It was so pretty on Sunday we took her on a walk after we got home from the Titans. She's always wanting to find squirrels, cats and dogs these days. I think we spent this entire past weekend outside playing in the yard and going for walks/tricycle rides or wagon rides (which does help keep the inside of the house clean!)
Her main problem with cats is that she just gets TOO EXCITED!!! The ones that do come close pretty much end up with a heart attack. Somehow I think the level of excitement that Pippin lives with has rubbed off on her. Enjoy!
Sunday, October 24, 2010
Gooooo Titans!
Today was a "big" day! We had tickets to see the Titans play the (Philly) Eagles. I bought tickets on a whim the morning they went on sale. I just happened to be near the computer, and since the whole season sells out in (literally) just minutes I figured I should give it a try. And I scored us a couple of expensive, nosebleed seats to today's game. The last time we went was in December 2007 - nearly 3 years ago and before there was even a mention of such a thing as a Lilli.
Lilli could go with us for free, as long as she sat in our lap. Kind of like airplanes, she could "fly free". And doesn't this look like a football loving face?
Something this sweet would surely sit in our laps and cooperate for 5 hours, right?
Uh, no. We decided to get a babysitter, because we'd ALL have more fun that way! I can't imagine entertaining her during a long football game, or taking a backpack full of toys with me to entertain her. Not happening. The seats are all so cramped and on top of each other, we and everyone around us would've been miserable. So Ms Violet came to play with her. She and Ms Violet go way back, she was one of her very first daycare teachers, and here they are having a blast back in March at a friend's b-day (I can't believe how small she was!!!) She actually left the daycare about a week before we did, so it's been about 2.5 months since they've played together and Lilli was SO excited to see her - just squealing and couldn't get out of my arms and into hers quick enough!
By the time we got parked (free in our neighborhood, thank you very much! We laugh at the people who park one block over and pay $20 while we park for $0!! Ha Ha Ha Ha suckers!) and through security and into our seats it was right at starting time! We always hear the military jets and fireworks from our house, since we live about a mile and a half away, but it's a lot more fun to see it all in person.
We had noooosebleed seats. Way on up there, only 7 rows from the top. Oh well, who cares! We actually ended up around a lot of Philly fans, which made it hard for us to know when to clap sometimes!
It was WINDY! I would've paid good money for a scrunchie. Instead we just paid good money for some pizza and popcorn. It was so windy a bunch of our popcorn flew out and showered some fans while Brent was bringing it back. I was also pretty warm in my only Titans shirt (long sleeve). The winds did keep it nicer, and it got cloudier towards the end as storms have moved in.
The game started pretty slow but in the 4th quarter the Titans woke up and ended up absolutely killing them! Lots of fireworks in the last 10 or so minutes!
Lilli had a blast on her playdate. Ms Violet fixed her lunch, took her on a wagon ride to play in the leaves, played with her toys and she took a solid two hour nap while Ms Violet enjoyed our porch swing and chatting with the neighbors. I think after spending the afternoon here she's sold on East Nashville, ha!
Can't believe another weekend is over already, boooo!
Lilli could go with us for free, as long as she sat in our lap. Kind of like airplanes, she could "fly free". And doesn't this look like a football loving face?
Something this sweet would surely sit in our laps and cooperate for 5 hours, right?
Uh, no. We decided to get a babysitter, because we'd ALL have more fun that way! I can't imagine entertaining her during a long football game, or taking a backpack full of toys with me to entertain her. Not happening. The seats are all so cramped and on top of each other, we and everyone around us would've been miserable. So Ms Violet came to play with her. She and Ms Violet go way back, she was one of her very first daycare teachers, and here they are having a blast back in March at a friend's b-day (I can't believe how small she was!!!) She actually left the daycare about a week before we did, so it's been about 2.5 months since they've played together and Lilli was SO excited to see her - just squealing and couldn't get out of my arms and into hers quick enough!
By the time we got parked (free in our neighborhood, thank you very much! We laugh at the people who park one block over and pay $20 while we park for $0!! Ha Ha Ha Ha suckers!) and through security and into our seats it was right at starting time! We always hear the military jets and fireworks from our house, since we live about a mile and a half away, but it's a lot more fun to see it all in person.
We had noooosebleed seats. Way on up there, only 7 rows from the top. Oh well, who cares! We actually ended up around a lot of Philly fans, which made it hard for us to know when to clap sometimes!
It was WINDY! I would've paid good money for a scrunchie. Instead we just paid good money for some pizza and popcorn. It was so windy a bunch of our popcorn flew out and showered some fans while Brent was bringing it back. I was also pretty warm in my only Titans shirt (long sleeve). The winds did keep it nicer, and it got cloudier towards the end as storms have moved in.
The game started pretty slow but in the 4th quarter the Titans woke up and ended up absolutely killing them! Lots of fireworks in the last 10 or so minutes!
Lilli had a blast on her playdate. Ms Violet fixed her lunch, took her on a wagon ride to play in the leaves, played with her toys and she took a solid two hour nap while Ms Violet enjoyed our porch swing and chatting with the neighbors. I think after spending the afternoon here she's sold on East Nashville, ha!
Can't believe another weekend is over already, boooo!
Saturday, October 23, 2010
Fall
It's looking a lot like fall around our house -
The pumpkins are picked and on the porch,
and a bunch of mums, too!
There are lots and lots of leaves to play in around the neighborhood,
and the field next to the firehouse is perfect this time of year for exploring!
There's lots of acorns for pitching by the old church a few doors down.....
And something else around our house is looking a lot closer to finished, too!
The pumpkins are picked and on the porch,
and a bunch of mums, too!
There are lots and lots of leaves to play in around the neighborhood,
and the field next to the firehouse is perfect this time of year for exploring!
There's lots of acorns for pitching by the old church a few doors down.....
And something else around our house is looking a lot closer to finished, too!
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Vacation Day 4, Part 2: Oklahoma and some Art!
I guess I marked my numbers off wrong, here's one more of Lilli from the Dallas museum - she picked Sue Ellen as her favorite set of hands!
From the Dallas home tour, we headed north to Oklahoma. All my research on Oklahoma didn't turn up much - it's really about Indians and stuff like that, and we didn't want to go as far as Oklahoma City. Even their welcome sign is a little pitiful - it was half covered by bushes and was a mile into the state! 
Pretty much the only thing out there - Indian reservation casinos, which are the worst.
Our destination was about an hour in, and we stopped for lunch at a Taco Bueno on the way in. It's pretty much like a Taco Bell and they're all over the Southwest. Just as we were leaving this little town we were REALLY almost in a wreck. There are a lot of things I'd like to do in life, but getting in a wreck, on vacation, in a rental car in a small town is not one of them. We were driving down a divided two lane highway, with a middle turn space, when this woman pulled out in front of us only looking right and NEVER looked left to see the cars approaching her! Brent blew his horn and slammed on the breaks, and we were able to miss her but the car in the lane next to us never even tried to stop (no clue why....) and slammed into her front end. We were really lucky that they didn't bounce into us. REALLY lucky. Lilli was a little mad that her baby doll flew off her lap.
So onward we traveled, down these little country roads, past a real working oil drill.
And we followed the signs to the Gene Autry Cowboy Museum....
Being sure to turn at the corner of Tumbleweed and Happy Trails.
And we made it! Seriously, this is pretty much grabbing for straws but we needed to do SOMETHING in Oklahoma, and according to them this is the only museum dedicated to Singing Cowboys. And it was free.
They had a ton of memorabilia, and of course lots of horse stuff which Lilli loved.
Rooms full of memorabilia for Gene Autry and the shows/actors of that time period. He's not from this area, but had bought a ranch there many years ago, so they renamed the town Gene Autry, OK and started the museum hoping to build tourists. The town has less than 100 people so it really hasn't worked out for them.
She loved looking at all the toys in cases. It was actually a really big place, lots of rooms and stuff. It used to be a school. And since we were the only people there she could run around like a wild Indian and no one cared.
Of course we had to have a fab picture outside before we left!
On this trip she got really attached to her sunglasses. She figured out she could see the TV better when it was bright with them on.....
From Oklahoma we headed back down into Texas to Fort Worth. Naturally we arrived in Fort Worth right at 5 pm and got to experience their rush hour.
Downtown Fort Worth
Fort Worth has the second largest Museum of Modern Art in the country, with New York (MoMA) being the largest. When we went to NYC a few years ago we went there and absolutely loved it, so we figured #2 would be worth visiting, too! And we got really lucky - on Tuesdays they are open until 7 pm, so we were able to be there around 5:15.
It was pretty much deserted, just us and a few other people. I don't think the late hours are widely known since on their day it says 5 pm for every day. Lilli and I walked around together and let Brent enjoy it on his own. She was actually really, really good. We talked about the paintings and she stayed in her stroller the whole time, which is the best way to tackle someplace like this because I SURE don't want to buy these pieces!
Overall the Museum was pretty disappointing. They had one piece from each of our favorite token artists, but the overall collection was pretty small (to be the 2nd largest Modern Art Museum). It was a FAR cry from New York's MoMa. The building itself is really pretty and spacious, they just don't really have all that much. And WOW - the people who worked there were SO rude. They glared at you in each room. I know their job is to protect the art but I believe you can do that with a smile!!! Seriously, they were hateful.
We wanted to stay nearby because our first stop the next morning was the Zoo, but every hotel around there was SO expensive - $150+ for just your basic Marriott/Courtyard type places like we'd been staying. So Brent got us this Extended Stay type place for cheap, and cheap it was.
I think I scratched imaginary bed bugs all night. It was clean, I guess, but it just seemed gross. And it had outside doors and I don't like that! Lilli enjoyed it....
For dinner that night we ate at one of the big Pappadeux Seafood Places. It was ok, they had lots of Cajun dishes so I got some kind of Cajun rice meal and Brent got some Spicy Shrimp.
Up next - the Zoo and Cowboys!!
From the Dallas home tour, we headed north to Oklahoma. All my research on Oklahoma didn't turn up much - it's really about Indians and stuff like that, and we didn't want to go as far as Oklahoma City. Even their welcome sign is a little pitiful - it was half covered by bushes and was a mile into the state! 
Pretty much the only thing out there - Indian reservation casinos, which are the worst.
Our destination was about an hour in, and we stopped for lunch at a Taco Bueno on the way in. It's pretty much like a Taco Bell and they're all over the Southwest. Just as we were leaving this little town we were REALLY almost in a wreck. There are a lot of things I'd like to do in life, but getting in a wreck, on vacation, in a rental car in a small town is not one of them. We were driving down a divided two lane highway, with a middle turn space, when this woman pulled out in front of us only looking right and NEVER looked left to see the cars approaching her! Brent blew his horn and slammed on the breaks, and we were able to miss her but the car in the lane next to us never even tried to stop (no clue why....) and slammed into her front end. We were really lucky that they didn't bounce into us. REALLY lucky. Lilli was a little mad that her baby doll flew off her lap.
So onward we traveled, down these little country roads, past a real working oil drill.
And we followed the signs to the Gene Autry Cowboy Museum....
Being sure to turn at the corner of Tumbleweed and Happy Trails.
And we made it! Seriously, this is pretty much grabbing for straws but we needed to do SOMETHING in Oklahoma, and according to them this is the only museum dedicated to Singing Cowboys. And it was free.
They had a ton of memorabilia, and of course lots of horse stuff which Lilli loved.
Rooms full of memorabilia for Gene Autry and the shows/actors of that time period. He's not from this area, but had bought a ranch there many years ago, so they renamed the town Gene Autry, OK and started the museum hoping to build tourists. The town has less than 100 people so it really hasn't worked out for them.
She loved looking at all the toys in cases. It was actually a really big place, lots of rooms and stuff. It used to be a school. And since we were the only people there she could run around like a wild Indian and no one cared.
Of course we had to have a fab picture outside before we left!
On this trip she got really attached to her sunglasses. She figured out she could see the TV better when it was bright with them on.....
From Oklahoma we headed back down into Texas to Fort Worth. Naturally we arrived in Fort Worth right at 5 pm and got to experience their rush hour.
Downtown Fort Worth
Fort Worth has the second largest Museum of Modern Art in the country, with New York (MoMA) being the largest. When we went to NYC a few years ago we went there and absolutely loved it, so we figured #2 would be worth visiting, too! And we got really lucky - on Tuesdays they are open until 7 pm, so we were able to be there around 5:15.
It was pretty much deserted, just us and a few other people. I don't think the late hours are widely known since on their day it says 5 pm for every day. Lilli and I walked around together and let Brent enjoy it on his own. She was actually really, really good. We talked about the paintings and she stayed in her stroller the whole time, which is the best way to tackle someplace like this because I SURE don't want to buy these pieces!
Overall the Museum was pretty disappointing. They had one piece from each of our favorite token artists, but the overall collection was pretty small (to be the 2nd largest Modern Art Museum). It was a FAR cry from New York's MoMa. The building itself is really pretty and spacious, they just don't really have all that much. And WOW - the people who worked there were SO rude. They glared at you in each room. I know their job is to protect the art but I believe you can do that with a smile!!! Seriously, they were hateful.We wanted to stay nearby because our first stop the next morning was the Zoo, but every hotel around there was SO expensive - $150+ for just your basic Marriott/Courtyard type places like we'd been staying. So Brent got us this Extended Stay type place for cheap, and cheap it was.
I think I scratched imaginary bed bugs all night. It was clean, I guess, but it just seemed gross. And it had outside doors and I don't like that! Lilli enjoyed it....
For dinner that night we ate at one of the big Pappadeux Seafood Places. It was ok, they had lots of Cajun dishes so I got some kind of Cajun rice meal and Brent got some Spicy Shrimp.Up next - the Zoo and Cowboys!!
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Potty Mouth
Lilli is all about the potty these days (except she never actually goes in it). I checked out some new books and DVDs from the library today for her about the potty and I PROMISE I had to read her this book about 20 times (in a row) tonight. She loved it, as you can see!
She is incredibly offended by the sheep who has pooped on the floor (so odd) on the second page and always says "Oh no" when she sees it. And also I find it pretty funny how interested Pippin is in the book. Maybe we'll work on him using the potty, too!
She is incredibly offended by the sheep who has pooped on the floor (so odd) on the second page and always says "Oh no" when she sees it. And also I find it pretty funny how interested Pippin is in the book. Maybe we'll work on him using the potty, too!
Vacation Day 4, Part 1: Southfork Ranch!
We got up around our usual 7:30-7:45 on Tuesday morning and had the hotel's breakfast. I'm sure it was more waffles. Ugh. We were staying just about 10 minutes from Southfork Ranch, and got there about 9:15 after it opened at 9. I was hoping we could get on the first tour - which ended up not being a problem since we were the only people there. When we walked in they asked us if we were German since they usually get their first. Ha!
They have a rather large gift shop with a museum attached. The museum has all kinds of Dallas memorabilia, including handprints of most of the main characters. Here I am with good ole JR!
Our tour was at 9:30, and no one else ever showed up so we got a golf cart ride over to the house. Pretty informal tour!
It turns out the show was only ever shot from the outside, something we didn't know until we took the tour! For many seasons a family lived here, and during the summer they would leave and the show would come in and shoot outside scenes - all the patio scenes and pool scenes, riding and ranch stuff, etc. Everything else was shot in California on stage sets. During a Super Bowl game involving the Dallas Cowboys, the location of the house was somehow leaked in a promo spot, and people starting peeking in the windows and bothering the family, so they sold the house but the show still only shot there in the summers. During a later reunion movie they did shoot some inside, but really this house was only used for outdoor stuff!
The above sliding glass door was where they'd come in and out, other than that the actors never really went around the house and a sheet was hung here "shielding" the family from the show. After the house was sold they did use some of the rooms as dressing rooms. It's really not THAT big of a house, not by today's standards.
Our tour was VERY informal. An older guy sat us down at a kitchen type table and told us all about the house and ranch. There was a little room adjacent with more chairs, I guess that's where they go if they have lots of people!! He said JR and Sue Ellen sat in the chairs above during a reunion show.
THE famous pool! Lots of great pool fight scenes in that thing!
We actually got to go out on the front balcony. The cleaning lady had used a ton of bleach or something, so he was opening the doors and said we could go out there. Normally they do not let people out on the front balcony, so that was a treat!
The rooms were decorated for each character, but pretty cheesy stuff. Nothing authentic. This was the JR bathroom. A little over the top with all the mirrors and brass!
The above patio table was the one in the show they used to eat on all the time.
They do still have lots of longhorn cattle. They have built another building with a ballroom, meeting rooms, etc. I think they really get most of their money from hosting big events. They were getting ready for a big ball that weekend. It makes sense, the show is getting further and further in the past and I'm sure demand for Dallas stuff is definitely dropping.
Mean looking things....
The gardener was out there getting everything pruned up for the big event. You would think she'd have SOME apprehension about running into the arms of a complete stranger.
But nope, none at all.
The tour guide said JR stood right there a few years ago for a promo, he has the spot marked. For some reason he did this same pose, not sure why but Lilli was game!
Lilli and I with the Ewing "mansion".
Snacks make any tour better!
From here we loaded up and headed north into Oklahoma!
They have a rather large gift shop with a museum attached. The museum has all kinds of Dallas memorabilia, including handprints of most of the main characters. Here I am with good ole JR!
Our tour was at 9:30, and no one else ever showed up so we got a golf cart ride over to the house. Pretty informal tour!
It turns out the show was only ever shot from the outside, something we didn't know until we took the tour! For many seasons a family lived here, and during the summer they would leave and the show would come in and shoot outside scenes - all the patio scenes and pool scenes, riding and ranch stuff, etc. Everything else was shot in California on stage sets. During a Super Bowl game involving the Dallas Cowboys, the location of the house was somehow leaked in a promo spot, and people starting peeking in the windows and bothering the family, so they sold the house but the show still only shot there in the summers. During a later reunion movie they did shoot some inside, but really this house was only used for outdoor stuff!
The above sliding glass door was where they'd come in and out, other than that the actors never really went around the house and a sheet was hung here "shielding" the family from the show. After the house was sold they did use some of the rooms as dressing rooms. It's really not THAT big of a house, not by today's standards.
Our tour was VERY informal. An older guy sat us down at a kitchen type table and told us all about the house and ranch. There was a little room adjacent with more chairs, I guess that's where they go if they have lots of people!! He said JR and Sue Ellen sat in the chairs above during a reunion show. 
THE famous pool! Lots of great pool fight scenes in that thing!
We actually got to go out on the front balcony. The cleaning lady had used a ton of bleach or something, so he was opening the doors and said we could go out there. Normally they do not let people out on the front balcony, so that was a treat!
The rooms were decorated for each character, but pretty cheesy stuff. Nothing authentic. This was the JR bathroom. A little over the top with all the mirrors and brass!
The above patio table was the one in the show they used to eat on all the time.
They do still have lots of longhorn cattle. They have built another building with a ballroom, meeting rooms, etc. I think they really get most of their money from hosting big events. They were getting ready for a big ball that weekend. It makes sense, the show is getting further and further in the past and I'm sure demand for Dallas stuff is definitely dropping.
Mean looking things....
The gardener was out there getting everything pruned up for the big event. You would think she'd have SOME apprehension about running into the arms of a complete stranger.
But nope, none at all. 
The tour guide said JR stood right there a few years ago for a promo, he has the spot marked. For some reason he did this same pose, not sure why but Lilli was game!
Lilli and I with the Ewing "mansion".
Snacks make any tour better!
From here we loaded up and headed north into Oklahoma!
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
It's That Time of Year!
It's time to start wearing tights with our Sunday dresses, while we play in the yard and wait for Mrs Perry to come out and chat....
For running around in the nice fall temps......
And for finally getting the rest of our holiday lights and decorations up!
For running around in the nice fall temps......
And for finally getting the rest of our holiday lights and decorations up!
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