MORE RAINY FOOTBALL & HALLOWEEN FUN

tailgating with Muv & Pops (before the rain)

beth & amy

amy & jeff

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and, of course, it starts to rain once we get inside the stadium...

jeff - carson - molly

bud - ellen - beth

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But the weather cleared up for TRICK-OR-TREATING...

fun Aunt Boo wore her Halloween costume when we went out trick-or-treating in the neighborhood around Muv & Pops lake house.

checking out their goodies...

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fall foliage tour on the lake

Clemson vs Boston College - 9/19/09

As many of you know, the Boston College game turned out to be one great big wet mess! But it started off with much better weather. Kind of gray and no rain for our pre-game tailgate. For this game, we parked in Lot 13, Met some nice folks (who actually ended up giving us the 2 extra tickets that we need for the game) and enjoyed a great lunch. Molly & I sat with the Batcheldors and Jeff & Carson sat in the upper deck. Just a little bit of rain in the 1st half but nothing that even required a rain jacket. But the 2nd half was a completely different story...rain, thunder and lightning, and rain delays! The boys toughed it out in the stadium and the girls went to tailgate with friends. But when the 2nd rain delay was called, we decided to pack up and head back to NA. Got back to North Augusta to find blue skies and no rain all day. But we all had a great time and I don't think I heard the kids complain once about all the yucky weather.

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my Clemson cuties!

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future Tiger cheerleader?

future Tiger quarterback?

our other parking spot - Lot 13

Clemson vs Middle TN - 9/5/09

new parking space - same lot

Clemson Coaches - Meet & Greet (round 2)

Since the coaches couldn't make it to the first meeting last week (apparently there was bad weather that grounded their flight and neither of them know how to drive !?!) - a second appearance was schedule for autographs and pictures. Molly played in the first half of her soccer game and then we headed to Aiken. After waiting in the long line, the kids got a chance to talk to the coaches and have their "Clemson" books signed.

being silly while waiting in line

with Dabo Sweeney

and Oliver Purnell

Super Bowl

The kids decide we should HAVE a Super Bowl party since we weren't going to one. So we made appetizers and finger foods for dinner (think cheese dip, mini corn dogs, grapes,...) and set up our tailgate in the den. We all bet on the game - even the kids had to put their $5 in if they wanted to join in on the fun. I was the big winner (2/4 quarters) but being the nice mom that I am, I decided to share some of my winnings with Carson (since he was the only one without a winning square). I have to say that betting on the game made them a lot more interested in what was actually going on during the game. The kids stayed up long enough to watch the 3-D commercial at half-time and thought it was pretty cool (even if we did look silly in our glasses).

Gator Bowl

Clemson played Nebraska in the 2009 Gator Bowl and it was the kids first bowl game/away game. It was 60 degrees and windy in the sunny state of Florida so we bundled up and enjoyed a Publix tailgate just a few blocks from the stadium. There was a park nearby called Kids Kampus where we were able to check out bikes and other toys and play on the playground. Even though the Tigers lost we all had a great time!

tailgating at the Gator Bowlpicture by Molly
riding bikes at the Kids Kampus park

two monkeys

at the game

New Years Eve in Jacksonville

New Years Eve is not one of my favorite holidays in general. But this one ranked high on family and fun! We decided to go to Jacksonville to watch our Tigers play in the Gator Bowl. And the best part of the trip was staying with my cousin and her family. We took the kids swimming and went for a walk on the beach. Then headed home for pizza, sweet tea vodka and a little champagne. Put the kids to bed and then just hung out and gossiped until we could keep our eyes open any longer

(11:00 I think).

molly braved the cold water (and air) on the slide
carson -trying to keep as much of his body in the water where it was a little warmer
Uncle Shawn and all of our "ducks"

baby Kate

dancing queen - Taylor

family rock band

holiday travels...

Have car, will travel has always been our way of life (especially now that we don't live near any of our relatives). So we have loaded up the mini van and we are headed out today for our first of many stops. We will be in Anniston for Christmas and then go to "the farm" to see all of Jeff's extended family. Friday we will pack up again and head off to Greenville to celebrate with my family. And back home (finally) on Sunday to unload, oraganize and find a place for all of our new stuff!

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And next week, we are headed down to Jacksonville to stay with my cousin (Suzanne) and cheer on our Tigers in the Gator Bowl.

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We LOVE the holidays and celebrating with all of our family!

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And we want to wish you and your a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Thanksgiving in Greenville...

We went to Greenville for Thanksgiving and stayed thru the Clemson - Carolina game. We drove up Thursday morning with our green beans and bourbon chocolate chip pecan pie for the big feast. We ate at mom & dad's with all of the Batcheldors and the Blameys. After a wonderful meal - the girls went to see Four Christmases and the dads took the kids to see Madagascar 2 ( Pops and Jasper savored all that quiet alone at the house).

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the girls and their favorite Aunt (Boo aka Beth)

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Friday, we (Jennifer & I) tried to take a good

picture of the four kids.

And here is a sample of what we got...

Sydney (8) - Cole (5) - Carson (5) - Molly (6)

my cuties

silly boys

sweet girls (and a few of their American Girls)
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After pictures, Jeff and I took the boys to play golf at the par-3 course by the interstate. They had a great time and we all enjoyed the absolutely beautiful weather. It's always a little weird to take the two boys out - everyone thinks they are twins! Luckily for us, they are just cousins (but they are exactly 2 weeks apart in age - with Carson being older). And Jennifer took the girls out to get their nails done. Friday night, we took the kids to downtown Greenville for some of our favorite pizza and to see the holiday lights and the St. Francis Festival of Trees at the Hyatt.
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Saturday was the big game - Clemson vs Carolina. And a big change in the weather. Rain, cold, and more rain! We layered on all the warm, waterproof clothes we could find and headed to the game. (Molly & Carson stayed in Greenville with Muv & Pops.) We had a great time hanging out with friends and watching some great football. It's always great football when the Tigers win!

Clemson Homecoming

We left for Greenville Friday afternoon in the rain and fog with a sick kid in tow. (Carson - another random fever caused by ALWAYS putting his hands in his mouth) After a quick stop at mom & dad's house, we headed to my brother-in-law Cory's 40th birthday party. It was a lot of fun but we had to cut the evening short because we wanted to get up early to leave for the game. Saturday, Jeff went to the grocery store to get our tailgating supplies while Molly & I got ready for the game. (Carson did not go with us because he had not been very well behaved at school that week) I was a little worried about the weather but "Weatherman Jeff" assured me that things would be just fine - and he was right. We got to Clemson in time for Jeff and Molly to go watch the Tiger Walk and then tailgated with friends until game time.

During half time, we met up with some friends from North Augusta to go see the Homecoming floats. They looked a lot better than I expected after all that rain. And I think the girls had

their picture taken with every float there!

Boys Weekend

The boys woke up early on Saturday so that they could head up to Clemson for the game. They set up their tailgate at The Parking Spot and then headed over to the first ever "Tiger Walk". The both said that the "Tiger Walk" was great and that they hoped it would become a new tradition at Clemson. They enjoyed their day of tailgating with friends, watching the game, and hanging out "just the boys." They spent the night "camping" at the lake house in Anderson (sleeping bags on top of the beds so that they wouldn't have to make up the beds). They said you could practically walk across the cove right now because the water is so low. On Sunday morning, they packed up and headed to the big city of McCormick for a round of golf at Hickory Knob State Park. They had a great time and Carson even parred the 13th hole - a 95 yard par 3! Way to go Carson!

more Clemson football...

Well, we finally managed to get a full tank of gas in both cars and decided it was safe to head to the Clemson game (rumor was that there was more gas to be had in the upstate). We were eager to try out a new tailgating spot at The Parking Spot. We backed right up to the big grassy hill at the dike. The kids (and Jeff) loved having all of the grass to run around in without having to worry about any car traffic. Jeff & Carson played football, Molly hung out with her American Girl, the kids ran up and down the big hill, and we enjoyed tailgating with family & friends.

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Going to a Clemson game is a much longer outing now that we live in North Augusta. We left at 6:30 am and didn't get back until 7:45 pm. 5 hours in the car is A LOT different than the 2 hours we are used to but still worth it. Fortunately, as the kids get older, they last longer and longer in the games and have always been championship tailgaters.

Tailgating in Tigertown!

Molly and Carson found a couple of ways to keep cool at the Clemson vs NC State game (Sept 13, 2008). Carson played bean bag toss in the shade while Molly cooled of with a bag of ice from the cooler!

We are ready for some football!!!

Clemson vs Citadel

September 6, 2008

look who we found in the stands -
James Davis (#1) - Carson
CJ Spiller (#28) - Cole