Lynn Meadows, Lynn Meadows...

Right before Christams we spent another wonderful afternoon at the Discovery Center. We never get tired of the museum, and recommened it to anyone in Biloxi for a little R & R. It is not so large that you will get seperated, but it is well done, and generally very clean. The museum sytaff is always supervising the displays. There are great play spaces and photo ops inside and out.

Stonewall Braud

Granny has a new Grand-puppy, Stonewall. She never really sees Jenny's dogs, so having Stonewall in for the holidays was a new experience. My kids love that BIG guy. He is 75 pounds of fun for Jacob. Jill was also fearless. Sometimes I was having to hold her back off of him. Cece liked playing fetch with Jason and the dog.

It was wonderful to spend time with Jason, who is a great godparent, and his fabulous wife Jackie. They are so much fun and always take a real interest in the kids. Hope to see you guys again soon.

Donaldsonville

We finally made it to Donaldsonville, the morning after Christmas. The kids had a great time destroying Maw Maw Dot's tidy house. We played outside some and had a delicious post-holiday breakfast on the 26th.

Thanks Santa!

All of the kids sure love this new trampoline. It was their gift from Santa. Jill will run around in it all day saying "ump, ump" Pops was right when he said that it is a huge play pen for her. We can't wait for Da Da to be jumping with us soon.

Naughty or Nice?

A few days after Christmas my Dad took us to the Mall of Louisiana before it opened to let the kids run. We found their Santa psture area. They called in Santastic and is sure looked it. Right down to the Naughty and Nice Meter. We had a fun outing and it was the best time to be at the mall....when you can't spend anymore money.

Da Da, we're hoping your on the Nice list this year.

Nettles Christmas

We opened presents in St. Amant around noon on Christmas Day. The kids and adults were all happy with their gifts.

Christmas in the Big House

While Christmas in the Big House is usually loud and crazy, it was quite calm this year. The food was the most fabulous ever. Desserts were the main dish it seemed. It was so nice to see a

aunts, uncles, and far away cousins. Carrie Matassa is shown taking a moment to read a new books to some of the boy cousins.

Merry Christmas Da Da

Merry Christmas Da Da. We miss you and can't wait to see you. We hope that you get some fabulous Christmas Sushi and have a wonderful day. You'll be home in time to put the toys together and haul out the tree. Love, Sally, Cece, Jacob, and Jill.

Cooking with Jackie

Jackie Braud is a lover of baking. It is so much fun to make Christmas Cookies with her, because she actually knows what she is doing. He you see that Cece enjoys making the cookies, and that Jill is happy to just eat them. This is a super fun holiday tradition.

A Long Day

December 22 was a very long day. We started at Lakeside Mall in New Orleans at 7:45 am. After doing a ton of shopping, and train riding, and Cafe du Monde visiting, we went to Thibodaux for a visit. After that we went back to New Orleans for the first round of present opening 2008. Thanks Gina, for all of your help shopping.

Jenny's Christmas Party

It seems like Jenny's Christams Party kicks off the fun of the Holiday season and reminds you that Christmas is closer than you think. We were so happy to be around to go to the party this year. It was smaller than usual and very intimate. Santa comes to visit and he is a fantastic Santa. He has done this and other parties in her family for years,and even remembers the kids names. There was fun cookie decorationg and presents for all of the kids. We were also happy to see John Bourg and his adorable kids. Thanks Jen, for a Great Night!

Christmas is Coming

Every morning Cece checks her calendar that Dee Dee made her, and lets us know that Christmas is one day closer. We found this great jumper. also a Dee Dee creation, a few days ago. I love getting a third year out of any holiday attire. We're ready for Christmas, are you?

Community of Christians

The kids and I drove by this living Nativity last night at the Community of Christians Church here in town. I had seen a sign for it, and was looking for something different. As we got close it started to rain, but we were able to see the three scene rendition. They showed the wisemen getting the message and traveling to see Jesus. It was so nice and Cece loved it. I think we were one of few cars on that dreary night. We apreciated them staying out in the rain to accomidate us, and then inviting us in for refreshments. After I took pictures of Jacob and Cece on Santa, I tried to arrange Jill for a perfect sleeping baby shot. (It is cute, if not perfect.) When I turned around Jacob had a hot dog, nachos, and a sprite. He sure works fast. And we sure appreciated their hospitality.

Cousins, Cookies, Crafts, and Costumes

My sister came to visit this past weekend. We sure packed alot into a 24 hour visit. The kids decorate huge gingerbread men, made multiple crafts, hit the cotume box pretty hard, and played outside. Jacob did not take a nap while they were hear. He crashed for 13 straight hours after they left. Hope you guys had as much fun as we did! Can't wait to see you again.

Will Work for Beans

Jim, Tisa, Christopher, and Michael came over and took care of the items on my HONEY DO list on Saturday. I obviously fed them Red Breans. Never have I seen a pot of Red Beans so gone. I guess the Boys were hungry. Many thanks to them for all of the help. Sorry ya'll had to ride back in the van with Chirstopher after he ate the bean!

Ho Ho & Puppy

Ever since Cece was a little girl in Slidell, we have had this Santa and Reindeer Inflatable. It is Like an Old Reliable. She used to call Santa "Ho Ho." I guess she thought that the reindeer was a dog. Last year I bought this Nativity. I really deliberated on the idea of the inflatable Baby Jesus, but we really love it. The figures are almost plush and multi-layered. It shows how far inflatable technology has come. Maybe one year we will move up to one of those fancy moving ones. (Just if they are left in after Christmas Clearance. :)

I Love Ashley's Stinkin' Cookies

We are enjoying holiday festivities and are loving our Dart-Days. We decorated Christmas Cookies twice last week. Ashley made Home-made (from scrath) gingerbreadmen. The dough stunk when she was making it and I got a 9-1-1 Cookie Emergency Call. In the end the were delicious and beautiful. I bought pre-rolled dough sheets and made the kids names with cookie cutters. It worked out because the oldest kids had the longest names. This all lead to too much sugar and too many cookies in the house, but it was worth it. We love all of the Dart kids and their Mom and can't wait for more Dart-Days.

Jake & Jill

A fabulous new development here on the home front is sleep. Atleast twice a week Jacob and Jill are starting to nap at the same time. I am working to continue this trend. Also, Jill is sleeping through many nights. This is all the Christmas present I need.

Another Day...Another Santa

One of my favorite Christams Traditions is my annual trip to the Mall for my 5x7 Santa picture for my collection. This is a fun tradition that I can take with me where ever we move. So even though I had a perfectly good Santa pictures from Wal-Mart, I got the kids all dressed up and hauled them to the Edge Water Mall in Biloxi. I had not been to the Mall since we moved here, and I was pleasantly surprised by it. Not fabulous, but pretty good. The picture people were extremely friendly and tried many shots before we settled on this one. Then my mom and I decided to get some Picadilly, something I had not had in quite a while. Jacob is still two, but this is the last year for the Cute Christmas Suit.

The Elf on the Shelf

The Elf on the Shelf is a book we have about an Elf that lives at your house after Thanksgiving. Peter, our elf, travels to the North Pole every night to report to Santa on the children's behavior and attitude. He moves to a different spot in the house most mornings. (Sometimes it takes him a very long time to return because he has alot to tell Santa about Jacob's behavior.) This was his first spot this year. He stayed there for four days. Cece kept waiting for him to move. Hey moms, this is a great way to make sure your kids know that Santa is watching.

Tiger Girl

This LSU Bib that our friend Elizabeth sent for Jill's birthday is just adorable. The only problem is that since it is soooo cute, I hate to let her eat anything too dirty in it.

Ho Ho Ho

Santa visited Walmart this weekend. The little kids weren't too excited, but doesn't Cece look happy? Merry Christmas Da Da from your cutie pies.

Jacob Martin

We attended the lighting of the Base Christmas Tree on Friday Night. This picture was the story of the night. You can see Jacob's little LSU hat and a blur of Christmas Lights. It was basically all a blur. Thank Goodness I had Gina to help me chase them down all night, and to help all weekend.

Jacob is starting to reason and understand more things. He is cuddly and sweet, when he is not biting or puching you. (Just ask Jill.) He is definitely all boy.

Cecilia Claire

Cece gets more mature everyday. This is a picture of her with her Reading Fair Project. She did Make Way for Ducklings, and included her pictures from the Boston Public Garden. These were taken on a trip to visit Jason when she was four.

She is so good with Jacob and Jill. She is a great big sister. She also went to her first birthday party at the Skating Rink today. She said afterwards that it felt like an Aligator had been chewing on her elbow. (She fell quite a lot and did stomp style beginner skating.)

Thanks for the cute hat and scarf Dee Dee, and for all of ya'll help last week. (Life Savers!)

Jill Elizabeth

Jill is getting so big, so fast. She had a frenectomy on Wednesday and was so sweet. She never cried one time and was already making new sounds in recovery. Most doctors say to wait to see if there will be speach defects. Though we never detected that she was behind, she is babbling so much more now. The nurse said that she had never seen a baby that did not cry one little bit. Dr. McMurphey, an ENT at Kessler was wonderful, and even called herself to check up on Jill.

Emily's Animals

My cousin Emily has found her calling. Balloon animals. She can keep all of the kids busy single handedly. This is Jacob showing off his Thanksgiving sword. I can't wait for our next show!

Giving Thanks.

I have this Aunt named Mary. She is fabulous in so many ways. She got this great fun jump to keep the kids busy Thanksgiving week. I took the kids and my brother Willie came along to help. We had so much fun. Jacob kept jumping through the goal post. Jill slept through most of the fun in the Snazzy Fall Outfit her godfather sent. Thanks Jeremy!

Lightning McQueen

Jacob has been a Lightning McQueen freak lately. He would watch it everyday if I wwould let him. You can only imagine his delight when he found this pitt crew costume in his Cousin's Closet.