Crawfish Boil 2013

April 26, 2013 By 1 Comment

 After our fabulous crawfish boil last year, we decided we wanted to go bigger & invite more friends and more family this year.  We started early in the day with 98 pounds of crawfish- purging them using salt and baby pools.

 Clean them out, season the water, get your friends to help out, and then toss the mud bugs in the water to cook.

It wasn’t long before we had a delicious batch of crawfish & veggies ready do to chow down just in time for the party to get started.

 Dad & Aaron talking fishing, Pam & Savanha after chowing down, Mia waiting patiently for a little bite from Gram, and Elida & Craig catching up on business.

 We fired up the new grill to cook some hotdogs & hamburgers for those who aren’t into crawfish.

 Seriously good times- everybody we love, gorgeous weather, drinks, food and fun.

 The pups were even having a great time- Zoe was pretty tired soon, but Mia was full steam the whole time, especially when we let a crawfish out to play.

Lots of smiles, lots of laughs, so much that I was even wearing crawfish on my face at one point!

 Haley & her boyfriend shows up- she’s a huge crawfish fan & Mia continued to look incredibly adorable, hoping for a snack.

 Lots of kids & babies, but we got down to serious picking & peeling  after most folks left- peeling the last 20+ pounds of crawfish & saving it for some homemade Étoufféin the next few weeks.

 After everything had been cleaned, peeled, and put away- we finally all ended up hanging out on the back porch smoking cigars and telling tale tales.

 Seriously so much fun- great time & we were so happy to have everybody together to celebrate our birthdays.

We didn’t take many pics together that day- both too busy running around & hosting, but we snagged at least this one.

GOOD NEWS OF THE DAY: Looking forward to a weekend at home, catching up on life.

Filed Under: family, friends, kidz, Married Life

Girl Scout Luncheon

December 24, 2012 By Leave a Comment

 Every Christmas, my sister’s girl scout troop has a mother-daughter luncheon for the holidays where they all gather for a meal & then do a little Christmas shopping.  My step-mom wasn’t able to attend this year, so I was a last minute substitute to hang out with a bunch of high school Juniors who got all dolled up for the occasion.

 I had a great time hanging out with Haley and visiting with her as we drove out to the country.  It was neat to watch all the teenage girls & peek into the world of a 17 year old as the talked drill team, school, and boys.

 I knew a few of the other moms as I run with them or they live near either of my parents.

 This is (I think) the original group of gals who have been in scouts from the beginning & who Haley has known the longest.  Most girls in her troop are going to stay in through their senior year, and some will attain their silver & gold awards.

GOOD NEWS OF THE DAY: We are off to fly around the island and surf in the waves of Hawaii today!

Filed Under: family, kidz

September Instagram Photos

October 22, 2012 By 2 Comments

 Another month & another set of Instagram photos.  Even though they are posted there, I like collecting them on my blog, adding some annotations, making sure they are a bit more permanently stored for the long time.  I thought I was doing pretty good with the daily photos, but I apparently missed quite a few near the end.

 1. You, Now // Taps in Seattle // 6. Every Day dogs get Meds
3. Far Away  // 4. In my mailbox // Wine with family
Safeco Field in Seattle // 5. Bright part of my day // 2. Father

 Ms Mia // Mia & DH snuggling // Funny Deodorant
7. Natural- Baker // Cooking most weekends // Happy Self portrait at work
8. Night- watching The Office // 10. Black & White laptops // 12. Together- all my camera gear

 Brene Brown book Reading // Lunch at BBC // 16. Strange Sushi roll
13. Table (and desk) // Great quote from Bloggy Boot Camp // Tear-offs for FitBloggin
Amazing Mirassou wine dinner // Riding back from BBC // 19. Underneath (Houston from above)

 20.  Man made stadiums in Baltimore // Fitbloggin 5K // Art in the airports
Exercise classes at Fitbloggin // Sporting my new shades thanks to #Oakleypbc // Visit to Dwarf House
Tear-offs at Fitbloggin // New shoes // Stone Mountain in Georgia

 Morning sunrise run in Atlanta // 17. in my fridge // Silly Puppies
Atlanta airport // Mia snuggled up // Yoga photo shoot for Grow Soul beautiful
27. Love/hate travel // 18 mile training run // Acro yoga

More yoga at our photo shoot // Mia Lounging
30. You, then (Christmas 1983) // Photo from FitBloggin

GOOD NEWS OF THE DAY: Made it back to Seattle, even if it’s a very cold & wet day here. 

Filed Under: cooking, family, fitness, flashback, friends, kidz, Married Life, mia, nature, photography, Travels ->, wine, Zoe

Hunter’s Graduation Party

June 26, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Sunday following my brother’s graduation ceremony, my parents threw a huge graduation party at their house.

 Saying good-bye to all the maroon colored decorations and hello to the green & gold of Baylor University.

 Lots of friends, lots of family, lots of food- just our usual party style!

 Hunter has so many great friends both from school & church, as well as many adults who have watched him grow up over the last 18 years.

 He is so, so good with children- you’ll always find him playing with the littlest kids.  He’s going to study business with a minor in religious studies, and he hopes to go into the ministry one day.

 Lots of games, smiles, laughs, hugs, and cuddles.

 The parents threw quite a fabulous party if I say so- all the kids had great time & we even survived the sweltering hot garage.  2 more years until my sister’s graduation party :)

GOOD NEWS OF THE DAY: Headed out on a short overnight work trip today. 

Filed Under: family, friends, kidz

Hunter’s High School Graduation

June 25, 2012 By Leave a Comment

 At the very beginning of June, my baby brother took a bit step into the adult world as he graduated from high school.

 The whole family piled into Barry Center to watch him grduate with highest honors from Cy-Fair high school.

 Graduation ceremonies themselves are generally boring, but this one was super exciting- my brother was nominated by his teachers & peers to give the opening address to over 600 graduating students and 8,000 people total in attendance.  He sat up on the stage during most of the ceremony along with the school and school board administration.

My brother knocked it out of the park with his opening remarks & prayer.  He’d caught a little resistance from the school administrators about praying, especially including the Name of Jeusus, but he went ahead and did it anyway.  I was so stinking proud of him & his classmates were so excited about it too.  He’s got such a great for sharing his faith & I know he is going to go on and do amazing things.

Every seat in the house was packed & graduating high school is such an amazing time for these kids as they prepare for one of the biggest changes in their lives as they head off to college.

The other kids did a great job with their speeches too & then we just waited for the hundreds of names to be called out.

 It was a late night with big party plans the following evening, so we just grabbed a quick dinner at our local favorite restaurant & of course ran into his best friend.  Haley is excited for him to go & acts like she can’t wait, but I know she’ll miss having her older brother around.

GOOD NEWS OF THE DAY: Last week of the first half of the year- going to be packed with awesome!

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