Happy Times, Sweet Friends

Last month we had a fun baby shower for Ivy (Pogue) Huntington, to celebrate her baby girl, due in December. We (Andrea, Kristin, Joan and me) were taking advantage of a window of opportunity when everyone could be here - Gwen, Ivy, Martha (Gwen's mom), and Mary (Brad's mom). Everything worked out perfectly!! A good friend of Gwen's (from Saudi) is Debbie Stratford, who is also a good friend of Lou Ellen's (from Texas). Debbie was in Houston for the summer, and she and Lou Ellen decided to come over and help us throw the shower! We had a delightful night, and after the shower we ended up at Gwen's (where else??) until nearly 2 am, talking and laughing. The next day we all went for lunch at Steamboat Bill's.

Before Debbie left, she said she had thank you gifts for Lou Ellen and me. I was absolutely stunned to open it and see that Debbie gave us each a Wilton Armetale pitcher in the Flutes & Pearls pattern!! I unabashedly love, love, LOVE it!!! Debbie is a collector of Wilton Armetale, and she really is an expert on the line. I had a couple of pieces but had never seen the pitcher. If you're not familiar with Wilton Armetale, it's hand-crafted serveware that is gorgeous and captivating, and so practical too.

We took photos (a bit fuzzy) both the "Can you believe this?" one (which we recreated) and the "We're tickled pink!" one.

Debbie is a kind and generous friend, and it was such fun to get to know her. We have so much in common too. I'm so glad I got to meet her...but man, I wish Lou Ellen and I could go visit the Kingdom just once, so we could traipse through the streets with Debbie and Gwen!!! Oh well, at least we can hear all about it from them.



Debbie, Lou Ellen and me at Ivy's shower. (from Gwen's blog)

Each time I pass my hutch and see my pitcher I feel a little flutter of joy...and smile when I think of happy times and sweet friends. :)

Fun Friday Photos

Just a few fun photos. Jennifer, Jen Rose-Potter, Clarissa and Sarah on Clarissa & Wade's big day. The jewelry Jennifer is wearing is over 50 years old, it belonged to my Mom.


Kirra with the blanket Aunt Lou Ellen made her before she was born. During the Rita evacuation, Lou Ellen's friend Margaret came over and we had gumbo for lunch and tied the quilt.


Alahna with glasses, I don't think she wears them much but she's darling here!


Disneyland, are we having fun yet??

A rare moment when my brother and sister and I were together and there was a camera handy.




Don forgot everything he never knew about fixing little girls hair.



Brothers-in-law and partners in crime. They are the brave (and oh so lucky) men to have married the Lyons girls. :)



Jennifer and me last Christmas, the purpose of this one is to say I love her hair!!!

Shoes!

I've been thinking about shoes. It's hard for me to find shoes that are comfortable, that look good (my version of good) and are made from quality leather. I don't do heels really, not at all. Some of my aunts on my dad's side had to have foot surgery for bunions...and the Dr. told them that if they hadn't tried to jam their feet in heels for years, they could have avoided a whole lot of suffering. So, I realized that...that I'm just not that interested in suffering.

Today I went to Dillard's and spent a good bit of time in the shoe department. I tried on at least 10 pairs of shoes. No dice.

I've worn Clarks, and they're good but not perfect. I wear Asics Gels to the gym and really, to run around in the winter. In the summer I wear leather sandals. But these are my favorite shoes right now - I got them last Christmas. They're the Born Codder...I have them in chocolate, and my friend RaeAnn has some in black. Here's a pic of them in red.

I think a red pair may be in my future. :) What are your favorite shoes?

California, part trois ~

Before we knew it, our visit was nearly over. We had fun in those last days though, mostly just hanging out with the girls and Jason & Wendy.

The day we left, everyone got up early to see us off. The girls were still sleepy but that only makes them sweet. Sweeter. Sweetest!!!

I always get a little teary telling Alahna & Kirra goodbye. Same goes for Pawpaw...you better believe he gets choked up too, that's just the way we roll.

We have kind of a funny little tradition that helps a little, that when we leave (or when they leave) I give the girls each a pack of orange Tic Tacs. It started one visit when Alahna was two and getting on the plane to go home. I was crying a little, so she cried too...so to make her feel better, I gave her my Tic Tacs. So now we do it every time! They know that orange Tic Tacs is just a special thing that means Mawmaw loves them very much, so that's why you see them holding breath mints in these photos. :)

I guess all good things come to an end, and that includes vacations too. So what do you have left when it's over? For one thing, these - courtesy of The Signature, Las Vegas.

But even more, there's a whole lot of hugs, smiles, and happy times. Seeing the world from a different place. Sweet pictures, funny memories, and looking forward to more vacations. Hugging sleepy little blonde grandgirls who murmur into your neck, "I love you Mawmaw." ♥ ♥ ♥

California, part deux - Ballad of the Tutus ~

Last year we went to a craft show in Lake Charles, and they were selling hand crafted no-sew tutus. I am not crafty but Lou Ellen said we could do this so what the heck, we bought the stuff. I had no clue what I was doing or even if I was guessing right as to the waist size. The problem wasn't in the tying, it was in the cutting, not easy. Anyway, we forged on and Lou Ellen made one for her granddaughter Ella and I made one too, first for Alahna, then a few weeks later for Kirra. If you (hello, is anyone out there??) want some direction, look here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B7aSPMEn7S0 I used elastic instead of a ribbon around the waist to make it a bit more sturdy.

I had wanted a picture of the girls in their tutus since I shipped it all off last Christmas but never got one, SO when we went to CA last month one of the things on my list was to get some pics. The girls weren't quite in the ballerina-zone, they liked to put them around their necks and pretended to growl like a lion. Oh well...the best laid plans. One of these days, I'll get them to pose again, preferably outside, all sweetness and light (hey it could happen) but for now, this will have to do.

California, part un ~

As we drove from Las Vegas to California I hoped we'd see some interesting sights. We knew it was desert, I just thought it was going to be pretty…um, no. No painted desert, no tumbling tumbleweeds, nothing. OK, next stop on this vacation. I was hoping we’d get there before dark so I could see Jason’s new house in the daylight. We had our Garmin leading us and finally, finally, we were there and it was still light, whoo-hoo!

Each and every time we see our grandgirls (our only grandchildren) we are thrilled and just can’t wait. I know one day they will be older…teenagers even, and they won’t be so excited to see us - but that is not today!! :) When we got there, Alahna & Kirra were jumping up and down and yelling and running, all at once! They couldn’t believe how Pawpaw looked without his beard.

Jason’s house is typical for CA, Spanish-style with a tile roof. I think it was built 3 years ago. I really liked his landscaping and was pleasantly surprised to see that the backyard was nice and large. The houses they rented had lawns that were small, compared to what we're used to in Louisiana. Downstairs is the kitchen and dining room, two living areas, one full bath, one bedroom, exercise room, the double garage, and another half bath. Upstairs there are 4 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms. Both floors offer lots of storage. Not sure how many windows are in the house, but there are a lot. Jason & Wendy had white plantation shutters installed on all of them. Of course the girls were dying to show us their pink princess room.


Bandit, their Shih Tzu, was also excited to see us. Don calls him his little buddy (don't tell Sam). I'm not a dog person, but if I were to one day get a dog, I'd get one like Bandit....he's a really good dog.

BTW, here's our genetics, exhibit A: foot pic...(I had swollen feet). The funny thing is, after looking at it, Alahna (left) has feet a lot like mine, down to the crooks in her toes. Kirra (right) has toes like someone else, they're long with no crooks - maybe like Wendy or Don's side.



We had so much fun, we got to see 2 movies w/ the girls - Night At the Museum 2 and Hannah Montana. Hannah was my favorite. We missed going swimming (their favorite thing to do in Louisiana) but we did other fun stuff: took Alahna to the Dr. for her pre-1st grade checkup, ate out a few times, talked a lot, played at the mall, played games (Go Fish), read stories, looked at pictures, read stories some more, stayed up late, and talked some more. Both girls like to chat. Hey, they get it honest...from uh, Jason. Who gets it from...both his parents. Really! We went to a delicious frozen yogurt place (forgot the name) where you put the toppings on and weigh it to pay. On our last day there, we went to the library. Here's a few pictures, more later.

Who's your Daddy?

Today is Don's birthday. Everyone knows Don. He loves me, and I love him too! He talks Cajun...he smells good...he looks like the Eddie Bauer man...you know, the one in the catalog, the mature guy with the short beard who looks like he can do anything. That's my husband.


But I'm not sure who this guy is...first he got tired of his beard itching during the hot weather so he shaved it off! Then he had Lasik surgery (he just wanted to see better) so the glasses were gone. Then we went to CA and Jason decided to buzz him with the standard LAPD haircut, so his hair was gone.


Hmmm...I still love this guy...he talks Cajun...he smells good, but I kinda miss Eddie Bauer man and the scruff. He's promised to bring him back again when the weather gets cool. Either way, I'm keeping him. ♥

Happy Birthday baby!!!