The visit

My sons' grandparents came over tonight to visit with Aaron and take him to dinner. I always enjoy visiting with them and tonight was no exception. If you read this Anne and Walt, thanks for the visit, we enjoyed ourselves. This is Walter with Anna. He is such a gentle soul, I can't imagine a child not looking like that at him.
They always bring the girls a treat when they come. This time it was suckers and paper doll books. This is Sadie dressing her doll.
This is Anne with Anna. I didn't know until tonight that Anna shares her birthday AND her name with Anne's mother (who will be 90 this Aug. 13).
They (my children - including Aaron) begged me to take a picture of Banda in the doll stroller. I chose this one because it looks like Mia (the stuffed dog on the floor) is trying to bite her feet.
This is Aaron with Granny and Grandpa. They are very lovely people.

Trying new stuff

OK, I'm trying something new~

Since Aaron is here to show me how to do things I want to learn how to make links in my blog to other things. So, click here and it will take you to a site that my Aunt Janis found. You'll be amazed what this guy can do. Don't ask me how he does it.

So, no pics tonight, just the link. Give it a try.

Holiday at Nan's revisited

We are back home!!!!! Woohoo! I cannot wait to sleep in my own bed with no children in my room.

Thank you, God that our tire only went flat and didn't "blow-out" as the consequences could have been much more severe than just pulling over and changing the tire. Thank you, Conrad for being so good at stuff like that.

Since we spent the day traveling. I thought I would send out some pictures that didn't make the blog this week but that I really liked.


This one actually made the blog but in a different form. I liked the one I took with Auntie B's camera better but it hadn't been downloaded when I did the blog on this day.
This is the baby deer as it ran toward me that fateful day. I thought I had put this picture on and was disappointed to find out I hadn't. As an update, the Wildlife and Fisheries people came and got the deer. In my world, they nursed it back to health and put an ad in the "Daily Deer Planet" classifieds and Doe and fawn are reunited.
This is my overall favorite picture of the week. My Auntie B. gives looks like this when she is all up in arms about something or someone. I will be printing this one out and framing it.
I thought this was such a pure joy picture. Ashlea and Uncle Greg playing the guitar. He was making the notes and she was strumming. That's teamwork.
This picture is from today. We saw this motorcyle on the way home. How cute is this? That's a real dog.

Holiday at Nana's Day Seven

Day Seven. All available troops, save one, on a mission at the Air Force Academy in Colorado are present and accounted for.



You'll understand in a moment what I mean when I say "the torch is passed".
I don't know how long we've been singing "I'm a Little Teapot" in my family but for as long as I can remember we have and it was requested again tonight at our family reunion talent show. Here are some of us doing it. In the picture above this one, the little ones finally learn it and get their turn at it.
This is our "Scrivner Playhouse Presents" cast from "The Wizard of Oz". Ashlea made an absolutely wicked witch, the scarecrow, lion and tinman couldn't be any more authentic if it had been Lahr and Co. themselves and Dorothy? Man, could she take you with her down the yellow brick road. And, of course, our guest stars, Wendy and Pamela as Glenda and the Wizard, respectively were to die for. Great job one and all.
This is Pamela and Greg entertaining us all with singing and guitar playing during the talent show. Great job everyone!

I have to tell you that one of the best pictures on the blog tonight disappeared during one of my trips back to the Phase 10 table. (We're playing Phase 10 while I blog and it's in a whole 'nother room and I'm running back and forth.) I will put it on the blog tomorrow as there are several pictures from the week that didn't make it that should.

Holiday at Nana's Day Six

As the days wore on, we realized we needed more reinforcements. Nanny was brought in to be followed in the coming hours and days by more formidible troops. We welcomed the new blood as the children began to sense our weakening.


This is my sister Pamela. All of these children (except Anna) screamed "Nanny, watch me" about a thousand times in the pool this afternoon. Welcome to my world, Pamela. Thank you for sharing it with me.

Holiday at Nana's Day Five (part two)

Day 5 at Nana's (part 2) - Reinforcements arrive!


Mom and Aaron got here today around lunch time. Yahoo! They brought with them energy and peach pie.
This is my magic wand. Madeline made it for me and I only use it for good, not evil.
This is our craft mess for the day. We made magic wands and visors and picture frames. We're going to put pictures from this week in our picture frames for a lasting memory.
This is Anna finding a new source of snack. I think her favorite is the liver flavored kibble.
Sadie took this picture and it was so energetic I couldn't resist putting it on here. This is Alysse, Wendy's oldest girl, she's the same age as Sadie, 7.

Holiday at Nana's Day Five (part One)

Day four at Nana's OK, really it's day 5. It started out with a phone call that went a little something like this:


Me: Hello?
phone voice: Is Brownie or Howard there?
Me: No, they're gone right now, may I take a message?
phone voice: this is their neighbor, and do you know there is a deer in your backyard? Really it's a fawn.
Me: NO WAY! I'm coming out to take pictures, no one will believe this.

Chaos ensues.
These are the pictures (of course, not in order and in fact they are backwards).
This is the little fawn after Greg(on the right) caught it. That's Joe on the left feeding it from Anna's bottle. You can buy a baby bottle anytime but you can only save a deer once maybe twice in a lifetime.
The great catch. The little thing was exhausted and bleeding from it's nose and back hoof, paw, whatever you call it.
This is the cute little thing running through the brush.
Again, through the brush.

Holiday at Nana's Day Three

We are into Day Three of Holiday at Nana's

Madeline was a bit more willing participant in the activities today. Full of gusto I would say. "Go Madeline"!

This is all the cousins except Anna who was asleep upstairs. It took a great deal of cooperation to take this picture. No splashing and no sudden moves because I took my camera in the pool. I know, not the smartest thing but look at the cute picture!

"One, two, three, jump"!

Holiday at Nana's Day Three

We are in to day three of Holiday at Nana's. I can't believe we've survived. Wendy's had a really lovely case of Poison Ivy and has been drugged up on Benedryl since we arrived on Sunday. That leaves on ly two adults here for 6 children, Nana and me. And today, Nana went back to work. Thank goodness Wendy is starting to function again. I have a really lovely picture of her in her dispair but I promised her I wouldn't post it. Sorry, folks. Journalistic integrity and all.

Anyway, today's craft project was a koozie (you'll see a picture further down) and bracelets/watches. Lest you worry about Austin (the only male cousin) making bracelets, we have "boy" crafts for him. He just didn't feel like participating today. This is a picture of the mess we made - I mean the creative process we were involved in today.
We also played dress up with Wendy's old costumes from YEARS of ballet, tap, jazz...lots of costumes. This is our reluctant participant.
This is a picture of two of the boxes they made yesterdy and Madeline's koozies. Now they have koozies to keep their beer...ooops, I mean sodas cold.
Two of the way more than willing participants in the dress up portion of our day.
And last but not least...While we were playing dress up, Wendy found this old picture of me. I was a sophomore in High School at Caddo Parish Magnet School. Yep, this is me, way skinnier.

Enjoy

Holiday at Nana's Day Two

Craft time! Today's craft was to decorate a box in which we will put the rest of the crafts we make throughout the rest of the week. Creativity abounded.
Sadie is working earnestly at her box
At Nana's house, everyone can be doing a different activity, all in the same space.
Some of us were not happy today at Nana's house.

Holiday at Nana's Day One

Day One of our Holiday at Nana's house began with swimming. (Sorry about the underscore but I don't know how to take if off).


I actually did it! No underscore! I don't know what I did so I'm not messing with that stuff above. Sorry.

We weren't even in the door before the girls were asking if they could go swimming. I said "can we unload the car first, please"? They said "no". I told them that it would go alot faster if they would help. They actually did. We unloaded the car and just dumped it right in the doorway and they're screaming to go into the pool again. I said "can we get the stuff upstairs , first". Nana said "go on, go swimming". I said "OK".The three cousins. There's actually five but one was at the movies and the other was not in goggles nor in camera range. From left to right: Alysse, Sadie and Ashlea
This was Anna when we first drove up. "Get me out of this car". She was tired of riding. I'm thinking if she had taken a nap at any point during the trip instead of screaming the whole way, she might have enjoyed it a little more.
The calm before the storm.
Anna likes the water.

With the posting of the above picture, we can officially say I have masterd my phone. This picture was taken with my cell phone and I SUCCESSFULLY downloaded it to my computer FINALLY!!!!

There is no telling what y'all will see from now on!

Sleeping Beauty awakes

And just what would the prince have thought if this is what Sleeping Beauty looked like when she got up? My first thought? Blog Moment - "Don't move a muscle". And I went and got the camera.

I'm sure there will be therapy bills aplenty when she sees all these things on the world wide web.

Happy 4th of July!

Happy 4th of July Everyone~ Happy Birthday, America!

What a day we had. Baby Shower, croquet, rain, downpours of love. I know this family had a great day and I hope yours did as well.

This is Madeline (who actually asked me to put up her hair today), Sadie and Anna in their new 4th of July outfits (Thank you, Nonnie!) They looked adorable.
The baby shower we had today was for Rachel. We prayed for her baby (thank you, everyone) and God heard our prayers and all seems to be well. The c-cam tumor is shrunken and is only a small thing now. So all is a-go for this baby to come into this world.

One of the things we did at the shower was to write out on an index card words of encouragement or advice or whatever to Rachel and then I took a picture of each person with her and those words will go under their picture in a photo album. This is Sadie's picture with her and these are her words of advice:

"Dear Reachelle,

Don't get booties ther Just going to take them off all the time love you lots sincerly, Sadie"

Sage advice from one so young.

This is Parker "muggin" with Anna. Actually, he was asked to give the baby a hug and he complied...everytime he was asked. It was so cute to watch them play together. He would tap her feet gently, it was too cute.
He also liked her binky. He would put it in his mouth and then in her mouth. She didn't seem to mind.

Firsts

Anna had her first Cheeto yesterday under the exceptional tuteledge (sp?) of her big sister Madeline. Madeline taught her how to hold it in such a way so as not to let any of the cheesy flavor escape. And of course, to always have one in each hand. You can't eat Cheetoes singly, it just isn't done that way.

Very special

After a lovely evening of celebrating the 50th anniversary of the parents of my friend Karen (Happy 50th Micheal and Betsy Doyle), I came home to my sweet little family (except Anna who was already asleep) playing a rousing game of "Candy Land". When told she came in second Madeline replied "very special". I don't know where she gets it but she cracks me up.

I could resist this picture of Anna.
Or this one. We sat outside for a very long time today. We visited with the neighbors and ate cheerios. How much better could it get? OK, add some strawberry margaritas and you've got yourself a special day. But really, outside with good friends...hard to beat, with or without margaritas.
Banda has, for some reason, taken to being carried around in this little basket. Anyone can carry her around in it. Love nips for Sadie!
This is what a lazy Saturday morning looks like in our house.