If You're Heading Down To Auburn...

...don't forget to pack something navy to wear to the game. Auburn is encouraging fans to wear navy and participate in a "Navy Nightmare" for the AU vs. Ole Miss game this Saturday. The game is at 11:21am. War Eagle and Happy Halloween!

A Reminder

While making my post about the fun we had at Judd's high school reunion I received a phone call from my brother in Iraq. He seemed in good spirits. I asked him about the bombing that occurred recently and asked if he was near it. He was trying to comfort me by comparing where I work (UAB) to where the bomb exploded. He said it was like from one side of UAB to the other from his base. He said he couldn't even see the smoke cloud this time. It was the "this time" part that worried me. When I got off the phone with him I read his unit's blog. I noticed on their news feed from CNN that Iraq had released a video of the blast. It was such a reminder to me that as I enjoy life here at home Bryan and the rest of the deployed soldiers truly are at war and anything could happen. As we were getting off the phone he said he had to go and get his gun so he could eat. When I inquired, he said you have to have your gun on you to go to the DFAC (acronym for dining facility). I just thought I would post the video shared by CNN to remind everyone to continue to pray for our troops and their physical and mental well-being.

Click here to view the video

Also, here is video that Sgt. Leech from Bryan's unit made recently. I think this one gets the message across that the soldiers are in a war zone, miss their families, and need our prayers too.

Click here to view Sgt. Leech's video

Brewton, AL-T. R. Miller Class of 1999 Reunion

Judd's high school class celebrated their 10 year high school reunion last weekend. Judd and I traveled down to Brewton, AL on Thursday. As soon as we arrived his friends called him to come to a party to work on the parade float at one of his classmate's barn. I wish I had a picture of the house that goes with this barn. It is amazingly beautiful. It is a true southern home--huge, white, and has giant columns out front. BEAUTIFUL!!!!

Friday morning we went to a reception at the high school, T. R. Miller. Judd's classmates, teachers, and other alumni gathered there for some great fellowship. Then we went to lunch with his classmates at the local Mexican dive, Jalisco's. We ate in a hurry because we had to get back to the high school for the pep rally so Judd and his friends could find their seats in the Class of 1999 section. It was such a fun experience for me to attend this pep rally. I could just picture Judd with the rest of the football players as well as the rest of his friends as players, cheerleaders, and band members. It was a great opportunity to see into his world as a high schooler.

The pep rally was very cute. The reunion alumni classes present dated back to the Class of 1949. Each class celebrating their 10 or 5 year reunions from then to the Class of 1999 attended the festivities. The cheerleaders did a very long dance routine that included music from each decade. The coaches gave a speech, the band played, and the majorettes twirled. It was great!

After the pep rally I left Judd at the high school so he could begin to load the float for the parade through the center of town. He offered to treat Brenna, my brother-in-law's girlfriend, and me to have our nails done. The nail salon is just across the street from where the parade was coming so it was the perfect place to wait. Thanks for the treat Judd! Brenna and I had so much fun. Judd's class all wore matching t-shirts. They also made a banner to honor a classmate who was killed in a car accident last year.

When we were finished we walked across the street to watch the parade outside of the law office where Brenna works. It was a great place to watch. The parade was really neat. Coming from a large high school (Hoover High School in Birmingham, AL) that doesn't do any of these special things for homecoming made me really appreciate the small town celebration. It was a very special weekend.

Brenna catching some beads

me, my mother-in-law, and Brenna
The parade began with firetrucks and the band marching. Then came the cheerleaders, the student floats, and finally the alumni class floats.

Homecoming Queen

Class of 1949

Class of 1959

Class of 1969

Class of 1989

Class of 1994

Here's Judd's class--The Class of 1999

There is Judd in the middle

These were the stars of the day--the current T.R. Miller football players

After the parade we went to visit some friends at their parents' homes and then returned to Judd's mom and dad's to get ready for dinner at another friend's home (Beth) and the homecoming game. Dinner was fantastic and the game was great. The T.R. Miller tigers won. I can't remember the final score because we were doing more visiting than actually watching the game.

Abby and Judd at the game

Former Players-Judd, Wesley, Coach Smith, and Neal

Afterwards, the entire class went out for drinks. We had a great time. It was a wonderful opportunity to meet the other spouses of Judd's classmates.

Saturday night was a party at a local restaurant, Willie's. The food was good and the company was even better. Everyone in Judd's class is very friendly. We played high school trivia, watched the awards be given out for categories like who traveled the farthest (the you hate your momma award) and the who lives closest to T.R. Miller high school (the cut the cord already award). Then we were given a book with updates on each class member--their spouses names, where they work, how many children they have, and their greatest achievement since high school. Judd was very sweet and surprised me by writing his greatest achievement since high school was marrying "his beautiful wife." He earned mega points for that one.

At Judd's parent's house before the party. It felt like we were taking homecoming dance pictures. Ha.

The Langham's and the Maxwell's

Abby and Nicole

Some of the guys

Football friends

Former Auburn roommates

The boys in the class of 1999

Abby and Judd at Willie's

Judd's brother, Colby, and Brenna came to join us towards the end of the night

The weekend was a a great success and we had a blast!

Labrador Beware...

...because you might get dressed up for Halloween. Actually, probably not. I do enjoy watching a dog in a costume, but for our black lab I doubt we will make him. First of all, it is really hard to find a XL or XXL dog Halloween costume. Second, our little Cole gets so embarrassed if he is dressed up. He makes extra big sighs and looks up at us with the most pitiful face. Below is a picture of Cole I took the other day.I just don't think I can dress him up. Plus, his daddy is really not a fan of putting him in clothes. I, however, think it is hysterical. I was curious to see what all is out there for a black lab to wear trick-or-treating. I am always surprised what I can find with a quick Internet search. See the results of my search below.

Cole makes a face kind of like this when he is dressed up.

These farm animals are by far my favorite. Check out that pig and lion. Ha.

This is a look for the more sophisticated lab. Business casual for Halloween.

Somebody went to Disney!

Why anyone would want to dress their dog like a pimp is unclear to me. I truly feel for this little guy.

Apparently the skeleton is the most popular costume amongst black labs.

And last but not least, Lab Marley