No, No, Brody!

These are 3 words heard all over our house on a regular basis. My kids have turned into the Brody Police, announcing everything he is doing wrong and yelling at him to stop! Brody has been a part of our family for only three weeks, but he has definitely become the lord of the manor! We have always been "cat people," so it was just natural instinct for us to get another cat after Gilbert died. And Judd would only let us have one cat at a time, in fear that people would start calling us "crazy cat people." I never fully understood his reasoning until we got Brody. I grew up with cats, but my parents had one simple rule. NO CATS INSIDE THE HOUSE. I did my best to sneak them in when it was raining, when the weather was too cold or too hot, or when I just wanted the cat in my room. They always said that I could have as many cats as I wanted when I had my own house. So here I am, Momma and Daddy. These pictures are dedicated to you! As much as you will cringe at the sight of some of these, you'll be glad that I'm being repaid ten fold for having an inside kitten. Brody's favorite place to nap is in the bowl on my dining room table. Electrical cords have become his favorite chew toy. He brings tiny swords from Cole's pirate collection and little accessories belonging to MC's Hannah Montana playsets down the stairs so we will play with him. We end up digging the toys out of his mouth and taking them back upstairs. What a fun game! He has fallen into the toilet, landed in a bath tub partially filled with water, jumped in the fridge, and has tried to climb in the dryer. He has stolen my ear plugs from the bedside table and knocked my glasses under the bed. He behaves like a toddler, so we had to "kitty proof" our house. Brody is such a friendly cat, following us everywhere we go. When we sleep, he is right on top of us. When we shower or take a bath, he sits right beside the tub. When we tuck the kids in bed, Brody is the first one upstairs waiting in their rooms. The kids have fallen in love with him and keep reminding us that Gilbert is ok and that we will one day see him in Heaven. It's almost as if Gilbert sent Brody to take care of us. So while we are having to get used to a "newborn" crying for his food at 5:30 each morning, we will adjust! Our house is full of laughter, fun, and cat hair...all over again. What a wonderful way to live!

Cousins and Elvis

Tupelo Hardware, where Gladys bought her son his first guitar

Just a swingin' on Elvis' porch

Four Wishes


Elvis' booth at Johnnie's Drive-In

We have had fun hanging out with family the past 2 days! Judd's brother, Denny, brought his family to town as part of their Elvis Pilgrimage. Denny, Gena, Catie, and Mac are on their way to Graceland and Sun Studios, but they wanted to see where it all began...Tupelo! They rolled into town just in time for a good homecooked meal...at Harvey's! After dinner, Cole and Mary Conlee loved playing with Catie and Mac on the fort, in the playroom, and with their favorite new toy--Brody! Cole and Mac bunked in the trundle bed, while Catie and MC shared her room. They had fun staying up late and talking. When we finally got everyone awake and moving, we started our tour of Elvis country. Our first stop was to Tupelo Hardware, where Elvis bought his first guitar. His mother wouldn't buy him the shotgun he so desperately wanted, so she bought him a guitar to get him to stop pouting. What a familiar story! We did "drive-bys" by Milam, the fairgrounds, the Lee County Library, and the courthouse...all places that were monumental in Elvis' life. Next, we went to the birthplace. As soon as we drove up and saw the small two room house, MC said, "I am not even believing that I'm seeing his house right now!" We thought that was so funny. My children are native Tupeloans, living 15 minutes from his house. But it took Mac's new found obsession of Elvis to get them there! We enjoyed the museum, the chapel, and the fountains and grounds. Lastly, we finished the grand tour with lunch at Johnnie's drive-in, eating the famous dough burgers, just like Elvis did. The kids even ate in the same booth as Elvis once did. They have pictures to prove it! Living in Tupelo, I have become immune to all the Elvis memorabilia plastered on buildings, in windows, stores, and restaurants. I'm glad we took some time to stop and smell the roses. What fun memories we'll have of the King!

We're Off to See the Wizard

Curtain call

Cole and Miss Suzanne

"The Lyric" by Dr. John Armistead

We miss you, Jess!




Cole has attended camp at the Tupelo Community Theatre this week. This is the same theatre where Judd performs all of his plays and musicals. We all agree that Judd is the actor in the family, so the rest of us are happy to take a seat in the audience. Cole agreed to go to camp, but said he has no desire to be on stage--until this week! While learning music and scenes from The Wizard of Oz, the Motown production The Wiz and Broadway's Wicked, he fell in love with acting. Maybe one day Cole and Mary Conlee can share the stage with their daddy. Cole is looking forward to camp next year. MC will be there, too. Until then, we will all just "ease on down the road."

Pedicure

One of the luxuries I have afforded myself as a stay at home mom is to get an occasional pedicure. Ok, the term "occasional" might be a slight understatement--once every week or two! BG, MM, and Crab will appreciate where this story is going! I found this great nail place (thanks, MM) across the street from my favorite store, Wal-Mart! In Birmingham, I used to go to a hair salon called Spectrum. My mom still goes there every Saturday at 2:00. Over the years, these people start to feel like your family. Martha did my hair for prom, for my wedding, and even when I moved to Tupelo. Nails City has become my new Spectrum, only for feet and not for hair! I love listening to my new Vietnamese friends talk--and I have to be the occasional interpreter for my friends! I know their life stories, and they know mine. When Lee went back home to visit her family in Vietnam, she brought Mary Conlee back a bracelet. Whenever MC goes with me, the sweet girls in there paint hers, too--complete with an oriental flower on her big toes! If I ever go without MC, she throws a big hissy fit. Well, I went last week without her and she knew that the new shade of Charged Up Cherry looked different from the Cajun Shrimp from the week before. "You went without me!" she screamed. "Well, I had to go when I had the time," I explained. So this morning I found my daughter in the tub doing something that would bring tears to any mother's eyes. She was giving herself a home pedi. She had several cups filled with soapy water and was scrubbing her little piggies with an old toothbrush. She was even scrubbing the bottoms of her little feet, just like they do mine. So I decided to treat MC to her own mani and pedi today. Lee wouldn't let me pay and told me MC was like her adopted daughter! Nails City may not be around by the time we get to prom or the wedding, but Mary Conlee will go to her first day of Kindergarten with the prettiest little toes in Tupelo!

MC's Turn

This is Mary Conlee's first day at kneeboarding. She even managed to smile and wave to the camera!

Patrick Swayze and more

We have been hearing for a couple of years that Patrick Swayze owns a house on the lake, but never knew where it was located. We got some detailed directions (so we thought) to his house, so of course, I was determined to find it and take pictures. I have heard that he is undergoing treatments at UAB for his pancreatic cancer and is staying at the lake house. So we boated the 11 miles between my house and his, and guess what? We found it...4 different times! Not sure which of the four houses it really is, but we had fun stalking him and taking photos of each one. We went on down to the Smith Lake Dam, where the water is released. This was an emotional time for Judd because he is in constant communication with some Smith Lake forums monitoring the levels of the lake. He does this several times each day! It was neat to see where it all happens. On our way back home from Patrick's, we were treated to an airshow by one of the locals and their sea plane. What a great way to end our boating for the summer!

504

We all knew this day would come, but we have still been dreading it nonetheless. When the lake level at Smith Lake drops below 504 feet, we can't get our boat on and off the lift. That means our boat has to stay on the lift until next year when the water level rises. Our house is located on a cove, which is great because we don't have boats zooming by at all hours of the day and night. However, this also means we don't always have year round water. So this weekend was our "last hoorah" for the summer. We will continue to go to the lake house and swim off the dock, but we had to say one last goodbye to Big Mable, the kneeboard, the skiis, and most importantly...to Tupelo Honey, our boat. We brought some good friends with us from home, which is always fun to do. Since we have only had Brody for one week, we didn't trust him to stay home all by himself. So we packed him up and took him with us to the lake. My mom wanted to know why we didn't let Brody ride the boat. There's always next summer for that! Mary Conlee learned how to kneeboard just like her big brother! Maybe next summer we can pull out the kiddie skis. Momma just wasn't ready for it this summer!

Memories

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Brody

In an earlier blog, I mentioned the loss of our cat, Gilbert. Eventhough it has been several weeks, the kids still get upset about it. Even this week during camp, Mary Conlee was creating her "Me Book" and there was a special page for pets. She said she didn't know what to put on that page since Gilbert had died. She called up her Daddy in Tupelo and cried. I think that is all it took for him to decide it was time to get a new one. So, waiting on us as we drove in from Birmingham was Judd. He was holding the most adorable (if I must say so) junior version of a Gilbert I have ever seen! When deciding on the perfect name, Cole shouted out "Brody." It was the first name we all liked, so it stuck. We have been used to a fat cat for so long, so it was weird seeing one so small. He is a friendly kitten and loves to cuddle! He seems to be getting used to his new home. C and MC have been searching through their rooms to find the perfect cat toys to give him. I feel as though we have a new baby in the house! After I put the kids to bed, I looked for Brody and found him in the laundry room--eating out of Gilbert's cat bowl. We have come full circle! The new cat will never replace Gilbert, but he will create a new place in our hearts!

Camp Week

This past week, the kids and I were in Birmingham. Cole and Mary Conlee attended camps at the McWane Science Center. While Cole was busy learning about spiders and insects, Mary Conlee was learning all about the human body. Each day, they would come home with stories of tarantulas, hissing cockroaches, and interesting functions of the body. They had a great time and met many new friends. While they were busy at camp, I was busy with my activities. My best friend from college, Jennifer (better known as Crab), and I hit all the big shopping spots in town and even managed to find time to work on our tans! We picked the kids up after lunch each day, where we would swim at Crab's neighborhood pool. The kids thought they had hit the jackpot going to dinner at The Melting Pot, Cheesecake Factory, and other fun places. They won't find the same dining experiences back in Tupelo! One afternoon, we paid a visit to see my aunt, who took us to the local fire station. The kids enjoyed their private tour of the station and all the trucks. As much fun as we had with Crab and visiting with my parents, we were all ready to come home today! As soon as we drove into the driveway, Judd had a really big surprise waiting on us--just in time for my 1/2 birthday tomorrow! Read about it in the next blog.

4th of July

We spent most of the week at the lake house. For several days, it was just Judd, me, and the kids. On Thursday, my parents joined us. Before we left Tupelo, Judd bought Big Mable, our newest towing device. As you can see from the pictures, we just pile everyone on Big Mable and set off! We spent our days swimming and boating, and of course, tubing! Judd even got brave enough to let me drive the boat. I pulled him on skis and on the tube. He says his back and neck will never be the same again after I slung him off the tube! As for parking the boat, he says I still need a lot of practice! One day, we rode down to Ryan and Mary Margaret's house (on Big Mable, of course!) to hang out at their dock. Thanks to Ryan and Causey, Cole learned how to ride a kneeboard. I feel a trip to Dick's Sporting Goods coming on to get Cole his own kneeboard! We ate BBQ, watermelon, and coke floats--thanks to Pop. We enjoyed our first fireworks over the lake. Cole refuses to take off his mask whether he's on land or in water, so he is developing a nice tan line that looks more like a dirty face. Mary Conlee seems to make these subtle ballerina poses that we don't see until after we have taken her picture! We had a great time making memories with our friends and family. Happy birthday, America!