"'Tis the Season to be Busy"

Parties and programs to presents, decking the halls to dining with friends and co-workers: The month of December sure can be busy! Here are a few pics of us from this season. School is officially "out" tomorrow at 11:30, and we intend to spend the last week before Christmas slowing down to take in the miracle and meaning of this special season. Merry Christmas to you all!

Cookie Exchange Party

My best friend LouAnn is a brave soul! Early in December she decided to hold a cookie exchange for about 30 kids of our friends. It was a great time, and all the kids had fun. Beau enjoyed the entire party, and Ali had fun until Santa showed up. Ali is petrified of Santa and spent his entire visit at the house in another room as far as she could be from "Ho, Ho." She wants presents from him, but wants NOTHING to do with him.

Derick turns 35!

On Sunday, December 13, Derick turned 35! We had a small family party for him with the cake of his choosing; this year it was Boston Cream Pie. The kids and I gave him money for his "Fleet Foot" running shoe fitting and new shoes. He got a pair of new muck shoes from his parents. My parents gave him a Saints t-shirt and new polo shirt. Ashley and Dustin gave him a new book by Ole Miss Alum, Quentin Whitwell, and Randy being Randy gave him a 5th of Crown. (Derick loved the liquor......and all his gifts!) And speaking of liquor, just like a good bottle of wine, you too get better with age! Happy Birthday, Derick! We love you!

One Little Indian

Ali is now "Princess Shooting Star." This after her Thanksgiving Feast held in November. Here she is in complete Indian Princess dress along with her drum and necklace made entirely by Ali at school. Too cute, we think!

Belle and Darth Vader

For Halloween this year, the kids picked out their own costumes without help from me. Beau chose to be "a bad guy." He was Darth Vader and Ali was Princess Belle. They had a blast dressing up, having a neighborhood party at the Parolli's, riding the hayride around the neighborhood and gathering candy as they trick-or-treated. And Derick and I really enjoyed it too!!!!

Biglane Halloween Costume Party

For the last several years Derick and I have hosted an adult "Costume" party for our friends. It has grown to about 22 couples who come for a night of fun, with "dressing up," being the best part of the night. We can't wait until next year....gotta start thinking of a new costume idea.

"Someday I'll be an Ole Miss Girl"

Everyone knows we are Ole Miss fans. This weekend we went back to Oxford and the Grove for the Arkansas/Ole Miss game. Beau went to the Alabama game with Derick a few weeks ago and he told us this week he "didn't want to see the Rebels lose to Arkansas." (And yes, those words were like a knife to the heart.) He later clarified that he is very much still a Rebel (secondly to being a Florida/Vanderbilt fan first) and that he hoped the Rebels would win....but just wanted a week off. For two days in a row Ali said she wanted to go to this week's game with her "Poppy." (That is my Daddy.) My Dad didn't take me to my first game until I was four, so Ali going at three, was a stretch. But Ali's "AA and Poppy" decided they were up for taking her if she was up for going. And she stayed from the beginning of the second quarter until the very end of the game. Of course, they said she ate and took a nap during the game and came back with cotton candy as a souveneir. (Thanks Daddy and Ashley for indulging her every wish while still managing to enjoy the game!) Ali is so proud she went to the game...and she just might be good luck. "Poppy" bought Ali a shirt that she proudly is wearing around the house today. It reads, "Someday I'll be an Ole Miss Girl." And yes, Miss Ali, I hope one day you will be!

Balloon Race Weekend

Every October, Natchez hosts a hot-air balloon race. It is quite a site to see and hear! This year, we took Beau and Ali for the first time (we miss alot due to football season....priorities, you know). Anyway, this year the weather conditions were too windy for the races on Saturday to take place. But after an answer to prayers (literally because Beau prayed for the balloons to be able to take off during prayers two nights in a row) the balloons did take place in the balloon "drop" on Sunday morning. It was a beautiful sight as all the hot-air balloons took flight in the Natchez sky. We watched as nearly 40 of the 60 balloons flew over and landed by our watch site at Duncan Park. And Beau was lucky enough to get to ride with his cousin Julia Rachel in one of the balloons. (Okay, so they were teathered to the ground by 10 crew members and didn't get more than 10 feet off the ground. But they still got to get in the basket, and watch the flame rise as the balloon lifted into the air.) Beau thought it was the coolest thing ever....and so did his kindergarten class when he took pictures for show and tell. Look for the "dog" balloon in these pictures as it is Beau's favorite!

Fun at the Fair

While in Natchez for Balloon Race weekend, the kids attended a "fair". There were all kinds of carnival rides and fun things to see and do. Ali and Beau loved the "giant, pink" slide the most. They didn't discriminate either as to whom they would slide down with; themselves, Uncle Barr, Aunt Paige and Daddy all made great "slide" partners. There was a "dragon" roller coaster that was another favorite. And they rode cars, a merry-go-round, and a "scrambler." It was so much fun....just wish it had been about 10 degrees warmer with no wind that day.

Hernando BBQ Fest

Derick and I are in a supper club with 10 other couples in Hernando. The "guys" in the supper club decided months ago they wanted to form a team in the Hernando BBQ Festival and try their hands at cooking in the rib competition. After weeks of planning (with budget spreadsheets), they were all ready for this past weekends competition.

Team name: "Diz Muz be da Pork."

Translation: This Must be the Pork

Reason for name: The boys all go on an annual guys weekend to a cabin on Moon Lake. There is a local bar where the owner is a former customer of Derick's. The bar is called, "Diz Muz be da Place." (Remember the blues bar in Animal House.....?) So they took the name from this bar, and with Sherman's permission had t-shirts and cups all made up sporting their clever name.

The team claimed 5th place in the rib competition on Saturday. (Quoting Ty Owen, "#5 in the system, but #1 in your heart!) Not bad for first time out! And they threw a great party on Friday night!!!! Congrats guys!

Cloudy with a chance of ...Disney on Ice?

Friday night was girls/boys night out at the Biglane house. Ali and I received free tickets in the BancorpSouth suite to go see, "Disney on Ice." And not to be outdone, Derick and Beau went to see the new movie, "Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs."

Ali loved Disney on Ice. We got to see the actual cars from "Cars," and we saw Ariel- the Little Mermaid, The Lion King, and Tinkerbell. Ali enjoyed Ariel the most. She loved the music and danced back and forth. She wanted to dress up for the performance so she dressed as Belle from Beauty and the Beast. (She stayed in costume for the entire 2-hour event.)

Derick and Beau enjoyed the movie. Derick said it was "pretty cute." Beau said it was in 3-D and kind of cool! He loved all the large pancakes, meatballs, etc. that fell from the sky. Sounds cool, but I agree with Ali, I'd rather be a princess any night!

Make it a Movie Night

Every Thursday night is "movie night," at our house. We do everything early at our house; eat early, take baths early, etc. Then we settle in on the couches with lots of blankets and pillows for our family movie. We take turns picking (Ali kind of limits what we watch these days as she is now "scared of everything. Scared of the "wolf" in Sword in the Stone, scared of Tae Lung in Kung Fu Panda, etc.) We watched "The Jetson's" movie the other night. (Wow....not really exciting. Seriously, Tiffany from 80's fame had the soundtrack in the film....and that was probably the highlight.) But the kids enjoyed it anyway. Here they are....still with wet hair all ready for movie night.

Asleep on the Job?

I started back to work earlier this month. Today, I needed to come to the office for a little while and so Ali came with me after getting out of preschool for the day. She brought and ate a packed lunch. Then while I worked, she slept on the the little couch in my office. She has been snoozing for a solid hour and a half! Wow! They say all good "leaders" take naps or siestas.......

Girl's Weekend in Oxford

This blog really is mostly about the kids, but I have to take a moment and share something fun I got to do. This past weekend, me and 9 other Phi Mu sorority sisters took a Girl's Weekend trip to Oxford. We had the best time getting to visit, relive "old times" and share new things happening in our lives. Most of us don't live close and rarely see each other except the occasional football game weekend. So this was a wonderful treat getting to actually spend time together. We went out to dinner on Friday night, hung out at a bar (I loved the little guy at the door who actually carded me), and made a trip over to the Phi Mu house at 2:00 in the morning. (And yes, the door man actually let us inside to look around our old "home away from home.") On Saturday, we shopped on the Square, had drinks at old hangouts and had a fantastic dinner at a new place on the Square called Lenora's. The food was fantastic and the company even better. We closed out the night with a trip to Burgundy Room before making a run through McDonald's to satisfy late-night cravings. We do all know that we are getting "old." Hanging out till 3:45 am is much harder on the body than it used to be. But it was just so much fun getting to visit. These girls are a special group! We were in and at each other's weddings. We share in the birth of each other's babies, exchange Christmas Cards, and live for the chance to get to see each other in person and visit. And ...we all share a deep and undying devotion to Oxford and Ole Miss! I can't wait for next year!

"Dance with a Blind Mouse"

This week has been full of things the kids are doing as the school year is underway. We had dress up day at school, dance classes started and soccer practice has begun. On Friday, Beau had to dress as a Nursery Rhyme Character. He chose to be one of the "Three Blind Mice." Check out the cool cat in our interpretration complete with Southern Proper sunglasses, a chopped tail and the number "3" pinned to our shirt! (Beau is acting like a mouse nibbling on some cheese.) Ali has started a dance class where she takes tap, ballet and gymnastics. She really likes the tapping part (likes all the noise her shoes make as she does heel/toe, heel/toe.) And she likes the gymnastics part (jumping through a doughnut, walking a balance beam, and hanging like a monkey.) She isn't as keen on the ballet part just yet, however by the looks in this picture she is limber enough. She thinks she looks like "Angelina Ballerina." Oh, and Beau has started soccer practice. This is by far his favorite sport right now. He says he and his team the "Jaguars" are ready "to dominate"!

Homework and More Homework!

Beau is in his second week of school and Ali is in her first full week of school. And we are in our first year of consistent "homework." Beau is beginning to read "Take home books," once a week where he concentrates on a word or sound by reading it 5 times to his parents, signs his name, and takes his sheet back to school. We are also really concentrating on writing our names with correct handwriting skills. (Going pretty well so far.) He had to make a poster for school that contained information "all about him" listing all his favorite things. Beau thought it was cool that he is the only kid in class who wants to be a "zoo keeper or paleontologist" when he grows up. His teacher asked, "Beau what is a paleontologist?" Beau said he told her, "that is a Doctor that finds and studies dinosaur fossils." Yes, Ross Gellar, everyone knows that!

Ali started her 3k preschool class that meets 3 days a week on Monday. She goes to school half day and really likes it! The first day we had a minor incident when her "fish" (discipline system her class uses) was moved once because she got up and walked out of class and to her cubbie for her "lovie" without permission. But today, "lovie" stayed in the car and Ali's "fish" wasn't moved and she came home with an "excellent sticker" for her behavior on the day! Way to go! Ali says she loves coloring. (She has her Mom's skills!!!!) She got to take her favorite "toy" today and she took a purple My Little Pony. (Princesses and dolls stayed home to avoid any tantrums when they were passed around.) She says she has two friends in class this year, Davey Ann and Neeley. (She is in a class of 10, but we haven't learned everyone's name just yet.) Her teacher's are Ms. Kristie and Ms. Jennifer, and Ali likes them both. (Good start!) Ali's favorite thing about school so far is that she has a "big girl bag like Beau carries." She gets to carry her snack and lunchbox in this bag along with her take home folder that comes home daily reporting Ali's behavior and schoolwork. She is really proud of it!

We are off to a good start! Let's hope the kids always enjoy "home work" this much!

Ali's Kingdom for the Day

Ali had her "princess party" on Saturday. It was her first "friend party." Ali planned the entire party....moon bounce at home. We also had fishing for the kids on the lake. She had a pink crown cupcake-cake. Candy party favors went home with the kids, except for the 4 Ali hid for herself! It was fun and Ali enjoyed being "princess" for the day!

Big Day for Biglanes

The first day of school finally arrived at our house! With new lunchboxes (thanks Aunt Kay and Aunt Nancy) and bags in hand we officially started the 09-10 school year. Beau is in a class of 17 kindergartners. There are 10 of the most beautiful little girls in his class and 7 boys. I asked if Beau noticed how pretty the girls are in his class, and he gave me a great big smile and said, "They are and I share a cubby with one." (Smart boy!) Beau was a bit nervous because he and his little group of "buddies" were all split up this year and he didn't know any of the boys except 1 in his class this morning. But when I took him in and dropped him off he showed how resilient he is by making fast friends with a little boy named "Harris" who was playing with legos. Beau says they played Star Wars. "I was the bad guy and he was the good guy." When I picked him up I asked if he was okay with not having some of his friends from last year in class. Beau said, "I wish they were in my class. But I know I will get to see Cannon, Troy and Andy on the playground and breaks. And I will make new friends too, like Harris." Resilient! Now if Ali's day on Thursday only goes this well.........

Beau said this and that:

What do you think of your teacher? Mrs. Lancaster's nice. She gave me a hug for my happie you made me give her.

Best Part of Day: I got to be "line leader" on the first day of school. Cool!

Favorite thing you did? Play on playground

Who sits next to you? Brandon and I think his name is Gavin...I can't remember...I'll ask tomorrow.

Happy Birthday, Ali!

Happy 3rd Birthday, Ali!

At 8:11 am on 8/11/06, our world forever changed with the birth of our little girl Alice Kate Biglane. "Ali" turned 3 today and we celebrated with a birthday breakfast of french toast and cupcakes and the opening of presents. Beau was disapointed and remarked that, "Ali didn't look 3 ---or any older---on her birthday."

Ali received lots of phone calls and emails this morning wishing her a "happy day." And she was sent many cards from aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents, etc. Figero (her cat) gave her a "Princess piano," (which is really a keyboard.) She got a bicyle, book and rain jacket, and a princess match game. But her favorite gift has been her "makeup" that Beau gave her. Wow! Happy Birthday, sweet Ali! We love you!