Why I love living in Memphis....September edition

The Dalai Lama is in Memphis right now as a recipient of an International Freedom Award from the Civil Rights Musuem. During a ceremony down by the river earlier today, our Mayor Pro-Tem taught him the time honored "fist bump". That's not something you see every day, folks!

Family Photo Fun III

Hmmm, what pictures to post this week?

I know! In honor of it being the fall (which means my favorite holiday is getting close....Halloween), how about some pictures from the Corn Maze a few years ago?
This is Chris and me (and the corner of Deb's head) after we had been wandering around the maze for what felt like hours....oh yeah, it WAS hours! And thus - after being chased by such horrors as the girl from The Grudge or The Ring or some such movie that I have never seen because it would induce certain nightmares, a couple of people with chainsaws, and so forth - this is what we looked like:

Hint Hint...Chris is the one wearing the Memphis shirt! (HEEHEEHEE)


And finally...a picture truly worth screaming over....
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which really has nothing to do with Halloween or the Corn Maze....
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AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!


Create your own FACEinHOLE

Love you, mean it, Chris!!!

One more thing from the trip to Mississippi...

I saw a Harry Potter horse!!! Seriously! Look at the marking on this sweet little colt we saw...its a lightening bolt, just like Harry. Does JK Rowling know about this? LOL

Labor Day Weekend 2009 - Family Trip to Mississippi

The 2009 Labor Day Family Adventure began around 4:30 Friday afternoon, when we all piled into the minivan and set off for Mississippi. First exciting item on the itinerary? Passing the really cool boats on Prescott, just before getting on the interstate. I'm not sure why these are considered cool, other than Giant Brain says they are. Amazingly enough, you can actually SEE the boat in this photo, since it was taken after a)frantically digging for the camera after being informed that this should be a photographically captured memory, as it was the first exciting item on the itinerary (did I mention that already?) b) fumbling to get it out of the case, and then c) snapping a shot through the van window whilst moving at 50mph! Not too shabby.


Here are the goofy backseat passengers. Public service announcement....Ben does not actually have a bowl cut. We would not allow him out in public with such - its just the angle of the camera. More important is the expression on his face. Leslie and I laughed quite a bit, even though to do so was to risk the wrath of the Giant Brain, who was trying to merge onto the interstate at the time.


What happens when you try to take a picture of the moon at night from a moving vehicle with the flash on...not quite as successful as the earlier boat pictures.


What happens when you try to take a picture of the moon at night from a moving vehicle without the flash...better results. That little speck of light is actually a magnificent full moon...really! What do you mean, you can't tell???!?!?!?!?!


What happens when the oldest sister is stuck in the back seat of the minivan with the youngest brother...and youngest brother is suffering from...how do I put this delicately...the usual Mikell male affliction of excess gas? Her only hope of survival without permanent damage to her nasal membranes was to cover her face with a towel, which helped to filter out the worst of the fumes.


Saturday the girls (now with Aunt D) went on a nostalgic tour of southern Mississippi. Some of the highlights were cruising through Columbia to see the site of the old Walmart (where many a Saturday afternoon was spent with Mama) and the old LDS chapel that we attended back in the day (I was baptized there, Susie and Randy were married there. Oh - and it was also the site of my one and only spanking...because I was a model child and it only took once with me, unlike other family members). It took a little bit of winding and backtracking, but we finally found it! Its no longer an LDS chapel, but man did it bring back memories to see it again! (thankfully, NOT of the aforementioned buttwhippin')


We ended up the day by driving by the old homestead. A little melancholy inducing...but overall not so bad. Happily, the current owners are taking good care of it, and it looks to be a happy home.




That's about it for the pictures...but trust me, there was a lot of Wahoo played... And Shipley donuts....and Ward's french fries...and boiled peanuts...and did I mention Wahoo???

Fun Family Photo(s) of the Week II

Here we go - week two of fun with family photos!

The picture(s) of the week....Ben's high school graduation day:







Remind me of the above picture if I ever talk about bangs again, lol....

Look at me, being all crafty!

It has been a while since I've done anything crafty...but my dear friend Maggie from work is having a baby, and the bedding she picked out for the little one is so darn cute, I got inspired!

Its called "Dancing Frog", and when I saw it, I thought, I could draw that! So I decided to make a customized wall hanging for the baby's room. At first I was going to use a plain old canvas, but then I saw a really cool framed cork board at Michael's, and decided to use it instead so it could be something useful instead of just a wall hanging.

First, here is the picture from Amazon:

And now, my effort:


And my wrapping (because I LOVE real ribbon):


I know, it isn't perfect. Poor Mr. Froggy's arms are way too long, but oh well. Paint on cork is NOT forgiving, LOL. I am rather proud of the gingham effect on the bib, although it doesn't show up that well on these pics.

Anyway....it felt good to be crafty again!

Fun Family Photo of the Week

Ahhh, family. Nothing like my family, especially nieces and nephews who love to have their picture taken!! I think I will start posting random family photos each week. Kind of like Randy's version of "80's Amy Picture Night"...but in cyberspace for all to see.


So, without further ado...the first random family photo is....drum roll......

ALLI WITH THE NAKED COWBOY! From June 2oo6, Times Square.

If I remember correctly, this was taken the day before we left NYC to come back to Memphis. This is probably one of my favorite pictures from that vacation, just because of the sheer glee (and surprise) on Alli's face. I don't think she expected him to grab her bootie quite like that! For those of you who may not recognize her photo partner, that is non other than the Naked Cowboy (if you couldn't read the writing on his tighty whities...and I know some of you were looking!), who has been a Times Square fixture for several years now. He literally stands in the middle of the median on Broadway, and women shove money at him to have their bootie grabbed- er - their picture taken with him. What a gig.

And, as an added bonus since this is just the beginning of much fabulous family photo fun, one more picture of Alli, from the same vacation, but with a different photo partner....