Mardi Gras, Crazy Hair and a trip to Arkansas!

We have had an extremely busy last couple of weeks. We had so much fun at the Shreveport Mardi Gras parade two weeks ago. We went with several couples from church. It was downtown Shreveport by the river. We had so much fun catching beads and stuffed animals for Dane! He really made out pretty good with all of his bling!

In the driver's seat of a Firetruck

Look at all the loot!

Bling Bling!

Dane really wanted to take his Mardi Gras football to church the next morning.

As you can see, Dane's hair is getting pretty long. When it's fixed, it looks really cute, with all of his curls - but as you can see, he definitely got the gene from both Lane and me that mysteriously causes his hair to go absolutely nuts when he's sleeping. One morning this past week, we let Dane take his nap in our bed, and he woke up with an especially crazy head of hair. So, I had to capture the moment!

This past weekend, my mother, Robyn and her three kids, and Dane and I all travelled up to Harding to attend their annual Wings (Women in God's Service) conference. It was really great, and we all learned a lot, especially Dane and J.J., who have made a admirable commitment to attend this conference each year of their lives, so far. It was really fun to be together. We all piled up in Mama's new Explorer, so 4 out of the 7 available seats were filled with car seats. We weren't sure if we could pull it off, but we all packed pretty light and everybody fit just right and we were really quite comfortable. The kids were all so good on the ride there and back. While we were on campus at Harding, I let Dane run free out on the front lawn and followed him around to see where he would try to go. He knocked on some doors and climbed the steps to the administration building. I think he was trying to talk to someone in the admissions department and get a good word in early, so that they'll know that Harding is definitely one of his top picks for college so far.

Knock Knock Knock!

Up the steps of higher education

After we got back from Arkansas, we spent Saturday night at my parents' house and stayed to go to church with them Sunday morning. We got to get pictures of the kids all dressed up for church, which was also fun.



Anyway, I hope everyone is having a fantastic week!

Some fun times around our house!

Happy Valentine's Day a day late. I hope everyone had a great day filled with lots of love! We had a crazy busy Valentine's Day, but it was a great day. My mom surprised us at the front door with some roses from my dad to me, some donuts for Lane (which we all enjoyed), and a huge singing heart balloon for Dane. We were so glad to see her, even if she only got to stay for 45 minutes before she had to head to work. At the Tri-C (Christian Campus Center at Kilgore College), where I work, we had a great "Elementary school" style Valentine's Day party. All of the kids and me and Dane and the campus minister decorated paper bags & exchanged valentines. It was great fun! Then, last night was church, so we headed to Chili's for dinner beforehand. Of course, I forgot to take any pictures of any of it, so I will just post some pictures from this past week.

Like Father, Like Son!

I couldn't resist...I had to blog again today! After church tonight, we got home and I gave Dane his bath, and we went in to play with Dad a bit before bedtime. Lane was playing his Playstation football game, as usual, so Dane found the other controller and joined his dad in the fun. I know that Lane is so thankful that he now has a built-in Playstation playing partner!

Some wonderful Spring-like afternoons!

The past couple of days have been so beautiful in our neck of the woods, so I got to take advantage of some good photo ops playing with Dane outside. We've had a really busy week so far, but we got some good pictures last night of all of us relaxing and goofing off! Dane has moved into a really goofy mood lately, and we spend a whole lot of time laughing at each other. What fun!

This is what happens when Dad is left in charge!

Today, Lane and I were both off, so while Dane was napping before lunch, I went to run a few errands and vacuum out my car. When I got back, I heard Lane in the back yard using his leaf-blower. As I came through the back gate, I saw Dane mesmerized, watching Lane use the blower. I couldn't help but notice both of their outfits.

Lane - Maroon fleece pullover, olive green Marines sweatpants, and his leather loafers.

Dane - Still in his pajamas, A&M jacket, tobaggon, and sneakers.

I thought that these were odd selections that Lane had made, but at least they both had the same style (or no style?). They really are quite a pair!

We're back in business!

I'm so happy! We got a new camera today...Sears was having a great sale. So, I had to snap some pictures around the house today.

We're moving up to the next level in cleaning

Today, Dane undertook a wonderful, new challenge. I was cleaning up a bit, and I got the vacuum cleaner out to vacuum the dining room. These days, he follows me from room to room and critiques my every move with this machine. This afternoon was no exception. So, I thought, since today he turned 15 months old, he is ready to learn how to operate the big vacuum. He can already knock it over and pick it back up on his own, so I felt he was ready. So, we sat down in the floor, and I showed him the On/Off switch (which he understood) and the pedal that allows the handle to move down (he doesn't understand that part yet). Then, we turned it on and he moved around behind it and helped me push it forward. Once we got to the other end of the room, he would reach up and turn it off and we would back it up and start a new strip of carpet. We clapped after each time and finished about half the room. It was so much fun, and I have to admit, I was really touched by his dedication to the job. He's a good man and will make such a great substitute janitor in college, just like his dad was!

I just hated that I didn't have my camera to capture the moment. I'm just gonna have to do something about that!

This is right before I broke my camera!!!

Watching his favorite show - Clifford!

More Clifford!

Cleaning out the fish pond!

I am very frustrated tonight because I dropped my camera this afternoon and completely destroyed it! We thought it would be fun to get all bundled up and walk out in the back yard to see how the fish in our koi pond were making it in this cold, icy weather. Well, Dane, with cleaning on the brain, immediately went for Lane's cleaning net. Even in frozen conditions, he wants everything to look just right. I hope this attitude toward household cleaning will continue throughout his life (for both my and his future wife's sakes).

Anyway, as soon as I took these pictures, Dane walked away and tripped (not in the water). As I bent down to pick him up, my camera fell on the rocks and totally bent the zoom/focus thing. You know, the thing that goes in and out (that's the technical term, I think). It has been such a good camera for over 3 years, so I will be observing a period of mourning over its loss. Oh, well, life goes on, I guess.

So, this may be my last blog for a while, until we can get a new one. I guess I can try one of those disposable digital cameras and see how they work.

Well, hope you're all doing well. Have a great night!

OK I was dying to know...

After I saw Rachel and Clint's celebrity look-alikes, I had to find out ours, too! At first, I was flattered because I think Charlize Theron is really pretty, but then I also saw that I also really favor Fred Savage! Now I am started to doubt everything in life...until I saw Lane's profile, and I knew it all must be for real, since he most resembles Ringo Starr. I mean, we've all known that for a long time now. People always tell me how much Dane looks like Lane, but I really think he favors me more, since we both have Fred Savage on our profiles!

A Great Trip to Colorado

This past week, we went to Colorado for the Annual National Conference of Youth Ministries, held this year in Colorado Springs, Colorado. It was a great conference, and we are grateful that we had the opportunity to go. We both got to attend some great classes and to enjoy meeting new people and seeing old friends, too. Dane went with us, and he was so good. I know the long trip in the car wasn't the most fun thing for him, but he really did well!

On our first morning at the resort, I opened the curtains to our balcony, and I couldn't believe that there was a deer laying down about 3 feet away from it. It stayed there for over an hour after that, and we were even able to walk out and take pictures up close. It was so neat! Another highlight of the trip was that Dane got to go to his first Acappella concert Thursday night! He was really captivated (as we all were), but then he was fast asleep after about 10 minutes.

I wish that I could have gotten a picture of he and Lane Thursday afternoon, when we all bundled up to walk around and play in the snow. Lane kept throwing snowballs right at the front of Dane's coat, and Dane would just squeal like he was saying, "Ah Dad, you got me again!" It was so great.

We had a great trip and we are still trying to recover from driving through the night Friday night to get back home. Unfortunately, all three of us are sick. I think that Dane and I are on the mend, but Lane's still pretty sick. We all just had way too much fun, I guess!

I hope you all are having a great Monday!