1st weekend of Spring

As you know by now, the boys and I traveled to central Louisiana to my hometown this past weekend to visit my family.

While enjoying the fabulous Spring-like weather this weekend, we had an excellent brunch at my grandparents....fruit tray with homemade grenadine fruit dip, garden pasta salad, baked LA sweet potatoes, honey ham (that my grandmother baked) sandwiches with crisp lettuce from the garden, caramel cake, and a loaf of homemade Amish bread for me to take home. Oh yea...that's my Maw-Maw's idea of an easy, thrown-together Saturday brunch :)

In between our many trips back and forth to the table, the boys strummed us a tune on my grandfather's old guitar. For literally hours, they they bickered over who's turn it was took turns at the guitar.






We even had a practice-run Easter egg hunt. Frank-o even managed to find one egg that was filled with Starburst (from Lord only knows when seeing as my grandmother certainly had not placed them there this year).




On Saturday night, we took my Meme out to dinner and visited with my younger cousins.

On Sunday, my dad returned from the fishing camp just in time for a 30-minute freeforall wrestling session before we got back on the road to return home. Thanks to Papa Cody's wrestling....the boys slept the entire 2 1/2 hour road trip home!!

We hope you all had a wonderful start to Spring as well. I have many post in the waiting....(as seen in, coupon cash-in carnival, guest miracles post, 1st trip to the dentist) that I hope to edit, tweak, perefect, and post this week. Don't hold me to them all....

Fond Memories

While Daddy Buck was hunting this past weekend, the boys and I went to Alexandria (my hometown) for a visit. We had a terrific time visiting family and friends and I had time to reflect on the idea that my boys are experiencing family, playing in the houses of my parents and grandparents, eating at restaurants that I have frequented my entire life, playing at parks that I played at as a kid, even playing with many of the very same toys that I did as a youngster.....it is so very cool how life has come full circle.

Allow me to explain, with some pictures, just what I mean....

Buck-a-roo and Frank-o built these two masterpieces with Popoids at my parent's house....the very same set of Popoids that my brother and I played with during their craze in the '80s.

Buck-a-roo and Frank-o played with sticks and swung in my parent's backyard....on the very same swing that my family has swung on while barbequeing for the past 20+ years.

Buck-a-roo and Frank-o wrestled and posed for pictures on my Meme's living room sofa....the very same sofa that my Meme taught me to play Battle, Solitaire, and Go Fish.

Buck-a-roo and Frank-o had Saturday lunch at the breakfast room table at my Paw-Paw and Maw-Maw's house....the very same table where I sat on a pot for a booster seat and received many a cooking lesson while sipping a large glass of iced sweet tea.

Buck-a-roo and Frank-o frolicked in my grandparents' backyard and learned all about my grandfather's garden.....the very same backyard and garden that I spent many an afternoon digging potatoes, picking okra, and learning an appreciation for home-grown vegetables.

And, this year especially, a mighty fine garden it is. So enjoy a few extra pictures as I practiced some still-life photography:

broccoli row


green onion row


heads of cabbage

bloom on the lemon tree

unripe bunch of lemons

When I left for college almost ten years ago, it almost seemed "uncool" to go home on the weekends. Now it is marvelous to return home and allow my children the experiences that have left me with so, so, so many fond memories.

Twas our weekend of Christmas in central Louisiana

We spent the weekend in Alexandria at my parent's house and had our holiday celebration with
my dad's side of the family.








Saturday night we went to Pineville for our Christmas celebration at my grandparent's house.





It was a zoo to say the least with four boys under the age of four.





Here's my grandparents with 5/6 of their great-granchildren. To see the smiles on their faces as the their great-grandchildren ran through their house, ripped open packages, and scarfed down chex mix and cheetos....it's extraordinary!!





The great-grandparents gave my boys "hunting" clothes (seeing as I come from a family of outdoorsmen, hunters, fisherman....). The boys were thrilled...so much so that Buck-a-roo wanted to sleep in his that night and were them the entire next day--no washing!! They were most excited to pose for their camera-happy mother for these shots in my parent's (my old) front yard in my favorite tree.







A big thank you to our cousins that sent the boys packages to open containing the most adorable Christmas hats.



Santa Claus:


and A Moose:


We had an excellent weekend of holiday gathering with family and friends. Time with family, especially our elders, should never be taken for granted. These moments are priceless for me...



Here lies the week ahead for us in this week before the week of Christmas: Christmas party for my work, Christmas party for Daddy Buck's work, Buck-a-roo's Preschool Christmas Program, Buck-a-roo's Preschool Christmas Party, outing with our friends for my birthday, and oh yeah, my birthday!!

the last weekend of what could possibly be considered the most chaotic month of Vaughn Family Chaos history

Friday evening:
"Trick-or-Treat"....I swear I was hearing that in my sleep that night :)


Trick-or-Treating being on a Friday night this year threw me into overdrive that afternoon/evening. It was a mad frenzy of picking up pizzas, getting adult beverages from the adult beverage place :), grabbing the kiddos from school, dressing in costumes, eating pizza not eating pizza to same plenty room for CANDY, taking pictures, preparing the trailer for the hayride, and actually going trick-or-treating. We took the children around the neighborhood for about an hour. Joining us on our hayride were two neighborhood families that are our dear friends and Mama Olive and her son, Little Lou. We all had a blast!! After Frank-o fell off the trailer and busted his head on the concrete and Buck-a-roo got spooked by some older children and were "stick-a-fork-in-'em done" trick-or-treatingAfter the kids had enough, we ended the evening at the neighbors' house with a bonfire!


That is the short written synopsis of our evening. Now allow me to show you the pictures.....they tell the real story.


Here's Buck-a-roo just prior to transforming into an LSU football player; he insisted all night that I not refer to him as Buck-a-roo; that I call him "LSU Football Player"




And, here's Frank-o just before becoming LSU's Mike the Tiger. Do not ask me why I found him in the bathroom sink....I have no flippin' idea why he was perched in the bathroom sink and is quickly trying to vault himself out of the sink as I approach the door

Jake & Brooke (twin cowboy and cowgirl)

Their brother, Drew (Optimus Prime Transformer)

Our neighbor, Jack (Batman)

Little Lou (another LSU's Mike the Tiger)

The "LSU Crew"

4 Hot Halloween Moms and 2 Mike the Tigers

Here's the BEST picture of the night, in my opinion

And, we ended the evening on a very sweet note (who says football players and mascots don't get along)

You can view the entire album of Trick-or-Treating 2008 by clicking here...

Saturday:

My grandparents came in town for the weekend, seeing as Daddy Buck was once again hunting and we all know how I am about staying alone ;). We had a terrific visit including a home-cooked meal by mwah and a trip to Bass Pro Shop.

My grandfather and his namesake, Buck-a-roo

My grandmother and Frank-o "flying high to the sky"

Sunday:

After the visit to Bass Pro Shop with my grandparents, Buck-a-roo had a birthday party to attend and Frank-o got to tag along. Also attending the party, was Buck-a-roo's preschool girlfriend, Bella.

If you just can't get enough of Buck-a-roo, Frank-o, and Bella then click here to view more pics...

(please excuse the un-uniform spacing in this post...I have edited, re-arranged, fooled with, and cussed at this computer for the past hour and I give up)

Geaux Tigers...WooHoo!! We beat the Tulane Green Wave. We only need prayers, miracles, grace of God, and possibly an injury or two to several key Bama players if we expect to Roll over the Tide this weekend :o)

Daddy Buck did not get the "big kill" this weekend and Papa Cody has not yet killed anything on his elk hunt in Colorado.

Let me run now so I can finish "falling back" the ump-teen clocks we have in this house!!

Good Night...Sleep Tight...zzzzzzzzzzzzzz