Big Letdown in the Big Easy

Part of Dylan's Christmas this year was a trip to New Orleans to see the Saints play in the Superdome. He has been bugging Brandon to take him for a couple of years now, and with Saints hysteria in our household reaching an all-time high after the team's 13-0 start, they thought there was no better time to go. Ugggh, they wound up losing to Tampa Bay, who had won only 2 games this season!!!!
They found some great seats on Craigslist and went to the stadium early to take it all in. The Saints opened up a 17-0 lead and the party was on...until the second half. Tampa Bay rallied and wound up winning in overtime 20-17. Disgusting.
The boys had fun though and vow that they will return next season!

The Elf on the Shelf

Barnes and Nobles had their story time on Thursday night and they read "Elf on the Shelf". We went last year and Sutherlan loved it!! Dylan didn't go last year because he thought he wanted to stay home. When we got home and told him about it, he cried. So this year, we all went. It was a lot of fun! The kids got to hear the story again, meet with the "Elf--Snowball" and we got the kids hot chocolate and dessert from Starbucks. They got to do crafts (make bookmarks) after the story was over. The kids were begging all the way home for "Wentzel" to come see us at our house for Christmas. We told them that he would probably come after Thanksgiving....until then. (You never know where he will show up????)

Sutherlan's 4K Thanksgiving Program

Sutherlan had her Thanksgiving Program at school on Wednesday, November 18. They all looked adorable! They were little Indians. It was the 3K, 4K and 5K classes performing. I have to say, Sutherlan really got into it and I could hear her singing out of everyone!! They also had a Thanksgiving Feast on Monday. They had chicken nuggets, green beans, rolls and a "special dessert". She loved it!! Their bible verse for this month has been Psalm 106:1 "Oh! Give thanks unto the Lord for He is good."



"I've Got the Joy!"



"The Indian Child" by Cheryl Parvin



"Thank You Song"



"I'm Gonna Eat on Thanksgiving Day"



Hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Future Bama QB meets former Bama QB?

Last Friday Dylan finally got to do something that he's been wanting to do for almost 2 years...meet former Alabama QB John Parker Wilson. Dylan went to several games last season and would wait outside the locker room to get players to autograph his program. He would always get some good players to sign but never was able to get his favorite player's autograph. Brandon found on the Internet where JPW, who now is a backup QB for the Atlanta Falcons, was going to be signing autographs at an Atlanta grocery store so he took Dylan up there. Dylan was really excited. He took his JPW jersey and he signed it "To Dylan" which made his day. We intend to have it framed alongside this photo Brandon took of the two of them and hang it in his room soon.

Halloween 2009

Halloween was a fun night for all of us! Dylan came up with his own costume idea, which I LOVED!! He decided to be Big AL and it turned out really cute!! Sutherlan was Strawberry Shortcake. We hunted everywhere for a red wig and finally I found some red hair extensions at the Dollar Tree, which I think turned out great! We had our usual get together with our neighbors, John and Rebecca. We had several of our other friends over there too. Brandon made homemade potato soup and Rebecca had several others things such as black bean soup, sausage balls and chips with salsa. We gave away about 300 pieces of candy this year and ran out! We had to turn kids away. They were still coming at 9:45!!



Here are all the kids before we headed out for trick-or-treating.
Top Row: Ian, Ryan, Grace and Dylan
Middle Row: Mason, Bailey and Hudson
Bottom Row: Sutherlan, Jack and Grier

They all looked adorable!



Ian (The Joker) and Dylan (Big AL)

Parties, Festivals and Pumpkin Patches

Fall has been full of pumpkin patches, Fall parties and Fall Festivals. I just love this time of year! It has been especially fun since Sutherlan has been in school this year, so I not only get to enjoy doing things with Dylan's class, but also Sutherlan's class. Sutherlan's class went to the Pumpkin Patch for story time and to pick out a pumpkin to decorate for class. We had a lot of fun and she loved going with her friends. After the pumpkin patch, we all headed to the park for a picnic lunch.



Here she is before we left for the pumpkin patch. Doesn't she look cute in her dress I found while shopping with Aunt B!



Here are both 4K classes before picking out our pumpkins. Do you know how difficult it was to get 20 something 4-year-olds to stand still long enough for a photo??? Also, here they are at story time.



Sutherlan with some of her friends, Isabelle and Madison

Next, we had class parties. Both parties were a lot of fun!! The 3rd Grade had a "Candy Swap" on Friday between all the 3rd Grade classes. They each took their candy and used them for math that day. Needless to say, all the kids were on a sugar high before school was out with class parties and candy swap!





Mable White Baptist Church had their Fall Festival Wednesday night. Sutherlan was so excited because she went with me to Dylan's Fall Festival at his school and loved it. (Sorry, no pictures from his festival...I was working the festival and didn't have my camera) When she found out that her school was having a Fall Festival she wanted Dylan to come to hers. When we got there, Dylan said he loved her Fall Festival even more than his because they had a lot more to do! We had free hot dogs, chips and drinks. The kids got to play games, play on inflatables and go for a pony ride. It was so much fun watching them come down the HUGE slide together!! Last, but not least..the best part....watching them both ride the mechanical bull!!! It was a sight!

Hello "Gumbo"

Sutherlan has been wanting a puppy for a long time now and we finally surprised her with one on Wednesday. The picture above is her first time seeing him. Brandon let him run into the house and surprise her! She was so excited and I think a little startled!! She then told Brandon, "You got me a puppy!!" "I finally got a puppy". We had told her that we would keep "Speedy" until we got a puppy and when we let Speedy go, she was really upset. We found this little guy from a breeder in Perry. Brandon liked the name "Gumbo", but we wanted to let Dylan see him first before we named him. When Dylan came home from school, he was so excited. He was a little nervous to touch the puppy at first (he's not much of a dog person), but said he was not afraid of this puppy because it was his puppy and he couldn't be afraid of his puppy. Both the kids are in love with him (me too) already! I think he really likes Brandon too. He gets so excited when Brandon comes into the room and follows him around the house.

I took him to the vet yesterday to get him checked out and he weighs 4lbs. He goes back to the vet on November 7th for his third round of shots. The breeder had already started paper and crate training him, but unfortunately he has NOT been using the paper. He is sleeping in his crate at night great! He whines for just a few minutes and then we don't hear from him until morning when we get up. He is very playful and loving! We think he is very happy to be here with us!! We all decided together that "Gumbo" was the perfect name for him!

Saying Goodbye to "Speedy"

It has been so long since I have posted anything that a lot of you probably didn't even know we had a pet turtle for a while. Our neighbor found this little turtle in his backyard (well, actually his dogs did) and he brought him over to see if we wanted to keep him. The kids decided to name him Speedy (we weren't sure if it was a boy or girl, but we called it a he). We looked up turtles on the internet and how to care for them. Sutherlan loved him! Unfortunately, Speedy began trying to escape his cage because it was clear and he would spend hours climbing the sides. We felt so bad for him that we decided he would be best in our backyard behind the fence where there are woods and water. We decided to set Speedy free today and although it was hard for Sutherlan and I to see him go (because we had become so attached to him), we felt he would be happier in his natural habitat. You never know, Speedy might just hang around out back, but I bet he will be happier there and not in a little plastic cage!

We will miss you, Speedy!!!

All The Firsts

Sutherlan had her first dance class Monday night. She absolutely loved it! She was so excited to start and was showing me all the dance moves she was going to be doing. She is taking Ballet/Tap and was very excited to try out her new tap shoes. After class, she told me all about it (parents aren't allowed to watch - we have to wait outside in the waiting room :0) She said everyone was tapping their feet when they weren't supposed to and she was listening to the teacher and got a "star" sticker on her hand for listening!! I was very proud of her. She will be going to dance class every Monday from 4:00 - 5:00. I think she is going to love it!



Sutherlan with some of her friends at the dance studio -- three beautiful ballerinas!

Sutherlan also started 4K this week! She has been anxiously awaiting school starting ever since Dylan started school. She was so excited Tuesday morning that she woke up at 7:15 and sat up in bed and said, "Is it morning yet?..Is it time to go to school?" She asked me every 5 minutes if it was time yet and begging me to take her to school. We ended up having to leave the house early and go sit in the parking lot and wait for 10:00. When I picked her up, she was very excited to tell everyone about her day. We called Kiki and Pops and Nana and Papa to tell them all about it.

Of course, I had to continue tradition with Sutherlan and have her pose in the driveway with her backpack. Here it is....



This morning was her second day and she slept in this morning....until 8:45. I woke up her to get ready, but she did ask if we could do like yesterday and go sit in the lot and wait. So, we ended up leaving around 9:40 (her school is RIGHT across the street) and sitting in the parking lot until 10:00. Today, she came home singing songs from school and showing Dylan the moves to the songs they learned. She said she LOVES school and can't wait to go back tomorrow :)!!

Dylan meets Yunel Escobar!

Last Saturday was baseball try-outs for Dylan. He will be moving up to the Minor League this year and we are so excited!! He has been fired up about baseball catching every Braves game on TV that he can. Brandon found out that Yunel Escobar was going to be signing autographs at a card show in Atlanta, so after try-outs they headed that way. Yunel is one of Dylan's favorite players and he couldn't wait to meet him!



Hopefully, we will hear from Dylan's coach in the next week, so there will be more to come with Fall Ball!! Until then....

First Day of School

Summer's over and it's back to the routine! We have been busy as usual, but enjoying getting back to some sort of routine again. Right before school started, we decided to take one last trip to Lane Packing with some friends and enjoy those last few days of freedom. It was a lot of fun and the kids really enjoyed playing on the playground and eating some ice cream.





Dylan decided he wanted to get his hair "Buzzed" before school. Brandon and I said it was his hair and if he really wanted to....Why Not? So, a few days before school started we took him to Great Clips and he definitely got his "BUZZ" cut.



Here is the result:



And for those who know me...I make Dylan stand out in the driveway EVERY year with his backpack and pose for the First Day of School! He looked so cute and so grown up all at the same time. My baby is no longer a baby anymore! He is turning into quite the handsome young man, if I do say so myself.

Here is the Webb tradition continuing.....



Kindergarten



First Grade



Second Grade



Third Grade

Dylan's First Day of Third Grade went great!! He loved his teacher, Mrs. Dant, and he thinks she is really nice. The only complaint he had was that he is going to have LOTS of homework for Third Grade! He's in the big leagues now!!! I think we are going to have a GREAT year!

Going Home

The kids and I went home this past week to visit family and friends before school starts back on August 6! We had a wonderful time seeing everyone. It always goes by so fast while we are there. It seems like we don't have time to do all the things we want to do. It certainly didn't feel like we were there for a week!! We tried to squeeze as much into the week as we could including a little shopping, a small party with family and friends, going to the zoo and then heading over to Tim and Kathy's for Will's Baptism. Brandon drove over on Friday to meet us for the weekend. Every time I see Will I am amazed at how big he has gotten and it reminds me how fast time flies by.....he is already six months old!!! He absolutely melts my heart every time I see him! It was so much fun to see my niece and both of my nephews!! They are all getting so big! Thank you to everyone for such a wonderful week! We love you and miss you all!!!



Dylan and Jason Boyd (Jodi's grandson)



I was brave enough to let Dylan try out Jason's dirt bike around Nana and Papa's front yard. Needless to say, he loved it and is now asking for a dirt bike. What was I thinking???



Back Row: Me, Aunt Sandra, Charlotte, Jodi, Mom and Maw Maw
Bottom Row: Lexy, Amber, Aunt Andi, Sutherlan and Chappel













Fun at the zoo! It's one of our favorite things to do when we go home.