Lexi's Birthday Luau

My sweet baby girl, Alexia, turned 9 years old a couple of weeks ago. She loves to plan out her own parties, so she decided on a Hawaiian Luau. She has been planning this party for a few months now, so any time we saw any Luau themed decorations, we would buy them. Plus our sweet Aunt Donna had lots of cute Hawaiian decorations that she let us use. Thank you Donna, your the best! It rained off and on during the party and was very HUMID, but we had a great time!

Scavenger Hunt

Hawaiian Beauties!

I found this verse today and thought it was beautiful! So maybe some of you are in need of hearing this verse today. So, I thought I would share.

Do not be anxious about ANYTHING, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your request to God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6-7

Also, Alexia had her birthday party on Saturday and it turned out great. I will post pictures some time this week.

Once apon a Time .......... I was a blogger

I know, I know, I've missed a few months of blogging, more like EIGHT, but who's counting! I know I could never catch up on all the things that have happened, but here are a few of the things that have been going on in our life .................... Our trip to Washington D C was really amazing. It was the coldest place I have ever been, but we got to see so many things. It was a non-stop trip full of sites! I am so glad we got to go, but boy was it packed full of action! It was also Austin's first time to fly in an airplane, that was cool too.
Austin in front of the Washington Monument
Arlington Cemetery
We were able to see the Changing of the Guards

Then there was grilling!

We love us some Bar-B-Q! YUM!!

Austin turned 13 this year!

How in the world did this happen, my baby is a TEENAGER!!!!

He got lots of money from his friends and family:)

Then there was fun in the sun.

Alexia and Caleb had lots of fun on the slip and slide!

Our annual trip to the beach

This is my favorite vacation, just relaxing and having a good time!

Uncle Sean and Caleb

Caleb turned 5 this year, he got TWO new bikes for his birthday!

Now, the most exciting thing going on in our house right now............

FOOTBALLLLLL!!!!!!!

Austin decided to play football this year and Sean could not be more EXCITED!

We all love football in this house, but Sean is almost giddy!

Austin is #99

Going to Austin's first school football game

Go Westside!

Hopefully I won't wait another eight months before I do this again, but I won't count on it.

See Ya!

Bringing in the New Year in Atlanta!

For the New Year we went to Atlanta, Georgia for the Chick-Fil-A/Peach Bowl. LSU played against Georgia Tech and played the best we have seen all year. We had a blast! Atlanta was a fun place to visit, we parked the car at our hotel and were able to walk everywhere we wanted to go. Everything is in walking distance in Downtown Atlanta. There was a Bowl Parade where the LSU band go to show off their talent, and we got to see someone very important, MIKE THE TIGER! We walked around the rest of the day visiting all the different things Atlanta has to offer until the game started. After the game we made it back to the hotel just in time to see the apple drop on TV. We were so tired that it didn't take long to fall asleep. The next morning we went to see the King Tut exhibit at the Atlanta Civic Center. I really wanted Austin and Alexia to see this because I remember seeing this exhibit when I was small. My Memaw and Pepaw Johnson took me and I still remember it to this day. It was very interesting to learn about King Tut and the things found in his pyramid. Then we headed back with an 8 hour trip home. It was a really fun New Year! Us at the Georgia Dome
Chick-Fil-A Cow

Mike the Tiger!

LSU Band

Little Miss King Tut!

Just a little Catch Up

I know I missed a month or so of updating so, I thought I would let you know whats been going on in our lives. Here are just some of the things we have been doing the last month and a half.We are at the Messengers Christmas Land.

The Messengers' are a family that decorates their house with millions of lights and decorations. I remember Dad and Mom brought Chad and I as kids every year.

Now it's a tradition we keep by taking Austin and Alexia.

Austin and Alexia touching the North Pole.

It was actually cold outside this year,

but some years we are able to wear shorts.

We have the weirdest weather!

Alexia's basketball team posing for a quick shot after a game.

They were awesome! They never lost one game.

They came in first place, and got a big trophy.

It was so fun to watch them play, they were so aggressive.

Way to go, Alexia!

Christmas Dinner with Mom, Dad, Chad, Stacy, and Caleb.

We had a pot luck style dinner with Mom and Dad's church.

We had a great time.

Austin's school band getting ready to play at a Christmas Program.

We are so proud of him and his accomplishments. A couple of days after the program, his band teacher made all of the band members try out for Honor Band (a few students from different schools in our parish play as one band). She says it gets them used to playing in front of people by themselves. Well, normally 7th graders don't make the band, but they have to try out anyway. Guess What? Austin made the band, we are so excited for him.

We are so proud of you, Austin!

Alexia and Sean putting lights on the roof.
She is such a little daredevil.
Austin wouldn't even climb a few steps on the latter.
He likes to stay flat on the ground.

Cute Little Kitten!

Sean and I at a LSU football game.
We went to 4 games this season.
It was a lot of fun,
but we were not prepared for the bad season LSU had.
But, it's OK we still had a great time.

SNOWING IN LOUISIANA? REALLY?

Something amazing happened down here in Louisiana. It SNOWED!!!!! We woke up this morning to find the ground covered in beautiful white snow. The kids quickly bundled up and went out to play for hours of fun. I tried to upload more pictures but there was some kind of error with the Internet. Anyway, here are a few that came up. It was such a fun day, the only thing is that we don't have the right kind of shoes for snow, so our feet were absolutely frozen. We went through about 10 pair of socks each, but SO worth the trouble. Thank you God for such a beautiful day. My Little Snow Angel
Big Brother Pulling Alexia and Sarah on Beach Boogie Boards
(the closest thing we have to a sled)
Merry Christmas Everyone!

Girls Day Out

Mom and Alexia before the massage started.
Mom after the massage. So relaxing!

Saturday was such a fun day because it was my 34th birthday. There were a couple of arts and crafts festivals around town so we decided to make it a "girls day out". We got some cute things like earrings, fall decorations, and of course yummy goodies from the bake sale. It became so hot around 1 o'clock that we decided to leave and go eat lunch. After, we weren't ready to call it a day, so we went and got our nails done. We all got French Manicures. Really Pretty! What a nice day, I love to spend time together with my whole family, but "girl days" are so special. These are memories that Lexi will have forever. Later that evening Sean took me to eat dinner at Copland's Seafood Restaurant. It was delicious as always. Thank you all for making my Birthday so special.

Their Trash, Our Treasure

We were coming home the other day and on the side of the road was a bike. It was in a pile of storm debris. So we stopped and asked our neighbor if she minded if we took it. She said she had put it out there because she was planning on moving soon and didn't feel like having to take it with her. Then her husband came out and said he has a 3 wheeler bike if we wanted it too. We said sure! It has a basket on the back of it, it's really cute. I have been wanting to buy a bike for a while now, so this was such a blessing.

We are so Punk Rock!!

Lexi and Sarah with their masterpiece the "sleepover cake"
Grabbing gifts from the treasure bucket
Punk Rock Girls
Cotton Ball game!

We had a very busy weekend that started the minute Alexia got off the bus. We planed a sleepover for Friday night. First, she decorated her "sleepover" cake with her friend Sarah. After every one arrived, we had a treasure hunt. I would recommend this for any birthday party. It had 12 clues and ended with one big treasure. All the girls got a gift bag and were able to fill the bags with lots of treasures. It had candy, pencils, erasers, stickers, socks, and many more fun things. It was a big hit, all the girls loved it! Next, they took their "punk rock" pictures. They all dressed in their cool clothes and put on crazy eye makeup. They were so cool! Next, they ate pizza and the sleepover cake. Then finally, Alexia opened all of her gifts. I think this was her favorite part of the party. They stayed up all night long, giggling and having so much fun. I didn't get much sleep either but it was well worth it. Happy Birthday Alexia!

Growing Up

Our sweet Lexi is growing up, she turned 8 years old last week. If I dwell on the years past it brings tears to my eyes. My babies are growing up too fast! How can it already be that I have a 12 year old and an 8 year old? I can't believe how fast time goes by and how old this makes me. OK, I guess that's enough of my pity party.

We had a small family party for Alexia on her birthday. We had pizza and chocolate cake with pink icing. She got lots of board games, clothes, and MONEY! She will have her big sleepover this weekend. We are planing all kinds of fun thing to do, so I'll post new birthday pictures next week. She also wanted to thank everyone for the birthday emails. Happy Birthday Lexi!! We love you!

Westside Jr. High Band

Austin played in his first football game last night. The group of band members just started playing last year, but they sound awesome! They are all so talented. Way to go Austin, we are so proud of you! We can't wait to hear you playing at LSU someday.

The Past

After reading Amber's blog, I decided to "yearbook" my family. We thought it was so funny. So, I decided to show you what we would look like in the past. WARNING!! Some are a little scary. Me in the 80's
Austin with long waves in the 80's
I didn't even need to do this one, I can show you my own yearbook.
Alexia in the 60's (we kind of think she looks like an alien)
This one is "gay Sean" in the 90's
Alexia in 84'
Austin would make a pretty girl.

We call this "fat Sean"