We are REAL fans.

Last Saturday we were probably the laughing stock of the national media - and not because we lost. Because we Floridians were bundled up in the stands when the temperatures were probably in the high 40's. I don't care - it was FREEEEEZZZIIIIINNNNNGGGG.

Had it not been for the multiple mini bottles of vodka I was forced to consume I probably would have caught hypothermia. There were layers of clothes, hats, gloves, scarves, and blankets. And a special someone to cuddle up too. Sarah! I was really proud of her - she hung in like a trooper and she usually leaves the games at halftime regardless of the weather! :)

We even stayed all the way to the end hoping our Noles would get an extra touchdown and pull it out. Unfortunately our efforts were in vain as our dear Noles lost - but on their defense they just aren't used to playing in such sub-zero temps!

It's just Friday.

You may ask - why the get-up? What's the purpose of the fancy costume? The crown? Is it her birthday or something? Nope it's just another day in our house. Kendall dresses up frequently and even leaves the house in these wonderful (hear the sarcasm) outfits. She is that child you see at the grocery store bedecked in faux jewels and tutus. Yep, that's my kid. But I guess its just another reason that we love her.

Catching up...

So, it's been a few weeks. So here's a recap of some of the crazy things we've done.

Halloween was a great success. Kendall has a blast with Rutger and Rafferty Mowry (cousins/nephews of Eli/Laura who I used to nanny for YEARS ago). Anyway, Henry is Laura's younger brother and Kasey is his wife and they live about 3/4 of a mile from us and we are good friends with them. Tinkerbell costume was a huge hit and even held up during some brief scattered showers. Rutger was a Man in Black and Rafferty definitely had the best costume of the night and was Indiana Jones. Precious!

After Halloween it was a whirlwind of activities gearing up for Election Day. We had a huge parade through Jacksonville. Governor Mike Huckabee, Lynn Swann, Jack Kemp, and Pat Sumerall were the Grand Marshalls and it was alot of fun. It was Kendall's first time riding in the back of a pick up truck!

On a sad note, the restuarant John was managing shut down leaving him somewhat jobless (although he returned to his old job almost immediately). The original 2 owners parted ways shortly after the restuarant opened and rather quickly the remaining owner decided the restuarant biz just wasnt' for him and sold.

The is why Kendall was with me at the office all day on Election Day. She was actually quite well behaved and mildly useful. She waved signs on the road and was hiliarious! She would shout "Whoo Hoo - John McCain!" and "Oh yeah, McCain Baby!". She was also upset the next day when we told her that her beloved John McCain had lost.

We've been hanging low lately gearing up for the holidays and whatnot. It's been uncharactristically cold here in Jax so we've been having fires every other night or so. Hope it warms back up - I live in Florida for a reason.

I'm trying...

Well it's now been 4 days since the election and I'm still not ok. I am absolutely bewildered at the American people and completely irate with the media and Hollywood. Let me assure you that this isn't a Democrat thing - it's all about which Democrat was elected. Hard to imagine me saying this, but I'd have been fine with Hilary.
But it's about HIM. I think he's scary and I truly am scared for our country. I did alot of research on HIM, his associations, his past, and his plans. Needless to say I was less than thrilled. It's extremely upsetting to me to have a First Lady who has only spent 6 months of her life proud of her country.
Regardless, I'm still crushed. I've been looking for the silver lining and having to put trust that God has a plan. I've never had to deal with such a loss like this - there were so many people fired up for McCain and Palin. I just don't know what happened or what went wrong.
I'm confident I'll never like him, but I don't have to. Lord knows how many people have been so outspoken over their dislike of President Bush (whom I still love.) I'm trying to get over this but it's been really hard for me. I know how many people spent sleepless nights working hard to get McCain elected.
I'm just trying to learn to respect him by January 20th, but I still have 2 months of tears to shed before then.

A labor of motherly love

One of the wonderful qualities Kendall has inherited from me is my sense of rationale. I'm overly rational, you should see me at the grocery store. So when discussing and deciding her Halloween costume this year - her sense of being overly rationale kicks in. She wouldn't be Snow White because she would have to wear a wig, not Ariel because it's hard to walk in, her hair wasn't long enough to be Sleeping Beauty or Cinderella.
"Mom, Tinkerbell has short blonde hair like me, so maybe I should just be Tinkerbell for Halloween?"
Well it seemed like a good decision, not too popular, had to be a pretty easy costume to find...and it was - but the costumes at the store were so chin-cee. The Target costume was so pitiful the hanger it came on probably cost more to manufacture, the Deluxe official Disney costume at the Disney Store was chartreuse crushed velvet and light up wings. So I decided - I'm crafty - I can do this. How hard can it be? A little sparkley green dress, some wings, slippers - instant Tinkerbell.
Now the underlying problem with this thought process was that I am in the middle of an election..in fact days away and my free time is extremely limited. The other problem was that after deeper thought I realized I needed to go to 4 separate stores to get all the products to make the costume and I would have to pull out the sewing machine.
I worked on it for awhile on Tuesday night and finally finished it up tonight. I'll admit, it's a little ghetto - I'm still a newbie on the sewing machine. But it's quite obvious who she is and she LOVES it - and that's all that matters right?
This picture it's about 98% done, but I put the finishing touches on it tonight and I'll post pictures from Halloween later this weekend.

A night at th Fair

It's that special time of year...you can smell fried food and carnies...the fair is in town. I opened my big fat mouth at work and suggested that the Republican Party get a booth for McCain and the local candidates and who do you think gets stuck organizing, setting up, and manning it? Yep - me.

John and Kendall came out on opening night. Kendall rode alot of rides and still seems to be the no fear-cavalier. However, the most exciting thing to happen to her was when Daddy won her 2 new fish! She's named them Dragon and Kate and I have no idea why.

Overall it was a great fall family night even though it was pretty chilly!

GO Noles!

The whole family went to Tallahassee this weekend for the VA Tech vs. FSU game. We got to spend some time with Jon Townsend and Missy. It was a beautiful day for a football game and even better when the Noles won!

FSU has even come up to #15 in the BCS! Whoo Hoo!!