Thanksgiving 2014 Recap

We spent Thanksgiving at my parents home in Texas this Thanksgiving. It is always a fun time with plenty of good eats and lots of catching up since they live so far away. We split up the drive to their house by staying overnight at the L'auberge Casino Resort in Lake Charles. We had a lot of fun exploring the hotel and grounds and playing some slots. They also had a game room for Evan. He spent quite a bit of time there and loaded up on prizes.

Checking in!

Hotel "Beach"

Selfie in front of the water.

 

 

Enjoying the cozy fireplace.

While we were on our visit, a trip to "The Farm" was a must. The day was gorgeous and the temperature was in the low 70's. We did some target practice, checked out some baby calves, picked beans from the garden and repaired some down "hot shot" lines. What a great place to combine work and play!

Baby Calves...so cute!

Gorgeous, peaceful day!

Target Practice

Dad showing off his sharp shooter skills.

The farm is a great place for a driving lesson!

On our way to visit my parents my Uncle Matt passed away. I was so happy that his rosary was held while we were still in town and that I was able to attend. It was so great to see so many Aunts, Uncles and Cousins that I hadn't seen in such a long time. Godspeed Uncle Matt!

Joe and Matt

Christmas 2012

Better Late than Never....they say. We had an awesome holiday season. Here are some photos...many thanks to Renee for letting me borrow the photos taken at Monique's!

 

This was actually taken mid December...me and my baby boy!

 Chad and I...blurry iPhone Xmas photo.

 Todd and Joan...Xmas eve.

 Todd's masterpiece...a traditional Lebanese raw Kibbee.

 Me and my boys!

 Joan and Todd!

 Todd and his siblings!

Chowing down...Mrs. Ann, Wanda and Joan.

Mother's Day Weekend

On Friday, we kicked off Mother's Day weekend with Todd bringing home an ice chest with 50 pounds of shrimp. They were big and gorgeous! Luckily, Evan doesn't mind getting his hand dirty and jumped in and helped Todd peel them and get them ready for the freezer. Todd cooked his first batch of them on Sunday and they were awesome.

My boys working hard on the shrimp.

Todd loves his shrimp!

Evan displaying the biggest shrimp he could find.

On Saturday we went to a HUGE sporting goods store called Cabela's. When I walked in, all I could say was "WOW!" It is incredibly big and has everything for the outdoor person. In addition to the merchandise, there is also an aquarium with fish and turtles, a wildlife museum, tons of displays and a restaurant! How did I live so long and not even know a place like this existed?

Evan took my picture in front of one of the wildlife displays.

Evan was thrilled that they had an escalator and I couldn't resist filming him and his big smile (though Todd was a little impatient with Evan's fun):

 Todd enjoying the store.

On Sunday we went to Todd's sister's house and had a wonderful bar-b-que lunch. She made five desserts and I had to taste them all1 Needless to say, a nap was in order when we got home. It was a fun, relaxing day!

Two more photos to complete this post. First, a shot of me and Gwen from last week:

 

Did I say how much I love this dog?

A Mother's Day photo of my gorgeous nieces:

Non Traditional Christmas

Since the boys are older and don't believe in Santa Claus anymore, we decided to take a nontraditional approach to gift giving this year. Instead of opening presents from "Santa" Christmas morning under the tree, we decided to have them find their presents by following clues that led them from place to place within the house. Since they are out of school and received electronics, we did this a few days early so they would get in more play time before going back to school in January.

Todd and I sat down one afternoon and came up with all the clues for the game. We decided to make the first clue in code, so that they would have to put a little bit of brain power into it. It was really just the clue written backwards, so they both got it pretty quickly.

A couple of weeks ago I had them fill out Elf applications that I found on the internet. They asked me now and again since then what those applications were for. I just told them they had to wait and see, so that added a little to the fun. Their applications ended up being "Approved" and that qualified them to receive their first clue. Evan was a little more happy to go along with the story, but we all had fun doing it in the end.

The first video is of them figuring out the first clue and Chad finding his presents. The second video is of Evan following his clues. He didn't want to be taped through the house, so Todd agreed to only tape him actually finding the clues and opening his presents. Thus, it is a bit choppy.

Merry Christmas!

Random Stuff

The boys are so happy to be out of school for Thanksgiving week. On the last day of school, Chad's Food and Nutrition class had a Thanksgiving Feast. He is learning his way around a kitchen and made a seven layer dip for the class. I love have multiple cooks in the house!

Chad's Seven Layer Taco Dip

Putting on the finishing touches.

Evan hanging out with Gwen.

 

More Evan and Gwen

Todd is on vacation this week as well and took the boys to the firing range yesterday and today. Chad and Todd both shot the gun yesterday, but Evan was a little worried about the kick after he saw them shoot. Today Evan got his courage up and shot the 20 gauge shotgun himself. Here is the video:

Weekend Fun

Saturday was the last day of football for the Colts. It was tournament day and both Todd and Evan were excited to see how the team would do. The first game was at 8:30 in the morning and it was really chilly. They won their first and second games and made it to the finals. They ended up losing the championship game, but came in second place, so that is really something to be proud of. Way to go team and Coach!

Colts Flag Football Team - Great Job!

Evan and Todd after the tournament. I don't know if Todd's expression is one of exhaustion or just relief that the season is over! It was fun, but also a lot of hard work.

On Sunday Evan and I made a trek to the pet store, which is one of his favorite places to go. He had coupons for some free fish and I needed to get some treats for Gwen. Evan put the fish in the pond, but it has been getting cooler here, so we will see how long they survive!



Last night Todd and Evan carved their annual pumpkin. I think that it turned out pretty good and they had a fun time. They will display it at Wanda's tonight, which is where Evan will do his Trick or Treating.

Boo!

Easter & Spring Break

They say the road to hell is paved with good intentions. We had a wonderful Easter day at our home and even though I planned on taking a lot of photos of the event, I only ended up with three!

We haven't had a large group of people at our house since getting Gwen, and she is very protective! I felt like I had a new baby as I had to either put her in another room and listen to her whine, or hold her on my lap to keep her from growling and barking at every person in the house.

We ended up having a feast for lunch and eating the leftovers for three days! We didn't have any big plans for Spring Break which was good because Chad came down with a stomach virus on Tuesday. He spent most of the day in bed which is definitely unusual for him.

With the boys Easter money burning holes in their pockets, we made it to Target on Friday to see if we could spend a little. Chad got the new Harry Potter movie and Evan got some battle bots and Lego Ninjago toys. Thanks to everyone for the Easter money!

On Saturday evening the stomach virus hit Evan and he threw up in the bathtub. Even though cleaning up vomit always grosses me out, having it in the tub was much better than cleaning it off the floor or carpet! I kept Evan home from school today but he seems to be on the mend and should be able to go back tomorrow.

There are only a few weeks of school left, so we are getting excited about summer! Here are my few measly Easter photos:

 My parents playing dominoes with Chad and Evan.

 Todd grilling up some meat Yum!

The Happy Chef!

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter Everyone!

Lebanese Cooking

One of Todd's favorite things to do is cook. One thing that makes cooking even more enjoyable for him is making Lebanese food from his mother's recipes. On special holidays throughout his life, his mother always made meshee, which is a traditional Lebanese dish that involves wrapping a meat and rice mixture in grape leaves or cabbage and then cooking it. It includes the traditional ingredients such as tomatoes, garlic, mint, lemon juice, basil and cinnamon.

Rolling meshee can be a job so Todd's mom was nice enough to come over and help him cook. The boys didn't want to miss out and even offered to help out a little. My mouth is watering and I can't wait for Easter lunch!

Todd prepping the meat and rice mixture.

Todd rolling the grape leaf meshee.

Cooking is a family affair!

Evan adding some butter to the dish prior to cooking.

Here is a short video of Todd demonstrating how to roll the meshee:

Holiday Recap 2010

Wow, the Christmas and New Year's Holidays went by in a flash. Todd took a week of vacation between Christmas and New Year's and the boys were both off of school, so got to spend a lot of family time together. We went to Evan's basketball games, spent time with extended family, went to the movies and loved on our new dog, Gwen. Here are some random photos from the week.

 Evan trying out his metal detector in our yard. So far he has found several tabs from soda cans, a nail, a head from a hammer and assorted metal scraps.

 Evan and I went to see Yogi Bear. It was okay, not as funny as I had hoped!

 Todd and I at Evan's basket ball game. He was sitting behind me, so I had to ask him to tone down the yelling. I thought I was going to go deaf. I asked Evan if he heard Todd when he was playing and he said, "No, I'm focused on the game." Thus, I think the yelling of instructions from the stand is pointless!

 Chad and I enjoying the game.

 Sleeping beauty!

Evan playing b. ball. Several lights were out in the gym which explains the poor lighting!