Jumping!

It is too late/early to be clever, witty, or engaging. I will settle for functional and pragmatic (but with awesome pictures), with the added benefit of letting all of our blog-readers (all 4 of you) know that the Droddys are still alive and kicking.....well, jumping (staying true to theme).

**spoiler alert** The pictures that you are about to see may or may not have been taken on the same day as the picture for our Christmas card. Just saying.

Here's what happens to Abram's hair when you rub his head on the trampoline...fyi:
Here's what happens when Mary and Jamey jump awesomely--as if they are ninjas...happy ninjas:

Here's what happens when your energy simply cannot be contained:

Here's what happens when you move fast like lightning (while screaming):

Here's what happens when you just can't quite get the team on the same page (stairstep..like their ages):

Here's what happens when you are finished posting.

We did the mash......the monster mash

The last couple of weeks have been filled with lots of fun fall festivities. We have had some good times costuming with friends. Here is Abram as a shark and Mary as a mom!
Seth as Mr. Incredible. And believe me, he is!

Jonah as a pirate. Watch out for your booty!

Oh yeah...Here's the pumpkin (the shark) that Jonah decorated for Pumpkin Shine on Line (local park displays pumpkins decorated by local schools)! Two sharks in one post..frightening.

My personal favorite...Abram as a lawn gnome. We tried to position him in our yard but he just won't stay still.

Help, I'm a soccer mom now!

Well, we're in the thick of another soccer season. This is Jonah's fourth season to play, but Seth is playing for the first time. After years of patiently watching Jonah practice, pick out equipment, play, etc...I'm so glad for Seth to have his chance. We think he is doing quite well considering the two main skills for this age are to finish a whole game without crying and to know which goal is theirs. He has yet to cry and, when he is not goofing off, he is actually quite focused on chasing the ball. It's ironic that these pictures are taken in the sunshine seeing as though it has rained almost every day here for the last month. However, thankfully, the rain has avoided our games. Jonah is doing great. He is looking more and more like a pro. He is fast and focused!!

Abram is now the spectator. He enjoys watching his brothers. However, Jamey usually carries him around in the baby backpack. This is due to the fact that, if he were free, he would definitely try to go out on the playing field. Abram still hasn't figured out that he is not a big kid. Thanks to Pa & Mimi, the boys, for their birthdays, had the chance to see the Imagination Movers in concert. We had a good time singing and dancing to all our favorite Movers songs.

A good time was had by all!!!

Happy Birthday, Jonah & Seth!!

It is no coincidence that this latest lull in blogging has been during, perhaps, the busiest time of the year for us--the beginning of the fall semester. And, as evidenced by a preceding post, things are busier than ever with Jonah in kindergarten. So, even though they happened a couple of weeks ago, here's a brief recap of the boys' birthdays. Here are the boys showing off some of their birthday haul.
At preschool, Seth got to wear a special birthday.... crown(?), hat(?), cylinder(?). Mary also baked some cookies for Seth to share with his class--obviously, he was all smiles.

The boys had a Mario Bros. party. Here's the awesome birthday cake that Mary made and decorated for the occassion.

Here is Jonah with some of his friends. I can't remember what we said to get this pose, but it is great!! All the kids at the party. It was a loud, crazy, fun mess-o-kids!! Good times.

Happy Labor (free) Day!!

Today has been a fun-filled, much-needed, all-family, all the time day!!! No fun day is complete without a jump on the trampoline with the sprinkler spraying up from underneath...making the trampoline super slick and turning our back yard into a gigantic mud pit!! My handsome boys.....or maybe I should say, my cute little HOGS!! Go Razorbacks!!

Even though its still 900 degrees and humid here in Louisiana, sometimes the water that comes out of the sprinkler can be shockingly cold!! I just love the expression I caught on Abram's face!

Here's Abram just hanging out and looking cute in the playhouse. Since he couldn't jump on the trampoline with the big boys, lest he be trampled, he enjoyed the mud pit the sprinkler created.

Although this picture is not from today, I had to include it. While eating supper on Friday night, Jonah came up with this. He said, "Look Mom, I'm a catfish!" I thought it was pretty creative.

All about Seth!!

Today was Seth's first day of preschool!! He informed us this morning that he was so excited he couldn't sleep last night. Funny, I remember looking in on him several times last night.......I don't recall him ever actually having any trouble sleeping. This is Seth's bee. He had lots to say about this when he climbed into the van during carpool. He informed us that the way you get into trouble in class is as follows:
1. Your first offense your bee flies out of the hive and lands on a yellow flower (Caution)
2. Your second offense your bee flies to the RED flower (This involves the dreaded trip to the preschool director's office and a note home to mom and dad!)
3. The BEST part of the class discipline chart is that each day a kid remains in the hive, they get a "special bean" as a reward (a.k.a. a skittle).
Seth proudly announced he got his "special bean" today.......we hope there will be lots of "special beans" in his future!!!
Jamey and Seth......a last hug before we said good-bye to him and left him to a fun-filled first day at preschool!!!

Trying something new....

We thought we would try out the Flip. Our kids sure had a great time!!!

It's my 1st day of school.....pretty fun.

First Day of School Checklist:

1) Wake up earlier than normal. Check..zzzzzzz!

2) Get dressed in crisp new school uniform. Check!

(pick off dog hair and practice tucking in shirt--double check!!)

(leave cap at home--triple check!!!)

3) Eat Breakfast. Done!

(Jamey: "Jonah, why are you eating your Fruit Loops so fast?";

Jonah, with mouth full: "They're just so good!")

4) Run the new carpool route and

walk our "big boy" into the school--just for today. Check!

5) Take Jonah to his classroom and say

good morning to the bus, the pencils, Mrs. Fajardo,

the kids, the school, and to friends--not necessarily in that order!

Bus, check! Pencils, check! Mrs. Fajardo, check!

Kids, school, friends; check, check, check!

6) Restrain self from shedding the obligatory separation-tears. Check (sniff)!

7) Give our boy a hug and say good-bye 'til 3pm! Check!

8) Pray continually. CHECK!!

On the road again.....New Mexico!

We just returned from ANOTHER trip. Perfect time to update the blog. This time we took a group of college students to Collegiate Week at the Lifeway Conference Center in Glorieta, NM. We were more than willing to trade in the Louisiana heat and humidity for the dry air and cooler temps of the mountains.....no humidity...no mosquitos....beautiful scenery.....wow, its a wonder we decided to come back!!

Before we departed on our journey, we were lucky to have a visit from our good friend Teresa Royall and her husband, Bob. They were able to stay with us one night on their way to Dallas. Proves that people ACTUALLY do travel through Shreveport on occassion.

On the way to Glorieta, we stayed in Amarillo, TX. This provided us the opportunity to visit the Cadillac Ranch--basically a bunch of cars stuck hood-first in the ground in the middle of a field. Seth had a run-in with a mud puddle. This made him completely unable to enjoy the fun of running around a bunch of cars stuck hood-first in the ground in the middle of a field.
Jonah was able to appreciate it, though. Due to the fact that its Texas, and there is nothing to block the dirt from blowing into your eyes and blinding you, Jonah decided to borrow Mary's sunglasses--quite the look!

We also were able to enjoy an overpriced, mediocre, tourist-trap of a meal at the Big Texan! It was lots of fun though. I was really hoping that someone would attempt the 72 oz. steak (that's right, 4 1/2 lbs. of meat) while we were there--no takers. Abram enjoyed the trip too. We really need to keep a closer eye on him--no telling what he'll come home with next time! At least he loves his Mom!

To Atlanta and Back

Last weekend we went on a whirlwind trip to Atlanta to see our friends Tony Watson and Natalie Hillard (now Watson) get married. It was a great chance to see so many old friends..and all in one place, too. It was really nice of Tony and Natalie to plan their wedding with our needs in mind. Here is the man-picture--

Here is the woman-picture (plus Addison.....and baby Jack)--

Here is the kid-picture (almost time for a bigger couch at Julie's house)--

And just like that, the trip to Atlanta was over. Wish we could have stayed longer and seen more people but the kids had to get back to the grind in Shreveport. Their jobs are very demanding!

Don't worry though. They also know how to relax and have a good time. There's nothing like kicking back at the end of a long day with your cowboy hat on your head...and your plastic whistle around your neck! Can't get any better!!

It is July

Jamey celebrated his 34th birthday on June 11. He is another year older and wiser. In honor of him and his favorite team (which will remain nameless), we got him a purple and gold cookie cake......uh-oh, did we forget to have the cake lady put some pansies on there? Just joking, congrats to team which will remain nameless for winning the baseball national championship....if it can't be Arkansas, I guess Jamey's favorite team will do.On our annual, LA BCM Director's Family retreat, Jonah discovered his love of fishing. After getting some basic instruction and a free fishing rod (Thanks, Steve), Jonah caught more than 10 fish. They may not have been the biggest fish, but we're confident he's well on his way to being in the Bassmaster Classic someday!!We spent last week visiting Jamey's family in central Louisiana. I'm pretty sure we descended into some level of Hades, cause it was sooooooooooo HOT down there!!! Apart from almost bursting into flames, we had a great time!! Many thanks to my brother-in-law Jeffery and his aunt for allowing us to come pick some blueberries. We picked around 2 1/2 gallons of blueberries. I am glad that at least some of us love blueberries, cause I'm pretty sure they are going to be in EVERY thing we eat for the next couple of months. Does anyone know of any good blueberry recipes?
Seth is proudly displaying the few blueberries he actually gathered for us. The kids mostly had fun picking them and eating them (and throwing them). Here's Abram looking cute as ever. He just got through eating an icy pop that his B.B. gave him. What kid doesn't love an icy pop on a hot day? Wish this guy would start walking on his own. For now, he is content with walking around pushing a little toy walker.

Once again, its time for a picture of all B.B.'s grand kids. B.B. had this idea to put the kids on the stepping stones behind her house. If you didn't notice, that's B.B. holding up Abram in the right corner. If some of the kids look a little forlorn, its because they are about to melt into a liqui-kid puddle due to the intense heat........did I mention it is hot here in Louisiana???

Is it June already?

It is a regular occurrence now for me to wonder each weekend where the week went. I am having one of those moments now as I am realizing that it is already June 5. Where in the world did May go? I'm not exactly sure, but a few things I can recall from May.....Abram's first birthday, of course and our (me and the boys) trip to Arkansas while Jamey took a few BCM students to China for 15 days. We also had a family photo shoot in downtown Shreveport. Many thanks to Cassie for taking these awesome pics. Our last family pic was taken when Seth was a year old. So, we were due some family photographic documentation.
It is always a daunting task to get three preschoolers to pose at the same time. Luckily, I'm a huge fan of the real-life candid photos. So, here are my precious boys, just being themselves!!

Super sweet Abram!!

My personal superheroes........Lightning speed boy and his sidekick Ping-pong boy!!!