Sick Computer

My computer has been very sick for about 2 weeks, so sorry for the lack of post. Good news is I will have it back today! Meanwhile, here is a pic of Lilly after her bath when she was getting ready for our trip to Little Rock last weekend. Updates TODAY!!!!

DMB @ Oak Mountain

Let me start by saying Dave Matthews Band is my favorite band of all time! I LOVE them!!!! So for Valentines day Rick got me tickets to go see them at Oak Mountain here in Bham. At the time I was excited, but last night at the show I was ESTATIC!!!! I had a BLAST! There was a big crew here from Southern Miss, Tom and Rachael went with us, Will came from Hattiesburg to stay with us, what a night! One of my favorite college friends, Chris McDonald, was in town, love him! The show was AWESOME! I mean tailgating, old friends, new friends, the most fabulous boyfriend ever, and my favorite band of all time, what more could I ask for? Oh, and perfect weather! I mean I was FIRED up, so excited, don't think I stopped smiling all night. Here are the pics:



And here is the set list from last night:
Set 1: Don't Drink the Water, The Dreaming Tree, Recently, You Might Die Trying, Why I Am, Rhyme And Reason, Funny The Way It Is, Ants Marching, Raven, Crash Into Me, So Damn Lucky, Spaceman, Corn Bread, Grey Street, Jimi Thing, Anyone Seen The Bridge > Too Much (tease), Tripping Billies
E: Blue Water Baboon Farm (tease), Sister, Burning Down The House, Pantala Naga Pampa > Rapunzel

This was the PERFECT NIGHT!!!!! I could not have been happier.

More games...

Sunday we went over to Scott & Katie's to introduce Lilly to Lucy. Lilly was less than interested, but Lucy was ready to play. She was charging Lilly, it was so cute!!!

While we were there Claire wanted us to play SORRY! with them. (I got SORRY! for Andrew and Claire for Easter.) I was SO EXCITED! SORRY! is my favorite game ever. I was pumped. I plan on going over to play very often.

CRANIUM!!!

Saturday night Dusty, Jess, & Elvis, and James, Abnous, & Cameron came over for dinner and game night. Let me start by saying Cameron is a BEAUTIFUL baby! Lilly and Elvis were very curious about her. Lilly really needed to check her out as you can see.

After dinner we played CRANIUM! It was SO much fun, and when the girls were about to win, the guys wanted to start over. Typical. The funniest part of this was probably Dusty acting like a tornado or Shirley Temple, both had us crying we were laughing so hard.

In the end, the guys won. The second game that is, after starting over when we were winning. So here is the victory pic.

Cameron even got into the game for a little while.

We had so much fun, and I haven't laughed that much in forever. My cheeks hurt at the end of the night. We decided we have to do this once a month. Loved it!

Up close for LG

Dining room art

I got Rick these 2 pieces of art for Christmas and Anniversary. They are from an artist local to the Mississippi Gulf Coast, named Walter Anderson. His art is amazing. It is hard to walk into a house on the coast that doesn't have at least 1 piece. Mr. Anderson has long past but his art lives on and is available at Realizations in downtown Ocean Springs. If you are looking for inexpensive, different, art, google Realizations, and look at the online gallery. You can order from the website, and even request specific colors to match your room. (I would put the link, but I am on Rick's ancient computer since mine crashed last week) Back to these pics, so Rick was like ok, thanks, you know guys are not much on decorating. The pics are from Mr. Anderson's Alphabet, each letter is something different. I got Rick the R and the M for Rick McKibbin. Well, we hung them in the newly painted dining room, and he noticed that the R is River, and the M is Man ( totally appropriate for Rick, who always says things are manly, or says that is MAN work), so put them up and it says RIVER MAN! HE LOVED THAT!!! If I haven't said before, Rick goes on these big river/fishing trips all over the country with his family, so this was perfect. So what do yall think about the art?

Easter Bunny + Rick

The Easter Bunny came to see Rick and brought him this little bucket (manly Easter basket) of goodies. Nothing big, but at least he stopped by our house. Rick must have been good this year? HMMMM

The newest McKibbin.....Lucy Dog

Andrew and Claire got a new dog!!! Lucy is a Labradoodle, and she is ADORABLE!!!! I was sad they didn't get a shihtzu, but like Rick told me I would love her when I met her, I DID!! I could just eat her up, and I tried to bring her home but that didn't go over well with them or Rick. Any who, the dog is super cute, and a very welcomed addition the the crew. I am going to take Lilly over soon to meet her, so I will post new pics soon.

FABULOUS hall frame

For my birthday back in August (It was on back order until October), Rick got me this FABULOUS wall frame. I LOVE IT! Those that know me know I am OBSESSED with pictures!!!!! Well, it has been really hard picking pics for this! I mean to tell you HARD! I started with color and black and white pics, but that was too much going on, so then I had to have them all re printed in just black and white. Then deciding what pics should go in there, Rick tried to put a limit on the # of pics of him in the frame but I totally ignored that. Half were horizontal and half diagonal, so that was hard too. Tried to put his friends, my friends, his family, my family, hard work. After 7 months it finally all came together and it looks GREAT!!!

It is in the hall so I couldn't get a good pic of it straight on, but you guys get the idea.
What do you think?

Easter Weekend 09

What an EASTER!!! Friday started with breakfast at the Original Pancake House with Anna and Chip (my dear friends from home/high school). They were just in town for Thursday night but decided to stay Friday night so they came over and we grilled burgers with what I like to call "Topping Heaven." These burger topping included but were not limited to: sauteed mushrooms and onions, bacon, jalapenos, cheese, onion, lettuce, tomato, pickles, mayo, mustard, ketchup, BBQ sauce. It was FABULOUS! Most of all it was fabulous to catch up with Anna and Chip. What a week full of fabulous friends, first Jacquie, then Anna & Chip.

Saturday, Rick cleaned the garage, and moved all the tools used in the kitchen project from the house to the basement. We are making room to move all my stuff out of the storage unit that is costing a fortune. Saturday night we went to dinner at Kate & Chris' house. They have 3 pups, a Pomeranian, shihtzu, and shorkie (shihtzu/yorkie). Lilly was overwhelmed by the pack of dogs, but she loved it! It was so much fun, and we found someone just as picky about food as Rick. Never thought that would happen. Kate and Chris' house was just precious and the food was great. (Sorry no pics from that)

Sunday we got up and went to church with Rick's brother and family. Here are the Andrew and Claire and their new puppy, Lucy. She is adorable. More about that later. Don't the kids look adorable?

Rick and I before church.
Scott, Katie, and the kids before church.

After church @ Trinity, which was beautiful by the way, we went to Rick's Uncle Bill's for Easter lunch with more family. I had never met Uncle Bill, because usually I am in Little Rock for holidays, so it was a pleasure to meet more of Rick's family. Bill's house was fabulous, there is a creek running in front that you can hear moving, and coy fish ponds. I also got to meet cousin Robert, his wife Trish, and their adorable little boys Landon, and Reed. I spent most of the day playing with 3 1/5 yr old Landon. We are best friends. I hate I don't have a picture of them, little blonde haired blue eyed boys. I wanted to take them home. The only pic I took is the one below of Rick and his dad. All in all a very BUSY Easter weekend. Sunday night we were exhausted.

Haisley's Birthday @ Crestwood Tavern

We had a girls night at Crestwood Tavern for Haisley's birthday last Tuesday. We had a great time, little chilly outside, but nice. The Tavern has had some updates since last time I was there. Everything changes when you move out of the ole neighborhood. My dear, fabulous friend Jacquie just so happened to be in town for work so she joined. Jacq and I have been friends since we were like 5. I just adore her and it was SUCH A TREAT to play with her. So fabulous night, celebrating Hais birthday and old friends.

I swear it is spring despite the scarves and coats.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY HAISLEY!!!

Andrew's 9th Birthday

Last Thursday we went to a family dinner for Andrew's 9th birthday @ KOBE. This was Andrew's request, and he LOVED it! He got lots of fun gifts, a Sponge Bob's greatest hits CD that he LOVED, tickets to the dinosaur thing at the BJCC, water balloon hot potato, $, a book, a hermit crab, some other toys, and last but not least, a rocket. Rick and I got him the rocket and I am pretty sure Rick was more excited than Andrew. When I asked Rick for ideas he got so excited and started researching rockets, reminiscing about his days of building and playing with rockets, he even told me he would have to show me some of his old rockets, they were "awesome" he says. So, we had a great family dinner, and as you can see Andrew racked up.

Friends of St. Jude @ Redmont Rooftop

Friday we went to a benefit for the Birmingham Chapter of Friends of St. Jude @ the Redmont Hotel's new rooftop bar. What a view! It was an awesome place to have events, or just for happy hour. It was a little cool Friday, but will be really nice in a few weeks. It was a fun event, great location, and for a good cause.

Kate & me

Kelly & Erick

Brett "Healty", me, & Rick

Bridesmaid dress #10

I got my 10th, yes I said 10th, bridesmaid dress in the mail. The funniest thing is I still have probably 5 good friends that are not married, so I feel like I will probably top out at 15 dresses. I do have to admit, I LOVE being a bridesmaid, and I am quite the pro these days. I love the pageantry, the tradition, and the honor of being a part of such special day in a couples new life together. Not to mention how special you feel that they WANT you to be a part of that special day, and they will remember you being there for the rest of their lives. By the way, yes I still have all the dresses. I remember Traci and I playing dress up in our mom's old bridesmaid dresses all the time, so I guess I am saving them for Lilly to play dress up.

This particular dress is for my step-sister Carrie's wedding in Little Rock, AR, April 25. This will be Rick's first trip to ole Arkansas, and we are looking forward to all the festivities.

HORN ISLAND DREAM: A Gulf Coast Novel

Let me start by saying I am not big on reading. I know, I know, really horrible thing to say, and pretty embarrassing, but there is a reason I am making that point. I just finished this book, another embarrassing fact since I am good friends with the author, and it is WONDERFUL! I do not really enjoy reading, just can't ever really get into it. Well, this book got me! I loved it and it really sparked my interest in reading. The book is ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS!!!! I strongly suggest that EVERYONE read this book.

Here is what the back cover reads:
Eight miles off the Mississippi Gulf coast, Horn Island, whose tree lines are visible from shore on clear days, casts its spell over a sixteen year old loner, Jimmy O'Connor, who dreams of the mystery and adventure the island seems to promise. But the island might as well be a hundred miles away, and its distance is only one barrier Jimmy faces in this coming of age story. He must also work to find his place in this blue collar community where Horn Island Dream is set, a coastal town blessed with both natural beauty and industrial resources. That tension, between nature and industry, between art and business, as well as the barrier island's mystery, becomes a backdrop to the questions Jimmy has about his own identity, questions he feel increasingly compelled to answer after he discovers a secret about his long-deceased father. In his search for truth and experience, Jimmy finds surprising clues in the wisdom of two strangers: the artist Walter Anderson and a mysterious mentor. Anderson's visions, vividly depicted in his Horn Island Logs, and the keys he needs to begin unlocking the mysteries of his own identity, and help reveal a path he never could have imagined.

So, with that said, go out and get this book! Seriously, this is my mom's favorite book EVER! She reads non-stop, and just can't stop talking about this novel. She brags and brags about Wes all the time. She is such a big fan that last year when Wes and his wife Jacquie, came to stay with my parents and I at our lake house in Hot Springs, AR, he brought her the manuscript for his next novel (not to be shared WITH ANYONE, and now she is rubbing it in my face). She cried she felt so honored. So, in exchange, she had a mutual friend of hers and ole Jimmy Buffett give Mr. Buffett a copy in hopes he would love it just as much and send it to a publisher. Sad to say we have heard nothing from JB, but it was worth a try. Sorry to keep rambling about this, but I am really passionate about the book. If it can spark an interest in reading with me, everyone should love it! Let me know if anyone reads Horn Island Dream.


Oh, you can google it, and find it at Amazon.com or somewhere else online.

New blog design

I am looking for a new blog design, any ideas? Help! What do you think it should look like? I also need a tag line. I pretty much need a complete makeover, and I am depending on your input. BRING IT!