Are You Ready for Some Football?

The boys are officially ready for football season...

St. Augustine, Pray for Us

Today we celebrated St. Augustine's feast day. And it is a special feast day because it is Gus' special feast day. We were able to go to mass as a family and then Gus was honored with a meal out--Chick Fil-A! Mom also made a special cake to celebrate. For Gus, we pray that like St. Augustine, you can commit your life to resting in the heart of Jesus. St. Augustine, pray for us.

Eunice With a Splash of Mamou

Today we headed to Eunice for a visit to Papa & Grandma Dee's. We had a fantastic meal--great job, Grandma Dee. For dessert, we took a trip to Aunt Vie's in Mamou. And surprise, Aunt Vie had a giant water slide! She had a party to celebrate the end of summer. The kids had a great time going up and down the slide. Here are some pics...

Even James got in on the fun... He entertained himself and made a few friends.

The kids were treated to homemade ice cream sandwiches, watermelon, popsicles and popcorn.Way too many treats for children seven and under!

As you can about imagine, they didn't want to leave. Thanks Aunt Vie & Uncle Ricky for having us over.

But the fun didn't stop when we got back to Grandma Dee's. The kids got to play Wii. Gracie bowled for the first time and did very well. Gus has been a great bowler on the Wii for a while and set a record score. Beedle played baseball against Gus and won in a close one.

Today was more fun than should be allowed in St. Landry and Evangeline parishes!

Yogurt Man

It was a tough battle, but James finally defeated the yogurt!

Happy Birthday GiGi

Today is GiGi's 61st birthday. This birthday did not have the pomp and circumstance as last year's party did (see blog from last year), but it was a celebration none the less. And in typical GiGi-form, instead of letting her family take her out to dinner for her birthday, she had us over for seafood gumbo. And it was terrific! GiGi was showered with love, affection and gifts, but I think the greatest gift she received was a night off from work. GiGi, we love you and wish you the happiest of birthdays! Enjoy your rest!

Ha!

We were all giggles here tonight...

At the Dinner Table

Beedle: I have a "Pear-able"...There once was a shepherd who lost his pear. Then he found it and then he at it. There's my pear-able.

James: AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Beedle: I have a Broccoli-ache! I'm really tired of eating it. I'm getting full!

Gus: You mean "Broccoli-ful"?

James: AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!

(Mom ate a bite of macaroni from Beedle's plate)

Beedle: Stop! You Macaroni Thief! (Now using the Jedi mind trick and waiving his hand) You will not take my macaroni again.

James: UUUHHHHH!!!!

Dad: James, do you like your chicken?

James: Bock! Bock!...........Ah Done!

Gracie: Macaroni is so great!

Beedle: I wish Consuelo didn't resist. The policeman should take her to jail.

Everyone: What?

(We sort of convinced Beedle that the housekeeper at the last hotel we stayed at, whom we named Consuelo, had taken his room key so that was why we had to leave the hotel. Beedle would live in a hotel if he could.)


You never know what will come out of the mouth of youth at the Dinner Table!

Fond Memories of Claude's BBQ

It didn't matter if it was charcoal or propane. Whether it was ribeyes or chicken quarters. Whether it was late Saturday morning after cutting the grass or Tuesday evening after school and work. I can remember the smells, especially on those Saturdays where there was a good blend of freshly cut grass, hose water, Jack Miller's sauce, and the pit fire rolling. My Dad loved to BBQ and he was really good at it. Never charred. Never under-cooked. Always just right.

We were a bit nostalgic today as we had a BBQ at the house. Khaki and the family, Gigi and Nanny Wanda showed up as we honored Dad. Tomorrow it will be ten years since he passed away and it's safe to say that we all miss him. I really wish he'd be around to see the grandkids as I know it would bring him much joy.

But today was about celebrating! We fired up the charcoals and went to town on some stuffed pork chops, chicken and sausage. I tried to baby it just like my Dad did. And I let Gus help, just like I so often remembered my Dad letting me help.

After chowing down we spent time remembering some fun times we had with Dad. Mom had a great idea and had the kids paint their image of heaven. It was beautiful to see their minds work.

The rest of the afternoon was spent watching the kids doing what they do best--play. Just what Dad would have wanted!

Seinfeld for Kids

Tonight I was trying to make Beedle laugh and he said, "Dad, stop trying to be funny!" When he said this, the first thing to pop in my head was that episode of Seinfeld where George begs Jerry to not "be funny" to make his date seem more interested in George. So I did just what Jerry did--I tried to make funny and interesting things seem completely boring. I talked in a monotone voice while trying to say something exciting. Mom said, "They're not going to get it." And they didn't. But it was fun for me. Cheap thrills!

God Blessed Baseball

Friday afternoon brought the Chopins to Oaklawn Park with the Hamiltons, the Williams and the Pagans for some family baseball. If you're counting, that was five adults and 15 kids. People always joke with us about how many kids we have, usually saying things like, "you trying to field a team?" Well.....I guess so.

We divided the kids into teams and we played ball. It was a tremendous amount of fun. While we were playing we were blessed with a light afternoon shower, that not only cooled us down, but showed a beautiful rainbow in the sky. We kept saying how truly blessed we felt. It was a cool afternoon in August. The kids and adults got to play a great American passtime. There were no kids melting down. What more could you ask for? Well we all said a prayer that we could have days like this again!

Reading Reward

We are blessed to have a wonderful library system. Every summer the kids are enrolled in the reading program and the library rewards them for their efforts. They receive trophies, and coupons to many great places in town. Today all the kids were able to cash in movie tickets to watch The Tale of Despereaux. Gus, Beedle, Nate, and Gracie barely needed a third seat they were sitting so close to each other. They were very excited about this movie. While Mom stood in the back with a very playful James, the kids did not move at all! A lady who was sitting with her child in front of the kids got up to ask if she could treat the kids to concession. She was so amazed with the fact that they sat so quietly without an adult. What a great treat!

Life in New Orleans

We could hear the faint sound of jazz as we packed up "Pontias" (our Honda Pilot) to head out for the Big Easy. Dad had a Kiwanis convention to attend in New Orleans so Mom and Gracie came along for the ride. GiGi graciously agreed to watch the boys (Gus, Beedle, and James) for the weekend, allowing Gracie to have some one-on-one time with Mom and Dad. On the first night there, we got tickets to go on a dinner cruise on the Creole Queen, an old steamboat.

We enjoyed some good creole food while listening to a nice three-piece jazz band. We were able to go out on the back deck of the boat and Gracie became fixated on the paddle wheel. She was amazed at how big and fast it was. Anytime we would go anywhere else on the boat, she would beg to go back to see the "paddles".

The next day Gracie and Mom got to take a tour of New Orleans. They went on a trolley ride--a first for Gracie. She said she had a blast. They went shopping in the French Quarter and then came back to the hotel to let Gracie have her scheduled bubble-bath. She doesn't get them often at home so she really appreciated the treat. They painted nails and got themselves ready for dinner that night. We stopped in the courtyard before heading out for dinner. Here Gracie got to have her first Shirley Temple. She really liked her "pink Coke". Next, we made the block to the Kiwanis night at the Wax Museum. It was very interesting. We were expecting statues of Elvis, Marilyn Monroe, etc. Instead, the museum told the history of New Orleans. It was very informative as we learned a lot of things we never knew about how the city came to be. After the tour, we took an elevator upstairs. Gracie thought the elevator was cool because it was one of those old ones where there is an attendant that pulls a rope to take you to the top. She wanted to do it again. Once was enough! Upstairs was dinner and dancing. Gracie got a chance to show everyone there her dancing skills as she twirled around to "It Had to Be You". She felt like a princess and Mom and I were really enjoying watching her.

Before heading home on Sunday, Mom made it a point for us to make a stop at her favorite New Orleans dive--Cafe Du Monde. There she and Gracie feasted on beignets loaded (and I mean loaded!) on powdered sugar. As if you couldn't tell by the picture, Gracie enjoyed her fair share of beignets and powdered sugar...

What a great way to end a wonderful weekend in New Orleans! We enjoyed our one-on-one time with Gracie and we just appreciate what a blessing she is.