I'll Take the Dirt Road

This weekend was just about perfect. The girls played great in their basketball games..

This is a picture of Ali's team. They are the sweetest bunch of girls. 

Ali Grace won the Offense Award for her team this week!

Addie Belle had a great game too. She got a "hoop"! Which means she scored a basket. She plays on the boys team and they're all a bunch of ball hogs so she's always happy when she has the opportunity to score.

Friday night my Daddy took us out to Coleman Lake for supper. Pete was out of town with the horse judging team so the girls and I batted our eyelashes enough and convinced him to take us out! :) 

Ali had crab legs. She eats as many crab legs as a grown man I swear.

Addie wanted to order crab legs too but I have a family rule that you don't order crab legs until you can crack them yourself. Of course Nanny knows no rules when it comes to grandchildren so she ordered them and Nanny cracked them for her.

I had the North Carolina Flounder special. It wasn't something I'd order again but it was very good lemon grilled. The hush puppies were out of this world good and the service was excellent.

But Sunday was by far the best of all. I know we need the rain and so it was hard to be grumpy when I saw the weather report which showed a massive wall of rain heading this way for the next couple days. But thank goodness today was just gorgeous. Addie wanted to ride the horses so bad she about drove us all crazy until we relented!  There was a cool breeze and the sun was shining most of the day. Couldn't have asked for much better.

And that brings me to some VERY happy news I need to tell everyone who hasn't heard! Pete's brother, David and his family are moving to Fort Gordon! We thought they were heading to Germany after David finished his Nurse Practicioner licensure at UVA but turns out it's Augusta instead! We are just over the moon! They haven't lived that close to each other since they were roommates in college. I suppose I should be a little worried though since the last time the two of them were together here at my house, they were target shooting with some sort of something another I don't know about and it caused an explosion that shook the windows of our NEIGHBOR'S house! We live in the sticks! We don't have close neighbors. But the one semi-close neighbor we DO have came flying over to The Big House  across the road thinking there was some terrible accident at the farm. Nope. Just the Bennett boys. It turns out 4 Bennetts on a dirt road are fine. Five exceeds the critical mass and then it all goes down hill. So anyhow, I think the Pete was a little disappointed that David and Jess want to live in a more "metropolitan" area than Vidette, and close to Augusta. I just reminded him that the sticks aren't for everyone and that he should count himself a blessed man that he married a girl who loves clean country livin'!  Any closer than 30 miles from Augusta is out of the question for this girl.

So back to today.. Addie was confident she could catch a horse herself so she headed out on a mission... that's how Addie heads out everywhere.. like she is on a mission.

She was a little disappointed that her daddy had already caught the horse. She is always up for a little danger like a stampede or something. She's usually disappointed when we won't let her risk her life doing something.

Addie is the rodeo cowgirl type and Ali Grace is the graceful quiet rider in the family. Addie makes you cringe when she rides by a ditch or something because you just know any minute she could give that horse a kick and be jumping the ditch. Ali Grace is so quiet when she rides, you barely know she's there.

Roxy the wonder dog had to  be put in the back of the gator so she didn't get stepped on. She has a penchant for running around under the horses' feet.

Definitely can't do this in the suburbs...

We finally got the saddles and tack put away and pretty much laid around the rest of the afternoon.

My riding helmet... the only thing I can still wear from college!  :)

My heart skipped a beat when I saw the first daffodils coming up. Spring is around the corner!

We're headed over to the Big House this evening since Poppy is throwing some chicken on the grill.

You city folks just don't know what you're missing.

Where are My Flip Flops?

So someone isn't coping so well with the cold mornings we've had recently...

Much better this morning even though the lows were in the 20's last night...

Wish I could say the same for myself. I really have had enough of this cold weather. My skin is dry. I think I have scurvy.  My big toes need a palm tree painted on them. I'm stomping off now to go dust the margarita machine.

My Lawd There's A Fire!

The Tomlinsons came down this morning and the kids had a great time outdoors. The weather was just gorgeous today! The girls wore flip flops and by the end of the afternoon they were playing in a mudhole in the driveway. Poor girls. They miss summertime too.

Brian, the forester, helped Pete burn off the few acres next to the house. Pete's heck bent on planting pecan trees and putting up a pen for the girls' spring 4-H goats.

We mostly just enjoyed watching the kids play outside since the weather was so nice.

A Cure for January

We survived Christmas around here and New Year's just flew by. We didn't have our normal madhouse of UGA friends around here and while I missed seeing them, I sure enjoyed having some quiet time here at home. We had a week off after New Year's Day and I loved it.

We caught a basketball game....

Ali Grace and her friend Emily enjoyed Starbucks, Ali's favorite place on the planet.

Roxy got a new sweater from the Teacher of the Gifted...

And finally, the girls were able to wear their new Christmas clothes back to school....

Ali Grace with her iPhone...

And Addie Belle with her ipod touch...

After weeks of staying up late and sleeping in, it was tough getting back into a routine but we did.  The girls started Upward and Ali Grace is so blessed to be coached by Stephanie Jones this year.  Ali Grace thinks she hung the moon.

And that brings me to this... Y'all know I am really a warm weather gal. I love the beach. I love flip flops and ham sandwiches on the trampoline and painted toenails and sangria and fresh veggies from the garden and long days and the sound of frogs at the pond and late night swims.. If there IS a such thing as Seasonal Affective Disorder, I have it. Gloomy short days are tough on me, especially January. So imagine my excitement when I came across a tweet from @HomeDecorNews with a link to "A Cure for January".  Mercy. I must confess I hid in the bathroom at work and read the article. You can find it with a simple google search of "Kimberly's January Cure".  One of her cure suggestions is to find a piece of artwork and get going framing it. I have a tessellation done by a student last year that is gorgeous. I have  been meaning to frame it for almost a year. How I've managed to not spill tea or coke or something worse on it is beyond me. Today I brought it home. I'm going to get started framing it. I do feel better. I think it's working!!

And lastly- I blog mostly to remember. That's it. So I don't want to forget this conversation with Ali Grace tonight. She made me so blessed mad (you yankee or midwestern readers should know that the word "blessed" in this sentence is pronounced like this "bless said" Like as in "Blessed Assurance" Bless said... yes.. so anyhow she made me so BLESSED mad! She has a debate tomorrow at school regarding immigration. I think it's a super sensitive topic and not one to be debated in an uneducated manner. I'm not sure 6th graders can grasp the intricate political details, but maybe so. Anyhow, she asked me what I believed. I told her that while I believed the border should be secured, I also believed what the Bible said about immigration- 1) That the book of Exodus says that we should not treat strangers or foreigners in a bad way because God's own people were once foreigners in a strange land. She dutifully and quickly wrote down what I said... Boy I was thinking I was some kind of wonderful parent!! Then I went on to 2) God's people are called to be hospitable. and 3) I believe God calls his people to work with Him to help those in need. As I was wrapping it up by saying how I really think it's interesting how God seems to reveal Himself in amazing ways in the midst of people who are uprooted, persecuted, or hurting- she looks at me and says "are you wearing my Aeropostale socks?"  Okay..  I tried.

January is always tough and this one is no different. I was in a funk because I have been absolutely covered up at work and well... it's january. The official funk month. This afternoon the Tomlinsons called. They are coming to the Ponderosa for a visit this weekend!! I suddenly felt 100 times better. I get by with a little help from my friends. Maybe they will help me get my Christmas trees back into the Christmas closet.

Christmas in Charlottesville

It's never easy traveling with 2 children, a husband with unrealistic expectations, and a carsick chihuahua. Just let me preface tonight's post by saying that the quote of the day so far has been "what I really need is a beer and a Xanax!"

However, once we made it to Charlottesville, the girls have had a blast. The ice was a bit treacherous for driving but just beautiful to look at. Tomorrow we are going to Monticello. Pete has never been and we're looking forward to it!

Quiet Christmas Eve

We sure enjoyed Colten and Beth visiting since Thursday. Ernie drove on down Friday night and the kids had an absolute blast. They played and played and played and PLAYED!  I think they destroyed my upstairs but it was worth it. I love that these cousins love each other so!

They entertained the old folks at the Vidette Christmas Party.

Ali Grace earned her way to the big people table....

Colten said an AMAZING blessing... (and yes I couldn't help but take a picture in the middle of it- don't judge).

They had a great time playing in the cotton field behind the house and watching the cotton picker make laps around the field.  We enjoyed a too short visit from the Tomlinsons since they won't be making it down for New Year's this year. :(

We've done most of the overeating on my side of the family already. I'm about tired of the leftovers and I'm ready for a slice of pizza or a cheeseburger! We are heading to Charlottesville to celebrate the Bennett Christmas on the 26th. I am looking forward to seeing everyone and getting out of town for awhile. I know y'all are thinking- that girl ain't gonna make it that long away from Vidette. It's only 4 days. I will survive. Especially if I keep telling myself that over and over again. The girls are about as wild about going to see Emma and Sarah as they are about Santa Claus!

We're spending this rainy evening sipping cider, making cookies for Santa, watching Christmas movies, going to Christmas Eve service and then wrapping a few gifts. I'm all about low stress this Christmas. Heck I didn't even send out Christmas cards this year and I don't feel a bit guilty about it. Well maybe a little since I did enjoy seeing the cards everyone sent to us!

Merry Christmas y'all. I really do hope you enjoy yours. Even if you're far apart like my family- from Charlottesville, Virginia to Vidette, Georgia to San Miguel, Mexico-I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas!