Handing out treats!

Well I would say Halloween was a success! I love this holiday mainly because I love kids so very much. Halloween always reminds me of the neighboorhood I grew up in (good ole BACC.) Even when I was little-before we moved there, We would go trick or treat to see my Nana and Gamby. Then I became too old and did what every teenager did:: rolled yards! My first yard to roll was my grandmothers- she let us practice on hers. Such fun memories:) Even when I was in college, I would love to hand out candy to all my babysitting babies. It was so fun seeing them in their costumes.

Last year, I was so sad because we had very few trick or treaters. This year- being in our new house, I just knew we would have a TON! And a ton we had. Almost to the point of running out of candy. It made me so very happy. I dressed up as the "good witch" and sat by the door the entire night to pass out our treats. Poor Jim- he was doing Annie duty. She would have rushed out the door into the halloween madness.

Yep- this was around 7:30. I was panicking. Luckily, I began to ration the treats. Only 1 per kid. 

 Me and my teacher buddies, Woodward and Kelli! As you can see Woodward's costume is very creative:: 2 little pumpkins for the 2 little babies in her tummy:) We are so excited. 

I enjoyed seeing everyone's babies on facebook!!!! And my mother assured me she held down the fort in the BACC passing out candy and special happies to all my babies. 

Until next year.... 

To Arkansas We Went!

In case you haven't heard, we believed that Ole Miss would be celebrating their first road SEC win. And by the grace of a field goal, We did!! Hooray:-) This football season has been ever so exciting. Now call me crazy with optimism, but I BELIEVE we will be going bowling. Even if it's just in Memphis or Shreveport, we'll take it, Hugh!

We were lucky enough to be in Little Rock for the game with all of our Simpson family. Our favorite brother and sister in law live there so it was double the fun. Josh, who for the record frequents my blog as it was recently discovered on his Ipad favorites, (Thanks. Josh.) was such a gracious host. He even purchased a bagel for me to eat, gum for me to chew, and pizza to enjoy at the game. Such a good brother in law. I also got to spend time with my sweet sweet sister-in-law as well! I think a good time was had by all. And thankfully we left with a big "W." I would NOT have wanted to make that long drive home with Jim Simpson should we had lost.

Fun times at the game! Celebrating a huge field goal!! 

Ahh, victory is sweet. Especially when people don't expect it. 

Hotty Toddy Y'all! 

F is for FALL AND FUN!

I can't say it enough but fall is my favorite time of the year! With the cooler weather and the anticipation of the upcoming holiday season, We are just loving life. However, we have also been so busy; It has been difficult to keep up with all the fun happenings. Here's what we have been up to this season: 

We hosted a sip and see at my parent's house for my mom's best friend's new granddaughter, Elle! It was great fun visiting with everyone. I even got to spend time with one of my favorite people, Mrs. Robin, who I used to work with. I have missed her so much!! We are kindred spirits:-)  It was a fun Sunday afternoon.

We attempted to take Christmas card pictures with our Annie! Despite her resistance, we actually had a couple of choices to pick from. Thanks to my parents who were good sports in helping us-haha! Christmas cards are ordered and have already arrived. It's just around the corner! 

What is fall without a fair?  I was so excited to have a partner to ride with me. Last year, I had to BEG Jim to ride! Carlin was a good sport. 

We are so much more fun than our husbands! 

Jim and I cheered the Rebels on to their first SEC victory!! 

We celebrated our favorite October babies, Julie and Margaret, at Sal and Mookies! 

I've been doing a little fall decorating as well! I can hardly stand the wait to Halloween. I just know we are going to have LOTS of trick or treaters. 

Does my front porch scream "Come Trick or Treat HERE!!?" That's the look I am going for:-) Thanks to my mom for the Halloween lights. 

This is the centerpiece for my dining room table. But I mean really- You could throw coal in Annie Glass and it would somehow look festive! Oh there are so many days I miss working with tabletop.  I went to buy some wedding gifts earlier and I just loved browsing all the new styles. It will always be my favorite. You can tell a lot about someone's style by what they register! ha. Who needs clothes-give me dishes:-) 

We are home for the weekend and I am so enjoying it! I have been very productive. Last night I spent two hours cleaning my house and it was amazing. I feel so put-together when my house is in order. I also finished my grocery shopping today (normally I go every Sunday after church.) Tomorrow, I plan to do some organizing around the house. Oh the things that make me happy now:-) 

Denise turns the big 50!

October has sure been a busy month with all the football games and such. I have been looking forward and planning for October for some time now. My mom celebrated her big birthday and we wanted to make it very special!!

Most everyone knows that I HATE taking off work. If you are a teacher- you will understand that being away is ten times more stressful than just going in! Luckily, I have fantastic classes this year so I decided to slip away for the big day. We (Annie and I) came up for Mom's birthday on Thursday night without her even knowing! This is unheard of considering I talk to her multiple times a day. I was so afraid she or someone else would see me in town- I hurried to Coldwater to stay at Meme's as soon as I hit the Tate county line. 

I had gotten a cake made in Jackson for her surpise lunch on Friday: 

Check out those nice photos!! 

Coach Patterson helped us make our grand entrance. I think she was surpised?! 

Hello Mom!! 

It was a fun lunch with all the teachers! I was so excited we were able to be there. 

I had made this sign for her door. Mrs. Susan hung it up for me! I wish you could see the close-up of all pictures. Meme did a great job helping me find some good ones. 

After school, we headed to Memphis for dinner. Our friends, Stan and Seetala Woods (and Marshal of course!) joined our family. We missed Jim who was at work and Mrs. Susan and Mr. Ricky!

 Mom doesn't look 50, does she?!

One of Mom's special gifts were "50" Happy Birthday messages and memories from family, friends, co-workers, and students! I was so thankful to everyone that participated. It is something special my mom can keep forever! 

It was a great day! Now if only we can top it for when Chuck turns the big 50 next year!! Guess we have some time to plan:-) 

So Long September!

I cannot believe today is the last day of September! This season is flying by! Pretty soon-it will be time to put up a Christmas tree. Not quite ready for that. I love the season of fall and we are thoroughly enjoying our time. Last weekend we headed to New Orleans to watch the rebels play Tulane. I was lucky to be able to catch up with some friends:

Cheering on the rebels! 

..and Jim and I also got to spend some time hanging out in New Orleans. I must say New Orleans has not always been a favorite of mine. I like it, just don't love it. The reason for this is-I didn't know much past Bourbon Street. We actually spent some time walking around, shopping, and eating after the game. The weather was perfect and it was a lovely afternoon. In fact, we decided we must come back for another weekend getaway. I texted Jordan on the way home insisting we make it a couples weekend. I didn't have to do too much convincing. Hopefully we'll be back soon! 

 One of my favorite parts about the weekend was our dinner Saturday night. This was my desert- Pecan Bread Pudding. Amazing!! Bread pudding is my absolute favorite (I'm sure I've only mentioned that about 20 times.) 

Thanks to Adam and Carlin for suggesting a great dinner spot! 

This weekend I have been totally lazy. Friday night Ginny and I went to see Trouble with the Curve. The movie was fantastic!! I had asked Ginny to go see it with me about a month ago, haha! It definitely lived up to my expectation. I would recommend it! I had great company too:) 

Saturday, I did a little shopping for fall clothes. It's my favorite season of all for clothes. I was so excited to find exactly what I was looking for- a fit and flare skit! Can't wait to wear it. 

Unfortunately, I have felt absolutely horrible all day today! Must be the allergies. We even had to miss church today- which I hate to do! My sweet husband is doing the grocery shopping for the week right now and getting me some good cold meds and popsicles! He is a lifesaver! Hopefully, I'll be back to normal tomorrow for my kiddos! Happy October! 

Ole Miss vs. Texas

This past weekend we headed to home/Oxford to cheer on the Ole Miss rebels against the Texas Longhorns. I was super excited for a couple of reasons. Number 1- I was meeting up with my friends who I rarely get to see anymore :( Number 2- A baby shower! Anyone who knows me knows that I love a great event- weddings, babies- you name it! I was thrilled to help host the first of hopefully many baby showers! Number 3- The BIG football game. I love going to the game. When I was in college, I enjoyed the grove more. Now that I am older, I look forward to the game more. Strange huh?!

Let's talk about the shower first. Mallory and I have been friends since high school! She was a part of the infamous magnolia heights/north delta group of girls:) As we continued to college, we all remained close. Now that we are older- we celebrate each other's weddings and now babies. How special!! Margaret's mom so graciously hosted Mallory's shower at her home. Now if you haven't been to Margaret's house in Oxford- you are missing out. It's in my top 5 of favorite homes. I told Margaret's mom one of my favorite things about her house is the fact she has so much CHINA! We even ate off real china at Margaret's wedding (which was hosted at her home!) Serving off fine china is such a lost art! It makes me so sad to see brides today not register for it. As I tell Julie all the time- You will be calling me one day to borrow mine when your baby is dedicated in the church. You will need it someday-I don't care what anyone says :-)

As my grandmother Joy would say- There is nothing prettier than gold-rimmed china. My favorite part of Margaret's house. 

Pretty Momma with just a few of her gifts. 

Margaret did such a fantastic job planning everything. She has quite the gift of hospitality!:-) 

Group Picture

One of my favorite parts about this weekend was having this chick as my grove partner until my husband arrived. She was the perfect date:-) I miss my Jordan so very much. She and I enjoy so much of the same things- but are so different that we tend to balance each other out. We could have life chats all the time, and if people would just listen to us- oh what a wonderful world it would be! 

There is no one like Lauran Booth!! I was so excited when she called and asked if she could ride with me to Oxford. We had such a fun time catching up. I wish we lived closer to each other! 

As you can tell-I miss my friends terribly. Thank goodness Ginny, Julie, and Marg are in Jackson! 

..And now off to the game

Hey Hugh!!! 

Miss America visits the Ole Miss game! Tell me this- Would she ever visit Starkville?! Of course not:-) 

There are only so many red shirts in the Ole Miss world! The Simpson twins

I looked as though I had obviously been sweating in the grove all day! haha. We may have lost- big time! But I feel Ole Miss was represented very well. I was proud to be a rebel! 

Now it's off to New Orleans to see the Rebels earn their first win on the road for this season. I'm sure a fun time will be had by all! 

Out on a School Night

Thanks to my type a, routine loving, super consistent personality- I hardly ever make it out during the week. I love to be at home and do things at home like clean my house, laundry, cook, piddle, you know just be at home...I'm not even kidding. However, if you came to my house this week you would not believe me!! It is a wreck because this week has been beyond busy with lots of fun things! Tuesday night, Jim and I headed out on the town to enjoy the Elton John concert. Let me tell you- the Wednesday morning blues were SO worth it. He was FANTASTIC! Everything I thought he would be. Some of my favorite performances were: Yellowbrick Road, Crocodile Rock, and Candle in the Wind!

The Legend himself!! 

Waiting for the concert to begin! 

Well I can cross seeing Elton John off my bucket list. Now if only Rod Stewart would make his way to Jackson... 

Tonight, I went to the JA-Mag Heights JR. high game to see my sweet Taylor cheer. 

I am so proud of her! She did such a great job. I can't believe my first "babysitting" baby is so old! Seems like just yesterday we were having sleepovers- oh the days! 

Well I have had an eventful week all leading up to an eventful weekend- Ole Miss vs. Texas! It's going to be a lot of fun. It's ten o'clock and past my bedtime! I'm off to sleep- Have a great weekend everyone!!