Dance With Dad

Every year, the kids' school hosts a Dance with Dad. It is only for the kindergarten boys and girls. They get dressed up and go to the dance where they play games, make a craft, eat snacks, and dance the macarena, chicken dance, and hokey pokey. And as you know, Holland is a big fan of all of the above. She could hardly contain herself waiting to go. As we got her ready to go our conversation went something like this:

Me: Holland, do you want to wear this dress?

Holland: YES! I LOVE YELLOW!!!

Me: Well, actually, it's gold.....

Holland: I LOVE GOLD!!!!

Me: Do you want to wear a headband?

Holland: I LOVE HEADBANDS!!!!

Me: Do you want to go to the bathroom before you go?

Holland: I LOVE GOING TO THE BATHROOM!!

Waiting for Prince Charming, aka Daddy.

Prince Charming showed up and rang the doorbell. She couldn't open the door fast enough.

(For future dating we will work on that.)

Any time Holland can have Mac all to herself, she drops Grey and myself like a bad habit.

Her chariot awaits......

Mrs. S, Holland's teacher took this picture. It does appear to be leaning to the right......hmmm I wonder what was in that punch....

Holland and Faith in a hula hoop.

Earlier, in school, the kindergartners had all drawn pictures of their dads and the pics were hanging all over the wall at the dance.

Mac got to bring his paper head home as a souvenir.

This was one of those memories that will last a lifetime!

Where Did We Go Wrong?

It's really hard for loyal Mississippi State parents to watch their 9 year old son throw his life away...aka become an Alabama fan. I'm not sure how it happened, but I have a couple of theories. For entertainment value or the lack of anything better to do, go with me here:

Grey was born in Birmingham, Al at St. Vincent's Hospital. I'm thinking that maybe a nurse, surely an obnoxious Bama fan (are there any other kind?), injected him with some sort of time-released (8 years) Alabama propaganda drug that caused him to turn from his maroon and white upbringing to Alabama. He was gone for that hearing test an awfully long time.


OR it could have been the nun. She came in to give a Grey a blessing and perhaps somewhere between " the green grass of the meadow" and "his days be long" she threw in something about the Crimson Tide or Bear Bryant. I mean I was too tired, hormonal, and Baptist to really pay attention, and Mac was thinking, "Does insurance cover this?"

I can't prove, either, but I'll tell you this; if he starts developing an overwhelming desire to wear hounds tooth fedoras, I'm filing a lawsuit.

Oh, I know it could be worse; he could have turned to a life of crime or heaven help us, become an Ole Miss fan.

Letter Of Apology

Dear Davis 4 Blog,

I am so sorry I have neglected you. I have treated you like a redheaded stepchild. (Hmmmm why does that phrase seem to bother me?) I know I have been spending all my computer time with Facebook, but I promise I am going to do better. I am going to have fresh posts and brand spanking new pictures soon, I promise.

So, don't be mad, okay?



Love,
Gayla

Holland's First Dance Competition

Holland is on a competitive dance team this year, and I use the term "competitive" loosely, 'cause I don't think any of them realize they are competing. And really at this level, it is just giving them practice for later on. She is on the Mascots team which is the kindergarten level of the bigger picture, The Kingwood Strutters. (And a hush fell over the crowd.) Okay it's a big deal to the people involved around here. Us, newbie moms, are still clueless and immune to all of it. But after this competition, I could see where you could get the fever. We just went, danced our one dance, had a good time, and came on home. Loading up for the hour trip to the competition.

It's really the only appropriate place for dark blue eyeshadow and bright red lipstick.

Holland and Madison put on their game faces.

Throw in a little gangsta Tori and they are ready.

Ms. Becca giving the pep talk.

2nd from the left.

Who else would you be looking for?

Holland and Madison, with a little Tammy Faye mascara issue on that left eye.

Holland, Madison, Tori, & Lexi

Those are sucker sticks, not cigarettes hanging out of their mouths, but with all that makeup, I could see where you might think otherwise.

Got Tamiflu?

Apparently, intending to get the flu shot is not as effective as actually getting the flu shot.

Nothing says fun like a strep test followed by a flu test.

Making The Cut

Now, most every girl has a point in her life where she has long hair or is in the process of growing her hair long. I have had several of those in my life, so when Holland said she wanted to have long hair, I was pleased. I thought it would be so pretty, and it was. Only, it came at a high price....those horrible tangles. Combing them out was sheer misery for everyone involved in the process. She doesn't even have really thick or curly hair.

The process usually went something like this (abridged version):

Holland: OUCH!! OW!! OW!!! (tears)OW!! YOU'RE HURTING MY HAIR!!!

Me: You don't even know what tangles are! When I was your age, I had to comb out my tangles walking to school, in the snow, with no shoes, uphill both ways........

Holland: OW!! OUCH!! YOU'RE HURTING MY HAIR!!!

So we came to a compromise. We would cut her hair in a cute short cut and then let her grow it out when she is able to take care of it herself. There is once again peace in the valley.

Rebecca, the master craftswoman of all things hair, did the cut.

Rebecca's hands really should be insured.

Soo cute!

No More Monkeys Jumping On The Bed

Sometimes, when Mac goes in to say goodnight to Grey, he likes to get a good running start, leap, turn midair, and then land on his back on the bed beside Grey. Only on this night, the bed had had enough and that side of the bed crashed to the floor taking Mac and Grey down with it. I heard the crash downstairs and paused to see if anyone yelled, "Call 911!" No one did so I chose to ignore it. But when I went upstairs for the final bed check, this is what I found in Grey' room.

The guilty party

Somedays, I think I'm a single mother of 3 children.

Austin City Limits

Mac has always wanted to go to Austin City Limits. He loves to watch the show. So, while he was in Austin, he stopped by and convinced the lady working there to give him a tour, (technically, the place was closed.) and got her to take his picture on stage. The man is a born salesman.

Only thing better would be if he had his guitar, harmonica (which was probably in the car) and a bluegrass band behind him. He'd probably still be there.

Post Christmas Trip to Alabama

The day after Christmas, we loaded up the truck and moved to Beverly...Hills..oh sorry, that song pops in my head when I use the phrase "loaded up the truck". Actually we loaded up and drove to Alabama to see Papa Tom, Banny, Pop, Chris, and Suzy for some post-Christmas family revelry. There was even some gift-exchanging going on, too.

If you make me ride in the car one more minute, you will all suffer the consequences.

(Holland--not the best traveler)

Not wanting to be left out, Holland got in on the football action with the boys. And yes, she throws like a girl.


Since coyotes have been seen in the area, even eaten some of the cats around there, Grey wanted to build a coyote trap. Once again Holland wanted to be part of the action (and the picture).

We also cruised on down to The Wharf in Orange Beach. They have this enormous Ferris wheel. Ferris Wheels are on my short list of things I hate, right up there with coconut and raisins, so I let the others ride while I stayed grounded.

The Ferris Wheel Daredevils

We fine dined at Burger King, one of Grey's favorite dining establishments.

Of course, we got in some beach time.

Papa Tom and Holland worked on building a sand snowman. Let's face it, it's the only way we're building a snowman.

The beach area by the water was covered with Man o Wars. Grey identified them immediately, and told us that one sting could kill us. Actually, one sting can kill their prey which are a great deal smaller than a human. However, we did tread carefully because a sting would be quite painful, and I wasn't up to peeing on someone's leg. I'm just being honest.

All those bluish-purple things are the Man-o-Wars.

The next day, we toured the USS Alabama. Very interesting. I kept thinking I couldn't live in such small quarters.....until I toured the submarine which made the battleship rooms seemed like suites at The Waldorf. Seriously, you need some contortionist skills just to get from one end to the other.

Maybe we should upgrade from the Air Soft BB gun to this bad boy.

Dad, me and Mobile, AL behind us.

And this is the last picture I took before my battery cashed it in. I think it is quite appropriate. I call it, The End.

Twas the Season

I realize that I am behind in my posts. Clearly, I am having some issues juggling my Facebook addiction, Nintendo DS Mystery Millionheir game (Thanks, Holland for letting me borrow your DS. In order to borrow Grey's, I'd have to knock him unconcious and pry it from his hands.) and blogging. I am looking into support groups.

I also haven't written/emailed any thank you notes either. I will get to that....surely before the end of the month or by April at the latest. But enough of my downfalls and shortcomings, let's move on to Christmas.

Waiting to come down and check out the loot.

Holland's stash. Only 1 put-together item this year and it was a snap-in-place item. Last year, it took us 2-3 hours to put together her Glamour Dollhouse and art easel. We wised up this year.

Grey's bounty. Unfortunately we had to return the electic scooter, chain kept coming off, and then we had to return the replacement upgraded scooter because the brakes didn't work. Grey said he could just use his shoes to brake the 15mph scooter. Um...no. Anyway, we are waiting for Academy to restock, and then we'll get another one. His favorite, though, was the Air Soft bb gun. (not pictured) I know what you are thinking, "he'll shoot his eye out." Fear not, he wears goggles. He'll probably just shoot one of our eyes out.

The side show side of the family.

After breakfast, we went to see our annual Christmas Day movie. This year's selection was "Bedtime Stories", and then later we assaulted our neighbors/friends with Nerf guns and then ate a delicious, obviously cooked by someone else, dinner with them.

A full and blessed Christmas, indeed.

This is my nephew, Parker.

On December 17th, my brother, Hank and his wife Christie had their baby,

Jonathan Parker Norwood

5lb 12 oz, 19 in

(Man, he's adorable!)

Hmmmm..... Hank was never that gentle with me when we were kids.


The loving father.

The same guy used to give me pickle juice to drink.

Looks just like Hank. I've seen him make that face a thousand times growing up.

Congratulations, Hank and Christie! I can't wait to come and see him!