Military Ball

Guess Where I Am

Cara and her friends have a great time together. It seems like every weekend something is going on and they get together. This weekend the Louisiananime Convention was in Baton Rouge. They had to go. Cara and her friends spent weeks planning their costumes and such. She ordered a wig and costume off of Ebay. The wig arrived in time, but the costume did not. I drove Cara, Twix and Lyuke

up there where they met up with Sydney and Caitlin. I brought my Dr. Who scarf, found a good spot and sat back to people watch. There were some sights to see. So many interesting things to see. I positioned myself right where the participants would come and go from the events. I didn't know many of the characters, but I did recognize a few. My favorite was a guy dressed up as Captain Jack Sparrow. I can never get too much of Captain Jack.

Dungeons and Dragons Part I

Cara and her friends love playing role games on the computer and on the Wii. Phillip wanted to share the role play game he played growing up, Dungeons and Dragons. I never played it but I heard lots of people did back in the day. The Dungeons and Dragons "party" is so popular that Cara had to have people over on two weekends to let all of those interested play the game. I love how the girls came dressed in some sort of costume. They got all into it. Cara has great friends and they are usually game for anything. Phillip was excited to read back up on the game and to create a story line for the girls to follow. They had a wonderful time.

Fingerless Again

Yeah well, I am still on the kick. I just like these so much. I decided to make a pair for my wonderful friend Cindy. Cindy brought us a couple of meal while I was going through chemo and since I found out the cancer, she would call and check on me and usually pull me out of some mental funk I was in. Whatever she did, it was just what I needed at the time. She even brought me a wonderful gift for my birthday. I know I have not told her how much I appreciate all she has done. I knit these mitt for her and I know she will read this post and it will spoil the surprise. Oh well...surprise Cindy. These are for you!

The Countries Party

Cara has become quite the social butterfly. Well, she likes her friends to fly over here. She came up with the idea of having a "Countries" party. Each person attending the party was to choose a country and bring something that represents their country. It could be food, a dance, song, or just facts. I thought that was a great theme for a party. She also planned to have the "countries" compete in Wii Olympic matches also. Cara decided to go as Russia since Russia is one of the countries of descent on Phillip's side. When I asked her what she was planning to share about her country, she said she was going to tell them all about Russian Roulette. I had to have a little discussion with her about how that was not appropriate for the party. She did point out that she was not going to show them how to play it, just tell them about it. Um...no. She did find some other wonderful facts to share about Russia that I didn't know about. That kid...

Attendees at the party represented Slovakia, Germany, Haiti, France, Holland, and China. She has a great group of friends and they are fun to have around.

Girls' Day

Both Cara and Robyn needed to spend time with their girls. Cara had her peeps over and Robyn had Shelby. Robyn and Shelby did their traditional "Let's make a cake while we hang out" cake. It was a "We Love College" cookie cake. Lots of silliness was shared and the cookie cake was history. I love days like this!

Family Reunion

Several days ago, Cara came to me and asked if she could have a family reunion. I was not quite sure what family she was talking about. Was she wanting to invite those who live out of town in for a visit? Or was she just wanting our immediate family to spend some time together? The answer was neither. Her best friend is moving in a couple of weeks. Cara planned to invite the "group" from last year over as a surprise get together for Tessa. Cara and Tessa don't see the rest of the group this year as they all go to another school. It was a great idea. Everyone was able to make it and Tessa was surprised. They made ice cream sundaes, ate pizza, and played the Wii. How can you beat that?

Needles(s) To Say They Turned Out Ok

Cara's best friend is moving and I wanted to make her something that would be meaningful to her. She is also an avid knitter and I had been reading on the Ravelry about making knitting needles out of dowels. I thought I would give it a shot. It was easier than I thought it would be. Tessa likes to knit on larger needles, so I found some oak dowels that would come out to be size 10 needles. I got a kick out of the looks I got in Lowe's when I was using my trusty needle sizer thingy to check the dowel sizes. I cut the dowels down to size and used a knife to make the point on each needle. After sanding them with several grades of sandpaper, they were ready for the party. I wanted the "family" to sign them tomorrow.

Written 9-12: The needles were a hit, I think. I had the kids sign them using Sharpies. I was bummed when the ink smeared on them, but they are still readable. I used a candle wax to seal the wood a bit and to put one last smooth finish on them before gluing on the end caps. I forgot to take a picture of them prior to the party, so this picture is the "after" shot.

Labor Day

Robyn and Cara had a few friends over to spend the day. Cara and Tessa were holed up working on the computer. Robyn, Shelby and Andrew spent the day watching videos. I think today was a celebration of non-labor.

Happy Independence Day !

I love the 4th of July. Seeing the colors of red, white and blue makes me happy. I also love Christmas because of the colors. But anyway...we had a mini party with Uncle Gary, Shelby and Tessa coming over to eat, knit, and watch movies (Phillip and Gary refrained from knitting). It was a wonderful day spent with family and friends.

Cara decided to wear her new outfit to show Tessa. I was telling Nana how cute she looked in it and wanted to send her a picture. I called Cara in for the picture. This is the pose she liked best. I just love that girl!

Make New Friends, But Keep the Old...

A couple of times a year, my pal Tina comes into town. A couple of buddies from Baton Rouge come down as we meet at Tina's daughter's house to catch up on each other's lives. Paige is so gracious to let us use her house as our base. These ladies are my some of oldest friends...the ones I have kept in contact with the longest over the years. We initially met in college and later worked together. Debbie and Gina were in my wedding and Tina has given me support and strength (although she might not realize it) throughout the years. We don't get to see each other as often as we would like due to work and family commitments as well as distance.

Friends bring so much richness to your lives. These three ladies are my a few of my "golden girls". They are gold treasures in my collection of friends.

Birthday Sleepover

Cara's birthday was this past week and she wanted to have friends sleepover. Unfortunately neither of her buddies were available for her actual birthday, so she compromised by having them over one at a time to hang and be silly. Tonight was Tessa's night. She and Tessa have a great friendship. They are both very funny, dramatic and compliment each other well. They spent the evening swimming and "working" on the computer. Plans are that we will go to IHOP in the morning for breakfast. I have a feeling there will be little sleeping tonight for these two.

Spring Fling

Today was the Spring Fling party for Cara's class. The kids were so excited about the upcoming spring break. The party was a simple one...ice cream sundaes all around. At their age, fun is food and hanging around talking to friends. Some of the other classes were having Easter Egg Hunts. For 6th graders, that would last what...a whole 3 minutes? The party Cara's class had was perfect for them. They were able to make and eat their "gorgeous" creations, talk to their friends (either near or across the room), and pose for goofy pictures. All in all, it was a fun way to end the day.

Poker Night

When Phillip and I were dating and for a long time after we were married, he and his childhood friends would gather and play poker almost every weekend. Sometimes I dreaded those games, because (1) I was the only female and (2) it would get boring after a while watching them play for hours on end. For the first year after we were married, we lived 3 hours away from New Orleans. When we came into town (again almost every weekend), I had the option of going to the games or sitting at home with the in-laws. I choose the poker game. After we moved back "home", the games moved to our house. That was not so bad as I could find entertainment at my own house. Once we moved "across the lake", the games stopped as we were a distance away and the guys had other interests as well.

Ten years ago, Phillip and a couple of friends started a monthly neighborhood poker group. They take turns hosting and usually have 5-6 guys attend each month. This group does not have the sentimental value as the old group of childhood friends, but it is a great group. Several years ago, they decided to run for the neighborhood board. They all won their prospective positions and had board meetings at the poker games. They made some controversial improvements to the neighborhood and the next year, another group decided to run against the "poker group" running the show. The poker group didn't want another term, so it all played out to everyone's liking. Every once in while I hear a story about those "poker guys" who did this and that. I just smile and say "Yeah, I heard about those guys."

Pals

Skittles is pals with everyone. She has not met a person, place or thing she didn't like (except for thunder and firecrackers). Today she was lying on the floor next to Whiskers. They were just hanging around together, cat and dog, like it was no big deal. Cara reached over and put Skittles arm around Whiskers. They stayed like that for about 15 minutes (actually until Skittles heard what sounded like a food noise coming from the kitchen). It was sweet how they were comfortable enough with each other to just pass the time as friends.

Friendship

This week Ms. M has been letting her dance students bring a friend to dance. Cara invited her friend, T, to both classes. I really like T. She is funny, smart, and a great friend for Cara. Tonight when I went to pick up Cara and T from class, I was informed that Cara had told T's parents we would take her out for dinner. Coincidentally, McDonald's is right across the street. They both ordered the same thing (10 piece chicken nuggets, otherwise known to them as the "Fatty Selects") and took off to find a seat while I waited in line. Of course, they chose a 2 person table, so I found a table for just me. I got a kick out of listening to their conversation. Kids can be so funny. Of course after they finished their meal, it was time for the ice cream beg (see this post). Apparently on Monday, Phillip promised them ice cream after dance on Thursday. What is it with the ice cream???  They managed to order their own ice cream and continued their conversation.  They got a huge laugh out of having them look away from the camera to protect their identities.  

I remember having similar conversations with my friends at that age.  I love how some things never change.  There will always be important information to discuss and there will always be good friends to share in the fun.