Frank the "Saint"

I bought Frank a St. Bernard Halloween costume, but it ended up being too small. I just had to take a few pictures before I returned it to the store. Unfortunately, the store did not have a bigger size. Wouldn't Millie (our old Saint) have loved him in this costume! In order to get him to smile in these pictures (because the costume was so tight), I had to give him his 3 favorite things...His pacifier, his blue blanket, and Bess's pink blanket when she was a baby.

Lunch with Laurens!

Lauren Rounsville came to Columbia today to have lunch and visit with Lauren Smith and me...and the boys. We went to Za's and had a wonderful lunch. Lauren and I miss Lauren R. and wish we could see her more often! Here are some pictures from our lunch.

Frank LOVES Ramsey!

Lauren S., Lauren R., and me

Ramsey looking serious. I think Frank may have just taken some of his food!

Ramsey doing a "linebacker" pose. He and Frank love to act like football players!

House - End of Week 4

Here are some pictures of the house...the end of Week 4. Luckily, it did not rain this week so they got so much done!

This "empty" part w/out flooring is where a covered patio will be. The window in the den will be taken out and replaced by doors. The good news is that we will be able to re-use the window in the kitchen.

This will be our new bedroom. The big opening will be doors leading onto the patio.

This is where part of the kitchen and mudroom/laundry room will be. They will frame this next week.
Another view of the kitchen/mudroom/laundry. The "not covered" patio will be the space where the big mound of dirt is in this picture.

A Jelly Beans Haircut

YaYa took Bess to get a haircut today at the neatest place called Jelly Beans in Greenville. Here are the before and after pictures. She looks so grown up in the after picture! I know she loved eating some jellybeans after she sat still for her haircut!

Hunting for Mice

Bess and YaYa went to hunt for mice on Main Street today in downtown Greenville. A teacher of mine from high school has written a book called Mice on Main. Bess and YaYa found most of the mice on Main Street. They are having a big time this week! Tomorrow Big Daddy and YaYa are taking her to pick apples.

Big Daddy's 60th Birthday!

Yesterday we went to Greenville to help Big Daddy celebrate his 60th Birthday! We had a wonderful dinner and visit! Happy Birthday, Big Daddy! Bess is staying the week in Greenville, and Baby Frank and I are having some "quiet" time in Columbia! Here are some pictures from our time in Greenville yesterday.

Big Daddy is so loved that he had 2 birthday cakes (and 1 pie)! Here is one of them.

Big Daddy got a new gorilla mask and hands for his birthday, so Bess wanted to try on the hands...She is still "not so sure" about characters, but just the hands weren't so scary.

Fun at the State Fair

Tonight, we had a ball at the Fair! Here are some pictures of the fun!

Frank loved the cotton candy!


Frank was such a great sport! He was too little to ride some of the rides, but he loved watching Bess!

Bess and Frank are excited about the Fair! Of the 8+ years we have lived in Columbia, this was "Big" Frank's first time there.

Bess's favorite ride was the cars.

She loved the train, too!

Bess and Frank rode an elephant...What fun they had!

The last ride of the night...The carousel.

Time to go home and get cleaned up! We had a great night! Bess wants to go back tomorrow!

Mandy's Baby Shower

Last weekend some friends and I hosted a "Casserole" Baby Shower for Mandy. Mandy has a son, Sawyer, who just turned 2 a week ago and her new baby will arrive in December. Kim, Mandy, Lauren, and Clara

Mandy ("Surprise"), Sallie (boy), and Elizabeth (boy)

This is Mandy's 2nd Baby (Mid-Dec.), my 3rd (Nov 20 ish), and Elizabeth's 3rd (November 10). Not only will these little ones be close in age, but we all had boys about two years ago that are very close in age, too. Mandy's son just turned 2, Frank will be 2 in Jan., and Elizabeth's son will be 2 the beginning of Feb. Between the 3 of us, we'll have a sports team!

All of the hosts with Mandy. We all can't wait to see if Sawyer will have a little brother or a little sister!

House - Week Three

Here are some pictures of the house this week. I missed taking pictures last week, but there really was not much to see...just more digging. We are getting ready to order the appliances and I have been looking at wallpaper for the new powder room and the hallway that will connect our living room and den (what is now our existing breakfast room).