Downing Days

Friday, February 02, 2007

Making Snowman

Our neighbor, Jennifer, helped Daddy and Matthew make a snowman!

He loved eating the mouth/blueberries.

Kissing the snowman

Wednesday, January 31, 2007

I first heard of Zappos.com while working in Denver. My coworker and I paid more attention to our client's incredibly stylish shoes than the business we were dicussing. We finally asked her where she found them. Then she told us about Zappos. Soon thereafter (probably less than two minutes after the client left) I logged on to the site. I thought it was pretty cool, but I didn't give it much attention until I moved to Clarksdale.

Clarksdale has three shoe stores - Payless, Shoe Dept, and Wal-Mart, and the closest department store is 75 miles away in Southaven. Needless to say, I need more of a selection than these three places have to offer, and I am not able to travel up to Southaven as much as I would like. So, I turned to Zappos.

The selection is incredibly vast, and if you use the search criteria you are able to find what you want quickly. Then check out is a breeze. Now here is the best part - Free Shipping. Right now they even have free overnight shipping. Last Wednesday I ordered two pairs of shoes at 7:00PM. The next day I had them in my hand at 1:30PM. I decided I didn't want one pair. Another great thing about Zappos - free shipping on returns. I easily printed out a return label and dropped it off at a UPS pick-up. This is not the first time I have had perfect service from them. Everytime I use them and return something it is seamless. Here are a few other great things - online reviews of the shoes, no sales tax, and you can tell no one has tried them on before. So what are you waiting for - go to Zappos.com!

Monday, January 29, 2007

Pictures

I am sorry the pictures have not been working the last few days. Hopefully the problem has been resolved. Thanks to you who let me know there was an issue, and thanks to you who have been reading the blog!

Tuesday, January 23, 2007

Grammy and Maxine Were Here!

Grammy and Maxine drove to Clarksdale to have a belated Christmas with us. We opened presents Saturday morning. All presents were a huge hit with Matthew. He especially loved the train Grammy gave him and the fire truck tent Maxine gave him.

Peek-A-Boo!

Matthew In Maxine's Boots

Matthew loved Maxine's boots!

It was an all smiles kind of weekend!

Riding Tricycle

We went on a tricycle ride with Matthew. Thanks for the great pictures, Grammy!

"Ok, here's the plan. You get on the tricycle then I will push you."

"Almost. Almost."

And they're off!

Thursday, January 11, 2007

Where's Daddy?

Matthew is always very chatty after he wakes up. Yesterday after he woke up from his nap I took the camera in his room with me. He wanted to know where his daddy was. Here is the video:

Saturday, January 06, 2007

Christmas Day

We had a fantastic time Christmas morning. Santa brought Matthew a tricycle, a garage for his matchbox cars, and a work bench. Santa's presents were a hit with Matthew. He especially loved the big present Santa brought Pete!

In the holding area, a.k.a. the den, before the big reveal.

Pete's Dump Truck!

Matthew is "driving" the dump truck while Pete uses Matthew's new tools to fix it.

Pete's Dump Truck

Christmas night the boys took the dump truck for a spin outside. It was so cold, but the only time Matthew complained was when Pete stopped. Remember, you can click on the images to enlarge them.

All smiles despite the cold.

Pete, don't stop!

Wednesday, January 03, 2007

Christmas Eve

Santa took time out of his busy schedule to come visit with us at Precious and Papa's on Christmas Eve. Matthew was seriously interested in the candy canes he was giving other children. Matthew would walk up to him and say "canny?". Steve would reel him back in and tell him he would have to sit on Santa's lap in order to get a candy cane. This ask and reel cycle continued until Santa scooped Matthew up and handed him a candy cane. When Santa asked Matthew what he wanted for Christmas Matthew replied, "Down!".

It's Santa!

Mission Accomplished!

Christmas Card Pictures

We tried so hard to get a good Christmas card picture. I took over 150 photos. Here are some of the ones that didn't work out.

Jumping with Glyn

A big perk of having a lot of family is multiple gift giving opportunities. We spent time in Natchez with Mike, Joni and Glyn. We had a lovely time at The Briars Inn. As usual, we did not take great pictures, but we were able to capture one of Glyn and Matthew jumping off of the bottom step.

Friday, December 29, 2006

Rural Visit with Santa

We saw Santa three times this holiday season. The first was at Parker Tractor in Tunica. Matthew wasn't too sure of Santa, but he loved his candy canes. The second Santa sighting was the same day at the Allen's house. He didn't get close to him there either.