Happy Halloween

The quest for candy led the Chopins and Dupuys to dress up and head out trick-or-treating. Here is the cast of characters:

Gus--Peyton Manning

Beedle--Paul McCartney in Sgt. Pepper'sGracie--PrincessJames--Brett Favre (pre-controversy)
Emma--CheerleaderMaddie--PrincessDressed and ready, they headed out and called for candy. They captured a tremendous amount of sugary loot, which will hopefully last them until next Halloween. Good times!

The dream of a parent of kids with special needs. The hard work, dedication and fiscal sponsorship of a local Kiwanis club. The willingness of a city to pump money into project that gives children and adults of all capabilities a "level" playing field and a way to experience joys never experienced before. These were all catalysts that led to today's opening of Parc Independence--Lafayette's first handi-capable playing facility. It is designed to allow children to play without limitations of physical or mental challenges. From the wheelchair swing to tactile activities, Kiwanis has stamped their spirit upon this park. I have been a Kiwanian for several years and I am very proud of the many projects our club does. This project, Parc Independence, has been in the works for over five years, as a vision of one of our hardest working members, Kemper Bowen. Kemper's passion and drive have helped make this the single largest project the club has ever undertaken. Many of our members worked hard to raise the money needed to purchase the equipment for the park.

Today marked the grand opening of Parc Independence. It was a huge celebration. Dignitaries came to help with the dedication ceremony. The Chopin clan made it out to play on the playground as well.

There are few things more gratifying than making a child smile. Today there were smiles galore. It seems the mission of Kiwanis was fulfilled. I'm proud to be a part of it.

Monday Night Football

Cowboys vs. Giants...

Dino-Mite!

Beedle begged to put together a project. For Christmas last year his Nanny Capri gave him a Struxx erection set. The project was to build a dinosaur out of about a million parts. You know these types of projects, parents. A gazillion pieces. A two-hour inventory. A 385-step instruction booklet. Electric wiring. Normally I cringe at the idea of having to work on projects like these--it's just not my thing. But it's Beedle's thing, so I swallowed my pride, and agreed to spend the afternoon and early evening teaming up with him to tackle this construction project.
With a gulp of patience we dug in and got to work doing inventory. We worked through it, piece by piece, joint by joint. Beedle really has a talent for these things. He sees the picture and just figures it out. I was very impressed. As the hours pressed on, his creation grew and grew, and finally evolved into a fully-functioning dinosaur, which he affectionately named "Dino-mite". The prehistoric project's eyes glow. It growls and snarls. And most importantly, it makes Beedle happy! He beamed with pride. I can't wait for the next father-son project. Even if it's over one of our heads.

Brodie!

Little Brodie spent the weekend with us. Uncle AJ & Aunt Laci had a wedding they were in, so the kids gladly entertained their little cousin. They played. They rested. They played some more. James even took the time to feed him. Good times.

Chef Boys-Ardee

With Daddy off of work and the women off to ballet and shopping, today officially became "Boy's Day". We started off with a jaunt to the library to work on a few cub scout achievements. Since today's holiday is Columbus Day, we read about how Christopher Columbus sailed west to discover new land. We also worked on other achievements--researching a U.S. state (Gus picked Delaware), and learning about two great Americans (Gus chose books on George Washington & George W. Bush).

Next we went to Albertson's to plan our lunch. In honor of one of America's most favorite Italians, Columbus, we decided to make homemade pizzas. But since we were at Albertson's and it's nearly impossible to pass up their delicious French bread, we decided to make French-bread pizzas. When we got home, the Pizzeria was open for business.

First we got into costume by growing (drawing) moustaches...

Then we divided up the tasks. Gus (Augusto) was in charge of rigorously shredding the cheese. No one shreds cheese quite like this piasan...The artistic Beedle (Benedicto) painted the sauce on the bread canvases...

Then James (Gipeto) used his newly-found math skills to dole out the perfect amount of pepperonis on each pizza...

I finished them off with an extra layer of Mozzarella, a few slices of Canadian Bacon and some bell peppers. They were now ready for the oven.

When they came out, our Chefs Boy-Ardee had a grand feast. Nothing but smiles and sauce in their moustaches!

Butterflies..er..Pancakes in Our Stomachs

The Chopins traversed to Acadian Villiage this morning for the annual Kiwanis Zydeco Pancake Breakfast. We made it to this event last year and was very impressed with it. The pancakes were terrific and there were plenty of games and activities for the kids. Plus live music. All for only $5 a person! We had a great time last year, despite the rainy weather, and we certainly wanted to support the Kiwanis Club of Acadiana as we are a Kiwanis family. With a forecast of perfect weather, where else would we be? And, just like last year, we had a phenomenal time! We saw a lot of familiar faces and then tried to make some of our faces unfamiliar. Gracie took the liberty of getting her face painted--the artist did a wonderful job turning our daughter into a butterfly! It's great to live in an area where there are so many wonderful family activities to participate in and support. We're looking forward to next year's pancakes already!

Our Star

Beedle has been taking acting classes with Christian Youth Theater (http://www.cytlafayette.org/) for the past couple of months. He's always been a performer, whether it's being in costume or singing while playing his tinker-toy guitar. CYT has been wonderful for Beedle and it has really allowed him to have fun with something he's so passionate about. Tonight was the performance night, where all the classes perform their skills. Beedle's class, the six & seven-year-old acting class, performed the yellow-brick road scene from The Wizard of Oz. We were so impressed with how well they did, especially our little star, Munchkin #1...


Miss Sydney, Beedle's teacher, deserves a lot of credit. She did a great job with the little thespians. It takes a lot of courage to be up there and perform, and the kids of all ages shone brightly. It's such a positive theater group and Beedle is glad to be a part of it. It's so rewarding as a parent to see our little man have so much fun being up there. Beedle, thanks for being our star!

Lego Maniacs

Legos have been a wonderful source of creativity for our kids. We know this because the kids are always working with them and these legos are literally all over their bedroom floors. But it's a very healthly channel for their creativity and imaginations. These are some of the projects our Lego Maniacs have been concocting...

The Pixar Logo...

Barkley, the dog from Sesame Street...

Grover...

A sweet car...

They are extremely talented. Can't wait to see what they come up with next!