Taylor Swift



I believe everyone can recall their first concert, mine was supposed to be the Beastie Boys, but they cancelled the show last minute.  So when Bennett asked to go see "Fresh Beat Band" a year ago, I stalled.  They were a band on a TV show, and were incredibly goofy.  I was holding out for something better, and the best became available when Taylor Swift started touring.  She is one of the best pop country singers, and has grown up and evolved into a wonderful singer, performer and role model for our little girls.  She writes wonderful music that is from her heart, and she was coming to Nashville this Fall! 

Shannon and I decided that we would take the girls together, a fun memory for them to share.  So we pulled the girls out of school half day, and drove up to Nashville.  We checked into our hotel room, got ready and the girls decorated posters for the concert.  We listened to her "1989" album, which was what this tour was based on, and just hung out.  We had VIP tickets, which got us in early to eat dinner, have cocktails and listen to the opening acts.

So excited for their big night!

Just us girls

When we got to our seats we found bracelets taped to each seat.  We put them on, but didn't realize the significance until the show started.  Taylor kicked off the show at 9:15PM, and the whole arena was aglow with everyone's computer operated bracelets!  They glowed pink, blue and green and it really was cool to look around and see everyone's wrists matching as we danced for the next two hours.  

Steven Tyler

Moving catwalk

Alison Krause

Thrilled about her new T Swift tshirt

Something special about this tour for Taylor has been her special guests.  Every concert, in every city, she has had a guest performer sing a song with her.  Being in her home of Nashville, we were excited to see who she had lined up.  Lucky us, she had three: Kelsea Ballerini, Steven Tyler and Alison Krause!  Of course the girls didn't recognize her guests, but we did!!


The girls did great for the first hour of her show, but started to fade as 10:30 approached.  They were still awake, just not as enthusiastic.  Thankfully she sang "Shake it Off" at just the right time, and the girls popped up and sang along.  She stopped singing around 11:30, and then had a fireworks show in downtown Nashville following the concert, which we watched while heading back to our hotel.


Love my girl!


It was a fun-filled night, and everyone was pooped when we got home, but what fun we had!  I can't wait to see who Preston decides to see, and I hope I get to take him!

Happy 7th Birthday Preston!

1 Day Old

I can't believe how fast all of our children are growing up and changing.  Their hairstyles are changing, their clothes preferences are changing, their interests are changing....they are becoming individuals!  This month Preston turned 7 years old!

As much as I want all of our children to look like me, have my tendencies/habits and share my interests....Preston is his Daddy!  He looks like his Daddy, he is athletic like his Daddy, and he is analytical like his Daddy.  The only thing I have going for me with Preston, is the fact that he likes to snuggle with me and he is good at manipulating his mommy.  The only other reach is our LOVE for Mexican food, primarily cheese dip!  I blame my cravings for Mexican food during my pregnancies for the reason my boys LOVE Mexican food now!




7 Years Old

I think Preston had a pretty good birthday...he opened presents before school, Steve and I surprised him at school as mystery readers, and then had lunch with him and his class.  We even pulled out the "selfie stick" in the cafeteria, which was a big hit amongst the kids.

7 yrs old at SCE

Mystery Reader for Bday Boy!

Goofy 1st Graders!

The other table of Ms Jones' students

Of course after school, Pres wanted his birthday celebration to continue, so after swim team practice, we let him pick where he wanted to eat.  He chose Tecate!  We had a great dinner, and completed the annual birthday questionnaire.  Just when Pres thought we were wrapping things up, they surprised him with a large sombrero and sang Happy Birthday to him!  He was so startled, yet so happy ....it was awesome!

My lil stud

Love each and every one of our children, and their unique personalities!  Happy Birthday Preston, we love you BIG much!!

Don't Turn Around for a Minute!

6 months old - happy baby!

I have always heard from friends that the "babies" in the families are the most adaptable babies, but grow up fast, and ultimately give you the most grief.  So far....Walker is right on the money with those statements! 

Walker was an absolutely wonderful baby!  He slept through the night at 7-8 weeks, was happy and content regardless of not having a rigid nap schedule (which was hard to do with carpools and big kid schedules).  He was a great eater at a young age, bypassing most baby food and going straight to table food.  He never took a pacifier, and easily transferred to sippy cups by age one!  He was a dream, right?!

just under 10 months

Walker was also my earliest walker, at 10 months.  He had no fear and mastered going up and down the stairs in our house by 1.5 years old, and was a professional climber of any and all pieces of furniture!  If he wanted something, he would just push something to a nearby counter and get it.  He also didn't need to whine long for Bennett or Preston to give him what he wanted.  Because of all of this, the writing was on the wall this summer.  I knew that he was going to be more challenging than my other two, so I panicked and enrolled him in an additional mother's day out program so he would go all five mornings of the week.  I felt a little guilty at first, but it didn't last.





In fact, my mental well-being is much healthier now that I have all of my mornings to myself to exercise, clean, run errands and work.  I have found that I can not leave Walker alone for more than a minute before he finds trouble!  His latest was something that occurred in less than 5 minutes.  I left him sitting at the breakfast counter (the big kids had just left for school), so I could go put my hair up and brush my teeth.  I came out to find him drawing circles with a black sharpie on my sofa!!!!!  I went completely crazy, screaming and twirling around in a rage.  During my spinning, I noticed his artwork on 3 other chairs in my living room, in addition to a stool and several areas on the hardwood floors and a glasstop table.  Steve was out of town, but that didn't stop me from calling him in hysterics asking for help.  Minutes later I got several text messages with youtube videos on how to remove the stains from him.  I immediately started cleaning, and wasn't having much luck, so I took pictures and posted them to Facebook, asking for help.  During this whole period (about 45 minutes), Walker didn't move from where I put him during my freak-out episode.  He just stared at me, as if he didn't know me.

Thankfully a dry cleaner was able to successfully remove 90% of the stains (who would've guessed to use a dry cleaner?), but it was that morning that I stopped feeling guilty about putting him in "school" 5 mornings a week.  Walker needs interaction with others all of the time, whether it is playing with friends, running around outside, or being read books.  So I am a complete believer that I made the right decision for this time in his life.  I am hoping he rounds the corner after his 2nd birthday, as I would love the opportunity to spend some time with him one on one, but I need to be able to trust him for longer than a minute.  So until he is interested in TV, or can entertain himself for 20-30 minutes safely.... I guess he will continue his 5 day a week regimen at mother's day out.

Kid Free Weekend in Louisville

selfie to kick off kid free weekend!

Several years ago, when Steve worked at KBR, he secured a large job in Kentucky for Louisville Gas and Electric.  It was a job that would cost about a billion to build, and would take several years to complete.  Though he is no longer with KBR, he maintained great relationships with his co-workers there, as well as LG and E.  So when the plant celebrated their third successful outage, they threw a big party and invited Steve.  Since he worked hard on this for a couple of years, his working relationships slowly turned into friendships.  I have heard so much about these folks for years, so it was a perfect opportunity for me to join him and meet everyone.

Steve, Becky and us at KY State Fair

Steve was up in Louisville the week before the party for business, so I flew up Friday morning after I got the kids off to school.  As soon as I landed he showed me around the historic Seelbach Hotel (where we were staying).  The hotel is located at a prime spot in downtown Louisville, within walking distance of much.  In addition, the hotel has a lot of history and stories particularly from the 1920s, which Steve has heard from the hotel historian.


That afternoon we met up with Steve and Becky for a cocktail before heading over to the state fair for a concert.  We listened to several country artists perform, and decided to walk around the fairgrounds and check out all of the excitement.  We wandered through the buildings, seeing many huge cows.  When we stepped outside, we stumbled into a nice gentleman who offered us a ride on his golfcart to the large arena where Saddlebred horses were practicing.  He explained that World’s Championship Saddlebred Horse Show was going on over the next couple of weeks, and that over 2,000 horses from across the world were competing for more than $1 million in awards.  He also slipped in that he was a horse trainer for William Shatner.


We watched the horses practice for awhile, admiring their beauty.  Then we decided to walk inside the building that housed the temporary stalls for all of these magnificent creatures.  We stopped to pet many of the horses, and eventually spoke with a man who owns Grey Ridge Stables.  He was kind enough to talk to us for over 30 minutes, explaining all that goes on at these shows and his history.

After we left the fair, we returned to our hotel to park the car, and then we walked a block away to grab a late dinner and hit one of the guy's favorite bars in the fun "4th Street Live" area.

We stumbled back to our room around 1AM, and slept in the following morning (enjoying something that we NEVER get to do anymore with three young kids).  We finally rolled out of the hotel around lunch and walked to a pizza spot for lunch, and then explored along the riverfront.  We even made it halfway across the beautiful pedestrian bridge that takes you to Indiana.

After a cold beer back at the Seelbach Bar, and a shower...we were ready to go to the party (the reason for our weekend stay).  I finally met all of the guys Steve has talked about and their spouses.  Following dinner, we all walked to a fun bar that has a mechanical bull.  Everyone talked a lot of talk, but it ultimately ended up only being only a few of us who rode the bull (myself being one of them).  It looked like fun, but after a couple 360's on that thing, I was nauseous and regretting my choice.  Thankfully I didn't get thrown, but just stepped off of it during another one of the crazy spins.



former train bridge turned into pedestrian bridge

Sunday morning, we met one of Steve's friend and his wife for lunch and then hit the road for the drive back to Birmingham.  I don't know what I expected of Louisville, but I was pleasantly surprised.  It was a nice clean city, with cool old buildings downtown that are getting restored, a lovely waterfront view and what appeared to be a family friendly area.  I definitely look forward to returning, hopefully for a horse race at Keenland (in nearby Lexington), or if we are lucky enough...the coveted Derby!


the devilish red eyes say enough

NOLA - Check!

W eating smoked oysters

At the beginning of every August, when camps end, the weather is god awful hot and the kids are bored with their friends….this mama is READY for school to begin!  Thankfully

Homewood schools go back early, August 12^th.  We planned one last hoorah to New Orleans the weekend before school went back to just offer something fun and different for the kids.  In addition, Kris lives there with her family, so we had fun visiting with them. 

Friday, after a back to school breakfast at the school, we packed up and drove down to NOLA.  The kids all traveled well and we arrived mid afternoon.  After getting checked into our hotel, we took the children to the rooftop pool to burn some energy.  Kris, Paul and their girls met us there.  After an hour of swimming, we headed back to our room to change into clothes before heading out for dinner at Drago’s.  Steve adores their smoked oysters, and I wanted some fresh seafood.  It was a little chaotic with six children under the age of 8, but we survived.  Afterward, we headed back to the room to hit the hay early since we had a busy Saturday planned.


They hope to see some alligators!

Saturday morning, we got up bright and early to shower and grab breakfast before heading out on our swamp tour.  The tour was located about 30 minutes away on a popular swamp.  We had a large pontoon boat with a cover, which provided a little shade and plenty of good vision for the alligators.  It was very beautiful out there with all of the trees and wildlife; however I could never live there as some folks do.  During our two hour tour we saw about 8 alligators, some of which we fed so we could see up close.  The kids (and us) had a ball!

come here lil alligator....

"Do you have a snack for me?"

"Yum, a hotdog!"

not the same 'Sugar Shak" that we are used to...

After the swamp tour, we drove back to NOLA to grab lunch.  We met Kris’s parents there so I could say hello and then we went to walk through the new house that she and Paul are building.   Before we headed to Mardi Gras World, I wanted to take the kids to a cemetery.  I think they are so beautiful and unique in NOLA, and I wanted them to see it for themselves.  Having never been to a cemetery at all, they had a lot of questions, but they were not scared.


Since it was blazing hot, we decided we needed a cool treat!  So we were off to Hansen's for some of their historic sno-balls!  We each got one, and sampled each other's.  This place has been around since 1939, and is still in its original location....one that is VERY small without air conditioning.  The lines are always long for the shaved ice and flavored syrups, and now I know why.

Girls all dressed up!

After our delicious dessert, we went to the Mardi Gras World to learn more about the history of Mardi Gras, with balls, floats and the specific parades.  Though I think the kids liked sampling the king cake and seeing some of the new floats for Mardi Gras 2016, I don't think they got as much out of it as we did.  The 20 minute video that played at the beginning was very informative.

Walker was petrified of tiger

 

Jackson Square

That night we ate dinner with the Viguerie's at their yacht club, and then we headed back to our hotel.  Like Saturday, we had another full day planned with beignets at Café Du Monde, walking around the French Quarter, visiting the New Orleans Aquarium and finally.... riding the famous street cars.



23 years of friendship with this girl!

beignets were a hit!
 

Walker's 1st visit to an aquarium, which he LOVED!

They loved the street car!

 

Thank goodness this man came with us!!

As you can see, we really packed it all in during our quick weekend in NOLA!  The kids had a ball, and I'm thrilled we could really concentrate on them seeing and learning about the city, and what makes it so unique.  The theme of the trip was "Everything New Orleans."  Of course, it was wonderful visiting with Kris and her family, and they were terrific hosts...helping me put it all together and doing much of it with us.  Maybe next time we will time our visit around Mardi Gras so they can experience NOLA in a whole new way!

Summer Swim Season Comes to a Close



Uncle Dan supporting kids

Birmingham Swim League was a great way to keep our kids in cardiovascular shape all year, but by mid April both kids were starting to burn out from swimming every day.  I hated quitting before summer swimming started, since I knew they would add some time to their events, but the end of the school year is so busy and they really wanted a break.  In addition, Preston was playing baseball three nights a week, so he was burning the candle at both ends.

silly selfie

Since long course swimming officially starts mid winter for BSL, it really was the perfect time to sit out.  Thankfully, both kids were able to get official times for 50 yard free and back, and cut time with their normal 25 yard strokes before our leave of absence. 

B with her relay

Skip ahead a few months....when Homewood Swim season started.  Both kids were happy and excited to swim again.  They love their summer coaches, and have a ton of friends to swim with, which makes it even more fun.  The break did them well, and they came off the blocks strong!  They both gained a little time at their first meet, but they did better after that, especially Preston.

Bennett hit a plateau mid summer, which didn't seem to bother her at all, but Preston did well.  He hit his best 25yd free score early (6/23/15) with 19.98 seconds and shaved a little more with his back and fly the following weeks.  And with his young age group, he was able to qualify for the Senior County Meet, and swim all four strokes, in addition to the 50yd free and 100 IM.  It was his first IM, and he definitely was tired at the end, but he made it without getting disqualified (something we are so proud of him for doing).  He ended on a bang, and was even the third highest point scorer in his age range at the Sr Cty Meet (for which he received a trophy).

P at Senior County Meet

 



swim family (sans Walker)

Kids with Coach Brittany

The night after the big meet, the kids attended the end of the summer party and awards ceremony.  The swim team had rented out the whole pool so the kids and their families could night swim after they received their awards.  Both kids were pleased with their trophies, and Preston also was awarded "Outstanding Swimmer" in his 6 and under age group.

We are so proud of our kids, especially after seeing so much improvement over the past year.  The 3-4 times a week they practiced for a whole year really paid off for them.  Not sure if swimming will become a sport they choose to participate in forever, but we sure are happy with the skills they have acquired thus far.