Be Nice Or Leave

I finally hung my birthday present from Rusty. He made this awesome "Be Nice or Leave" sign, just like the one at Bottle Tree! I decided to bedazzle it so it took a little while to finish but it looks amazing now!

Flash back....

Speaking of costumes.... I think I've told y'all that Derek and I always had THE BEST Halloween costumes... well, here is your proof...

Flash back...

My, Derek's, and (thank goodness) Lorelai's affinity for dressing up is deep rooted.  My mom said Derek crafted this Santa costume himself using her boots and making his hat and mustache and then surprising the family.  

Flash back...

My fifth birthday party!  Interesting fact: Lorelai had her first birthday at this very table!

Flash back...

Me and Derek!

Flash back...

Rusty just transferred my old pictures to my new computer and I found this old scanned image of me and my dad!!!

Fashion Note

I made Lorelai's Dreamworks t-shirt that she wore yesterday!!

Opryland

We had a great time exploring Opryland Hotel and riding the boat ride! 












Imagine Lorelai and I skipping to our own rendition of "I like to move it."  Complete with extra loud move it's.  Fun day, indeed!!

After the Parade

These pictures weren't without some work by two overzealous parents.  After the parade the characters are quickly ushered away, and poor little Lorelai so badly wanted to hug Fiona and most especially Puss & Boots.  Rusty flagged down Fiona and was able to snap a quick picture before she was gone.  And, much to our delight Puss & Boots came back out for a quick hug after learning that his biggest little fan was heartbroken that she didn't get a picture with him!!! 

Dreamworks Parade

There was a character parade through the Delta and those with the Dreamworks tickets (us) were able to march in the parade.  Much to Lorelai's delight we were part of Puss & Boots entourage.  This however is one of the ways I felt like the event was poorly laid out.  Lorelai was desperate to see the characters that weren't in the meet and greet lines and kept trying to say "hello" during the parade, notice the first picture she is trying to make her way to the front of the line for a glimpse at Gloria from Madagascar.  Sweet baby. 

Dreamworks Character Meet & Greet

We had a great time at Opryland's Dreamworks event.  Overall, it really wasn't laid out very well, but Lorelai LOVES characters so this was a huge hit for her.  Characters from Shrek, Kung Fu Panda, and Madagascar were all there and the lines were non-existent so L went through a few times to each character.  There was also a Puss and Boots scavenger hunt through the hotel as you trekked from one character to the next you looked for clues. 

Ball Game

We had a great time at the ball field last night and enjoyed their fourth of July fireworks celebration!

Fifth Fourth Collage

5th 4th

Tasty Tuesday

Turkey bacon taco shells, stuffed with jamaican chopped chicken, pineapple, and cilantro, served with a side corn on the cob.

Bedazzled

I made this shirt for Derek!! He took my dad to the Neil Diamond concert last night (I'm guessing he was the best dressed fan) and I got a call from them during Sweet Caroline! Big D ALWAYS calls me (even if it's from a foreign country) when he hears that song, and I love him for it!!!

2nd Hair Cut

After we got home from Lorelai's first hair cut it seemed a bit uneven and we went back to get it straightened and I decided to take off just a bit more, and it looks amazing!

1st Hair Cut

Every kid gets a hold of scissors and plays hair dresser at some point in their childhood. Its a time honored rite of passage. That fateful time arrived for Lorelai yesterday morning, she was at her grandparents.

Derek gave me my first hair cut when I was just about Lorelai's age. Ha! And here's the pep talk he gave her after he found out that she'd followed in his footsteps:

Derek: Was Meme mad?
Lorelai: Oh yeah.
Derek: Was Grandpa mad?
Lorelai: Yeah, and Grandpa never gets mad, but he was mad.
Derek: Do you like it though?!
Lorelai: Yep.
Derek: Well then, don't let them bring you down!!!!

She's unbelievably proud of the job she did, and really... it could have been soooo much worse. So tonight we swung into the salon and let them trim up the back, and as the hair dresser was looking at her she started to ask if Lorelai had cut hair from both sides, and she beamed that she had indeed. I didn't even notice because it was SO even. The hair dresser called over another stylist and they commented about how it was an overall impressive job, ha!! All they trimmed off were a few scraggly pieces from the back, so it's not drastically different.

Without further ado, here are the pictures of her salon trip!