Bama/UT Baseball game

A few weeks ago, Kevin and I took Walker, Brody, Tucker and Troy to a Bama/UT baseball game as part of Tucker's birthday present. We didn't even know if we were going to get to go because it had rained all day the day before and they were calling for a chance that day. But we loaded up and went anyway.

I knew exactly what I was getting into when I invited UT fans to go. We pull in Troy's driveway, and I was blinded by the orange. You could have spotted him a mile away. My stomach starts turning because I hate the site of UT orange. It's about the ugliest, brightest orange you can find. But I suck it up and allow him to not only sit in my truck, but to sit in the front seat. Tucker doesn't look as bad because he has on a white shirt with his orange hat. But Troy was covered in orange. I bet his underwear was even orange. But we won't go there. We hop in the truck and we're off. But wait, we have to stop at the store and get beef jerky....what is it with boys and beef jerky? We're finally on our way and there is arguing and fussing between the boys about who has the DS and who has the PSP and who stinks and who wants my IPOD. It was a LONG 2 hr drive. And with me stuck in the middle row of seats, nonetheless. I have long legs, and I was not the least bit comfortable. But I digress....

We get to the game and find a good parking space. We get in the stadium and guess what we have to walk by....the souvenir stand. Yep, let's drop a quick $229 on pullovers and balls and sharpies. And then we drop another $40 at the concession stand. No wonder the ticket itself was only $5.....they get you everywhere else.

Anywho, we get up to our seats and I notice a few boys lined up in the stands where Bama is warming up. We take our baseballs and sharpies and hike to the other side of the field and wait on autographs. (As you can see below in the pictures, I was enjoying the view myself) Only one player, Ross Wilson (John Parker's brother) took the time to sign the balls for us. Thanks Ross! You made my boy's day!

The game was great! We had some hecklers in the student section that were annoying even us Bama fans. I could have tied them up by their shoe strings, but what's the point. They probably would have liked it. :)

Bama won 8-4!! Roll Tide! And down with the Vols!

Troy, Tucker, Brody and Walker watching the UT pitchers warm up.

Walker, Brody and Tucker (not sure what's up with the look on his face)

A much happier looking Tucker!

Tucker and Walker

The lovely Ross Wilson

I don't know where this picture of Ross came from! :)

Or this one.....

A cute little UT player

Tucker

Kent Malathes after his big home run in the first inning

Tucker

Troy and his ugly UT hat

Bama after the win!

Crazy as a loon!

I had a friend (and I won't name names) call me last night, and as soon as I got Hello out of my mouth, she starts freaking about the Swine Flu. She is carrying on about how she is thinking of going to the local Walgreen's and buying some masks. She wants to board up her house. She wants to buy an incubator. She was freaked out that her kids were not allowed to leave their class at church last night without first using hand sanitizer. She was so tore up that she was going home to knock back a case.....of Diet Sun Drop! ahahahahaha I told her she was going to show up at the ball park tonight in one of those suits people wear when there's been a chemical spill. :) She called her boss to talk to him about it and all he could says was "Jimminy Crickets, I didn't know that!" To hear her tell it and to hear all her cackling is so funny to me! You know I love you girl, and if you don't have a mask on tonight, you have no kahoonas! :)

Camping pictures

The big catch of the day!

Shelby, Sydney, Jenna, Tucker and Walker with the big catch of the day!

The makeshift Ladies room! I did NOT use it! I went to the house instead!

Keri, Whitney, Adam and Neal

All the kids getting ready to go on a scavenger hunt!

Neal setting up their tent!

The kids hanging out in Troy's jeep! Why does my son have to be the silly one to stick his butt out at everyone?

Cierra and Tiff

Cass and one of the twins (I don't know which one)

Yet another shot of my other son doing something silly!

Yosemite....the final phase

After our games that day, me, Kevin and the kids and Julie and her family decided to go back over to the camp site for more fun. Tucker had a birthday dinner at Pizza Inn with family, so we stayed back and grilled hamburgers and hot dogs for us. The Reed's finally got home and Tucker had to come show us his birthday gift from his grandmother....a 4wheeler helmet with "schools"....Skulls! He was so proud and couldn't wait to wear it. Troy, Kevin, Julie, Cass, Alex and I decided to go riding 4wheelers across Troy and Tiff's land and have some fun. We couldn't quit laughing at Kevin because he was on Walker's little 4wheeler, and he kept getting stuck in the mud and dragging tree limbs with him. I had a briar branch stuck to my butt and that hurt like a mug! Limbs were flying everywhere, smacking us in the face...briars scratching our legs and arms.....mud being slung up on each of us. But it was SOOO much fun. We finally made it back to camp and Tiff and the kids decide to show us what they have learned. So they break out into the "Woo oo ooo oo ooo ooo" from Sugarland's "All I Wanna Do" song. They're singing it like crazy. Then they proceed to name off all the planets, and Walker innocently calls off Poopiter (Jupiter). And Tiff tells us that Tucker said Africa and Europe are planets! We all fall out laughing. They seemed to have had as much fun as the parents did while we were riding. We sit around the camp fire talking for a little bit, and Julie and her family decide to go home. But we stay back to camp another night. I thought my sleeping arrangement would be much better, but no. Me and Avery had an air mattress all to ourselves, and I fell asleep hard! But then before I know it, Walker has made his way over to our mattress and roots around until I am pushed to the far edge again. I am awake....WIDE awake.
All the sudden I hear, "uuuuugggghhh". It's Cierra in the next tent. "Go outside Cierra" Tiff says...."uuuuggghhhhhh". (She has to potty and does not want to squat outside). Then I hear "uuuggghhhhh" again and again. And then...."You better get out there before I whip your ---!" That would be her father telling her that..... So she goes. She is behind our tents, so I can hear her peeing. And then "uuuuggghhhhh".....she has no toilet paper and she has peed a little on her legs, panties and shorts. She wants to change them, but Tiff says no. She hands Cierra a pillowcase to wipe herself off! :) And then there is lots of sniffing and crying and then finally, nothing. She has fallen dead asleep. But I'm still awake. I am trying to recover from giggling so much at the Reed's in the next tent. Or is it the fact that I've got one leg on and one leg off the air mattress? I finally manage to scoot Avery and Walker over the slightest bit so I can wrap my arms and legs around Avery like an anaconda (thanks for the use of the phrase Tiff). I doze off and then get up cause I just can't take anymore. Time to go home.
All in all, it has been such a good weekend. And I hope to camp out soon again. Much thanks to Troy and Tiff for letting us stay there and have such a good time.
Pictures to follow in the next post.

Yosemite - Part Deux

Let's see....where did I get to? Oh yea, we got up the next morning and everyone shared stories and laughed at all the things that happened the night before. Julie and I were in charge of breakfast, but the men seemed to take over the biscuit making duties....which was fine by us. I was told by my dear friend Troy that I better bring Tennesse Pride sausage, and so I did. I tear open the first pack and get ready to pat out the the sausage patties. Well, he sees what I'm doing and tells me I need to just cut the link in equal parts. I attempt that, but the knife I'm using couldn't even split a hair. So I am literally manhandling the sausage, trying my hardest to get it cut as I was instructed to do so. I get frustrated and tell Troy to bring his tail over there and show me what I'm supposed to do. He tells me not to be afraid and just cut it! Well....I do. But the patties don't look pretty, and I like pretty! :) After struggling for 10 minutes or so, I give up on the presentation of the patties and just start butchering it to death. Emeril would be grossly disappointed in me. Anyway, the deed is done....sausage patties are ready to be cooked. The men take that part over also. So that leaves the bacon and eggs to me and Julie. She says "Ginger, how do I know when the bacon is done? I always just buy the microwavable kind." Well, I do too, but I'm assuming that being able to decipher when a piece of bacon is done is not rocket science. I tell her we will play it by ear and surely we can figure it out! :) And I must say that they turned out quite nice....yay for Julie! And me for supervising! haha
I scramble up some eggs and Tiff does too. Mine are normal, hers are not. :) Hers are flavored with the bacon leftovers....which I might add was somewhat tasty, but had the look of hash. UGH! After all is done, everyone sits down to eat. But I don't. I'm not a breakfast person, but Tiff seems to think I'm thumbing my nose at the nature breakfast. But I seriously am not....I just don't want to eat.
It's time to go....everyone decides they will leave to go get ready for their games and come back later and pick up all their belongings. I grab my chair and one of my bags that I'm gonna need. Julie takes me across the creek to my vehicle, and I about fall off. She hits the first mud hole and I fall back, legs in the air, and I grab the first thing I can....her arm pit! :) We're screaming and laughing and getting so tickled. But alas, we make it to my vehicle.
The first camp out has been successful and quite fun! Part 3 coming later.....

Yosemite National Park - Part 1

If you know me, you know that I am not a true "camping" girl. I don't do tents, I don't sleep on the ground, and I don't squat in the bushes to pee. Pull me up a camper or a motor home, and I'm good to go. My friends, things have changed....well, for the most part (I still don't pee in the bushes).
As I mentioned in my previous post, it was Tucker's birthday. He wanted to have a camp out at his house with his closest friends and their parents. Yes, it sounded fun, but I had so many imaginative stories running through my head. I was eaten alive by a bear (yes, in Alabama). I was attacked by a swarm of mosquitoes. I fell in an ant hill and was bitten to death. I squatted to pee, ended up peeing on a snake and it bit my butt. I realize they are a little far fetched, but it could happen....right?
Anyway, I decided to be a trooper for Tucker. That, and I had to prove his mom Tiffini wrong because she said I was acting too prissy to camp. (love you Tiff) Kevin was going to be out of town, so I asked my mom to let Avery stay with her and I would take care of the boys myself. So on Friday, I take off work early and head home to pack the rest of my stuff (I had packed all the sleeping bags, pillows, etc...the night before). I get everything done and in the car, and I realize the entire back of my truck is loaded down......and I'm only camping for one night! :) I had to take a picture of it with my cell phone and send it to some friends. I was laughed at. Oh well, a girl can never be too prepared!
I get to Troy and Tiff's and I am ready to unload my stuff and have a good time. I'm going into this with an open mind. It takes about 400 trips (by 4wheeler) from my vehicle to the camp site to unload everything. I take off on the 4wheeler for my last trip and here comes dear sweet Troy on his and we're crossing the MUDDY creek at the same time, and he decides to gun it and slings mud ALL OVER ME! Welcome to the Reed's! I was a little shocked by it, but I take it in stride and just decide to laugh and not worry about it! After all, I did pack quite a few changes of clothing!
Everyone starts arriving and Tiff comes down to the site, and proudly announces "Welcome to Yosemite National Park". LOL! The kids are having a ball.....they're riding 4wheelers, playing kick ball, fishing....you name it. It was a blast! The food was great! Troy, you did a fine job on the chicken, and Tiff, you really know how to boil some corn and potatoes! :)
It gets close to bed time, and all the girls ride up to the house on the 4wheelers to get ready for bed. And I must interject here and say that I never knew it was possible to ride a 4wheeler with your legs crossed, but you can! Keri Douthit, you are precious! Now on to sleeping arrangements....I had been told earlier in the day that all the boys had planned to stay in the tent with me since Kevin wasn't there. Ok, that's fine. But they changed their mind. Only Cierra and Brody wanted to sleep with me. Sounds much better right? Yea, I thought so too. Boy was I wrong. Cierra and Brody went to bed before I did, and I lay down on the 3 inches I have on the air mattress. I try to rouse Cierra to get her to scoot over just a little bit because she has left enough room on the other side of her to fit a donkey. "uuugggghhh"...is her response. Ok, let's try again. "Cierra, scoot over a little bit" "uuuuggghhhhh" And this "sound" is not quite.....she sounds like a grown man. I make one more attempt and I fail again. I give up. I wrap my legs and arms around Brody to hold myself up on the air mattress. I'm not sure how long that lasted because the time drug on. I heard every pop in the fire, every howl of the coyote, ever cry from the donkeys, and every bug running into my tent. I MAY have slept about 2 hours total.
Then at 5:58 a.m., Cierra pops right up out of bed and says "I gotta go pee". She doesn't want to pee outside, so she insists I take her to the house. Keep in mind that this means I have to ride by 4wheeler to get there. Everyone else is asleep, and I have to start the 4wheeler as quitely as possible. We hop on. And guess what....it doesn't start. Not for the first 15 times I tried. Tiff said it was like waking up to an alarm clock. It was a constant "rrrrrruuuhhh, rrrruuuhhhh". Thank God Neal wakes up (imagine that with all the failed attempts at starting the thing and me giggling so hard). He walks right over and pushes a button and "VOILA". Off we go....
Needless to say, when we got back, everyone had crawled out of their tents and were out by the fire talking about the night's events......and of course, all the racket that me and Cierra had made. We cooked breakfast, and everyone left. We had ballgames that morning.....

More to follow in a later post.....

Happy Birthday Tucker!

Today is Tucker's birthday. He is my son's best friend, and he is like another son to me. I hope he has the best birthday ever! HAPPY 7TH BIRTHDAY TUCKER! I LOVE YOU!