Farewell to The Carters!

Even though I have known they were leaving for well over a year now, it was still devastating when my sweet friends The Carters packed up and moved to Starkville at the end of May. Will finally finished his residency at UMC and is now one of the Anesthesiologists with Oktibbeha County Hospital in Starkville, MS (God's country and home of Mississippi State University-Go DAWGS!)
Some of Missy's friends and I put together a Going-Away surprise party at Sal & Mookies (Missy's favorite place to eat in Jackson) for the Carters and their Jackson friends.

A Cake Diva cake that was out of this world in both appearance and taste. Leigh would not give us the straight story on what she paid for the cake, but whatever the amount it was worth it!! Thanks Leigh!!

Guests awaiting the Carters arrival

Miss Abigail

Todd and Leigh Reeves welcomed their 2nd son Gaines weeks before the party.

Here he is with his momma. He was a cutie and barely made a peep the whole time (my kind of baby!).

Typical Jake face

The Carters arrive. I think they were surprised!

What will Jake do without his Bo & Buddy?!

If you look closely, you can see that Mr. John Quitman has lost his first tooth!

Oh the pizza was soooo good!!

Dr. Carter with a cake fit for a new anesthesiologist.

The Hostesses with the mostesses
Laura, me, and Chyna (just missing Leigh-she had to take baby Gaines home)

All the gals. It won't be the same without our Missy!!

And I'm sorry, just one last shot of the cake. Wish I was eating a piece right now!!!

I wish Will, Missy, Bo and Buddy all the very best in Starkville. And I hope they always remember they have a home here in Jackson should they ever want to come back!!!

We love y'all!!

"Sha-mon" forever!

I just couldn't let it go without paying a tribute, albeit a small one, to one of the greatest entertainers of all time! For me, Off the Wall and Thriller will always take me back to my sweet childhood and the wonderful memories of the '80's and Michael Mania. I fell off the Michael bandwagon somewhere in the midst of Bad (though there were a few hits from that album that were fabulous) and watched his decline over the past two decades like everyone else. I will not remember him for being a freak, I will remember him for his phenomenal music! I have added my top 20 Michael favorites to my play list (with a bonus track from Weird Al). I've started it off with my all time Michael favorite Rock with You and followed it up with 19 close seconds. So I implore you, MJ fans of the world, turn on your computer speakers and "Rock the night away" to some exceptionally great music!

A virus....

In my computer that is! Finally after 6 years with our E Machine we finally got a virus. Xan ordered a new Dell today that should be here sometime this weekend (I am currently using my brothers computer). I have SOOOOO much to post and it's killing me--but bear with us and we will be up and running again before you know it. The boys and I are traveling to Florida and to Savannah so I will have lots to show you when we return. In the meantime, try not to fret too much, you know it will all be worth the wait!!!

Three Piggy Opera & The Last Day of School

A few months back, Jake's school put on the "Three Piggy Opera". The play and the songs were based on the Three Little Pigs (who would have ever guessed..right?!). It was VERY cute and is a tradition at Covenant. It won't be too long before I'm posting pictures of little Reidy singing in the "Three Piggy Opera"!

A classic verse from one of the many songs

That old big bad wolf, he was hungry for pork, hungry for pork, hungry for pork-

That old big bad wolf, he was hungry for pork--so he "sneaked" into town with his knife and his fork!
Jake would sing that line almost every time I picked him up from school. My family and I couldn't get enough of it!

I had the honor of sitting on the very front row courtesy of Amanda Slack. I had the camera in one hand and the camcorder in the other and Jake just glared at me the whole time. Later, he told me that I embarrassed him by sitting so close. And he's not even 16 yet!

Jake & Anna Grace

Jake with his sweet teacher Mrs. Morgan. She has been wonderful and I hope Reid has her while he's at Covenant!

Some of Jake's artwork!

Jake & Caleb

The very last day of school. Covenant has been wonderful. I am so very glad that Jake had the opportunity to go to preschool there. I almost teared up when I saw him walking down the stairs to get in the car. I think the only reason I didn't is because Reid will be there next year.

One last climb into the car as a preschooler.

You're looking at the sweet face of a soon-to-be kindergartner!

Now excuse me while I go curl into a ball and cry my eyes out!!!

Catching Up!

I have been slacking in my posting lately, so I am going to do my best to get caught up! Here are just a few pictures that I liked of the boys from way back when. Keep checking back for new posts!

I caught this picture of Reid one day after he got out of the car. He looks so angelic. Glad I got it caught on camera because I don't see this look too often!

Reid is Jake's biggest Cheerleader on the Wii. When Jake starts "Boxing", Reid comes to the living room and plops down beside him to watch. He is a very supportive little brother!


We went through a spell at the beginning of Spring where we flew a kite almost everyday. Here is Reid actually getting the kite off the ground.

Jake had his in the air for a long time!

I asked the boys to pose for a picture and hug one another, but all I got was Jake suffocating Reid!

The Sharks

Ladies and Gentlemen, playing #3 for The YMCA Sharks,

Jaaaaaaaaaake Vineyard!

Jake is now playing "coach pitch" ball for the YMCA. This is his first time on a team. We think he likes it alright, though his attention span will need to broaden before we'll consider him for the Major Leagues!

The back of the jersey. Little Reidy did NOT want to be left out---at home or on the field!

He was pretty cute in his uniform!

The team receiving a pep talk from Coach Davidson before playing their first game.

The coach will pitch for a while and if the player cannot make contact, they will use the T. Jake had to use the "T" the first time at bat but the second time up to bat he hit the coaches pitch out of the park......well, not out of the park, but he hit the ball good and hard!!!

I was one proud momma!

Vineyard---running to second!

My sweetheart!

(although I am not allowed, anymore, to call him pet names. He says I embarrass him and can only talk to him like that at home)

Reid wanted out on that field sooo bad. He couldn't understand why he couldn't go stand on the plate with Jake or sit with him in the dug out.

The face of a Champion!

Probably the most exciting part for Jake. The snack at the end of the game.
The Sharks will practice and play many more times (yikes) so stay tuned for more reports!

Birthday with the Braves!

This year we had Jake's birthday party at Trustmark Park, home of the Mississippi Braves. This was the first year we did an all boys party. I will start by saying that the atmosphere was fantastic. I believe the boys had a great time. But if you're looking for a party that might provide you some assistance in executing your party, you might want to look elsewhere. When I say we were thrown to the wolves....please know I mean it!

The birthday boy Jake, who turned 5 on the 13th!

All party guests received Tomahawks at the door.

Other than the occasional sister, we had an all-boys party this year. Here are the fellas watching the game from the picnic pavilion. It was a lot of fun to watch the dynamics of 15 five year old boys together. Jake and his friends personalities are really shaping up. They were all "all-boy" at the party!

Jake & Davis

The Braves party coordinator tried to pass off some nasty cake that one of their sponsors made. No thank you! This cake was made by a friend from church, Kelly Headley, and it was fantastic!

We sang Happy Birthday and pretended to blow out candles since we had none.
No candles and no balloons--thanks Braves lady!

Hot dogs and coke. The lady "helping" us with the party basically threw our food and drink at us and wished us well. Xan said the only other way she could have been less involved was to have launched the hot dogs at us with the T-shirt launcher they use on the field between innings!

I started to video tape the boys eating their hot dogs and I couldn't find Jake at the table. I panned over only to find him dancing with himself.

All the boys thought it would be a good idea to attack Pop Pop with their Tomahawks. It was hilarious especially if you knew my father-in-law! He truly prefers the background at any function.

Little Miss Ellen found some water to splash around in--Reid soon joined her.

Jake & Jackson, the Braves Mascot.

Reid would tell Jackson "Hi" and then take a BIG step backward. He wasn't sure about the big blue thing.

Now this was the high light for me and a big reason I wanted to celebrate Jake's birthday with the Braves. At the top of the 5th inning they had Jake stand on the dugout so the crowd could sing Happy Birthday to him. They asked Jake his name and how old he was and Jake did great!! I was, of course, beaming with pride.

My baby on the big screen!

I see a future in TV!

Jake with some of his party guests.

Next up, the Fun Zone!

Daddy & Reidy

Waiting to ride the big slide.

Reidy has really turned into quite the ladies man these days. This little cutie is Caleb's baby sister close to Reid's age and will be at Covenant next year with Reid.

Jake & The Carter Brothers. Bo and Buddy will be moving to Starkville in June and it is breaking our hearts!!!

Reidy sure was a good boy throughout the party considering how hot it was and how long it lasted!

Xan & Bon Bon. Though you can't tell it, Xan had had enough partyin' for one day. Keeping watch over 15 boys wore him out!

Jake and his party loot. He got a lot of great gifts!

We really did have a great time. We have lots of video and pictures that will be great to see through the years. It was just, to put it lightly...very lightly, a bit hectic!! Great atmosphere for a boy's birthday party and a great idea if you have guests over the age of 12!

Until next year my friends, where you can be sure I will have adequate help putting on the party. Where was Mr. Jerry when you needed him?!