Is it Chili in Here?

It's official. Anna has now been to her first chili cook-off to experience firsthand this great American culinary and cultural tradition. The names speak for themselves: "The Punisher", "Chuck, Chicks & Chili", "White Trash Chili", and "'Roid Rage Chili". My personal vote went to "Team Rolades" if no other reason than the fact that they had a precocious 10-year old boy hawking their product like a seasoned auction caller. The chili was pretty good, too, though I was slightly disappointed with the overall creativity and diversity of the entries. Granted, after downing about 30 mini-cups of chili, you reach a point where they do all tend to taste alike. Anna had a good time people-watching and groovin' to the sweet sounds of southern rock cover bands (lots of them!). She also found time to pose for a few photo opps.


Feel the burn!


Her workout regimen is finally paying off.


I feel the need...the need for speed!


Checking out the sights and sounds with Mia and Grandaddy.

Look Who's Talking

Three months old and you can already see that Anna is taking after her extroverted mother! She's shaping up to be a very opinionated little girl with lots to say on politics, religion, music, and art (some translation required). In this clip, however, she's telling Mia Sharon how excited she is that she and Grandaddy came to visit.

In addition to people, Anna has two favorite non-animate conversation partners: 1) her brown stuffed dog aptly named "Doggie", and 2) a black and white patterned IKEA pillow on our sofa. She usually chats Doggie up while laying on her changing table. When he tires of matching her verbal wizadry, she sucks on his ear or hand instead. Watching her interact with the pillow is hysterical. Gina discovered its magic by accident one day when the crazy patterns caught Anna's eye. Anna talks to it, laughs at it, and angrily rebukes it depending on her mood. She even frowns and cries when it disappoints her. Hysterical. We're off we're Mia and Grandaddy to the Great Chili Cookoff at Stone Mountain Park. Talk at ya soon.

A Walk in the Park

Last Saturday, we took Anna for a walk in the park...a very big park...Stone Mountain Park to be exact. For those unschooled in local ATL geography, the park boasts the largest exposed piece of granite in the world. It also boasts one of the more ostentatious monuments to Confederate nostalgia around (though our Nashville peeps might nominate the tacky, fiberglass statue of Nathan Bedford Forrest on horseback that guards the shoulder of I-65 at Harding Place as more deserving of this designation. At least the chiseled Confederate generals at Stone Mountain actually reflect real artistic talent. But I digress...) There are miles of great walking trails at Stone Mountain, and the day was too pretty to stay indoors, so we packed up the stroller for a 4-mile walk around the base of the mountain. To our surprise, Anna slept for about 3.5 of the 4 miles.
I say surprise because she loves to be outside these days. She especially likes to look at trees...she'll throw her head back and stare up at the branches with big, round eyes. On this day, she demonstrated her affection with a hug. I can honestly say I've never seen a cuter tree-hugger! While Anna is still perfecting the art of hugging, she got's smiling down pat! I won't lie to you...she'll totally melt your heart when she unleashes one on you.
But don't be too charmed...she can also be a cool character.

Visual Prayer

How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of the messenger who announces peace, who brings good news, who announces salvation, who says to Zion, "Your God reigns." -- Isaiah 52:7

Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples' feet and to wipe them with the towel that was tied around him. He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, "Lord, are you going to wash my feet?" Jesus answered, "You do not know now what I am doing, but later you will understand." Peter said to him, "You will never wash my feet." Jesus answered, "Unless I wash you, you have no share with me." Simon Peter said to him, "Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!" -- John 13:5-9

How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news! -- Romans 10:15

National Lampoon's Oklahoma Vacation

Well, we're finally back in the ATL after our first familial odyssey. Three weeks on the road was fun but it sure is nice to sink into our own beds again. Anna didn't miss hers...it's portable, you see. We're weren't too sure how portable she'd be, but were continually surprised (pleasantly) at how easygoing she was with all the commotion of travel and meeting new people (i.e., getting passed around like a hot potato). By the end, we had logged a total of 38 hours in the car...we figure she cried for less than an hour all told! Way to go, squirt!

The first and last part of our trip in Nashville was spent with the Rice clan. Gina's sister, Kristen, and her beautiful kids - Hunter, Paige, and Noah - were waiting to greet us there when we arrived. The kids were very sweet with Anna, always wanting to hold her or stroke her skin. At one point, Aunt Kristen attempted to capture their collective cuteness on film by staging a cousin photo shoot. Even Kristen's vast skills as a distracter-of-children were severely tested by 4 adorable but impatient kids. Imagine herding cats and you get the idea. Kristen got better shots than I did, so I'll post hers when I get the CD. Anna also made her big-screen debut as a supporting actress in "Brent: The Movie", an epic home movie commemorating Gina's brother, Brent's, 40th birthday. Coming to a poorly produced DVD near you soon.

After 2 weeks in Nashville, 10 of us bravely piled into the 15 passenger van and drove to Oklahoma for some R&R (Rices & Reunion). First stop: the Fin and Feather family resort at beautiful Lake Tenkiller in Gore, OK. Anna tried her tiny hand at bowling in one of our outings. Unfortunately, her effort wasn't enough to help the girls defeat the boys. Boys ruled in Nertz, too. Greg and Johnny are a team not to be trifled with.

Then on to Yukon to hang out with even more cousins, aunts and uncles. On the way, we stopped to visit the gravesite of Papa and Mama Great Darden whom she never had the chance to meet. It was a poignant moment. You can see in the picture Anna's namesake - Anna Ruth Darden.

We had a blast with the rest of the Rice family at the reunion. Dance, Dance Revolution ruled the nightlife...who knew a bunch of Nazarenes could shake their groove-thangs? Admittedly, the in-laws performed better than blood relatives, but we don't need to bring that up. We were so happy that Uncle Brent and Aunt Hal flew in from LA and got to see their newest niece. Brent was especially impressed with Anna's cinematic talent. "What an incredible screen presence!", he was quoted as saying. How blessed we were to introduce Anna to her Greatgrandmother Rice, who celebrated her 95th birthday this year. Anna's got some good genes!!

Guess it's time to bring this novel to an end. You may be interested to know that our little Pooh now weighs 11lb. 3oz. and measures 23.5". The doctor says she's in the 50% for weight, the 90% for height...and the 10% for head circumference. Our modesty training is working: you certainly can't accuse her of having a big head!