I've been Tagged

I've been tagged. So here are 7 random/weird facts about me. Since most of the people that read this are family, you are probably aware of most them.

1. Sleeping habits: I still sleep with my blanket from when I was a baby. Nighty-nite is now nearly 32 years old. It is looking a little shabby, but it still sooo soft! I keep a jar of Vick's on my night stand. I use to keep it in my pillow, but I've washed too many jars. Live and learn. I always fall asleep in the car. Luckily not when I'm driving, just when other folks are driving. This drives Brent crazy. I'm getting better about this.

2. I can not leave the house without my bed being made. I'm wondering how this is going to work once we move Hadley into a big bed. She might have to nap on top of the covers.

3. My sister & I were both student council presidents.

4. I was 9 hours short of a double major in chemistry (and economics). I just didn't want to take physics. It might have also lowered my GPA.

5. God told me who I was going to marry when I was little. I was about 10-12 (way before dating started) and I was praying for my husband. God told me that his name would be Br... I found this odd because I didn't know any Br's (Brad, Brian, Brent, etc.) Of course it wasn't until college that I met Brent. Once we started dating, I knew that he was the "Br..." that God had told me about 10 years earlier.

6. I have a fairly new obsession with sudoku puzzles. I've always wanted to work crossword puzzles. But with a terrible knack for spelling and limited vocabulary, it has made it virtually impossible. Then I found sudoku. I'm pretty good with numbers (especially 1-9) and I enjoy logic puzzles so this is a great fit. I also just need to know that my brain can still work. After reading silly books, playing with play-doh, and singing ABC all day, I can have a tough time adjusting to adult conversations. I like to think that working my little puzzle in the morning is jump starting my brain into action.

7. I hate cleaning bathrooms. What I really hate is the tub/shower. I guess I'm OK with toilets, but just don't make me clean a shower! It is hard to reach, you don't know if you get all the cleaning agent off, you may get wet, the shower head doesn't spray all of the wall or tub area to rinse, you have to move all the shampoo, soap, etc. . .

Okay so there are my 7 facts. Now I'm off to clean my shower. . .

Visit from Nana & Pop Pop

Over the weekend, Nana & Pop Pop drove up to see us. This was Dad's first time to our new place. I think he really enjoyed it. While in town, the ladies went to the Botanical Gardens and did some serious shopping. Hadley was not to impressed by the gardens. It was beautiful, but she didn't like all the bugs (butterflies) and animals (squirrels). On Saturday, we took them down to the Stockyards. This was also Brent's first time to the Stockyards. I think that Hadley & I have been about 3-4 times now. Pop Pop bought Hadley a new pair of cowboy boots. She was really excited!

Zoo

Gabe & Hadley Lee, Gabe, & Patricia
Kiddos with their Daddies
Hadley feeding the birds

Over the weekend, some friends of ours came up to visit. Lee & Brent did their Masters together at UA. Lee & Patricia were moved to Fort Hood after Lee finished school. Since the last time we saw them, we both have little ones. It was great to see Hadley & Gabe play together. You would have thought they were old buddies. On Sunday we went to the zoo. We live really close to the FW Zoo, but we had never gone. It is considered one of the top zoos in the nation for kids. One reason we have not been is because of the weather. I'm sure that rhino dung is really stinky in 100 degree heat! But now the weather is a little better, it was time to make the visit. The zoo had new lion cubs that we got to see. There was a neat bird area. You could feed the birds with a little stick covered with bird seed. Hadley was a little scared at first, but Gabe was really brave, so she began to follow his lead.

It is always fun to visit with Lee & Patricia. They are always on a new adventure. Lee is in the army, so they have lived all over the world. In January, they will be moving to Brazil for a year. Patricia is from Brazil, so I know she is excited to be home for a year. Hadley even picked up some Portuguese while they were here.

Tedder Celebration

Every year, my Dad's family have gotten together in early fall to draw names for Christmas. This event usually took place the first weekend of October at my grandparents house in celebration of PawPaw Mack birthday (Oct. 4). Although they have both passed, this tradition has continued, but with a few changes. Now it is celebrated near my Dad's birthday (Sept. 20) at Square Post. Dad fried fish and all that other good stuff that tastes good in grease. Then there were plenty of sides and desserts provided by aunts, uncles, and cousins. This year, Dad & I counted 52 in attendance. I know this sounds like a bunch, but I counted over 40 that weren't there. Oh the joys of a big family. There were several little cousins Hadley's age. Rex (Hoot's son) is just a couple of weeks younger than Hadley. So they had a blast together. Shaylee (Kim's daughter) and Taylor found a mud hole that seemed to good to resist. At first, Hadley did not join them. She even protested and told Taylor it was a "no no" to be in the mud. She told me that the mud smelled bad. Hadley tried hard, but those other girls just looked like they were having so much fun. So then my brave girl tipped toed across the mud. Then she walked through it briskly. Then she got a rock in her shoe, so she sat down in the mud to retrieve the rock. After that, she was running with mud splashing wildly around here. My daughter, who until recently would not step on the grass with bare feet, was a total mess.

This reminds me of a Tedder get-together on a Sunday afternoon when I was little. My grandparents lived in a house at the Stanford school. They had the key to the gym and all of us gradkids would play ball there. To get to the gym, you had to cross a ditch (sewer ditch). There was a make-shift bridge to cross it, but that was not very exciting. All of the older kids were jumping it. I thought I was just as big, so I made my giant leap across. Unfortunately, my leap "across" landed smack dab in the middle of the ditch. Did I mention that it was a sewer ditch? So instead of playing outside or in the gym, I had to take a bath, put my church dress back on, and stay inside with the grown folks. At least I let Hadley continue to play.

While In Walnut Ridge. . .

After Little Rock and Searcy, we headed on up Hwy 67 to Walnut Ridge. Brent had to go to Fayetteville for work and see the Hogs play, so it was just us girls. Hadley got to spend tons of time with Grannie & Granddaddy, Nana & Pop Pop, and the Forrester bunch. Here are some pictures from our fun filled visit. Luckily, we had several people to visit because people kept getting stricken by the stomach bug. Taylor, Jackson, Dad, and Mom all fell victim. I guess it was only by God's good grace that we did not catch it.

Visiting Family for 10 Days

As south Texans were headed north to avoid Ike, we decided to join them. We left on Friday afternoon headed to Little Rock to begin our now 10 day trip to Arkansas. Traffic was a little heavier than usual, but I heard that it was worse on Saturday. We spent a couple of days with the Halbergs. Hadley enjoyed playing with her cousins. Hadley thinks that Madelyn is something. Especially after she saw her at dance lessons. I tried to get a good picture of the 3, but it was a little challenging. Sweet little Will just sat so still and smiled really big for me. I have about 6 shots of Will and his sweet smile. Hadley was really too busy to have her picture taken.

Go Frogs!

Over the weekend, Jan & Dewey came to town to visit. While they were here, Jan & I took Hadley to the Frog Alley before the TCU football game. (Brent & Dewey went to the Rangers game.) Being me, I really didn't know where I was going or what to expect. So by the time we got to the kids Frog Alley, Hadley was exhausted and hot. We got there just in time to see the TCU band perform. We had perfect position for the parade. We were front and center. Later we did run into our friends Amanda & Tom. Fort Worth is becoming a little smaller everyday. While Dewey & Jan were here, they also did a lot of work. The yard looks much better. Dewey cut back a bunch of the shrubs and now you can see the front door! We took them to one of our favorite places to eat, Joe T's. We all had a really great visit.