Daddy's Girls

We got up and drove over to the State Park for another attempt at fishing this morning. I wanted to go because I was going to let the kids fish with Matt while I ran the trail but it was so wet and the wind was so crazy we didn't really do either. We walked down the pier and Matt had his lines in the water for a little bit but not much luck.  All we could seem to catch were catfish this trip. The crabs were still dormant too because he tried the surf, the bay and ditches. Everyone we talked to said we're about a month too early. So, we're already talking about coming back the week after school gets out next year. He was disappointed in our fishing but we all had fun going out anyway. Plus, Katie and Lilli spent another 3 hours in the sand and surf this afternoon while he went back to the pier so they are totally exhausted but have had a blast. We are leaving bright and early with 2 happy kids ready to enjoy the rest of spring break relaxing.  It's been fun Rehab. Hope t

No, not what you're thinking... I'm talking about our fishing camp in Grand Isle where we're spending 3 nights with just our family of 4. We left after Easter brunch and got here around 4:00. After a quick unload we were down on the beach for an evening of fishing and playing                   View from our deck  They caught a couple of catfish and Matt was whistling the whole time. He didn't even realize he was doing it but when Lilli asked why he was I said "because he's a happy man right now."  We got up this morning and went to the fishing pier across the bridge. The girls lasted way longer than I thought and we stayed with him about 3 hours. Even though I'm not much of a fisherman, I was perfectly happy because there was a pod of dolphins jumping and playing and that can keep me entertained for hours.  He stayed a few hours longer than us so we could eat and do more beach playing. After we picked him up, he and I napped while the girls watched a m

I have a book I read to the kids every year with the same title. Yaya gave it to Lilli for her first Easter when she was only a few months old and it is my favorite. The little girl in it talks about how she likes dyeing eggs, Easter candy, fuzzy rabbits and baby chicks, the springtime and getting dressed up and being together at church on Easter Sunday but that none of that is the best part about Easter. The best part about Easter is that Jesus is risen and lives for you and me. He is risen indeed!  Not that all of those things aren't great ways to celebrate. Easter morning wouldn't be complete without a visit from the Easter bunny And of course getting dressed up and going to church together  And we also enjoyed a nice brunch together after. But the children's book says it best. The best part about Easter is... Jesus! Happy Easter everyone. 

We had a day full of Easter fun in Baton Rouge yesterday. We started the day by dyeing eggs. What happens when you let 5 kids dye eggs with no supervision?  This was the first grab in to a cup. By the time she was done the dye was literally up to her elbows. She was filthy and it stayed on her all day but she had fun so no one cared. Then at 3:00, all of the great-grandchildren plus me, Matt, lizard and Jimmy went to Nana's Easter Party at The Haven where she lives. The girls danced to the band with her and all of her friends and ate candy for an hour.  It meant so much to Nana that she got to show off the kids and I was so proud of my girls for getting in to it. Lilli said, "it's not like it takes much to make her happy and it was kind of fun anyway." Sweet girl!  After the party it was back to Jen's for an egg hunt and Honey's birthday dinner. Daniel has gotten too big to be interested (or probably just had to be too cool because he had a girl friend over ;)

All of the Apollo kindergarteners had a super fun day of school today. It was their Easter egg hunt and Louisiana Day and all of the parents were also invited. Katie and I both went and it was a great time.  Katie's favorite part by far was the crawfish races. She played with them for probably an hour of the 2 we were there. Lilli stayed with her a lot of that time but she was too busy running around checking out all of the games and booths. They both loved eating King cake donuts and Zapps chips and getting their face painted She also loved the egg hunt and bounce house. Katie didn't get to participate in those but she didn't mind. She played with the crawfish every time Lilli was bouncing and she happily shared all the candy from the eggs. I got to check her out when it was over at 11:30 and spring break officially began! Miss Priss was very wound up from her big morning and the icing on the cake for her day was that Yaya took her for some one on one time this afternoon.

After we left the camp Sunday afternoon we went to Jubilee Zoo for their annual Easter party. Of course there was feeding animals like usual But there was also an egg hunt Poor Lilli, she ran around like crazy before she realized there was a hole in her bag. She ended up with 1. But she did help Katie (by pointing- we wouldn't let her pick them up since they were divided by age groups) so Katie shared hers.  They both won the bunny races. Katie came in 1st and Lilli in 2nd. Katie's was almost not fair since her group was 2 and under and she turns 3 next month.  But the part they liked most was holding the real bunny and baby chicks.  And I'm pretty sure I have the most precious picture of kids with the Easter bunny. Not that I'm biased. ;)  We're excited for the real bunny to come in a few days! 

I mentioned last week that Yaya and Cap'n came by to give Lilli her first gun. It's a Henry Mini-Bolt .22 and on Sunday Matt got to show her how to use it. She skipped back to our room to get it when he told her it was time and was so excited. Matt didn't see any of that though because she immediately got serious. She didn't expect that learning to shoot a gun would start in the living room.  But she listened very intently and took in every word. She's definitely going to know more than me.  After he was satisfied with that, outside they went.  It took a little time to find how she would be comfortable but they figured it out. Matt fired the first shot because she was nervous about how loud it would be but Shanon, Alex, Katie and I were all there to watch her by the time she was ready to fire it. They focused more on learning to hold it, work the safety and pull the trigger than on aiming. She mostly just shot at the dirt pile but she did hit the plate once!  She sa

I can't tell you how many times we heard their names over the weekend. :) I don't know who has more fun with them, me and Matt or the girls. We had a busy weekend but it always feels relaxed when you're hanging out with such good friends.  We woke up Saturday and drove up to the farm to go fishing. Lilli and Alex both caught big ones. But not enough to make a meal so we released them.  We didn't need them anyway because we already had a sack of crawfish ready to boil when we got back.  We sat outside all afternoon and Lilli and Katie must have spent 3 or 4 hours playing with the "pardoned crawfish" in the back of Shanon's truck.  They sure do have a lot of energy and Shanon manages to keep up with them pretty much the whole time. We hung out there until the kids bedtime and then moved by a fire the rest of the night.  The next morning brought a first gun lesson. More on that later...

The Aerosmith song Janie's Got A Gun  popped in my head as I watched Lilli receive her first gun as a gift from her Cap'n and Yaya yesterday. I think she was shocked because she didn't say too much but she's excited. Apparently she's told her Daddy that she wants a gun "her size" so she can learn to shoot but I didn't know anything about it. This city girl is going to have to accept she's raising kids with a country boy. ;) I know a lot of people would say no way to their 6 year old having a gun but I have 100% trust in my husband. It's locked in our gun safe so it's clear that it's "not a toy" and he's going to teach her everything about gun safety and how to use it. She's excited to start learning with her Daddy and Uncle Shanny this weekend but also said she's "a little nervous because she knows it's serious" but also knows her "Daddy will teach her everything." The best attitude I can ho

We celebrated Austin's birthday over the weekend with a "Digging for Dinos" party at Sciport. His birthday was last month but was only a few days before Lane was born so Chad and Rachel decided to have his party late. He didn't mind! The kids had a lot of fun making fossils Digging for Dinos Making a volcano erupt And of course eating cake and ice cream. Sciport makes theirs from scratch with liquid nitrogen right in front of you. That was my favorite part. Tasted just like my moms homemade ice cream used to We all went back to the deer camp where Matt and Josh had crawfish cooked and ready to eat. Yum! Always love our weekends with the family. It's so fun to be together and watch the kids growing up together.