The Desert!

A few weeks ago we took a grand trip to the desert!  No, actually, it was to the beach.  But Sydney kept exclaiming that she was at the desert.  So we indulged her.

It's so nice having family so close to the beach.  It's like two trips in one!  Visit the grandparents plus the beach - and extra bonus this time was Pat's aunt from Missouri and his sister's whole family were there too!  

Hurry up guys!

Miss Priss had little interest in the waves so she stuck to the sand.

 

Not only did we hit the beach, but Mamie and Papa have a dock and a boat behind their house.  This was Fletcher's first boating adventure.  I knew we were in trouble when, before we even left the dock, he began saying "All done, all done!"  The choppiness of the bay was a little unsettling but when we got back into the calm waters, he loosened up and tolerated the trip.  He might have even enjoyed a few moments.

 Our favorite boat captain, Papa!

There was a pretty big swamp fire not far from us and the constant stream of helicopters above, produced a lot of photos like this...

Mamie and Papa also have an awesome backyard.  Fletcher turned into a nudist most afternoons there.

We did spend some time indoors.  All that fun in the sun made us ravenous!

Fletcher bonded with his Great Aunt Shirley.

 He especially loved her cane.

 Which quickly became his weapon of choice.  Oh dear!

Sydney got her first make-up lesson.  

And braids!

Overheard conversation between Sarah (my niece and Syd's stylist) and Tracy (my sis-in-law and Sarah's mom)...

Tracy: Sarah, do you think it's a good idea to let Sydney play with that make-up? 

Sarah: But she's really good at it, mom.

But then Fletcher wanted in so we had to shut that operation down.

Even a little rain outside couldn't squash their fun - or creativity.

And Willie is always a central part of our lives during these visits.  It absolutely made Sydney's day when he crawled onto her lap one morning.

I cannot end this post without boasting about how amazingly good the kids were in the car.  It's a long ride.  9 1/2 hours.  That's long.  Even for an adult.  Much less two little kids.  And this was our first road trip with Sydney post-potty-training!  Despite my worry, we never - not once - had to stop for that little girl's bladder.  Good thing for her, her daddy makes frequent stops and she was always grateful to stretch her legs and check out another new bathroom.  What's the fascination?  Really?  Anyway, super, duper trip!  Tangled and The Lion King on endless repeat didn't hurt either.

Braids

The one who screams bloody murder when you wield a comb (regardless of the fact her hair is so stick straight it will never, ever tangle)...
The one who runs in a panic when you dare produce a ponytail holder...
The one who yells "Don't Mess My Hair" in protest against any effort to clip or tie back her growing locks...


Let me BRAID her hair!!!

Say Cheese!

So we get back from a mini-vacation (more on that later) and Sydney's teachers ask for a photo of Syd and her daddy - probably for some upcoming Father's Day project.


I had at least 800 photos on my camera from our trip to the beach.  Shouldn't be a problem, right?  WRONG.


Would you believe that there was not one photo of Syd and Pat to be found!?!  At least none with both of their faces toward the general direction of the camera.  No pictures from any recent months either.  


Well, we can't have that now can we!


Impromptu photo shoot time!  


She's a tricky one so we had to be clever and fast but I think we did pretty good!

My Favorite Summertime Salad

Oh this is so good!  What a better time to share a summer salad than Memorial Day.  Except that this is now a post-Memorial Day post - but whatever - you now have the remainder of the summer to make this delicious salad over and over and over.  That's what we did this weekend.  Twice.  Cuz it's that good!


Ina Garten (Barefoot Contessa) Panzanella Salad

And while we're on the subject of good summer salads.  This is another yummy and super easy one - from my good friend Laura who can whip up dozens of awesome summer salads like nobodies business.  


Watermelon Mint Salad.  Heat one cup water and one cup sugar until sugar dissolves.  Shred some fresh mint leaves and let those hang out in the cooling syrup for a while.  Cut up watermelon.  Add a little of the syrup (depending on amount of watermelon) and some fresh chopped mint.  

'Maters!

THIS came from MY garden!

Well, maybe not a garden.  More like a pot on my back patio.  But this is a big deal my friends.  I have the blackest of black thumbs.  But oh how I try to grow a few things.  Every year, I plant basil.  And every year, it begins looking sickly until I just give up and let it die.  This year's basil plant is no exception.  I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong.  Too much water, not enough?


Anyway, in my humble opinion, nothing screams SUMMER more than fresh, tasty tomatoes.  Sadly, the ones from the grocery store lack any flavor whatsoever.  Even the farmers market varieties haven't been great lately.  For a few years I've thought about growing my own and this year I finally did it.  


Figured I'd start small.  After all, I have a tendency to kill anything I plant.  No need to sink a lot of money into this experiment.  


I was so excited a few weeks ago when I noticed one of the little tomatoes turning orange and beginning to ripen.  Two days later, there it was - all gloriously red and ready for harvest!

 That is, until I got a closer look.  Dang birds!

 So when the next little piece of fruit starting turning orange, I snatched it from the vine to let it finish ripen in my window, safe from our backyard wildlife.

Mmmm - it did not disappoint!  Just a little salt, pepper and a few basil leaves (from my withering plant).  I'm so excited!  Now, I just wish I had planted more.

Feeling Froggy

I was outside rolling up the garden hose this afternoon when a little frog jumped into my view.  I thought the kids would really enjoy seeing him, so I went inside, grabbed the first plastic food container I could find and managed to snatch him up.  He hung out with me for the afternoon in his tiny habitat of potting soil and a small garden rock.


The kids (especially the big one, Pat) thought he was pretty cool.  I got big mom and wife points for bravely catching the beast.  


He was a friendly little thing.  Even when we removed the lid from his confinement, he happily hung out, allowing the kids to touch him.  (I theorized that perhaps he was weak and gasping for air, recovering from his deplorable temporary housing.)


When we tried to set him free, he showed us that he had developed a particular fondness for Pat, a lover of all reptiles.

He kept hopping all over him - shoulder to back to hand and back to his arm.  I don't know how Sydney's delighted squeals didn't send him for the hills.  Or maybe that's what kept him put.

Bye little friend.  Thank you for the fun. 

Geaux Tigers!

While our kids might be banned from every applying there, we are pretty serious about our support of Pat's alma mater, LSU.  Check this out.  Look, even her bow and shorts match.  I swear that wasn't planned.  Honest.  Syd is just a huge fan of purple.  Coincidence?  

The bike was a great gift from our cousins - before Sydney was even born.  We waited a long time for this day.  Geaux Sydney!

Not to be left out, here is Fletcher attempting to... well, something.