Superman and Oatmeal

I've been living in my daddy's Superman tshirt this week and eating a LOT of oatmeal... just the way my mom always made it for me. Butter + Cinnamon + Sugar.

I'm hoping my daddy's shirt has been giving me super-powers for my HESI on Friday!

Maybe I should wear it to my test?

I'm seriously considering this possibility.

Oatmeal for breakfast is a M.U.S.T. no matter what!

The sweet comforts of home and loving, encouraging parents. What more could a girl ask for at such a time? Or any time?

I WILL! I WILL! I WILL PASS HESI!

Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday, Sandye!

Hope you have an amazing day!

After all...

You'll never have to spend another day in junior high on your birthday EVER AGAIN... unless you choose to!

And you KNOW that's exciting!

The Time Has Come...

... The week I've been worrying about since BEFORE school started has arrived :(

HESI is a mere four days away now, with a final next Wednesday (October 6) and another one the Monday after (October 11) - with a lovely away game @ South Carolina in between!

Hopefully all goes well!

Keep me in your prayers, please!

I CAN DO THIS!

I WILL!

To My Big Brother:

IT'S YOUR "BURFDAY"!

IT'S YOUR "BURFDAY"!

Happy "BURFDAY", Big Guy!

I hope you have the most amazing day!

Hey... One more thing:

It's your "BURFDAY"!

You're 26 today, Big Guy, and it seems like just yesterday we were running around the old church gym skating, playing baseball every Saturday and fighting with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - or better yet, each other! Thanks for being such an amazing person... for always looking after me... for being my protector and my friend! I'm so proud of you!

LOVE YOU, MEAN IT

Michael Franti & Spearhead - Say Hey (I Love You)

Hoda mentioned this song on The Today Show one morning a couple of weeks ago and now Dave and I run around singing it all the time!

It's so upbeat and lifts your mood immediately!

It reminds me how loved I am - by so many!

Hope everyone has a wonderful week!

"Thankful For"...

...Getting to spend a weekend at home!

I miss my family!

Dave missed his family + Susie!

Eight Months Away!

That's right, folks!

We are eight months away from our big day, and as it continues to draw near, I can't help but get a little more excited AND think about all the things I still have to get in order!

I can't wait for school to slow down enough for my mom and me to get back to planning!

Fall Flower Dress-Up

Our summer flowers were starting to look a little scraggly. I guess you could say they've been neglected to the point of burning up! That's ok though! My memories of Fall are full of mums and pansies and nothing makes me feel better than to be able to bring a little bit of home to our little abode. After a quick trip to the Home Depot, I came home with a plethora of pansies and red mums. They soon found themselves in my window boxes (even though they aren't technically under our windows), hanging baskets and pots! Flowers are such a nice way to spruce up the outside and give you a little something to smile about when you walk up to the front door! I'll take another picture when everything starts to bloom!

As Promised!

Here are the rest of the fabulous pictures my daddy took AT the game on Saturday!

Thanks Daddy! They are wonderful and encompass SO many great memories already!

Yay for our play date with Ginger!

OK... So this chick... Was h.i.l.a.r.i.o.u.s.! Her and her drunk friends and her friend's mom and aunt (I think), were out of control! Poor Daddy. She talked his ears off, too. Just mention Notre Dame and this girl is hooked!

My Football Buddy!

Special to my Daddy: I am so happy you finally got to experience such an incredible game IN the student with me! I feel honored to be able to say I have been in the presence of Joe Pa... especially after growing up seeing you wear your lovely Penn State shirt!

The Gang!

(picture per the chatty-cathy in front of us! THANK YOU!)

So, I made good on my promise! Hope we could make you all feel a little closer to the action that was here in TTOWN on Saturday!

Coming Up: Two weeks worth of away games + Tons of HESI studying --> One Happy Little Girl (hopefully)!

Happy Monday!

Game Day Recap

There's no better way to spend a Fall Saturday than getting ready to watch the Crimson Tide! ESPN felt the same way this weekend, and pulled out all the stops to make sure the coverage for this week's game against Penn State was covered! They starting rolling in earlier in the week to set up for Saturday's big game.
Wake-Up time on game day is SUPER early, especially if tailgating AND Game Day is involved! Dave and I wanted to get everything set up on the Quad prior to heading out to the morning festivities so we could enjoy the lunch-time games when we got back! On our way out there, though, we noticed some other people s.u.p.e.r. excited about a day full of football!
While making our sign for Game Day, we got to see Saban... We think he was pretty excited about the day's game, too!
Special for our sweet friend who's moved so far away (not really that far, but far enough). We missed you Brooks, but we're glad you were up to see your sign!
It was Coach Bryant's birthday!!! (I was really excited about this picture until I realized the lady who took it had cut off his head. RATS!) ...Now we're getting closer to the cameras! Hey Austin, Can you see us yet?

You probably can't tell from this picture, but it was pouring down rain at this point... and it actually cooled things down a little. Oh, to be little again and play out in the rain.... Maybe... I dont think I ever actually did that. :(
Because it was SOO hot, we had opted out of carrying around rain gear with us. Instead, we made our own make-shift poncho's from garbage bags! Go ahead and laugh... but they were perfect! They kept us dry when it rained and when we decided to sit down! PERFECTION :)

We REALLY wished there had been some markers lying around so we could've made some cool spell-out or something! Maybe next time... :)

YAY for tailgating with The Gladden's TWO WEEKS in a row!
Special to The Gladden's: We had a blast! I hope there's many more fun games ahead!
Contrary to popular belief, there are times I forget to whip out my camera, and today happened to be one of them. Daddy had his camera with him for a good part of the day, just snapping away... so I kinda forgot to take some of our usual pics. But, I'll be sure to fetch a few good one's I know he took and get those on here! Until then, here are a few shots from the end of the game! Dave, Daddy, Ginger and I all sat in the student section and boy oh boy did we have fun! I was a little concerned in the beginning but all went well! We had L.O.T.S. of laughs and made a tons of memories - most of all getting to experience a fabulous Penn State game, coached by one of the greatest legends, ever (after The Bear, of course)!

I feel so blessed for such a special weekend! Good times with family and friends... It doesn't get much better than that (we missed you Mom!). We hope everyone has had a fun and relaxing weekend, reflected on the special memories September 11 hold for us all, and gave someone you love a big hug and a ROLL TIDE!

Are YOU Ready?

We're getting pumped about this weekend's game, are you?

Dave and I had a little deal last year, that if I helped him put up the tents for our tailgate, he would pull me all the way back home on the wagon!

Let me tell you what... This is the BEST way to cruise around campus!

Davis: I'll help you every week for a little ten minute "ride" on the wagon!

R.O.L.L. T.I.D.E.--- Beat Penn State!

(Even though I'm pretty excited about getting to see Joe Pa! What an honor!)

"Thankful For..."

...realizing that "I can not do it all", and yet having a wonderful support system to help me try!

Over the last four weeks of school, doing homework and HESI studying and being away from my family, I've come to realize just how much my Heavenly Father can nurture those needs I have to T.R.Y. and do it all! Over my time here at college, I've had to learn to rely more on Him than myself... and that's been hard, but TOTALLY humbling!

THREE WEEKS and counting... THREE WEEKS!

The Lord, Your God, is with you. He is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you. He will quiet you with his love. He will rejoice over you with singing. --Zeph 3:17

Lord, I pray that You would continue to guide my life, with Your will, note mine. That You would take great delight in my service to you and rejoice over me with Your singing. How awesome You are!

(<-- lovely poster is from Jones Design Company! Go check her out!)

Snack Time and Art

Anyone that has ever sat at a dinning room table studying for countless hours knows that at some point you need a little break, or more importantly a SNACK!

AND, any little girl knows that the parentals don't like for you to go out and about after dark by yourself :)

I have been wanting a McDonald's apple pie for a while now and decided I would hold my breath and ask Dave if he would ride along with me to go get one (let the record state I was asking this DURING a race)! He nicely obliged and off we went. He got his usual M&M McFlurry and I got my two apple pies for a dollar (which I was so excited about). On our way home, though, we happened upon another nice little surprise! JD's had painted their building... complete with a beautiful little addition!

Man... Don't you just LOVE it?

We did ;)

THIS is Alabama Football!

Saying that we were excited for Saturday to arrive was an understatement! Momma, Daddy and Sam came down for the game... which was a good enough in itself, but then Momma cooks us this INCREDIBLE lunch which topped the day off with even more goodness! After lunch, though, we definitely needed to take a little walk :)

To The Walk of Champions we went!
And then we felt like we needed to take a moment to relish in the glory of Nick Saban and where they are going to put a new statue of him in order to commemorate his National Championship victory!

...TWICE!

After heading home to get our last minute game-day things in order, we had some wonderful friends stop by to see us! The Gladden's were just as excited as we were and agreed to a quick picture before heading out!

(*Thank You, Sweets Friend - Ginger and Megan!)

Dave and I thoroughly enjoyed the game! We scored some amazing seats and can't wait for next week's encounter with Penn State!

Ginger: We have everything under control seating-wise! We found the perfect place! Can't wait to share next week's game with you!

All in all, we had a remarkable Saturday which was a perfect segway into a long weekend! A little play time, a lot of work time.... all is right in the world of Duck and Dave!

Special to Mom and Dad: Thank you for everything this weekend! We had a remarkable time with you guys and can't wait for more weekends just like it! Lunch was more than we could have asked for and so was the company! LOVE YOU and we'll see you next week! ROLL TIDE!

"Thankful For..."

... my Complex Client midterm (yep, a midterm already) to be o.v.e.r. and some BIG BAD WOLF BBQ NACHOS to kick off football season!

No really. I have a lot to be thankful for today. Let's do a list to recap this week:

• a. Wonderful support from everyone and positive encouragement to get through the week!

b. ONLY five more weeks of school until I can hopefully feel a huge sigh of relief!

c. My parents are coming down tomorrow to give me lots of BIG hugs and have a wonderfully exciting day enjoying some Alabama football!

d. Having such sweet friends --> a ticket for Dave to the football game! (*Thanks Ginger and Megan!)