Life Without Children

Yes, I do love my children dearly and am missing them as Chad is off to camp and Evan is staying with my parents for a week. Nevertheless, Todd and I had a super day.

After I got caught up at work and Todd made his weekend trip to the grocery store, we headed out to New Orleans for lunch. We ate at Nirvana, which is one of our favorite places to get Indian food.

We have heard from multiple sources that The Hangover was a movie that we should check out, so after lunch, we headed out for the movie theater. It is definitely adult fare, but was funnier than I thought it was going to be. There were some parts where I couldn't stop laughing and tears were running from my eyes, so I will definitely give it a "thumbs up."

After the movie we were in the mood for a pick-me-up, so we got a latte and cappucino from McDonalds on the way home. They have a new coffee menu called McDonalds McCafe. They grind the coffee beans for each cup and I do have to say that it was pretty good and kept our day moving along.

In the evening, Todd and I went outside and hit some practice golf balls back and forth to each other in the backyard. I have my third golf lesson this week, but am not very confident that I have improved much since my last lesson even though I practice every day. Anyway, it was fun and nice to get outside and enjoy the "less hot" (I wish I could say "cool") evening weather.

Texas Drop Off

We drove to Texas today and dropped the boys off with my parents. We typically meet half way, so the drive is not too long for either of us. We had a nice lunch and visit. I gave my Dad his father's day card, since I knew last weekend that I would be seeing him soon. We also gave Evan his birthday present, as he turns 8 next Wednesday and we won't be with him.

My parents are taking the boys to a family reunion tomorrow and then dropping Chad off at camp in the afternoon. This is his second year and he had a really great time last year, so he is very excited.

My parents have promised Evan that there is a lot of petrified wood at their farm, so that is one of the things he is looking forward to this week. The heat is really bad, so I don't know how much time he will get to spend outside, especially with his poison ivy, but I'm sure he will relish the attention of two doting grandparents.

Two silly boys enjoying the drive to Texas.

Evan with a nice smile and Chad making a funny face.


"We are hungry after all that driving!"


My favorite guys!

Dad opening his Father's Day card.

Evan opening his birthday card while I smile for the camera.

"Let's see what's in here."

"I love opening presents!"

"Yea, a Nintento DS; I have been asking for this for months!"

Frantic Friday

We ended this week scurring around. Chad is off to camp in Texas next week and Evan ended up with poison ivy that he came in contact with searching for insects this past week. Todd stopped by the pharmacy on his way home from work to get medication for Evan and I spent the day with Chad taking him to the dentist and finishing all of the preparations for his time at camp.

Evan will be spending a week with my parents before we pick up Chad and join them for the 4th of July, so Todd and I have a few days to ourselves. We already have the restaurants, movies, golf practice and other activities planned out.

Chad packing for camp.

What a handsome young man you are growing up to be.

Evan isn't so sure about this poison ivy treatment.

Todd doctoring Evan.

Charm Fun

As I've said before, one of my favorite things is getting new merchandise. I got some fun charms in this week and have had a great time packaging them. The wizards remind me of Professor Dumbledore in the Harry Potter books/movies. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is scheduled to come out on July 15th. I know Chad will want to see it.

Bugs, Bugs, Bugs

Okay, have I mentioned that Evan is bug crazy? His science teacher gave us the idea of doing a bug collection. As soon as he heard that such a thing could be done, he was out the door and on the hunt.

I found a bead box that has small containers in it. In just a couple of hours, he ended up filling every container in the box with flies, grasshoppers and an assortment of other insects. He had a blast.

Thanks for the idea, Coach! Now you have to help us identify everything.

"First step to catching a sand fly...put the container over him before he flies away."

"Steps two and three: slide the container down and quickly put the lid on top."

Evan admiring all of his insects.

"Bug collecting is a blast."

Evan's insect collection....all in a day's work.

Father's Day

Father's day turned out to be a pretty typical Sunday for us in HOT, south Louisiana. Late in the afternoon, Todd decided that he wanted to try out the new golf clubs that we got him for Father's Day.

The boys and I have been practicing in the backyard and several of our foam balls had ended up in the gutters which run alongside our roof. Since we don't really like Evan going up on the roof to get them, we devised a new way to get the balls out. Evan climbs up on the antenna and lets us know where they are. Todd and I stand on a stool and reach our hand up into the gutter and try and follow Evan's directions, "Over a little; you almost got it; Yes, that's it!"

Todd: I hope that you enjoyed your Father's day. Thank you so much for all that you do for me and the boys. You are always willing to put us first and never complain about it. We are so lucky to have you!

Our Lookout

"I love being up here."

Todd trying out his clubs.

Summer Cuts

Since Evan and Chad are going to be going to Texas in a week and it is incredibly hot, I decided it was time that we go and get their summer hair cuts. The "cool" thing for boys now is to have longish hair. Chad's hair is very wavy and really looks better short (IMO). He would like to have it longer, but was cooperative and went along with my plan.

Evan loved his haircut. He is outside a lot and the less maintenance that he has to do on his hair, the better. He wouldn't let me take a before photo, but was happy to show off his after look and the handful of tootsie rolls that he got as a treat from his stylist.

"I really want it to be longer."

"I know you think it looks good, Mom, but I don't like it."

"I love haircuts (and candy)!"

Gorgeous Shrimp

Hurricane season is here, so my philosophy is that we should start empting our freezer and not stockpile any new food. Todd agrees with that in theory, but had the chance to get some shrimp yesterday and couldn't pass it up. They are some beauties, I have to admit.

Evan and Todd checking out the shrimp.

What beauties!

Nice Size!

Fun Friday

The boys had an awesome time at daycamp yesterday. The camp rented three inflatable waterslides for the children. They spent all day on the slides and only stopped for lunch. The camp treated them to hot dogs, chips and grapes. What a blast!

Evan went straight to playing outside when he got home. He has found locust shells in the past, which has been very exciting. Yesterday, however, he had an even better find...a live locust.

"I love all creatures."

"Check out my finds!"

Practice Makes Perfect!

The boys are continuing to have their fun at daycamp during the day. When they get home in the afternoon our routine has become to go outside and practice our golf swings.

Both boys are very supportive and encouraging in my efforts to learn how to hit a golf ball. Evan is very sweet to me when I totally miss the ball.

"Did you mean to hit that one, Mom?"

"Yes, I did."

"That's okay, just try again."

When I top the ball, he gives me instructions, "Make sure you get underneath it, like this." He will then come over and give me a quick demonstration. Chad has heard Todd's instructions to me and will frequently remind me, "Bend your knees, Mom."

We occasionally hit some of our practice balls on the roof. We have an antenna on the side of our house that Evan has learned how to climb. We will occasionally give him permission to climb it, get on the roof and retrieve the balls from the gutters. It scares me to death to see him up there, so we try and not make it a regular practice.

"Oooh, that's a good one."

"I'll get the ball."

No fear here!

"I love climbing."

Sunny Sunday!

Summer is here; it got up to 94 degrees yesterday! That couldn't keep us inside, however. Chad and I spent some time practicing our golf swing. Evan kept himself busy hammering wood. In spite of the sweat, it was a fun, relaxing Sunday!

"I have a lot of work to do here."

"I love making things!"

Hammering Away!

"Watch this shot."


"Was it a good one?"

Fishing Without a Pole

Evan continues to be obsessed with fishing. Last weekend he had the best time when Todd took he and Chad to the bayou with their poles.

I was at a meeting most of the day yesterday and Todd had some things to do around the house and wasn't able to take him fishing again. Not letting that stop him, Evan decided to go fishing in our front ditch. It has some shallow water in it most of the time and Evan is often drawn there to investigate. He didn't have a pole, but did find a long worm to use for bait. He held it in the water and was able to catch three minnows. When I got home, he couldn't wait to show me his "catch" and was very proud of his accomplishment.

Evan with his long fishing worm.

Evan's catch of the day!

Keeping Cool at the Dr's Office

Friday morning started off as "one of those days." Chad had a doctors appointment for a check-up at 8:00. I scheduled it that way so that we could go to the appointment and then the boys could get to their day camp activities relatively early.

Trying to keep everything on schedule, we arrived at the doctors office promptly at 8:00. We waited until about 8:30, when they finally called us to the back. Then we sat, and sat and sat. The doctor finally came in to see Chad at 9:00. Needless to say, the boys were very antsy by this time, so we tried to pass the time by taking some funny photos while waiting.

I was a little frustrated and I think I shocked the doctor a little when I questioned him about the wait. It turns out that he doesn't even come in until 8:30 in the morning. That particular morning, he came in at 8:40, so he didn't think he was that behind seeing us at 9:00. I then explained that we had been given an appointment for 8:00 and that we had been waiting an hour. Seems as if there are some scheduling issues at that office. Now I know not to take an 8:00 appointment again. Live and learn, I guess.

Chad reading his book and waiting patiently.

Evan making a silly smile.

Chad trying out his "no teeth" smile.


"When are we getting out of here?"

Field Trip in the Big Easy

Evan and Chad went on a field trip to the Audubon Institute in New Orleans with their daycamp today. They saw the 3D dinosaur movie at the Imax, which they said was just awesome. They then went to the aquarium. Evan's favorite part was petting a shark and stingray. Chad bought a cool souvenier...a liquid hourglass.

They must have worked up some appetites because Evan said that he had four pieces of pizza for lunch. Chad said that he didn't get that many because they ran out. After that they had some snowballs, so that helped make up for the pizza shortage.

They were both exhaused tonight as usual. Another great summer day!

New Clubs and More Insects

As I talked about in my golf lessons blog last week, I ordered my own set of clubs to use for my lessons and to eventually play with after I learn the basics. Today they came in and I picked them up. I was so excited to get them and am looking forward to my next lesson.

Todd's golf clubs are pretty old, so he decided that a new set of clubs would make the perfect Father's day gift. I ordered him a set of his choosing and his came in today as well. Tonight we all had a great time unwrapping our clubs and fantasizing about the great shots in our future.

Evan played outside this afternoon after daycamp, as usual. He was very pleased with his find of the day...a locust shell. My usual rule is to keep animals outside of the house. However, since this one was dead, he figured that it was okay to bring it in and give it a little wash.

Evan's locust shell.

Evan washed his locust shell in the sink "to make it shiny."

Summer Fun and Learning

Chad and Evan are at daycamp again this week and are continuing their swimming lessons. Even though they play all day, they still want to go outside the minute they get home. Today they threw the football around before coming in for dinner and baths.

I am trying to get them to keep up with their studies at least a little over the summer. They are both doing summer reading programs, Evan through the public library and Chad through his school. I also bought some writing workbooks so they can continue to improve their handwriting skills. Chad's teacher told me about the Handwriting Without Tears program which is what we are trying out. Evan is also learning his times tables. We are up to the 3's and he is doing well. Sometimes being a mom is no fun!

Chad throwing the football.

"I love being outside."


Evan's turn to throw.