Football Weekend

The sounds of indistinct cheering and the scent of grilling hot dogs and hamburgers in the air can only mean one thing: Football season is in full swing. From flags and pom-poms on fan's cars to the diverse array of jerseys and fantasy football leagues, I have learned to embrace the festivities as a natural part of life. I have always wondered at people who paint their face and even their bodies and drive for hours to a stadium; only to get caught in horrendous traffic, and then have to wait in line with thousands of people to sit in their seats that are hundreds of feet away from anything. And then they act like two year olds playing in the backyard in a sprinkler. To see grown men act like that! I truly don't understand it and I don't think I ever will. I just look at them in amazement; and hope and pray that my husband won't ever do it himself. Do you remember that episode of Seinfeld where Elaine's boyfriend Putty dresses up for games and paints his face? She tells him, "I can't be with anyone who paints their face." He says "okay, I won't do it anymore." So for the next game he is dressed normally; until they get there and he rips of his shirt, only to reveal that he has painted his body. Funny stuff.


Anyway, this weekend my brother-in-law Garrett had a game which we attended. Garrett is a football coach for a DI-AA school in Georgia, so we made a trip of it. It was pretty fun. I took some pictures to share with you:

This was when we first arrived and the band was giving a show.

Here is my niece, Haley. She's so beautiful!

This particular school had a great cheerleading squad. There were more guys, than girls, and I was fascinated watching them. The guys just threw those little girls up in the air like they were lighter than feathers!

Here is Garrett in the booth wearing his headphones. Red 44; Blue 29...that kind of thing.

The cheerleaders doin' their thang.

Here is my Mother-in-law and her husband cheering for the team.

Okay, now this guy impressed me. Look at this! He just held her right here. His arms are not even in a full extension. Dude, doesn't that hurt? Well, he saw me take this picture and he seemed to really like that. I got embarrassed and had to ignore him for the rest of the game.

Here is Haley and a friend posing with the team mascot. (It's a wolf, by the way.)

So, I just realized I had no pictures of the actual football team so I added this one. Hey, you gotta remember this blog is done by a chick!

Last but not least, my Sister-in-law Jaymee and my nephew Trent. It was so great to see them and spend some time with them, short as it was.
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This first video is of our sweet and funny little girl Kensington. She has been trying to learn how to jump. Nothing difficult, just a simple jump up and down in the air like her daddy does. This clip is really funny; she just can't seem to get off the ground!

We gave the kids a bath tonight and they were loving the water. More than usual. Camden actually cried when we took him out because he wanted to keep playing! But, I still got a cute video of them splashing in the tub. I hope you enjoy.

Big shoes to fill

Next weekend the Hubby and I are going white water rafting with a group from our church. I have never been white water rafting, but the Hubby has. He told me we needed some shoes to wear while in the raft; something that will protect our feet and can get wet at the same time. So, we head to Wal-mart. We came up with a couple of interesting pairs of uber cool water shoes. Yeah, I'm talking about the kind of shoes I made fun of other people wearing when I was a teenager. Now, I have a pair. I am probably going to wear them, too. Here is a picture of our new shoes:



Yes, Cosmo and Vanity Fair have both called and want to do a photo shoot: ASAP. They begged us; they said they would even bump Brad and Angelina for us. But, we are just too busy to be bothered. The Hubby has a dentist appointment one day next week, and I have to get my roots done. All that and our upcoming rafting trip; we are just booked, I told em! So, while our agent notifies the press of our schedule, our son Camden finds the shoes. We are in the process of dressing them in their pajamas as it is bedtime, so they are half dressed. But he will not leave those shoes alone. He insists on wearing them around the house. Of course with camera handy I step in to document the cuteness. (Coincidentally, after the release of this video, three networks called and want Camden to do his own reality show):

Did you notice Camden's shirt? And yes, that's Kensi in her diaper. When she becomes an adult she will probably love that video and want it played at her wedding. She will probably be so proud of how skinny she is and love her facial structure. (ah come on. who am I kidding?) She will inevitably roll her eyes and call it some new, weird word for lame. Then she will make fun of US for buying such unattractive shoes.

Editors Note: If you want to mute the music playing on this page it's very easy to do; On the right side of the screen scroll down right under the blog archive, to where you see the word IMEEM. Just click the pause button. You will probably have to hit it twice, but it will mute the song and you can watch videos, music free.

Baking with Nana: Double Chocolate Pound Cake

Well, Nana came by yesterday to spend time with her favorite daughter-in-law (yes, that's me) and her favorite twin grand babies (Kensi and Camden). And while she was here, we decided to bake. We made a most delicious double chocolate pound cake. It is so rich and delicious and fills the whole house with the most wonderful smell of chocolate. Unfortunately for the hubby, this one wasn't for us. We made it as a gift and actually gave it away! It was a little easier for me to do, as I am watching the waistline right now. But the hubby gets all kinds of delicious delicacies in his home so he really can't say much over one cake, right? Well, you really can't, honey. Look, I'm sorry, okay? Let's get started on our pictorial tour of culinary artistry, shall we? (Complete recipe to follow below.)

The cast of characters: Devil's food cake mix, chocolate pudding mix, sour cream, eggs, semi-sweet chocolate chips, oil and water.

Add cake mix, pudding, oil, water, sour cream, beaten eggs, and mix it up.

As Nana demonstrates, beat the eggs before you add them to the bowl. Okay, so yeah. This cake starts with a cake mix. Big deal! It's stinkin delicious! You gotta problem with delicious?

Add semi-sweet chocolate chips, then mix it all up gently.
Put your grandson on the counter so that he can supervise.
This next step is crucial. Take the batter covered beaters and put them in your grand children's mouths. They will follow you around for hours afterwards.
Make sure you get some on your fingers for them to lick.
When their faces look like this, you have done it right.
Ah, perfection! You may now continue in making your cake.
Pour the batter into a greased pan and spread evenly.
Get your baby granddaughter handy so she can learn how to do it, too.
Spread it around in the pan nice and pretty, and pop it into the oven!
After the torture of smelling it bake for over an hour, you must leave it in the pan to cool for another hour and a half. You see, this is not just a post on baking, it is also a study, focused on an ancient method of teaching your body self-control through olfactorial stimulation.

Once your cake is done, turn it out on a plate and serve it to your family. This cake is guaranteed to get you a back rub and a week's worth of not having to do the dishes. Okay, we have two featured videos for this post as well. This first one is of the kids getting their faces covered in chocolate, and of course, LOVING IT!

Our next video is of Nana giving the kids some water to "cleanse their palate." They find this quite hilarious. I know what you are thinking. Why is she wearing all white to make a double chocolate pound cake? Because she didn't know we were making it until she got to my house, that's why. And I will have you know she came out of this whole adventure with minimal damage. Only one spot of chocolate and the Tide-to-go stick took care of it beautifully, thank you very much. Now watch this last video and come back and see us.

Double Chocolate Pound Cake:

1 devils food cake mix (I always use Pillsbury)

1 - 5.9 oz pkg instant chocolate pudding mix

8 0z sour cream

1 cup vegetable or canola oil

4 eggs, beaten

1/2 cup warm water

1 pkg semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350. In a bowl, combine all ingredients except chocolate chips and mix well. Then add semi-sweet chocolate chips and stir gently. Pour into a greased bundt pan and bake for at least an hour. I usually cook for about 1 hour and 10 minutes. (Test with a knife or toothpick.) Let it cool in pan for at least an hour and a half; turn out on a plate and enjoy.

Happy Birthday Trent-o!

This weekend was our nephew, Trent's birthday. He is now a strapping young man at the ripe age of 12. But he is wise beyond his years. He is oh so frugal with his money; he watches the stock market (he bought Google at $100 you know); and he will only wear Nike shoes on his feet; But this young man is bounding with charisma and potential. He is one of those kids everyone likes and parents want their kids to be friends with. You know the whole, "why can't you be more like blank" statement? I've heard it said many a time with Trent's name in there. He is truly one of a kind and we love him so very much. I hope my son will be like him, too. Well, we celebrated the anniversary of Trent's birth on Sunday. We grilled out hamburgers, which the Hubby did a fabulous job of cooking, and then we had cake! The below videos and pictures are in no order and have no relevance. They probably don't make sense either, but they are what they are.

This first video is from this morning. The kids were playing on the sofa. Sometimes people just don't know when to quit; and here is a prime example. Now, keep in mind the kids do all their own stunt work. There are no stand in's or stunt doubles. Note: no children were harmed in the making of this video:

Here is a random picture I took last week of Camden sleeping. Yes, he is laying on his arm.

How can a little boy be so stinkin cute? Come on now! I didn't put this on him either; He just likes to wear hats like his Daddy. This was all Camden's idea. Side view. He wore this hat for a long time, actually.

We go through lots of diapers. A box this size lasts about, oh...a week and a half, maybe. So we have lots of extra boxes around. We've learned to use them for storage, for planters, for firewood; they actually have lots of uses. I also have some nice Huggies Cardboard art I'm selling on Ebay.

Here the little girl plays 'hide and seek.' She thinks if her head is hidden behind the blinds I can't see her. Ah, the brain of a one year old!

I found you sweet girl!
The kids watching Trent play Xbox.
Camden wants some more cake! Please??
After Trent's birthday cake, we all decide to go for a walk. From left to right: Haley, The Hubby, Jaymee, Laurie (The hubby's mom), and Trent. Strollers left to right: Kensi & Camden!
Today we visited Daddy at his office. Kensington HAD to have her purse.

And here is the sweet Camden in his new blue shirt. Doesn't it bring out his eyes?

This last little video I threw in here for no particular reason. It's just a simple video of the kids. Camden really likes his crackers!

Time off with the family

Well the hubby took off a couple days from work to spend some quality time with the fam. Time we much appreciate. We love it when he takes time off for no other reason than just to be at home with those who love him most. While he was home, we decided to let our children try to feed themselves during lunch. So, we gave them toddler spoons and green bean casserole and let them have at it. Of course, I got video footage of the whole thing. Surprisingly, we didn't end up with green beans on the ceiling or in our hair. They did pretty good with whole thing. Take a look:

Being that we live in Alabama, football is huge. Let me repeat myself: football is HUGE! Especially this year since we have this fabulous new coach that everyone loves named Nick Saban. I don't really know a whole lot about it, or him; but since I have a husband, brother, father, and a brother-in-law (who is a football coach himself) I must live with this phenomenon called: football season. And actually, my sister-in-law Jaymee is much more qualified to discuss this subject than me! The whole point of this before I started rambling is about Alabama football. Since the Tide had their first game on Saturday, the twins had to dress for the occasion. If you are an Auburn fan, I apologize. Pictures:

The Hubby with Kensi & Camden in their cute Alabama outfits. Back view.

Kensi & Camden again, in their cute outfits. Front view.

She has on her matching red sandals and her Cinderella purse.

But she must stop for one more picture...

And here Uncle David holds Camden in his lap

The kids spent the night with Grammy and Paw Paw so they decided to play dress-up. Camden wanted to be Superman and Kensi is always a princess. Grammy bought them cute little outfits to play in. Check out this round of shots! Now you must prepare yourself...

Da da da Daaaa!!! Ladies & Gentlemen: Princess Kensington!

Its a bird, its a plane...No! Its Super-Camden! Saving the day in style!

The princess is on her royal throne and will not allow the Super-hero to save her.

So, the Super-hero goes to test out his new shoes and see if anyone else needs rescuing.

On Monday, we went to a church-wide picnic at a friends house. We were not there very long as the kids had not had their nap. But, I did grab a few great pictures:

Here is Paw Paw with his perfect grand babies.

And Grammy cuddles with Kensington

The kids love to sit in Paw Paw's lap and try to drink his water.

Ah yes; This picture is here because he picked on me at the picnic. Take that Wendell!

And the boys. Uncle David left, the hubby right, and Camden stands in front. And that's Kensi with her new turquoise bow, too.

Before I close down my post for the day, there is one more thing I must discuss. To those of you out there who are married, this is for you. You know those silly things your spouse does just because they know they can get a rise out of you? Well, the hubby knows how I feel when he wears socks with his sandals. It is the biggest fashion faux-pas known to man besides leopard spandex pants, maybe. Just maybe. Well, the hubby does this when he goes to play golf. He says he can't wear his golf shoes on pavement because it will mess them up. So he wears his sandals over his socks, until he gets there. But it's just embarrassing to me! Did I ever tell you that in 1999 when I met the hubby, that on our first date he showed up wearing socks and Birkenstocks? Oh yes he did. Yes, he did. Well I caught him doing this again. But he wasn't going to play golf. He was taking out the trash. What if one of our neighbors saw this???

Well, now we have to move!!

More videos

Okay, so we have some cute videos that I feel I must post because they bring a smile to your face. Also, because my mother and mother-in-law demand more videos!! So here are some highlights. This first video is of Camden pushing Kensi on a little car. It's about 17 seconds. His laugh will make you melt:

Our next video is a favorite and very popular. This is Kensi's first taste of a lemon. Her faces are priceless! This video is just about 10 seconds:

Now this last video is my longest yet, and this post is it's premiere. This one was taped in a studio on some stairs. But I must warn you the studio is pretty messy. There are clothes and things all over the stairs, but we're at a studio, remember. There's no reason to think this is OUR house and OUR messy stairs; because it's not. I repeat, this is a studio; because our house is very clean. All the time. Especially our stairs. So clean you could sleep on them, or eat on them. Not that you would want too though, gross! Anyway, now that we have that straight, check out this new clip. It's about 1 minute long. Kensi has learned to count, sort of, and she is very happy:

I hope you have enjoyed this latest installment of videos! It is fun for us to get to share them with you!