Auction

On Friday night, I attended (worked) a silent auction to benefit our neighborhood pool. My neighbor, Shawne, & I co-chaired the event and have been working like crazy people over the past month to pull everything together. My dining room turned into a warehouse of auction items several weeks ago and I have been diligently keeping the toys hidden so that they boys wouldn't tear into them. But, as I was loading up the car on Friday afternoon, Miles spotted a matchbox carrying case (exactly the way an eagle spots its prey). He started asking me a million questions about it and I described the auction and its purpose. He pleaded with me to "please, please bid it!" and I told him that I would -- but that I couldn't guarantee that I'd win it. He then RAN to find his wallet and his bank. He emptied both (full of change) and said, "here, mom. You can use this when you're bidding." He then persuaded Noah to donate his funds as well. That item turned out to be a hot one at the auction....but, rest assured, armed with my ziploc bag full of change (ok, and my checkbook), I was the winner at the end of the night.

The boys were SO excited to play with it in the morning (it came stocked with 24 matchbox cars) and at least one boy has been playing with since.


As a way to amp up some fun at the auction, we coordinated with an auction vendor in GA to send us some celebrity items (we buy them only if they sell and the money we make comes from anything earned above the products "base price"). We sold a few, but have a bunch to send back later this week. In the meantime, if you are interested in any of these items, we'll sell them to you at the base price (we wouldn't make any $ on them, but could save $ since we wouldn't have to ship them back). There is a list below of what is left. Maybe a fun Christmas present for someone on your list? :)


(the colors in this photo are really cool. and, doesn't michael jordan look like a rock star with his cigar? it was taken at the 2007 wachovia championship in charlotte)

Here are the base prices of what's left (I've included the "value" given to us. I'm sure its slightly inflated, but who knows :).
TIGER WOODS & MICHAEL JORDAN UNSIGNED framed photo in 16X20 $175 (value = $350)
JAKE DELHOMME Carolina Panthers QB SIGNED framed photo in 11X14 $100 (value = $250)
ALGE CRUMPLER Carolina Panthers RECEIVER SIGNED FOOTBALL $110 (value = $285)
KYLE BUSH SIGNED #18 1:24 M&M's CAR $135 (value = $325)
TONY STEWART Old Spice # 14 1:24 SIGNED CAR $135 (value = $325)
DALE EARNHARDT JR. SIGNED #88 NATIONAL GUARD HAT $80 (value = $200)
JIMMIE JOHNSON 3x NASCAR CHAMPION Lowe's SIGNED HAT $80 (value = $200)
TAYLOR SWIFT SIGNED/FRAMED CD/PHOTO 11X14 $105 (value = $250)


PS While I was taking the above picture, Griffin sneaked into Mike's office (directly across from the dining room), opened the top desk drawer, grabbed a pack of gum, and began opening and chewing. This little guy is a fiend when it comes to gum. He knows exactly where its kept in our junk drawers and he loves it. Mike mentioned a few days ago that it might be a good potty training treat for Griffin (when we get there) since we (obviously) never let him chew it. We do find it funny that Miles (and Noah) have yet to chew gum, and Griffin (the young, rebellious one?) apparently has plenty of experience.