Clemson Homecoming Weekend

We took the kids up to Clemson this weekend for the Homecoming festivities. We went up with the Owens family, whose son Drew is one of Sykes' best friends from school, and their other son Michael is right in between Sykes and Carson's ages. The way up there was great--the dads rode together with all the boys, and Christina and I took Carson in our car. When we got to the hotel, the kids were wired, so after letting them run around outside on the hotel lawn, we "partied," as Sykes called it, in the Owens' room, then went to dinner. Saturday morning, we were up bright and early. Sykes had on his #1 jersey, Drew had on #28, and Michael wore #6. So we had Davis, Spiller, and Ford. Carson also ran around in her cheerleading outfit, and though she was dressed like a girly girl, held her own with the boys. We made it to the game in time to see the Tigers run down the hill. Sykes was kind of mopey for the first part of the game because our seats were not with the Owens family. However, Carson was having a blast at the game. She learned how to spell out C-L-E-M-S-O-N during Tiger Rag. Plus, she decided that James Davis was her favorite player and kept cheering for him. When we went under the stands for some provisions, we ran into the Owens, and found out they had empty seats near them. Once we were sitting near them and Sykes could be with Drew, he had a great time. The kids all had a blast dancing to Zombie Nation! Our plan was to leave at halftime, but not before Carson got to see "the princesses," which is what she calls the Homecoming Queen and her court. After leaving the game at halftime, we found a wonderful hill, and the kids busied themselves sliding down it on cardboard boxes and burying each other in leaves, which they don't get to do at home. Carson's white tights did not make it, as you can well imagine, but the kids had the best time. They wore themselves out, but we did manage to make it to Bowman for a quick peek at the floats, and then it was dinner, bath, and bed for two very dirty, tired Clemson fans! I forgot to bring my camera, but Christina took tons of pictures, so I will be posting them ASAP. Go TIGERS!

Halloween 2008

We had a great time with the whole Halloween experience. We decorated the house, and the kids are always especially excited about putting out our inflatable witch who pops in and out of her cauldron on our front lawn. We also attempted to go to the pumpkin patch at Boone Hall Plantation with my friend Sara and her kids. Unfortunately, the week before, it had rained 8 inches here, so it was very muddy, and poor Sykes got attacked by fire ants, so we didn't stay long. Then, the kids had their class parties, and since I am the room mom for both classes, I got to be there for both. Carson's 4K class had fun eating their snack, digging through spaghetti "worms" for prizes, and playing Pin the Nose on the Pumpkin. Sykes' party was totally nuts! You would think compared to a 4K party, a 1st grade party would be more organized and calm, but it was crazier! Maybe it was because it was later in the day, or there were more kids, or maybe because they all know each other very well by now. Not quite sure, but at least we were able to get them to play some games as well. The funniest game they played was a race to wrap one of their teammates in toilet paper mummy style. What a riot! Then, they also played Pin the Nose on the Pumpkin, and finally, some sort of beanbag toss. Of course, that evening was Trick or Treating. What fun! Carson wanted to be a ballerina princess, and since the ballet costume she already had was not "fancy" enough, I found myself gluing thousands (and I mean literally thousands) of sequins to it. But, it turned out beautiful, if I do say so myself. She absolutely loved it, and she looked gorgeous. Sykes had originally said he wanted to be a remote control, which I thought was a very creative idea. However, after a while, he decided he really wanted to be a police officer. So he was our little cop for the night. I also dressed up as a witch for the entire day, and the kids were excited! I had originally told Sykes I wanted to be a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, but he said he would be too embarrassed if I showed up at school dressed like that. Apparently, being embarrassed of your parents starts a lot earlier than the teenage years. Josh really didn't need to dress up--he could have just taken off his shirt and dressed as a hairy monkey (he he--sorry Josh), but he decided to go a different direction and bought a mask. I think he was supposed to be Confucius, but none of us could really figure it out for sure. We embarked on our Trick or Treating mission on the golf cart a little before dark and stopped at the grandparents' and great grandparents' houses first. Josh and I also call it Drink or Treating because when we stop at friends and neighbors houses, they always give us a beer or a glass of wine. So, usually by the time we get home, we are pretty relaxed and silly. We did manage to go to quite a few houses of people we did not know this year, and the kids were going up to the doors by themselves with us watching from the golf cart by the end of the night. Carson was ready to just barge up to any door, but Sykes was more apprehensive at first. She eventually talked Sykes into it, and a good time was had by all. I was sad the day was over, as it is always such a fun time around here. In fact, I will use my sadness as the excuse for some of my decorations still being up around the house! : )

Finally, we have a blog! Welcome!

Hey, everyone! As much as I love the computer, I am surprised it has taken me so long to finally decide to start a blog. I must say, I got this idea from looking at a friend's page. With so many family members and friends living far away and wanting to see the kids and find out what is happening with us, this is a great way for everyone to know what is going on with us down here near the beach. I am going to start with some random videos and posts from the past few months, and then I think I will organize the rest of the bog by month or by event--I am new to this whole blogging thing, so we will see. Hope you enjoy!