we're still here!

The last week has been a big blur....
County Fair was last week. My brother placed 4th and 5th in his class with his goats. Might I add that the one that I walked (AKA dragged) around the yard did the best of the two. He placed 5th place in Showmanship. Congratulations Spank! (You can do better at State!)
Thursday and Friday I was at home sick with the stomach bug. I do not recall the last time that I was that sick. I won't go in to any details, but let's just say I would not wish that upon my WORST enemy! Thank goodness Brandon did not get it. Greenbrier lost Friday night, but I don't have many details since I was at home on the couch re-cooperating.
Saturday I was supposed to run a cross-country race in Conway, but since I had been sooooo sick I did not run. I went to Reid's soccer game and came home to rest. We have now entered the modern world. Our satellite TV was hooked up Saturday afternoon. I can tell you right now that there is still nothing on TV even if you get 200 channels! BUT Brandon does get to watch Razorback football at home now. (Thanks Mark for sharing your TV with Brandon in the last few seasons!) I am really enjoying Lifetime Movies and Discovery Health. AND DVR is the best thing since sliced bread. :) Brandon worked on the electricity in the shop. Hopefully he will have lights soon. It seems like it gets dark really early already.
Sunday after church we worked on the backyard. The ditches are covered up now, but since it has rained a little this week our backyard is a mud pit!
Monday night we played our last softball game. You can write us down for another LOSS! We should have won, but I guess you can't win them all!
Overall we are doing good! Hope to hear from you all soon!

Weekend Update

Thursday afternoon Brandon worked late at work so I went to watch the volleyball game to watch Taylor play. I also walked "Flossy" for my brother to get ready for the fair.
Friday morning I got up early so that I could help my brother. It's less than a week until county fair and because of his dizziness he has been unable to walk his goats. Soooooooo.... you guessed it. I went and walked them for him before work Friday morning. He is a spoiled brat! You can definitely tell that he is the baby of the family. Friday night I went to the football game to support the Panthers. They lost 17-6 to Oak Grove. :( Hopefully Spank will be able to play next week. I enjoy the game a lot more when I get to watch my brother play.
Saturday afternoon we ordered pizza and went over to Sister and Steven's to watch the Razorback game. Spank came over too so that was nice to have a little sibling get together to watch football. Riley is laughing out loud now. Not necessarily at anything, but he smiles and laughs now. Reid is the funniest thing ever. You never know what's going to come out of his mouth. He's just a little comedian and loves his baby brother. He told my sister that he wanted to eat some strawberries for a snack but make sure she cut the grass off first! :)

Allergies

I went to the allergy doctor. After being pricked 65 times on my back I found out I am allergic to several grass pollens, tree pollens, dust, and cats. As of right now there is no specific reason as to why I am having allergic reactions. They are caused by 1 of 4 things (food, medication, latex, or auto-immune disease). I do not fall into any of those categories so Dr. Shields said that at this point it looks like I will just have reactions occasionally, but if they get worse come back.

Concussion

We found out today that Spank has a concussion. Wednesday morning he started having symptoms that concerned my parents. For example, Dad said that he was hard to wake up this morning for school (not too unusual, he is a 16 year old boy), he told Mom that he had thrown up (he gets the stomach bug quite often), but the kicker was when he came back inside after feeding his goats and he had mud all over him. He informed mom that he had fallen out in the grass in the yard. Mom could see that Spank had a look of concern on his face so she immediately started putting things together. He has also been complaining about dizziness since his fall on Sunday. Mom and Dad took him to the doctor and Dr. Bowlin ordered a CT Scan of his noggin' to make sure there was no other injury. Mom received a phone call this afternoon to let us know that it is only a concussion. He will not be playing in Friday's game and has missed a few days of school this week due to being dizzy and sick to his stomach. Pray that his dizziness gets better and his headache goes away.

Crazy Hair Night

Tonight was "Crazy Hair" Night at AWANA. I braided my hair and then put some wire in each braid to make them stick out away from my head. The kids loved it. Several of them told me that I looked like the Wendy's girl. :) Here is a picture of the kids who wore crazy hair.

Greenbrier Beat Mayflower!

Friday night Greenbrier won their first game for the season. They beat Mayflower 13-12. It was a very good game despite the rain during part of the game. There was a really good turn out too. The bleachers were full even after the rain.
Saturday was Reid's first soccer game. It was hilarious! Reid wasn't quite sure what he was supposed to be doing so he spent most of his time running around behind the other kids, but he enjoyed himself.
Saturday afternoon I went to visit Mamaw and Papaw. They are doing good. Mamaw was walking around the house without a cane or walker and was doing well with her balance. Papaw was getting excited about going to the big Gideon meeting this week.
Sunday was my Dad's 51st Birthday! HAPPY BIRTHDAY PA! We went to eat supper at mom and dad's after church. On the way to my parents mom called and wanted us to stop and get some butterfly strips at Wal-Mart because my brother busted his chin open. Sister, Steven, the boys, me, Brandon, mom, dad, Spank, and Taylor were all there to eat supper. Majority vote was that Spank needed stitches so mom and Taylor took him to the ER and 5 stitches and about an hour and half later they were on their way back home. His chin is sore, but he seems to be doing better now.
Judy and Frank made it back safely from Colorado. They completed the Pikes Peak Challenge for the second year in a row. CONGRATULATIONS Judy and Frank!
Monday night Brandon and I played softball. We played most of the game in the pouring down rain and ended up losing by 5 or 6 runs. Oh well, you can't win 'em all!
Today was the first day of sunshine that we have had in several days so after work today I took Kitty for a jog. We made the 4.1 mile loop by the house in about 41 minutes. She loves to go! On the way back I let her play in the water by the house to cool off a little bit. She really loves that!

Getting ready for the game!

Here are a few pictures of the boys getting ready for the football game. This is the sign that I made for the game. All of the parents are supposed to make a sign to hang on the fence. Somehow I was recruited to make Spank's. Go Uncle Brandon #69!

Reid's Kittens

Reid had finally named his kittens. Smokey and Sassy! Here is a picture of Reid playing with Sassy. Thanks for the cat toys Frank! (Notice Sonny in the middle of the action.)

Thursday

Well I made an appointment with the allergist for next week so we'll see what it is that I am allergic to. It seems like I have been having allergic reactions more and more lately.
Work is going good. I still enjoy my job at the Rehab Hospital even after 2 years. Brandon's job is going good. They are staying busy. I am sure after the last few days of rain business will pick up for him. Rainy days mean slick streets which mean dented fenders. :)
I realized that I have not added any pictures of Reid and Riley so here are some. I'll try to remember my camera Friday night at the football game. Good luck Baby Spank, BEAT MAYFLOWER!

Benjamin "Riley" Nixon 4 days old!


Steven "Reid" Nixon 4 years old

20 KIDS!!

Tonight was our first official night of AWANA at church. I am teaching Sparks again (K-2nd grade) this year and looking forward to what this year has in store for us. We had 20 kids show up tonight. Boy it's going to be a big year. Pray that God will send me some more helpers 'cause I'm gonna need them!
Last night I went out to eat with Julie and Summer. Summer is here for the week visiting from Florida. It was quite an eventful night as my life seems to always be. :) On our way to Marketplace Grill I started not feeling well. By the time we got there I was having an allergic reaction to something so as soon as we sat down and got our drinks I took a Benadryl (6:55 p.m.) Yes, I keep Bendaryl in my purse. Someone with allergies is always prepared! Ok, so by 7:15 p.m. my ears were swollen, face was red and blotchy, both arm had welps and were really red, and I had redness on my legs too. Soooo... I took another Benadryl. We finished our meal and the itching and swelling and most of the redness was going down, BUT I didn't feel like I should drive the 30 minutes home since I was getting really sleepy (side effects of allergy medications) so Julie had to drive me home. When I got home I took a cold shower and things were better, but at 9:00 p.m. I still had redness so I took another Benadryl and went to bed. Today I feel much better. I was sleepy most of the day, but other than that I am 100% better.

Labor Day!

Well, I am really 25 years old now. Thanks to everyone who sent cards, called, and wished me a HAPPY Birthday! Brandon and I went out to eat last night for my birthday. We stopped by Sister's house on the way home. Reid is now the new owner of 2 kittens. They are so cute. If they survive Reid loving them and Sammy (Reid's dog) licking them they will be doing good.
We are going to mom and dad's in a few minutes to enjoy our Labor Day evening. I had to work 1/2 day today. Unfortunately people still need therapy no matter what day it is. :) Brandon has been working on framing out the bathroom in the shop. We officially have water in the shop now. We just don't have the sinks or toilet hooked up yet. Brandon and Billy (a friend from church) will be working on the electrical stuff this week. The shop is coming right along, slowly but surely! Have a good week!

weekend update

Friday night we went to the football game at Beebe. Greenbrier lost 21-0. My sister and Steven were there with both boys. Reid loved the band and the fireworks (everytime Beebe scored). Reid also enjoyed just watching the ballgame. He especially liked it when he could pick out uncle Spank on the field playing. Riley was not so happy about all the noise at first, but he ended up going to sleep later while sitting right next to the band. He's a sound sleeper, but I guess he would have to be with a big brother like Reid and dog like Sonny running around their house all the time. Saturday morning I went to run the Clear Mountain 5K in North Little Rock with Julie. I ran the whole race without stopping to walk. That's the first race I have been able to do that. Which is really impressive since I didn't feel so much like running when we got there. I finished 2nd in my age group with a time of 24:31. Julie did really good Saturday. Her best time yet, 34:38. Judy and Frank also ran the race. Judy ran her fastest 5K (29:30) Frank's time was 29:43. Saturday night we went to Clinton to eat dinner with mom and dad at the wagon races. Sister and Steven took Reid to watch the races Saturday so they stayed to eat too. The Culpepper Mountain Band played Saturday night at the dance so that was nice to get to hear Chris Isom play again. Brandon is outside working on the wiring for the shop right now and I am going to go take a nap. I think we are going to go out to eat tonight, but for right now there is no better thing to do on your BIRTHDAY than take a nice long nap in the A/C. Have a safe and fun Labor Day!