Tennis

Look At That Swing

We woke up early Sunday morning and hit the tennis courts at Perkerson Park.  Solon has been really into his tennis racket lately and was so excited to be on a real tennis court.  Jay sat there and doled out several buckets of balls, and Solon had fun running them down.  His little mullet is in full effect and is looking very similar to Agassi's...now all he needs is some spandex in the color of 'hot lava.'

Simplified

All three of us had a little dinner Tuesday night in celebration of mine and Jay's anniversary.  Leftover chicken tetrazinni:)...very fancy. But we did get the wine bucket and crystal out!

I Spy

We hit the pool both days this weekend, and the water was pretty chilly.  We managed to find a seat on the platform overlooking the deep end, so Solon got to watch Jay come down the slide.

I Want My MTV

Solon and Jay spend a lot of their mornings watching music videos.  This has led to Solon's summer play list which consists of Bruno Mars "Lazy Song" (or Monkeys Singing), Adele "Rolling In The Deep" and Foster For The People "Pumped Up Kicks."  Here is Solon singing the chorus to "Pumped Up Kicks"...pretty cute. (For those of you who know the song..he replaced the last word 'gun' with 'gum.')

Cutie Pie

Muffin Man sporting some of his new underwear sat outside and watched the guy next door mow the yard on a riding-lawn-mower...or excuse me a tractor.

Adios

Jay sold his car Sunday night:( I got a tear in my eye as it drove off.  The 4Runner has been the best car we have ever owned, so I recommend to anyone in the car market.  We had to sell it off because our Volvo has been sitting in the driveway awaiting a very expensive transmission, and this will give us the money to finally do it. 

Last One Standing

While leaving 1770, Jay and I drove down the main drag, and this is the only house left standing from the days of the Sanderosa.  

Our Spot

Today is mine and Jay's 20 year anniversary.  Twenty years ago today, we went out on our first date.  He picked me up in his Honda Accord, and we went to Van & Lillie's for ice cream and then to see Terminator 2.  Hard to believe.  So this past Saturday, Jason/Sally/Janie took Solon for the night, and Jay and I went to 1770 and sat on the beach with a few drinks and tried to catch a sunset.  1770 is the scene of a lot of our relationships big events:)  We 'met' here in 1979 when we were babies, spent holidays/vacations here from 1992-1995 and got married here almost 6 years ago.  It was fun sitting out there and talk about all the things we have done over the past two decades and all the things we want to do in the future. 

Happy Anniversary to the best boy in the world.

OVERINDULGED

All five of us went to our favorite place to eat on Friday night, Global Grill.  It is a tapas style restaurant and the food is out of this world.  As usual we over-ordered and were all so full that we barely made a dent in my birthday-creme-bruelle:)  The best things we ate...Chili Releno, Lamb Loli-Pops,  Tuna/Corn Dish, Crab Cakes and Lobster Tails.  Afterwards, I opened a couple of presents:)  I got some cool accessories (feathers for my hair and studded bracelet), my first cast iron skillet!, a pine cone candle (about time), a family-portrait frame and my Smith County Watermelon Magnet (homemade).  After dinner, we walked down to a little wine bar and enjoyed the outside street scenery.  It was such a great night.  I wouldn't have wanted to be anywhere else on my birthday.

Getaway

Jay booked us two nights on the beach, and it couldn't have been more perfect.  Jason and Jay took off early Saturday morning on a long bike trip, and Solon and I had breakfast on the patio overlooking the pool.  Then we waited for Sally, Luke and Ansley to show up, and we swam.  The guys surfaced around 11 looking pretty tired.  We had so much fun in the water and even took the boys down to the beach/ocean for a bit. I didn't have my camera with me on Saturday so will have to rely on Sally to post some pics!

Soundtrack To My Day

I had this record waiting for me in the kitchen this morning from Jay:)  He is taking me to Pensacola for my birthday, and I couldn't be more excited.  We have dinner reservations at our favorite place, Global Grill, at 8, and Sally, Jason & Janie will be joining.  Then we will be spending the weekend at a hotel on Pensacola Beach.  Solon already has his goggles and boogie board packed! 

Every year on my birthday, my mom would call and start the conversation by singing me happy birthday and then re-telling me the story of the day I was born.  I can hear her now.  I was due in early September, so my mom was going to take off a bit of time from work before I arrived.  So her last day of work was on like a Wednesday, and sure enough she went into labor that next day..two weeks early. I totally bummed out her nice relaxing break:)  I was born at 4:45 pm, and my mom always said she just couldn't believe it had been XX many years because it just felt like she had me yesterday.

I am going to miss that phone call today from Momma.  But I have had a lot of my super wonderful family call me this morning and serenade me..Nanna, Aunt Mary and Uncle Bobby and Silly and Janie-Belle!  Ann showed up this morning to give me a birthday hug! And I have had so many friends send me best wishes.

Paul Mcartney said the best song ever written was "God Only Knows" by the Beach Boys.  I am listening to it now...and packing.  Thank you everyone for making my morning feel special.

New Look

Solon went and picked out his own pair of goggles Saturday.  Jay tried to convince him to go with the smaller...cooler...ones, but he wanted these.  He had fun using them at the pool all weekend.

Found A New Purpose

Well, the stump finally found a job.  Solon sat there and played with his trucks and talked to Jay while he mowed.  He looked so cute when he was focused on his toys.  His little lips all poked out.

So Special

I guess Solon thinks Jay's bike helmet works as a baseball helmet as well.  We sat outside and hit a few balls while Jay mowed the yard. 

Shake It

Solon and I made up a dance this week.  We call it the "Cottage Cheese Dance."  It came about because he got so excited one afternoon when I was making him a snack of cottage cheese...that he started dancing this little jig.  Hands clapping, knees kicking high and blinking your eyes kind of crazy.  It is going to totally go international.

Big and Fluffy

This is Momma's big fluffy cat, Jack.  She adored him, and he is about the sweetest thing ever.  He kind of acts like a dog and definitely weighs as much as one.  Anyway, Luke and Jack got on great last time they visited Momma, so he is now a resident of the Rabinowitz house:)

Tired Little Campers

We finally made it back to Pensacola Saturday evening, and we were all beat.  We all took a quick swim in the pool, and the boys enjoyed some PJ time in their matching Thomas shirts Momma got them a long time ago. 

A Little Family History

On our way out of town Friday, we stopped by the Sidon Cemetery to see if we could find our great-grandparents headstones.  My mom's dad grew up in Sidon, MS which is a very small delta town.  I was 13 when my great-grandmother, Money (Viola Brown Sanders), passed away, so I had a vague recollection of her being buried under a big tree. 

It was neat seeing all these names that are part of my history.  I took a picture of the Brown family headstone.  Solon's namesake, Solon Irving Brown, is buried here as well I am sure, but I was so beat by the heat that I forgot to look for him. 

My mom loved her family from Sidon, so us girls decided to add one more place on the list to sprinkle Momma's ashes.  We will make a special trip here in the next few months for her.

Note:

Picture 1:  Brown family headstone
Picture 2:  S (Momma's sister who died at birth)
Picture 3:  J. Stanny Sanders Sr. 1888-1932 (my great-grandfather)
Picture 4:  Viola Brown Sanders April 4,1894-March 1, 1988 (my great-grandmother Money)

Off To Missouri

We drove Momma's car up to Greenwood.  Our cousin, Julie is in need of a better vehicle, so we were all happy to see it going to someone in the family.

It was hard to say goodbye to it though.  Just picturing her in it with her huge sunglasses.  Hauling all her little happys that she found in her stores.  Parking by sound.  Scaring any passenger brave enough to ride with  her because she was so scatter-brained.