Naughty Dog

Serious naughty-ness.

When left outside for an extended time, she found her way back in.

After tearing a hole in the screen.

I wanted to be mad, but I was amazed at her resourcefulness. I'm still sort of in shock. And really, how could you stay mad at a face like this?

pretty.

A flower from a rosebush in the backyard. I spotted it while strolling around back today. It was hidden behind the fence. Thought we'd enjoy it inside.

The lovely bouquet I received on Secretary's Day. (Yes, call me a Secretary. It's on my name tag!). Don't they make you just want to dive into summer?

a boy

No, not just a boy. The boy. MY boy.

A lover of Legos.

He is smart (straight As!), witty (oh, the things he comes up with) and has the manners of a true gentleman. (Truly, we receive compliments everywhere we go.)

He is incredibly imaginative. (King Nolan Day)

He brings us joy every single day and I light up each and every time he stops by my desk just to say hi (and let me know he hasn't had a color change!).

Testing for his yellow belt

He is a natural athlete and takes it very seriously. He is a very quick learner (tell him once, and he's got it.) He's very competitive. We'll often find that after we say goodnight, he'll get dressed for the next day so his sister doesn't "beat him" to the kitchen.

And best of all, he loves Jesus. His new hobby is writing praise songs. He's decided that he's ready to be baptized. Is there much more a mother could ask for?? Aside from the 100 goodnight smooches we shared this evening... no, I don't think so.

(fairy) godmother

Okay, so I don't have wings or a magic wand. (I would love one though. I wouldn't turn a pumpkin into a carriage or anything, but if I could get my laundry to fold itself, my husband would be one happy man!)

I am a godmother, however.

This is all new to me, but am incredibly honored. My ex-boss (she would call me her co-worker, because she's just that type of gal) and I became very close while we worked together. While I am older than her, by 9 whole months!, we just clicked. Yonna is truly an amazing person and I am honored just to know her. When I was offered the position at the Elementary Lab, my first thoughts turned to her. My first instinct was to say no, only because I couldn't leave Yonna. She was on maternity leave and I was so nervous to tell her. Not because I thought she would be mad (again, she's not that kind of person) but because I didn't want it to negatively affect our friendship.

We don't get to see each other every. single. day. and I grieve the loss of our time together. (Sounds so tragic, I know.) Our time spent together is far more infrequent, but we remain the best of friends and know that because we no longer have that boss-employee relationship that it has only been strengthened.

Yo & I at her baby shower

I know this for many reasons, but was elated when she asked me to be her son's godmother. I cried (duh), she cried and I am thrilled beyond words. Amsden's baptism ceremony was held last Saturday morning and I was an honored guest. It was a small, private and beautiful ceremony, where I cried again. Seriously, you're not surprised, are you?

Is he not one of the most gorgeous things you have ever seen? He is such a well-tempered baby, and insanely cute. He smells like a dream. To know that I will hold a permanent place in his life, and he in mine, is the best part of all. Yonna and Alan have a beautiful family and I plan to be a part of it for a lifetime. Thank you.

Back to School

Spring Break was glorious. But we returned to school and boy is it busy! This week was State Testing, which is high-stakes and a very big deal in Louisiana. A very big deal. 2nd-5th grades prepared, reviewed and tested their little hearts out. Being in the school for the first time, I was amazed at the amount of work that goes into testing week. (We are so fortunate to be at such an amazing school.) Claire wasn't too nervous, and her teachers said she did fantastic. Now we just have to wait for the scores. I'm not a Nervous Nellie or anything, but am eager to see how she did!

Before she put pencil to paper, however, Claire got her softball on. Her travel team won, and won big! The Cane River Crushers took first place in the Battle of the Bats Tournament last Saturday. It was a busy day as I joined the team later in the day, but it was worth the trip. The girls played 6 games in one day, winning 5 of them, including the final championship game. The final 4 games were played back-to-back with no more than 15 minutes between. They played their hearts out, in spite of illness and injury. I am one proud mama!!

Today brings more baseball (for both boys) and I am looking forward to a relaxing evening. We do have several plants that need to get in the ground however, so that just may take the place of all that relaxing I was planning on, but we'll see.

Next week doesn't slow down one bit, and truly, I don't envision much of a break for the Spann Fam until May 26. Am I counting down to the last day of school?? Maybe...

The high school is finishing up their season this month, with only 2 weeks left. It will be strangely different to not attend games in May, but Spring Football starts up, so no one will be bored!

The weather is perfect and I'm inside. I can't wait to get a laptop when I can blog and visit design blogs (my latest obsession) as I lounge by the pool. "Summer days, drifting away..." A girl can dream :).

a blog to remember

So, I've been blogging for nearly 4 years now. I've always enjoyed going back and reading old posts, but I hadn't done it for some time. For whatever reason, I've been going back. Waaay back. It's taken forever, but this week I've read 2010, 2009, 2008. I'm still working on 2007 & 2006.

Some of the posts make me laugh and some make me cry. Some remind me of conversations and instances that I had totally forgotten about. I wish I had posted more pictures. Since that is what it is. A photo album. A journal. A memoir.

I can look back see where we've been and remember what I was feeling when I wrote it. I can remember exactly where I was when I was typing. At the kitchen table, in the office, at the library, in a coffee shop.

I can hardly believe all that has happened in the Spann Family since the beginning of this blog. It's been an adventure, to say the least.

And you've been there, reading along.

Some of you have been reading since the beginning. Some of you are new. Some used to read but now I'm not sure if you're around. I used to get comments but not so much any more. (I have a feeling that with the addition of Facebook to all of our lives, it may be a little redundant and I've lost some readers. )

So if you're here, I say thank you. Thank you for listening to me rant and rave, complain and whine, brag and boast, bore you and hopefully make you laugh once in a while. I write this blog mainly for myself. To preserve those memories that otherwise might be lost. But also for our far reaching friends and family, from Natchitoches to San Diego to Denver to Minnesota to Omaha and beyond. We miss you.

I don't have plans to quit any time soon. I just hope you'll hang in with me!

a fling

Yes, it's true. We've had a fling. It was glorious, and I don't regret it for one second... Until it was over, that is. I'm talking about Spring Break. It's such a tease. It gives us gorgeous weather, days to sleep in, work around the house and just enjoy BEING. By about Wednesday by brain had completely made the transition to vacation mode and I actually caught myself thinking that it was summer vacation. Yeah, wishful thinking. We return to school and real life tomorrow.

Still, I have no complaints (we all had 10 days off! - what do I have to complain about??) and we truly could not have asked for a better way to spend our days.

Here are few highlights...

We did this everyday. Even when it was a pleasant 75 degrees outside but the water was much (MUCH) colder. They played through the pain.

Kelly & I both logged many hours of physical labor. I had intended to take before & after pictures of everything, but didn't think that you'd be interested in seeing ALL the details. Day one & two were spent outside loping (love that word) tree branches and overgrown shrubs, pulling weeds and tending to outside projects.

We tackled many inside jobs, too. What was once this...

Became this...

The wall color looks different in the two pictures, but that's only due to lighting. (Just another reason I love 'Relaxed Khaki'. Oh, the versatility.) I still didn't get rid of that yellow. Next on the list.

We were very fortunate to acquire some new furniture pieces. New to us, anyway. A fellow baseball coach has 4 (count em, 4!) storage units full of stuff that he's just dying to get rid of. We helped him by taking a few things. There is more I want to go back for. I felt a little greedy. Especially they all came at the low price of free-ninety-nine!

This little chest of drawers now hold my "unmentionables". All she needed was a quick sanding and a clear coat of poly. I really love her. She doesn't match the other, much larger, dresser in the room, and I think he'll have to go soon. Looking for a replacement.

Isn't she pretty? A little bit country, but I'm still smitten.

We also got this lovely little side table. I sanded the top and wiped on my trusty poly, once again. A basket I already had fit perfectly. Again, a little country, but it works.

We also got a round dining room set which we put in the study. It's exactly the size and shape I was looking for to use as a homework/craft/game table. I didn't take a pic, since I haven't decided if I'm going to refinish it or not, but I'm totally stoked on it (oh, there's the California girl in me coming out!).

I also hung some art, a Pottery Barn memo board, and added to the mantel. Here's the view as you walk through the front door:

Birds are EVERYWHERE this season. I don't mean the real ones. Pottery Barn, Crate & Barrel and every design blog in the nation is featuring birds, nests & eggs. I really like it. Very seasonal. Mine only cost $1 - from the Dollar Tree. Chirp chirp.

I'm still tweaking the mantel. The left side:

We had some other transformations, too. Plain ol' white eggs turned into this, with the help of Claire & Nolan:

The next day, they looked like this:

Yum! I learned something about myself, too. While I love carrot cake, one slice is enough for me. So when I made an entire 2-layer cake, it was a bit of overkill. Not to mention, I under baked the layers and they sunk in the middle. I enjoyed my piece anyway...

I mean, who wouldn't, with all that ooey, gooey, sickening sweet cream cheese icing?

So now we're just counting down the days until June, when our real vacation begins. Spring Fever anyone??

spring has sprung!

Last weekend was Les Amies' annual Easter Egg Hunt at the Lemee House.

(Last year - man they've grown!)

Ready to hunt

Gosh, I need a tan. And a trainer. And a haircut. Sheesh.

Major stress brought on by the lack of finding the golden egg.


They really do love each other.


To say that we've enjoyed our Spring Break would be a vast understatement. We have had a fantastic time, just being at home. Soon I'll catch you up on all that was accomplished, but for now, I've got one more day to squeeze in on my vacay before going back on Tuesday.

Happy Easter!

Here are Spann Family's top 2 songs to listen to on Easter morning. Enjoy!

Arise, My Love - Newsong

Hope's Song - Veggie Tales Easter Carol