I Ain't Afraid of No Ghosts!

I forgot to post this picture with our weekend in Jefferson. Luckily this was the only ghost we came across! A few years ago we spent the night during the Autumnal Equinox which is supposed to be a great time to 'spy' ghosts. For some reason they are supposed to be restless during this time. Mike was awake all night listening to the floor creek from 'someone' pacing back and forth across our room. I was disappointed he didn't wake me up. We are not big ghost hunters but enjoy the history behind these places ghosts like to 'haunt'. We also like a good scare!

Duck Pond

The weather has been so nice and warm lately that we decided to go on a picnic Monday night. We were just going to go to a nice new park close to our house, but Evan really wanted to go to the park with the duck pond - it is almost 30 minutes away! We obliged and picked up KFC on the way - again, her choice. The wind was kicking up quite a bit, but we managed to eat our chicken, mashed potatoes and cole slaw without getting too much in our hair. Evan had a great time feeding the ducks and playing on the playground. This is one of the benefits of Mike's new job - a lot more family time. He recently left the Shreveport Police Department after 14 1/2 years to work for the Bossier Sheriff's Office. He has to start in the jail working 12 hour shifts, but he usually only works 3 days in a row, never works more than 3 days straight and has every other weekend off. We will enjoy it while it lasts!

Weekend in Jefferson

I was born in Jefferson, TX, which is about an hour from where I currently live. Jefferson is a very small town, and we moved when I was around 3, I think, so I don't have any memories of growing up there. However, my family has gone back there periodically ever since. There is not a lot to do there, but it is a good place to enjoy some great Civil War history, ghost stories, and just relax. It is full of antique shops, and there are a few restaurants that serve really good food. Hamburger Heaven has the best chocolate pie! Anyway, Evan & I met my brother Keri and his family (Jamie, Madison and Chandler) there this past Friday. We stayed at the Jefferson Hotel which is known to be haunted. I was slightly disappointed, but quite relieved we had no hauntings. Saturday MiMi, PaPa and Big Girl came and hung out with us. We usually just eat, walk around, shop a little, eat some more, sit around and chat, and then go home, but it is fun!

The Waterpark

Saturday we played hard all day long! We all played in the fort and wavepool for a while, and then we talked Evan into going down some waterslides. Last year at Hurricane Harbor she would not even consider this. She had a great time racing down the slides this year! After dinner we came back to the hotel to run around and play with the wand some more. Later that night Evan ended up crashing on the floor enjoying her favorite snack - Cheetos! Unfortunately, she woke up when I picked her up to put her in bed, so she and I stayed up until about 11 pm. It's vacation, though, aren't you supposed to wear yourself out?

OCDF Culture Weekend

When we stay in a hotel, Evan and I usually get up before Mike and go out to find breakfast. This time we went downstairs to a little bakery. Evan didn't think she wanted a muffin (although she ended up eating most of my carrot-raisin muffin), but she really wanted a rice krispie treat. I decided that is you eat rice krispies for breakfast, why not a rice krispie treat? YUM, the breakfast of champions! We met back up with Mike and looked around the little Chinese market they set up while we waited for the craft session to start. Evan and Mike made a cool lantern and a few other things. Most of the crafts were too hard for her, but we brought them home with good intentions to finish them some day. We attended a session where a 15 year old Chinese girl told what life is like in China. She was adopted at an early age, but she and her mother lived in China for many years. Evan was a little too young to be interested, but we all sat through it anyway. OCDF is a foundation that helps families, schools, or whomever educate themselves in all things Chinese. They even have language systems to learn Mandarin and other Chinese dialects. They also conduct tours to many areas of China, each with a different focus. We've decided that we want to take Evan back to China and see her 'hometown' when she is 7. I can hardly wait!

Cousins are Great!

We met up with Mike's cousin Tony and his family - Karen and Megan. Megan is a month older than Evan, so they had a ball! Megan and Tony hung out with us at the waterpark Saturday and Sunday. I didn't realize how great an idea that was until we got there! Evan had a friend to play with and we got to enjoy watching.

We went to Babe's for dinner with Tony, Karen and Megan Friday night. Babe's is a family-style restaurant that has 2 main entrees on their menu (wait - they don't have a menu). They have chicken-fried steak and fried chicken. It was all delicious! Evan especially enjoyed the fried chicken. We really enjoyed the time we got to spend with the Lucero's.

Great Wolf Lodge

We spent last weekend at Great Wolf Lodge in Grapevine, TX. It was a blast! We went for an OCDF (Our Chinese Daughters Foundation) culture experience - more later. Great Wolf is an indoor waterpark resort that, as you would guess, caters to children. While there you can purchase a wand that interacts with all sorts of things around the hotel. You choose different quests and go on a kind of scavenger hunt gathering the gold, jewels, etc. with your wand. Evan loved running up and down the stairs from one floor to the next gathering these 'clues'. I don't think there were ever 2 clues on the same floor! Usually they were only one floor apart, though.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Evan was so excited for St. Patrick's Day, although I'm not quite sure why. She insisted that her green shirt from last year still fit, but I insisted on wearing another shirt underneath it so her belly wouldn't show. For dinner, we had corned beef and green mashed potatoes. I know, that's not a well rounded meal, but it was good! She thought green potatoes were cool and is trying to figure out what color she wants her food to be on Easter.

Evan & Chandler

Evan idolizes her cousins Madison and Chandler. Madison had a dance competition last weekend and wasn't around much, but Evan probably wore poor Chan out! Chan had a Wiggle car that they enjoyed playing on, too. Thanks for a great weekend!

More Ice Skating Pics

Ice Skating

We spent the weekend in Houston with my brother Keri and his family. We always have such a good time. Saturday morning we watched Chandler score quite a few points in her basketball game. Evan is in a Kindertot basketball class where they just learn skills, so she was excited to see a real game. We went ice skating in the afternoon at the Galleria and had a blast. This was Evan's first time, and she did such a great job! As long as someone was holding her hand, she would just take off walking like she was on normal ground. She would catch herself going a little too fast, turn to grab onto me, and then fall. I couldn't slow down or stop fast enough, so I would end up dragging her. Poor thing got so wet! She skated in between Keri and me for awhile, but we ended up dragging her and laughing so hard we could hardly stand up.