Hey all,
Since I decided to post a million things at a time, I think some have rolled over to the old posts page, so double check to see you are getting all the info on our little family- since I know you are all dying to know what is going on! :)
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
I forgot Coldplay!!!
Ok, so a little back-tracking is required for this post. In July, I had the fantastic pleasure of going with Katie, Lauren, Katie Abbott & Daniel Abbott to see Coldplay in concert. I liked their music and have been listening to them for a while. Page got me a couple of cd's so that I would know the songs when I went to the concert. But, I have determined since seeing them that they are my favorite band ever. I love the music & seeing them live was wonderful. They have an amazing sound & they are all multi-talented, how many concerts do you see the drummer step down to sing and play the guitar? Greatness! I will definitely be getting tickets when they come to town again.
The lovely Katies & Daniel
Lauren and I- I was sweating & she had chill bumps, figures!
Family Reunion 09
This year we had our first actual family reunion. We usually see most of the same folks about once a year at Christmas, or a birthday celebration but this was an official reunion. It was great to see everyone, and there was always something going on. My great Aunt Joyce & Uncle Steve hosted the party at their house on Richland Chambers Lake, where there were 2 boats, 2 jet-skis, games, food and plenty of people to chat with. I think there were around 75 people there. I have a fun family & you will see some of the fun captured in still-shot..
Here are me, Mom, Evan, & Ma- 4 generations.
Evan liked this game- you are supposed to throw the tethered balls from a distance and get them on the 'ladder' but Evan just liked moving them from one ladder to the other.
Here is Evan being chased by his 'friend' Graedon. He is 4 & they had a great time laughing and running around together.
Here is Evan being chased by his 'friend' Graedon. He is 4 & they had a great time laughing and running around together.
Here are most of the kids playing blind-folded musical chairs. We had a few cheaters. :)
Page and I after an exhausting day in the water.
Page and Evan watched the older kids have relays and play games before dinner. 
My grandparents started it off is style.
Kim & Steven got a little crazy with it...
And Steven got down on Ma's level...
Kim & Steven got a little crazy with it...Good times. We also had a talent show on Saturday night, but I did not have many good pictures from that. Overall, it was a great first reunion- maybe it will actually become a tradition! :)
August (so far) in a nutshell
So far, this has been one busy month- and it is only the 11th!! We had Nate's wedding on the first, recovery on the few days following, then I stayed in Grapeland to see family while Page went to work in Oklahoma last week. On Friday, we started the first annual family reunioun for my Mon's side of the family. Then on Sunday we came home. 4 days of rest/getting laundry and packing re-done & we are off for California this Friday morning & will be gone until next Saturday. So, I think August is going to be a blur- good thing I have a camera to remind me what has happened. I will post about the Cali trip when we get home, but here are some shots since the wedding.
On Monday after the wedding, we were busy washing table cloths, washing votive candle-holders, reorganizing everyone's things, and getting everything ready to get back to its rightful owner. One of the tasks that was given to my grandmother, Ma, was to untie the little bags that held confetti and separate the parts. So, Evan naturally wanted to help. He stayed there and played with confetti almost the entire time, I was impressed. She held his attention well.
Here is a shot of Ma, PaPa, & Scotty relaxing and enjoying the evening in Mom & Dad's backyard. We were all watching Evan play in the water- shocking as that may be! :)
My Dad & Evan. He loves his little chair. He doesn't sit in it long at a time, but will go back to it 20 times while playing.
Evan took a break from playing in the water to help my mom, NaNa, water the plants. Again, such a helper!
Tuesday, we went to Lufkin (the closest city to my parents of any size) to get food for the reunion. We stopped by the mall & Evan loved the little play area. He would have stayed for a long time if we were not on a schedule.
On the way home from Lufkin, we decided to take the back roads, since there was a ton of construction on the bigger road that we took on the way there. Well, apparently we were not meant to go anywhere fast that day, because on this leg of the trip we were stopped by a down tree. Here are a couple of pictures of the tree. There were about 5 people working with a tractor to get it off the road & I have to say they did a great job- we were not there all that long before the road was passable. Just so you know- this was also the road I took to college, notice how tiny it is- some people don't believe how small I mean when I say I am from a small town. :)
Nathan's wedding
So, Nathan (my cousin who is like a brother...) got married to Sammi on Aug 1st. It was a great wedding, everything looked great. I don't happen to have any pictures of Page and I or Page and Evan and I, or really any of myself or a lot of my other family, or even the happy couple at all, so I will round up some more pictures to post later. In the meantime, here are a few that I do have.
This was my vision for flower arrangements. Amanda and I were trying to do this at about 1 in the morning, so our version was not that great. However, with the slight touch from experienced hands (thanks Luan) the table arrangements turned out great.
Here are 3 of my favorite guys waiting for the wedding to start... aren't they handsome?
Here are my Dad, Casey, Evan & Nathan on the big day.
Here is Evan with Amanda. They had fun playing with her camera after the wedding.
My two guys at the reception, jackets off & hanging out. :)
This was my vision for flower arrangements. Amanda and I were trying to do this at about 1 in the morning, so our version was not that great. However, with the slight touch from experienced hands (thanks Luan) the table arrangements turned out great.
Here are 3 of my favorite guys waiting for the wedding to start... aren't they handsome?
Here are my Dad, Casey, Evan & Nathan on the big day.
Here is Evan with Amanda. They had fun playing with her camera after the wedding. 
My two guys at the reception, jackets off & hanging out. :)
July catch-up
Well, as always, I have been a slacker when it comes to the ol' blog. We have been pretty busy, mainly over the last few weeks, but here is a little update.
Page has been working in Oklahoma for a few days a week over the last couple of months. With him gone, I have been able to do a few things. One week, I went to Grapeland to see my parents for a few days. It was great- I was able to relax & Evan got to be spoiled a little. He and my Dad (BaBa) went out to look at the cows in the pasture next to their house, and looked at the ducks that swim in the pond behind their house. It was a wildlife adventure.
Evan got to play in the water- by far his favorite thing to do. But, being a boy, he went straight from the water to the flower bed and started tossing dirt and rocks into the air. It was pretty funny.
Back home one day, we were having oatmeal for breakfast & I thought I would use the opportunity to let Evan feed himself with a spoon. He did really well- this was as bad as it got! I even stripped him to a diaper and everything, expecting a disaster- Nice surprise.
For our friend Lila's birthday, we went to the Frisco mall to eat lunch & ride the carousel. It does not totally show in this picture, but the kids really did love it. When it was time to go- Evan and Claire both cried.
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One afternoon, I decided to make dinner before Page even got home- that is a rarity :) Evan was wanting me to hold him, so I put him on the counter so he could 'help'. He did well for a long time, mainly drumming on canned goods and talking up a storm. He seems so innocent in this picture...
I turned my back to put something away & turned back to find that he had dumped the water pitcher all over the counter and was having much more fun making a huge mess. Figures!
Ok, so we are going to California in August, and we thought it would be great for the plane ride if Evan had some earphones to listen to, so we don't all have to listen to Elmo & Baby Einstein all the way to LA. So, being frugal, we figure that we have several pair of headphones around the house- surely one would work. My ipod buds worked the best, but kept falling out. Here was Page's solution to his standard phones being a little big- judging by Evan's face, it was definitely the coolest idea. It is almost like he is saying, 'Are you kidding me? I have to wear these in public?'
The solution to the earphone problem was easily solved by a trip to Target. We thought we would have to get him used to wearing something on his head, but that was not the case... observe his first taste of headphones...
I have said many times, Evan loves the water. We play in it pretty often if it is not a scorcher out- which eliminates most days. This day, Page made a home splash park out of our sprinklers and water hose. Evan liked watering the tree...
But again, liked even more the mud that the water made. :) So much for the white shirt.
My uncle, Scotty came to visit us for a few days during his vacation. One of the days, Page was off, so we took the opportunity to go back over to the mall and ride the carousel again. Evan loved it!! He and Page rode twice & he smiled and looked around the whole time. He is adorable.
More mud in the back yard...
Another trip to Grapeland... here is my Dad with Evan playing with the numbers and letters on the fridge. This trip will be continued into August :)
Page has been working in Oklahoma for a few days a week over the last couple of months. With him gone, I have been able to do a few things. One week, I went to Grapeland to see my parents for a few days. It was great- I was able to relax & Evan got to be spoiled a little. He and my Dad (BaBa) went out to look at the cows in the pasture next to their house, and looked at the ducks that swim in the pond behind their house. It was a wildlife adventure.
Evan got to play in the water- by far his favorite thing to do. But, being a boy, he went straight from the water to the flower bed and started tossing dirt and rocks into the air. It was pretty funny.
Back home one day, we were having oatmeal for breakfast & I thought I would use the opportunity to let Evan feed himself with a spoon. He did really well- this was as bad as it got! I even stripped him to a diaper and everything, expecting a disaster- Nice surprise.
For our friend Lila's birthday, we went to the Frisco mall to eat lunch & ride the carousel. It does not totally show in this picture, but the kids really did love it. When it was time to go- Evan and Claire both cried. .JPG)
One afternoon, I decided to make dinner before Page even got home- that is a rarity :) Evan was wanting me to hold him, so I put him on the counter so he could 'help'. He did well for a long time, mainly drumming on canned goods and talking up a storm. He seems so innocent in this picture...
I turned my back to put something away & turned back to find that he had dumped the water pitcher all over the counter and was having much more fun making a huge mess. Figures!
Ok, so we are going to California in August, and we thought it would be great for the plane ride if Evan had some earphones to listen to, so we don't all have to listen to Elmo & Baby Einstein all the way to LA. So, being frugal, we figure that we have several pair of headphones around the house- surely one would work. My ipod buds worked the best, but kept falling out. Here was Page's solution to his standard phones being a little big- judging by Evan's face, it was definitely the coolest idea. It is almost like he is saying, 'Are you kidding me? I have to wear these in public?'
The solution to the earphone problem was easily solved by a trip to Target. We thought we would have to get him used to wearing something on his head, but that was not the case... observe his first taste of headphones...
I have said many times, Evan loves the water. We play in it pretty often if it is not a scorcher out- which eliminates most days. This day, Page made a home splash park out of our sprinklers and water hose. Evan liked watering the tree...
But again, liked even more the mud that the water made. :) So much for the white shirt.
My uncle, Scotty came to visit us for a few days during his vacation. One of the days, Page was off, so we took the opportunity to go back over to the mall and ride the carousel again. Evan loved it!! He and Page rode twice & he smiled and looked around the whole time. He is adorable. 
More mud in the back yard...
Another trip to Grapeland... here is my Dad with Evan playing with the numbers and letters on the fridge. This trip will be continued into August :)
Monday, August 10, 2009
July 4th
Over the weekend of July 4th, my family met at my grandparent's house in DeLeon and worked on their back porch area. They have a deck already, but it needed some work. So, my Dad, brother Casey & Page gave it a face-lift. We had a great time eating watermelon & watching Evan play in the water. Here are a few photos from the weekend.
Evan and Pa watching the workers.
Judge trying to stay cool.
Casey and Page posing for a snapshot.
Evan playing on his water mat that Nana and BaBa brought.
Pa reading the paper and enjoying the morning.
Evan loved his watermelon- so much that he would throw it onto the water mat and then pick it up and eat some more. Pretty yummy!
The porch is coming along nicely.
My cute little man taking a break.
Such a tired guy- he was out before we got to the highway. :)
Evan and Pa watching the workers.
Judge trying to stay cool.
Casey and Page posing for a snapshot.
Evan playing on his water mat that Nana and BaBa brought.
Pa reading the paper and enjoying the morning.
Evan loved his watermelon- so much that he would throw it onto the water mat and then pick it up and eat some more. Pretty yummy!
The porch is coming along nicely.
My cute little man taking a break.
Such a tired guy- he was out before we got to the highway. :)
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