halloween dinner

Thursday night we celebrating Halloween with our great friends, the Eatons, the Kennedys, and the Morris'. Last year we had a dress up halloween party that was so much fun. This year we wanted to do the same, but since Ole Miss plays tomorrow morning, most of us were going to Oxford tonight. So, we decided to go out to eat at Papitos. It was a lot of fun and we had a great time playing with Amelia and Banks. As always, I had my camera ready for some good Kodak moments..

Carol Anne bought this shirt for Banks.

Amanda and Carol Anne

Me and Rob

Rob and Amelia playing "telephone"

hello??

Carol Anne is afraid of Banks' blanket!!

Banks was making funny faces.

Amelia didn't like that...

poor Amanda...they should have just switched seats

Rob isn't so sure about this...

Rob and Banks

Glen and Val with Banks (thanks for the pic Amanda)

After supper, Eric changed Banks into his halloween costume so he could go treat-or-treating at his grandparent's house.

Lloyd's visit

My brother Lloyd is in town this weekend for a wedding (and to see little sis). Lloyd is my free-spirited brother. Just to explain that further I will tell you a little about what he's been up to the past 6 years. After he graduated from Ole Miss in 2002, he worked for a bank for a short time. There he must have realized that sitting behind a desk wasn't his idea of fun. So he decided that he would hike the Appalachian Trail..and I don't mean just a few miles. NO, he hiked the whole thing...all 2,175 miles (I had to look that up). It took him 5 1/2 months. He even missed my graduation from Ole Miss, which I have finally forgiven him since he came to my master's graduation. After he hiked the trail, he moved to Vermont and worked at the Stratton Mountain Ski Resort. His summers were spent doing random things just to make some money. After I think 3 winters in Vermont, he moved to Colorado and worked at Cooper Mountain and most recently Breckenridge. Two summers ago he worked in Alaska at some kind of outdoor camp. This past summer he was a park ranger at Rocky Mountain national park. He LOVED his job and I'm sure he is sad it's over. He heads back to Breckenridge in a few weeks. Here are a few recent pics of Lloyd.

Lloyd (on the left) and friend in Rocky Mountains

Lloyd and his victory pose at the summit of some big mountain...

So back to the present...Lloyd is here this weekend and we all went out to eat last night. My parents came down b/c they had to bring him his "wedding suit". It stays in Water Valley until he goes to weddings, then my parents figure out some way to get it to him. My cousin Lindsay, Joy, and Louis (Joy's husband) also went with us. We ate at Nagoya and had a blast. Our Japanese cook offered to take pictures and he wouldn't stop. My mom even had to tell him that that was enough...and if that happens you know he was taking too many.

the whole gang

We are all laughing b/c he won't stop taking pictures

Rob, me, Linds....This is out of focus, but I thought it was cute!

Lloyd, Joy, Louis

laughing again...well I am

our wonderful cook
Lloyd also went to girls' lunch at Sal and Mookies and got to meet Banks and Amelia.

walking again

Well, since Rob walked with me in the down syndrome walk last weekend, I decided to walk with him this weekend for juvenile diabetes. His work had a team. There were LOTS of people walking and $450, 000 was raised!! We had a lot of fun and the weather was beautiful. After the walk, we went to our friend's Carol Anne and Daniel Kennedy's house for an afternoon (and evening) of football. We first watched Ole Miss almost beat Alabama....but the key word there is ALMOST.. Carol Anne made a delicious supper for us after the game, then we spend the rest of the evening watching LSU and South Carolina. LSU managed to get the win...so at least one of us was happy.

some of the "Collins & Corbin" team around 1.5 miles

the back of our shirts...

Down Syndrome Buddy Walk

This morning Rob and I walked in the Down Syndrome Buddy Walk. My co-worker Clarissa's niece has down syndrome and we were there as part of her team. I even ran into Glenda Singleton, who was the secretary at WV elementary when I was a student there (a long time ago). Her grandson has down syndrome and was so precious. I wish I would have gotten a picture of him. We had a great time at the walk. I have had several students in the past with down syndrome and they are the sweetest children you will ever meet. It was a beautiful day for such an important cause.

Rob and I after the walk

me and my co-workers Clarissa and Georgia

Clarissa's niece loves to dance and was showing us her moves while a horrible Elvis impersoner sang...
Rob and Lia

Girl's lunch

Amanda, Carol Anne, Valerie, and I (the fairy god-mothers) get together every other week for lunch. We have been doing this for over 2 years now. This week we went to Broadstreet. Our group keeps getting bigger and bigger. This was our first "girls" lunch with our newest addition, Banks. He didn't know what to think about all these girls. Amelia was very interested in Banks. We think they will be great friends.

Banks giving us the thumbs up in the sling...

Amelia meeting her future husband

our family...

me and Banks

Valerie shared with us at lunch that Amelia took her first steps this week. We tried to get her to do it for us, but she needed Carol Anne's help. She was more concerned about all those desserts than walking for us.

Rob and I took supper to Amanda and Eric on Wednesday night. We enjoyed our visit and are so thankful for such wonderful friends. Here Rob holds Banks for the first time.

Here we go again...

Went to the Ole Miss/South Carolina game today. Sadly, we keep making stupid mistakes that cost us the game. The game was hot today since it started at 1:00 and our seats didn't get shade until about 2 minutes left in 4th quarter. My great friend and sorority sister from college, Ashley Hood, was there and we squeezed her in the seats with us (5 bodies in 4 seats). Ashley is also a speech pathologist. I give Hood all the credit for my graduating in Speech Path. at Ole Miss. She is extremely smart and helped me out so much. She just moved to Germantown and started a new job, so us Jacksonians are happy that she is closer to us now. She was living outside of Nashville. We also got to visit today with good friend Aimee Bertrand. Aimee and her husband live in Houston, TX and are expecting a baby in May. Here are a few pics. from the day.

me and my tall friends...

us

Hood, Carol Anne, Aimee, and me

our spread...

Gotta LOVE Shepard Smith

check this out... make sure you watch the whole video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=An6oFGQcwXY