SNOW in Slidell!!!

Juliana, Ivan, & I were walking out the door to bring JuJu to school when we were overcome with excitement, SSSSNNNNOOOOOWWWWW! It was really snowing, outside our house, lots of snow the size of cornflakes, the kind of snow that actually sticks to clothing, in Slidell! Juliana immediately ran from under cover, sticking out her tongue to taste the snow while talking about making a snow man & snow angels. Ivan wasn't sure what to think, probably a little overwhelmed by the energy levels Juliana & I were giving off. I quickly rushed us inside to put on more layers of clothing & have Juliana wake up Kendall before the snow is gone, I thought it would only last about 10, minutes at the most. Kendall jumped out of bed & layered up, by this time Ivan is ready for his morning nap. Kendall & Juliana go outside to play in the snow while I'm stuck inside anxiously rocking Ivan to sleep. 8 minutes go by & I place Ivan in his crib, grab my coffee, & head outside to find out it is no longer snowing, just rain & sleet. The 3 of us come inside, JuJu & Kendall change into dry clothes & I take off a few layers. By the time we all sit comfortably to discuss how awesome the snow was, it starts SNOWING again, this time the snow was heavier & had bigger flakes! The race was on, I'm telling JuJu to put on the wet clothes but with dry socks as I pile my layers back on & Kendall is trying his best to pull his wet pants up. We were in utter disbelief, it was soooo cool! After about 20 minutes I cant take the freezing temperature anymore & I come inside to make hot chocolate for my 2 snow bunnies, one of which would rather come in with me as his lips turn purple. Juliana's lips were purple too, & shivering, her jeans were wet up to her knees, her gloves are soaked, she has added a 2nd knit hat b/c the 1st one began to absorb the snow, her scarf & her hair have ice chips in it, & she won't come inside! She says "I'm not coming in until dad makes a snowman with me & there's enough snow to make a snow angel!" Thank God she didn't catch pnemonia! They were able to make a snowman but unfortunately that used up the thin layer of snow from the ground to be used for a snow angel. I don't think I'll ever forget this, it was so exciting & Juliana made it 10 times more exciting. One more thing, it actually snowed about 2 1/2 hrs!

Tasting the snowflakes...



There is no way Juliana will drink her hot chocolate anywhere it isn't snowing on her, & daddy must do the same!


It's quite obvious we don't get much practice building snowmen around here. lol

Thanksgiving Holidays

Aunt Ginger's back in town!!! We were sooo excited to see Aunt Ginger again, it had been 3 very long months. Juliana curled her hair to make it special for Aunt Ginger and she gave her best LSU cheer within 5 minutes of seeing her. I wasn't sure if Ivan would remember her or not, but he without a doubt did. He did a happy jig right as he entered her arms, and she of course gave him one back!




It is considered "high honor" to have Ivan actually open his mouth to eat for you. He won't eat for just anyone ya' know. (lol)


Juliana wasted no time playing hide-n-seek with Uncle Gabe. I think they may have an unspoken rule: within 5 minutes or less of seeing each other it's time to play chase or hide-n-seek.

Daddy's Little Girl

Kendall loves spending time with Juliana, they have so much fun together. She may even get more dates with him then I do! (lol) Juliana especially loves it because she knows how to "work" her daddy, got him wrapped around her little finger! They are really cute together, here are just a few of the photos from some of their dates.


Juliana & Kendall returning home after going to the movies to see Balto in 3D.


This is what I get when I tell them to smile & give me a good picture, to stop goofing off.



Kendall made Juliana a multi-room fort, which she couldn't have been more proud to play in, using shipping boxes from my online christmas shopping :)



Fishing off MawMaw & PopPop's deck.

No catches but Juliana was excited that something had stolen her bait. lol

Ivan's 1st Birthday

WOW! Ivan is already 1 year old!!!! This past year flew by, I can't believe it! Ivan's 1st birthday was spent at home with the 4 of us. He's not really big into lots of noise or groups of people, I thought he would be happier having his party like this. We had fun & I believe he did too, he didn't know exactly what was going on but went along with it anyway.

1 Year Old!


1st taste of the cake.



It may look like he had more than one bite, but don't be fooled, that's just the 1st bite that he spit out all over his mouth! However, he did end up being fed chocolate icecream by Juliana, we know he likes that.


Ivan, & plenty of help, opening his gifts.


Ivan's b-day morning started out early, at 6:30am, for big sister Juliana's soccer game. (Just what he was hoping for, loud cheering fans & cold temperatures outside. LOL!)

Trick-Or-Treat

This year for Halloween Juliana was a (very cute) witch & Ivan wore a Halloween themed orange outfit. We went trick-or-treating with MiMi in her neighborhood and had lots of fun. There was a lot of people home to hand out candy & there was quite a few "haunted" garages, which Juliana was a little freightened to enter. I believe it was MiMi's 1st time trick-or-treating in many years, since we were kids. Juliana loaded up on candy & Ivan enjoyed the stroll.



Juliana posing at the "Haunted Graveyard" after leaving the "Haunted Garage", can you tell she's a bit shaken up???


Juliana & Kendall's yearly tradition of carving a pumpkin a few nights before Halloween. It's more like Juliana picks out the design & waits for Kendall to finish the hard work.



Kendall & Juliana's finished pumpkin.



Juliana allowed me to carve a pumpkin with her this year. She got a big kick about me being grossed out when I had to pull out all the slimy stuff from the inside of the pumpkin! (She had told me ahead of time that I was going to have to do that b/c she knew that was why I never wanted to get in on carving w/them. Lol)

Juliana's Birthday Party

Juliana had her 6yr old birthday party on Saturday! Maw-Maw & Pop-Pop have their own "private park" and were kind enough to let us throw the party there, which worked out fantastically! It was quite the party, Juliana was so excited to have all her friends & family together, she could hardly sit still. She & all of her friends played pin the tail on the donkey, went on a hayride, ran around like crazy in the yard & on the swing set, and knocked the candy out of the pinata! Juliana is now able to add about 50 more items to her Hannah Montana collection and couldn't be happier about it. I had a great time and I know all the kids did as well, it was non-stop FUN!


Jessica, Juliana, Alyssa, & Ayden


Me & My 6yr Old Birthday Girl


Getting Ready for Hayride


Jude, Angelle, Sebastian, Ayden, Jessica, Juliana


Happy Birthday to Juliana!!!



Ivan was my helper when baking the cupcakes.

Halloween Party

On Friday, October 24, Kendall & I went to our 1st Halloween Party dressed as a vampire couple. It was so much fun, I think I laughed almost the whole time because it was hilarious to see everyone in costume, even acting in character. Jenny had her house decorated with Halloween scares in every room, both the front & back porch, and the garage. Each guest was asked to bring party food but it had to fit into the Halloween theme. Kendall & I brought a cheeseball that I had shaped into a pumpkin and a pecan pie with a chocolate iced spider web drawn onto it. There were snickers bar critters, ghost cookies, mummy sandwiches, and lots more. We had a great time, it was done really well.

Kendall & I (Vampires)

Me, Jenny T (femal Peter Pan), & Jennie B (witch)


Kendall showing off his "fangs"


Colleen (Cleopatra), Jennie B, & Kristi Boos (Haunted Zombie)

Chris Jones (Uncle Fester), Claude Jones (Big Baby), & Brian (Gladiator)