Kickin' it Mississippi Style

Every Friday (or almost every Friday) we have what is called "Mississippi Friday". This consists of sitting in lawn chairs on our carport, kicking back, relaxing, drinking a few beers/sometimes wine and eating munchies (pizza, burgers, brats, etc). It is really fun! Some of you might have gotten late night phone calls from Todd or Gary...another result of Mississippi Friday (they tend to do that sometimes).

It all started with Todd and Gary coming home on Fridays and the three of us would sit outside...they would tell me how their day was. (At first the nights were pretty chilly for me but now they are warmer! I enjoy hanging outside on Fridays more...it's my kinda weather now!) It seemed to get earlier and earlier...until eventually I would come home from work and Todd, Gary, and Gaither would already be hanging out on the carport. From there it just grew and grew! We would tell people that we were just chillin' at our house and to stop by if they wanted to. Also due to the fact that we are the second house inside Capitol Village everyone passes our house to go home...people that know us would just stop by on their way home to talk and would run home, change, and come back to hang out. The more the merrier! Now, it has grown to quite the ordeal! (I always have extra food in my freezer and our backup plan is to call for pizza!)

At first we were not very well equipped but we quickly purchased the appropriate "stuff"....we now own more lawn chairs (some people bring their own chairs, along with their beverage of choice) , we have tiki torches and citronella candles (the mosquito's can be pretty wicked). One of our last Mississippi Fridays, I took some pictures and I will share some with you. (I won't go into too much detail but some of them might need an explanation!) They are hysterical! Its a good way for all of the guys to unwind and not have to worry about anyone drinking and driving! (We just have to monitor Norris on his bicycle!!) Here we go....
It was an early Mississippi Friday and the girls got to come...they had a fun little movie night...the only one that has not been in any of our pictures yet is Sophia (the one on the right in the pink shirt...she is Rory and Michelle's younger daughter)

Normally we are in one big circle...but that night people were kinda scattered all over.

Different Angle...still chillin' on the carport.

A little student pilot huddle

Rostowfske, Norris, Drew, and Stooks

I put this one in because I want to introduce you to a funny character by the name of Norris. His name is Michael Norris but they all call him "Norris" or "Chuck Norris". It looks like he peed his pants however that is not the case. He was on his cell phone, not paying attention, and spilled his drink in his lap...he was trying to cover it up in this picture so no one would see it. (That didn't work too well!) He is a very random and funny individual!! (We are not sure sure who is "smoother" him or Rico.)

That pretty much sums up Mississippi Fridays. If we have any more funny pictures/stories I will be sure to share them...talk to you soon!

Gulf Shores Trip

Hi guys....

I just thought I would update everyone on "the happenings" in MS. Last weekend over memorial day, 16 of us (including kids) went down to Gulf Shores, AL to enjoy fun in the sun for 3 days. We all stayed in one house-it was right on the beach. It had 6 bedrooms, five bathrooms...the place was awesome! It was so much fun...just what everyone needed! (to forget about all of the pressure back in Columbus!)

We left about 1:00 on Friday afternoon and on the trip down it poured! It was so bad some of the vehicles in our "crew" pulled over, it was so hard to see! We all managed to get there safely and get settled in! A few of us hit the grocery store to get food for lunches and some snacks. After that we kicked back and hung out on the deck. Some actually decided to go swimming in the ocean in the wee hours of the morning and had a great time! They said that the water was pretty warm!

The next day we had a great day out on the beach... we played in the water-the kids loved to jump the waves, we used the boogie boards, built sand castles, etc. (Some of the guys took a field trip to get one of them a beach towel and lunch...3+ hrs later, they came back. They were "scoping out a good place to eat dinner that evening"...needless to say, they found a few bars in the process.) Some of us just hung out (I was at the beach all day-loved it!!) Then we all got ready (thank goodness we had so many bathrooms!) and decided to go out to dinner. Not everyone liked seafood so they picked a place that had a little bit of everything. It probably was not the best idea...after everyone was ready to go and after an hour of waiting for tables we ate at about 9:00.

Looking back at it, it was pretty funny...everyone was exhausted from a full day out in the sun, we were starving (I was so hungry...I had a rice krispie treat for lunch, needless to say I wished that I ate a little bit more!) We had to split up into 3 tables...at our table we just sat there. We didn't do much talking at all...we were like zombies. Todd had a migraine, we were all starving and most of us were all "sun kissed". (Some more than others). The food was ok...we all were not very impressed but you never know until you try a place how it will be! Anyway, we went back to the house and everyone was beat...we all went to bed. (Todd was shivering when he was getting into bed and could not shake his migraine-needless to say I think his body was not very happy with all of the sun exposure that day!)

The next day we got a later start (some people, like my husband, were a little burnt and did not play on the beach until a little later in the day.) I just have to add the fact that if you do not wear any sunscreen (Todd) you are going to get burned!! The day before I had to force him to wear sunscreen at least on his face...he decided to wear it Sunday on his own! We had another great day on the beach....played a little football, went swimming, etc. We grilled on the deck for dinner and just kinda hung out again. Some people decided to go out to a bar and some stayed in. It was just nice you could do whatever you wanted and no one really cared! The next day we packed up and headed home. The drive back was definitely nicer (no rain). One of the guys even got a little memorial day present when the cop decided not to give him a speeding ticket!! That was kinda nice! Here are a few pictures from our trip...

This is a picture of the inside of the house we stayed in (kitchen/dinning room area). From left to right it is Wasson, Stephanie, Buddy (her husband), and Todd.

Anna and Michael

Here is a picture of 3 of the 4 kids.

From left to right-Chasity (Steph and Buddy's younger daughter), Alexa (Rory and Michelle's older daughter) and Alexia (Steph and Buddy's older daughter). If you look behind them, you will see the pink house...that is the one we stayed in.

The view from our deck.

Football Game

From left to right-Me, Michelle, Todd, Rory (Michelle's husband), Steph, and Stooks.

Michelle, Anna, and Stephanie hanging out on the porch.

Todd after a nice refreshing dip in the ocean.

Pulling into the gate back at Columbus was a little depressing! However, we will have a lot of memories to cherish...this was one trip we will never forget!