Gotta love the fair!!

There are some things that just become tradition when the fair comes to town. For some, it is corn dogs and funnel cakes. For others, it's picking up ducks and riding rides. And yet for others, like my husband, it is being continually amazed by the looks of the folks that attend such gatherings. If I heard it once tonight, I heard 100 times. "Are you kidding me? Oh my goodness! Did you see that? Do people not care what they look like when they come out here? Ooooooo oooooooo". (With inflection!). For us, it was the first time Houston could actually enjoy some of the festivities. He stared at the cows and pigs, clapped his hands when the rides played music, picked up ducks, and got to ride his first fair ride ever with his cousins. He fell asleep in the car at 7:45 and we haven't heard from him since. These were some of the favorites from the night:

Picking up ducks-I remember always wanting to do this over and over at the fair. That's the fun thing about the fair, rules and limits are stretched. Dad would graciously pay $10 for a 50 cent toy.
Houston rode his second ride of the night, the choo-choo train, with his nana, uncle, and cousin Barrett.
His two older cousins, Katie and Anna, rode the cars with him and Barrett. His first fair ride ever.
These two already act like brothers. They are jealous if nana holds the other one. They fight over toys. But they are so happy to see each other when they've been apart a few days.
Houston wasn't too certain at first about feeding the animals at the petting zoo. HE wanted to eat the carrots and not hand them over. He finally got brave before it was time to go.

Other favorites of the fair this year: Hugh winning a hog calling contest, eating a funnel cake and fried snickers candy bar, and my new pop-up straw fair cup.

If you had to go back and read that line again about Hugh winning a hog calling contest because you couldn't believe it, you would be right. Are you kidding me? The only thing he knows how to call is the pizza man.

Hurricane Ike

Who would have thought that we here in Arkansas would have felt the winds from a hurricane. About 3:30 this morning, I woke Hugh up when I heard a big thud on the roof. I knew immediately it wasn't just a gumball or branch. Since we weren't getting rained on, we decided to wait until morning to inspect. We had a huge branch snap off a tree, land on the roof, and then onto the fence. Luckily, we had no damage. But we did have TONS of limbs and leaves to clean up. After church, lunch, and Houston's nap, we spent 4 hours outside cleaning up the yard. Houston was so cute to pick up little bitty sticks and bring to us to put in the big pile. Then he would eat some dirt and then run through our pile to make an even bigger mess. Even though it was hard work, we had fun being together and are thankful we had no major damage.

Too bad I don't have a picture to share of the best event of the day. Hugh fell from the top step of the porch and landed face first in the front yard. When I saw him move and realized there were no life-threatening injuries, I laughed until I cried. He said the earth moved. I just saw the handrails shake. You be the judge. I'm sure he'll be sore tomorrow.

Tailgate Weekend and the Major Leagues

We had a great kickoff to football season tailgating with great friends at ASU. Hugh and I have always been ASU supporters, even in the days when only 300 people were in the stands. I have to say it was a great time cooking, laughing, and cheering with friends. It didn't hurt any that the Wolves won by 73! We will have to find a new spot to set up this week because of the rodeo, but you can be sure we will be there, cheering on our Wolves and eating dogs! Go stAte!

Meet Delta. He is an awesome kid who Hugh had the privilege of coaching in American Legion 3 years. He was always younger than his competition, but his big heart and ability made up any difference that age posed. After a successful career at LSU-Euniece, his dream came true and he was drafted this year in the Major League draft. He just finished his first season with the Rookie Club of the Colorado Rockies out in Casper, Wyoming. He had a great season and called Hugh frequently to keep him up to date. He came by tonight to visit and give us his first baseball card. Houston loved him instantly, but what's not to love about Delta Cleary. He's not only a good athlete, but also a good person. Good luck, Delta. May you always continue to shine.

Let the sun shine in!

Our wonderful covered patio has seen better days. This is the part of living that is sometimes hard to swallow-forking over money for expensive house repairs that you didn't plan on. We have always had a small leak since we lived here....a little trickle down the inside of the wall. But the mother of all holes finally showed itself and water poured into our patio this past week with all the rian we got. Gives new meaning to the song "I Can See Clearly Now the Rain is Gone". In reality, this is an easy obstacle to overcome.

Are you ready for some football?

Because we sure are around the Walker house. We all have new Red Wolves attire and are pumped. We let Houston sport his new jersey and visor around town this weekend and I must say, he looked pretty stinkin' adorable. We are tailgating this weekend with Lesley (yes, you are coming!), Lewis and Kara, James, the Allens, and some other friends. Let me give you one small example of how crazy my husband is.......he woke me up at 2am last weekend to let me know he was going to meet the team when they returned home from their win over Texas A&M. He, along with 500 other people and the band, cheered the guys on and he said it was an awesome atmosphere. Here's to a good season and lots of football fun!

Go Red Wolves!

Limited Edition

This is a scanned (not very well) original piece of fingerpainting artwork by Houston, his first. Sign up folks, this baby's gonna be hot!

-TRUE-

is the best word to describe these gals. Stacy and I have been fast buddies since we met in 1994 and Christine and I met in 2001 and became instant friends as well. We have been together through the highs and lows: they were there, crying for me and with me, when I miscarried both of my babies. They hugged me and said, "Yes, you are still a mommy even though you don't have your baby to hold right now"-that meant the world to me; they were both at my wedding and witnessed the ceremony where the lady leading the service wore isotoner slippers; they surprised me with an awesome 30th birthday scavenger hunt around Jonesboro; we can easily laugh and talk until 3 in the morning; we are all up for road trips and weekend getaways; they were both with me, for a LONG, time during the birth of Houston; they are both good cooks (Christine, love your Chicken Divan and Stacy love your Continental Chicken); they would be there for me in an instant if I called and needed them; we celebrate each other's birthdays each year.

That leads me to the reason for this blog: Sunday night, we met up at McAlisters for dinner (and presents for me) and then to Stacy's house to scrapbook until the wee hours of the morning. Thanks you gals for my mother's bracelet and candles. You rock!

Scrapbook Extravaganza, Hot Springs

October 2006

Luke's birthday party hayride

October 2006

Thanks, girls. And here's to many, many more for many years to come!