GOOD TIMES

I had a great Birthday- thanks for asking. And since I have a husband who is always trying to find ways to surprise me and puts a lot of thought into gifts ...... I couldn't have asked for a better day.

Of course I had to work, but right before lunch this beautiful creation showed up at the office. "Happy Birthday Love Your 3 Sons" This picture really doesn't do it justice but it was absolutely wonderful to eat.

For lunch I met my good friend Jill at The Ground Pati ( a burger joint) and enjoyed a wonderful chicken sandwich and fries. Good food - good company. Thanks Jill for lunch and as always good entertaining conversation.

After work - off to teach class. I think I somehow managed to convince myself that if I exercised it wouldn't matter how much food I consumed. Which for some reason taking the day off of my diet for my birthday has progressively turned into a week long event

After class I met up with Ryan and the boys for some WINGS!! I know it seems like such an elaborate place to go for a birthday dinner ... but I knew I wouldn't be disappointed with the food and there is something about the look on my boys' faces when they walk into this amazing place. There are TV's everywhere even in the bathroom and yes it was the first place they went to when we walked in the door.
So I ate and I ate like I was never going to see food again even though I knew that cake and Rocky Road Icecream were waiting for me at home.

When we got home the boys could hardly contain themselves they were sure that the next gift would make a blog entry for sure.

Yes my friends --- a Snuggie ( not to be confused with the Slanket)
I laughed so hard when I opened this and I loved the fact that my kids knew it would make me laugh and of course blog about it.

So now I can enjoy the comforting warmth of a blanket and still be able to find my hands..... Check out all the things I can do with my Snuggie

I can use a remote control and still be nice and warm

I can hold my beautiful baby

And it's so nice and big that I can cover all of my children at once

Not pictured: I can eat a snack, I can read a book, I can talk on the phone, I can read a newspaper and so many many more ...........

So thank you all for the Birthday Wishes!!

Shocking!

I know some of you may be trying to recover from shock that I'm posting two days in a row. I've been meaning to post this one for a while. Just one more piece of evidence who his favorite is.

School Days

Payton started school this Tuesday. All schools here in Lafayette wear uniforms - something Payton wasn't too excited about but in time will get used to.

Of course you can see Jack and Ben wanted to go too. Jack starts Kindergarten this year but, Kindergarten doesn't start until next week

My 4th grader showing how cool he is

Payton's teacher this year: Mrs. Bacon --- he was pretty pleased with this since Bacon is one of his favorite food groups

The Brotherhood

Despite the cramped living conditions we have had since we moved back to Louisiana -- the kids have managed to still create a clubhouse

Club Awesome : Password don't enter without Password unless you're a member of Club Awesome

Yes! Club Awesome meets in the closet. You would think with all of the junk we have stored in the boys closet that there wouldn't be any room for anything else. Somehow they manage to cram in there. What's great is that they include Ben who thinks its pretty cool hanging with his brothers. I find it interesting for boys that are not crazy about the dark who need a nightlight in their room at night ----have no problem shutting themselves in a dark compact space for hours at a time with only a flashlight to protect themselves.

Taking an apple juice break

No!

I'm sure there will be a day when he realizes what NO means but for now ..... its a new trick

In case you forgot

Sometimes its hard to remember just how adorable my children are. Especially when one is pouting or when one is throwing a fit or when one isn't feeling well and is fussy. But I do remember...... Ryan and I sure make cute kids!

We love visitors!

A couple weeks ago The Tregaskes family and Grandma Mikey came to visit. The boys of course loved every second of having their cousins around!! So we spent a lot of time driving around showing the wonderful things about Louisiana and why we love it here.

Yes it makes me a little nervous to know that we had 11 people in a 8 passenger car but we somehow survived and still liked eachother after.

One of the "hot" spots to visit is Avery Island - home of the Tabasco hot sauce factory. Here you learn all about the history of how Tabasco came to be. "Tabasco" means "Land of the hot and humid" and the kids all agreed (thanks to Nathan bringing to our attention) that Louisiana should really be called Tabasco.

Of course we had to show off the UL campus where Ryan is now working. It's a beautiful campus with lots of oak trees and its own swamp in the middle of campus. We took the kids to the swamp to feed the fish and turtles - NOT the alligators - but somehow the alligators managed to find a way to get their fill of bread too.

The cousins in front of one of the larger Oak trees on campus

We also went on a swamp tour: Ryan and our tour guide

Just a few things seen on the tour.........

What's a swamp tour without alligators? And what could be more fun than teasing the alligators? Our guide had some fish with him and would throw a fishing line with the fish out to attract the alligators closer to the boat -- but not too close. Of course if I had better reflexes with the camera these would have turned out better but you can see the alligator jumping at the fish (sort of?)

Our next stop was Red Stick or better known as Baton Rouge. We drove over to Baton Rouge so our visitors could go on the longest bridge and say they crossed the Mississippi. If I didn't know how to spell Mississippi before the trip I do now. Listening to 6 children repeat over and over M-i-s-s-i-s-s-i-p-p-i over and over was the highlight of the drive.

Visiting the Baton Rouge Temple

We are so glad that Amy and the kids and Mikey came to visit. Hopefully more people will feel the urge to make a road trip too!!!