Thursday, July 5, 2012

The 4th at the Lafittes

To start this year's party out on the right foot, I thought I would put a little effort into it by decorating for the occasion.  I had a blast dressing up my Barbie Dream House.....

It's too bad this picture isn't a better one----then you could see how cute the front porch is---and how I have taped the flag to the light pole with silver duct tape in the most absolute redneck fashion possible.  But hey--I had limited tools to work with so don't mock me.  At least it got hung up.
 I went a little overboard with my bandanna sewing.......
 And right on cue, this thing just exploded with flowers.
 KAPOW
 It's so heavy with flowers, it is just hanging off of the arch way.  I thought it was a nice touch that it was so bloomy for my party.  :)
 At our house we even decorate the dogs.

 After we got the house, the dogs, ect all decorated, we slipped up to Commercial Street to watch the parade. 
 The first Morgan fire truck.  It was out of sequence from the others so I was shook up and therefore the photo is blurry.
 Our friends from Morgan City
 This is Chaston's WBBA float
 That's him sitting in the bottom corner with the flag.
 One last Chaston shot!
 Lydon in a fire truck
 When the parade was over we (and the rest of what I will presume was the entire state of Utah---too many people) went over to the park to watch the all star base ball games and enjoy the  festivities that they had to offer.

Here's Shirl and her gang in the patch of shade that they claimed.  James Wilkerson, that better be more than your middle finger on your face!
 Even Shirlee decorates her dog for the 4th of July.
 We had to watch the all-star games because Chaston Netz was pitching!!
 And his team WON!!!  I'm not sure which one of those things that he is holding is the trophy.....the grinning guy on the left or the gold statue on the right.
 When the game was over, we headed over to the other side of the park where Lydon kinda helped the fire department hose down the kids.
 Here comes Uncle Boyd to save the day (is it just me or does the pedestrian sign look like it is pointing at Boyd?  Just asking)
 There was one minor hick-up when Buster was parked RIGHT IN THE WAY of the fire truck but that problem was quickly solved and the hose down was back up and running.
 Jr. Bacon Waller even ran the hose for a minute.  (Dear Tyler--I think that is what you should name him)
 I saw the two cutest hosed down kiddos EVER!!

 Once I had had all the fun I was going to have at the park, we moved on to the big party at the Lafitte Family Farm.

We started out making t-shirts................this year we bleached.
 Brennan, are you texting?  Cuz you know how  Aunt Stacy feels about texting during arts and crafts time!
 Timmy's finished project.  Check it out....he made my camera sparkle with  beautifullness.
 Lydon's shirt.  I think they all turned out cute.  I wished I would have got a pic of all of them.  DANG IT!
 On to BBQ time.



 Shhh....don't tell him....he gets mad when I take his picture.
 And then we Minute to Win-ned It!

Boyd vs. Shawn
Ka-Broom
Smack the plate with  broom to catapult the marshmallow into the air.  Catch three marshmallows  to win.
 Action shot.
Look at Boyd catch that marshmallow.
 Brenn vs. Chaston
Tortilla  Head
Flip a tortilla from a swim flipper onto the plate on your head.
 Action shot
Look at Chaston catch that tortilla!
 Tiff vs. Aaron Jean
Volcano
Drop a Mento from elbow height into a bottle of diet soda
 Action Shot
Aaron's aftermath
 Action Shot
Tiff wasnt' gonna let Aaron get away with it.
 Lydon vs. Nate
That's nuts
Stack six metal nuts using a wooden dowel with your mouth
 Action shot
Lydon---you are not supposed to be kissing that wooden dowel
 Action Shot
Concentrate Nate.  At least that's what I think he's doing behind those glasses.
 What the Heck!  Were did this picture come from?!!?  Who has been playing with my camera?
 Uncle Jill vs. My little Babooshka
Separation Anxiety
Separate the colored water balloons into color coded piles using one hand
Extra added bonus---Little Yo may or my not help.
 Action Shot
My Little Babooshka working it
 Action Shot
Uncle Jill looking pretty--Jill, this is a competition on a beauty contest!!
 Extra Action Shot
Despite the fact that Uncle Jill got some help from Little Yo, she lost.
 Carol vs. The egg
Roll the egg around the back side of a pizza pan trying to pick up the stickers without the egg rolling off the pan
 After I wore everyone out with my extremely exciting Minute to Win It games, I tried to cool them off with their food craft:  Red-White-Blue drinks.
 Lydon was the only one that was able to make it actually work.  So I guess that means if this firefighter/EMT thing doesn't pan out he always has a back up career as a bartender.
 Since all fireworks were banned this year INCLUDING THE BIG ONES!! I had no other choice but to try to light up the sky with glow in the dark bubbles.  So pretend like these bubble that Little Yo is blowing are glowing and that it is a night time shot.
 Pretend really hard  cuz the glow in the dark bubble thing really didn't work out all that great.  Hey at least Little Yo is super cute to look at blowing non-glow-in-the-dark bubbles in the non-dark.
 And just when you would think that everyone would drop over tired from all the fun and excitement that the long hot day had to offer, Chaston INSISTED (and I mean he INSISTED) that we go across the street and play a round of baseball in the field. This blurry parting action shot brought to you by Timmy.


Dear Ogden City Fire Dept

Just because you all think the Captain Buster is big stuff down there in the "O" Town doesn't mean that he doesn't have to  behave himself when  he is back here at home.......

This is what happens when he parks in the wrong place at the wrong time on the 4th of July. 



You do not get in the way of a city park full of hot, sweaty anxious kids waiting to get a spary-down from the fire truck on the 4th of July.  Buster is lucky that all he got was a fire hose through  his car window. 

Monday, May 14, 2012

Happy Birthday to my Mom

Happy birthday Mamacita

I love you and miss you EVERY DAY!




Thursday, April 5, 2012

Update: Breaking News on my fixation with 1950's

Yo Dad sent over these pictures to accompany my new/old watch crystal cabinet and my Grandma Ruth mink stole.  I am in old-time heaven.

This is Grandma Ruth and Grandpa's jewelry shop that the watch crystal cabinet came from.
Grandpa inside the store.  Why wasn't I around back in those days?!!?  I would have been a delightful addition to their jewelry store.  It's just my opinion but I believe I have the beautiful delicate wrists for modeling watches and bracelets.  I also have long lovely fingers were perfect for modeling rings up until that horrible hatchet accident that disfigured my left pointer finger (but that's a different story for a different day).

A view of the jewelry store from the outside.

And these are pictures of the mink that allegedly may have produced the mink stole.  Yo Dad says that these mink are deceased even though they look as if they are trying to chew off a chunk of his face. 
Look at what a tough cookie Grandma Ruth was---she can handle a dead mink like no body's business!


Now I can't wait to see what else Yo Bob's got to share.  His house is just like a real life "American Picker's" show.  I gotta get back over there and see what else he's got buried in his basement/closet/shop.

Wednesday, April 4, 2012

I was meant for a different era

This past weekend, Yo Bob gave me a new treat for my house  (you heard right Buster--he gave ME a treat)

He gave me this most beautiful watch crystal cabinet that used to be Grandma Ruth's.  It holds every imaginable watch  face crystal from the old days inside each of those drawers.  The top part of the cabinet is where they would repair watched and snap the new crystal face onto the watch
.
This is the foot petal that run the face snapper-on gadget at the top of the cabinet
This is what is inside EVERY SINGLE DRAWER.
Little envelopes with watch crystals of every size on the inside.
I LOVE-LOVE-LOVE this new/old cabinet.  I think it is absolutely beautiful.    I think I was meant to live in the 1950's because I am so intrigued by all things from that time frame.

I have Grandma Ruth's watch, which I wore until I was afraid I was going to break it.
I still have her glasses.
And her pink Kleenex box.
This is her purse....
And her mink stole.  I was convinced, as a little kid, that this was worth a million dollars and Grandma Ruth was rich!
Her pink dress (which, in my mind, was her prom dress)
and the pink shawl that goes with it.
Her coat.
The toys (that can either be cute or creepy depending on what time of the day you look at them) that came from her house.
Her pretty pink dishes.
And even her funky colored dishes.

I love all of it!

So -please-  If it is one of my Friday days off and I am home alone, do me a favor and give me a courtesy call before you come over.  I don't want you to catch me prancing around my 1957 house in my Grandma Ruth pink prom dress in her cat-eyed glasses, pulling tissues from the pink Kleenex box while wearing her mink stole and working on watches on my new/old watch cabinet at the same time that I'm sipping from her pink glasses and whipping up a batch of cookies in her pink mixing bowls.  That would be so embarrassing!