34-17

Saturday we went to our first Carolina-Clemson game, we've always just watched it on TV, but this year we actually got to go. Our friends, Ted and Sarah, were so sweet to invite us to go with them and we also took Justin's dad for his birthday. They were visiting for Thanksgiving, and Justin was so excited to be able to share this experience with his dad. (Justin's mom kept Alina at home for us, which we are grateful for). We tailgated for a little bit before the game and then went in. While we were there, we realized that we were just a few rows above our friends, Chris and Marcie, who now live in Atlanta, but come in for the games. The game did not start out very promising, as Spiller ran back the kick-off for a touchdown. But it was all Carolina from there! They didn't score again until the fourth quarter. It was great. College football is huge here, and this game is about as big as it gets! We are so glad we got to go and had a wonderful time. Now we get bragging rights for a whole year:)

Yes, Sarah is a Clemson fan, but we love her anyway

Sarah, not happy with Clemson's playing

State Champs:)

Happy Thanksgiving!

This was Alina's first Thanksgiving and we had a blast. Justin's parents were able to come in on Wednesday and celebrate with us. We enjoyed a great meal, especially Alina! She loved the green bean casserole, mashed potatoes and mac and cheese. On Friday, Jana and I went shopping with Colleen, which is our tradition, four years running. We got a lot of shopping in, mostly clothes for Alina. They are just irresistable That evening, even Alina got our for a little black Friday shopping! At TJ Max she tried to get toys into the cart as her grandpa Randy pushed her around in the cart. She loves to go to stores, I think we have some fun shopping ahead of us:)

'Boot' Scootin Boogie and More!

Lately Alina has taken to scooting around the house. She's not much interested in crawling, but has decided that she'll still get where she wants to get by scooting on her 'booty.' She can get from the living room to under the dining room table in no time. Today she decided to explore around the fire place. Luckily we don't have a hearth, but I will soon need to move some of the decorative items that wouldn't be good for her to get a hold of.


Alina also likes to ride on her new toy giraffe. She thinks its so much fun to sit on it and have us push her around the house. A bit spoiled yes, but fun anyway! Alina thinks its especially funny when Macy seems scared of her riding towards her and runs away, she laughs so hard! We are having so much fun with our big girl!

A Girl and Her Dog

When we brought Alina home, we didn't know how the dogs would react. We knew Major always loved everyone, but Macy was a bit skiddish so we didn't know what would happen. They have really surprised us. Major doesn't care too much about her, to him, she's just there. I think he will love her more when she is older and can play more. For now, he just walks by her once in a while and licks her toes. Macy however, absolutely loves Alina! She seems to want to take care of her by always laying next to her and letting Alina do whatever she wants (pull on her ears, poke her eye, tug on her collar, etc.). Here you can see just how much they enjoy each other.

First Halloween

This was Alina's first Halloween and we spent it together as a family. On Saturday morning, we drove to Clinton so that Pauline and I could run in our first 5k! We started and finished on the campus of Presbyterian College. It felt good to complete this, we've been training for 9 weeks. Justin and Alina were there to support Mommy!

This is me shocked to find out that I won first in my age group (I think there were only like 3 in the group, but hey I beat someone)

That evening we went to the Fall Festival at church. Below you can see pictures of our ladybug, possibly the cutest pictures ever! We helped out by watching the inflatable jump house things. Alina enjoyed seeing all the kids, music and colors. It was a great night.

Do ladybugs eat grass? Well, this one does:)