Happy Fall Y'all

This year I do a swap with two other moms for pre-K. We rotate teaching twice a week. I much prefer the cheap BREC Pre-K that used to be in our neighborhood but this is a good second option. The pre-Ks around our new home are expensive and I would rather spend the money on the house. So for our fall field trip we went to a Pumpkin Patch by Port Allen. It was fun for the kids. They got to pick their own pumpkin and do some pioneer activities like pump water. Aliyah liked the people and the petting zoo area.

Home Finally!

Move over Budget, now there's something leaner! After living out of the budget truck for 3 weeks we finally closed on our house. Check out our floor sofa and card board box side table. Luckily we kept out our matresses to sleep on. What a nightmare. We did not know from day to day how long our situation was going to last. I had to commute the kids to school 25 minutes one way for 2 weeks. Luckily Mom Renee was here and the Lablancs let us hang out at their house during the hour in between the elementary and middle school start time difference. Phew, that was close. I almost went insane.






Well here it is. Our new house. It took some miracles to get us here but here we are. It is on a dead end street so the kids can ride bikes and not get in traffic. We love bing less than 10 minutes from the church bldg. and 17 minutes from the temple. It also only takes Loren 25 minutes to get to work. It is out in the country compared to the old house and has 700 more sq. footage. Now that Mishonne is in middle school she is in a different school but the Dutchtown schools are all next to eachother. This means less taxying for me. Yeah. We are close to the freeway and so can get to places easily. I am also only 5 minutes from the Tanger outlet mall. I still have yet to go there but just wait. WE are enjoying it very much here. Thanks to friends and Mom Renee for helping us out while we were in limbo for 2 1/2 weeks.

Here is the front of the house, the garage, the work area in the garage, and the very undeveloped back yard
A funny story: Loren took Mishonne on a hike through the woods you see in the dead end picture. There is a big pond and lots of trails back there. They got to the end of a trail where it comes out on the other end of our neighborhood and a lady with a rifle comes running at them. Actually she was running with a rifle because her husband just spotted an alligator by the pond and was going to shoot it. Only in Louisiana!


These are the downstairs pics. There is a nice big entry way with an office nook, the piano room, the kitchen, a guest bathroom, and don't forget Logans under the stairs man cave. He has locked himself in there many times to read his Harry Potter books. HE just started reading them in September and is now almost finished with #4.


The cute little boy came with the house!



I just finished my bedroom last week. I saved up for 2 months to get a new comforter and painted the walls to match. Dont worry Grandma we still have our ten year anniversary quilt that will rotate with this one.
The messy clothes pictures are my unfinished closet. It is so huge that half of it is used as a closet and the other half is my new sewing and craft room. Cool!


Upstairs is the game room and kids' rooms. They are all undecorated. They will get done as time and money allow. It is fun to have a big area for the kids to play. We are getting our beloved ping pong table for Christmas.

Haley's Super Seventh Birthday

My kids get a big party every other year and on the off year they get to invite 2 or 3 friends and go do something (so Mommy does not have the mess at her house). This was Haley's off year so she wanted to go to Chuck E Cheese. I found some good coupons and so that is what we did.
Notice the cool dog cake. Mishonne and I found the cake at Albertsons the night before the party. It was better than making it myself. Plus Haley is a HUGE animal lover and it was perfect.
Haley is in the pics with her friends Catalina, Emma, and Lizzy.

Denton Boy Turns 4!

Denton had a little birthday party at the Jambalaya water park with his friends. He loves playing in the sprinklers there. We had a spiderman theme with cupcakes. For his family party he wanted doughnuts instead of cake, hence the doughnut with candles in it. He is growing up so fast, especially since he had his tubes in his ears. He talks better now that he can hear.

Double the Trouble

WE recently went up to Tennesse to visit our friends, The Thompsons while Mishonne competed in Destination Imagination held in Knoxville. They have a girl about Haley's age, a boy about Denton's age, and a baby Aliyah's age. Each duo created their own kind of mischief. The older girls together learned that 2 a whining is better than one. The boys learned that teasing is better done in twos and the babbies learned that exploring is more effective done together. Lets just say I am glad I don't have any sets of twins.
This is pretty hilarious if you know the story. Karen and the kids all went with us an hour away to see Mishonne perform in Knoxville. ON the way back Denton and Matt were at it arguing and what not. I told Denton to stop talking or else. Well Karen gave Matt the same warning, but he decided to back talk. Karen said if you act like that again then we are going to pull the car over. He tested her and sassed again so I pulled the car over, on the highway mind you. Well she pulls Matt out of the car, gives him a talkin to and puts him in time out. About this time I realize we are in a great kandid moment so I grab my camera. Here is the pic of Matt pouting amongst the daisies. It was priceless. After his time out we told the girls to hop out so I could get a pic of them. IT ended up being a much quieter ride home after that.

Katie and Haley in a wild daisy field. They became fast friends.


The babbies got into the garbage and pulled out the watermellon rinds and went to town. MMMM!


Denton and Matt playing nicely with the puppets. It lasted about 30 seconds.

It was really good to see my friend Karen. I got to help reorganize her basement which is the kind of stuff I love to do. We batted our eyes at some guys on the side of the road and got them to transport some free wood shelves we found.
It is always a reminder that my little family is being looked after when I see all the friends we have met along our journey the past 13 years. It is tough not living by family, but at least we have close friends to count on.

Have Your Cake and Eat it Too!

Our baby girl turned one on the 10th! Wow, I cant believe it has been a year since Aliyah joined our family. She has been such a joy to us. We let her have her own cupcake for her birthday. She loved it. The sweet tooth definately comes from her mama. What a fun day.

DAncing Feet

Haley got to dance with her good friend Emma this year. I got to do their hair and makeup for the recital. Even though I love sports I also like to do hair.
Haley was lucky enough to have Grandma Maryann and Uncle Christopher here for her dance recital. She looked so sweet in her adorable costume. We had fun taking pictures of her at the gardens.

Haley's friend Catalina also got to see Haley dance. It was a special night.