The Graduate

Squirt had a graduation party at Mom & Dad’s the other night, and we had a blast. Caedmon was concerned though, because he didn’t see a cake. To Caedmon, party = cake. He managed to get over it and enjoy himself, though.

Cousin Q was a blur most of the night, but I caught him still for just a second!

Papa and Dad were chillin’ before everyone arrived. (NLB’s truck Scarlett is in the background…she’s even parked under the shade tree. Mom & Dad are taking good care of her until he gets back from “over there.”)

Mimi and Honor hung out inside for a while.

The guys were manning the grills.

Everyone ate and talked. It’s what we do.

Honor hung out with a few special people – Sass was more than happy to hold her for a while.

Caedmon ended up pretty dirty, but he had a blast.

Especially when Uncle Grade A was playing with the kids on the swing set.

The horses wanted to get in on the party.

And even though it was Squirt’s party, this is the only picture I got of her…running from Caedmon, who was chasing her with a water gun.

This is Caedmon and Mallory. She’s one of Mom and Dad’s neighbors, and a hot mess. Caedmon will really miss her!

We stayed long after sunset, but I got a shot of it during the party.

Happy Graduation, Squirt. We love you. We’re proud of you.

Lots of Love for NLB

**I set this to auto-publish, not knowing if we would have power at home this morning to do it myself. Last night when I went to bed, we were expecting by now to be in the midst of what everyone around here is lovingly referring to as “Snowpocalypse ‘11.” My motto is this: “Ice isn’t nice.” We’re just hoping that we get less ice and more snow because not only would that be more fun, it would mean a lot fewer power outages for everyone involved.**

As we prepare for NLB to head to the Sand Box, we decided one last big family dinner was the way to go. Everybody was able to make it, thus the reason Mom & Dad’s yard looked like a used car lot on Sunday.

Yes, there are 12 vehicles. Just think what it would look like if we invited extended family and not just “us”!

We all hung out until lunch was ready.

Dad and Grade A discussing deep things with Papa…like fishing.

Deputy Guy was trying to watch something on TV. Quite a feat with that bunch.

Fidget (who is home from military school…for a while, anyway) deeply involved in a text.

Mom, cookin’ in the kitchen with Mimi taking her photo. NLB was having a meaningful convo with Curly.

Trump took the little guys outside for a bit.

And there had to be some goofiness.

And wrestling.

And eating.

And somehow, Mom was still in the kitchen. Don’t worry. She did eventually sit down and eat.

But then came the most painful thing of all. Pictures. Where we all had to stand still. And be nice. And pretend to like each other and stuff.

Trump wasn’t too keen on being lined up on the front row with the preggo girls.

(Fidget, NLB, HLB, Squirt; Trump, Curly and me)

Mom was trying to direct traffic.

Just for a brief second, we were all there (minus Cousin Q – he was napping).

(Back: NLB, Grade A, Deputy Guy, Husband, HLB, Fidget. Front: Trump, Curly, me, Caedmon, and Squirt)

And then we added more people. This is as good as it got.

(Everybody plus Mimi and Papa Sam, Mom and Dad)

Those of us who remained after all the picture-taking torture put the little guys down for naps and played cards. And ate more. It’s what we do.

We’ll miss you, little brother. Be careful over there and give those who participate in malfeasance for malfeasance’s sake a whoopin’. Stay safe and come home to us, preferably all in one piece. I will hold up my end of the bargain by praying daily for your safety and sending cookies (not daily). Caedmon will miss his wrestling buddy. I’m sure you’ll have lots of fun things to teach him when you get home and your niece will be old enough to give you some slobbery smiles.

Most of all, remember who you are, where you come from, to Whom you belong, and that we love you!

Christmas In Pictures, Part 3

Christmas morning, husband and I awoke to the quiet sounds of a little boy playing in the living room. He’d gotten up, found the train tracks, and dove right in. I woke Husband and we quickly made ourselves presentable (because, um, pictures!) and went out to help/watch Caedmon enjoy his train.

Our plan (which turned out really well, I must say) was to let Caedmon play with his train set while I got breakfast ready. 

I made a breakfast casserole and we broke out the cinnamon rolls the sisters and I made a couple of weeks ago.

I don’t think I even need to tell you how good those cinnamon rolls were.

After breakfast, we started with stockings.

Oz has a bone-shaped stocking, thanks to Nana. He was ready to break into it!

It took Caedmon a minute to realize there was more than one thing in his stocking, and he had to keep going until it was all empty.

Baby Sister got this in her stocking. If you can’t read it, it says “Miss April” and has matching pants. (I bought it at the boutique store the day before. I couldn’t help it!)

And when the stocking were done, the present extravaganza began.

Caedmon tested everything thoroughly.

Did I mention we woke up to this?

And Caedmon didn’t even have fever. He did, however, wake up with his eye infection trying to come back. I’m not sure that counts, though.

We hung around and ate leftovers. After the whirlwind of the past few days, sitting on the couch watching the Disney parade while Caedmon experienced “present ADD” was kind of nice.

That afternoon, Caedmon and I headed to Mom & Dad’s.

Caedmon and Uncle HLB compared their new house shoes.

Mom wanted a “cousin picture” and asked Caedmon to hang onto Q. This is the best it got.

I think Trump caught the whole Christmas extravaganza on her new video camera.

We each got our stockings. I wonder if Squirt got gloves in hers?

The little guys made their way around the living room, helping everyone with their stuff.

Then HLB and Caedmon had to compare toothbrushes from their stockings.

And finally, the presents! Caedmon got lots of things that go “vroom!” And he loves them all.

Cousin Q used the stack of presents as a climbing toy.

You know you’re in a redneck family when someone gets an ice chest for Christmas. And they’re excited about it. Ha!

I drew HLB’s name this year. With a $25 limit, there’s nothing I could buy the man that he doesn’t already have. Everything he wants has a bigger price tag. So I made him a collage of photos of he and Caedmon from the past year. And he smiled. I think he liked it.

Caedmon had to learn that at Cini and Papa Duke’s, the box you open isn’t necessarily indicative of what’s in the box. There must be some boxes that have been opened every year for the last 20 years.

A lamp?! (Which he was actually kind of excited about, strangely enough.)

No. Indoor balls for the T-ball set!

When the big boys were done opening their gifts, they helped Caedmon break into and play with his.

The night wouldn’t have been complete without some Rock Band.

They switched it up a bit, and Caedmon broke out his Paper Jamz.

And then he helped Uncle Grade A play for a while.

We headed home Christmas night having had lots of family fun with a tired little boy who actually fell asleep in the car.

It was a great Christmas. I hope yours was too!