Winter Wonderland

Okay, I'm joking about the wonderland part. The snow was cool the whole week before Christmas, but I'm just about over it now because I don't know the last time I saw the grass. Or the sun for that matter. Jordis loves it though. You will notice no pictures of Xander in this post because he is not a fan of snow. He pretends to be, but after a few minutes he's pretty much f-i-n-i-s-h-e-d. He's like his mommy, doesn't like to be wet or cold. After our 5 or so inches of snow last week Jason took the kids out to build a snowman. It was dry snow and not good for packing, so it didn't roll very well. Xander helped briefly, but not before I was able to get outside and take pictures.

The kids had spent all morning fighting over what the snowman was going to wear. My mom had given them a snowman kit a few years ago so we had a perfect carrot nose. The snowman turned out really cute except that they wanted him to wear a hat. But apparently it just wasn't staying on.

After the snowman Jordis decided to try a snow angel.

The next morning we got up and the snowman looked a little different.

Jason had found some sticks at work and gave him some arms when he got home.

And since this post is featuring Jordis, didn't she look cute on bowl day? Unfortunately Ohio State and LSU both played on the same day so we had to get creative with her clothing. She chose LSU dress with OSU socks and hair accessories. I'm thinking she would make a good Dorothy for Halloween.

Sadly, this is not the picture I intended to use. In the one I took Jordis had thrown up her hands in a big "block O" and was shouting "Go Bucks!" However, I traded in my cell phone and the picture didn't transfer during the download, so I don't have it anymore. That's okay though, Ohio State won and LSU, I think, got beat by a Big Ten team, which I've been told will never happen. Hmmmmm.....

Jason turns 3-III

I only had one "3" candle but a bunch of individual candles, so we put the "3" and 3 single candles on his cake this year. He hates the candles and singing and all that jazz, but I used the kids as an excuse to make the moment celebratory.

The kids had fun making and eating the cake. I had some trouble with the writing gel and Xander had some trouble with the colored sugar, but it's the thought that counts, right? It was LSU colors at least.

We even had success with signing the card. Xander used lowercase letters, which has been very difficult for him. And Jordis wrote her first two words....Jordis and Daddy. I was shocked. I just told her how to make each letter and she did it. How grateful I will be if teaching her further skills continues to be this easy.

How Could I Forget?

In my posting about last week I didn't mention we watched a LOT of baseball. LSU baseball, that is. They won the College World Series!

Apparently it doesn't matter which sport you watch, but LSU has a knack for taking things to the last minute. I get enough of this from Ohio State during football season, but I guess LSU likes to keep up the excitement all year long. Poor Jason had to keep leaving for work part way through the games, so I would send him text messages with important updates. Anyway, since Ohio State was not involved I happily cheered for the Tigers, became familiar with the roster, and I think I may have even shed a tear when they won the series.

Or when Mikie Mahtook got that great RBI double in the 6th inning of game 3.

Or when Coach Mainieri hugged his dad after the final game.

Maybe.

I was all alone and there are no witnesses, so you can believe me or not. But here are a few of my favorite moments from the series.

Geaux Tigers!

Pool time

It was so nice out this past week that we spent a lot of time in our pool. I even got in 2 or 3 times myself (yes, this is not a lie, I got in the pool).

We bought the pool at the end of last summer and were pleasantly surprised at how well it fit on our deck. It got a lot of morning sun which made it nice and warm, and putting it up there kept the kids from getting in and out and dragging grass in the water, which is what would have happened had it been in the grass. We got a cover for it and discovered that we can go 3 or 4 days before needing to replace the water. Monday we spent a nice relaxing afternoon outside and ate dinner on the deck.

Jason went out and bought some new squirt guns, so on Tuesday we had pool day again. My job was basically to refill water guns while everyone else emptied them of their water. As you can see it starts getting shady in the pool around 2:30, so that will come in really handy later this summer when the heat is scorching.

Wednesday, you guessed it, pool day. And on Thursday BaDee came over on her day off to swim in the pool, too.

Saturday night I took the kids to Powell Fest to watch the fireworks. I always say I'll never go, but I did this year because I got to park in the police department parking lot which meant no long walk. Then I proceeded to lose Jordis. Unlike Xander does though, she didn't wander off on purpose. I think she took a bridge over the playground to the walkway and couldn't figure out how to return, so decided to walk around the perimeter to get back in. One of Jason's fellow officers found her about the same time I called him to say she was missing, so it worked out well. As well as it could anyway. Never thought I'd say "thank goodness she had on her LSU shirt," but had I described her as the girl wearing an Ohio State shirt that could have been any number of kids. We finally settled in for the fireworks. I had met up with another officer's wife and their three girls, and the girlfriend of another officer who let us all pile in to his truck for a great view with no crowd.

The kids loved the show and were excited to drive by their dad directing traffic on the way home. I was happy that they slept in for a little bit the next morning.

Father's Day

Jordis' singing debut last week was on Father's Day, so I was really excited that Jason got to be there for it.

After coming home for lunch and relaxing for a little while Jason left for his weekly church softball game. He had been wanting some meatballs so I made those for dinner while he was gone, and also a chocolate cherry cake for dessert. After dinner we gave him presents.

A book written by a local police officer who was donating proceeds to the fallen officers fund.

And a handmade LSU hot/cold pack that I found on Etsy.

Our kids are so lucky to have such a great dad!

Rounding out the trip

I've been dragging out this vacation for far too long. Following our stint in New Orleans we went back to Thibodaux. We had to stop here first in Metairie though. The last time I was here was the day after Ohio State lost to LSU in the national championship football game and I couldn't even stand to be in there. But it was bearable this time, even with the cashier who was complaining that her brother married some woman from Ohio and has starting liking Ohio State now that he lives "up there." After I told her that's where I was from she redeemed herself a little by saying how pretty it was here and that she loved shopping at Easton. Anyway, we are now the proud owners of these cups. I even drink out of them occasionally.

I don't remember (I know, odd for me since I remember EVERYTHING) where or what we had for lunch on this day. But I do recall that we checked in to our favorite hotel and the kids and I all took a nap. I have no idea if Jason did or not, I don't recall asking, but I think he was watching TV.

(Yes, Jordis has her finger up her nose)

After our siesta we headed over to Uncle Keith and Aunt Sheila's. A group of family had gathered and we sat outside enjoying the nice day while the kids played.

For dinner we met up with Jason's childhood friend, Jerad, his wife and little boy, and his parents. It was the only time we were able to get together our whole trip, so we were excited to see them. Jerad's wife is pregnant and wanted fried catfish, so we went to her favorite place, a local hole in the wall called Boudreaux's. Jason's aunt had told me the fried chicken was really good, so that's what I got. And she was right. The hush puppies were even better. It was a fried food bonanza. Everyone was trying to broaden my horizons so I also tried fried okara, fried catfish and fried oysters. Jason shared his fried crawfish with me and I had some onion rings, too. Jerad and Christy bought us dinner which was so unexpected and generous. We bribed the kids to take a picture together after we ate.

We went back to the hotel and called it a night. We had to get up for some shopping the next day.

There's a traitor in my midst!

I thought Jordis was with me. She used to say "Go Bucks!" and get excited about wearing matching shirts. I was counting on her to carry on the Ohio State tradition since Jason already brainwashed Xander into favoring the SEC, which is a no-no here in Buckeye Nation.

But this is what I got on Saturday...


And then yesterday she wanted to wear this.....

....and she enjoyed it. Even wore purple barettes and picked out purple and white socks.

OSU lost one game and she's already jumping ship. Little does she know that LSU pulled off that win against Auburn at the last minute Saturday night. She's such a daddy's girl.

Summer Thus Far

Can you believe it's July already? Knock on wood we haven't had to put the air on as much as usual for this time of year, so that's been really nice. Yesterday it didn't even hit 70 degrees, so I was one happy girl.

We haven't really been doing too much lately. Xander's balloons are still on the back of his chair. Tomorrow is Trader Joe's day though, so perhaps he'll get a new one. Last time we were there we met an employee who's from New Orleans, so perhaps we'll chat with him. Xander was wearing an LSU shirt the last time we were there, so he stopped us to talk about it.

The kids seem to be enjoying summer so far. Last month we took them to my aunt and uncle's for a family cookout and they got to play with cousins. Neither of them were into the sprinkler but they loved the sandbox.



We've also gone on some family walks and the kids are enjoying their swing set.




A few Friday's ago I took the kids to the zoo and we met up with two of my friends and their little boys. We had a nice time and then ate lunch together before checking out the elephants and stopping for cotton candy on the way out. Not surprisingly, the cotton candy was a huge hit with the kids.


This guy was redecorating with some greenery and a carboard box.


Lunch! Xander's all about it.


This is Jordis with her prom date, Arjun. We've already set them up in the event either of them need a date in 16 years.



Nomey decided to walk, she was too big girl for the stroller, so Xander happily took her place.

Not to leave out Jason...he brought his woodworking tools up to the garage and spent some rare free moments building a shelf to display his stein collection in the basement. He gets the Budweiser Christmas stein each year and also has some random others in the mix. He doesn't have quite the fancy tools my grandpa used to own, but enough to do an awesome job, and it looks great on our graffiti wall in the basement. Jason really likes woodworking and is really good at it, so hopefully he can build his tool collection in the coming years.



It's kind of hard to tell from the picture but all the edges are routered, too. I think the next project may be a stool for Jordis so we can put the frame on her bed and she can still get in by herself, because she has to do EVERYTHING herself. The other night we asked the kids where they'd go if they could drive and she answered "the mall." We didn't even realize she knew what the mall was, but knowing her she'd drive there herself today if she could figure out how. Hopefully we can get through a few more summers before she starts hanging out there on a regular basis.

Hope you're all enjoying summer, whatever it is that's going on at your house.