'Tis Merry Halloween!

Hope you all have a wonderful Halloween!!

Getting ready for Halloween!

Earlier this month, I started getting the house ready for Halloween!

Mama came up for lunch one day and bought a pretty white pumpkin for me, so I bought a couple of gourds to go with it and placed them outside our front door...

along with our carved initial pumpkin and fall leaves...

Since I had the outside looking fallish, I had to put a couple of little Halloween touches inside too!

I started with our entry piece...

and bookcase... (I just had to hang my little flying witch!)

Then on to our little chests...

I just love this little cornucopia I found while shopping with Molly, so I put a few gourds in it and placed it near the cute little bunnies Molly gave me - Thanks Molly! I then placed a grouping of some of my favorite pumpkins near our fireplace... Toula, of course, had to come out to check out my handy work and play for a bit!
I then moved into the kitchen where I put my little pumpkin basket Mama gave me for holding candy while I was at State on our island...
along with a few other Halloween touches...

And, of course, I had to set our table for Halloween - complete with little ghosts!
and put out my little pumpkins with ribbon on Ma's tea cart and for our little bunny to hold...
I found the cutest acorn gourd and just had to bring it home! I found the perfect place for it with our little bunny out back!

Tonight, Charles and I had a fun evening carving Jack-o-Lanterns!

We got our table all set up and our pumpkins cleaned off...
Then it was time to cut the tops off... and scoop out the goop...
my favorite part!!
Charles found a little less messy way to get rid of his goop...
Next, it was time to decide on our designs. Charles always thinks up a cool, cute design!Charles's design turned out great again this year...After drawing on the designs, it was time to carve the pumpkins!
Our finished jack-o-lanterns...

and, of course, I had to get a picture of us with our jack-o-lanterns!
After finishing with the carving, we brought our jack-o-lanterns inside for Toula to see. She was a little apprehensive at first, but she gradually made her way over toward them...She then got a little brave and decided to stare Charles's jack-o-lantern down...When Toula figured out that they weren't going to hurt her, she got very curious and began exploring and sniffing all around them!

After letting Toula take a look, we took our jack-o-lanterns outside and found the perfect spot for them... I can't wait to welcome the little trick-or-treaters this weekend!

Football Fun...

Friday, October 2nd, Charles and I headed to Batesville to watch the Y'all vs. Us game of the week - South Panola vs. Olive Branch. We met Mama and Jerry for dinner and then headed over to Matt and Mary Ann's.
We watched Nathan play for a bit...

while I held Peyton...

She is just so sweet!

Charles then chased Nathan around the house, and they played "Gotcha"! They had a great time! Nathan then decided to give Charles a run for his money...
Nathan is so cute! He is so funny and smart too! After all that fun, they decided to take a little break so that Charles could hold Peyton...
We then all walked to the game. We sat with Mary Ann, Peyton and Nathan and had a fun time watching the game and visiting...

It was a perfect night for football - sweater weather, so I was really excited!

The stands were packed with SP fans... Nathan was so funny! He told me he wanted the tiger mascot to come see him - in his words: "Right now!" Mary Ann took Nathan down to see the mascot, and I had a great time holding Peyton!

We had fun watching the game...

A jumbo tron was set up, so we could catch all the action and see replays!We watched the bands at half-time...After each SP touchdown, we saw beautiful fireworks... and even more fireworks after the game...

The Tigers played a great game and came away with the win!
We had a wonderful evening with the Dillons and South Panola football!

The following Monday night, we went to Cliff and Robin's for the Packers/Viking showdown. It was great to visit with everyone, and Cliff made some delicious home-made pizzas! Holden was so cute...especially when he started dancing to the music that was playing in the kitchen! It was fun to visit with the girls while the guys watched some football, and funny to watch Cliff - who likes Brett Favre - and Charles - who doesn't like Brett Favre - watch the game! We had such a great time!

A Day at the Fair

This has been a busy weekend for Charles and me. Friday night we had a fun evening with Ava. Yesterday, we watched the Mississippi State/LSU game - that loss is still hurting. Then yesterday evening, Molly and I went to a sweet wedding in Taylor, Mississippi, followed by a fun reception at the Big Truck Theater.

Today, we headed to the DeSoto Civic Center for the Mid-South Fair (the first time it has been in DeSoto County). Mama, Daddy and I used to go to the Mid-South Fair every year, and it was so much fun at the fairgrounds with Liberty Land and its Zippin Pippin. It was very different at the Civic Center. We arrived right before the gates opened at noon and walked around just for a bit. I wanted to watch the catfish races, so we went to their tent to find out when the race would start...While there, we checked out the world's largest mobile aquarium...We then checked out all the food vendors and enjoyed some fair food. Charles bought us some lemonade...

and enjoyed a turkey leg...while I had a sausage dog...We then headed to the area with the rides. We walked around to check out our options then bought our tickets. As we were walking down to the rides we had decided on riding, I told Charles that I wished that they had a Scrambler. Mama and I used to ride it every year, and it was so much fun. As soon as I said it, Charles pointed out the Sizzler. We stepped right up and had so much fun! As we swung around we came so close to the operator that I had to close my eyes every time we headed in that direction because I thought we were going to hit him!
After a fun (and I'm sure hard on the ears for Charles -- I love screaming on rides like this) ride on the Sizzler, we headed to the Himalaya for more fun...
We ended with a ride much more our speed...

the ferris wheel!
We were the first people to board the ride...So, of course, we stopped in increments all the way to the top and back before the ride actually started...This allowed us to get a great view of Highway 55 and the fair...

When we made it to the top and stopped, I must admit, I got a little freaked out because there was no seatbelt or other kind of restraint. Thankfully, the ride actually started soon, and we both enjoyed the views and the breeze.

After enjoying the rides, we walked through the Civic Center to see the exhibits then headed back over to the catfish races tent. The races were supposed to start at 2:00, so we got there a few minutes before then. After waiting for a little while, one of the workers told us they decided to change the races to 2:30. Well, I really wanted to see the catfish races - I thought that would be the highlight of our trip, but we had already walked all over and seen everything. We had already wasted as much time as we could between the rides and 2:00, so we decided to just go ahead and leave. While I was disappointed about the catfish races and with the scale and variety of the fair itself, Charles and I enjoyed our day together.