left, she thought we were gone for good. She was shaking and wouldn't come out of her crate. I finally coaxed her out and put her in the bed, and she calmed down after a good long belly rub.

There are NO pictures from the Peanut Festival, I was scared my camera would get broken on the rides so I didn't take it in. I will put up more pictures soon though!

A new experience in culture...

This weekend we are heading down to Dothan to see family and go to the 2007 National Peanut Festival. It should be an exciting array of fried food, pop-up rides, wranglers, and of course, PEANUTS! I will be sure to put pictures up when we return!

Surprise!

This past weekend was SO much fun. First of all, my brother and his wife (Alan and Sandi) came to Birmingham to stay with us on Friday night and watch my girls in their last halftime performance of the year. The seniors were SO sad. :(

Saturday we all drove to Gadsden to throw my mother a surprise 60th birthday party. We were so nervous that it wouldn't go well, but it was awesome!

First, my godparents took Mom and Dad out to lunch so we could get in the house to get ready, then Carmela, my godmother called to let me know they were gone. We were off! I was crazy, my uncle said, acting like a "wedding planner," but I was so nervous that they would get back and we wouldn't be done. Our family was there - My aunt and uncle, grandmother, granddad, Alan, Sandi, Hays, me, and all of the dogchildren, too! The plan was to have everything ready when she got home and let my mom think that we were the only surprise! We hid our cars, of course, and she came in, and we yelled Surprise! and I think we scared her a little, but she was surprised. We had all the food set up in the dining room, and I wouldn't let her in there... so she knew something else was up! Then, one by one, her friends began to arrive, and she was so shocked! They brought gifts, sang to mom, and then the family stayed for a long time. I think she enjoyed it!

The picture is of the family after the long day and several glasses of wine! Sandi's hair is growing back beautifully!