Trip of A Lifetime

Rewind to December 4, 2010...Our good friend Staffon came over to watch the SEC Championship game. We enjoyed watching the Tigers beat up on the Gamecocks over Outback carryout and two four year olds bouncing off the walls. By the time the third and fourth quarters rolled around, and it was evident the Tigers would take the SEC Championship, Matt began talking about the BCS Championship game. Should we go or not???

Well, that's a good question considering none of us had really considered it yet. Needless to say, before the game was over, Matt had purchased 4 tickets through Stub Hub for me, him, Staffon, and Nana (who after a few phone calls was quickly on board!). I think we were all a little hesitant to commit to such an investment, especially around Christmas time, but we took the leap of faith.

Fast forward to January 10, 2010...That leap of faith was worth. every. penny! Our trip to Phoenix was truly a trip of a lifetime! Here's how our day played out...

As I mentioned, we purchased our tickets through Stub Hub, and I'm sure you all heard the scares surrounding them potentially not having enough tickets. So, you can imagine how nervous we were that we were instructed to pick up our tickets at a Moe's near the stadium. Sounded a bit shady to me, so we were more than elated to see Matt and Staffon walking towards us tickets in hand.

Nana and I stayed behind with the car. We were one of the first in line to park in the orange lot. There was a group of retired Marines cooking breakfast, tailgating and adding to the overall excitement of the day right beside us. There were also several groups of Auburn fans which helped pass the time while we waited to park the car (the lot didn't open until 12:30 p.m.). We even had fun talking to some of the Ducks that were waiting too!

Once we parked, we made our way around the stadium to kill a little time and see the sights! Here's a picture of me and Nana trying on tiger hats at the Under Armour store. Too bad they cost $30 each or we would have brought them home!

We also snagged a picture of Cam's big trophy!

After lunch at Margaritaville, walking around the stadium a couple of times, hanging out at the car, and meeting up with friends, it was finally time to enter the stadium.

Here we are in our seats! Hubby did well picking them out!

We had a half time visitor! In typical AT & T fashion, my cellular service was horrible AROUND and INSIDE the stadium. We almost missed seeing each other, but thankfully Nana's phone was working and I was able to send out a text to tell Uncle Brad where we were sitting. Thankfully, he received it! These pictures are for Tula and Pops...

And last but not least, the final score!!! Go Tigers! And a big War Eagle!!!

Can't Get It Out Of My Head

I'm Going On A Trip

Care to guess where? Here, I'll give you a clue...

I wish I could say my bags are packed! Let's just say I'm working on it:)

A Cupcake Farewell

We bid farewell to Walker and Kathryn's teacher, Miss Haley, on Friday. She unfortunately could not work the last semester of her master's class schedule out with her teaching schedule, so she is having to say "goodbye." Since she has the added bonus of also getting married this summer, we all completely (although sadly) understood.

We thought a "decorate your own cupcake" party would be just the thing to keep everybodies' spirtis high. I think it worked! I was anticipating tears, but we just got a lot of smiles. Perfect!

We love you, Miss Haley!!

Meet...

...The Claw

All 18 pounds and 14 ounces of her! As of lately, she grabs for and then puts a death grip on EVERYTHING earning her the name "The Claw." And what does she do after she "claws" her prey, she puts it in her mouth of course. Just like she's doing with her cat rattle.

A Year In Review

January-We started the year celebrating "Christmas" a few weeks late with Aunt Amy and her family. A yummy breakfast and some play time at Ross Bridge followed by a pizza party at our house rounded out the festivities. Little did we know just a few days after this picture was taken, Aunt Coco and Uncle Daniel would welcome little Beau into the world almost 5 weeks early!

Matt started the year at the National Championship game in Pasadena, CA. Although he wasn't too fond of routing for the Tide, it was still a trip of a lifetime!

February-The kids enjoyed some snow (glad they were able to because I doubt we will be seeing much snow in our new location!), and Matt and I enjoyed seeing Baby #3 on ultrasound.


The highlight of this month was getting to welcome sweet baby Addison into this world. I spent my birthday in Winston-Salem doing this...

holding and loving on this little bundle of joy!

March-Matt had a conference in New Orleans, so we were able to work in a mini vacation while Tula and Pops kept the kiddos. Little did we know a quick Sunday afternoon of looking at houses before heading back to Birmingham would lead to this...

Of course, we deliberated for weeks before making an offer, but the Lord faithfully provided the home we needed in His perfect timing!

The kids and I traveled back to Mobile at the end of the month for a Tew family reunion.

April-We enjoyed Easter in Birmingham celebrating our Savior's resurrection with Nana, Papa and the Dillons.


May- Matt completed his second triatholon relay in Memphis. Lots of training went into this event, so we were very proud of his accomplishment!
Memorial Day was spent at Casa del Rio. The kids enjoyed playing on the river and swimming!

June-WOW! What a month! My Grandfather's home going, an wedding anniversary, three birthdays (including one BIRTH-day), and a house closing!

Kathryn and Walker celebrated Toy Story 3 style at a birthday party with their cousins. Loved the cupcakes made by Aunt Amy.

And of course the biggest thing to happen this year....we welcomed Miss Frances Elizabeth!

July-Exactly, one week after bringing Frances home from the hospital, we moved to Mobile. Well, the kids and I did. Matt still had one more month of work in Birmingham. I confess it was a hairy couple of weeks. A newborn, 2 four year olds, unpacking in addition to an ugly round of mastitis for mommy were not always a great combination, but praise the Lord we survived!

And thankfully, Nana made a trip to Dauphin Island to photograph our little angel. We were able to capture so many sweet shots including the photo we used for her announcement!


August-Welcome home, Daddy! Matt made the move south, and we kicked the unpacking into overdrive.

We also maintained frequent trips to Dauphin Island for a little sun therapy!

We enjoyed a mini vacation before Daddy started work at the Grand Hotel. I think I stayed in the room the entire time feeding a very hungry, growing baby, but Daddy and the kiddos had fun playing in the bay.

Walker and Kathryn started school! What a God-send that they started so early! Matt also FINALLY started his "real" job! There were some days, especially during residency, we thought this day would never come!

September-A relatively low key month, and boy did we deserve one! We enjoyed celebrating Grandmama's and Pop's birthday, and just settling into our new home and new routines.

October-We started a tradition of meeting up with the Dillons in Camden for some much needed cousin time. Saturdays were spent watching football games and gladly watching the Tigers win week after week.

And for the kiddos, the highlight of this month was most definitely trick or treating! Costume day at school, followed by the neighborhood party and actually trick or treating made for a fun Halloween weekend!

November-Matt and Papa made a trip to Pensacola, FL, to visit with some extended family. It was a fun time of piecing together family history and looking over old photos.

Thanksgiving was spent at Tula and Pops celebrating food and fellowship with family.
Kathryn made her stage debut with a line in the Thanksgiving program.

December-This month was Walker's opportunity to make his stage debut!

Having fun with classmates at their Christmas party...

We also enjoyed celebrating Papa and Nana's 40th wedding anniversary with a lovely night out without the children!

Christmas morning Star Wars style!

Happy New Years!

It Still Looks A Lot Like Christmas

No, we aren't enjoying the white stuff that our neighbors to the north are, but we are still in pj's playing with all of our Christmas goodies!

Here's how the much anticipated weekend went down...

Kathryn decided on Thursday that she wanted to sleep with her brother on Christmas Eve. You can imagine my delight especially since this was a tradition for me and my brother many moons ago!

The kiddos spent the night before Christmas Eve at Tula and Pops' which gave me time to put fresh sheets on Walker's bed and lay out Christmas pj's complete with their own supply of reindeer food.

Of course by Christmas Eve night, Kathryn had changed her mind. I told her she had "Audrey Syndrome." And tried to convince her that if I used to sleep with Uncle Brad, she could definitely sleep with Walker (just kidding Uncle Brad...you know I love you;).

Unfortunately, she could not be swayed which was probably a good thing because after three days of no naps and Christmas Eve night spent opening presents at Tula and Pops', these two were T-IRED!

A good thing too because me and a little elf named Daddy had to get Christmas on! Here's the den late Christmas Eve night...

And here we are Christmas morning! The light sabers were an immediate hit!

Matt did all of the kids Christmas shopping, which is just one of the many things I love about him. He also did all of the "arranging" of the gifts! And set up Walkers car track (in the left of the picture). He not only bought the gifts, but he put some thought into them too. For example, he bought blue and green light sabers because the kids know the red ones are for the bad guys!

And what did our sweet, loving, innocent daughter say when she saw her light saber? I wanted a red one. I want to be Darth Vader. Oh my!

Kathryn asked for a Jojo the Rabbit for Christmas, and Santa delivered! On the box, it listed this toy for 18 months and up. Don't ask me why she wanted it, let's just say that's the danger of letting your kids look through the WalMart and Target circulars.

The breakfast table...

Looking for quick and easy decorations...use candy! I just dumped all of our leftover Christmas candy into a few glasses and compotes and there you have it! I even tied the napkins up with a ribbon and some ribbon candy.

Here's the kids' table with a few Christmas visitors!

The kids knew that shortly after opening presents and eating breakfast we would be heading to Nana and Papa's house, so Kathryn was determined to bring all of her new goodies with her.

She almost succeeded!!!

Christmas Round #4 takes place tonight when Uncle Brad, Aunt Mak and Addi Girl get into town! I'll be back with more pictures, so hang tight!

P.S. As for a run down on the Christmas breakfast menu, everything was delicious! I will say the eggnog butter should be reserved only for those who really love eggnog (like me!). It actually tastes just like the real deal and was yummy on the waffles we made!

And the Candy Bar Peanut Butter cookies were YUMMY! Definitely a new favorite cookie recipe!!!