Nachidoches The City of Lights

Enjoying the lights down by the river. Nachidoches is a great southern town very much in the style of New Orleans without all the dirt and grime. They do a fabulous fireworks show ever Saturday evening during the holiday season. It was great.
The City of Lights.

Fireworks

Dinner at Merci Beaucoup. I think that's spelled right. It was great little restuarant that something for everyone. I'd like to try it again when I have a bit more time to eat. We were lucky in that we only had to wait about 25 minutes to get seated here. Some of the restaurants were over an hour waiting list. Yikes.

Natan Squared. These two are two peas in a pod. Always in each others hip pocket.

Pictures from the "fun" race.

Can you tell how much clothing we have on? I have a tank top, long sleeve shirt, fleece jacket, and THEN my "Dad" t-shirt. Not to mention the gloves, hat, and wool socks. Since Nate doesn't even own a jacket we had to layer him up too.

Can you tell how rosy their cheeks are after the race. It was freezing cold. About 30 degrees luckily with only light winds. We got plenty warm though and were tearing off layers after the race.

The start of the race.



Action shot of Nate and I starting the race. I'm not sure how Chris took this picture while running. I am getting tired of the butt shots but that's the way my husband rolls.

So today is the anniversary of my Dad's passing away. We thought it would be fun to do something a little bit different this year. We are running a race in his honor. It's actually a night race so we ALL get to be involved. It's a short one so even Nate's participating. It's really too bad it's so freakin' cold outside. Hopefully the weather will hold tonight and we can have lots of fun.

Space Shuttle lands in Shreveport, LA

Does it get much better then this? Chris is very proud of his "money" shot w/the B-52 in the background.
Pretty self explanatory I think

What a cold afternoon. You can't quite grasp the freezing cold wind but we HAD to see the space shuttle.

What else can you say? As soon as Nate got home from school I drove out to the base. I didn't want to tell him where we were going or why in case the plane had already left. Lucky for us, he hadn't.

Holiday Cheer

Let the Holiday Cheer begin. I have to be honest, while I LOVE Thanksgiving I can't wait until the weekend AFTER. You may think it's because of Black Friday. Nope, couldn't pay me to shop on that Friday. It's because I get to put in the Christmas CDs and start decorating the house for Christmas. I LOVE CHRISTMAS!!! Well, as long as I don't have to be out shopping with all the Grinches. I am really excited about this year because it's actually cold in LA (granted our heaters hasn't been working for the last two days ) and it feels well, like Fall at least.
Crazy camera angle I know. Here are some early Vegetarians returning from the Kill. That's for all of you FarSide comic fans. Many of you may not get it. We were going to go to a tree farm to get the tree but we ran out of time on Saturday. I had a Turkey to cook and it was getting too late. Granted the turkey that should have taken 2.5 hours only took a mere 4 hrs. to get completely done. Nothing like eating dinner at 7pm. By the way, that's really late for us.

How can you NOT appreciate this picture. Only the young truely bring their personalities into pictures. As adults we're too restrained (unless your Chris of course). I need to bottle up this enthusiasm and joy. I could sell it for millions and it's be a "legal" drug.

I agree. This family photo a little scary. At least of me. Chris made a "Chris-ism" comment before the picture was taken. That's all I'm going to say.

You have to know me to truely appreciate this picture. As a self proclaimed and worshipping OCD person I have to have the needles vacuumed up on a regular basis. We had dislodged quite a few while decorating the tree. Now, while that may seem like a simple task our vacuum has powerful suction so I was trying to make sure Nate didn't kill the tree skirt. I am actually giving him hand singnals to make sure that he is exactly where I want him.

Yes, I realize my child will have to attend therapy for the fact that his Mom is a freak but if you can't mess up your own kids who can you mess up?

On a totally different note, I thought my hair was starting to lighten up,I guess not. Looks pretty brown to me. I have been forbidden to color it again. At least until my blonde hair returns. The truth of the matter is I don't want to color my hair again but I make Chris believe I am an obedient wife.

Day 3 feel like day 465

So schools out. This should be fabulous right? Think again. All of Nathan's friends are either out of town (they get a whole week off) or have company. Geez I am send my child to live w/the gypsies. Chris and I still have to work and I try to get him to "DO" things but all I've heard is whine, whine, whine. It doesn't help that Turkey Day is suppose to be rainy. How are you going to have a family football game in the rain. Let me assure you...this prissy lady doesn't do mud football.

One highlight. We got a new firepit for our backyard. It was fun to try it out but Nathan didn't quite grasp the concept of sitting outside watching a fire burn. I wouldn't even let him play w/the fire. We did roast marshmellows though. Yummy!

Soccer Party

So you have to appreciate this picture. This is Nathan and Nathan w/little brother Joshua in the back. Isn't that so like little brothers? It's the end of the year soccer party hosted at Mr. Gatti's where you get to spend money on greasy pizza and parents get to spend money on cheesy games so the boys/girls can "redeem" their tickets for cheap junk. The kids always love it so the parents do it. I guess this will be known as his mugshot. At least he smiled.

YMCA Half Marathon in 2:02* with wind

So many of you know how much I love to run. I have had some motivation issues since moving to Louisiana where I started out running at 5am. Once my running partner injured her leg I haven't been up that early again. That being said, fall is big race time down here in the south. I knew this half was coming up and I thought, "I've done this several times before I can do it again".

Let me give you some background before we continue. I consider myself a fairly polite individual (though some of you are thinking, yea right!). I ususally start about mid field so I don't get in anyones way who might be faster then me. I am only racing the clock so I figure who cares. Today was a bit different.

In all the races I've done here not a single one has started on time. Some as late as 30 minutes late. Yikes. So I'm standing in the Porta Potty line figuring I've got tons of time and even though people are starting to line up at the start line I'm okay, cause well, we're on southern time. Once it's my turn to use the facilities I hear a siren and I think, "Crap" (no pun intended), that was the start of the race. So I try to hurry what I'm doing realizing that there is no toliet paper left, pull up my drawers, and start running to the start. At this time I am stripping off my warm up gear (It was 37 degrees this morning) and toss it on a picnic table praying it'll still be there when I return, trying to strap on my hydration belt, pull my gloves on and not fall on my fall face because the terrain is uneven. I am literally the last person to start the race. I figure no big deal and start passing people. Things are going really well until mile 6. What happens at mile 6 you ask. We turn around and start heading back. So? What's wrong with that, that usually is a good thing means we're almost done? 20 mph headwinds with gust up to 30mph slapping you in the face. Oh, the return trip was not fun though I still ran faster the second half of the race. I do that though. It takes me about 5 miles to get "warmed up" and in the zone. I finished in 2:02. I really wanted to break the 2hour mark and probably did if you figure I started the race while in the bathroom but I need those kind of things to be official.
When I returned home I was informed that Chris wants to run a half marathon (Where did that come from?) and Nathan wants to start doing some of the "Fun" runs they have here. It may become a family sport before too long. I can attest that if it wasn't for Chris running the second part of my training runs these last 4 weeks I probably wouldn't have gotten in a long run. It's not nearly as much fun to train by yourself though I don't like running races with people right next to me. My mind tells me to either pass them or let them go cause I can't keep up with them. I think that has something to do with my competitive nature though.

Kaye's 33rd Birthday!!!

The Louisiana Boardwalk. For dinner we went to the SaltGrass steakhouse. Yummy. Shreveport has done a rejuvenation project to make things look nicer. What you can't see is that there is a bridge directly overhead with the interstate noise to add to the ambiance. The city and river always look better at night. You can't see the garage. This is a fun place to go though.
This one is strictly for my brothers and all those who think we've sold out. Hook 'em horns. Nathan is a big longhorns fan but he was really just enjoying his steak dinner. He has decided that he doesn't need the "kids" menu anymore so it costs more when we go out.

The family waiting to be seated. My Mom was able to come out for a visit and celebrate my birthday, watch Nate's soccer game, and attend the Primary program at church. We didn't know all this was going on when we bought the ticket in August but it's always better to be lucky then good.

The birthday girl. The big 33!!! I got cycling apparel so I can stay warm though it hasn't really gotten cold yet. I'm hoping it won't get too cold. Nathan was pretty impressed with his card. It said something along the lines of "I could have been twins".

Last Soccer Game

For Nathan's last soccer game there was a small clerical error. The field was double booked. That means that the boys got to play on a smaller field with a smaller goal. This actually worked out well for our team as we won. That makes us 1-8. Not a great record but Nathan didn't care. He had a great season so he feels accomplished.
Just a simple action shot. With Grandma in town he played hard. Had to make an impression.

Fall Fun

Pumpkin Light Night at school. So...in the holiday spirit I make this posting. Last night we went to Nate's school to see all the pumpkins the kids had decorated. Let's be honest. A lot were parent decorated but whatever. It was fun though I've been feeling under the weather (aka head cold) and mostly just wanted to go home and go to bed but that's another story. I don't know if you can tell but Nathan's is the white one w/green pipe cleaners sticking out all over the place. He helped drill holes in the pumpkin, use the hot glue gun, and everything else.
Of course you have the token "hey look we're doing something" festive pictures. Chris is the honorary pumpkin carver. Nate and I would probably cut something besides the pumpkins.

Nate and I love to clean all the "guts" out of the pumpkins. That's the best part. Nate's still a bit squimish still about getting his hands dirty but that's my fault for being so OCD about those kinds of things.

Ahhh, Fall in Louisiana. It's been so nice lately. I have to say this year October has rocked. Finally some real fall-like weather. We even had frost on our cars 2 days ago. Not to mention gas is only $2.25/gallon I feel like I'm living high on the hog. (or wild boar depending on where you live :)

Corn Maize Excitement

I don't know if you can tell but we're both standing on our tip toes to get just a bit more height. I started it in hopes of not feeling like Nathan was getting so big but he called my bluff.
I'm pretty sure this picture is self explanatory. Those are my boys.
The Otis Family. We survived the maize. It wasn't too hard. Just look for the flag and you're guaranteed to get out.
Okay, so Nathan's the sheep, I'm the donkey, and of course Chris is the pig.
We found these trykes and thought why not. Let me assure you that I am too big to really pedal. I could hardly get my knees under the handle bars.

This may have to be our Christmas family photo. It's pretty classic of us messin' around.

GOD BLESS AMERICA

Inspite of the the fact that the country seems thoroughly messed up there's still something majestic about seeing the flag waving in the breeze to remind me how truly blessed we are.

Soccer Fun!!!

So yea, I'm an insensitive mother. Nathan LOVES to roll around on the ground when he's been "injured" in a game. I think he likes the attention. Anyway, I was giving him grief telling him to suck it up. This is his arm after his game on Saturday. The picture doesn't do it justice. To say that I feel a little bit crappy now would be an understatement. Don't worry, he's milking this injury for everything he's worth.
There are two Nathan's on his team. He is #2 out on the field. We call them Thing 1 and

Thing 2. Believe me, it's an accurate assessment on the situation. You can see Nathan falling down. He got kicked or stomped on the arm after this play.

You're thinking dirt on a soccer field. Actually we play on a baseball field out in the outfield. By some unwritten agreement all the boys try to keep the soccer ball out of the dirt.
The field is twice as big as the field we played on last year which means a LOT more running. It's still quite warm down here and the boys get tired quickly. Nathan was complaining how tired he was after the game. I informed him he could rest when he was dead until then he needed to get his "giddy up" on.

Again, that's my sensitive side coming out. Plus it's what I tell myself everytime I go out for a long run.

Be Careful What You Wish For.

So I've been kind of bored with Nathan in school and only working in the morning so I was trying to find ways to keep myself busy. Be careful what you wish for.

I have now started working on base teaching classes as well as the other fitness center which meant I needed to change which days of the week I ran on so I wouldn't die from exhaustion. Plus Nathan has joined Running club (my kind of man), Honor Choir, plus he's already doing scouts and soccer. That now means I have to pick Nathan up from school 2-3 days a week instead of having the bus drop him off and now instead of only working until 10:30am I'm going 100mph until 12:30-1:00pm. I'm tired. Be careful what you wish for. I am certainly NOT bored anymore. I look forward to Friday like a drowning man looks forward to water. I only work until 10am and I can do fun things like grocery shopping. Yippy. Now for those of you who work full time I know...I'm such a baby. Don't worry. I understand that I am.

I have a 15K race this Saturday. (that's 9.3miles for those mathematically challenged. Such an odd distance. Why don't make it an even 10 miles) At least there's a reason why I'm pounding the pavement. The running racing season has officially begun so I'm pumped about that. The summers can get REALLY long here and we are all thankful for the cooler mornings/evenings.

Halloween already???

I don't know parents with multiple children do Halloween. I swear these costumes get more expensive every year. I am not talented with a needle and thread so there's no way I could make a costume and I have no creative talents in that sphere to come up with something on my own. Not to mention, At least it's done and it's not even October yet. YIPPY!! I have had Star Wars action figures running all over my house lately shooting nerf guns. I hate those guns. Why Chris? Why, did you have to buy those guns????

Skating Party

Okay, I know it looks like we "forced" him to go to the skating party but I promise you. He really did want to go. He was kind of nervous about two things.
1. Falling Down
2. Not knowing anyone.

It was a fund raiser for the school that wasn't attended that well. Chris had a lighter week so he got to play chauffer and take Nathan to this particular activity. I sure wasn't going to skate. I'd kill myself.







Most of the really good pics were too dark to see much so these will have to do. As you can see things haven't changed much since we were kids. Still corny lights and while the music is more recent it's still too loud. (That must be my sensitive ears getting older though).

Not bad for a GIRL

So like I said in a previous post the weather has been gorgeous. It's about time we can get outside and play. You don't do much outside in LA from May to Sept. or October. Just too stinkin' hot. Hurricane Ike blew all the humidity out of the area so even though it's still 85 degrees it feels fabulous. Nathan had money burning a hole in his pocket after working so hard in the backyard he made me take him to Target. Just to see what he could spend it on. He settled on the New Orleans Saints football. (I did not encourage this as I am NOT a Saints fan.) When we got home we had to play ball. This means Mom is honorary QB. After a few practice throws and almost taking his head off I was getting some pretty sweet spirals if I do say so myself. At dinner Nathan was telling Chris about our football game. He informed Chris that for a girl I was pretty good. I couldn't get mad at him because I do throw like a girl. I can only throw about 10-15 yards otherwise my arm/should hurts. Oh well. I must have done pretty good cause he asked me to play again the next day.

Clean up after Ike

It's hard to tell with the picture but you can see that the tree too a beating through Hurricane Ike.
Okay, so we cheat during the clean up. We don't have anything but woods behind our fence so...we paid Nathan to pick up all the branches and throw them over the fence. This was much better than having to drag them to the front curb for pick up. Ha, Ha, Ha....we beat the system.
You know these pics just aren't doing it justice. I guess cause everything blends in so well. Anyway, there was quite a mess in the backyard but the weather had finally cooled down. Nathan was so excited he could go outside and not sweat he offered to do yard work. For a price of course. Every 15 minutes he'd come in the house and ask how much MORE money he'd earned. I figure for the $5.00 we paid we made out like bandits because Chris and I didn't have to do it.