Suprises, Celebrations, and Other Changes....

James' LAST day at nursery school! It nearly broke my heart. We loved this place... here is a pic of him on his nap mat.

So another week down! Things are really picking up for us with our transition back home to Baton Rouge. To fill you in on the particulars, Marcus' background check has been cleared and we are now in contact with Exxon's relocation company. In fact, if you look at the calendar, we are a month and a half away from our big move! YIKES. I still have bittersweet feelings about this. Anywho, we did a lot of celebrating this week. Friday marked the last day of my student teaching--- *standing ovation, please.* Which means that I am officially 20 class days away from graduating! Marcus planned a surprise double date with my favorite Erica and my favorite other husband, Chris. Before heading out to meet our friends at their sushi joint, Marcus gifted me with the most beautiful diamond solitaire earrings. I've always said that I wanted a pair that matched my engagement ring one day... well, sooner than expected, I got my *nearly forgotten* wish. They are big, sparkly and totally qualify as big.girl.jewelry. They are meant to commemorate this huge step for me... *sigh* My guy is the greatest guy...

I love him so...


These are the turtles at the restaurant... they were so cute!


We had a fun night eating sushi and drinking martinis. I can't imagine life without my daily dose of the Dugans. BUT they promised to drive in to BR as often as possible- which means MANY more good times to be had. They are irreplaceable.


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Sunday, we celebrated Keston's third birthday! James had a great time playing and riding on a vintage firetruck. We have the best group of friends here. James loves his buddies. I am still processing pics- but here are a few below.





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As for this week, I plan on finishing up my independent study on Monday... cleaning house like a crazy woman... a playdate on Wednesday... and a zoo run with my bebe boy and our friends. Oh, and we are driving in Thursday night to BR for the weekend. We need to buy a house and attend my nieces' and nephew's birthday party.


Here is my first beautiful monarch chrysalis. Spectacular!
Enjoy your week.
Peace, xo.

*Third Annual Bluebonnet Run*

There are a zillion pics here... but who doesn't like to look at pictures? I just couldn't pick one over the others- so heck, I listed them all. Enjoy!

Monarch Maternity Ward... and Other *FANTASTIC* Stuff!

Prepare yourself for a meaty post!!! Lots to say and many pics to share! Hey, it's all good!

*WHEW* Another whirlwind weekend is gone. Well, this weekend was nice and relaxing... only reasonably busy. But first let me update you on the bebies and other good news. Ready? Okay, well I learned earlier this week that I received a THREE on my Teacher Work Sample. Not only is it a passing grade, but it's the highest score you can make. It was a beast of a thing- totalling over 90 pages... proves my effectiveness in the classroom. I can't tell you how many hours and hours went into the project. It went through a series of blind grading- which two scorers had to score it the same score- or it would go through a third grading. I'm just pleased it's over and I received such a high mark. *The light at the tunnel is only THAT much brighter for me!* Oh, and I finished the last of my PDAS observations!!! So basically, I'm just riding it out in my last two weeks of student teaching. Just a couple summer classes, and I'll have a degree. I can move on!!! Yippee!

This is a pic of my stellar supervisor, Diane Browning. She monitored my activity while student teaching, graded my PDAS observations, and encouraged me when I would have my down days. She was a bright spot during my student teaching semester. I'll never forget her.
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Now, on to the bebe business. I'm listing a few pics of the bebies that hatched from the eggs in the pictures earlier in my blog. They are so cute and are growing fast! My 'big boy' is getting close to metamorphosing... he'll make his chrysalis before the week is out, I'm sure. Enjoy the pics! And if you want a few to grow yourself, lemme know. Just be sure to have some milkweed/butterfly weed! They are eating machines.





We released our ladybugs last Monday afternoon. It was so much fun to watch them scurry away. James loved being able to handle them outside- but was a little melancholy when they weren't inside for him to play with anymore. BUT he gets super stoked when we find one outside. We plan on raising more again. Here are a few pics from our 'Born Free Party.'






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So this weekend we went to a crawfish boil in Sugarland. The Dugan's family friends throw a big shindig once a year, and they invited us! The weather was beautiful and we had a really REALLY nice time. The food was great. It was different than what I am use to... we actually sat down and ate our crawfish on plates!!! The shrimp was my favorite! Anywho, I met the nicest people and made lasting friends with Tarra and her fantastic parents, Pam and John. Texas is really making it hard to leave. James got to jump on a moonwalk for the very first time. He's so adventurous. He loved it! It was fun to watch my kid mingle with all of these adults- who were virtually strangers. People were so complimentary of his behavior, verbal, and social skills. It makes those loooong days worth it when you see how other people react to your child. AND, by the way, if you ever see a child out in public- and you want to compliment the parent about some aspect of the child- DO IT!!! It may not seem like much to you, but to a parent- it means the world. So much time and devotion goes in to raising that child--- and it's so frustrating and thankless at times--- I always appreciate the 'at.a.boys' more than they ever really know. So here are a few pics from our great day. I didn't take the point and shoot out until dark! It was kinda nice just enjoying the day without being the photographer.







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Now, off to start a new week! Oh, I've added a whole slew of new pics on dropshots. Go check them out... and comment!

AND check back in the next day or two for a PICTURE post of our annual BLUEBONNET TRIP.
Here is a sneak peak!


Have a beautiful Monday.
Peace. xo