Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary

Well, in case you're wondering, Dixie's please below worked! Mama and Brooke AND Grandmama all came for a visit over Memorial Day weekend. And in typical Mama form, we were on the go the entire time! Anywhere from J.Jill to Lynn's Paradise Cafe. By the way if you're ever up in Louisville, it's a must see. Just a fun, random place with really, really good food! As a matter of fact, Grandmama's plan is to win the lottery (don't tell her church friends) and then buy an old warehouse down by the river in Bama and open up Vera's Paradise Cafe. I knew she'd love it... it's just as random as she is!

Anywho... we (and when I saw we, I mostly mean Mama) also planted a little mini garden at the apartment to help make it a little more homey. I've been taking special care of it to make sure these gorgeous petunias and whatever the other smaller purple flowers are called make it! So far, so good! Whew, I'm a little relieved. Honestly, I was afraid they may not make it two days with mama gone, but it's day FIVE and I think they're lookin' better than ever:

And yes, we have installed gates so that Dixie can go sit outside. She LOVES it. Mama kept calling it the trellis... um, Mom, it's a baby gate, not a trellis.

Here's a few more I took with my cute little point and shoot camera. I'm so proud of that thing.

Dixie's Request

Cute, huh? Yeah...

What was even more cute - and kinda sad - is that I replayed the video a couple times while uploading it and she kept running to the window and crying wondering where they were!

So I gave her a treat and all was right with the world again.

... but she still wants Mama and Brooke to come visit.

Back in March....

Brooke and I went to a cattle show! Woohoo!
Here's pictures of our step cousins doin' their thing:


Joseph came in top 5!

Army Strong

So why did we go to Missouri?

Matt's cousin, Ben, has been at Army Basic Training in Fort Leonard Wood since October. And yesterday was graduation day!


It was a pretty eye opening experience to me. You should have seen all these young men. One was even 17 years old! His mom gave permission for him to join the Army. Just looking at these guys, knowing they could be one of the ones about to go overseas and put their lives on the line for us... and they're so young!

Thankfully, Ben is not going overseas right away. He is heading back to school and will be in the reserves. But we were all so proud of him. Just look at Nan's face!

Personally, I thought it was pretty cool that he was one of the top marksmen in his "class" (forgive me, I'm not up to speed on my military terms) hitting 38 out of 40 targets!

I asked him if he would teach me how to shoot. I guess he doesn't know me very well yet, so he looked at Matt like... uhhh?

Matt just smiled, shook his head, and said, "It's ok."

Yeah it is... I want to learn!



Congratulations, Ben! Matt and I are very proud of you and thank you for serving our country!

Kentucky Fun

So Mama, Brooke and Grandmama all came up last weekend, wait... weekend before last (whoa, I'm behind) and we did some exciting Kentucky fun things!

Walk with my Granddaddy...

As you may or may not know, things have been a little stressful for my family lately. My Papa (dad's dad) had a stoke a couple weeks ago.

If there was one thing that we all saw while Papa was in the ICU, it was that he is one of the most loved men you've ever met. Nana had to keep a list of all of visitors who just stopped by to check in on him or called to get the latest update! We joked, but I don't think it was too far from the truth that every member of Dalraida Baptist Church, where he is a deacon, came by or called. Papa may not be a man of many words, but when he speaks, people listen. We spent hours in the waiting room with family, retelling stories we've all heard for year, yet still bring a smile to our face. Our camping trips with Nana and Papa were the highlights of mine and Brooke's (and Nana and Papa's) summers.

We're staying positive that he will get better - he has already shown good signs of improvement! There will be a long road ahead, but we are definitely counting our blessings that he is still with us!

This is one of my favorite pictures from our wedding... Papa sitting and just taking it all in, as always, beforehand.

This past Thursday, Sept 25th was the 24th anniversary of my Granddaddy's death (Mama's daddy). I have always had this marked on my calendar... not because we have any big ceremony, but just so I can make sure I take time to remember this great man. People may think that I shouldn't really remember him, since he passed away just before I turned 4, but I do. I may not have tons of specific memories.... well, other than making tents out of the bedspread and him running underneath me as he pushed me on the swing (I always thought I was going to fall off and land in the pool, even though now I know it was yards away). Maybe it's that I was named after him (David Hope "D.H") that I have this connection, I don't know, but I do know that I had a huge love for this man, even at such a young age.

When Matt and I got married, it broke my heart to think that this man I had loved so much was not there to stand by Grandmama's side, so I wanted in some way to honor his memory and make it feel as though he was right there with us. I asked Uncle Eddy (Mama's brother) to write an arrangement of "It is Well with My Soul" - one of his favorite hymns that was played at his funeral as well - for the cello and violin to play during our ceremony. It was absolutely beautiful! I also had an old hat of Granddaddy's - Auburn of course - that was about to fall apart it was so old. So, I asked Grandmama to do me a favor and cut it up, and sew Aubie into the inside of my dress for my something blue! I think Granddaddy would have gotten a kick out of that.

There's a great song that always makes me think of him and led me to write this blog when I heard it yesterday:

When I get where I'm going,
there'll be only happy tears.
I will shed the sins and struggles,
I have carried all these years.....

I'm gonna walk with my grandaddy
and he'll match me step for step
and I'll tell him how I missed him
every minute since he left.
Then I'll hug his neck.

So, that's my grandfathers... two of the greatest men to ever walk this planet.







Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say, It is well, it is well, with my soul.

Everyday Italian

Last weekend, August 15th and 16th, Matt and I went up to Boston for his family reunion. I know he had a good time catching up and getting to see family he had not seen in years... Here's a few pics to let you know who everyone is (in no particular order):


This is us.... oh, you probably already knew that... ok...




This is Maria, Matt's sister - please ignore that random piece of hair on my forehead.







This little one, that's Elisa - if you've read this blog at all, you've seen her... She is Maria's daughter, and the apple of Uncle Matt's eye. But wait, could it be that cousin Ben is now just a little cooler than Uncle Matt? We'll keep you updated!









This is Nan, the beloved Matriarch of the family. I love her - everyone loves her! She's always there to bake and decorate a perfect cake or make your favorite food - anywhere from peanut butter cups to raviolis! And the little one with her? That's Derek, her great grandson, our nephew, Mark and Mary's youngest.






This is Paula, Matt's mother, and Mark, Matt's brother... I know, I know, I should have had them turn around and pose, but they were serious at this grill. You will see more of them in the slideshow below. Mark even took a special order for me and delivered up a nice, burnt hot dog!








This is our niece, Miss Samantha, she also belongs to Mark and Mary... and yes, everyone has kids except me and Matt.... And yes, we're good with that for now, so don't ask.









This is the Mary I have been speaking of - Mark's wife, our sister in law. The family reunion was held in her and Mark's backyard, which used to be Nan's backyard... keepin' that family tradition!








And here is Uncle Pat, Nan's brother. Not only was it the family reunion, but it was Uncle Pat's 95th birthday! Yes, I am very glad to know that Matt has such good genes in his family! And you'll see the cake Nan made for him below...





I think that just about covers the key players here... so enjoy the highlights from our weekend below!

Don't add water!

I just have to share this.....

This is our dog, Dixie. Not only is she the world's greatest, smartest, cutest dog, but she can fly!

This is my mother's dog, Coco. She has a mohawk...

Does she remind you of anything?

Family Fun for the Fourth

We had more visitors the weekend after Daddy and Marie! Matt's family - Paula, Maria and Elisa all came down for the weekend of the 4th. We had lots of fun activities planned.... and some that were not so planned! I'm just gonna go ahead and say - thanks, Maria, for some of these pics. I bootlegged them off of your myspace page! ha!

As everyone always does before company, Matt and I were running around trying to get everything ready for the family to come into town. Matt had been having games, so I had gotten the house ready for the most part and just asked him to vacuum real quick while I ran a couple last minute errands before they got here. Well, Uncle Matt always has something up his sleeve as a little surprise. I walk in the door with groceries and just start dying laughing... Matt took his chore and turned it into a Welcome Sign for his niece Elisa.... this, my friends, is why I love this man. Here's a picture of Elisa "inside" her welcome.We just hung around the apartment a little while everyone relaxed from the long car ride they had - Boston's kinda far from Louisville.... I love this picture. You can definitely see how happy Elisa is to see her Uncle Matt. This visit was definitely due. These two can't go too long without hanging out and having fun together... and of course. Dixie has to be right in the middle of it all!

And in case you're wondering, Dixie and Elisa got along beautifully! They are cousins you know, says Elisa. Dixie was pretty worn out at the end of the visit, but let Elisa carry her around like a doll, change her clothes and even put her in timeout! As a matter of fact, Elisa had so much fun changing Dixie's clothes (since she has so many!) that she even decided they were about the same size so she needed to try on one of her shirts. I mean after all, it is Elisa's favorite color too!

We headed out to the a Fourth of July festival later that night to watch fireworks... but it doesn't get dark til so later here - 9:30 - that we just couldn't quite make it until 10:30 for the fireworks show... so we did our own sparklers when we got home!

The next day, the Bats had a ball game and Matt had to work, so everyone went! As you can tell, Elisa was excited to see Uncle Matt every time he came up for a quick visit between running around the clubhouse and getting everything ready for the team..

Oh - and Elisa loved the blue sno cone.... for some reason she kept dropping her spoon. I don't know why...

Day Three was good times too! We went to Six Flags... they have a Water Park there. And who doesn't love a water park?! Before we made it to the water, Uncle Matt and Elisa stopped and played a few games to try to win some of those awesome stuffed animals that are a MUST have... :-)

This was Elisa's prize from the duck game. She pulled the duck out of the water that had "Large Prize" on the bottom! She really wanted Bam Bam! So Uncle Matt decided that he would play too and maybe he could get her Pebbles... buuuuut he ended up with a small prize. So he got Dixie the pillow that describes her best. And yes, she knew it was hers as soon as we got home....

By far the most exciting event of the day was the wave pool! I think Elisa could have stayed in there all day. She even learned how to jump waves! And was not too happy when the lifeguards kept making everyone get out of the pool while they changed shifts. Seriously?

Fun times were had by all... even when I was totally stressed when Matt and Maria decided to get on a roller coaster. I know, I'm a party pooper, but I'm sorry, people get killed on those things... Needless to say, they made it out alive! Whew! Don't you want to come visit? We do cool things!

Horses and Mint Juleps

Ok... so maybe I didn't have a mint julep, but we did see lots of horses!

We've had several visitors since living here in horse country, USA - Louisville, KY. And the one place everyone has to go of course (other than Louisville Slugger Field) is Churchill Downs, home of the Kentucky Derby. It's crazy... Matt got me into horse racing while we were still dating when my heart was stolen and then broken by my love, Barbaro. I'm sure you've heard of him, if not, we need to talk...

Anyway, so Daddy and Marie came for a little visit back at the end of June - yeah, yeah, I'm behind in my blogging - and we had a blast watching the horses and placing our well educated bets!

Daddy and Matt were all kinds of serious placing their bets. The looked and number of wins, history on dirt tracks, history on turf, jockey wins and losses, etc. Marie and I? Wow... that one sure is pretty! I would like $2 on him, please...


And, let me just sidetrack here a minute and say, doesn't my husband look handsome in his "Churchill Downs" outfit? Matt was very proud of himself for putting this together. And I was proud of him as well... he was coordinated from the white scally (hat) I bought him in Savannah, to the plaid shorts, to the Ralph Lauren shoes! Niiice... :-)


Anyway, I can definitely see how this can become an addition to people! It's so much fun - especially when you win! We went in agreeing to place $2 bets only. But I can tell you, we did see a few people who were pretty darn upset over some loses. I think they probably put more then $2 down on their bets. We heard some pretty interesting words...






Anywho... like I mentioned before, I picked the pretty horses.... and sometimes it actually worked out for me! Here is a picture of my first win ever at Churchill Downs.... and then getting my $4.80 win money! Too bad she didn't have change and I had to pay her 20 cents so she could give me a 5?!


So we definitely had a fun, hot day at the race track. Next step is to actually learn what the odds mean!!


Oh - and here's a fun little pic from our first visit to Churchill Down a couple months ago... just thought you might find it interesting. We took a little tour of Churchill Downs when Matt's family came down. When we were down by the track, I was on the lookout to let Matt know when the tour guide's back was turned... I emptied out an Aleve bottle I had in my purse and Matt took just a small little sample of dirt from the track. So we have Derby Dirt! Kinda cool now that there's talk of changing to synthetic since Eight Belles had to be put down after the Derby this year... but let's not talk about that... too emotional.

So if you're interested in a fun day at the track, give me and Matt a shout... we'll go with you!

The Secret's In the Sauce

So, on the way home from Savannah, Mama, Brooke and I decided we should just take a little detour and go all out making this a tour of the South. Brooke did a little reasearch and found out the place where they filmed the movie Fried Green Tomatoes was just a few hours away from Savannah in Juliette, Ga. It was really cute.... not to mention some really good Fried Green Tomatoes!

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