Thanksgiving Celebration and Fun

Thanksgiving is a wonderful time of year.  Mike and I load up the kids and drive for two days to visit Mike's aunts, uncles and cousins.  We always have a great time and hate to see it end.  Every year after we eat Thanksgiving Dinner, the guys like to play in the Turkey Bowl.  It is a touch football game that gets more serious every year.  This year, a couple of the guys went and lined the field and set up cones to mark the end zones and the sides of the field.  I even found t-shirts at Old Navy that were perfect for the game.  Later that evening, Mike's cousin Andrew took a picture of the whole family on the staircase and a video that he is going to send in to Good Morning America for their "Three Words" segment.  We hope it will be picked.  If it is, I will try to post something here.

Here are some pictures from the weekend of the Turkey Bowl and a few of the kids.

Isn't this a handsome group of men?

Hannah and Ashtyn were the cheerleaders

 Andrew and Will playing in the sand

 

Some action shots

Mike has the ball!

Hannah and Ashtyn enjoying their time together

Aren't these some beautiful ladies?

Will being silly

The Grissom, Frazier, Edenfield, Jinnette, Chitwood, Hoyle and Nowiski  Families

Mike and Andrew were on their way back from the restroom when this picture was taken. (LaNell, Will, and Isabelle were looking at them.) I think another one was taken with them in it but I do not have a copy.  They were in the video which was done next.

I just love this family!!!

Fall-ing For Jesus

The Children's Ministry at our church had an event called "Fall-ing for Jesus" for 1-3 graders and their families today after our second service.  Hot dogs, popcorn, and drinks were available to eat.  There were also games such as a cupcake walk, sack race and a doughnut game (you had 30 seconds to eat a doughnut hanging on a string without using your hands).  There was even a hayride and face painting! 

Will, Andrew and I did the cupcake walk.  Andrew and I won on our first trip around.  Poor Will walked around for about 15 minutes.  He was persistent and it paid off.  He won a chocolate cupcake.  Hannah got her face painted.  Andrew participated in the sack race.  He was the last one to cross the finish line but he did it all by himself.  All of us rode on the hayride before heading home.  It was a nice ending to a fun event.

We all had fun being outside, playing games and visiting with friends.  Thanks Missi, Angie, and Anne for heading it up and putting on the event.  It was fun!!

Fuming Over New Tax Increase

Tuesday, voters in my city voted whether or not to add a 1% tax to restaurant food purchases.  Sixty-seven percent of voters said yes.  Doesn't sound like a big deal, does it?  It's only a penny.  What the media and mayor's office didn't tell people was that the total tax on restaurant food purchases would now be 10% with this new tax.  TEN PERCENT!!!!

State tax here is seven percent.  Not too bad when you compare it to the state just north of us.  A few years ago, the county added a 2% tourism (restaurant and hotel) tax to help pay off and upkeep a local arena.  Then a few months ago, our mayor decided to seek a 1% additional tax on food to help finance upgrades to the park system, add new ball fields and other amenities.  The total bill for all the projects is around $35 million.  Part of the cost of this improvement plan will be covered by a federal grant of $6 million to go towards building two storm shelters.  The rest of the remaining $29 million will come from the new tax.

According to the mayor and city officials, the bulk of this new tax (and the tourism tax) is not suppose to be carried by the residents of this city but by the tourists who come for the different tournaments hosted here each year.  Their reasoning that the people who come to these tournaments and events are going to pay the bulk of the cost doesn't make sense to me.  The Dizzy Dean World Series does bring in $3-6 million dollars of revenue every year.  Softball, baseball and soccer tournaments also bring in money spent in our restaurants and hotels.  I can't see all of these events bringing in enough money to where the residents of our fair city are relieved of most of the tax burden.  Some maybe, but not most.

Now, after all the extra softball, baseball, and soccer fields, tennis courts, dog park, spray park, skate park and $5 million senior citizen center are completed and paid for, do you think this tax will be taken off the books?  NO!!  It will be used to pay for maintenance and other improvements of the parks system and take "the burden off of property taxes."
I understand the need for upgrades to the parks.  One of the concerns is building new ball fields to help accommodate all the kids who have signed up for softball and baseball.  Right now, some of the T-ball players are having to start games at 9 p.m. because of the lack of available fields.  We had that problem with Will when he played baseball but, thanks to the good Lord, we didn't have that problem this year with either of the boys.  Officials have tossed around the idea of limiting the number of sign-ups but then decided that wasn't going to work. 

The city also wants to stay competitive by continuing to host regional tournaments.  Cities like Oxford, MS and Jackson, TN are expanding their parks so our leaders want to make sure we can compete on a level playing field with them and others.  I understand all this.  If it was a temporary tax, I may not mind as much.  I just don't like having to keep paying and paying with no end in sight.  When my family and I decide to eat out, I guess we will have to choose a neighboring city, one where it won't cost us a fortune in taxes.

It still has to pass the legislature in January.  If it does, it should go into affect sometime in July, 2011.

Games We Play

To pass the time in the car or van, whether it is on long road trips or a jaunt to the store, the kids and I play games.  Some I played as a child; others the kids and I have created.  They are loads of fun and can be addicting.

One I taught the kids is Slugbug.  For those who aren't familiar with this game, a slugbug is a Volkswagon Beetle.  They were popular when I was growing up.   Fortunately, their popularity has rebounded and they can be found in abundance nowadays.  When you see a VW Bug, you yell, "SLUGBUG!"  The first one to call it get a point.  The person with the most points once you get to your destination wins.  I find myself playing this game when I'm in the car by myself.  At one time, it had gotten so bad that I knew where all the "regular" places were and would start looking for them when I was with the kids.  It wasn't cheating; I was making my trips around town work to my advantage. The kids are amazed because I can see them quite a ways off.  The trick: knowing the body style and headlight shapes comes in REALLY handy. 

We play the same game with Ford Mustangs.  When you spot a mustang, you yell "Mustang!"  This one is a favorite of my kids.  They love those cars (as does their mom)!

One my kids came up with was Twinkie Banana.  When you find a yellow vehicle, you try to be the first to yell either "Twinkie" or "Banana" (the difference: the darker color is a twinkie; the lighter one is a banana).  Sometime we just yell "Twinkie Banana" to cover all bases.

My nephew Nathan and a friend of his created another game using Dodge and Jeep vehicles.  If you spot a Dodge, try to be the first to say "D-D-DODGE!"   If you see a Jeep, say "BEEP-BEEP JEEP!"  The person with the most wins.  This is another game where knowing the body styles, headlight shapes and emblems really well works to your advantage.   This is a hard game because your tongue will get twisted up, especially if you see them close together.

One I do sometimes on my own is finding vehicles all the same color.  It's amazing how many vehicles you can find all of one color at one time when you're paying attention.  The next time you are out driving, take a look around you and see how many cars there are all one color.  It is really interesting.

A game my kids like to play on long trips is the Alphabet Game.  Melanie and I used to play this when we would go on trips to Ohio and Florida to visit family.  I taught this to the kids either last year or the year before and they liked it.  To play, you search for signs that have the letters of the alphabet on them, starting with the letter A.  Once you find the letter you are on, you move to the next one.  You must go in order and you can't skip any letters.  The hardest letters to find are Q, U,V and Z.  You can go miles and miles before finding the right sign.  You have to keep your eyes open and read every sign you see.  Sometimes we play together.  Other times we play individually, seeing who can get to the end first.  This game can be played during the day or at night, while the car games are best during the day.

I've tried to make up a game similar to the Alphabet Games using numbers instead.  I haven't had much luck on this one.  This one is not as much fun because numbers are everywhere. 

When I was a teenager, my friends and I would thump the ceiling of the car every time we saw a car with one headlight.  Sometimes I catch myself wanting to do this for no reason.  Strange, I know.

Do you have any games you and your familiy play while in the car?  Are there any you played as a child?  I would love to hear about them.  We are always looking for something new to play.