Adventure

We have been talking Reed into going on a boat ride since we arrived in Anguilla.  He wouldn't even consider it a few days ago, but he finally decided to go for it.  Junior took us for a ride in his glass bottom, and we saw turtles, starfish, and tons of fish. 

The boys enjoyed snorkeling along the cliff.  Reed quickly picked up on how to snorkel, and he had so much fun with the big boys.

Ryland loved the snorkeling!

After a beautiful morning on the boat and snorkeling, we spent the rest of the day at the beach.  It is absolutely gorgeous.

1st Annual Memorial

In memory of JP, a large group of friends and family gathered at the Wetlands in Columbia, LA to celebrate his life.  It was a fun weekend away from normal life with fun folks and great food.  Corn hole was a constant competition, and I am proud to say my team whooped John Chris and Trevor's rear.  Just saying.

 

 

Hundreds of pounds of crawfish to peel and eat.  Yummy!

 

We took the boys fishing at one of the ponds, and we quickly realized we didn't have enough crickets or hands to help.  Both boys caught their first fish on their first cast.  Needless to say, their expectations were set way too high after that.

 

Reed shows off his first fish.

 

 

Ryland is proud of his first catch too.

 

This is the disorganized group shot of a bunch of people who couldn't stop talking and had been drinking too much.  We are on the porch between the center two columns.  It was an awesome group.

 

The boys and Millie Marie are worn out, and they are about to call it a night.

 

We stayed in one of the houses at the Wetlands, and it wasn't roughing it at all.  The house was super nice, and the boys enjoyed taking it easy for another day of fun. 

 

Reed made a new girlfriend upon arrival, and they loved to play outside.  Here they are playing a little soccer.

As if there wasn't enough to do, the kids had a 20ft water slide to play on.  The kids had a blast on it until the adults had to come try it out.  Ryland loved it and really enjoyed sliding and splashing in the water pool.  Reed wasn't a fan and was very upset when John Chris took him down the slide.  He screamed bloody murder.

 

Some of the guys found baby alligators and brought them back so everyone could check them out.  Reed was apprehensive, but he did pet one.

 

 

Ryland didn't want anything to do with the alligators.  John Chris finally convinced him to hold one.  A few hours later, when Ryland tried to pet it again, the alligator snapped Ryland's finger.  He can say he has been bitten by an alligator and lived to tell about it.  

 

 

 

Crawfish & Cake

We were excited to spend the afternoon with our friends in Dallas.  The Brashears and their neighbors had planned a crawfish boil, and we had a blast enjoying great company and awesome food.  It was such a nice time.

After we were stuffed, a little dessert showed up that was a special treat for Ryland.  We had an early birthday celebration.  What goes perfect with crawfish? Cake!

Thank you Aunt Chan, Uncle Brad, and Baby Benton for making Ryland feel so special.  You guys are the best family we could ever adopt.

Friends

It is crawfish season, so it was time to gather some friends for a little crawfish boil.  The grown ups had a great time laughing and chatting while the little ones played late into the night. 

Reed is a total ladies man and prefers the older women.  He loved on Gracie and Anna.

 

The boys wanted to climb and play all over the sofas, but they eventually wore down to watch a movie.

 

They all ended up caving to a movie.  Gotta love when the lights go out and Cars comes on.

 

Miss Leah Claire wasn't quite ready to call it a night.  She hung out with the moms - really she hung out with Cooper.  They are big buddies.

Crawfish boil

My brother held his 5th annual crawfish boil this weekend, and we somehow pulled the boys and their stuff together to attend. It isn't easy packing and traveling with all the necessary items, but we couldn't imagine missing the party. My brother once again had shirts made, and he was able to get a small one for Ryland this year. Ryland was elated to have a shirt like everyone else.

Reed loved being social and stayed awake and alert most of the late afternoon and early evening. Both Ryland and Reed were total chick magnets. All the ladies thought they were so adorable. (I have to agree!)


We had a great time cooking, eating, drinking, and visiting with family and friends. Ryland made friends with the little girl next door, and she gave him some of her glow sticks. They ran around the backyard swinging them around all night. Ryland couldn't get enough of them, so he even slept with the glow sticks.

The boys are back

The boys came home today from their weekend trip to Louisiana. It was great to have them back. I missed them terribly.

John Chris picked up some crawfish before heading home, and we gathered some friends for a impromptu crawfish boil. Delicious! Lindsey showed the curious boys what the crawfish looked like. They were so nosy about what was going on, and they wanted to check it out.

Alumni Crawfish Boil

We headed out to the LA Tech Alumni Crawfish Boil today. It was a cloudy and rainy day, but we were excited to see some old friends and chow down on some crawfish. The Owens also went, so the boys had someone to play with. What we did not realize until we got there, was just how hard it is to eat crawfish with 2 toddlers running around.
Ryland and Jackson had fun running around and exploring.

Look at that big rock. At least I think that is what he was trying to say.

We had a great time at the boil, and we reconnected with several people that we did not even know they lived in the area. Good times!