From Chasing Frogs to Pink Casts

When I woke up yesterday you could say I was a Little Miss Cranky Pants.  That's what I call the Grands when they are out of sorts.  Because of the holiday on Monday, in order to get my three days at the gym in,  I had to go to an 8:30 a.m. workout and I'm just not an 8:30 workout girl; I prefer noon much more.  BUT...dedicated to this cause I drug myself to the gym...cranky or not.

After working out I received a message from Sarah asking if she could bring Parker Ann to swim.  I said, "Sure!"  She had been dying to get into the pool since WAY before the water was warm enough to swim and every time we tried to go for a swim lately the rain had stopped us.  FINALLY there was a break in the weather and school was out and it was SUMMER and WE WERE GOING TO SWIM!!!

By the afternoon I wasn't quite as cranky any more but I was still sorta tired from getting up at 6 a.m. but Parker and I hit the pool anyway.  OK...SHE hit the pool as I eased in because kids and adults body thermometers are not equal. I thought the water was still pretty cool and she kept saying, "Just get in and move around...it's not too cold, YaYa."  And so we pretended like we were mermaids.  She was the pink mermaid and I was the purple one.  And then she found the first frog!

I knew we would have LOTS of frogs this summer because I could hear a symphony of frogs each evening throughout the spring.  Each night I would mention to Hubby how loud they were and actually got to where I enjoyed listening to them as they were a comforting sound after a busy day.  Although I like to HEAR those frogs singing, I am not really that girl who likes to pick them up.  As a matter of fact I think the last frog I touched was the one I was required to dissect in my college biology class.  And I didn't touch that one because I wanted to, I touched it because no one else in my group wanted to and I needed that class to get my degree.  BUT...I digress.  Parker Ann caught the first frog and decided that she loved it so much that she was never going to let it go.  She swam around in the pool with it and eventually Sarah found a big bucket for her to put it in.  Before we knew it though, she had caught two more and also placed them in the bucket.  We were shocked that she would even touch a frog but it was so much fun watching her and she called herself a "Frog Catcher".

Soon, Poppi came through the back gate and Parker, excited to see him, asked if he would get into the pool and swim with her.  Of course he said YES!  As he was pulling his shirt off, Parker started to walk around the pool to the steps when she suddenly slipped in some water.  She didn't fall particularly hard but jumped up crying and holding her hand.  Since she didn't quit crying and because of my experience with my own kids and accidents we decided to take her to get an x-ray on it.

By the time we arrived at the doctor's office, both Parker Ann and Lila Kate were asleep.  We went inside and Parker was not even crying any more but she was still holding her arm in to her body.  Even if this little accident wasn't a break, I was glad we were having it checked.

Sarah took Parker to the back to have her x-ray and I stayed in the outside waiting room with Lila Kate.  In just a few minutes Sarah stuck her head out and said Parker wanted me to come to the interior waiting room with her.  By that time Justin had arrived and just in time for the doctor to call them back where I heard him say, "It's broken."

The next thing I heard was someone telling them to come to a back room.  Then I got a text from Sarah letting me know that Parker had broken one bone in her wrist and fractured the other one.  They were getting a cast.
                                                                  A PINK CAST!
After getting a sucker from the doctor's office, a peach slush on the way home, pizza for dinner and...
                 Baking chocolate chip cookies with Poppi, things were MUCH BETTER!
                                                 We all took turns signing that pink cast.
And Parker Ann let us know that breaking a wrist was no reason NOT to spend the night with Poppi and YaYa!

                                       Well...Welcome to SUMMER!  What a beginning.
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Jet Lagged Or Not...Here We Come! (sigh...)

After that whirlwind of a trip to Vegas BOY WAS I TIRED (yawn...).  But jet lagged or not, the end of the school year was pushing ahead full force!  The morning after arriving home I was at Parker Ann's school at 8 a.m. for her end of the year program.

  Each child had a letter of the alphabet to present by singing a solo.  Parker Ann's was the letter "D".
                                I LOVE this and think she did FANTASTIC for her first solo!
After the program I took a few snapshots.  This is Parker with her teacher.  I actually taught at Parker's school with her teacher once.  We love Mrs. Neal and had a wonderful year with her.
Of course, I had to get a photo of Little Miss Priss and me.  Just look at that smile...What a doll she is!


This program was just so precious and I would not have missed it for anything in the world...including jet lag!  Sleep could wait a few more hours.  Or days as things would eventually turn out (yawn...).


The rest of the week and the following one continued to be just as busy with Parker Ann's Field Day and dance recital.
When I arrived for Field Day, the kids were out on the tennis court playing in the bouncer and on the water slides.
                             They moved from there to get tattoos and have some ice cream!

The action then turned to the gym, where they played with balls, nets and hula hoops while some pretty hopping music played on the loud speakers...


Go forward a few more days and it was dance recital time.  I love dance recital because it just brings back so many memories of when Caitlin was younger and took dance lessons.  Parker Ann is taking from the same studio that Aunt CaCa did!
                                 She did two dances this year; in the first dance she was a ladybug!
                                            In the second one she was a beautiful butterfly.

Parker Ann did a great job at her dance recital and I enjoyed being in the audience once more, watching the magical world of dance.  After the recital we went back to Justin and Sarah's house, where we ate an early dinner...and took a few more photographs!


As I reflected on the day later, I wondered where the time had gone.  We all know that time waits for no one, but WOW, it seemed as though Parker Ann was just a baby yesterday and next year she will be entering Kindergarten.  I'm so glad that I live close to her and get to see her often.  How lucky I am to be this little girl's YaYa...


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Mother's Day in Vegas

Now typically I would not be spending Mother's Day in Vegas.  This year, however, almost everyone seemed to have something going on so Hubs booked this little weekend getaway for our anniversary.  I'll have to admit it was sorta weird not being around my kids this year but every single one of them called and texted me that day so it was still special, just in a different kinda way.

I slept in that morning and when I awoke, Hubby had already been out for a walk and scoped some things out for us to do.  First on the agenda was brunch.  We walked to the beautiful Wynn Hotel, where we opted not to eat the popular Mother's Day Brunch Buffet but instead we visited another restaurant there for a sit down meal that was just as lovely.


After brunch, we started our walk back and noticed that it had warmed up considerably since the day we arrived and people at the Wynn were starting to gather around the pool.  We decided we would head back to the Venetian and do the same.
                                                       Pretty awesome pool area, huh?!

After spending a couple of hours by the pool, we decided to do some walking around town.  Look what caught our eye!
                                                                        Serendipity!
             Of course, Hubby had to have their famous Frozen Hot Chocolate...YUMMY!!!


After getting that little "pick-me-up", we shopped around a bit at Caesar's Palace shopping center and then at the Venetian.  I think every hotel now has its own shopping center and in all reality, with all of the restaurants, shopping, spas and pools, one might never even leave where they are staying.


This was a whirlwind of a trip but OH SO MUCH FUN!  33 years and counting...Life with this guy is WONDERFUL!

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In Honor of Memorial Day Weekend I'm Doing Another REEBOK SPARTAN RACE GIVE-AWAY!!!

Last minute deals are the BEST!  I told you to watch for it and HERE IT IS...Another REEBOK SPARTAN RACE GIVE-AWAY!

If you have been planning on entering another race or have always wanted to enter one, NOW is the time to take advantage of this DOUBLE GIVE-AWAY I have.  The first, is a DISCOUNT CODE I am offering for a MEMORIAL DAY RACE.  If you don't already have anything fun planned for the weekend and want to enter, just click HERE to grab your CODE for:
                                        $20 Off Sprint
                                        $30 Off Super
                                        $40 Off Beast

And if that isn't enough, I have another FREE ENTRY to GIVE-AWAY!!!  Read below for all of the details to be entered into the drawing for this.

1.  You MUST "Join" my blog as a follower.  It is very simple, just scroll down my page and click
      the button that says, "Join This Site"and fill in the information.
2.  Next, you will need to leave a COMMENT here under this post with you FIRST and LAST
     NAME and your E-MAIL ADDRESS (for contact if you WIN).
3.  SHARE this post with as many people as you know who might be interested in the Reebok
     Spartan Races.  Because this is the 3rd one I have given away in less than a year!
4.  I will draw a name from those entered on JUNE 1st and post it HERE on that day's blog post.

                                                 GOOD LUCK and RACE AWAY!!!


For more information on the Reebok Spartan Races click  HERE.
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Vegas Day 2: Canyon Ranch Spa, Britney Spears and Buddy V's!

When we arrived in Vegas it was clear that some sort of cool front had moved through.  The temperatures were in the 60's so it was quite chilly and I was glad that I had thrown a sweater in my suitcase, flimsy as it was.  Hubby and I had talked about possibly basking around the pool but today was not to be the day for that.  Instead after breakfast we took a little walk down to the spa.  OH.  MY  GOSH!

Have you ever heard of Canyon Ranch?  After spending an afternoon at the one at the Venetian, I put visiting Canyon Ranch in Arizona on my "Bucket List"!  As I said, it was too chilly to lay around the pool so we spent the entire afternoon in the spa.  It started with pedicures and then a nice little lunch, followed by spending some time in the salt room and other areas of the spa,  drinking coffee or tea and eating fruit provided.  We were then taken in for exfoliating scrubs, showers, a whirlpool bath and then massages.  WOW!  What a way to relax, unwind and spend the afternoon.

After being relaxed from head to toe,  we got dressed and went to dinner in our hotel at Buddy V's Ristorante.  This is Buddy Valastro's restaurant.  You know,  from "The Cake Boss".  I was starving to death and Italian food sounded wonderful.  I don't eat past but was hoping they had eggplant Parmigiano on the menu.  I was in luck...they did! 
                                   These meatballs we had as an appetizer were AMAZING!
                                   
                                                                  Eggplant Parmigiana
                                                                   Veal Parmigiana 

Of course, there was this yummy looking cheesy bread that Hubby ate and our tummies were definitely satisfied when we left this meal.  Which meant that we were set for the rest of our evening...The Britney Spears Piece of Me Concert!

Hubs was able to get us front row seats, with standing only in front of us.  I was SO excited!!!  When we got there I wasn't even aware that she had been forced to cancel a few concert due to injuring her ankle in one of the performances.  That night would be her first time back on stage after that injury.  WOW...She was AWESOME!  Everything from the music selection, special effects, lighting, costumes and dancers DID NOT DISAPPOINT!  This Louisiana girl can definitely put on a show.

This was shaping up to be one of the more fun trips I had taken in a while.  OK...so I say that about EVERY trip I take.  Because it IS the most fun thing I am doing at the moment.  But sneaking away for just a weekend to celebrate our 33rd anniversary...to Vegas...to pamper ourselves with a spa day, delicious food AND a Britney Spears concerts?!  Come on now, THAT'S pretty FUN!

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Surprise Anniversary Trip to Vegas! (Day 1)

When I walked in from Miami,  Hubby informed me that we were going on a trip to celebrate our 33rd anniversary...in TWO DAYS!  I was super excited but wow was I going to have to get into high gear to get ready to go in that short amount of time.

Mother's Day was that weekend so the first thing I had to do was get down to the store and buy Mother's Day presents and get them to our moms, wash the dirty clothes in my suitcase, repack and head to Natchitoches to spend the night at our lake house so we could leave for the airport in Shreveport Friday (whew!).  Somehow I managed to get everything done and we got off to Vegas!

It had been many years since we had been to Vegas and we were SO EXCITED to be going there for our 33rd anniversary...even if we would pay for it later in the form of pretty bad jet lag.  Hubby really outdid himself this time by making a reservation at the The Venetian!  Decorated in the theme of Italy it was a wonderful place to stay...
I have to admit...Vegas knows how to do it right.  Everything at the Venetian was absolutely gorgeous!
And this is a mere sampling of what The Venetian looks like.  Our room, a suite, was just as beautiful and comfy too...


I have to say that I was pretty tired by the time we arrived, not having time to adjust from flying in from Miami and then turning around and traveling west but I pepped up, got dressed and we headed out for our anniversary dinner at The Eiffel Tower Restaurant.  We had a table with a window view so we were able to look down on the strip and see all of the lights and also the fountain show at the Bellagio.
Dinner was absolutely delicious and we enjoyed it while reminiscing about the past 33 years and how lucky we were to have each other.

                                                                                Soup
                                                                          Salad.
                                                                         Tartar.
                                                                                  Fish.

                                                                         Lamb Chops.
                                                                      Chocolate Souffle.
                  And this cute little dessert they brought us to share at the end of our meal!
                               
                                                                         This was then.
                                                                      And this is now.

We went back to our hotel after dinner and fell out , exhausted after such a long day.  I looked at the clock and, although it said midnight I was thinking..."It's really only 10 0'clock" or wait..."Is it 9 o'clock?"  Oh my goodness was I ever going to be screwed up after this weekend was over.
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