Road trip to Granddaddy's house

Over the Memorial Day weekend, Anna and I drove the kids to Granddaddy's house in Louisiana. The drive usually takes about 7 hours without kids, and surprisingly, it took only 8 hours with kids! Whoo hoo!

On the way there, our car ride was very uneventful. We stopped for lunch early and let the kids run around for a little while, then got back on the road.

(Sorry for the blurry phone pictures!! I can't figure out how to make them not blurry!!!!!! Arrgh!!!!!!)

Theodore fought his nap for a while:


But then he finally gave in and decided to fall asleep:

I love that smooshy cheek!!!!

The kids were super excited to see Granddaddy! Oliver couldn't wait to get outside and start working in the garden. He had to wait until the next morning, though. :-)  Anna and I took the younger two to a playground while Oliver stayed home and helped Granddaddy in the garden. He built this impressive shelter from banana plants!

The next day, I took all 3 kids to the playground and to see Mike the Tiger at LSU. Mike was very active, which was fun for the kids! 

Later that day, the kids played with food coloring and did acrobatics outside:

Then, all too soon, it was time to go home! 

On the way home our early stop was at the Louisiana Oil and Gas Park, where Oliver and Buttercup got to hold baby alligators. :-) 

Then after 6 more (mostly) uneventful hours in the car, we finally arrived home! So glad this baby boy can entertain himself happily with a book, especially after only napping for 15 minutes. :-)

When you have a big sister . . .

Buttercup loves to dance and dress up . . .

. . . so it's really no surprise that Theodore wants to dance and dress up, too. :-)

 

Spicy Shrimp Pasta

Here's a recipe I found the other day that is 1) delicious, 2) easy, 3) not too unhealthy, and 4) perfect for my Le Creuset. It actually tastes a lot like shrimp version of chicken spaghetti! SO yummy!

Spicy Shrimp Pasta (adapted from Kevin & Amanda)

2 tbsp olive oil
1 1/2 lb frozen, pre-cooked cocktail shrimp, thawed, rinsed, and patted dry

2 cups diced onion
4 tbsp minced garlic
4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
2 (10 oz) cans Ro-Tel tomatoes and green chiles, Mild
1 cup whole milk
16 oz whole wheat pasta
1 teaspoon pepper

1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup Colby Jack cheese, shredded
1/2 cup thinly sliced scallions

Preheat the broiler in your oven. 

Add olive oil to an oven-safe pot over medium high heat. Add shrimp and onions and cook until onion is soft, about 5-7 minutes. Add garlic and cook about 2 minutes longer.

Add broth, Ro-Tel tomatoes, whole milk, pasta, salt and pepper and stir. Bring to a boil, cover, and reduce heat to a simmer. Simmer until pasta is tender.

Remove pot from heat and stir in 1/2 cup cheese. Top with remaining cheese and sprinkle with scallions. Broil until cheese is melted and bubbly.

You can eat it right away if you and your kids are starving, but if you can wait 10-15 minutes, the sauce will thicken and it will be even creamier. Enjoy!

Two years old!

Theodore is TWO today! Can you believe it??? This is such a fun, fun age....I want time to stop so we can really enjoy every moment of it! He is just so fun to be around. Such a sweet, funny little guy, with a sweet little voice and squishy cheeks. He does and says so many adorable things every day! We are so blessed to have him in our lives. :-)

We had Theodore's birthday party last weekend at one of the sprinkler parks around here. About 2 months ago, I rented a pavilion at the park for his party -- and good thing! The park was packed!   

It was pretty windy when we were setting up, with huge gusts of wind coming out of nowhere.  All of our stuff was blowing over:

And the mean old wind kept blowing away the birthday boy's balloons! 

:-(

 Thankfully, the birthday boy has an awesome big brother who is always ready to save the day!

(Only one of his many trips to rescue the stray balloons.)

Ah, reunited at last!

This is what happens when you ask a 7 year old to smile for a picture:

This is what happens when you ask a 6 year old and a 7 year old to smile for a picture:

And this is what happens when you ask a 6 year old, 7 year old and almost 2 year old to smile for a picture:

We had the usual antics from Heather and Anna:

This is Theodore's BFF, Analiese (or, "Ahh-wee", as he pronounces it):

Theodore showing off his best balloon-dancing moves:  

Since the party was at the sprinkler park and there were lots of grownups around to supervise the kids, I planned on taking pictures of the kids playing in the water and having fun. But, as things usually go, I ended up putting my camera away "for a minute" at the beginning of the party and never taking it out again. The only reason we have pictures of kids eating cake is because my sweet friend Jessica asked if she could take pictures for me, which was very nice of her and for which I'm very thankful! :-)  

Happy birthday, Theodore! We love you!!