How Time Flies!

It is amazing how children seem to grow up overnight! Just a few years ago, Chad looked like this:

Tonight his his high school's home coming dance and he looked like this:

What a grown up young man you have become...wow! We are so proud of you and hope you have fun at the dance.

Here are a few more photos from the night:

Joan and Chad

Joan, Chad and Todd

And of course we had to get one with Gwen!

Texas Fun

We met my brother on Saturday so that he could pick up the boys and take them to Texas. They are going to stay with my parents for a week and then stay with him for the second week. They were both excited about the trip and having fun 24 x 7.

Evan went nuts for the escalator at the Isle of Capri, where we ate lunch, and must have gone up and down at least twenty times. We definitely need to hit an amusement park, soon. Have fun y'all!

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Ready, Aim, Fire

Todd went to his mom's house this weekend and came back with the pellet gun that he had when he was a teenager. Needless to say, the boys were thrilled and couldn't wait to do some shooting. 

To be honest, I don't have a lot any experience with guns and they scare me to death, so I made Todd promise that he would train the boys extensively and only let them shoot it under his supervision. He agreed and we were off to the races!

The first thing I discovered about this gun is that you have to pump it to make it shoot. It takes a lot of muscles to just get it pumped up.

Evan struggling to pump the gun.

Todd showed the boys how to put bullets in, how to set the safety, how to hold the gun, where to stand when someone else is shooting, etc. They wanted to shoot so they made sure that they followed all of the rules. We set up a can and a plastic bottle to use as targets and they both got a few hits.

After having all the fun of shooting, they begged me to get in on the action. I couldn't refuse, so Todd showed me how to hold the gun, turn the safety off and aim. I ran into some problems at first because I was closing the wrong eye and couldn't see the target. 

I finally figured out how to aim and took my shot. It hit the plastic bottle. Yea, I was thrilled! I think the boys were a little jealous of my hit on the first try so I told them it was just beginner's luck. I have to admit that it was pretty fun, so there will probably be more shooting practice in our future.

Crazy for Pokemon

For the past two months all I have been hearing from Evan is how he can't wait to get the new Pokemon Black and White game. It was released last week and I pre-ordered it with the plan for it to be an Easter present.

It so happened that the boys were out of school all last week for the Mardi Gras holiday. By Wednesday, boredom had set in. That was the sane day that the game arrived and I decided to turn it into a Mardi Gras present instead.

Needless to say, Evan was thrilled. Todd said that he never heard of a Mardi Gras present. I guess we are starting a new tradition. Yes, and we couldn't leave Chad out, so he got the new Tron game. Maybe the Easter bunny will just be bringing candy this year?

I can't believe the new Pokemon game is here. Thank you Amazon and UPS!

What a great mom; she got me the game and book, too!

Happiness=new video game

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Thanksgiving, here we come!

We had a busy and productive day today. This morning, Todd and the boys ran lots of last minute errands. In the afternoon they did some volunteer work at the local food bank. It was a project planned by the church youth group, but was then canceled after our church burned down two weeks ago. I am proud of my hubby who thought the service work was so good for our boys, called the food bank on his own and arranged for them to work the afternoon shift. Way to go guys!

I have been wrapping things up with my business and taking it a bit easy. I don't know how I did this, but somehow I hit my foot on a chair a couple of days ago. I never said I was graceful! My toe next to my small toe is all shades of purple and blue now and almost looks like it has been painted with markers. It hurts a little when I walk, but I think I will survive. Here is a photo for those not faint of heart; it is not pretty:

This evening we have been packing and getting everything ready for our trip. Evan decided to break out his Pokemon tatoos, which I promised he could put on when he was on vacation. We have all enjoyed the fun with those!

 Evan and I modeling our tattoos.

 Todd sporting his new tattoo.

 Todd and Chad

Tattoo King!

Alien Fun

There was a free app in the iTunes app store today called Alien Booth. The boys and I love playing around with photos, so we thought we would give it a try. Here are our alien selves. Pretty cool!

Chad

Evan

Joan

Halloween Fun 2010

While I was at a meeting yesterday, Todd and the boys carved some pumpkins. They were both very proud of their work and the pumpkins turned out great!

On Halloween night, Evan went to his mee maw's to hand out candy and Chad went trick-or-treating with a friend. We ended up with plenty of candy, so we can call this a successful Halloween!

Ramp Challenge

Evan has really been enjoying his new bike. Chad had a ramp that he used to use and I told Evan that he could ride his new bike on it. At first, he said "No way!" Then, behind my back (just in case he didn't like it), Evan pulled the ramp out into the middle of our driveway and rode his bike over it. After doing this about five times, he came and got me so I could see. He is still a little hesitant, but is enjoying more thrills with his bike.

Weekend Update

This was the second to the last weekend that the boys have before school starts, so they are determined to make the most of it. Friday night they went to a lock in at church. They ate pizza, played tons and games and got little sleep. Chad went to bed almost immediately after they got home on Saturday morning. Evan held out until about noon and then he took a four hour nap.

After recharging, we all went to the Mexican restaurant that Todd and I tried when the boys were in Texas. They both like it and we all left with full bellies.

We then caught a few more episodes of Avatar: the Last Airbender. We have been watching the series and are now on Book II, episode 6.

On Sunday we went to church services in New Orleans and then went to Nirvana (our favorite Indian restaurant) for lunch. Evan ate his weight in Naan (bread). We stayed inside most of the afternoon because it was very HOT. The boys went outside for about ten minutes and were soaked with sweat when they came back in.

The boys start their last week of day camp tomorrow. The school countdown is on!

Friends are Great!

Evan was lucky and got an invitation to his friend's younger brother's birthday party on Sunday. It was at Chuck E. Cheese, which I thought Evan was a little too old for. I was wrong. When you are with a friend, you can have fun anywhere!

Buddies!

Heads together figuring out a video game.

"See, mom, there is plenty of stuff for us to do here!"

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A Busy Week

Chad has been enjoying day camp this week and Evan has been sick and staying at home. I think his birthday wore him out! On Sunday, Evan started running a fever and by Monday he started with a horrible cough. After a few days of this and no signs of recovery, I took him to the doctor and found out that he has bronchitis. He is now on antibiotics and a cough medicine and seems to be on the mend. Hopefully, we can all get some sleep!

I have been intent on getting him well because he and Chad have a week scheduled with my parents in Texas starting tomorrow. They are all packed and we are ready to roll! What am I going to do for a week without the boys????

Some "Rock Band" time before the boys go to Texas.

Boat Launch & Organization

Todd took the boys to see a new boat being launched on Saturday. It was quick and you can hear Evan's comment, "That was it?"

Evan also spent some time organizing his shells and rocks. I was so proud and have been telling him that the label maker is an organized person's friend.

Evan was so proud of his labels...he snuck my label maker and did them on his own.

Evan posing by his newly organized shelf.

Ready, Set, Action!

Every few months the Sunday school class at our church makes a movie. The students decide on a theme, write the script and play all of the roles (under the direction of their awesome teacher, Mrs Jennifer). After months of preparation, today was finally the day of the shoot. The whole group met at our house about 9:00 this morning and the work began. We had planned on having lunch about 11:30, but by 10:00 the children were starving, so we put the food out early. It was pretty much gone in about 30 minutes.

After the filming was done, it was play time. The boys played Madden football, jumped on the trampoline and threw the football in the yard. The girls did some playing outside, but it was really humid, so they finally ended up playing some games on the Wii. It was a great time for everyone and we can't wait to see the final result.

Mrs. Jennifer shooting some of the action.

 "I'm ready for my close-up."

Movie making made everyone really hungry!

The boys playing Madden football.

Look who else likes watching the Madden video game.

Thanks to the chief cook and bottle washer!

Coin Show & Geode

Todd has collected coins for many years and Evan has taken after him and started his own collection. Thus, when Todd heard that there was a coin show going on this weekend, he knew that he and Evan had a date.

In addition to all of the coin collecting, there were also booths with geodes. They bought one with the promise that the plain looking rock had beautiful crystals inside. Once home, we couldn't wait to crack it open and see what was inside.

Evan looking at some of the coins that he got at the show.

The geode in one piece.

Todd breaking the geode.

Wow, it is full of gorgeous crystals!

Evan's Spring Break

Evan has been off of school this week for spring break. Since the public schools were out last week, that is when the gym he usually attends had day camp. Thus, he has been stuck at home all week. It has not been a problem as he is very good at keeping busy.

Todd plays a game on Facebook called Farmville. It involves setting up a farm, planting different crops and then harvesting the crops for coins. Todd logged Evan into his account a couple of days ago and Evan has been very diligent in keeping the farm growing, montoring when it is time to harvest and generally keeping everything going. Impressive farming, Evan!

Evan had taken over Todd's Farmville game.

In addition to virtual farming, Evan has been having a lot of fun hoeing in all of the dirt that we have outside. He was so excited about wanting to plant something that Todd agreed to get some plants and help Evan do a "patio garden." Todd came home with a few things and he and Evan transplanted them into some larger plastic container. I think these will take longer to grow than the virtual ones.

Todd transplanting some tomatoes, jalepenos and cilantro.

Helping dad with real plants.

Today, Evan got a little bored and decided to dig into some of the materials that we have to use in science experiments. He found some food coloring and thought that it would be a great idea to have a green hand. The results are below:

Evan thinks that having a green hand is very cool!

The result after Evan tried to wash the food coloring off.

I helped him wash again and this is the best we could get it. I guess it will just have to wear off!