Kristi and I made our first trip to Mississippi together this weekend to visit Halseys. Kristi had never been to the Magnolia State, and I hadn't been back since 2008. We drove over on Friday, and when we arrived, were greeted with some homemade pizza and a weekend full of giggles.
Saturday, we went to the Memphis Redbirds game, the Triple-A affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals. We loaded up on hot dogs, soft drinks and all kinds of ice cream. At one point, I wondered if anybody left any calories at the concession stand. I picked up a Redbirds T-shirt, and when I checked out, the manager behind the counter complimented me on my Uncle of the Year T-shirt. She said she noticed it when I walked in, and knew it "had to be homemade" with the hand prints on the back!
Sunday, we attended church, and it just so happened that we were there in the middle of a marriage series. I was glad that a song from my iPhone we listened to going to the game on Saturday made it into the sermon: the Eagles' "Peaceful Easy Feeling." Several of the members remembered me from my last visit with Pops. But others asked me how I liked living in the South. After I told them I had done it for six years, and where I live now, they seemed to approve.
Clara played some new violin songs, which were a considerable improvement from the last time we had a private concert when she played "Mississippi Hot Dog."
One overriding theme to the weekend was Ben's fascination with how big I am. The funniest conversation was when Ben and Clara discussed before I was up on Sunday how many bowls of cereal I would eat. Ben was sure it would be 10! So he told me when I started in on the cereal that if I was any bigger, "You would break our roof." Then on the way to church, I climbed in the back of the van with him, but he giggled the whole time because my back touched the roof of the van, and I had to wiggle around the middle seats.
Ben was also proud of his upcoming birthday, and reminded us that when he turns 5, he won't be scared of anything, he'll have a new bed and he'll generally be a new man. Stay tuned for that.
Of course, the weekend wouldn't be complete without some stick and ball. So we got in a good practice session for two members of the Tallahatchie Stompers.
Ben's birthday gift, and smaller water guns for the rest of the family
The obligatory food pic from an Uncle Bucket post.
Clara playing new songs for us.
Armed and dangerous.
Part of their program of Bible verses, songs and readings they learned this school year.
Autozone Park in Memphis.
In the midst of a sugar high.
Aunt and Uncle of the Year, with a key voting block.
The 'little' brother and 'big' sister. Where has the time gone?
'Don't step in the bucket.'
'Keep your eye on the ball.'
She's about to lace one down the third base line.
The post-game.
2 comments:
Good job summing it up, Bonnet! It was a really fun visit. Where's a picture of the peanut butter pie? I guess it might've melted too soon if you'd taken the time to document!
As I drank a little coffee this morning, Benji cautioned me NOT to give him any because he "needed to grow as tall as Uncle Bonnet!" And, when he laid down for a rest this afternoon, he told me to watch out b/c he was a giant! Who knows how big he might be when he turns 5??
Thanks again for making the drive and bringing "the little woman" to visit. We still conclude that she's a good catch. And, I have no doubt that the kids' ball coach will be blown away by their improved skills this week!
It looks like you all had a fun visit! And it's amazing that you're regarded as such a giant now since it wasn't long ago that you "weren't a grownup" ;-)
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