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Rudy '08

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Happy Birthday Dear Gigi...

Happy birthday to you! We all went out to Bissett's tonight to celebrate Gigi's birthday. After dinner they had a band outside and Patrick had a ball dancing with Gigi. I think he would have stayed all night long!

New Shoes?!

Patrick in Rick's shoes.....I mean obviously they're not Patrick's......or mine. And yes, the pj's are a little snug too, sometimes the laundry doesn't get done it time. I'm going to have to talk to Rick about that!

Woogz and his Jeep

He wasn't quite sure about it a few weeks ago, but now it's on! Patrick LOVES his Jeep! It was a good trade. Georgia tickets for the Jeep! Thanks McKinley! Bailey on the other hand isn't a huge fan! She's a good sport though.

Star Sighting: Shaun Golden

Shaun Golden, Patrick and Rick outside of Taylors Iron.

Well it might not be quite as big as Andre 3000 or Ludacris, but Shaun Golden is our star sighing of the week. Shaun and Rick played pee-wee football together in Greenville, SC when they were about 8 years old. However, Shaun is probably better know for his basketball career at the University of Georgia from 1989-1992. (Elizabeth, remember watching him?!) He came and ate lunch with us at Taylors Iron last Friday.

Happy Birthday Uncle Ed!

Dixie the little dog, Buster the big dog, Patrick and Uncle Ed.

Happy Birthday Uncle Ed!

Wait...if Uncle Ed (Edward, my brother) turned 28 on September 9th, then that means I'm about to turn....hmmmm....THIRTY....30....NOOOOO! That can't be right! Anyway, Happy Birthday to my Dad too! We celebrated his on the 13th. And Mom's is the 19th. September is busy!

Georgia-South Carolina Tailgate (because the game certainly isn't worth mentioning)

The tailgate was a BLAST! So sorry if you missed it. There were lots of fun people there. Rick did ribs on the big grill, there was tons and tons of food and the drinks were flowing....heavily! Thank goodness for the tailgate because the game was s flop! At least we are winning as I type. Rick just sent me a text that we have beaten Western Carolina 45-16! GOOOOO DAWGS!!! The pictures go from the end of the day to the beginning. Enjoy!

Driving over the bridge during the game! It was crazy, but we had to drop my mom off so they let us through. It also helped that Mandy was our driver. Pregnant and sober goes over very well with UGA police officers. Maybe I'll try it at another game this season...it sure wasn't this one! Thank you Mandy. Kelly, Woogz and I were much safer because of you!

The Woogz riding in his Auntie Mandy's car.

Mandy, Joseph Siskey and Kathryn

Kathryn and Raegan

Clark and his girlfriend, Sarah.

Larry(LJ) and his...um...friend? She's cute LJ! What's the story???

The soon-to-be mama's, Mandy and Amanda.

My sister-in-law, Claire and her husband Kevin.

Brittany Sumner and her boyfriend, Charlie.

Tailgaters

Mandy (and Baby P), Kelly, Kathryn, Amanda (and Baby C) Yes, that's right! Amanda is pregnant! Her due date is 4-20 (ha!)! Congrats Amanda and Dave!

Pregnant Mandy kickin' up those swollen ankles! She's due October 2nd, but is scheduled for a c-section on Wednesday, September 19th. Will it be a boy or girl??? My guess is a little girl! Good luck Mandy!

Raegan Yeomans, David & Laura McMahan, and Jon Harvey

Rick & Kathryn, Mitch & Kelly, Trey & Mandy (and Baby P!)

"Ziggy Spotting"

He's been spotted! Ziggy came to our tailgate and now we have proof! "Ziggy Spotting's" will be a new addition to the blog. Anytime we see him around town it will be blogged. Here he is pictured with his "harem".

(L-R) Kelly, Kathryn, Laura, Raegan and Mandy. Front and center is Ziggy, of course!

Few and Far Between

I warned you all in the beginning and I quote, "I'm sure they will be few and far between, however, filled with information you cannot live without...". So I will apologize for not posting since September 3rd. Four post in 5 days only happened because Patrick was out of town. Once "The Woogz" is back in the house, it's a whole different ball game! A much better and more entertaining game, but different none the less. Not as much time at the computer. Unless of course any of you happen to be in the Cancer Auxiliary and in that case e-mails are endless, but usually from my blackberry. (That is correct. Blackberry. The "pearl" to be specific. Not an iPhone. I am, however, cool enough to have one. It just turns out that you cannot have one with a "business account" thanks to "the new at&t". Thank you Taylors Iron for footing my bill. Believe me I am not complaining! I love my little pearl!) But back to the important stuff. What all has been going on??? Let's see...

Not the Same Ole Allen's

Last night after a great meal at Bissett's with Jon and Raegan and Ernie and Melissa we decided to all go grab a beer at Allen's....yes "the" Allen's we all knew and loved. Well they said Allen's was back, but it's just not quite the same.
Here's how I remember Allen's: old, super nasty, dilapidated, should have been condemned, "God you have to love this bar!" Allen's. The floors were horrible. There were layers and layers of dust, dirt, probably mold and grease all over the ceiling. The tables were rickety and the chairs were worse. They had the best burgers in town! Small, thin, greasy and oh so good! Ketchup and mustard were in bottles on the table in a old cardboard six pack. Yummy onions were served in black plastic bowls with a plastic spoon and the burgers always taste better with a big ole scoop. The french fries were also thin and greasy and covered in salt. Delicious! You always knew someone who worked there which meant we could all drink when we were only sixteen. You NEVER needed a fake ID. Even when Sally Jane would get nervous and ask for a pitcher of "Marlboro Lights" they always knew what she really wanted: "Miller Light" and 4 cups. They opened tabs with just a name. No credit card required. And sometimes you wouldn't even have to pay until the end of the week. A $5 tip got you at least 3 or 4 pitchers on the house. If a band was playing there was a $3 or $5 cover, but if you went around to backdoor you never had to pay. Who wanted to hear "The Normaltown Flyers" again anyway? The back deck over looked the parking lot and we are very lucky it never fell in while all of CCHS was out there. The bathrooms were soooo nasty and usually didn't have toilet paper. So we always waited until absolutely necessary to "break the seal". Ladies, remember the "french tickler" condom machine in the bathroom? Did anyone actually buy those not as a joke? "Beast of Burden" by the Rolling Stones was the song of choice on the Jukebox and once you claimed a pool table you didn't let it go. We would always say there was a "ball stuck" so that the bartender, who had been giving us free beer all night, would give us the keys to the pool table so we could get a free game too. We were in high school! It's not like we had this huge disposable income! Come on! Anyone trying to look cool playing pool would always hit their head on the low lights that hung over the tables and we would always laugh. Every time. It really wasn't that funny thinking back, but it sure did hurt! They also had a cigarette machine. Sweet! You wouldn't have to worry about getting carded for those either. That was the old Allen's.
This is the new Allen's: not even in the same location which is their first problem. The floors are clean. The bar is granite. There are NO MORE PITCHERS! Really?! No pitchers? NOT Allen's. The burgers are bigger and probably vegetarian. They have Blue Moon on tap...a big step up from just Bud, Bud Light and Miller Light. The bathrooms sparkle and have 2 stalls. What a concept. There is no more opening a tab with just a name. A credit card is required and they now take Discover. They also will need to see your ID. Really?! I've been drinking at Allen's since I was 16 years old and now you need to see my ID? Nice. There is still a deck. However it is in the front and over looks Hawthorne Avenue.
Now don't get me wrong. I like the nicer, much cleaner bathrooms; the fact I'm not scared we are all going to tumble to our deaths while sitting on the deck; and that they have Blue Moon on tap. I really like that one. At almost 30 this is the sort of Allen's I would want to frequent. But the same Allen's since 1955? I don't think so.

When Patrick's Away...

The parents will play! That is definitely the case this weekend. Friday night we saw Hootie, Saturday was the first Georgia game and Sunday is the day of rest...at least until this evening when have dinner plans with a few friends! Patrick is in Beaufort, SC with my in-laws and hopefully when he gets back Monday things will start to settle down again. We were so lucky to have so many friends come in town for the first game. Kelly and Mitch came from Knoxville, TN and Sally Jane was here from Birmingham. We also briefly saw, Joseph Siskey, Laura and Brian Ullrich and Ziggy! Fun was had by all and Georgia beat the Oklahoma State Cowboys 35-14! GOOOO DAWGS!!! Other games of interest were Ole Miss beating Memphis (barely!) 23-21; Tennessee LOSING to Cal (ha!) 45-31; and probably the biggest shocker, Appalachian State knocking off #5 Michigan 34-32. Don't ya just love college football?!

Star Sighting...

If you were on the Georgia sidelines yesterday you may have briefly thought you were at USC game. That would be the University of Southern California not South Carolina. All of a sudden we look up on the big screen and down on the field is Andre 3000 and Big Boi from Outkast ... "Heeeyyy Yaaaaa!" and Ludacris! (Elizabeth Kidd Hogan - you would have died!) It was awesome....especially if you like rap music, which of course I love! Sweet! Next week we play South Carolina. Wonder what stars will come out for that game...we'll keep you posted!

Hootie Hoo

Friday evening Rick and I headed to Atlanta to see Hootie and the Blowfish at Chastain Park. We had a blast! The band was really incredible. They sound exactly the same live as they do on CD. That is pretty rare. I can't imagine if we had seen Britney Spears I could say the same thing. I also can't imagine wanting (and especially paying) to see Britney Spears. If I did I can promise I wouldn't let any of y'all know about it! Anyway...Chastain was cool too. You can bring coolers and picnics which was really fun. Some people go all out with linens and candelabras. It was great! Can't wait to get back! Our partners in crime were Tom and Ann Whitten Broune. Rick and Tom do a little work together and luckily for me they are both very cool! Sometimes "work friend" outings can be rather painful. That is never the case with the Bourne's. Thank you both for the hospitality!