Off to Orlando She Goes!

Well, we were very pleased to find out over a month ago, that Claire was a finalist in the national LPGA "What Drives You" Campaign!  18 girls from all over the US were selected and received an invite to the LPGA Tournament of Champions Clinic, and a 4 Day Pass to the Tournament in Orlando!  The great thing about this tournament is that is was a Pro AM with a bunch of celebrities playing alongside the pros....may I mention that the 18th hold came with a DJ???  We had an absolute blast every second...and as a special treat, our Aunt Cathie and Uncle Charlie from Ocala, FL drove down to see Claire on the final day!  Great memories were made!

After landing in Orlando, we found a hole in the wall authentic Itlalian Restaurant and it was amazing!!  A very tired Claire in this pic I might add.....

We had one free day, so Claire chose Sea World, and it was amazing!  We took it all in! 

 Tournament time!  Larry Fitzgerald!

Apparantly tons of MLB players are golfers too....

Claire enjoying Disney Springs after  a long day!

Claire was starstruck by Cole Swindell warming up on the course!

These trees were everywhere on the Four Seasons Tranquillo Course....love the moss hanging down everywhere!

Colt Ford!

Colt Ford!!

Josh Beckett!

Brian Urlacher!

Roger Clemens, Nelly Gorda, and someone else...???

Claire and Danielle Kang!  She is Claire's very favorite LPGA golfer...another petite girl!

Blair O'Neal

Gretchen with her Aunt Cathie!  So great to see her after all this time!!

Well, the trip was an absolute blast and memories were made...Claire really just soaked it all up, and realized some of these girls aren't much bigger than she!  Go Claire Go!

Principal's Honor Roll!!

Well, Claire managed to pull out straight A's this past report card and we are oh so proud!! Keep it up Claire!

Claire and her Aunt Linda, who was in town visiting from Murfreesboro!

Trying out the new glasses at the range....luckily she only needs them for homework and computer work!!!  About to head to Orlando!  Lots of posts coming soon!!!

January is off to a roaring start!

Well we've been busy around here since Christmas.....the kids both helped me out Friday at St. Vincent De Paul....so glad when they are out of school and able to give us a hand....

Jesse somehow coerced Emily to watch him play Legos (at 18years old) and they ended up haing a blast !!!

Taking Claire for a New Year's Eve treat!

 Jesse put together his Saturn 5, which was 2000 pieces, in about 6 hours....we were thinking this would take the entire break...boy were we wrong!

Claire received a personalized scent making kit, so she spent an afternoon making custom scents, and even made me a few... we had a blast!

So, we had to finally break down and buy Jesse a vehicle to repalce the old Volvo...Jesse loved that vehicle, and it was his first one.  But it was starting  to have issues with costly repairs...and we didn't want him stuck in Starkville with a dead vehicle.... So we bought him the LAST vehicle we'll ever buy for him and he was thrilled.  We didn't tell him till we were almost at the dealership to look at the vehicle.  This little Civic EX-L should be reliable and last Jesse for years! 

To end out our very busy week, our sweet cousin Annabelle is having some complications with her condition, so Claire and I packed up the crafts and games and spent part of our Sunday at St. Jude.  And we all had a blast!  We all pray she is home in a day or two!

The activity rooms at St. Jude are unlike anything I've ever seen in my life...just incredible

Claire especially loved this hand carved whale out of wood outside the elevators on Annabelle's floor!

Back to school tomorrow for Claire....her last semester ever at SFA!!!

The Cotton Bowl!!!

Well, Lance & I took Jesse to The Cotton Bowl in Dallas and we had a blast, despite the loss.....we knew it was going to be a battle, and it was.  But we are so proud of the Tigers!!  We had a great time in Dallas despite the rain, but thank goodness the game was inside AT&T stadium!  Claire stayed behind with all the grandparents, but we soon depart for Orlando, so lots coming soon!!!

we were on the largest jumbrton I've ever seen!

Happy Birthday Jesus!

 Well Merry Christmas! The last few days have been so bery busy, but so very great! We celebrated with Lance's sister and family on Saturday and just had a blast!  We celebrated with my parents last night, and went to mass last night where Claire and the SFA middle school choir performed and the Bishop officiated.  It was just beautiful!

A little fmaily selfie before leaving for mass....

Jesse and Emily...Emily and her family joined us for mass last night......great sevice and even better music!

 A very tired Momma.....

A very tired dad.....

But little bit got her dream rangefinder and a new 6 iron....she was giddy!

Jesse got his dream phone....among a few other goodies!

 We hosted our parents and Uncle Tommy and just had a blast eating and playing games!

Merry Merry Christmas!! Off to Dallas Friday for the Cotton Bowl!

Let the holidays begin!!

It feels like Christmas now that we have seen the Nutcracker...again!  This was our 10th Nutcracker together at The Orpheum and as usual, it was lovely and put us in the Holiday Spirit!

I made 70 ish cookies for Lance to take to his employees and co-workers.....if I never see royal icing again I am ok with that....ever.....

Little bit continues to practice after school at quail, regardless of temps....her old friend mr Cordell saw her playing and pulled over and started right back giving her putting tips....proud of her effort all year long!

Claire got ready with Wallace and they and a big group of friends went to the SBA junior high Holiday Dance....a lot of fun was apparently had!

Ms Claire here recently found out she is a finalist in the LPGA "What Drives You" essay contest.  She entered and now is headed to Orlando in January and given tickets to the LPG Tournament of Champoins Pro Am and received an invite to the clinic led by LPGA pros!  She is so excited she can hardly wait til January.....we will pack in a one day visit to Sea World while we are there!   Lots coming soon on that trip.....but first we will travel to Dallas for the COTTON BOWL on December 28th....GO TIGERS!

Claire's SFA 8th Grade Beta Club prepared 26,000 medals the day before the St Jude Marathon as a day of service.  It was a ton of work, but they had a blast, and it was all for a great cause!!