Halloween at Emily and Eric's

On Saturday night, my dear friend, Emily Getty and her husband, Eric, had a Halloween get together in their front yard. They live on one of the best streets in Birmingham and everyone on their street is out in their front yard with friends and children, cooking out, socializing, watching football, and of course, passing out candy to trick-or-treaters. Thanks Emily and Eric for a great time! Emily and Eric

Mary and John

What an adorable and sweet family!

Cody and Lauren

Me, Emily, Rachael

The Stewart girls

Dr. Stewart and his wife, Julie, live across the street from Emily and he is one of Bryan's attendings at the hospital.

John Getty

Rachael, John, and Eva Barnhart

An UNWELCOMED House Guest

"You got your mouse, you got your rat, and you got your gophah......and you got gophahs" Charter Cable Guy, November, 2001, Tori's Homewood house

That was my one and only experience with rats until tonight. Yes, as a young single lady in Homewood, my cable guy crawled under my little house and told me it was covered in rat (gopher rats at that) traps. Well, I never saw the first one and so I was happy.

Tonight, as I was washing my face in my bathroom, I heard a commotion in the attic. I thought it was Bryan up there, but when I found him in front of the TV, I knew we had a problem. Bryan braved the attic stairs with a shovel and a flash light and found this little jerk. He was cold busted in a trap. We took him out but I know he has friends and family...so I will be calling Cooks tomorrow for a 911 visit. YUCK!

Mississippi State vs Florida

On Saturday, we headed over to Starkville for the Mississippi State/Florida game. We had a nice long day of tailgating. We got started at about noon getting everything set up (which for those of you who seriously tailgate...is not easy). By about 3:00 we finally had everything going...the TV, satellite, crock pots (which take forever to heat chili), and music. The weather was great and we had a great tailgate spot thanks to Ricky and David. I must say, I nearly had a heart attack at about 6:00 as we were watching the final moments of the Alabama game. I can fairly say that after that kick was blocked, there wasn't a person within a mile radius of us that didn't know I was a true Bama fan (just camouflaged in Maroon for my marriage sake). Anyway, I have to give State props: they looked great against the mean and dirty Florida Gators. I was pulling for the all them way and the stadium went wild when they returned that interception for a TD 103 yards It was a great game but the next time I return to Starkville, I will be in Crimson and White. Roll Tide!

Jennifer Lynne (our Chili cook) and Stephen Lee

The Collins Family
David, Mrs. Collins, Perry Cate, and Celeste

Bryan and Ricky

Taylor, Ricky, Rob, and Patrick

Celeste and Me

Tallassee Trade Day and a Fun Day with Georgie

On Saturday, we went to Trade Day to see Georgia Anne perform with her dance class. She did such a great job and stole the show. It was quite chilly, so we went home and I spent the whole day with Georgie. We went to the park in the afternoon and Georgia showed me how much she has grown. She can now swing on the "big kid" swings and go across the monkey bars by herself.


Georgia Anne and Harley

Daniel was all snug in his seat during the festivities.

Kelly's Birthday

My sweet friend, Kelly LaFleur, celebrated her birthday last week and we had a girls dinner at Cocina Superior. It was so much fun to get out with so many fun ladies and I know Kelly had a great time too. Happy Birthday Kelly!

Casey turns 9 Years Old

Well, they say that a picture doesn't lie. I think that must be true for my Golden. Casey just had her birthday last week and I must say, she is looking old. Her face is solid white and gray. Aside from looking like a granny, Casey is still the vibrant, annoying, needy, clingy, loyal, jealous, and loving dog I got in November, 2000. She can't go on long walks with me anymore (She laid down mid-way through a 4 mile walk last summer) but that is pretty much the only thing different about her. Her fear of thunderstorms has gotten a bit worse with old age, but lucky Casey has a Mom that will let her bunk up with her during the storms. Happy Birthday Casey!

Georgia Anne, Jack, and Daniel

Well, after a long hiatus from blogging (I haven't had anything to blog about), I am back! On Saturday, Leigh Anne came to visit with her 3 little ones in tow. I think her trip in the car was a bit hectic due to some crying and quarrelling, but when they got to my house, the kids were so sweet and very glad to see Toe Toe and Bryan (and Casey and Basil). This was Daniel's first time to really be around Casey and it went very well. Casey licked him and little D loved it. They just looked at each other and smiled. It was so sweet. Jack can look so mischievous sometimes. It is so cute.

The kids love to play outside on the swing, but the weather outside was a bit gloomy, so this trip was consumed by the "busting out of the pillow" game. I have 3 beds with lots of pillows on them and the kids love to bury themselves and bust out. They are so cute and they crack themselves up!

Poor Basil. She was so tired and stressed out due to all of the noise and chaos, she had to take it to the dining room and lay in true Basil form.....Half on the carpet, half on the hardwood floor.

Vampire Books

Well, as embarrassing as it is to admit, I have become one of those Twilight groupies. It all started with Margot giving me the first book for my honeymoon (see picture below). Naturally, I blew through the book in about 2 days and started reading New Moon when I got home and finished the rest of my thank you notes. I finished New Moon in Hawaii and have read Eclipse and Breaking Dawn. I want more! I have laughed at how many people love them and made comments to me when they saw me with the books around my offices, the pool, the airport, and even at work at my district meeting. It seems that everyone has the same feeling as me: We LOVE Edward!!! Some of my fellow vampire lovers are Margot, Kenzie, Lauren Baugh, Jamie Sullivan, Beth Eaton, Jamie (from Work), and hopefully Tara and my mom will be next (they are reading Twilight now). If you have not read them, I suggest you drop what you are doing, go to your nearest Barnes and Noble or computer and get on Amazon.com and order the entire set. This a good idea because when you finish one and do not have the next book it is only going to make you mad....and reading about the Cullens, Bella, and the Warewolves should not make you mad at all.

Mary Megan's Wedding and a Visit with Caroline

Bryan and I headed over to Atlanta this weekend for Mary Megan Hethcox's wedding. We had some traffic issues on the way over but finally arrived. We stayed with Candace and Caroline (we missed you Dave). We had such a great time. The wedding was lovely and Mary Megan looked beautiful. We took some pictures before the wedding at the church because it had a gorgeous view.

Joy, Me, Julie

We had a nice visit with Miss Caroline Benson. She is 5 months, happy, precious, and such a fun baby. She was smiling and cooing all weekend and was a joy to be around.

Caroline is a very lucky little girl to have such a wonderful Mommy! Candace is 100% in LOVE!

Maui Trip

Well, after only 5 weeks of marriage, Bryan and I decided it was time for a second honeymoon! We went to Maui for about a week and it was amazing. We attended a wedding on Sunday on the water and the sunset was probably the highlight of the trip. Hawaii is one of the most beautiful places on earth and I am so glad Bryan and I were able to go together. Sunset at Mama's Fish House


View at The Ritz Carlton
Sunset at the Wedding

Mini Golf

I won the first game, Bryan won the second.

While in Hawaii, you MUST drive a convertable!

Basil's Dental Check Up

Well, while Bryan and I were planning the wedding, honeymooning, and vacationing in Hawaii, Basil's teeth were rotting. We took them in last week to stay at the vet while we were in Hawaii. On the first day in Maui, I received a phone call from the vet telling me that Basil had some "severe" dental issues. (That explains the horrible smell of her breath!!) They told us that she was in desperate need of some dental hygiene and suggested a cleaning, which meant putting her to sleep. Well, that turned out to be more than a cleaning- they pulled 4 teeth. Given that Basil was already missing about 6 teeth (due to bad breeding) she now only has about 4 teeth! OMG! I know it is not funny, but when we got the itemized bill, I nearly wet my pants laughing. I mean, seriously people, how can all of this happen to one dog??? I am not going to disclose the bill amount, but let me just say, it was very close to our hotel bill in Maui. Here is a summary of a few of the line items (I am copying word for word).

Dental Cleaning, Extra Heavy Tarter

Buprenophrine

Butorphanol Tartrate

Anesthesia for Dental Prophy

Dental Scaling (Level Three)

Anesthetic Monitoring, Electronic

Dental Polishing

Dental Fluoride Treatment

Blood Profile, Chem 6 with CBC

Optimune Opthalmic Ointment

Dental Extraction, Major (4 teeth)

Medical Waste Disposal (Required by Law)

Ketamine

Diazepam

Oh and last but not least, she now has to have a soft food diet for the rest of her life. Good Bye, Kibbles and Bits, you sure were nice on the budget while it lasted!

Getting Ready for Maui

Bryan and I are busy today getting ready for our trip to Hawaii. We leave tomorrow morning and are so excited! Our friends, Les and Amanda, are getting married on Sunday and I can't wait. It will be my first "beach wedding" and I know it will be beautiful. I will post pictures when we return in a week. Happy Labor Day everyone!