Our Trip to B-ham

Last weekend our family traveled to Birmingham, AL to visit our friends and see a DMB show. It has been a year since we were last there, but we haven't seen most of our friends since Brody was 6 months old (4 years ago), so we were really excited to catch up with everyone. We stayed with good friends, Eric and Kelly Smith, who we also went to the concert with. The Smith's have three boys too-Eli, age 7; Brandt, age 5; and Asher, age 2.

On Saturday Draven & Brody participated in a track meet that the Trussville, AL Track Club was having. Our friend, Kelly, created the track club last year, so we had an in with the staff to get the boys signed up! They each ran the 50 meter, 100 meter, 200 meter dash, and 200 meter relay. They also had the opportunity to participate in the Shot Put and the Long Jump, but we missed the announcement for the Long Jump so the boys only did the Shot Put. Draven really enjoyed running and "getting exercise," but his inexperience hurt him a little. He came in 3rd, 4th and 5th in his events. He got better as the day went on, and worked really hard. Brody was the only boy in the 4 and under group, and they awarded the top boy and girl, so Brody won all his races! He really did win the 50, and would have won the 100, but he stopped half way through. We think he got confused and thought he should stop at the same spot he did for the 50 even though we explained it a couple times! The 200 was half way around the track and Brody lost some steam on the longer distance-I think he was 3rd overall. Brody has been wearing his medals ever since. It was really fun to have the boys participate, and Kelly's boys, Eli & Brandt, were participating, so boys had fun cheering them on too.

Sunday we attended church in our old ward and got to see lots of people! It doesn't seem like we've been gone from there very long, but when we saw the youth it seemed like we had been gone half a life time! The boys I used to sing with in Primary were passing the sacrament! Pierce enjoyed giving the Alabama fans a hard time about Coach Saban, and they did the same about Coach Kiffin. After church our friends, Aaron and Jordan May, came to the Smith's and we grilled hamburgers and let the kids play until we heard a tornado siren and we all came in. Luckily the tornado warnings were south of us so we didn't all have to huddle in the basement while we were eating!

Monday we visited our old house and had lunch at Nikki's Authentic Southern Restaurant-one of Birmingham's best eateries-before going back to rest up for the concert. Draven still talks about our "old yellow house" sometimes and seeing it made us all a little homesick for it.

I'm pretty sure Pierce feels differently, but if it was just up to me, we would still be in Birmingham. I love our friends and family that are here, but Birmingham, and the memories of our family there, have a special place in my heart. Brody was born there and our family grew so much, as a family, while we were there. I never thought I would say I miss Alabama, but I do!

Leroi Moore 1961 - 2008

As you may or may not know, Leroi Moore, the saxophonist for DMB passed away last fall. He passed due to complications from an ATV accident that actually happened a few days before the July 4th show we attended last year. It's extremely weird to me seeing photos of the band (like the one from our earlier post) without him in them. He was known for being extremely shy and almost always wore sunglasses on stage because of it. He was also known for being extremely funny and a prankster. He was a huge part of their unique sound and I don't believe it will ever be the same without him. The new album is going to be a tribute to him. The album is called "Big Whiskey and the Groogrux King." Groogrux was a nickname given to him by the band and I have know idea what it means. I've posted below a link to a tribute video to his memory...you may want to pause the player on our blog located at the bottom of the blog so you can hear the music in the video. The song played is called #36 and is off their first album...its an instrumental song that features Leroi.



Here's a video regarding the upcoming album and how it is dedicated to Leroi...

Operation Rescue Teddy 2

Those of you who read our blog when we went on vacation last year may remember our Operation Rescue Teddy post. Brody's teddy was lost at Cumberland Caverns and we had to drive an hour both ways to rescue him. Well, last week, we had to rescue Teddy again. This time from being hit by a car! As we were leaving a friend's house, we were riding with the windows down and Brody was letting Teddy look outside. Suddenly, he jumped out the window! Teddy may be 4, like Brody, but he has not learned to keep his hands and feet inside the car yet. So, Mommy had to turn the car around, park on a side street, and make her way along the very narrow edge of Pleasant Ridge Road to rescue Teddy. One thing that was really cute was that the cars that were coming slowed down and waited for me to run down and pick Teddy up. The car in front was driven by two old ladies-they have probably had to rescue teddies themselves! Brody was very grateful, and Teddy said, "I love you," so I guess it was worth it.

A Milestone

Today is Monday, Laundry day. Which means that I have no clean socks. So, I decided to borrow some of Draven's, thinking of course, that they would be a little smail, but do-able. No, they fit! Draven's foot is only about 1/2 inch smaller than mine. I didn't plan on sharing clothes with my boys at all, but definitely not when they were 6 years old. I can't believe my little boy is as big as me in any way, but I guess it is a milestone; to be celebrated?!

Dave Matthews Band!!!

Yep...It's that time of year again! Another stop to see DMB! As many of you already know, we are huge fans and we always try to sieze the opportunity to see DMB at least once every tour. DMB is starting their tour a little earlier than normal this year, with spring dates to kickstart support of their latest album to be released on June 2nd....can't wait! We are going to see them play in Birmingham, AL on April 20th. We have some great friends down there (other than DMB:o) and we are looking forward to catching up with them and hanging out for a few days. If all goes as planned, I will just be getting finised up with school a few days prior and this will be my little graduation getaway celebration of sorts. It can't come soon enough!

In light of this post, I just changed the playlist to all DMB so enjoy if you are a fan...I guess I'll add the 90's and now music I promised in the previous post after the DMB festivities are over ;o).

OK....We really promise this time!

As you can see, our blogging has been pretty non-existent in 2009. It's been a crazy 1st quarter of the year for us. I doubled up on my course load this semester to ensure I graduate in May and it's been a killer for me but I'm almost done! Jennifer has been busy making cards, organizing enrichment activities at church, and helping her Mother plan a wedding. Draven has finished up a season of basketball and we celebrated Brody's 4th birthday last month.

Now we're getting back into the swing of things and documenting all the fun stuff we get ourselves into and all the blessings we encounter in our lives...we'll try to catch you up on some of the high points from the past couple months over the next few weeks. We just changed the design of our blog just to prove we're serious ;o). Coming soon...we're changing our playlist. Jennifer says she wants to live into now and have more modern music on our blog...I have a hard time with this because I am still very much stuck in the 80's and especially the 90's....so maybe we'll meet somewhere in the middle and have a 90's and now playlist.

New Cards & a Promise

Ok, I promise to really blog very soon, but I'm trying to get to bed early tonight, so for now just 3 new cards...
The first was inspired by my son's birthday and the invitations we needed for it, the second is a "Thinking of You," and the third is a really cute "Get Well Soon."

Ka-chow: If you know a little boy you have probably heard of Lightning McQueen from the movie "Cars." This card features road map paper, with the phrase "ka-chow" in the lower right corner, and a 2 dimensional character sticker highlighted in the center (the "Cars" character varies). This is the perfect card for a little boy birthday! I used it for our invitations, but it could also be used for birthday or thank you's. Because the cost of materials was higher than usual for this card the price is $2.25 per card or $10.50 for a set of 5.

Butterflies & Blooms: This card features floral embossed background paper with a patterned accent and butterfly stamp. The stamp is highlighted with glittery pen. These are great for "Thinking of You, Birthday, etc." Paper patterns and colors will vary. Set of 5 for $5.50 or single cards for $1.25.

Tasty Medicine: These cute mice are the perfect way to say "Get Well!" Solid background, patterned and coordinated color paper strips, with the mice colored to go with the colors in the papers. Inside message: "Hope you feel better soon" Paper patterns and colors will vary. Set of 5 for $5.50 or single cards for $1.25.

Please visit my card blog for more samples, and custom orders are available. Coming soon-Easter and Graduation designs!