Meet Makenzie (and Heather too)

My good friend Heather and her daughter Makenzie came to visit us yesterday. Lisa, Heather's friend from Florida, was in Charlotte, so they came to check out the beauty of fall in the mountains. We had a great visit and lunch before they headed off to the apple orchards. I'm sure Makenzie had a good time with all of those apples!! We are looking forward to seeing them again soon and Ava Grace is looking forward to many more play dates with Makenzie!!

Honoring Grandaddy Shaw

On Friday night, Ava Grace, Cece, and I attended a re-dedication of the football stadium in Myrtle Beach. For those of you who don't know, my dad was the head football coach and athletics director at MBHS for 25 years until he suddenly passed away in the fall of 1994. After his passing, the city decided to name the football stadium after him for all of his accomplishments/dedication to MBHS as well as to the city. The county school board and the city worked together in renovating the stadium, which turned out to be a $3 million project!! We were there on Friday night for the re-dedication ceremony. The stadium is gorgeous and I know Dad would be so proud of it not only for the students, staff, and fans associated with MBHS, but also for the city of Myrtle Beach. It is a most deserving renovation and of course I am beyond proud that my Dad's name is associated with it.

Three of my Dad's sisters and one brother-in-law along with 3 cousins attended the ceremony on Friday night. They made the 3 hour trip just to attend the football game and be there for us. It was so great to see them and Ava Grace has now met all of her Shaw great-aunts and two of her great-uncles (we'll see you son Uncle Paul). Thank you Aunt Doris, Aunt Natalie, Aunt Sara, Uncle Jack, Pam, Teresa, and Jimmy for taking the time to celebrate Dad and all of his accomplishments!!

Uncle Doug, Aunt Stacey, and Luke could not attend the ceremony as Uncle Doug had to coach his own football game on Friday night. It was obviously a good game based on the score (34-33), but the Laurens Raiders ended up victorious that night. Uncle Doug's team played well, but just couldn't pull it out.

Playdate with Ellis

Ava Grace, Cece, and I went to see Miss Dawn (Mimi), Aunt Natalie, and Ellis on Wed. for a play date. Ellis is almost 17 months old now, so she is a busy little girl. She enjoyed looking at Ava Grace and touching her feet. Ellis talked to all of us constantly and watched Elmo as we ate lunch together. I think Aunt Natalie was excited to see Ava Grace too!! Ava Grace enjoyed smiling at Miss Dawn and Aunt Natalie. Uncle Wells even made a surprise visit (Ellis was thrilled to see him). We had a ball and are hoping to make a road trip to Atlanta to visit Aunt Natalie and Ellis (Brett too) very soon.

**Please excuse my lovely face in the picture. I didn't know Cece was taking the picture then.

Happy Birthday Uncle Doug!!

We wanted to send Happy Birthday wishes to Uncle Doug today!! We are so sorry that we won't be able to celebrate with you this weekend, but we will plan for a get together soon. Go get those Mauldin Mavericks ready for Friday night!! Good luck and we love you!!

Itty Bitty Jeans on a Friday night

Do you remember your 1st pair of jeans? Of course you don't, but I'm sure y'all looked cute in them. Ava Grace wore her first pair of jeans to Uncle Doug's game on Friday night. Luke couldn't believe how little they were! I know I am biased, but look how cute our little girl is in those itty-bitty jeans!!

Speaking of Uncle Doug, the Mauldin Mavericks won again!! They beat Westside 25-24 in OT. It was so exciting as the Mavs had to win 10 points in the last 2 minutes of regulation to send the game to OT. Westside won the toss and elected to have the ball first. They scored a touchdown and got the extra point (so 7 point total for all of you non-football fans). The Mavs got their turn to move the ball towards the end zone and they did just that. After Westside received a penalty, Uncle Doug decided to go for all the marbles. He went for the 2-point conversion and IT WORKED!! The players, coaches, parents, and fans went nuts!! It truly was a thrilling Friday night! So, congrats again to the Mauldin Mavericks!!

Happy Birthday Uncle Steve!

We wanted to send birthday wishes to Uncle Steve today!! We hope you have a great day and we hope to see you soon!! We love you! :)

Meeting the newest Shaw's

Ava Grace, Cece, and I went to Greenville yesterday to meet our newest cousins. The Shaw family is HUGE and we are continually growing. We will have 6 new babies within a year!! WOW, huh? Our first visit was with Callie, who is the new daughter of Michael and Amy (my cousins). Callie is 1 month old! Don't they look a little alike? The Shaw genes are strong for sure!! Our next visit was with Fisher and Davis, twin boys of Natalie and Evan (also my cousins). They are almost 5 months old now and soooo dang cute!! Ava Grace also met Aunt Mickey and Uncle Revonne! Although she was a little fussy because she was sleepy, they still got to love on her!!

Ava Grace had a BIG day and it was so good to see everyone. We hope to see y'all again soon. I think there will be many play dates in our future!!