first ... the rest of october

pat presented a paper at a conference at USM in hattiesburg. laurel and i got to tag along and had so much fun! the trip started with a flight from denver to new orleans.

looks like laurel loves a nice hotel room and new orleans as much as her mommy and daddy!

a morning at cafe du monde ...

and in jackson square.

while pat was attending the conference, laurel and i got to sneak away and see our brookhaven friends.

fran, maggie, gracey, and robert. what a treat!

pat participated in a panel discussing the church's response to the civil rights movement. also on the panel -

bobby griffith, sean lucas, and otis pickett

bo morgan, top right, introduced the panelists and made the closing remarks. everybody did such an incredible job!


so proud of our scholar! he's a natural!

sweet friends - wes and marion curry and adam pennebaker came to listen and support pat. patty and B and mamaw also got to come.

raylawni branch - a true hero from the civil rights movement.

we got to spend a little time with the pennebakers and currys on saturday afternoon. look how big burn and payne have gotten!

laurel playing hard to get. atta girl!

and harris! isn't she beautiful?! she was such a little baby when we left hattiesburg. hard to believe...

a few other local heroes - peggy connor and ellie dahmer with her son, harold.

we got to spend time with our friends erin and blair and hayes riley in hattiesburg. i wish i had pictures! we also had some special time in laurel with meme, B and mamaw, and will and julie. where was my camera???
back to new orleans on sunday. we love that city!

we thoroughly enjoyed our jazz brunch at arnaud's. classic.

love these new orleans street shots. (i was 29 weeks pregnant.)

okay, back to colorado. time for halloween. laurel, i mean ARIEL, loved getting to celebrate early at gymboree.

yeah, i was some sort of cowboy?

snow white was there! and if you look closely you can see daddy in the background...
isn't that red wig hilarious???

"punkwin" carving. one for daddy, one for mommy, one for laurel, and one for baby.

pat was so proud of his handiwork!

woody, ariel, and a cowboy with a beer belly. ha! i just wanted to wear a fake mustache...

trick or treat!

marjorie and her boys came over and we all went to trick or treat on the platings' street.

andre and pat as woody. i love it!

fourie as a cowboy, pat as woody with john plating as a viking (or laurel said he was king triton, ha!), and joel as a duck.

a fake mustache is so much fun!



the kiddos with kitty cat paula plating. what a fun night!

funny little girl

Oct 9th

pat's birthday and ANOTHER home football game. we're loving it!

so proud of my P

major rayner has been working so hard, and i'm not the only one who has noticed! he just received a big honor - officer of the quarter for not only the history department, but also the humanities and the ENTIRE faculty!

they needed a photo for the award. isn't he handsome?!?

condy got to meet pat a few weeks ago. :) look how interested she is in what he's saying!

we celebrated pat's 33rd birthday the night before his actual birthday by having a fancy dinner in the 5 star penrose room at the broadmoor. it was fabulous!!! thanks to mom and dad for chipping in, and thanks to will and lindsay for babysitting!

i love my husband!!!

"punkwin" patch

just a few more

pictures from the USAFA/NAVY game

i love this one!

sweet big sister kisses!

tickle box

GO AIR FORCE! SINK NAVY!

we've got a serious falcons fan on our hands...

perfect day for tailgating and football at falcon stadium. and buddy and kissy were here!

so glad will could go with us - we missed you lindsay!



some air force players before the game, in the special jerseys for the day. instead of the players' names on the back, they said "freedom" and "service." awesome.

prisoner exchange - several students from each academy study at the other school each semester. on this day they get "released" to cheer for their home team.

AT LAST! navy beat air force the past 7 years. it felt so good to win!

rough week

laurel was sick most of last week. she even lost her voice - it was awfully quiet around here...

little pitiful...
can you believe how long she's gotten?

the other patient in the house wasn't as pitiful. apache got a growth removed from his paw. no big deal, but pretty funny looking, don't you think?

we love visitors! our good friend ruth is moving from utah back home to florida. she and her friend, rachel, stopped for a night on their trip across the country. so good to see them both!