Happy Halloween...

from our Little Monkey! Marin is not quite old enough to Trick or Treat, but she sure likes to monkey around! We had a blast sweating through her second halloween (it's 75 degrees at 8pm here!!). Tom has been gone all week and will be back tomorrow. Unfortunately we won't get to see him because we will be on our way to Kansas for Homecoming (and my sister's b-day!!). However, Tom will be joining us on Friday -- it will be a happy reunion/homecoming/aunt Catherine birthday party ;)

My 15 Minutes

As Tracey mentioned in her most recent post, this past Saturday we planned to go to the Alabama versus Tennessee game in Tuscaloosa. Our friends, Rob & Leea Myers, are huge Alabama fans and we couldn't pass up the chance to go with them to the game. On top of that, Rob had done all the requesting and planning for the flyover. It was a no-brainer. We had to do it.
We awoke early and headed to campus. We saw some cool sights, and I convinced absolutely no one that Alabama's claim of national titles in '41 and '73, is a little suspect (at best). Quickly it was time to head to the airport. We briefed and were airborne and the timing seemed to work from our vantage point, but you never know until you return to the stadium. (Here is Tracey's video of the flyover.) The university had arranged for our transportation back to the game, and we missed only the first quarter. Our seats were decent and the game was exciting with lots of first half lead changes. Two minutes before halftime, we were led to the field, and after the bands had played, we were shoved out onto the field and had our names announced over the public address system. I think the last time my name was announced at a stadium, it involved dad coming to pick me up in the security office because I had gotten lost. Well, Alabama cruised to a surprising 41-17 victory and though the players might have had something to do with it, we were all pretty certain that the win was a direct result of the flyover. Oh boy, my 15 minutes are up.

Disregard previous weather update

WE'RE BURNIN' UP AGAIN! Yup, that's right -- it's tank tops and cut-offs again as we swelter through another "warm front". It's 85 degrees with relative humidity around 70% --- that's pretty ridiculous (in my opinion) for mid October. I don't think I've ever had to run the A/C in October in my life! We're a little fed up with it at this point.
Well, Marin got her flu shot today and did a stellar job of being a brave girl. Next up on our list of exciting things to do is that Tom will be doing the fly-over for the Alabama vs. Tennessee game this weekend in Tuscaloosa, AL, so we will get to go watch him and maybe see the game too! I'll try to get a video clip to post -- it should be fun! Oh, and ROCK CHALK JAYHAWK!
That's about it from here. Please send us some cool temps. I don't know how much more heat my bones can take. We're cooked. Well-done. Burnt to a crisp. or as Marin would say in a whispered voice "h-h-h-hhhot!"

It's Gotten Cool Again!

This morning we awoke to 42 degrees. It was wonderful. I know you can find out the weather in Mississippi elsewhere on the internet, but it is still noteworthy in our minds.
While we haven't been traveling or doing very much visiting recently, we have had some fun here in Meridian. Last weekend we had a visitor from California...yep, Grandma Mac was in our house! We put her right to work. We ate fabulous homemade meals and I'm still enjoying the biscotti that have secretly stashed in various places all over the house.
And while Grandma Mac slaved away in the kitchen, Tracey and I painted the town red. You guessed it, tickets to the local players performance of the Sound of Music--Tracey's favorite movie of all time. The singing was good, and most of the acting was better than expected. Still, we made fun of Captain Von Trapp. He was not good and we even found ourselves laughing out loud during his lines. Also of note was that at halftime (yes, intermission is known as halftime), we heard that viewers go out to their cars and have a beer. I'm not making this up. So that's just what we did...and we drank with the orchestra, who was also out in the parking lot!
We also had a farewell celebration for the commanding officer of my squadron. Normally this dinner and drinks affair would be a total snoozer, but it included a roast of the commanding officer, and you might guess who did the roasting. I had fun, but much to Tracey's dismay, it did not lead to my immediate firing.
I'll put some photos up soon and expect to see some pumpkin carvings shots soon too.