Thanksgiving 2012

This year over the Thanksgiving holiday we traveled to our hometown of Shreveport. My guys spent alot of time in the woods on family land in Bradley, Arkansas. This place is extremely beautiful and it means so much to our family.

James and I camped out one night alone. It was so nice to unplug from the world and sit by the fire.

James killed his first two deer while he was there. He killed his first one after only being in the stand for about 20 minutes.

The biggest surprise of the week was finding out we apparently gave birth to a bonafide redneck!

my guys in the stand

 

He even asked me at one point "Mom, Do you think I am a redneck?" When I answered with a yes, he said "Yes, awesome!"

He stirred the fire, wore his camouflage, showed his little brother around camp one day when we came to visit.  He is already making plans to spend his summer in the woods! Most of all he spent bonding time with this man, his great papa.

                                                    These moments are irreplaceable.
On Thanksgiving day we spent time with the people who mean the most to us. We also played a friendly backyard game of football. I hope these are the moments my kids look back on.

Thanksgiving was also James' 31st birthday!

We had an amazing time and made some precious memories with our kids.

 

 

 

LSU Football

It's no secret that we are huge LSU fans! We love everything about LSU and LSU football! When we were in Shreveport over the Thanksgiving holiday we were able to drive down to Baton Rouge and watch the LSU vs Ole Miss game. There is so much tradition at LSU and for us it starts with the drive down...
First, right outside of Lafayette you will pass the Boudin shop, where we always stop for a snack!

Then you will drive over the swamp, literally!

This year we had dinner at Boutin's a Cajun restaurant.

 

Once you get to the campus you have to stop at Barnes and Noble where you can purchase anything imaginable with an LSU logo on it

Then we hurry and get a great spot on Victory Hill, where the magic begins!

First about 90 minutes before game time Les Miles and  the players will walk down the hill and into the locker room.

Followed by the cheerleaders

the dance line

the band, there is nothing like hearing the first sound of the fight song and everyone cheering

and every one's favorite, Mike the Tiger

After that we head into the stadium. You know they are going to play the same songs, "Callin' Baton Rouge", and "Louisiana Saturday Night" 

 

The "real" Mike The Tiger always makes his lap around Death Valley

Then, its game time! This year, we had amazing seats. They were so good I really didn't think they were the right seats!

There are no fans in the world like LSU fans! Everyone is family in there, all 90,000 people and we take our football very seriously!

This years game was intense and we came out on top for the victory.

We love going to football games, taking in all the sights and sounds and living the traditions!

 

 

Our baby is 4!

Today is James Henry's birthday! It is so hard for me to grasp that he is 4 and the Lis family is officially leaving the baby years behind! God blessed us 4 years ago with James Henry and he completed our family.
He is funny, he loves to wrestle, he loves his brother and sister and his dog! He is super spoiled but aren't all the babies in families?
We had a party over the Thanksgiving holiday with all his cousins and friends. It was a blast! We had it in the science center and chose a circus theme. They got their faces painted, played circus games, made nitrogen ice cream and played!

We opened presents over the weekend since Daddy is working today.

This morning he had donuts with his class at school.

We ended the day with dinner of his choosing...Chuck E Cheese!

Happy 4th Birthday to our little crazy!!

 

 

 

Alice in Wonderland at ALT

Back in August Makayla started taking classes at Amarillo Little Theater, this makes her a member of the academy and eligible to audition for plays. She auditioned for Alice in Wonderland and to our excitement was cast in the flower ensemble.
   Those kids along with Mr. Jason the fabulous academy director, worked so hard. They practiced for weeks ahead of time and put on four school performances and 5 shows on the weekend.
We have fallen in love with ALT and the people involved there. They are kind, funny and oh so talented! ALT has bought Makayla such joy and I believe theater is her passion in life.

They had a dress rehearsal the night of Halloween so we stayed up late and had trunk-or-treat in the parking lot at ALT.

Our flower

Opening night!!

Nonna flew out to catch the show!

Closing night! How did we get so blessed with a wonderful daughter?

So much fun!!

25 years of friendship

Today, I am so thankful for true friendship!
I have been best friends with Ashley Hadwin since kindergarten.
We have been through thick and thin. We know each others deep dark secrets.
We've gone through grade school, high school (somehow), marriage and children.
We were maid/ matron of honor at each other's weddings.
Her parents played major roles in my childhood and I truly believe they helped shape the person I am today.
We may not live in the same town anymore but if you saw us together, you wouldn't know it. When we see each other we pick up right where we left off, as if no time has lapsed. We can call each other at anytime and the other person will stop and listen. We live the true meaning of being there for each other.
We were able to get out alone today for lunch and shopping on the river. We ran into a sweet lady who has known us since elementary school and she asked us,"y'all are still best friends??!!" We answered, "yes we are actually. We have been best friends for 25 years!
That's right, 25 years!
I know I am blessed beyond measure with Ashley in my life. Some people go their whole life not having a friend and I have had a best friend since I was 5 years old.

Halloween

I love fall! I am not as crazy about Halloween but I love this season and try to embrace everything about it!
So far we have made a cake and had a Lis Family Pumpkin carving day...

Then of course we celebrated Halloween with the kiddos first at church with Trunk Or Treat. We took a cute Bob the Tomato and a scary Werewolf with us while Makayla was at rehearsal. They also had bouncers for the kids and hot chocolate!

After we left church we went to Amarillo Little Theater and set up our van for Trunk Or Treat for the cast and crew of "Alice"! The boys loved passing out candy!

Even Bayou enjoys Halloween!

I have to brag on my super cute nephews too....

Devin, Owen and Dylan

Chase

Is Collin rocking his first Halloween or what!!???

 

It was a great night for the Lis family!!