Prom 2009

This time each year, I put in an extra 27 hours (w/out pay mind you) for the week getting ready for the rite of passage we all know as Prom! I along with a fellow teacher are the prom sponsors for our school. We get a committee of junior girls and our goal is to make a recreation center gym transform into a magical night for our students to enjoy their prom. This year's theme...Mystery Masquerade.

The 19 member committee.

We started work on the decorations Wednesday after school. We worked Thursday after school and then skipped school on Friday and worked all day Friday and Friday night setting up for the big event.
Saturday night was showtime...and by the time the dance was done, and the other sponsor and I, along with 4 other teachers finished clean up, I got home around 1:30am!! It was a VERY long week, and I am whooped today, but when it's all said and done, I really do enjoy being a part of this special time in all of my students educational experience.

Somebody's got to do it....

One night while we were in OKC, I was in our room making a phone call, I came out to find Sydnee sitting at the top of the stairs peeping down to listen to the grown-ups talk. Now this is after Katie had put her to bed and was probably around 8:30- 9:00.

Julie: Syd, are you suppose to be in bed?

Syd: I had to wash my hands.

Julie: Ok, well maybe you should get back in bed now.

Syd: Ok.

Then around 20 minutes later, Ms. Peggy had gone upstairs to start getting ready for bed. She walked in the bathroom to find Sydnee folding all of the wash clothes!

Peggy: Syd, what are you doing?

Syd: I am folding these!

Peggy: Ok

Ms. Peggy came downstairs to tell us all what had happened and was cracking up, so we snuck back up there and I caught this video

HILARIOUS!! We were so busted for spying on her! Katie asked her when she was putting her back in bed, about folding the wash clothes, she said in her sassy 3 yr old tone...

" I was just helping YOU mommy!"

Earth Day

In honor of Earth Day, I thought I would share a few of the things we do around our house to help the planet out a little. They are easy and painless!!Curbside recycling...so easy. I picked up the bins at the city offices and we just fill them up with all of our recyclables and put it out on the street every Tuesday. Most of the time we have all 3 filled to the top!
We also recycle plastic bags from the store...I know I could get those cute little bags that all of the stores have, but I know I would never remember to bring it with me!!
And we know use a Brita water pitcher. We used to buy bottled water and we would recycle those bottles, but we recently started to use the filtered water pitcher and really like the water.

Nothing too tree hugging crazy, but our little part. Ok, really I do all of this so I don't have to feel guilty driving around in my gas guzzling Tahoe! ;0)

Oklahoma...Part 4: Friends

Friday night after Sydnee's b-day party, we met up with our friends to celebrate Chrisie's b-day and for a little random bar night.

The night started at McNellie's in downtown OKC. Great food and a tremendous beer menu...like from all over the world!! I stuck to what I know...Abita Amber. Funny that this Louisiana beer was considered "non-domestic". We then went to Speak Easy...I have no pics from this place because it was a little different. You know guys wearing skinny jeans, girls in high heels that made them a half a foot taller...we didn't stay there very long.

We ended the night at Spinozi's...it used to be called Scooters and Hooters, and then Strokers. It's my kind of place. They had a band playing good country/rock music. And we danced it up!!

Me and the b-day girl!!

Well that concludes the Oklahoma trip. As you can see, we pack in as much as we can when we get the chance to get up there. See you this summer Oklahoma!

Oklahoma...Part 3: QT w/ Nephew and Neice

We had a whole week of fun with Gabe and Sydnee. So here are some pics from our quality time with the kiddos.

Uncle Andy and Gabe having a little one-on-one in the playroom.

We went to see the movie Monsters vs. Aliens and had lunch in the mall food court before the movie...had to eat in the blue car!!!

On the way to see the movie...love this pic!

The GW wildlife park in Wynnewood, OK travels around the state with a few of their rescued animals and allows the public to interact with the animals while making people aware of the animals in need of rescue. Ms. Peggy graciously made a donation to the cause and we got to "play" with the baby tigers. There were 3 tigers in one cage and 2 lions in another. You were allowed to pick which cats you wanted to hang out with and of course, we picked the tigers!!! We also had the chance to see one of Gabe's T-ball games!! So cute! Gabe did great...3for3 at the plate!!

We were also there for Sydnee's 3rd b-day!! Katie was so smart in planning a little family b-day party the night before the kid party. Rob's family came over after the t-ball game and we ate pizza and Syd got to open presents. We got her the Bolt DVD, although, I think Gabe was more pumped about the gift.

Here is Sydnee with all of her presents from the family b-day party...well as many as I could put on her at one time...in the pic she has on her or is carrying: a new swimsuit, a tu-tu, 4 purses, sunglasses, Dora, Barney, and her new crocs. Too funny!We convinced Sydnee and Gabe to take a few pics before the birthday party stared...and boy am I glad we did....those little people know how to take over a house!!

Birthday girl with birthday cake!!

Katie, Andy and Ms. Peggy.

We had such a great week hanging out with Ms. Peggy, Katie, Rob and the kids. I have a great video to share with you later...

Oklahoma...part 2: Bloggers Meet & Eat...

So, thanks to Katie (Andy's sister) and Chrisie I have become a true blogger. And since then, it has been a great way to keep up with all of our Oklahoma friends and their families. Katie's blog led me to Johnson's Jabber whose author went to Oklahoma Christian with Andy...Well, our friend Jess of Det and Jess was found by KJ and then Chrisie, and Megan, and ...what a tangled web we have weaved....So since we were in town, we all decided to meet up since some of us only knew each other through the blog world.

We all met up at P.F. Chang's (just in case you didn't get that from the picture...duh) Anyway, it was great! We put the boys at one end of the table and the girls at the other end and just chatted it up!

Some pictured here are not bloggers yet...but we still like them ;0)! They will come to the dark side...soon enough!

The boys would never admit they were at a blogger's get together...but they were loving it...you know they read all of our blogs...again, they wouldn't admit that!

Oklahoma Easter...part 1 Coalgate

Our week long journey begins at my uncle and grandparents 780 acre ranch in Coalgate, OK where they raise black angus cattle. Andy and I helped Uncle Eddie get the feed ready for the day....here is Andy loading up the cubes.Currently the bulls are in the barn so that no baby cows are born in the dead of winter....so here I am filling up their "water bowl" for the bulls.

Here's the new bull, Jeff (named after my brother...who simply asked to have a bull named after him...I guess, Julie wouldn't be a very "bull-like" name)
My uncle has such friendly bulls...here is my mom feeding Jeff...she was feeling a little closer to my brother at this moment.See #39...you will also be able to see her in my freezer later this year!! YUMM-O! My uncle has agreed to put two calves in the barn to feed up and have them butchered for us to put in our freezer. Sorry PETA...get over it!!!

We went out to feed one herd and this guy stopped by to say hello.

Here is a pic of one of the ponds on their land...Andy and I took the 4-wheeler out to "explore" well, until this city gal got scared of being surrounded by the herd that followed us everywhere wanting us to feed them...yeah, I am not too found of 1000+ pound animals moo-ing at me and then being angry with me. But I did catch this photo just before I told Andy we needed to hop back on our "horse" and get out of town.
We also found these deer...of course by the time I got the camera out they had already moved on a ways... And I did get pictures of people...the girls.
Grandaddy and me....

65th wedding anniversary pic....

Uncle Eddy, Grandma, Grandaddy, Mom and me....Andy was the photographer.
Well, that brings us to the end of part 1 of our Oklahoma trip.

Oooooooooo

KLAHOMA where the winds...yada,yada,yada

We are off to Oklahoma for Easter week. We will start our adventures in the metropolis of Coalgate, OK to see my grandparents and my uncle...oh and the new black Angus bull my uncle recently purchased. We will be there until Sunday, and then off to the big city...well, Edmond to be exact to see Katie and Rob and the kids. Andy's mom will be in town as well, so a little lagniappe! We are also looking forward to seeing all of our Okie friends!!

and boy do we need to get out of town! after a 4 day week that included two 11 hour work days and a dog that decided to break into the cardboard box full of 80 cookies that I made for Jeff to send to Iraq...and then puked for two days along with having terrible gas....I am not feeling one bit sad about putting him in the kennel for over a week!!! Get me out of town!!!! Oh, we were able to salvage about 50 to 60 of the cookies...UGH!!!! And don't get me started on my face that has decided to brake out like I am 16 again....oh goodie just in time for lots of picture taking!!!

Anyway, I hope you all have a wonderful Easter!

Weekend update....

Friday

We rented "Slumdog Millionaire"...WOW! What a great movie!!! I highly recommend it. Only one of two movies that the Oscar's have ever drooled over that I really agreed with them....the other...."Mystic River"

Saturday

Andy played golf in the Denham Springs High School Athletic Association annual golf tournament....DSHS is my alma matter and the school where I teach. While he was "golfing", I unlike the other wives chose to stay home and enjoyed having the house all to myself!

I baked my brother 80 cookies and while I was doing just that, I received a call from him in Iraq!! I was very excited to get to talk to him....please pray for him as he will have a rough week to two weeks...lots of "missions" and little rest.

After Andy and the boys were done with golf, we headed up to the local hooters for some wings and NCAA tourney watchin'! Yeah, my bracket was over a looooong time ago!

Sunday

Sunday we spent the day at Big Mike's house for his birthday crawfish boil. YUMMY!!!

Ten months after his weight loss surgery, he has lost an

AMAZING 246 POUNDS!!

I truly love this guy...and I am SO happy for the success he is having with his weight....and look forward to sharing in many more birthday memories!!
Since all of my previous crawfish pics were of crawfish that we bought already boiled, I thought I'd share some pics of the boiling process. The pic above shows our little friends getting their pre-boil bath that purges them before they go in the pot. They are alive here and this is when the kids really play with their food. They were fishing for them with anything they could find and have little battles...good stuff!

Mudbugs no more....we add mushrooms, onions, corn on the cob, sausage, garlic and lemons in the boil...you can add just about anything you want!

DIG IN!!! The two cans you see there are cans of corn...put some holes in the corn and let them soak up the flavor and man are the good!

It was an awesome afternoon...crawfish, great weather, LSU baseball on the radio, cold beer and good people...what else could ya ask for!

I just LOVE springtime in Louisiana!