Taxes and Lizards

We've been really busy here - surprised huh?  Also have a cold going around the house.  Brian has it the worst this time.  

This week we spent working on school.  James had his second week back at LSU also.  So far it's going well for him.  He was glad to get the same math teacher - we had to drop/add and get on a waiting list or two (I was a little nervous about that) - but he's comfortable with the teacher and knows the ins/outs of how he runs his class.  

I spent a few days wrestling with TurboTax.  I was finally able to e-file our taxes and got our filing fees back due to a TT error that was preventing me (and scores of others) from filing.  Most likely won't use them next year.  H&R Block experiences out there??  I'm just glad to have it done and in record time this year :)!

Jonathan captured an anole lizard in the backyard this afternoon with his bare hands.

It was too big for the glass canning jar we put him in so we had to use one of our plastic flour containers.  

We'll keep him/her around for a little while.  Until the novelty wears off Until Jon pokes larger holes in the plastic wrap on top and the lizard escapes.  (In other words, we'll keep him for about 14 minutes.)

Birthday Parties

Last Saturday we had two birthday parties to attend.  The first was a Thomas the Train party for a little friend from church.  The second was for James' friend Chris' 14th birthday (shared with his little cousins turning 3 and 5).  

We arrived a little late and left early from the first party.  We also arrived late at the second party - mostly because we had to drive for an hour to get there.  

They had a Hello Kitty pinata for the little girl who was turning 5.  

Jon

Andrew

Peter

James and Chris.

Then Peter got a hold of a cupcake from the table.  The following series is titled "Oh to Love a Cupcake."  

Hope you enjoyed that.  Peter sure did.

 Matthew was along too.  There was a little girl at the party who just loved him.  Her mom recently had a baby boy too so she was following Matthew around saying "Baby, come here, baby!"  It was funny.

James hung out with some friends.  

Jon and his friend (Chris' sister) Kailey.  

We had a good time!  

Tooth Parent Double Duty

 A few days ago both Alyssa and Jon lost a tooth on the same day.  

Good thing the Tooth Parent had extra cash that night!  

See the tooth in the bag?  And the going rate is $1 per tooth.  Inflation and all that I guess!  

Pictionary . . .

Brian and I are really good at Pictionary.  I mean SCARY good.  We enjoy it!  So, Brian had the idea to play Pictionary with the kids the other night.  We divided up into teams.  We decided to do boys vs. girls.  

The girls won!!  

So the next night the boys were ready for a rematch.  

Would you look at these guys?  What a bunch of characters!  

At first the boys (blue) were ahead.

Everyone gets a chance to draw.  Jon was so cute because he was very detailed in his pictures.  When he drew a person he would count the fingers on each hand to make sure it was done right.  

By the end of the game, us girls had pulled ahead.  It was a close finish but we won again!!

Several times throughout the game we landed on AP spaces which are "all play".  That means that both teams have to draw and try to get the answer.  

The following are drawings from both sides (sorry they're fuzzy).  Can you guess which team won the point?

The word was jealous

Girl Team

Boy Team 

 The word here was "mouthwash"

Girl Team

Boy team

Pretty funny and a good way to spend some time laughing together.  Not sure if there will be another showdown.  Only time will tell!

LSU - 2

James is starting his second semester at LSU today.  Brian dropped him off for his first class and I will pick him up when he's finished for the day.  He didn't seem nervous this morning.  His classes are basically the same as last semester with the addition of a computer science ethics course.  He also has some new teachers this semester.  We did drop and add a little bit to get the same Calculus instructor though.  James thought he would be comfortable taking the same teacher this semester too.  


That picture is my t-shirt that Brian bought for me last March when he and James spent three days doing orientation on campus.  Brian also has a 'Dad' one.  

Word of the Day

Peter just brought me my driver's license.  I asked him where he got it from and he said "from your wocket pocket!"  He then went back in the living room and exclaimed "MONEY!!"  When he came back he had a penny in his hand.  Hahaha!  

wock·et pock·et   noun   \ˈwä-kət ˈpä-kət\

1.  a small purse to hold important papers and/or cards.
2.  a:  a small folding pocketbook with compartments for personal papers and paper money; also : billfold.
   
   
     b:  something that resembles a money wallet:  as a sometimes flexible folding case designed for carrying money.  

Examples:

• She carries her drivers license in her wocket pocket.
• He kept his dollar bills in his wocket pocket.  

Now get out there and use this word with confidence today!  Let us know how it goes.  ;)

Did you know . . .

Ninjas from South Louisiana

wear tie-dyed bandanas on their heads?  

Did you know . . .

Matthew likes to chase balls . . .

And he likes it when you sneak up behind him! 

See?

Did you know . . .

Older brothers can read bedtime stories in the dark (and they know how to rig a flashlight to the upper bunk)?  

Well, now you know!