Intruder in my yard!!!

So, I was sitting in my mom's art studio room the other day and I looked out into the front yard and I saw this crossing the yard...

It was a crazy huge turtle! Here are some more pics of the turtle, turtle (I am shrugging my shoulders as I say this, like from that movie with Dana Carvey)...

The Canadians flew South for the Spring...

In May my Nana's two sisters flew down for a visit. This is a first in a long time that Aunt Audrey and Aunt Pat have come down for a visit. I must thank Carol Ann (aunt A's daughter) for planning a trip to visit with Aunt Kim and convincing her mom and aunt P to come along. Aunt A & P stayed at my house so they could be with thier sister. It was fun to listen to the three of them reminising about old times. And it was such a treat to hear them singing together in the evenings (unfortunatley, I did not get the singing voice)

Aunt Audrey, Nana, Aunt Pat

The first weekend they were here, we had a big family get together at aunt Kim's house. Uncle Jeff even came down from Wyomning for a visit. It was a big family reunion!

Sittin and Chattin waitin on the Grill Master to do his job

The Family Picture

Front Row (and working my way back): Nana, Aunt Audrey, Aunt Pat, Olivia, Jen

Aunt Kim, April, Baby Marleigh, Lil Bryce, Me, Big Bryce

Krissy, Matt, Kelly, Frankee, Jayden, Uncle Jeff, Carol Ann

Streett, James, Rick, Aunt Pat

Aunt Cindy, Drew, Vinny, Nancy and Paul

*people missing: Adrienne, Robin, Anna, Sofia, Wes, my Mom

Fun Foto Friday

Smage, Jen and I at O's birthday party. I just love my cousins!!!

My Bestie Came to Town!!

At the end of April, my bestie, Lynley, came to town...all the way from St. George, Utah. I was lucky enough to steal her away from her family for a day and a half. First on Thursday, O and I drove up to Hattiesburg to have dinner with L. We went to our favorito mexicano restauranto. El Mariachi Loco in Petal!!! Yum Yum Yum! I was also able to go up Sunday and spend the night at her parents casa. We spent all day Monday together.

First we had breakfast at Wards....they seriously have the best breakfast (for a fast food place)

crispy bacon, buttery biscuit, delicious grits and eggs!

Then we drove a bit north to the Watermelon Patch. A building in the middle of nowhere on the highway that has hundreds and hundreds of shoes! We must have spent at least an hour trying on shoes. I had some pretty good willpower and walked out empty handed. L bought a new pair of shoes for work.

Then we drove back to Hattiesburg, where we went "treasure hunting" at Hudson's Dirt Cheap and Hudson's Treasure Hunt. At Dirt Cheap we found books (young adult, hardback) for 50 cents each! I bought 14!! At Hudson TH, they had thousands of DVD's for 70%off ... score! I bought 2 seasons of Gilmore Girls ($10 each) and 8 other movies (none over $3 and some were new releases)...I was a happy girl at this point.

Then we had lunch at A&B Chinese Takeout. It is off a main road and is a hole in the wall place...but it is seriously the best Chinese. Hmmm... now I am wanting some.

I had Mandarin Chicken and L had some yummy chicken that I am going to get next time.

Our next adventure of the day took us to the Coast. L needed to get some souvenirs for some people back in St. George so we hit up the souvenir shops...no luck so we went to Walmart. We did drive over to Long Beach where we made a stop at the USM Gulf Coast campus to visit the Friendship Oak. This is one of my favorite trees. *cool fact about this tree, there is an oak tree in Aunt Kim and Marks yard that is a sapling from this tree...it is about 40 years old and is tall and beautiful...I wonder if it will look like it's "mom" 400 years from now?*

It's a 500+ year old Live Oak. Now it is said (and there is a plaque so it is true) that those that enter the shadows of the tree will remain friends throughout their lifetime.

After we finished hanging out on the Coast we drove back to Hattiesburg. We said our goodbyes and I drove back to the Coast. I wish L lived closer. It was great when I was in Vegas and she was less than 2 hours away. Now she is looking at moving to Logan for grad school and I am heading to Houston. Oh the places life takes us.

Saved By The Bell Reunion

Last night on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, a special guest was on the show...none other that the one and only Zack Morris!! (aka Mark Paul Gosselaar) Zack was the same as he was in high school, he even got a phone call (on his dinosaur of a cell phone) from Jessie Spanno and did a performance with his bank, Zack Attack! I really think it was the best 8 1/2 minutes of tv that I have seen lately.

So the good news is, Jimmy Fallon is working on getting a Saved By The Bell Reunion. Sweet! So are all cast members are in except Kelly and Screech (which I have heard he is having money problems, so I don't see why he would turn this down...ahhh how I love celebrity gossip!)

Here is the clip from the Jimmy Fallon show last night...enjoy!! I hope you all enjoy it as much as I did and are as super stoked about the reunion as I am!!!

Silly Kids, Trix are for Rabbits

I am so stoked that my friend Kristine is back in Gulfport.  Her hubby, Brandon, is in the Seabees and they had been stationed in Signoella, Sicily for the last 3 years.  They have been stationed once again in Gulfport, Mississippi....yay!!!!!   A couple of weeks ago, the babysitter was on vacation so I watched the kids for her, luckily I was on spring break.  Now when they left for Sicily, Aidan was just a  tiny little thing.  I went over and visited them for a couple of weeks a few years ago and he was just 1...now he is 4!  They also added to thier family while in Sicily...Miss Amber.  She is 9 months old now.  I finally got to meet her when they moved back in December.  

I decided to pack the kids up and take them to the park.  Amber LOVED being in the swing and screamed when I took her out.  She laughed the entire time she was swinging.  Aidan was being his silly self (and I have the picture to prove it)....

Olivia Turns 10!!!!

On May 10th, O turned 10...her Golden Birthday.  I tried to win Jonas Brother tickets for her, but no luck.  But that would have been by far the coolest gift she got. Instead I am making her gift...which I still am. I will post pictures when it is done.  Isn't the cake pretty sweet...Jen made it.  She is such the baker! All the seashells are made from chocolate...

 So O had a water party.  Jen and Bryce built this cool slip and slid that had a waterfall.  They made it out of PVC pipe.  The kids had so much fun!  

Crawfish Boilin Time

On a blustery, overcast and sorta drizzly day, my family got together to boil crawfish.  Yum!  In the grand tradition of boiling crawfish, we also threw garlic (whole), potatoes, sausage, artichokes, corn and lemons in the pot to soak up some spicy goodness.  

Most of the family was there to partake of the yummy goodness...

Adrienne (aka Smage or BB Magee), Kelly and Frankee

Mom and Aunt Kim

Jen and (big)Bryce

Smage, (lil)Bryce and Me

When you eat the crawfish, we usually dump the pot out on a big table or as this day on a big piece of wood covered in paper on top of sawhorses.

Bryce, mom, Mark and James suckin the heads and pinchin the tails

Only Jen brings a touch of class to a crawfish boil by making sure her pinky is held out as she is about to suck the spicy juices from the crawfish head

Easter Eggs Galore

On the Saturday before Easter, Aunt Kim and Aunt Pat got thier grandsons together to dye some Easter eggs. This was the first time Streett and Jayden had ever dyed eggs. They were a bit unsure of what to do at first. J even tried to drink the dye and dunk his cookie in it! Here are the pictures from this fun day...

J wanting to drink the dye

S really didn't want to put the egg in the cup...oh and see that he is dying his eggs in Old Miss colors...a rebel through and through

Look at all those eggs!

S putting stickers on his eggs

J completely covering his eggs with stickers

Look Maggie & Bubba, I got the egg before Brat did!

J found an egg too!

Cousin fist bumps

Hugs!!!!

Fun Foto Friday

Just to let you know...and please feel free to pass it along to cute single guys ;)...

When L was in town visiting, we were driving up to the Watermelon patch (a fantastic shoe store north of Hattiesburg) and I suddenly started laughing. L was like what's so funny? I said I just saw this mondo huge sign on a trailer that said I'm Beautiful, I'm Single, I'm Available. That was the best sign I have ever seen! L said we had to stop to take a picture on the way back. No problem. Seriously have you ever seen a better sign???

Day at the Park

The Friday before Easter, I was able to spend the day with Streett. He is my cousin Krissy's almost 2 year old. S and I had a blast bonding at the park. Here are some of the pictures from the day...

Kids will be kids

I was watching B and O the other day while thier parents were at work.  First I have to say that I can't believe that B is 15, going on 16.  And O just turned 10.  It seems like just the other day they were babies.  Oh how time flies.  

When Hurricane Gustov came through last year (no damage to any of the houses in my family...yay!), this Shrek bouncy ball think came floating into my mom's yard.  Who know where it came from, maybe Florida or one of the islands or a house down the street.   B decided he would take a bounce on it.  I would have thought O would be the one to do this but no it was B....

Catch up

Ok, I know I have been a complete slacker lately with posting.  Please forgive me!  

Here's the skinny on the happenings of my life:

When I got home from Philly, I started substituting for St. Tammany Parish.  Now many have asked why are you driving to Slidell, Mandeville, Abita Springs and Covington to sub?  Well, St. Tammany paid me for my degree/teaching certificate and Mississippi would pay me the same as someone fresh out of high school.  If I wanted to make the same as someone out of high school, I would work at Wendy's or Walmart.  Anyways, it came out to about $35 more a day to cross the state line.  Also the drive time was about the same as having to go to Gulfport or Biloxi for work.  

I have also been a crazy woman filling out job applications for the fall. There are over 50 districts in the Houston area. I have filled out so many applications that I am now a professional job application filler outer.  Maybe I should start a business where I fill out applications for people.  It could be an option.  I am hoping to find a teaching job in the Houston, Texas area.  I am such a city girl.  I love the conviences of the city, and the many different entertainment options (such as theater, museums, etc).  Houston from what I have read and been told, has an amanzing theater circuit.  They have broadway shows year round that come to the area.   It also has NASA, a sweet zoo and aquarium, oh and I can't forget the shopping!!!  I am always up for some good retail therapy.  

Last weekend, I went to a job fair for the Pasadena ISD.  (I was on the road Friday and remembered I forgot to post a fun foto friday...sorry) I received 3 interviews.  The first was at 11:30 and when I went to the classroom it was being held in (the job fair was at a high school in the district), I was told they were no longer doing interviews for the day becasue all postions had been filled.  What?!  You filled all positions with the first 6 people you interviewed.  Ok, there lost for not talking to me.  :)  The second school I interviewed with , well, didn't go so well.  As I was asking questions, one of the ladies would cut me off to ask the next question.  I guess she didn't like my answers.  I was a little frazzled from it.  My last interview, I was kinda beat down from the previous two and my hopes were less than high.  The lady interviewing me made me feel so at ease.  I was in there for almost 30 minutes.  It think it went well.  She said they didn't have any openings at the moment but were expecting some 1st and 2nd grade positions to be available.  They would know more after this week, when school gets out.  She did ask which I would perfer, I said I would love either.  I am keeping my fingers crossed for Fisher ES

Now, I am starting to prepare for the big Houston area job fair on June 15.  My old roomie, Andra, is flying in from Alberqurque for it too!  I am excited to see her!  All the Houston area districts will be there, so if I am hoping to walk away with a job (if I don't hear from Fisher ES soon).   

I have so many pictures to post from over the last month and a half...I am working on them!  

So you will be bombared with post here soon!!!

I am a Cupcake

I was reading my friend Laura's blog and she posted the results she got from a link off her sister's blog.  The link was to a quiz to find out what kind of cup cake you are....FUN!!!   I decide to follow the link and take it.... here are my results...

You Are a Lemon Cupcake

You are spirited and spunky. You embrace life and have a sunny outlook. You're drawn to all sorts of people. You can find something to like about almost anyone. You are like a cupcake because you're cute and happy. You can turn anyone's day around. You love to laugh and have a wickedly funny sense of humor. You enjoy teasing and joking around.

Fun, I know! Ok, so if you want to find out what kind of cupcake you are, follow this link! Cupcake

5th Season starts today

The South's 5th season, Hurricane Season, starts today! So far, so good!

Already? Really?!?!?!

Really? I mean it's not even June 1st yet! For those of you that are not familiar with the South's 5th season, June 1st starts Hurricane Season. On Wednesday, I tuned in to see the last 3 minutes of American Idol, just to see who won. I am not an AI watcher, but I wanted to see who America voted for. After the show the New Orleans news came on and the first thing they talked about was this low pressure system sitting over Florida. Great. It was already taking the shape of a storm. Well, about 20 minutes ago we got the first feeder band (the band of rain that comes off the storm before the eye of the storm hits land). The low is moving fast and is not even strong enough to be called a tropical depression. We will get some well needed rain from it and that is about all. The winds are not any stronger than the breeze we get from the beach daily. So this is just a little teaser, hopefully the rest of the season will be quiet!