Guitar hero champion

Mallory did good for her first time playing guitar hero on the XBox 360...with help from uncle Rob...all the kids (adults too) are having fun with the game.

Hi from Mallory and Bully

Today Mallory went to Parker's 4th birthday party. All the kids came dressed in their favorite team jersey/cheerleader outfit. They had a very special guest...Miss. State mascot Bully! The kids were excited and had a great time. The Downings are up from Mobile this weekend. See Hallie smiling...she's excited to see her cousin. :~)

Merry Christmas from the Howells

The girls were excited this morning to see what Santa brought them. Mallory said, "We got everything on our list"! Mackenzie said, "I'm ready to go duck hunting"! Lola was able to see what Santa brought before she went to work. Santa's letter said, "I hope to see you in your new house next year". We closed on our house on Fri. Dec. 21st and hope to move in by end of January! :~)

Cookies and Milk for Santa

After the girls put out cookies and milk for Santa then they drank their "Magic Santa Sleep Potion". Mackenzie's teacher Mrs. Lantz gave her the instructions and mix...it worked! They are asleep and hoping Santa will visit them tonight! :~)

Christmas Eve in Carthage

This evening we went to Carthage for Christmas with the Howells. Brody, Lorrie and Mikaela are down from Massachusetts. Mimi cooked a great meal...the girls baked cookies for Santa...they had fun playing with their cousin and especially enjoyed opening presents!

Christmas greetings to y'all!

This weekend we had "Christmas in Mobile". It's the Downings' first Christmas in their new house...and Hallie's first Christmas too. We had a nice time visiting, kids were excited about their presents, and also had time for a pinata (Lolo promised Mallory). Poor Sponge Bob the kids really whacked him hard! After I get off work tomorrow (Christmas Eve) we will be going to Carthage for Christmas with the Howells. It'll probably be late when we get home so two little girls will have to go straight to bed so Santa can come visit them! :~)

Little Misses

This afternoon Mackenzie went to The Body Bar Day Spa for An'Dria's 9th birthday party. All 20 or so girls had manicures and pedicures! They had the whole place to themselves...listened to the Cheetah Girls and other fave songs. Mackenzie especially enjoyed the soak/massage during pedicure. They didn't have these kinds of birthday parties when I was growing up. Must be nice to get pampered at age 9! :~)

Our little dancer

Last Saturday, Mallory had her Christmas performance. She did great...all smiles...didn't miss a beat! This is her 4th year to take dance at Suzie McCraw School of Dance.

SMCSO D2 Winter Classic Tournament

We traveled to Madison, MS for the SMCSO D2 Winter Classic tournament over the weekend. Billy coached the girls...they won all 3 of their games on Saturday and advanced to the semi-finals Sunday. The semi-final game was tied 1-1 after regulation then went into overtime. The girls played tough and won 2-1 and advanced to the finals at 3pm where they played Jackson Futbol Club...one of the top teams in the tournament (12 teams in the U10 division). It was a very competitive game. Our girls gave it their all and WON 2-0! It was exciting! GO BOOMERS!

Field Trip

The West Lauderdale 3rd and 4th grade gifted art students went on a field trip to Ocean Springs, MS today. Of course you have to start the day with a healthy breakfast at McDonald's! :~) Billy was able to go with Mackenzie. A couple places they toured were the Walter Anderson Museum and Ohr-O'Keefe Museum. All the kids had a good time.

Getting ready for Christmas

We put up the Christmas tree earlier this week. This year's theme is a "Filipino" Christmas. We used poinsettias and capiz shell ornaments to decorate the tree. Mackenzie and Mallory are proud to show you the ornaments they picked out at the Christmas Place store in Pigeon Forge. We also gave Lolo and Lola a special ornament with all 5 grandkids names. On Tuesday, the girls wrote their letters to Santa. Hopefully they are on Santa's "good" list this year! :~) Mackenzie's big item is an I-tower and Mallory's is an orange bike!

Thanksgiving 2007

We hope everyone had a HAPPY THANKSGIVING! We had a traditional Thanksgiving lunch in Carthage with Papa and Mimi...smoked turkey, dressing, lots of vegetables & good ole banana pudding...mmm good! Thursday evening May, Rob, Harrison, Hayden & Hallie came up from Mobile. We had a delicious Thanksgiving dinner...Santiago style...grilled ribeye steaks, baked potatoes, salad & peach cobbler. Billy and I had our 11th anniversary on Fri. Nov. 23rd. Wow, how time flies! :~) Billy and Rob went to Starkville to see Miss. State beat Ole Miss. What an exciting football game! We had a fun weekend with the family. The girls enjoyed spending time with their cousins especially Hallie. She is 7 weeks old now. Mac and Mal were good helpers...especially Mac...she has always had the mothering qualities.

Trip to the Smoky Mountains (Nov. 16-21)

We went on a family vacation to the Smoky Mountains in Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg, Tennessee. We traveled with our friends Neil, Amanda, Anna Kate and Parker. We had a great time! The cabin was great...views were amazing...weather was nice.... We went through Cades Cove, shopped at the outlets, had fun at the Nascar park, strolled in Gatlinburg, and relaxed at the cabin. We also took a drive up to Asheville, NC to the Biltmore Estate. The Biltmore House (completed in 1895) was absolutely beautiful! America's largest home with 250 rooms! Can you imagine? http://biltmore.com/