MARDI GRAS MAMBO-ING

Soooo anybody that knows Brian and I .... KNOWS that we LIVE for THE MARDI GRAS, always have and always will!! Pre-K (Pre-Kids) We would go down to NOLA every weekend during the Mardi Gras season...spending hours upon hours camping out by the barricades on St. Charles Avenue just for a couple of sack of beads (Joe and Micki can attest to this)......BUT really IS it ALL about the BEADS???? I think NOT....It's about......................

OUR MARDI GRAS Mascot, JUDY....and she goes WAY back with us into our NOLA days!

(In fact, Judy used to borrow Micki's clothes)

It's ABOUT........
Mardi Gras Masks!

It's ABOUT......
Dancing to the music like nobody is watching!

It's ABOUT......
Trying to STAY OUT OF JAIL!

It's ABOUT.......
Laughing and hanging out with your NEIGHBORS!

It's ABOUT.........

Letting the Kids Get Their Faces painted!

It's ABOUT.......

Wearing Bunny Ears, EVEN if you AREN'T the Girls Next Door!

It's ABOUT.............

Friends on floats, throwing you BEADS!

It's ABOUT.......

Wearing FUNNY glasses!

It's ABOUT......

Doing JELLO SHOTS out of a BIG Syringe!!

It's ABOUT....

Yelling - "Throw Me Something Mister"!!!

It's ABOUT......

Standing on YOUR roof, just to catch some 25 cent BEADS!

BUT MOSTLY-

It's ALL ABOUT.......

Spending time with your family and friends and having a GOOD TIME!!

Happy Mardi Gras Ya'll!!!

Saylor's First of Second

Thursday, August 7, 2008 - Saylor's FIRST DAY OF SECOND GRADE. The day started off with a BANG....BUT ended up with a BUMMER!

Rise and Shine, it's morning time... (my little morning song I sing to her)

Sleepy Eyes.

Stretching...arrrgghhhh.

Why in the WORLD are u taking pictures THIS early in the morning!??!?

This is the FIRST time SINCE Pre-K that I have had to buy NEW UNIFORMS!!

Getting Toothpaste.

Brushing Teeth.

Take a good look NOW, because they won't be sparkly WHITE for long!

Standing tall. My Second Grader!

New Swatch Watch - we bought her from NYC in Times Square.

The backpack.

I thought Saylor would have an excellent FIRST DAY of SECOND GRADE....she didn't DREAD the first day of school AT ALL! AND... ALL went well UNTIL she got in Maw Maw's vehicle when she picked her up from school that afternoon. Maw Maw asked, how the first day went? And the teacher replied, she survived! After leaving school, Saylor BROKE DOWN in tears, crying hysterically but wouldn't tell Maw Maw... WHY or WHAT HAPPENED??? So, she called me immediately and I couldn't understand a word Saylor was trying to say between all the crying! It KILLED me that I couldn't be there to console her and hug her and tell her everything was going to be alright! After about 15 minutes of coaxing via the PHONE I finally found out the problem! As it turns out, she went to the WRONG place in the evening, she went to the EXTENDED DAY line instead of the CAR POOL line. Her teacher came looking for her and found her in the WRONG PLACE...and asked her WHY?? Why did she go to extended day? She just KNEW her teacher was MAD at her. Saylor is very tender-hearted child and wears her feelings on her shoulders! Any SLIGHT little change of voice or disappointment from her teacher is SURELY to send her into a tizzy! I know her teacher didn't say anything mean to her or in a harsh tone, but its just the way Saylor is - VERY tenderhearted. I just KNEW surely going to school the next day would be a bear! But I was wrong! She didn't skip a beat! Off she went...and she hasn't looked back yet! My baby girl is ALL GROWN UP!! :(

Just Peachy At Orange Beachy!

July 31, 2008 --AAhhhh, the sweet smell of the salty Gulf and sand! For the past two years we have been going to Orange Beach, Alabama for Brian's Birthday and our neighbors, The Landry's, come with us.















Well, last year....Saylor didn't REALLY get into the water because of SHARKS....but this year, she did manage to get back into the water, just a little bit more BUT only because Alyssa was doing it! She really looks up to Alyssa and IS Alyssa's shadow.



















However, this year brought a NEW CHALLENGE - Chandler didn't want to get into the water and didn't want to EVEN get CLOSE to the water....I don't know if it was the sound of the water crashing against the shore OR if he heard someone talk about SHARKS being in the water. So, Chandler MAINLY stayed on the beach playing in the sand. He was KING OF THE BEACH.














We buried the kids in the sand......



















We went crabbing at night......














We wrote our names in the sand......














We played in the Gulf......



















We played in the Pool......














We made frozen drinks on the beach..... (Brian brought his portable weed-eater blender)



















LSU marks OUR SPOT!!!.........














Alyssa spotted this BEAUTIFUL SIGHT on a neighboring balcony....and NO, its NOT BRIAN......although it IS something he WOULD do... PURDY!














This is a COOL picture I took....can u spot the CRAB?!?!?!














We had a GREAT TIME! The weather was perfect! We even had a chance to go out one night to Adventureland and play miniature golf, ride go-carts, and play arcade games! The kids had a ball! Gosh, I can't WAIT to go to Destin in two weeks! Isn't life just BEACHY???

A Southern Night Under the Oaks with Sweet Root

The Arts Council of Greater Baton Rouge holds different SUMMER events throughout the City -- We enjoyed the past two Friday evenings in front of the Shaw Center listening to GREAT music. You bring your lawn chairs, ice-chests, and sit down and enjoy the entertainment! Last week it was a "Mid-Summer Night Dance Party with After 8". This past Friday night it was "A Southern Night Under The Oaks with Sweet Root". The kids even brought their swimsuits to play in the fountains in front of the Shaw Center. Saylor played in the water but Chandler was TOOO BUSY keeping his eyes GLUED to the band. They had face painting.......

Balloon Making..................................

And YOU KNOW the night wasn't complete until CHANDLER made his way up on stage with the band!! He even ended up on the 10 O'clock news that night on Channel 9 - WAFB -- That's our little Rock Star!

Hopefully, they will continue doing these events next month.....we look forward to going back! It was a GREAT, CHEAP, FUN-FILLED family night out on the town! Everyone needs one of those every now and then!! Ooopps! I forgot to mention they also show a movie on a big inflatable movie screen, after the concert -- The first Friday we went, they showed "The Little Shop of Horrors" and this past Friday night the movie was "Big Fish" -- We didn't end up staying for the movies, by that time, WE HAD...had all the fun we could stand for one night and plus the kids were getting tired!

A Wedding and A Family Reunion

Is this the YEAR for WEDDINGS or WHAT??? We attended our cousin, Brandon's wedding this past weekend which makes our fourth wedding within the last 6 months!!! We still have one MORE to go this year in September. And get this...FOUR out of the FIVE weddings are for first and second cousins of ours!! SIMPLY AMAZING! Congratulations to ALL you newly weds out there! Best Wishes to Brandon and Angela who got married this past weekend! I will have to say it was the HOTTESS wedding reception I have EVER been to! South Louisiana HEAT in the middle of July and the air wasn't quite working right...OK it wasn't working AT ALL! Until someone figured out about 1 hour into the reception that the breaker had flipped. So it FINALLY cooled down about the time the reception ended...WHEW!! I think my make-up MELTED off my face and I lost 5 lbs that night :) A side from the air not working, it was a FUN reception and we had a BLAST! I have included a couple of pictures.

On Sunday we had a Family Reunion to attend at Brian's cousin, Lori's home on the Diversion Canal. The reunion was for family on Brian's grandmother's side -- The East Family. It was one HOT day! The kids were lucky enough to play in the water on a slip-n-slide to cool themselves off. We enjoyed seeing and chatting with all of the family members that we don't get to see too often. Saylor ESPECIALLY LOVED playing with her little cousin Abigail. She and Chandler even got to feed Abby. She is the HAPPIEST and CUTEST little baby girl EVER! There was only ONE thing MISSING from the family reunion....Maw Maw Brenice/Aunt Joy's famous Coconut Cake!! After Maw Maw Brenice passed away ....Aunt Joy took over the duty of making the cake for all the family functions.....and sadly we lost Aunt Joy this past February....I guess I need to practice up on my coconut cake making skills, huh??!! We SURELY do miss Aunt Joy! Not only her coconut cakes but her sense of humor, her character, her love and just simply her JOY!