Let it Snow...Part 2

Here is the afternoon version of this snow. We haven't heard an accumulation total yet, but it has to be at least 4 inches.

Let it Snow

We woke up this morning to a beautiful blanket of white. Yes, it snowed early in the morning and it hasn't stopped yet. These pictures are from early this morning. Ava Grace and I bundled up and went outside for her to walk around in the snow and slush. She slipped, laughed, sat in the middle of the street, and ate ice. She loved it and laughed as she watched some of the neighborhood dogs run around in it. Here are a few pictures of the snow in the early morning. We have several inches that has accumulated now. I will try to post those pictures later. Until then....

First Snow of the Year

This past Saturday we saw our first snow of the winter. It was pretty as always and the best part was that it didn't stay around too long. It was extremely cold though!! Ava Grace kept pointing outside saying "aining" which means raining. I tried to explain that it was snow because it was white, but I'm sure she didn't get the concept. She did, however, enjoy the snow hitting her in the face as we played outside for a bit. She laughed and laughed - too cute!! Also, she wore this toboggan for two days straight. Our cousin in southern California sent it to Ava Grace last year, but it was too big for her head at the time. I am thinking we are going to get LOTS of use out of it this year though!!

Once the snow stopped, we went to Johnson Farm (Historic Farm that our school district owns) for their annual Christmas. Ava Grace and I rode on a horse drawn buggy (hay ride really). So, she got to see some horses and got to pet a donkey. She didn't mind petting the donkey, but as "Chelsea" (the donkey's name) would turn her head and nose, Ava Grace wasn't too sure about the animal being that close. She never cried or anything, but held on tightly to me. So, as you can imagine, there was no way she was going to sit on Chelsea for a picture or anything. We watched other kiddos make crafts, but she was too young for that just yet. There was a Christmas tree representing every school in our county, so we looked at all of them. They were all very creative and made me proud to know that I worked with some of those children. We went on a tour of the old house on the land, but that didn't last very long as Ava Grace doesn't quite get the concept of "Do Not Touch". Ava Grace also got to sit in Santa's sleigh although Santa was missing and a teddy bear took his place. She liked it nonetheless. After our fun, we ventured into the main building where she enjoyed a big cookie and I enjoyed some hot apple cider. We have the best apple cider that is made at our numerous apple farms. YUMMY!!!

Thanksgiving Fun

Ava Grace and I had a great time at Cece's for Thanksgiving. The trip is always so short, but so much fun. We played in the backyard, went to the park, put up the Christmas tree, ate lots of yummy food, and got a first haircut!! Here are a few pictures of the fun....

Fun at the park...beautiful weather!!

Helping Cece put up her Christmas tree

Ms. Karen gave Ava Grace her first haircut. Ms. Karen actually gave me my first haircut when I was a little girl and cut my hair until I went to college. She actually cuts it every time I go home too!!! Ava Grace did pretty well. She wanted to tear up at the beginning, but when she realized that I was going to hold her, she was OK. She squirmed and wiggled, but Ms. Karen managed to trim it up a bit. Hopefully now it will grow thicker and longer!!

Football in the South

Most people know (hopefully) that football is like an institution in the South!! Everything stops on Friday nights and Saturday to root on your favorite teams. Most of you also know that I still support my high school alma mater and that I am a Clemson fan and an Auburn fan. What some of you may not know is how much of a Wofford and Mauldin fan I am!

Let me begin this post telling you a little bit about Mauldin High School. Mauldin is a huge high school in Greenville and their colors are orange and brown. Yes, I said orange....so with my other favorite teams...can you guess what my favorite color is??? Anyway. Mauldin has not been a very good football team in recent years past. They have struggled often while playing in the toughest 4-A conference in the state. Well, this year they have broken some 30 school records in football, made an appearance in the 2nd round of the play-offs, and finished their season 10-3. The other exciting thing that has happened to this football team this year is....the head coach was named Upstate Big 16 Coach of the Year. Why do I care about that?? Well, that head coach happens to be my big brother!! Doug has accomplished a lot this season...maybe even more than he thought possible at the beginning of the year. I am so proud of him and what he does everyday to make a difference in the lives of young men. Dad would be so proud of him and it makes me smile to watch him coach every Friday night as he resembles my dad exactly on the sideline (well...he pretty much reminds me of Dad in every way). The season unfortunately ended last Friday night, but the memories of a fun time every Friday night will always last. Congratulations to the Mauldin Mavericks for believing in yourselves and making everyone else believe in you!!

Ok.... I graduate from Wofford, so it is only natural that I would be a big fan. Wofford football to many would probably resemble a high school game because the size of the school is smaller than some of the high schools in the state. However, to people who graduated from Wofford or any other school in the Southern Conference....football is HUGE!! We love our Terriers and enjoy going to their games. Unfortunately, we don't get to many games, but we are hoping that will change one day. In the meantime, we have to don our black and gold and cheer as we watch the scores scroll across the bottom of the TV screen. This past weekend Wofford played Furman....huge conference rival and schools that are only 30 miles apart. My dad played football at Furman, so I have often wondered how fun this rival would be if he were here with us. Either way, my loyalties lie with Wofford and nothing will ever change that. So, in the spirit of the football (which did not turn out in our favor), Ava Grace wore her Wofford Terrier shirt. Check it out....so cute!!!

Can you see the Terrier on her shirt?

Go Wildcats!

My Uncle Ray played football at the University of New Hampshire and loves his alma mater. So, it was only fitting that Ava Grace would have a shirt (or sweatshirt in this case) to wear to support the Wildcats. UNH plays in the same football division as Wofford when play-offs roll around. So far, Wofford hasn't encountered them, but if they do, Ava Grace will have to wear her black and gold - not blue and white. Sorry Uncle Ray!! We do pull for UNH every other weekend though. They are pretty good and honestly, I think it would be really neat if UNH played Wofford at some point. It is always fun to have a little family rivalry!! Thank you to Uncle Ray and Aunt Susan for getting some Wildcat attire for Ava Grace. We hope to see you soon. We love you!!

Happy Halloween!!

Ava Grace had a fun Halloween!! She enjoyed hanging out with her cousins Brittany and Rebecca along with Aunt Deb, Meme, and Pop Pop. Rebecca was dressed up as Pocohontas and Ava Grace was dressed as Snow White during the day. I didn't have a camera with me at the time, so I wasn't able to get any pictures of the two of them during their visit. Sorry!!

Ava Grace went with Luke to Mineral Springs Park (in Williamston) to trick-or-treat. Luke, Ava Grace's cousin, had to pass out candy since he is on Student Council at his elementary school. So, Ava Grace, Aunt Stacey, Cece, and I tagged along for the event. It was actually pretty fun!! While Luke was passing out candy, Ava Grace spotted the slide and swings, so we headed in that direction for a while. Afterwards, we walked around playing some games (some she played and some Luke played for her) and got some candy. Ava Grace got to sit on a miniature horse while there as well. She didn't mind it at all (I wasn't sure how she would react). Of course she didn't get a whole lot of candy, but that was fine since we don't let her eat it anyway. After we got back to Uncle Doug's house, we changed Ava Grace's costume to a frog. She ended up with 2 costumes....so we had to have pictures of both outfits!!

Here are a few photos of our night: