Ringing in the New Year!

Age 7: Begging to stay up until midnight so you can see the ball drop. Falling asleep on the couch around 10:00.

Age 10: Begging to stay up until Midnight so you can see the ball drop - actually making it 'til midnight.

Age 14: Spending the night at a friend's house, roaming the neighborhood, shooting off fireworks and staying up way past midnight. Thinking your parents are geeks for falling asleep on the couch around 10:30.

Age 17: Going to a friends' party and getting permission to stay out until 1:00. Having some champagne that someone's mother bought for the gang

Age 22: Drinking way to much Andre champagne and getting really sick. Having your Mom and Dad laugh at you when they get home at 12:30

Age 31: Tucking in your young children and falling asleep on the couch around 10:30

Age 37: Watching your husband get really sick along side your 8 year old. Because they both have stomach bugs. Everyone's in bed (except you) around 10:00. The ball drop party has only just begun - you're planning on sleeping on the couch.

Happy New Year, everyone!

"Best Of" 2006

Let me know if you think I have left out that "one favorite". These are the ones I think Mom liked most.

Dolphin Funeral

The Naivete of Children

Check out the Frog

A little Tin Roof Wildlife

Thought You might Enjoy a few Pictures

Boogie Fever - Tiger Style

**other requests I had forgotten

Fire Seasaon Has Begun

Great Presents aren't always the Things you Buy

There are so many things we think of when we purchase presents for one another. We often think about what it is that our loved one wants.

Is it the Tervis Tumblers they hinted at?

The Speed Stackers they've been talking about non-stop?

The Pterodactyl Hot Wheels track they make you look at every time it comes on TV?

A painting to memorialize your house?

Something to add to our loved one's collectibles?

And there are so many things that you think of that you would like for gifts too. Will anyone hear you? Think about it? Afford it? Want to get it for you? Etc., etc.

Then there are those gifts that you didn't even think would ever be given as a gift.

The ones you knew deep down that you always wanted, but weren't things that you had any control over or could actually purchase. These things you can't even really ask for because it would seem a bit forward or rude.

You know, the long awaited engagement, the announcement of expecting babies. Aileen and I have actually packaged the baby announcements in Christmas boxes topped with bows.

Well my parents gave me one of these types of presents this year.

NO...not an expectant parent present. It was a sweet little card, one to me, one to Joe. We were instructed to open these at the same time, before all of the other gifts.

I assumed it was gift cards.

Until I opened the envelope.

Then I saw their Charleston address on the back.

"Are they moving back home", I thought. No, surely not. Get to the front and read the card.

"Home, Sweet Home"....OMG! They are!!! The jumping a squealing (and flow of tears) that went on was great. I think it took the children a second to wonder what the heck had happened to the adults, and then they "got it" too. Gray (2 years old) never quite understood why we were so excited, but he continued the jumping and squealing every time he opened a gift. He will probably always open presents now with great gusto.

Well, after the excitement died, we got the scoop from Mom and Dad that they will be back here in mid January. Truly the best present this season!

Hi, AXO Sisters!

I just received an email from Jenn "Butt Butt" Butler. She does such a great job of keeping everyone's info distributed among us all. I am glad that she shared my blog address with you all, and hope that one day a reunion can be added to our busy social calendars.

Enjoy reading/looking at pictures. Please feel free to come back here anytime and definitely leave a comment!

Go TIGERS! Go AXO!

Tree Trouble

What a pretty tree.
Wait...what is it that I see?
No, it couldn't be...

I'm not talking about Legare -
It's the little cat - that I see.I know you are all thinking to yourselves, "Now, Anne...cats don't get stuck in trees. Surely you're not going to say you were afraid Felix was stuck."

Well, sure I am. Seriously...you all saw the cat (from Charleston) recently on the national news that was stuck in a tree for about 6 days because she got so high that there were no branches below her to use to help her get out. Well, I was a bit worried for "Trouble" here for the same reason.

It actually didn't take too long for us to coax him out by standing and calling for him from the directions we wanted him to travel. He was very leery, but he likes attention so much that he couldn't resist us calling him.

Meowing all the way, once he got to the lowest fork, he had to kind of cross his fingers, hold on tight to his 9 lives and hope for the best.

(here he's at the fork, having just made it down from the big trunk that you see behind him to the right)

He managed to cling to the trunk, coming down backwards, for about 1/3 of the way down. He kind of jumped/fell the rest of the way. He landed on his feet, but ripped one of his back claws in the process of grabbing hold of the tree so hard.

This is not the first time we have had to help him get out of a tree. This one was a bit harder than the first.

I tell you, he's "Trouble".

Legare's Karate Test

Right before Thanksgiving, Legare tested for a new karate belt. He now has a white belt with a green stripe (this is called a Soaring Eagle program at this dojo - don't ask me what it all means). Following are a few pictures I thought did a great job of showing his great sense of balance. Note his foot placed firmly on the ground.I was especially impressed with this next picture. I am sad to say, I can't remember the names of the kicks, but this is different from the one above. He is really packing some power in these kicks.In Karate, they get rewarded for being focused and serious. The teachers (sensais) do a great job of keeping order in these classes - and they make it look easy! Here are some of the serious karate faces.In the above picture, note the little guy in the red shirt sitting on the ground. This is a serious karate face, not a mad little kid face. Notice Legare's too.

The next picture is a bit closer of Legare's serious face...

This one shows both faces pretty well. Wouldn't want to meet up with them in a dark alley when they're in karate mode...that's for sure!