Squire Creek Egg Hunt 2014

Had a blast this morning with my little guys at the Squire Creek Egg Hunt.  We saw the bunny (boys stayed consistent with their requests for the very first time EVER!), hunted some eggs (well, John Cole only scored two...but he didn't mind), played with some friends and even had a picnic breakfast.  Great to see those we don't see all of the time....and Happy, happy Easter :)

Breckenridge Ski Trip 2014

We got back last night from our family ski trip to Breckenridge and it was one of my all time favorites.  Everything was perfect except for Nana having a nasty case of altitude sickness for part of the time we were there :(  Jeff and I got to ski three days--on day three a whopping 28,000 vertical feet!--and Preston attended ski school three days and moved up to a Level 3 kid skier.  John Cole also very much enjoyed his time on the mountain.  He and Nana played at the Children's Museum one day, he attended the childcare center two days (He even got to go up the magic carpet for a private lesson) and we all hung out in town one day.  We all LOVED the tubing hill.  Pretty sure the boys liked that the best.  I loved the time to spend as a family and the great skiing conditions this year.  Can't WAIT to go back :)

PS:  We got Preston's acceptance letter for the A. E. Phillips Laboratory School in the mail today!!!He will do another Kindergarten year for the 2014-2015 year.  So happy to have such a great opportunity as this is one of the highest rated schools in the state.  Thanks for all who prayed for him.  (John Cole will automatically be enrolled in the 2017 Kindergarten class :)

We're IN!

The Parker Family made our big move--WHEW!  There is still lots and lots to be done but I am to a point that I can sit down and realize that it WILL all get done eventually and we can be comfortable living :)  Of note I am still waiting on a product I ordered that is to take a faded spot out of my dining table.  Also, there is hanging still to be done (and I have a HUGE pile of things I think I DON'T want to hang that I've got to decide whether to save or sell..). And, last but not least, there is still some shopping to be done to add those little extras.......

John Cole is asleep tonight for night #2 in his big boy bed.  Not sure how well he slept last night because he was, well lets say acting sleepy today.  Both boys are very much enjoying their new playroom (no pic of that because when I was taking pictures EVERY piece of EVERY game we own was strewn on the floor...) and I am LOVING them having a place for their things :)

THANKS to the Village of people who help raise my boys who parented them for essentially 10 days while we were getting settled.  Couldn't have done it without you!

Now--who's coming over to EAT on these dishes????

PS:  Just realized there is no pic of the OUTSIDE!!  Will post when landscaping is done :)

Preston's Television Debut

First the back story about how this came to be.  Preston entered a Lego contest at the Louisiana Tech IDEA Place last weekend.  In his entry packet was a registration form for being an IDEA Place guest scientist on the KTVE morning show.  OF COURSE, I promptly filled out the paperwork and sent it in.  Well, I got a phone call late yesterday afternoon that this morning's "scientist" was under the weather and they needed a fill in quick and had Preston's info right on top......so we were picked :)

It was an EARLY morning as we had to be in West Monroe at 6am--but P popped RIGHT out of bed and didn't even complain about me fixing his cowlick.  THIS IS HUGE! Most days I just send him to school with a cowlick because it's not worth the fight--but he wanted to look sharp this morning!  Going to the TV station was just MAGICAL.  I can't even imagine what he thought about it all.  And he was PRECIOUS on his segment.  They made little "rockets" with alka seltzer tablets in plastic film containers.  They made QUITE the popping sound and it made for interesting live TV for sure :)  There is supposed to be a link on the KTVE site today of the segment for any interested.  

After the "experiment" we got a tour of the studio.  He loved  the kitchen area--even tasted some mexican food--but the highlight was of course the control room.  I wonder how much of it he will remember, but as for today he is a little boy on top of the world.  Thanks Lyndsey Vincent and Louisiana Tech IDEA Place!

Better late than never...

Just got these in the mail from Squire Creek.  Wouldn't trade them for anything!!!!

January 2014

How is it possible I have not blogged in a month??!!??  It's been a quiet (but FUN!) January and I just wanted to document our happenings.  Preston has really enjoyed keeping Daddy company at the duck camp this Winter.  I will admit when it's just John Cole and me at home I get a little sad when I realize it won't be long until they are both gone...but I am SO GLAD my boys get to have this great experience!

The Tech boys basketball team is very good and FUN to watch so we make a lot of the home games.  This year John Cole does better at staying out "late" so although we don't often make it to the final buzzer we do make it to the second half at least :)  Good family fun!

And lastly we MAY be getting into our house next month???  I have been a little consumed with it lately and apologize to my family and friends if I have been too much so.  Doesn't help that I am my OWN worst critic, but I know it is going to be beautiful and we are so grateful.

We are still waiting for our snow day in Ruston....so until then...stay warm!

Christmas In Hill Country

Y'all know I use this blog as a "scrapbook" of sorts, so I just want to do a quick synopsis of our quick trip to San Antonio!

Thurs AM :  Up early (normal time for Jeff and I) to us and the kiddos dressed and out of the door.  We hit the road at 6:15 and were pulling into a parking spot by The Riverwalk around 2:00.  I am OCD about getting to our destination :)

Thurs PM:  We really got to enjoy a good bit for the amount of time we had.  We hit up the Riverwalk boat tour, the Mirror Maze (complete with a laser course--P LOVED THIS!) and of course  The Alamo.  We topped off the day with a family meal at a Mexican place right on the beautiful river lit up at Christmas.  Of note were the "Mexican Donuts..."...lol.....the culinary highlight of the trip!!  Nana and Pop had a little snag with their nav system getting to the hotel but we all arrived safely at Hyatt Hill Country that night.

Friday AM:  I thought Nana and KK would LOVE a massage at the Spa so I did that as part of their Christmas...oh, ok I got myself one too :)  Maybe the best massage I've ever had. After our massages we hit the steam room and juice bar at the beautiful spa.  GREAT morning.  We had planned on taking a family bike riding trip but the weather was bad so we had to make a new plan.  This is HARD for me to do.  I can admit that.  But can I say a lazy day around the resort was JUST what my boys and I needed.  Jeff and I took turns working out while Preston and John Cole were entertained by what the hotel had to offer.  THEY EVEN HAD A JUMPY! Can NOT say enough about how family friendly this place was. The employees even acted like they were genuinely interested in what the boys had to SAY to them. I was impressed.  ANYWHOO, we had lunch then headed up for naps.

Friday PM:  We left the hotel pretty early to have time for dinner before "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" at the GORGEOUS Majestic Theater.  John Cole is getting his two year molars, and dinner was quite interesting to say the least, but after we got into the show he did great!  I think we all (except the Singhs who were on a date :) really enjoyed "The Grinch."  Think someone tried to burglarize my car parked in a public lot because the passenger door handle was broken AFTER we got back to the car Friday night...but thankfully they weren't successful.....

Saturday AM:  WE SLEPT IN!  This never, ever, ever happens at home.  I woke up feeling refreshed.  I was quite surprised, thought, that Sea World didn't open until noon so we had some time to kill.  Once again Hill Country rose to the occasion.  It was pretty chilly out but nice in the sun so they had the heated pools and the surfing instruction station open.  We stumbled upon it on our walk after breakfast and Preston was DYING to do it so we let him. I was SO PROUD of him--he really did great.  The picture I have on here just about kills me because he looks so big with his little muscles gripping the bodyboard.  P says this was his favorite part of the trip.  I wish I could have done it :)  Sooooo, after drying off we headed literally across the street to Sea World.  We really enjoyed our time there.  I wasn't super stressed about seeing EVERYTHING because I knew it was impossible in 4 1/2 hours so we picked what we really wanted to see.  John Cole LOVED the "Mo-Mo" (Elmo) show and says that was his favorite part of the trip.  I loved the dolphin show but was MOST impressed with exhibition of the new baby whale who was just 3 weeks old.  Tears people.  It was the sweetest thing.

Saturday PM:  Really, really regret not getting a family picture all dressed up Saturday night.  Sorry everyone.  And it was my parents' 39th anniversary and their pic didn't turn out.  BUMMER.  BUT, I can just write about our night ::)  We had a great family dinner at a Mexican (shocker!) place near our hotel.  The food was good and the margaritas were GREAT!  Next, we headed to the AT &T Center to watch the Trans Siberian Orchestra play.  It wasn't really what any of us were expecting, I think, but I did enjoy the music.

Sunday AM:  WE SLEPT IN AGAIN!  Now, we were paying for it tonight on the way home as John Cole was DONE with the car.  DONE I tell you.  But we made it home safely and truly refreshed.

THANKS AGAIN Nana and Pop for the trip!!!