Bowlin Beige

Last weekend we traveled to Dallas, Texas to watch JMU play Southern Methodist University. Ironically, SMU paid JMU $425,000 to come and play their Homecoming game (it was supposed to be an easy win for them). But we ended up beating them in a really awesome game of football. The whole weekend was a great trip (sans kids). Here are some highlights! We flew down on Friday and got checked in to our hotel. About half the hotel was filled with Dukes, including the football team and coaching staff. There was a lot of purple and gold! The Dallas Alumni Chapter held a social in the hotel and that's where we got to meet and talk to Charles Haley! The only NFL player to have five Super Bowl rings, and just inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame this year. He graduated from JMU and was there to support the team. Really nice guy - and he's HUGE!  Here we are with President Alger. Coach Withers also spoke at the event. My DH is treasurer of the alumni association. Here he is wit...

We're heading to Dallas this weekend for the JMU v SMU game... without our kids.  Yes, it's going to be amazing. My wonderful mother-in-law is staying with the kids in Richmond while we enjoy time with friends and pretend we are still in our mid-twenties. But before the fun begins, we must proceed through the five stages of parental separation. Stage One - Excitement!  We are leaving the house without our children!  Stage Two - Panic Wait, did we remember to tell Grandma to bring in the mail? What if she can't remember where to pick up the kids from school? What else did we forget to tell her?? Stage Three - Resignation It'll be fine - they won't starve or die. Grandma is very resourceful. I guess I'll  just read take this time to catch up on my reading so I stop thinking about them.  Stage Four - Anticipation This trip is going to be awesome! We're going to stay up late and sleep in and eat good food and see friends and enjoy a football game without enterta...

My Daily Goal:  To leave the house by 6:55am; drop Parker at Kari’s at 7:10am, and get to Steward School by 7:45am (when my work day starts). School starts for Ainsley at 8:00am. This is what happened today, which unfortunately is more our standard routine than not.  5:15am – Alarm goes off. 5:22 – Get out of bed. 5:23 – Get in the shower. 5:33 – Get dressed. 5:36 – Apply make-up. 5:42 – Make bed. 5:43 – Check phone for missed text message; read funny Facebook post. 5:46 – Let dogs outside. [for the past 2 weeks we've been babysitting my parent's lab, who is basically a clone of our Dixie] 5:47 – Run outside to see why dogs are barking. 5:48 – Try to coax dogs away from opossum that has climbed up the smallest tree in the yard and can’t figure out how to get away. 5:53 – Finally get dogs back in the house; Ainsley has come downstairs carrying her clothes. [We lay her clothes out each night. I still can't figure out why she has to carry them down...

It's fall, and that means it's football season! This year we have a new tailgating spot on Godwin Field with several other families from Richmond. The first game we attended was overcast but luckily the rain held off. The kids were so excited to get back into their purple gear and visit Duke Dog.  Eric serves as Treasurer on the Alumni Board of Trustees, and has made a lot of great new friends with other alumni. One of them has a suite at the stadium and invited us to join them for the game. We were able to visit with friends, watch the game from a great spot, and the kids certainly enjoyed the freedom to move around! And the best part... a visit from Duke Dog! We returned last weekend for another game and had better weather - warm and sunny. While we tailgate, the kids play in the moonbounce, get their faces painted, and run around looking cute.  When we renewed our season tickets we were entered into a drawing and won field passes for...

What else do we do with our weekends? Well, fortunately (or unfortunately), a lot! Somehow we tend to overbook ourselves, but we always end up having a good time.  Our good friend (and our kids' godmother) Amy, was a dancer growing up. Her mom kept all of her old dance costumes hoping that a little girl in the family would like to wear them for dress-up. Amy has a handsome little boy so she decided the costumes would be better used by our dancing bug! She was thrilled to go through the treasure box with Mimi one piece at a time. And almost every night after school she comes home and puts on a different costume to wear around before dinner.  Last weekend we took the kids to see Disney on Ice. They loved seeing all of the princesses and Disney characters. "Parker, who is your favorite character?"  "Jasmine!.... And Elsa!" This year Parker finally got to join his sister on the soccer field. He was so thrilled to have his own shin guards and...