Spending Time With Grandmama and Granddad

We spent the morning with my mom and met my brother for lunch. I love how much he and Nicholas like each other. It's sweet.



We drove around some but it seems like everything we wanted to do was closed for the holiday. We ended up at Learning Express toy store where we let the kids play and Grandmama bought them each a little something. Then we went next door for ice cream!

Nicholas loves being the big brother and he is always willing to help his little sister pick out ice cream.



And the sticky mess begins....



Next we headed over to Dad's office. It's funny that Nicholas used to love running up and down the long brick hallway in the middle of the office space. Rachel has no interest in this. Instead, she wants to explore all of Granddad's office supplies and help him get a little work done.

First, she had to check out his desk chair. Not too hard, not too soft...just right.



Taking some notes...



Catching up on some filing...



Checking for office supplies that might need to be ordered...



Working on a case for trial...



Wow, those are two tired kiddos heading back to the other side of town to spend the rest of the day with the other set of grandparents and their two cousins! We're hitting the road early in the morning.



Love ya, Mom and Dad!

Happy 4th of July!

Happy 4th of July to our beautiful country!

And look at this beautiful sight we saw this morning. I'm a little biased ;)





I love this crib at Grandmother C's house. She set it up in their guest bedroom back when Nicholas was a baby. He used to try to climb out of it, of course. Rachel is a better sleeper so she hasn't tried to climb out of it...yet. She will even lie back down and try to snooze a little if you don't take her out right away.





Love the cute little feet.



We had a fun day celebrating the birth of our country. There was lots of splashing in the kid pool that Grandmother bought for the cousins to play in. Donna and I spent who knows how long blowing up a pack of 100 balloons to play with in the pool.





At first, Rachel didn't know what to think of all the balloons in the pool and needed a little coaxing to get in.



"I'm still not sure about all of this, Mama".



She relaxed some and even sat down in the pool for this picture with her two cousins.





Relaxing in the pool..



I love how Rachel tweaks her lower lip over to the side when she is curious about something.









Stuart has been learning how to make balloon animals and Nicholas has picked up a thing or two. He made a very impressive vase and flower bouquet for Grandmother!



We enjoyed grilled hamburgers and hot dogs - without much arguing between the two grill masters as to when they are cooked to perfection.



We had a great time watching fireworks in the front yard. My brother even came over to join the fun. Rachel took some time getting used to the fireworks and she stayed in my arms for most of the time. But she gradually went from whimpering and burying her head on my shoulder to smiling and saying, "Yay!". After fireworks, we went inside for some of Grandmother's homemade ice cream and playing in the living room fort.



Only pure exhaustion can slow these two down when they get together!

Yes, My Kids Eat Boudin!

Yes, my kids eat boudin and they like it! You may be asking, "What the heck is boudin (pronounced boo-dan)?"

I was born and raised in south Louisiana and I had never heard of it until I was in college and Stuart introduced me to it. It was a little unnerving the first time I tried it....somekind of casing like sausage with this dark mixture of unknown stuff inside. Eww, it didn't look tasty at all. But my word! This stuff was some kind of good. Rice, meat, and perfectly seasoned with just the right amount of spice and pepper. It is very similar to another Louisiana treat, dirty rice. Yes, we south Louisianians really now how to know how to make our food sound appetizing!

I fell in love with boudin and over the years I have tried some where ever I could find it in a grocery store or deli between Louisiana and Texas. I soon learned that the place where Stuart bought that first boudin for me was really the best in the world and the only place worth going to for boudin. It is a little convenience store in Greenwell Springs, Louisiana. Jerry Lee's Kwik Shop looks like any regular stop for chips and a drink. But don't be fooled. This is the mecca for boudin and people really do travel to this place just for their boudin. We love boudin but we don't bother to buy it anywhere else because we don't like to settle. So instead we fill our bellies up two times a year when we go home to visit and bring our own little stash back home with us.

When Nicholas was about Rachel's age, he had his first boudin. I wasn't expecting him to like it because it's spicy but he ate it up. However, as he got a little older and a little pickier about his food he quit eating it. So on this trip, I didn't expect him to eat it and I figured that it would probably be too spicy for Rachel. But I was pleasantly surprised when both of my kids finished their little sampling of boudin and then asked for more. Ca c'est bon, cher!

Chopsticks - For Food And For Play

We went to P.F. Chang's with my mom for lunch. Talk about good food! I love this place. The kids just loved having Grandmama's attention. Nicholas had her playing tic-tac-toe until the food came out.



Trying foods from other cultures is great for kids. Not only do they get to experience new flavors and textures in food but they also get to experiment with other cultural traditions - like chopsticks. Both of my kids were just enchanted by chop sticks. Rachel used her chopsticks to play with my lemon.



She got frustrated that she couldn't pick things up with them so she started just stabbing everything with the chopsticks. Nice!

I'm not sure what the boy was trying to do with chopsticks and his drink but he was certainly entertained.



I tried to snap a picture of mom with my two sweet angels but the littlest angel wasn't in the mood for cooperation. Instead she wanted to squirm away and make a mad dash for the flower bed so this is the best I got.



Oh, just give up on the toddler in the picture. We can always just photoshop her into this one later.



Back to the car and Nicholas showed Grandmama all of the books he had brought with him on the trip over. He read a little to her right then.



We are so proud of how well he has learned to read over this last year. He wants to read all the time and not just books. He'll read street signs, menus, mail, labels on clothing, food packaging. It's such an exciting time.

Playtime with Uncle Steve

We survived the long drive with two young kids in the car but we finally made it to Baton Rouge to visit our families for a few days.

Our kids love to visit my brother at work. He manages a playground equipment sales business and the kids have an open invitation to play on the playgrounds and trampolines anytime they come to town. Talk about fun!



Nicholas knows his way around a playground but Rachel is still timid about things she isn't familiar with so she checked things out with caution.



She sat on the swings with Uncle Steve for a while.



How many pictures do I have of this little boy on a swing. Yet I can't help but take just one more. Kids grow up so quickly and I just never know when this might be the last time he thinks playing on a swing is fun and cool.



Of course, as he grows up, he just gets more creative and adventurous with swings.





Rachel got comforable and was bouncing on the trampolines and sliding down slides in no time. I love seeing pure joy in her face.





We all worked up quite a sweat in the heat and had to take a few breaks to cool off inside. Rachel had to be super cool with her shades that she INSISTED on putting on herself because she's a big girl and knows how to do these things...



These pictures are just remarkable to me. Nicholas loves to look at animals, especially dogs but he has always been so afraid to get close to them. When we were here at Christmas he was scared of Brody and wouldn't get too close to him. But on this trip, just 6 months later, he walked up to him and petted him.



He even got a hand shake from Brody!



Just one more time down the slide before we go!