Daddy's Girls

 I swear every year hunting season gets shorter. When the kids were really small it seemed to go on forever. But now that we’re busier and they are a little more independent, it goes by much faster. Which is a good thing for all around. :) Matt said yesterday was the last day but also the best day of the year.  I’m happy he got to spend it hunting all day. He can always count on Luke for an afternoon hunt. All of the guys are die hard hunters but these two redefine that. I think they would hunt every single day for the whole 2 months if they could.  The girls and I miss him while he’s gone of course. But he’s always made it clear that we can come up anytime we want and in fact says we don’t come enough. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE it up there. But there’s something about being home on the weekend too. And this last weekend I got to enjoy it as much as he did! Yaya took Austin, Josey, Lilli and Katie for a sleepover Saturday night. Chad and Rachel we’re going to a birthday ...

What’s your: Favorite color? Neon blue Toy? Spirit riding free horses Fruit? Watermelon  Show/movie? Harry Potter Lunch? Pizza Outfit? New llama shirt and shorts Game? Minecraft  Snack? Chips Song? Body Like a Backroad Animal? Dog Book? Humphrey the Hamster Best Friend? Shaleigh Cereal? Honeycomb  Game to play outside? Hide and seek tag Drink? Kook-Aid Holiday? Easter Breakfast? Sausage balls Dinner? Fried deer meat What do you want to be when you grow up? A Vet

It may come as a surprise to you, but I love birthdays. Ok, I know not much of a surprise if you know me but my kids birthdays are extra special to me. On top of it being a milestone for them, it’s one for me and Matt too. Lillian is 8 today! Which means 8 years ago we became Mom and Dad. After she went to bed last night I got the house decorated for her I love to see them wake up and know it’s all just for them. We started the day with gifts and French toast (which is an especially big deal because most mornings are usually cereal or yogurt) before school. She went until noon and then I checked her out for lunch and fun with Yaya She opened her gifts while we waited on a table at Salt and from there we went to play in the aquarium  Yaya always brings fun gifts but the one that means the most to me is the flowers from Granna Lilli-“Yaya always gets the sweetest cards from Granna” Katie-“Yeah, that’s cuz she can’t come down and do it herself.” It may be the 8th year she’s done it bu...

Lilli got an impromptu slumber party with Case and Lane last night. We went to Hailey’s to play for awhile for the afternoon and when I was ready to go she wasn’t and got invited to stay. Katie had a little bit of a cold so I thought it was best for her to come home and she didn’t argue at all so I know she wasn’t feeling good. She definitely didn’t complain about her Mama to herself .                           Everybody was happy!  Thanks for having her Hailey. She had a blast! 

Northerners think it's crazy but we got 3 inches of snow last night and Louisiana is shut down! They called school closures for today at 6:30 AM yesterday and by 11:00 today it was called for tomorrow. We left the deer camp yesterday morning about 10:30 after 3 nights of non-stop fun and hosting a crowd. Matt went to work and I came home to get Reagan to go to a listing presentation. When we got home at 4:30 we were EXHAUSTED. But (after struggling with the decision for a few minutes) by 5:00 we were packed (why did I unpack? ;) and in the car to head back to the camp so that we could wake up to this It's been 3 years since we've had measurable snow and we were very thankful we got up and came back. We made them wait for after coffee but by 8:30 we were all out making snow angels and sledding down the hill.  Matt and I both got on the sled too but I think our joints will pay for it more tomorrow than the kids. :) We only lasted about an hour before needing to go in for a br...

Once again we had an amazing weekend surrounded by family in Arkansas. There were a lot of us this year, 22 to be exact, but it was so much fun! We had the 4 of us, Capn, plus my Dad, Janet, her son Evan, Allie, Jen, Ryan, Anna, Piper, Michaelyn, Rick, Holman, Brandi, Chance, Kelly, Adam, Andrew and Brooks!                     This is what 22 people looks like!    All of the guys had planned to be in the blind Saturday morning but the 22 degree low kept them inside. Holman and Ryan hunted like they always do but my Dad and Rick watched from the comfort of the living room through binoculars.  We spent the mornings inside by the fire and resting. Some of us doing Pilates while others ate cinnamon toast. (She posed for the pic of stuffing her face while they exercised;) But by mid-morning when it warmed up a bit they were out doing "country stuff" The best part of the weekend for the (adult) girls is always our time spen...

We haven't missed seeing you on your birthday the last few years so I had to use a Thanksgiving pic. Between school starting back tomorrow, Sophie going to the vet and working on the lake we couldn't make it happen this year but we thought about you all day. We love you and thank you so much for all you do! We hope you had a fabulous day- you deserve it!! 

We have had a full 3 weeks at home for Christmas break. Bossier schools tried out a new calendar this year and although I hated the August 2nd start date, I have loved the long holidays. They are voting soon on next year's calendar and I hope they do the same. It started with our trip to Baton Rouge right before Christmas. Then Lala came and we had a wonderful Christmas Eve in Vivian and Christmas Day here. Then Shanon, Alex, Logan and Jeremiah all came to spend New Years with us. Those first 2 weeks were busy so we have thoroughly enjoyed this last week at home doing practically nothing. I've tried to get back to working from here but other than that we've watched a lot of Harry Potter Harassed the cat (really she really likes it;) And done some napping. But tomorrow is back to reality. Back to school, back to work. But it's a 4 day week followed by a 3 day weekend. Nice way to ease back in to it. 

We spent a great weekend with Shanon, Alex, Logan and Jeremiah at the camp. It's been our tradition for New Years since at least when Lilli was a baby, maybe before. Logan is the sweetest baby. I swear I never heard him cry and he would hang out with whoever wanted him. The girls loved every second they got to spend with their "cousin" Capn cooked us some great food and we pretty much hung out inside by the fire because it was too cold to do much else. It really didn't matter because there was a huge amount of ducks on the field right outside the window. Hours were spent looking through binoculars watching our own live nature show. You can't tell from the picture but that's a lot of ducks! But we did brave it long enough to go play with some sparklers and pop some fireworks for New Years.  Cara came up for the afternoon too and we got to talk about baby registries and planning her shower. So excited to meet Josie in about 3 months! What a great start to 2018. ...