Thinking Day

Regan had Girl Scout Thinking Day after our last cheerleading and basketball games of the season. We book it up to the church where I dropped her off for 2 hours to learn about life in the "global village". So when I pick her up, I ask her how it goes and she tells me all about the chicken nuggets they ate in the USA, and some place called "Watermelon" where people can die from mosquitoes and they eat bean and cheese! I said, where is this place? "Watermelon!" I said, do you mean Guatamala? Oh, yeah, that's it, WaterMALA! So funny. But they did go to several different country "stations" and try food and play games, and sounded like they had a great time.

It was also our LAST cookie booth of the 2009 cookie season! And of course, it got cold again for it. We were at Blockbuster from 6-8 and at least we had some pity sales. I think our grand total ended up being 386 boxes sold. Not bad for our first year!

Writer's Celebration

Today Riley's class had a writing celebration, in order to prepare for the TAKS, and the kids spent all week writing some great stories! There were some really good, well written stories. Riley wrote about his sister bugging him to play video games with her. Really heart felt. He did win an award for showing emotion in his writing. But, the parents came and brought snacks, and I've never seen my little bird boy eat so much food! No wonder he never eats at home, he was putting it away like I had never seen before. Then we met David for lunch at Red Robin, and he ate that too. I guess we're getting to that boy age where they can just put it away like no one's business.

Build A Bear Field Trip

Regan's class went to Build A Bear Workshop on a field trip, and on a nature walk. Something about studying real/fake animals, fossils and stuff. They got a bear, they each got to put a heart in it, and have a turn stuffing him and "bathing" him. They will take turns bringing him home and writing stories about what they do with the bear. The class picked the name "David" (go figure) and then we went to the park on a nature walk. It was a nice day, if a bit windy, and I subbed in her class for the day and at one point I heard Regan tell her friend, "I don't have to listen to her, she's my MOM!"

Playing Around

Playing Around

These are some other pictures, of us just playing around, the kids on the 4 wheeler, David and his "Adonis" necklace (like that one didn't go to his head!) and the kids with their cousin, Ali. Riley got out on the boat and practiced his cast, Regan and Ali got a ride on the 4 wheeler, and ate some mac n cheese, and just some other random photos from our trip.

Franklin Parade

Franklin Parade

On Tuesday we got to be IN the Franklin parade, on the Four Corners fire truck. It was fun, and a new and different way to experience Mardi Gras! Riley threw out WAY too many necklaces at first, so we were out around halfway! But they enjoyed it, and other than me getting motion sickness from riding backwards, it was fun. It was a long parade, and the kids had a blast tossing beads. Then we said our goodbye's to cousin Ali, who didn't like that, and headed back to Leo and Linda's to pack up and head back to Texas.

I got some pictures of the houses in Franklin, they have some really pretty, old Plantation style homes that I love, with the big trees out front, with the moss hanging down, they are beautiful. This is the town where David was born, and a lot of his family still lives.

Fishing in Franklin

Fishing

On Monday we headed out to the Bayou to do some fishing and go to the camp. Regan wanted to fish SO bad, but we didn't catch anything all day, bummer. We made it out to the camp where Riley got to shoot several guns. Regan's main wish was to find an alligator and take a picture for her teacher. Well, we found not one, but two! And Papa Leo almost caught one for us, but it was too wily. We saw nutra rats headed into the bush, Riley shot a bird, and we threw out corn for Papa Leo to hopefully catch a wild hog. The kids climbed in the deer stand, and had a good time out in the marsh. I was just there as photographer for the day.

Then we went home and played "Deal or No Deal" for the Wii. It was fun trying to get better deals than everyone else, but we pretty much all sucked.

Morgan City Parade

Morgan City Parade

On Sunday, we headed to the Morgan City parade, right down the road from Conrad Shipyards, where Papa Leo works. It was a good parade, lots of goodies. They love tossing stuff to the kids, so Regan got like 3 purses and a bunch of toys, Riley got a lot of footballs, and my favorite thing is Mardi Gras cups! I have a huge collection from years past, and now I updated!

After the parade we went home and played around, took some goofy pictures, Miss Ida, David's grandma, came over, and his aunt Madelyn, so we "passed a good time" as they say. Then we played "Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader" for the Wii, and I guess I am, I won a million bucks!

New Orleans

New Orleans

I love this town, but it is CRAZY! David and I left the kids with Gram and Papa Leo, they were going to another parade in their town, so we headed to NO for lunch, David had been wanting to try a place called Serio's, that's known for their Muffuletta's. So, after we drove around, first looking for a public bathroom, then trying to find a parking spot (and paying $20 for one, ouch) we finally headed towards Serio's, only to find out it is ON the parade route, which is currently, wildly underway. We stopped and watched a few minutes, before David's hunger led us on. We found Serio's and their super ridiculously priced Muff's, which I think were jacked up for the weekend, and David was in heaven. I am not a Muffuletta Afficianado like him, so I had a roast beef sub, which was also pricey. But David's sandwich, he got a half, was HUGE. We ate quickly because the place got extremely packed as the parade ended. We watched a woman come in with a head wound bleeding all over the place, that was my cue to get out, I don't handly blood well, especially while eating.

Then, we looked around for the bathroom, after realizing how scarse they are at this time. It was upstairs, literally there was a sign on the door that said $2.00 a shot or $10.00 for the day, one shot for paying customers, so we showed our receipt and got past the "bouncer" to the upstairs warehouse looking bathroom staging area. There of course, was a line of about a hundred for the women's, none for the men, so David had to wait a while for me. Then, I realize that there are no stall doors in the bathroom, so when it comes my turn, and that of a stranger, who had one too many alcoholic beverages, she didn't hesitate to use the facilities while I experienced a bit of performance anxiety. It was quite the experience, and not one I want to repeat any time soon!

Then we decided to walk over to Cafe Du Monde, you can't go to NO and not go there, right? On the way we stopped in Jackson Square and watched some street performers that are simply incredible. This is one of my favorite things about this city, just watching the people on the street. We sat and watched them do their thing, lots of break dancing type stunts, and I got a lot of video that hopefully I will post soon. So we had our beignets and Cafe au Lait, bypassed the two hundred person line for the bathroom, and headed back to find the car. Only problem is, neither one of us remembered where we parked it!

So as darkness falls, we're surrounded by ever increasing weirdness. We find ourselves in the heart of the French Quarter, where one couple has their shirts painted one (and I mean that literally) and one man is all in gold doing an Indiana Jones impersonation, one man is dressed like Borat, in the lime green over-the-shoulder bikini, and nothing else but Mardi Gras beads. It was quite entertaining. I kept seeing signs that said "You're going to hell!" and I was like, "NO! I just want to find our car! I'm not bad, I promise!"

We did finally make it to the car, only to find a bus parked in front of us so we had to wait for the bus driver to come "move that bus!" and we finally got out of New Orleans, just a little bit later than we had planned, but it did made for an interesting day.

Friday Night Parade Pics

I'm starting with pictures now. We got in Friday night just in time for the Morgan City parade, and it was SO cold! The kids would either wait in the truck with the heater on, or wrap up in blankets, or run around tossing the football around to keep warm. They got a good haul though, and it was their introduction to Mardi Gras. The little girl with them is Ali, David's niece, and she LOVES Regan and Riley! They had a blast together all weekend.

Something Stinks!

We're on the other side of Houston, making good time, kids are fast asleep. The only problem is, they decided to play with the catfish stink bait before we got on the road. And then grabbed bags of Doritos for the trip. I'm in olfactory hell!

Sent from my G1 phone

Dear Sausage

Wanted to share something Regan said today at lunch when Papa Leo made deer sausage. She ate hers and said, "it sounds like I'm writing a letter to the sausage, 'Dear Sausage, I'm going to eat you now!'" It was pretty funny.

Sent from my G1 phone

Heading Home

We're on our way home now. We decided to leave tonight instead of tomorrow early, this way traffic won't be bad, the kids will sleep and hopefully go to school tomorrow!

Sent from my G1 phone

Gone Fishin'

We're going hunting and fishing now!

Sent from my G1 phone

New Orleans

David and I left the kids with Gram and Papa Leo so they could do the parade in town, and we headed in to New Orleans for lunch at Serio's. David saw a Throwdown with Bobby Flay there, and has been craving a Muffuletta since. So after finding a parking spot for 20 bucks, we walk the 20 blocks to Serio's which happens to be ON a parade route. We ate quickly and then waiited in line for a bathroom with no stall doors (interesting experience) then walked to Cafe du Monde for coffee and beignets. Stopped at Jackson Square along the way to watch some street performers that we've seen before, and are awesome, I will post the videos when I get home. Then tried to find the car and couldn't. Found some interesting people though! So fun to people watch in this town. Finally found the car but we were blocked in by a bus, had to find the driver, got out of town just as it was getting "wild"! Fun times!

Sent from my G1 phone

Parade #1 (part deaux)

Got tons of goodies! Kids had a blast.

Sent from my G1 phone

Parade #1

We're here, waiting for the parade to start and it is COLD! We didn't prepare for this!

Sent from my G1 phone

On the road...

Took forever to get going this morning, Regan has the pukies, and the other end is going too. David went to mens prayer at church, got the oil changed (nothing like last minute) and then we loaded up like we're gonna be gone for a month instead of a week!

Sent from my G1 phone

Testing

We're about to go on a trip, so I want to check my phone settings so I can blog on the go...hope this works!

Sent from my G1 phone

Alex and Melissa's Wedding

Our Valentine's Day this year was very special, in that we got to be a part of Alex and Melissa's big day! Regan had to cheer at 8, Riley had a basketball game at noon (at the church in the background) and so we dropped him off and booked it up the hill for the wedding. It was a very intimate and special time and I was proud to be there. I cried when Alex got so choked up he could barely speak, but what he said was so sweet and profound, and I was just glad to be there. It was very cold, so they kept it short, but that hill, and our church, has special meaning to us all, so it was fitting for this ceremony to be there. Regan got to spread rose petals around the grass, and she enjoyed being there and watching too. It was just a nice way to celebrate Valentine's Day, celebrating new love.

Riley's Class Party

And finally, Riley's class party! We ordered pizza and had more cookies, cupcakes, snacks, etc. Riley's Valentine's were so hilarious, the boys really liked them, and it was a nice balance to all the candy. It was a piece of beef jerky taped on some camouflage paper, and it said, "I'd say Happy Valentine's Day, but I'm feeling...JERKY!" They loved it! I decorated some hand sanitizer bottles for the teachers that I found from another website, they turned out cute! And finally, the boys ran outside to play football, and I got a picture of Riley even though he's getting to the point where he doesn't like me to take pictures of him anymore.

Regan's Class Party

Today was Regan's class party, and it was a mad rush since I was subbing, but the class I was subbing for had an off period after lunch, so I ran to Regan's class to help with her party. I'm so used to being there for all of that, I can't give it up! I skipped lunch and partied with them. It was fun. I forgot my camera in the rush, but used my phone, and surprisingly, it takes decent pics, so here's Regan decorating her heart cookie, and her friend Kai with his icing lips. I think I have a picture of Kai at every party with icing lips.

Brownie Valentine's Party

'Tis the Season...for Valentine's Parties! First up, Brownies party, the girls had heart shaped sandwiches and all the assorted red and pink heart shaped delectables. Then they passed out their Valentine's, I didn't get a picture of Regan's this time, but it was Smartie's or Pixie Stix, 2 of them taped together with a card at the top that said "We're two of a kind". Sugar Overload.

Life in Fast Forward

I never thought I would be one of those bloggers who just lets weeks and weeks go by without even a hint of what's going on in life. And here I am, swamped, tired, busy, running like mad. But, today I am playing catch up and thought I would take some time to post a little about what's been going on in our neck of the woods. So, since I last posted:

Wed Jan 28th I subbed in middle school science, not a lot of fun, I'm no good at science OR middle school!
Thurs, Jan 29th I subbed for high school English, then gymnastics.
Fri, Jan 30th, subbed again for high school English, we had Parent/Teacher conferences (more on that later) then took the kids to Mimi and Papa's for the weekend so David and I could go to the "Love for a Lifetime" marriage seminar at church. It was 7-9:30 Friday night, and 9-3:30 on Saturday, and Dr. Gary Chapman was there, one of the best authors on marriage and relationships, and he was hilarious, and there were several other relationship experts there as well. We picked the kids up after that and Regan was running a fever and by that evening it looked like she had the full blown flu, poor thing.

On Monday, it was a half day, David worked from home so I could take Riley to school and go to the store and get soup and Sprite for the sick girlie, and then gymnastics, basketball practice, all that fun running around.

Tuesday, I was scheduled to sub for the rest of the week in high school math, and Regan was still not feeling good, so David stayed home to watch her, which was so hard for me to do, go to work and leave my baby! But, they made do, and Regan was well enough to go back to school on Wednesday, so that was good.

Then Kenzie came to stay for a couple of days, and she's doing really good right now, and it was good to have her around, the kids enjoyed playing with her and it was just so nice to spend some quality time with her.

On Thursday, after school, and gymnastics, Kenzie and I took Regan to cheerleading practice while David and Riley went to see the Harlem Globetrotters! Riley really enjoyed it, and they had a great time.

Friday after school we had a quick lunch at McDonald's, had to get a table and tablecloth and get to selling those Girl Scout Cookies! Since Regan had been sick the last weekend, we missed a whole weekend of cookie selling opportunities. So our first booth was Friday night at JC Penny's with her friend Kendall (in the picture), they had so much fun opening the door for the customers, and pushing the handicapped button to make the doors open by themselves. We did pretty good there and sold 45 boxes in our 2 hours.


Saturday, 9am cheerleading, then pictures after the game, meet David and Riley at La Madeline for a quick breakfast before it's back to the church for Riley's game, and his pictures after, then we ditch them and head to our 2nd booth of the weeekend, a prime Walmart booth, where we sold 59 boxes, and then, from there, we rushed across the street to Blockbuster and sold another 24 boxes there. Then I ditched the kid at home with dad and went to a Girl's Night Out, which was nice, hadn't been out with the girls in FOREVER! Even as tired as I was, it's always nice to hang with the girls.

Then on Sunday, David had his cooking class at Hudson's on the Bend, so he skipped church and went to that, and I took the kids to yet another cookie booth, CVS, and we sold another 20 boxes of cookies, so we are doing good. I don't know if Regan will make her goal of 540 boxes, but we're certainly plugging away!

So, that's our life these days. Tonight is the girl scout Valentine party and today I will be making the Valentine's, I'm all about handmade Valentine's and not store bought, which is just more work for me, and I know it, but they're so much cuter. So, after a trip to Costco and HEB, and probably Walmart, I'll be making Valentine's, 12 for Girl Scouts, 16 for each of the kids classes, and then all the ones for the teachers. And then there's the class parties at the end of the week...it's already snowballing on me. At least next Monday is a holiday, I plan on spending most of it in bed, sleeping!