Daddy's Girls

What a difference a year makes! It was just a year ago that we were having an outdoor Thanksgiving and only made a day trip to the camp for it. Chad and Rachel stayed in Plano and our celebration was only a few hours. It was still nice, of course, but definitely not normal. This week we got to have our first normal holiday since before Covid! Christmas last year was outside on Christmas Eve and just our nuclear family on Christmas Day. Even though a lot of family gathered for Easter in Baton Rouge, we still had the big get togethers and even the church service outside. So for the first time in over a year and a half, we got to have our normal tradition.  The kids played  And there was hunting There was wine and champagne as we watched Yaya cook-  we still have yet to REALLY learn how to do the turkey, but I do feel like I have a better idea than I ever had in the past. I think we’ve decided that this tradition needs to skip a generation anyway. 😉 The tables were made beautiful as we a

We had a wonderful weekend all around. Lillian killed her first duck on a hunt with Matt, Capn and Josh and they also got great Daddy/Daughter time in the deer stand. It was a huge milestone for her and she was very proud to be invited for opening weekend. We were able to celebrate my Dad’s 71st birthday with 2 of his daughters, one son-in-law and 3 of his grandchildren when we took him out to dinner on Friday night in Austin. After dinner, we met up with Kelly and Emily and lots of their friends and family at a beer garden. It was the first time I’d seen the rest of the family after getting in town and it was really nice to catch up with my cousin, Jacob, who I had not seen in 12 years! It was kid friendly too. They had yard games and playground equipment for the kids and chairs around fire pits and a band for the adults. It was very cool and something different for us.  Piper stayed in the room with me and Katie all weekend and came with us and Pops on Sunday morning to GranJan and P

This is a weekend that Matt and Lillian will remember forever. She got her first deer! And not only her first, but her 2nd came about an hour later!  He had been telling me all week that he thought he would let her shoot one this weekend if the opportunity presented and she wanted to. He took both girls Friday night and took Katie to the stand yesterday morning.  (Only Katie goes to the deer camp without a single pair of shoes 🙄 she’s in Capn’s boots!)  They didn’t see anything, but she still enjoyed the time with her Daddy. We met in Plain Dealing for lunch and she came home with me so that Matt could take Lillian yesterday afternoon.  He and Lillian were in the stand by 3:30 and it was awhile before they saw a deer but she finally showed up. They had to watch that first doe for about 20 minutes before she was close enough to shoot. He thought she might hyperventilate before it got close enough and he said he was shaking as bad as he had in a long time. They had to look for her for a

I will be the first to admit that sometimes our weeks can be a little boring for Katie. She doesn’t mind, and tells me everyday that she’d rather be home, but what kid wouldn’t rather play than entertain themselves while Mom works? Which is usually how our afternoons go after we get done with school. But this week was different. We did something fun every day, even if it wasn’t for long, and I’m really going to try to be better about it. I am keeping Britney and Bella every Sunday night until December 5th while Heather and her Mom are in Houston for her chemo treatment. I get her girls off to school and pick them up because she doesn’t get back until after dark on Mondays. The girls definitely don’t mind the school night sleepovers. 😊 After we finished our work Monday morning, we met Cara and Josie at the big Bossier park for recess.  On Tuesday, she did really well on her math multiplication speed drill. When Jimmy heard he sent Chick-fil-A points for us to go get nuggets and a milks

My witches and ghosts have come down, my turkeys are out, I have a table full of wrapped presents…but it doesn’t FEEL like the holiday season yet. I think it’s about time to start decking the halls and listening to some carols to get in the mood. It doesn’t help that we went to an ornament making party at Ed’s Emporium today. Ashley planned a holiday party and there were 9 girls and the Moms. It was very cool and a different idea for something to do. I have to have a Christmas tree to display these when we pick them up next week, right?😉  It IS 7 weeks from today and that’s not too long for a tree for me! But I’ll enjoy the turkeys for a few more days. Even gymnastics is in the spirit.  (This is how Katie watches Bible every morning 🤣) The weather is the one thing that is starting to cooperate with the time of year. It has been cold the last few mornings but not too cold to play with cousins outside. When Katie woke up on Friday morning, I told her Austin and Josey were in town and w

Yesterday was a really nice holiday and more low key than we have ever had. I picked the girls up from their sleepover at 10:00 and they had some rest time for a few hours before we carved pumpkins. Katie did one last year but decided she doesn’t have the patience, so she picked one for Matt to do and Lillian did one too. Lillian was regretting her choice of a hard one about halfway through but it turned out amazing. The one on the left is hers and she did it 100% on her own except for cutting the top. Matt’s is always great and I love that he gets the picture of them in the dark every year. I think it’s the dog’s favorite holiday too because they sit around eating the pumpkin from the ground for 2 hours. 🤣 Our neighborhood isn’t too big on Halloween. There are a few kids out and it looked like lots of people left their lights on, but we decided to go to trick-or-treat with friends instead. I left candy out on the porch and it was almost gone, so we did get some kids but not exactly s