Until Christmas...

The weekend would not be complete
without breakfast at Cracker Barrel!

Since we have been planning our "rivalry weekend" for a few months it is sad that it is all over. We enjoyed celebrating Uncle Jon's birthday and just being together. Several of my friends have commented about how neat it is that both sides of our family do things together. Luke really is blessed to have grandparents and aunts and uncles who go above and beyond to see him and spend time with him. It was fun to have everyone together this weekend. We were sorry that Jim, Claudia and Lauren did not make it this time. The next time we will see Andrew and Mandi will be Christmas. But like this weekend has come and gone, Christmas will be here before we know it.

We are also already starting to talk about our Troutt family vacation to Destin next year! Yes, having a family that enjoys spending time together is wonderful....

The Game

We all had tickets before we went to Knoxville Saturday. Paul, Andrew, Mandi and I had 4 together. Bill and Paula sat with some friends and Jon and Kristen used one of their friends tickets. I had a blast during the game. It was just getting cooler when the game started but there was a lot of energy in Neyland Stadium so we stayed warm! The game was pretty good. It looks like both teams still have some kinks to work out. We had some Auburn fans sitting around us which was good for Andrew, Mandi and I. Paul was a good sport during the game. We stayed until the clock went to zero. That was good because Paul got to see UT's last second touchdown. Mandi had never been to Neyland and was amazed at how many people leave early especially only after the 3rd quarter. That is the same observation I have made each time I have been to a game there. I have never noticed that in Auburn. But, there are a lot more people in Knoxville who do not want to fight traffic I guess!

We had to sit in traffic a few minutes trying to get on Alcoa Highway but it was not bad at all. Needless to say, we were all exhausted on the drive back to the hotel. Since Luke stayed on his normal schedule he was getting up at 7:10 Eastern time this morning...ughh!!!

Football Weekend, Vol II

On the way to the stadium!

I had someone make Luke a
custom shirt with
UT and AU's logos on it!

Luke ate lots of chili

Nonna brought sidewalk chalk
for Luke's entertainment

The spread....

Jon and Kristen found a great tailgate spot. We were on the top deck of one of the parking garages. We got a corner and it was perfect! The only problems was the wind. It was so breezy that we were afraid the tent was going to fly away. We tried to decorate equally with Auburn and UT paraphernalia. We had both team's flags flying and had lots of orange (and blue). The food was great! Paula made chili and we had chips and dip and some sweets courtesy of Kristin.

The time actually went by really fast. It was time to tear everything down and head to the stadium before we knew it. Nonna and Luke walked towards the stadium with us for few minutes so we could stop by some tailgates. After that Nonna and Luke went back to our hotel in Alcoa. Mom said Luke went to bed pretty easily but would not sleep in his pack-and-play so he ended up falling asleep in a big bed. Since we had lost our room at the hotel Paul, Luke and I stayed in the room with Nonna. Luckily Mom was able to get Luke back in the pack and play for the night after he had been asleep for awhile.

Now, we were off to the game....

Football Weekend, Vol I

Horsing around with
Uncle Andrew

This weekend has gone by in a whirlwind. We spent Friday night getting everything packed up to head to Knoxville. The alarm clock went off at 5:30 yesterday morning which is earlier than we get up during the work week. For some reason neither one of us minded to be getting up though. Nonna met us at our house and we were on the road by 6:30. We made excellent time on the way up there and did not have to stop either. When we got to our hotel we realized they had screwed up our room reservations. Paul had called earlier in the week to make sure we had the right number of rooms reserved with the right bed configurations. When we got there the hotel said they had our room booked for Friday night instead of Saturday which is opposite of what we needed. To top it off they admitted it was their mistake but they still had to charge us for Friday night and they were booked for Saturday night...so we had no where to stay. Paul was very upset and rightly so. Their was not a manager on duty that could help us. We hope to get it straightened out tomorrow so they will not charge us for a room we never stayed in!

Andrew and Mandi had driven up the night before so we all headed to Turkey Creek to do some shopping and grab lunch before heading to campus. Once Bill and Paula got there they took over "Luke duty" for a couple of hours while the rest of us went to set up our tailgate!!!

Helping Daddy

Luke was having a blast, although
you can not tell it from the pic

How does this work again?

Playing on the computer

Luke loves to help us. This afternoon we started cleaning out the inside of my vehicle before Paul got home. Luke managed to play with all the buttons and set the security system off twice! When Paul got home Luke wanted to help him wash the outside. He obviously would rather wash Paul's car because he started soaping it up even though we were not going to wash it tonight. He likes to spray the hose and play in the suds. We often find Luke playing on the computer when we are not around. Last night we looked over and he had climbed up in the chair and was playing with mouse and typing on the keyboard. Guess he is tech savvy already!

Getting Ready

Although it is only Monday night we are in full tailgate mode around the Troutt house! We are all pumped about going to Knoxville this weekend for the UT/AU game. Uncle Jon borrowed the UT tent for Steeplechase this past Spring. The tent didn't quite make it through the event so Uncle Jon got us a new one. We had to test out the UT topper on the new frame to make sure it worked before we get to Knoxville. Luckily, it was a perfect fit! Luke got so excited running in to and out of the tent tonight. We know he is going to have a ball Saturday.

Fun Wedding!

Luke and Daddy

All dressed up

Sara and Chris

Enjoying the yummy supper!
Bobby, Kendra, Christina and Cam

After 3 weeks of rain in Tennessee it was supposed to stop raining Saturday. It rained Saturday morning but the weather forecasters all said it would be over by noon. Our friend Sara was getting married outside Saturday night. We were all hoping and praying the weather would cooperate. They decided to move the ceremony to a small church down the road. Paul and I decided it would be better if we did not go to the ceremony with Luke. They were expecting way more than the church would hold and we knew Luke would get restless. So, we just went to the reception. We parked at the Troutts across the street and walked over. People passing by on Red River Road probably thought we were crazy walking down the street in our dress clothes.

The ground was already saturated from all the rain we have had. The reception was beautiful! The tent and barn were decorated so nice. Several people had on rain boots with their nice clothes. If I owned a pair I would have definitely worn them! Just as the bride and groom arrived the bottom fell out and it rained and rained! I felt so bad for them. The wind was blowing the rain in on all the beautiful tables. Sara and Chris were troopers though. Nothing seemed to dampen their spirit. Once the rain subsided there was a small pond in the middle of the tent. Formality went out the window when several guests decided to go barefoot. I was one of those....I actually tossed my shoes in the trash! They were the same shoes I wore to Audrey's rainy wedding earlier this summer and they had seen better days. There was something fun and carefree about everyone sloshing around barefoot in the mud. The band was awesome so we danced and danced. Christina and I never could get our husbands on the dance floor but we had fun anyway!

Grandpa took Luke back to their house when there was a break in the rain. He was so tired. He is working on his 2-year molars and had a small temp earlier in the day. We did not think much of it but when we got home late that night his temp was up higher than it should be for teething. We gave him some Motrin and put him to bed. He woke up about an 1 1/2 later in a cold sweat shivering and crying. I had to change his bed linens and his pj's. We got him warmed up but none of us really slept that well. He woke up a few more times. We decided not to go to church in case he had something contagious. Thankfully he felt fine all day yesterday and did not run a temp again. Must have been a quick bug.

It's Been Awhile

Sweet face

Luke loves reading!

So, it has obviously been awhile since we have blogged. I honestly do not know what we have been doing besides the normal day to day activities. I had a quick stomach bug this week which happened to fall on my day off. Don't know if that was good or bad! The word in Tennessee lately has been rain! It has rained and rained. I know we normally complain of dry weather but this rain has been crazy. We have not been able to do any yard work like we had planned. Paul did manage to mow the lawn (in the rain) on Sunday.

Luke continues to keep us entertained. He still loves his "movies" and insists on watching one every afternoon when we get home. He also loves to read and be read to. I find him sometimes by his books just reading to himself, giggling and turning the pages.

We hope to spend some time outdoors this weekend if we get a break in the weather. Hopefully, we will have more bl0g worthy happenings!

Stress Free Weekend

Our view from the cabin

Family pic before heading home

We love to eat!

Lauren and Neely

Jon took this great pic of Luke
chowing on his corn!

We had a wonderful weekend with the Troutts. We left Thursday after work and headed east to Center Hill Lake. We had a great cabin! Jim, Claudia and Lauren were only able to come up late Saturday night for supper then they had to go home. Luke had a stomach virus when we left Thursday. He actually did not go to school. Bill and Paula watched him that morning until Paul left work around lunch. We contemplated not going to the lake. I called and talked to Luke's teacher who said the bug going around had only been lasting 24-hours. So, we decided to chance it. He did great! He was more tired than normal and his appetite was not its usual healthy self until the end of the weekend. Thankfully, no one else got it.

We had a wonderful time! There was lots of reading, football watching, wii playing, napping and eating. I achieved my personal goal of not wearing make-up or fixing my hair the entire weekend! It was so nice to not have a care in the world. Too bad the football was not any better. The only bright spot was AU's victory over Mississippi State which was not even televised. We hope the Vols and Titans do better this week.

It is going to be hard to get back to reality tomorrow after an especially short week last week. There are only 3 weeks until we are on the road again. We are having a joint family weekend for the UT/AU game in Knoxville in October!

Fun in the Truck

Can I drive yet?

Luke continues his infatuation with vehicles, especially trucks! Luke wanted to be outside in the truck all weekend. He plays with the buttons, honks the horn and plays with the keys. It seemed like everyone rotated taking him to the truck. He would run to the front door and point and say what we know is "truck" but is not too intelligible yet.

It's Football Time!

Ready for the game

Where did the lemons go???

Paul and I take turns going to get Luke on weekend mornings. Saturday it was Paul's turn to get up when Luke woke up. I guess he thought it was not too early to get ready for the start of SEC football. When Luke came in the bedroom he was decked out in his UT jersey! We tried multiple times to get his picture in his jersey and hat but he will not leave hats on his head right now. We went to Home Depot very early that morning. Everyone thought Luke was too cute in his UT outfit. He and Daddy matched! He watched some of the game and said "go, go" a lot. Luckily UT and Auburn won so everyone in the house was happy for the remainder of the weekend. This week might be a different story...

Go Gold!!!

Virginia and I pose at the game

Saturday night we went to the Vanderbilt game with Virginia and Jason. We did a little tailgating beforehand with some of the Reynolds' friends. I was so excited for college football. I have always rooted for Vanderbilt except when they play Auburn, of course. It was black/gold night. Half the stadium were to wear black and the other half gold. Luckily our seats were in the black section! We had a good time hanging out and Vanderbilt played really well. Paul and I left halfway through the 3rd quarter but Vandy ended up winning BIG! Go Dores!

Fun day Sunday

Luke liked all the buttons on the stove

I could not get Luke to look at the camera!

Sunday afternoon after we had gone to church and had naps we decided to take advantage of the free afternoon. We went to Green Hills so Paul could exchange some tennis shoes. We went to Pottery Barn Kids so Luke could play with the toys. He really liked playing with the toy kitchen. I do not think Paul would approve of me getting Luke a kitchen to play with at home. For now, we will let him play with it on trips to the mall. After shopping we ate at California Pizza Kitchen which I love. Luke filled up on Cheerios at the mall so he was not too cooperative while we waited on our food.

Oops...

I had to work on Labor Day so Paul was on Luke patrol. At one point in the morning Paul went looking for Luke and this is what he found. If you look close you can see that Luke has my moisturizer and is squeezing it in to a glass bowl from the kitchen cabinets. I am just glad he had the forethought to put it in another container instead of all over the floor. Now, I will just use it out of the bowl until it is all gone. He sure is an industrious little fella!

Yum, Yum!

We had watermelon last night after supper. Normally we cut it in chunks for Luke to eat. He was having none of that. He picked it up and started eating it! He loved it. He tried to eat the rind, but we did not let him. I hope he always keeps his love of fruits and veggies.

Puzzle Time

Luke has really become interested in his puzzles lately. He gets them out of the cabinet and works them every day. He will even put the the piece in the wrong place and shake his head "no" back and forth and laugh. Then, he will put it in the right place. It is too cute!

Luke turned 20 months on Wednesday! It is hard to believe he is closer to 2 years than 1 year...time is going by too fast. Luke continues to be such a good little boy. He loves to play, especially outside. He is really enjoying watching sports on TV. We have taught him to say "touchdown" and "go,go" when we are watching football. One afternoon we turned the TV on when we got home. There was a soccer game on ESPN. Luke yelled "go,go!". Maybe we have a soccer fan in the house now!

Picnic in the Park

Luke grabbed Nanny's hand as
soon as we got to the park!

Luke loves the playground!

How many people does it take
to help Luke down the slide!?!

Gotta love this sweet face!

Last night Luke and I met Nonna and Nanny at the park for a picnic supper. Of course, Luke wanted to go straight to the playground before we ate. He loves playing on the slide. He goes down and immediately hops off to do it again! We had a great time visiting with Nanny. I think she will miss Luke next week and we will miss her, too!