Justin

Our first baby!! I was due on May 14, except I had other plans. I was graduating that day from McNeese State University and really wanted to be there. I was setting a record of my own since I was the first person (and first grandchild) on the Lyons side of the family, a large and motley group - to earn a Bachelor's degree (Aunt Helen told me so). So I hoped that the baby would be late. And he was. Justin was born the next week, on May 20th, weighing in at a healthy 8 lbs. 8 oz., and quickly became the center of our universe! That was many moons ago, but I still remember what it felt like.

Each baby changes a family, but the first one is amazing. It's not like no one has ever had a baby before, but when the first grandchild comes along, it just seems like it. That's what happened when Justin was born. He was a cute and happy baby and everyone adored him...my whole family delighted in holding him, playing with him, talking about him to anyone who would listen.

Having a baby changed me and Don too. We went from being a couple to having a little family of our own. Everything seemed sort of magical to me...(well, not the sleepless nights or diapers, but everything else!)...almost like I got to live my childhood over again, but better. There were kittens to laugh at, swings to swing on, round fat pumpkins to pat, and Christmas lights, filled with wonder, as I saw them all through Justin's eyes. And I loved falling into the world of children's storybooks.




I love being a Mom. And I love you, Justin...Happy Birthday son!

Son of a gun, we'll have big fun...

OK, I'm guilty. I ate, I drank (diet soda), I danced around in my pajamas. Yes I did and I'm proud! We had a houseful of sleeping people (2 babies) and Keith Urban was on the Late Show, what ELSE could I do???

Anyway, we had some good food, a whole lotta fun, and an intense round of Pirate's Dice (our favorite!). My niece Clarissa & her hubby Wade and their girls came over to visit last week. Wade figured it was time he got in on the crawfish around here. After all, his girls are part Cajun...he needs to know from whence they came. So off to Sausage Link we went, in search of our roots.


It's not a true Cajun-deal unless you: 1) order boiled crawfish and boudin balls 2) in a former convenience store 3) with granite-topped tables 4) with a baby perched on top. Check!!

Something hilarious happened. Just take my word for it.

Jennifer shows how it's done. Her Cajun heritage is intact.

The weekend before was Mother's Day. We took Don's mom, Mary, out to eat at Pat's of Henderson. The frog legs and oysters were delish! It's not easy to get these two to smile in the same picture but I did it. I'll never tell...

On Mother's Day afternoon we continued our long-standing family tradition of having a crawfish boil (Jason gets the credit for starting that).

Sam lounged on the trailer while we ate. He is happy I'm his mother. You can tell by the look on his face.


I got some nice gifts for Mother's Day. My favorite was a Southern Living Galveston Memo Board. Love it! Justin and Barbara got me a pretty basket of flowers.

And a good time was had by all. ;)

Got to roll me ~

I posted this on FB, but if you missed it... :) I'm sitting here watching the video of Keith Urban on Jimmy Fallon. Keith did Tumbling Dice (Rolling Stones) and he just killed it!!!

I thought it was noteworthy enough to warrant a post all it's own. Things to watch for: the backup singers are famous, see if you know who they are...and the keyboardist is crazy-good!! At the end Keith gives a shout-out to Nashville...he's been heading up support for all the people who lost so much in the floods.



Keith will be performing on the big telethon to help Nashville, this Sunday night on GAC (someone have mercy and invite me over...we don't get GAC)
http://www.theboot.com/2010/05/13/gac-flood-relief-telethon/

Got to roll me...keep on rolling.

Fishin' Lake Powell

Don went on a trip. Jason's been inviting him to come on his annual fishing trip to Lake Powell, Utah for a few years now and it never seemed to work out. But I knew Don would love it. So...I made him go. Sort of. In a round-about way. Unobtrusively, you know (that's just how I roll).

Jason said the fishing wasn't as outstanding as last year, but they had a ball anyway. The pictures tell the story...

Don has to follow the fisherman's creed (at least according to these fishermen) and kiss your first fish. Even if this one was an underachiever...the fish, not Don.


He's moving on up....

This is my favorite picture. They're happy, they got fish, the sun is shining. And they remembered that I told them to take a picture wearing their CAT hats. :)



Eat, sleep, fish. Until next year...

What Not to Wear, starring Kirra ~

Kirra was dancing around in her nightgown but we were about to go out to dinner, so I told her to go get some clothes and I'd help her get dressed. After a few minutes she came downstairs and perched herself on the sofa next to me and Bandit (the dog). I just grabbed the camera and tried not to laugh too much...

Do You Believe in Magic?

While we were at their house, the girls got violins and were preparing to start taking lessons. I guess time will tell if they love it or not. Here's Alahna....she already has that beaming look, you know - the one you get when you realize you can make music...just like magic. :)


Of course, it helps if you have on a party dress and sling your violin over your shoulder like a child prodigy, on the way to a recital with much older kids. That, and the fact that you look like an angel too.

Two more pics from our poppy trip. If I could do this day over, I'd have gone in late afternoon, the light is nicer then. It was so bright at noon that we were all squinting.

Isn't this child the most darling rainy-day girl, EVER?? This ensemble was from Old Navy...she was happy to model for me. I always get better pictures of Kirra if I just grab the camera and start shooting. She pays attention and looks my way.

We left early on Easter morning, and didn't get much time to say goodbye, but that's OK. We talked it out the night before. Alahna buried her head in my shoulder and said, "I'm going to miss you so much! Mawmaw...when you're here, everything is better."

You said it, sweetheart. ♥

Put all your eggs in one basket, and then watch that basket...

Mark Twain said that. But it reminds me of what was going on at the Eggstravaganza when we took the girls the day before Easter. It was held in the city park and attended by thousands of kids. They have them hunt on different fields, according to age. Each hunt is scheduled about 20 min. apart. The thing is, the eggs aren't really hidden...they are dumped on the grass. But anyway, you line up, run out to the grass and scoop up as many eggs as you can. Then you give the eggs back (??) in exchange for a small sweet prize. Very small. In fact, you get more of a biteful scoring samples at Sam's Club than what was in that prize. And then they recycle the eggs for the next hunt. I guess times are tough in California for the Big Bunny.






When it comes to dyeing eggs, Alahna is an expert but Kirra's a fast learner.





I think they could've dyed eggs all afternoon but these are all we had.


When it came to hunting them in the backyard though, we had plenty!!




We love to decorate eggs...we love to hunt eggs...we love to EAT eggs...we should be on a billboard for the egg industry.



Really...it could read, "Got Eggs?" :)