Halloween 2008

As you can see from the photos, this year Noah was his favorite Nascar driver (and possibly his second favorite person in the world) Jimmie Johnson. I loved this suit because it was EXACTLY like Jimmie's real firesuit, down to every detail. And needless to say, Noah loved it. Luke was Shrek, which was just a natural fit since that is the only thing he ever wants to watch on TV.

As we have done the each year, we went over to Wright's Mill Subdivision with our friends, Michael and Heather and their boys, as well as Ben and Sarah Chattin (thank you Sarah for not going into labor during our walk of the neighborhood). The boys had a great time, and they loaded up on candy like never before. Of course, this candy is subject to the "Daddy Tax." Since it unfortunately looks like Obama is going to be our next president, it was time the boys learned the hard way that taxes increase, so I took a little more this year like Barack will do for the next 4 years. But, I digress.....

Afterwards, we stopped by Chad and Sarah's to see them and Harrison. We were very fortunate to have Mom come up and go trick-or-treating with us this year. We always have such a great time. Each year, Halloween reminds me how big my kids are getting.

Noah has the strangest look on his face

Mom with the Boys

Sarah, Chad, Erica, the boys and me

Noah's First Soccer Game

Saturday, Noah had his first soccer game. It was a battle for the ages, as Noah's team--the Aces-- took on the Tarheels in Upwards Soccer (ok, not really--they don't even keep score, but we really had a blast). Noah had a blast--he scored two goals--one goal on his opponent's goal and one on his own goal :) I have been helping out the coach the last few practices and games, and I have had a great time myself. Nanna came up to join Erica and Luke in cheering Noah on. He'll have a game each Saturday morning for the 5 weeks.

A halftime "pep" talk

Noah coming off the field for a break

Enlightening Noah will some of my "soccer wisdom." Yeah, right!!

A postgame family picture (how spaced out is Luke here??)

Our Labor Day Weekend

It is hard to believe that the weekend has already passed. Saturday, I went with Donald and Jon (two guys I work with) to Oxford for the Memphis-Ole Miss football game. We loaded up the mini-van (travelling in style) with food, drinks, and tailgating equipment and found a nice shady spot to spend the afternoon. We had a good time, became the envy of some young Memphis frat guys (I guess we're pretty cool for some old dudes), and almost got into it with some Rebel fans in the stadium who were apparently offended we were cheering for the Tigers and not the Rebels. Personally, I think it's a bad idea to engage in verbal assalts with three attorneys...but what do I know? :) Even though the game didn't turn out how I'd like (not that I expected it to), I got some good stories from the day.

I got back very early Sunday morning and that night, we took the boys to Outback for a nice dinner. (Thanks Liz and Zach). We had a great time and just enojoyed being together as a family. Strangely, Luke was actually a better behaved at a restaurant than Noah.

Luke and Mommy

Noah and Daddy

After we returned from the restaurant, we watched the race (which Noah had been looking forward to all weekend). All week he has been saying that Jimmie Johnson (which if you've been living on another planet and did not know, is his favorite driver) would be the fastest car and would win the race. **Alert--he says this EVERY week** Well, he was actually correct in his prediction this week, as Jimmie led the entire 4 hour race for all but about 10 laps or so. Noah was very excited (he had to watch the last hour of the race this morning on Tivo because it didn't end until about 11 PM last night). It was the first thing he asked about this morning, so I was lucky I didn't delete it after the race. He wanted a picture to commemorate the win.

Noah was very proud of Jimmie

He even allowed Luke to join in the celebration

Today, we've had a lazy day and I am about to cook out pork chops. Everyone needs these kinds of days though. It has been fun, and I have been blessed, to spend alot of time with the family, given all the work, stress and school that has occupied our time recently.

Boy's Night

Noah, Clayton and Optimus Prime
Jack and Luke

Tonight, Fred and Jennifer had a dinner here in Jackson and we were fortunate to get to spend the evening hanging out with Clayton and Jack. Noah and Clayton started out by watching cartoons and talking about Transformers. Luke and Jack passed the time by having their own version of the Olympics, as they took turns doing flips in the floor.

We then went outside for over an hour to play soccer and football, ride bikes and hang out. We had a really fun time with them and the boys were so happy hanging out with their buddies.

A Day of Firsts

Today was Noah's first day at big-boy school. As you can see from below, he was very excited about starting school. So much so that he was indifferent that we were there for about 5-10 minutes to drop him off. He was immediately ready to get to work--and by work, I mean playing with the Transformer car toy from a McDonald's Happy Meal that was in the toy bin. As you'll also see, the only person to cry about Noah going to school was Luke. As we dropped Noah off and left, Luke cried and was screaming "I want my bubba!! I don't want to leave bubba!!" It was very cute, and of course I had to take a picture (obviously to hold this one over his head one day when he is older). Noah had a very good day though. He enjoyed his class, his teacher, and he got to paint (which he loves to do).

And in closing, it was not only a day of firsts for Noah but also for me. On my way to taking Noah to school this morning, I got my first-ever ticket for allegedly speeding. After 15 years of driving, I guess it had to come at some point. I don't guess I'll ever forget it though.

Noah getting ready to walk out the door. Noah is very proud of his L.L. Bean "Big Blue Pap Pack" with his initials on it.

Noah and Luke before Noah's first day at school.

Noah on his first day at Trinity. Can't you tell I'm really going to embarrass him one day?

Noah and his teacher, Mrs. Presley

Me, Noah, Erica and Luke before leaving on Day 1

My big boy

Luke outside of school after having to "leave Bubba." I checked with Erica too. It's a tank top :)

Erica's Fish Story

Billy has graciously decided that he would let me be a contributor to his blog. I decided my first post would be about something most people don't know about me. One of my favorite things to do is fishing with my dad. It is so peaceful to be out on the water and dad and I get a chance to really catch up in between catching fish. Some of my fondest memories growing up are when my dad took Chad and I out crappie fishing together. We really had a great time.

Thankfully now, mom and dad have a pond outside their front door which allows me the opportunity to fish everytime I go home to Paris. Now before I go any further, let me answer some questions that I am sure many people have. Yes, I do bait my own hook (worms included). Yes, I do take off my own fish and no, I do not have on makeup. Last week I got a chance to go home and fish a little. Right before we called it a day I caught this huge bass. It was great. We were actually fishing for catfish. Noah and Luke were impressed also.

I think Luke likes Oreos

Every time Luke wakes up, he always wants to eat. When Luke woke up from his nap this afternoon and we didn't have any "Tinkies" (that's Twinkins to you and I), he got some Oreos instead. As you can see, I think they were a hit. If you look closely too, Luke had a fall at Pappy and Grammy's the other day, and scratched up his face. He is now "Rocky" to me.

"Fun Day" at the water park

On Saturday, we took the boys to Collierville to the W.C Johnson Park. If you've never been, they have a "water playground" that our boys love to go to. Water sprays up from the grounds and out of sprinklers, etc. They really enjoy it and we've gone the last two years. My mom joined us and we had a great time. Of course, we picked the hottest day of the year to go...but, what better place to be than around the water. Afterwards, we took the boys to Huey's for a burger and then Nanna made us dinner that night.

Noah thought if he sat on one of the sprinklers, he could get it to quit spraying. He could not.

Luke was terrorizing some kid by spraying him and then not sharing. We have a lot to learn.

Luke

Daddy and Noah
Daddy and his hot wife :)

Luke was done with the water and just wanted to eat.

Nanna joined us for a great family day.

Our Little One is Growing Up

Over the July 4th weekend, we finally moved Luke into a "big boy" bed. We have been putting off this move for some time because we had hoped to sell the house and then buy bunk beds for the boys. However, we have taken our house off the market, and so this change was long overdue (Noah moved into his bed at 22 months--by contrast, Luke is now 31 months). As the second child, Luke rarely gets something that is brand new. However, as you can see, he got a new bed and new Thomas the Train bedding. I think it's quite clear from above that he really likes his new bed. While the walls are still the same baby blue color from his nursery, and we did get a white bed (not my first choice) to match his existing baby furniture, there are no more cribs in the Mauldin household. Luke has done really well with his new transition though...he has not gotten up during the night and waits for Mommy to come get him out of bed in the mornings.

Noah the Soccer Star

This weekend, I gave into Noah's requests and bought him a soccer ball. This afternoon, after the race, he kept asking to go outside and "work out with the soccer ball." This is him waiting on me to get ready. He wanted me to be sure to notice that he put on his "workout shirt." For the rest of you, that means a shirt without sleeves. He was not happy that I did not join him in wearing a "workout shirt."He was actually pretty good for his first time out. He had a pretty strong leg, used the inside part of his foot instead of his toes about 30% of the time, and had a good time. After he got over wanting to pick the ball up and place it where he wanted after each pass, he did even better.

Noah's Special Day

Today we got to do something that we rarely, if ever, do. We spent the day with just one child. I met my mom in Brownsville this morning and she took Luke to Memphis with her this weekend to hang out for some special Nanna-Luke time. So, Erica and I got to spend the day with Noah. Obviously, we love every second with both children, but it was good to spend some one-on-one time and just focus on and shower our attention on Noah. (And we forgot how QUIET things are with only one child around).

We took Noah to see Wall-E, the new Pixar movie. Noah liked it alot. Erica and I thought it was pretty good, very imaginative, but both agreed we saw the same movie 25 years ago when it was called E.T. Cars, The Incredibles, Monsters Inc., Toy Story are still better, but it was a good time.

After an afternoon nap, we took Noah to Asahi Japanese Steakhouse, so he could "watch them cook with the fire" in front of us. We have wanted to take Noah to a hibachi restaurant for a long time, but didn't think Luke was old enought yet. We had a really good time. Noah really like the Onion Fire Volcano.

We had a really good time today and thank Mom for keeping Luke this weekend. We miss Lukers, but today helped us realize how quickly Noah is growing up. He's ALMOST 5!!! Unreal.

The end to a wonderful season

With the proliferation of 24-hour news looking into sports, athletes, and their exploits, it is hard to have respect for most athletes. It seems that the ones who "do the right thing" are now often the exception to the rule (funny...people say the same thing about my profession). Maybe part of it has to do with the fact that most athletes I watch are now younger than I am, but I had to take a second (and fully understanding how corny this may sound) and say how happy I am for Derrick Rose. If you don't follow sports, you probably think this is really stupid. But, even though I no longer live in Memphis, I will always be a Memphian. For all of its' many, many, many faults, I love to see when something goes well for the city.
Rose will, in all likelihood, be the #1 draft pick in the NBA Draft tonight. I am not going to be long-winded here, but everything I have ever read and discussed with people who have met and interacted with Rose, is how humble of a kid this is. He grew up in a very poor neighborhood in Chicago. His older brothers ran interference for him beginning in middle school when they realized the special talent he would become, and kept him out of the problems and pitfalls that often sideline these types of coronations. Derrick played one season for the Tigers, and what a season it was!! In all honesty, I am STILL not able to go back and watch the National Title game. It has been set on my Tivo since April 7 and is still marked as a new, unwatched recording. Despite the painful ending, I know the day will come when I can watch that and be proud of the team that we put out on the court this season. They did more than play basketball....they represented a city that has a lot of reasons to hang its' head...and made the city rally around Tiger Basketball and temporarily forget about its' problems for the first time in a long time.
Finally, I loved the pictures and comments going around the country this morning, that yesterday in his last formal media interview for the draft, Derrick wore a blue and gray suit to show his love for the U of Memphis.

Father's Day 2008

This has been the 5th Father's Day that I have celebrated as a Dad. Traditionally, on Father's Day we seem to solely focus on appreciating our fathers. Of course, I love my father more than I can express in words and appreciate everthing he has done for me to put me in a position to enjoy the life that I do.

This Father's Day I was particularly struck with the realization on how fortunate I am to BE a father. The Lord has blessed me with the two most wonderful little boys that a father could ever hope for. I know there are times that I have failed, and will continue to fail, as a dad to my sons. However, I am congnizant of the fact that Noah and Luke constantly watch everything that I do...and want to emulate everything that I do. It is both humbling, and scary, to know that two little boys want to be mini versions of their Dad. However, it is exactly what we are suppose to be doing in our daily walk with our Father--constantly striving to be as close to Him as we can possibly be. I have always loved being a dad, but the more years that pass by, the more I realize that being a father is a privilege that comes with a high duty. Last week while on vacation, Renee asked Fred and I if we ever thought in a million years when we were 6th or 7th graders in the youth group at Ridgeway that we would be sitting on the beach with 2 children each ,and a wonderful family some 20 years later. Although I had never really thought about that before, I have to say that I am certainlythrilled with the life that God has given me, and most importantly with the wonderful family and boys that he has give to me to be a father to.

Gulf Shores, AL June 2008

I've wanted to get started blogging for quite a while now, and what better time to start than while I am on vacation? (Just a warning, this first post will be long). This past week, Erica and I packed up Noah and Luke for our first family vacation. We met up with Fred and Jennifer Shackelford, their boys Clayton and Jack, and Fred's mom, Renee, in Gulf Shores. We rented a house that was a perfect layout.

This was our first time to take the boys in a car anywhere further than Nashville (2 hours away), so needless to say, we were a little leery about the drive. So, last Sunday afternoon, we packed up the ole minivan and headed South with the intentions of stopping somewhere along the way and spending the night. We arrived in Meridian, MS about 7:30 that night and started the search for a hotel room. I won't say the name of the hotel, but let's just say that the germophobe in me was really put to the test by our accomodations. However, as you'll see below, the boys seemed to enjoy it.

We arrived in Gulf Shores on Monday afternoon, and went to eat at The Hangout with everyone. We had some good food and the boys had a good time there at the playground area. Tuesday, we hit the beach and we all agreed that if we would let Clayton and Noah stay out there, they would have played in the water all day long. Noah ended up getting stung by a jellyfish and said that he "didn't like the ocean anymore" and that he wanted to "beat up all the jellyfish." However, he was a tough little guy and ended up going back into the water a little later.

Tuesday was also mine and Erica's 8th anniversary. Renee was gracious enough to keep all of the boys while we went out on a date.

On Wednesday, Fred and I took Noah and Clayton to The Track for some go-kart racing and bumper boats. After some shopping, Erica and Jennifer joined us with Luke and Jack. I'm not sure who had a better time at the track...the little kids or the big kids?

On Wednesday afternoon, Fred grilled out some great burgers and I made some homemade cookies and cream ice cream for an early dinner. We then went to the beach to take family pictures. Jennifer gets ALL the credit for the planning on the pictures and we will be so happy to have our Christmas card pictures already made.

Thursday, we all got up and went to the beach for the last time. Noah got stung for a second time by a jellyfish, and I also got stung as well. Apparently, Mauldin males really irritate jellyfish!! We brought the boys back and got them fed and put down for naps early. Fred, Jennifer and I then returned to the beach for a couple of hours to do some reading. However, we ended up talking and catching up the whole time, and I really enjoyed that time alot. We capped off the night by going to The Oyster House for a GREAT dinner. Even though we arrived at 4:30, we still had a 1 hour and 15 minute wait. However, as hard as this is to believe, it was WELL worth it. (And, I got to beat Erica again at air hockey while we waited). That night, after boys went to sleep, we went out to play some tennis, but the lights at our neighborhood courts were not working. So, we drove to this resort down the road and snuck onto their tennis courts, after we had to park away from their guard shack (you know us, outlaw 30+ year old rebels!).

Although this doesn't fit chronologically, I couldn't let a story about our vacation go by without showing you a picture of what we saw about 50% of the time we were there: Noah and Clayton playing MarioKart on the Wii. Seriously, these kids woke up everyday wanting to immediately play...of course, the Dads also ended their days playing this several times (fortunately, no pictures of that).

We left Gulf Shores at about 8:40 Friday morning and made the complete trip that day. We stopped by to see Pops and Mimi in Walnut for Father's Day and finally arrived back in Jackson about 7:45 pm.

We really had a blast and we know the boys had one of the best times of their lives. We were so glad that we got to spend time with Fred, Jennifer, Clayton and Jack and next year can't come soon enough!! Personally, I also really enjoyed getting to spend time with Renee for the first time in several years and getting to reconnect with her.