It was sooooooooooo sweet watching Auburn University beat Clemson in overtime. It's a new version of the Chicken curse. Clemson is not allowed to win in a chicken related bowl! lol It was great!!
My Gamecocks didn't get a bowl invite this year but watching Clemson lose their bowl was just as good as us going! lol
Katie lost her first tooth tonight! She didn't want Tom to mess with it at first but then she let him wiggle it and out it came!Look at those big eyes!!
We had a great time in Louisiana. We left Sunday and there was very little traffic and other than some rain in Georgia, the weather was great. My niece and her girls and my sisters came to see us at mom's Monday night and we opened gifts. Katie had quite a large pile of gifts. Tuesday we went to my nephew's house for Christmas and opened gifts with them and had a huge Christmas feast and some Cajun Christmas music. It was great! We had a wonderful time. Wednesday, I took Brittanie to have her senior pictures taken at the same photographer that did mine 20 years ago. I also had my mom and Katie take some with her. The photographer was telling us how much worse crime is in Opelousas since hurricane Katrina hit and spread those criminal losers all over the place. He was robbed at gun point 5 months after Katrina. The boy that robbed them wasn't poor. His mom was a nurse and his dad a building contractor. He was just a loser. Things are scary down there now. But I digress. Brittanie went to out with her cousin, Lauren, and some of Lauren's friends to see a movie and whatever. Well she didn't get home until late and I stayed up waiting for her to come home. We went to bed at 1:30am. Tom had gone to bed at 9pm. Well the plan was to get up and leave at 8am Thursday morning. Well, we didn't wake up till 10am! We didn't get on the road until 11:30am central time. It was like driving through a mine field! We had three rocks hit the windshield (I will have to get it replaced because one spot is really bad), 3 18-wheelers pulled out in front of us, a Honda Accord was pulling over on us, and when we got almost to Pelion, a deer walked out onto the road right in front of us. Luckily Tom is very careful in driving at night because of the deer problem we have around here so he was able to stop in plenty of time to let the deer go back into the woods. But we made great time. We got home at 11:50pm eastern time. That's 11 hours 20 minutes!
We did have a great Christmas. By the way, here is a list of the wonderful gifts we got:
Tom: 3 Gamecock T-shirts (one from Brittanie and the others from me) Gamecock PJ bottoms (from me, which Brittanie stole) A very cool Carolina Panther ornament (from Tom's brother and his wife) Nice shirt and matching socks (from Tom's parents)
Me: VERY nice SkullCandy headphones (from Tom) USC figurine (from Brittanie) O'Charley's gift certificate (from Tom's brother and his wife)
Brittanie: Coca-Cola PJ's Chris Daughtry concert tickets Season Pass to Carowinds Pirates of the Caribbean DVD Jeff Dunham Spark of Insanity DVD Phone for her room ID bracelet Rope chain $100 cash When Rock Band becomes available for the PS2, we will buy that too. *All of the above was from us. Plus she got: $50 from my mom $40 from my niece $30 from my nephew
Katie: Tekno Robot Dog Shrek the Third DVD Leapster case for her L-Max 3 games for her L-Max My Little Pony Pinkie Pie 4 set of PJ's (Spongebob, Disney Princess, Sketcher's nightgown, & Limited Too I love Horses) ID bracelet *All of the above was from us Hot Wheels starter set (from Brittanie) *18 wheeler full of cars *Gum ball machine *$20 cash *Play jewelry *Gun that shoots sponge disks *Jewelry chest *All of that was from my mom. There was more but I can't remember right now. My Little Pony grooming kit with a personalized bag and 4 ponies from my niece Bag full of Cars stuff from my nephew and his wife.
Tom's brother and his wife gave us our favorite gifts. I didn't know they knew how much we liked O'Charley's! The ornament was awesome. Brittanie couldn't wait to put it on the tree. I told her that we are taking the tree down in a couple of days but she wanted to put it on there anyway. Katie hasn't opened their gifts yet but I'm sure it will be great.
I will blog more this weekend with pictures from our trip. I need to head to bed because now that my mom is here for 3 weeks to take care of Katie and help me out with the household stuff, I'm going to try my best to catch up on my typing!
Earlier in the week, I developed a cellulitis infection on my left leg. I have had quite a few on my right leg but never my left. Well this week what started off as a scratch has turned into a full blown cellulitis infection. I went to the doctor Wednesday and he put me on a huge dose of Keflex. Well last night (Friday), after running around like a wild child all day, Katie started throwing up at 8pm. She had asked us for some of the cheesecake Brittanie made. I told her she would have to eat dinner first. So she asked for dinner but then ran to the bathroom and told us she threw up. She lies so much that we didn't believe her. Then she said she wasn't hungry and wanted to try going to bed without supper that night. Well that's when I knew she was sick because Katie wants to eat 24/7. No sooner had she said that then she ran in the hall and projectiled all over the place, ran in the bathroom and projectiled more in the bathroom. We put her in the tub and she had to get out of the tub to "toss cookies" again. She got out and we gave her a Phenergan suppository...we only had one left. So I called the doctor and he told me that if she continues to throw up to take her in this morning and wouldn't call me in more Phenergan. We put her to bed and a half hour later I heard her talking ....or so I thought. Katie talks and kicks all night long. Tom checked on her and she had thrown up in her bed in her sleep and didn't even wake up. Back to the tub she went. When she got out, Brittanie wanted to hold her and swaddled her in her Carolina Panthers blanket. She "tossed cookies" three times while Brittanie was holding her and they were getting closer and closer together. She was "tossing cookies" every 15 minutes. So Tom decided he wanted to take her to the ER. I couldn't go because hospitals are breeding grounds for germs and with an open cellulitis infection on my leg, I would be opening myself up for staph or worse. So I stayed home while Tom and Brittanie took her. The doctor said it was a virus and gave her half of a Zofran tablet. I have taken Zofran and it has never worked for me. But it worked great on Katie. Tom said she perked right up and then was wide open. The doctor told him that is why they don't like to give Zofran first line to kids because even though it works, it wires them up. By the time she got home, she was bouncing off the walls. At one point, she was standing in front of Tom in the living room and started giving him about a dozen raspberries. That's all that little hyper thing needs is something to make her worse. But she went to bed with the rest of us at 3:30am and has been fine ever since. She has only eaten a piece of bread and drank some Gatorade today but that's fine as long as she keeps it down. I told Tom that if any of us puke today, the trip to Louisiana is canceled. You know my smart butt family, Tom and Brittanie both said they are going to stick their finger down their throat. LOL
Anyway, please pray for us that if we do make that trip down there, no one gets sick along the way and we make it there safely. We are leaving in the morning.
On the twelfth day of Christmas, the liberals gave to me:
* Twelve senators failing (12 Democrats up for re-election in 2008) * Eleven percent approval (Lowest rating ever) * Ten paychecks burning (Because of Democrat record tax hike) * Ninety thousand freezing (Amount of money found in Rep. William Jefferson's (D-La.) freezer) * No more secret ballots (Big Labor payback for union bosses) * $700 billion in new spending (Paid for with the largest tax hike in history) * Six troop funding cuts (Playing political theater with the safety and security of our nation and our troops) * Hillary's Woodstock Museum! (What better way to spend a million dollars?) * Four bucks a gallon (Not a single energy bill passed to help lower gas prices) * Al Franken ranting (Angry Hollywood liberal) * Two liberal Udalls (Mark in Colorado and Tom in New Mexico) * And a tax hike for every family! (Thanks Democrats)
If you thought our singing was bad . . . Just wait until the Democrats get their hands on your paycheck next year.
Everyone knows I'm a big fan of Jeff Dunham and one of my friends (Thanks Terri!) sent me a video of Jeff and Walter (his character that is just like Tom) on Jeff's off time. I had no idea that Jeff had similar interests to Tom's co-worker, Rod. He isn't as cool as Rod so technically he is a Rod-wanna-be. hehehe But check out this clip from Jeff and Walter appearing on a show called "Fast Living."
You didn't learn until high school that Mardi Gras is not a national holiday.
You push little old ladies out of the way to catch Mardi Gras throws.
Little old ladies push you out of the way to catch Mardi Gras throws.
You leave a parade with footprints on your hands.
On Christmas Eve, your daughter looks up in the sky, sees Santa Claus and yells, "T'row me somethin', mister!"
You fill your Nativity creche with king cake babies dressed like Jesus, Mary, Joseph, the wise men and the angels.
You go buy a new winter coat and throw your arms up in the air to make sure it allows enough room to catch Mardi Gras beads.
You have seen men in tuxedos boiling crawfish. (I have actually been to a wedding that had a crawfish boil for the reception and the guys boiling the crawfish were in tuxes because they were in the wedding party!)
Every so often, you have waterfront property.
If it rains more than 4 hours,.. you move your vehicles to the high ground.
You worry about deceased family members returning during the next flood. (This happens in Opelousas often....caskets floating down the road!)
You are consistently the second or third person to run a red light.
You have been rear-ended at least 10 times by people who had no insurance.
Other states you visit that "claim" to have cajun food always dissappoint you. (Yeah like Bojangles and New Orleans Riverside Restaurant....these places do NOT have Cajun food.)
You judge a poboy by the number of napkins used.
The four seasons of your year are crawfish, shrimp, crab and oyster.
Someone at a crawfish boil says, "Don't eat the dead ones," and you know what they mean.
You idea of a cruise ship is the ferry. (The Melville Ferry was a very romantic and cheap date!)
You don't worry when you see ships in the river passing by and they're higher than your house.
You can quote chapter and verse of your "Homeowner's Insurance Policy".
You're not afraid when you hear someone wants to "ax" you something. (My whole family says that!)
Nothing shocks you, period, ever. Not politics, hurricanes, red lights, parking tickets, the Saints, Mardi Gras.
Your idea of health food is a baked potato instead of fries with your fried seafood platter.
You have to reset your clocks after every thunderstorm.
You've ever wore shorts at Christmas time. (like now.)
You plan your wedding around hunting season & LSU football.
You have a ditch on at least one side of your property.
A senior at LSU was overheard saying... "When the end of the world comes, I hope to be in Louisiana ." When asked why, he replied he'd rather be in Louisiana because everything happens in Louisiana 20 years later than in the rest of the civilized world.
I have always said that my family has a unique way of saying things. Well my mom is the most unique of all. Last week, my mom's first cousin died and she called me and told me "You know my cousin, Tee? His sister died." I said, "Ummmm wouldn't that make his sister your cousin too?" She said, "Oh yeah!" Well yesterday another cousin died. She called me again. "Lynette, you know my cousin, Percy? His sister died." That time I started laughing and she didn't like that I was laughing. I told her that I wasn't laughing that the woman died. Heck I didn't even know her. I just think it is funny the way she thinks. Instead of saying "My cousin, Virgie, died." She says "My cousin, Percy's sister died." Is that my own family weirdness or do other people have this same weirdness?
First she had to pull them all out and sort them.Then when she could see everything she had, she could put them under the tree stacked perfectly of course.
Last night, I wrapped all the presents and Tom was supposed to put them nice and organized (because he is anal retentive like that) under the tree. Well we were laughing about Katie's obsessive need to categorize and stack the presents so he decided instead of putting them under the tree all organized so it looks nice, he would throw them in a pile under the tree to see what her reaction would be. This morning she got up and saw the presents all willy nilly and said "Look at that!" I told her daddy did that. Well when Tom got up she told him "These presents are a complete disaster!" (Does she listen to Tom or what?) She said she is going to fix them pretty when she gets home from school today. Wonder how many times she is going to rearrange them before she decides it is perfect? The presents in the Hallmark bag are for the dirty Santa game we play with gifts and then another dirty Santa game with ornaments. But I know it will drive her nuts to leave those in the bag.
But here is the picture of Tom's mess that Katie declared was a "complete disaster!"
Katie has always been obsessive compulsive about things but since we have started putting presents under the tree, it has really kicked into high gear. We haven't started wrapping yet but the jewelry and the clothes have been put into predecorated boxes and put under the tree. Well Katie has rearranged them three times today. First spread evenly all around the tree, then stacked from smallest to biggest in three separate stacks, and now she has color stacked them. Check this out:Think she is OCD much??
One of Brittanie's Christmas gifts this year was two tickets to see Chris Daughtry in concert this past Friday night (December 14th) in Charleston. Brittanie gets lost in Cayce/West Columbia. I definitely didn't want her going to Charleston by herself. So I decided to take her and her friend, Courtney, down there. While I was down there I wanted to see the Christmas lights at James Island. So I got Jenny (my best friend/Tom's cousin) and her daughter, Jessica, and son, Allan, to go with me. Well after all the talking I did about Brittanie getting lost....I got lost trying to find the lights. In my defense, the map from Google stunk...even Tom said so. Thankfully I had cell signal and Tom lead us to the lights and then back to the coliseum to get Brittanie and Courtney. The lights at James Island were GORGEOUS and well worth the drive and the $10! Brittanie didn't have as good of a time. She said it was cool seeing Chris Daughtry but he sang old stuff like Tears for Fears, a tribute to John Lennon and Johnny Cash. I get Tears for Fears but John Lennon and Johnny Cash....EESH! He is younger than me singing that ancient crap! Oh well at least she can say she saw him in person even though we won't spend any more money on concert tickets to see him perform that junk.
Saturday was Brittanie's last drill team and rifle team competition of her high school career. It was the state competition and Tom was there to get it on tape. So I uploaded it to YouTube. The first two are Brittanie leading her unarmed platoon and unarmed squad in their drill competition. The last video is the armed drill and even though she wasn't leading it, she was in there. You can see her blonde hair.
Today, Tom and Brittanie went to the Carolina Panthers game and the curse was broken! Our Panthers won 13 to 10!!! Tom said they had a GREAT time. The seats were club level and on the 40 yard line....outstanding seats. Because of the Panthers' record, only the die hard fans were there....which Tom prefers. He is hoarse from all the screaming. But he and Brittanie had a blast and when they won, people were celebrating big time!
All in all, it was a pretty good weekend. We are also in the countdown to Louisiana. We are leaving Sunday and my mom is coming back with us to spend 3 weeks. I'm looking forward to it! Katie is the most excited one though. She calls my mom 100 times a day on the phone. Thank goodness for unlimited long distance! hehehe
By the way, I was reading on dailyworld.com that my hometown in Louisiana just opened their very first library. Welcome to the 1920's! It is 2007. We don't really need libraries thanks to the internet. You can download books to read. I think Tom disagrees with me but I think libraries are a waste of money, especially new ones. The Krotz Springs Elementary library was pretty good when I was growing up. I had to go to Opelousas' library when I needed to do a paper and all the materials I needed were checked out. But nowadays, you can find whatever information you need on the internet. But hey, you can't go by me. I think I was the only honor student in the world who hated to read.
Tom was telling me that the guys at work think of him when they see the "Messing with Sasquatch" commercials. Well I had never seen those commercials so I looked them up on YouTube and boy do they have him pegged. These were the ones that really got a laugh out of me and definitely remind me of Tom. LOL He's grumpy at times but I actually like that side of him. I couldn't stand it if he were passive. But these are definitely an exaggeration of Tom but still very funny!
Is it just me or is it hard to get in the Christmas spirit when it is 80 degrees outside? This is nuts! I was used to this in Louisiana but I have enjoyed actually having winter weather in December in South Carolina for the last 11 years....not this year. We are going to my nephew's house in Louisiana and he said if the weather continues like it has been....in the 70's and 80's....he is going to set up a canopy and we can spend the day outside in the fresh air. This is not Christmas....that's Easter! *sigh* You know how each year there is a toy that is in high demand and nobody can find one? Well the toy Katie asked for evidently is one of those toys. It is a My Little Pony Pinkie Pie Premie. We can't find one at Wal-Mart, K-Mart, Target, or Toys R Us....in the stores or on the web! Amazon doesn't have it either. I had to go to Hasbro.com and buy it directly from the manufacturer. This is a $15 toy. I don't understand what the big deal is about it but it evidently is in high demand. Now I'm worried about Brittanie's gift. She wants a Rock Band game for her PS2. I preordered it on Amazon and they said it would come out on the 13th. Today I got a message that they canceled my order because they aren't going to have it in stock. I went to BestBuy.com and CircuitCity.com and both said it will come out on the 19th. Now I'm nervous that we won't be able to get it at all. The PS3 and XBox 360 versions are already out but she only has a PS2 and I think it is a waste of money to buy game systems. We didn't buy her the PS2. She paid for it with her own money. So she may have to save up and upgrade to a new system. I've never been a big gamer so I don't understand spending that much money on video games.
Ever wonder about the glasses in your hotel room? I have to admit that most of the hotels we stay in are mid-price, like Hampton Inn, so they have plastic single use cups that are individually wrapped. But what about the nicer hotels with the glass glasses? Check out this video.
Here is Brittanie's senior year JROTC picture. I'm not thrilled with it because she doesn't smile in these pictures. She claims that you aren't supposed to smile in a military picture. Well she isn't in the military yet. But anyway, this is the picture that is going on the JROTC wall of command in the hallway at Swansea High School.
We usually get a live tree the weekend after Thanksgiving. Well this year, we were busy the weekend after Thanksgiving and the following weekend, Tom was in New Jersey. So this past weekend was the first chance we had to get a tree. Well Tom decided he doesn't want to mess with live trees anymore because they are too much of a pain to trim and everything. He wanted a nice artificial one. Well he found one at Lowe's that he wanted. Unfortunately there were none to be had in the Midlands. I called around and found one in Florence, which is about an hour and a half from our house. Well Tom was so intent on having this tree that he didn't care about the drive. He drove all the way over there and got his tree. Tom is a major perfectionist and didn't want a cheap looking tree. It had to look real. He picked a fantastic tree! It was the prettiest artificial tree I have ever seen! Because he is such a perfectionist, it took him a couple of hours to make the limbs just right, then he put the angel on top and now he is putting on the garland. He is very much like Monk. That garland has to be even all the way around the tree or it will drive him nuts so we always let him do it. That's what he is doing right now. Brittanie will hang all the ornaments on the tree. Then Tom pushes the tree in place and puts the tree skirt and train under the tree and it will be done. I will take a picture of it when it is done. Until then, here is link to the tree on the Lowe's website. Click here.
We went to the Gaston Christmas Parade this morning and sat in Grandma Sightler's yard to watch as Brittanie lead her cadets in the last parade of her senior year. She did a great job and as always, we were very proud of her. I tried to make her laugh but she wasn't having it. Tom video taped the JROTC part of the parade and I uploaded it to YouTube.
I took pictures as well. We had a great time! Brittanie is right behind the banner and in front of the color guard walking by herself and keeping everyone in step. Here are the pictures:Nothing runs like a Deere!!It wouldn't be Gaston without the ultimate redneck car. I love the General Lee!This is one of the many trucks in the Hicktown 4x4 club entry of the parade. I LOVED this truck...yep I'm a redneck at heart....so I had to take a picture!
After the parade, Brittanie went home and changed clothes and headed out to go back to Sumter to see Cameron (she was just there last night) and go ice skating with him and his church youth group. Before getting on I-77, she decided to run by McDonald's to get some lunch. She didn't realize that she was behind her Aunt Sandra (who also lives next door to us). But Sandra saw her and when Brittanie got up to the window to pay for her food, the woman handed her a receipt and told her that Sandra had just paid for her meal. Wasn't that sweet? That just made Brittanie's day. She thought that was so sweet! She was so touched that she actually called me to tell me about it. We do have wonderful people in our lives!!
Tom got home around 6:30 last night. It was so good to have him home! Katie really missed him but when he got home without a present for her, she got mad at him. He always buys her a souvenir when he goes on his trips. Well he has been to New Jersey numerous times and he flew in and out of Philadelphia but he and Brittanie brought us back souvenirs from there this past summer. So he didn't think about getting her something on this trip. Well she wasn't happy about that at all. Eventually she got over it and climbed up on his lap and demanded he tell her what to be when she grows up. She had the same conversation with me earlier in the day. She told me she wants to be a race car driver. I told her she could do that. Then she said maybe a football coach. I told her that was unrealistic because I doubt I will ever see the day that women get paid to be a football coach. So then she starts naming jobs that make little to no money and I told her that she is smart and should aim higher for a job that makes more money. Well when she had the conversation with Tom, she told him that she wanted to pick a job that made lots of money but didn't know what. He told her that she has to do what makes her happy first then worry about money. He asked her about being a vet since she likes animals. She said she loves animals but that would be a stinky job because animals poop. She didn't want to be a doctor because those sick people would get her sick. She said she wanted to type like I do. I told her that was boring and to pick something else. She was stressing out over what she was going to be and then it hit her. She wants to be a dentist! What is it with our girls and teeth??? Brittanie was 5 years old...just like Katie....when she declared she wanted to be a dentist. She would still be on that path if she were good in science. I think Katie will be good at science. She and Tom talk about tons of scientific stuff all the time. She loves it. I met get a dentist or doctor in the family one day afterall!
Most of you may remember me asking for prayer and donations for a teenaged girl named Brittany from my home town of Krotz Springs, LA that had gotten in a 4-wheeler accident back in August and is paralyzed now. Well her daddy's (Anthony) sister killed herself the week before Thanksgiving and now his stepson killed himself Saturday. Evidently his two best friends were in a car accident and hit a tree a couple of months ago. He couldn't stand living without them anymore so he hung himself from the tree his friends hit and left a suicide note.
Please pray for this family....especially Anthony. His life has been horrendous since August! I can't even imagine going through what he has been going through. And when you think you are going through alot, count your blessings because things could be so much worse!
It's been awhile since I updated on family stuff so while it is quiet in the house, I thought I'd do that.Friday night, Brittanie sat on Tom's lap. She loves her daddy!Well Katie thinks that Tom is HER daddy and has never wanted to share him with me or Brittanie. So she climbed up on Tom and hit Brittanie. That's when the fight started!When the fight started, Tom just threw his hands in front of his face to avoid being hit in the face.We finally get things calmed down. Katie kisses her daddy. Then Brittanie kissed her daddy....and it was on again!It was all in good fun for Brittanie but Katie was seriously mad. lol
Saturday morning, Tom flew to New Jersey and Brittanie went to Midlands Tech to take her SAT's again. We are praying that now that she has ALOT less stress than she did the last time she took it her score will improve. She said it was alot easier this time around. Last time she couldn't concentrate at all. Saturday afternoon, Brittanie's new boyfriend, Cameron, came over. I was able to meet him for the first time and though he was pretty quiet, I know Tom will like him. He is a Christian young man that has never drank, smoked, did drugs of any type, or had sex in any manner and he goes to church because he wants to and teaches a class at church as well. That's impossible to find here in Gaston and Swansea. Cameron is from Sumter. Brittanie had to admit having a boyfriend that lives an hour away is great because she can concentrate on her classes because he isn't in the same school as her. There is no typical high school drama of people starting rumors about seeing him with another girl because they don't go to the same school. They have plenty of time to do their homework and chores during the week because they can't talk on the phone unless it is all done. He is a 17 and a Junior. Brittanie is so happy...as you can see in the picture (above).Well she had to go to her first of 7 military balls last night. Cameron is in chorus at school and they have to wear a tux for performances so he owns his own tux. His mom is a florist so he gave her a very nice corsage. She wore the purple dress that she had worn to the military ball with Justin two years before. Well they get to the ball and guess who is there....Justin. His girlfriend is in JROTC at Pelion. He couldn't look at Brittanie....which is fine with me. lol But they looked great together. Here are some pictures that I took before they left. I bought a package of pictures from the ball and when those come in, I'll post those too.While Brittanie and Cameron were at the military ball, I took Katie to see the Christmas lights at Saluda Shoals Park in Irmo. She LOVED them. At one point there was a big unicorn and we don't believe in unicorns so I said "Look Katie! Look at the horse." She said "Actually, that is a unicorn not a horse." Excuse me! LOL When we got done there, we went to Hope Ferry Road in Lexington to see the Derrick family's huge holiday display. It was gorgeous...as usual. Then we headed to Oak Grove to the Crepe Myrtle cul de sac. All the houses down there decorate every year. It was very nice again this year. I am going to take Katie to see the lights at James Island when we take Brittanie to the Daughtry concert in Charleston on the 14th. Katie and I are the only ones in the house who love Christmas lights. Tom and Brittanie could care less. I'm glad Katie loves them like I do. Now I will have someone to go with me every year hunting Christmas lights!
Brittanie has to march in the Swansea Christmas parade this afternoon and the Gaston Christmas parade next Saturday morning leading her JROTC cadets. If you are looking for a parade to take your family to that won't have the massive crowds that Columbia attracts, check out Swansea's parade (today at 3pm) and Gaston's parade (Saturday at 10am).
Tom will be back Tuesday and he told me that his flight arrives at 3pm. I told him that since he will be back so early, he should run by Lowe's and get us a live Christmas tree so we can put our tree up Tuesday night. He said "Did I say 3pm? I meant 9pm." Uhhh huh...too late! I'm not falling for it. lol
It was sooooooooooo sweet watching Auburn University beat Clemson in overtime. It's a new version of the Chicken curse. Clemson is not allowed to win in a chicken related bowl! lol It was great!!
Look at those big eyes!!
Then when she could see everything she had, she could put them under the tree stacked perfectly of course.
Think she is OCD much??
We can't find one at Wal-Mart, K-Mart, Target, or Toys R Us....in the stores or on the web! Amazon doesn't have it either. I had to go to Hasbro.com and buy it directly from the manufacturer. This is a $15 toy. I don't understand what the big deal is about it but it evidently is in high demand. Now I'm worried about Brittanie's gift. She wants a Rock Band game for her PS2. 
I preordered it on Amazon and they said it would come out on the 13th. Today I got a message that they canceled my order because they aren't going to have it in stock. I went to BestBuy.com and CircuitCity.com and both said it will come out on the 19th. Now I'm nervous that we won't be able to get it at all. The PS3 and XBox 360 versions are already out but she only has a PS2 and I think it is a waste of money to buy game systems. We didn't buy her the PS2. She paid for it with her own money. So she may have to save up and upgrade to a new system. I've never been a big gamer so I don't understand spending that much money on video games.
Here is Brittanie's senior year JROTC picture. I'm not thrilled with it because she doesn't smile in these pictures. She claims that you aren't supposed to smile in a military picture. Well she isn't in the military yet. But anyway, this is the picture that is going on the JROTC wall of command in the hallway at Swansea High School.
Nothing runs like a Deere!!
It wouldn't be Gaston without the ultimate redneck car. I love the General Lee!
This is one of the many trucks in the Hicktown 4x4 club entry of the parade. I LOVED this truck...yep I'm a redneck at heart....so I had to take a picture!
Friday night, Brittanie sat on Tom's lap. She loves her daddy!
Well Katie thinks that Tom is HER daddy and has never wanted to share him with me or Brittanie. So she climbed up on Tom and hit Brittanie. That's when the fight started!
When the fight started, Tom just threw his hands in front of his face to avoid being hit in the face. 
We finally get things calmed down. Katie kisses her daddy. Then Brittanie kissed her daddy....and it was on again!
It was all in good fun for Brittanie but Katie was seriously mad. lol
Saturday afternoon, Brittanie's new boyfriend, Cameron, came over. I was able to meet him for the first time and though he was pretty quiet, I know Tom will like him. He is a Christian young man that has never drank, smoked, did drugs of any type, or had sex in any manner and he goes to church because he wants to and teaches a class at church as well. That's impossible to find here in Gaston and Swansea. Cameron is from Sumter. Brittanie had to admit having a boyfriend that lives an hour away is great because she can concentrate on her classes because he isn't in the same school as her. There is no typical high school drama of people starting rumors about seeing him with another girl because they don't go to the same school. They have plenty of time to do their homework and chores during the week because they can't talk on the phone unless it is all done. He is a 17 and a Junior. Brittanie is so happy...as you can see in the picture (above).
Well she had to go to her first of 7 military balls last night. Cameron is in chorus at school and they have to wear a tux for performances so he owns his own tux. His mom is a florist so he gave her a very nice corsage. She wore the purple dress that she had worn to the military ball with Justin two years before. Well they get to the ball and guess who is there....Justin. His girlfriend is in JROTC at Pelion. He couldn't look at Brittanie....which is fine with me. lol But they looked great together. Here are some pictures that I took before they left. I bought a package of pictures from the ball and when those come in, I'll post those too.
While Brittanie and Cameron were at the military ball, I took Katie to see the Christmas lights at Saluda Shoals Park in Irmo. She LOVED them. At one point there was a big unicorn and we don't believe in unicorns so I said "Look Katie! Look at the horse." She said "Actually, that is a unicorn not a horse." Excuse me! LOL When we got done there, we went to Hope Ferry Road in Lexington to see the Derrick family's huge holiday display. It was gorgeous...as usual. Then we headed to Oak Grove to the Crepe Myrtle cul de sac. All the houses down there decorate every year. It was very nice again this year. I am going to take Katie to see the lights at James Island when we take Brittanie to the Daughtry concert in Charleston on the 14th. Katie and I are the only ones in the house who love Christmas lights. Tom and Brittanie could care less. I'm glad Katie loves them like I do. Now I will have someone to go with me every year hunting Christmas lights!
