Extra Extra! Read All About It!

So, have you heard the news?

Coach Spann is officially the Head Baseball Coach of the Natchitoches Central Chiefs! {I may have mentioned something to that effect a couple of months ago, but a lot has happened since then.} It's actually been official for a little while now, but I'm just now making a formal announcement on the ol' blog. You know, for the thousands of readers that stop by each day. No? Maybe not. Well, it is going to be in the Natchitoches Times on Tuesday. And seeing as how one of our family members is featured on a bi-monthly basis, it only seems fitting. Ahhh, life in a small town.

Summer ball is about to kick off, with new unis for a fresh start. Looking forward to cheering on the Chiefs to victory! Play Ball!

Summa Summa Summatime!

School is officially out for the summer! The last day of school was Wednesday, and I have two more weeks, but we are in full-on hyper drive summer-mode. Staying up late, sleeping even later, hours in the pool and working outside has already filled our weekend.

Happy Summer!

it's my party

Okay, it's not really MY party. Nolan didn't even have a real party. We are celebrating with friends and a trip to take in Kung Fu Panda 2 on Monday. But even without a party, I love to decorate for the occasion. I found the cute idea to make ruffled streamers and suddenly I was a mom on a mission. I decorated like crazy {or OOC - Out Of Control, in Kelly's mind - silly man}. Nolan was all smiles as he awoke as an 8 year old in a birthday wonderland!

 

Love this 8 year old!

2,920 Days

We're celebrating this guy today!

In the past 2,920 days we have seen Nolan grow into a smart, hilarious, polite and generous 8-year old boy who loves Legos and all things Star Wars. He makes me laugh. Every. Single. Day.

 

 Happy Birthday, Buddy!

Busting boredom by drawing with his feet  

my life as a field trip

I rarely leave Natchitoches. No, really. I live, work, worship, shop, dine and do all my living in our small town. I used to travel to far-away lands on a very regular basis, between Northwestern Baseball and Claire's travel ball team, we were on the road all the time. Then Kelly made the switch to high school and we didn't make too many away games this year. Claire is taking a break from travel softball, in order to enjoy life as a 9-year old should, which keeps us blissfully at home on Saturdays and Sundays.

While we do save tons of moola on gas, I find myself getting a little restless. Oh, how I would love to visit Target (!) or dine somewhere rather than the usual Natchitoches fare. Well, this weekend, Claire and I left town big time.

Friday I was one of many chaperones on Claire's 4th & 5th grade field trip to New Orleans. We boarded the charter bus, and in true field trip fashion, found my seat at the back of the bus. Right next to the bathroom. I was hoping to leave my secretary voice at home {"walking feet!"} but I quickly became the bathroom monitor {"no, you slide the door. go sit back down. i said sit!" - i really am a nice secretary}.

After 4 hours of bathroom bliss we arrived at the Aquarium of the Americas. We enjoyed the morning with friends while taking in the sights and sounds. We ate lunch and watched the IMAX movie, "Deep Sea 3D". Johnny and Kate (Depp & Winslet) put me to sleep with their sultry voices before we headed to the Insectarium.

Five minutes at the Insectarium was more than enough for me. I'm not a big fan of bugs. I prefer to know nothing about them, pretend they don't exsist and hope they leave me alone {even though I KNOW we need them, they're important to our ecosystem, blah blah blah}.Claire, on the other hand, enjoyed the bug exhibits thoroughly, even enjoying a snack of cinnamon waxworms. None for me, thank you!

Afterwards, we enjoyed some free time and made our way to Cafe Du Monde with friends where we enjoyed frozen cafe au laits and fresh beignets. mmmmm. We headed back to the buses after a quick stop at a jewelry story and Pinkberry where we enjoyed pomegranate and coconut frozen yogurt. mmmmmm again. We made our way home to the soothing sounds of Tom & Jerry playing on the bus DVD.

"That's great," you're thinking. "She gave us all the boring details. And made us look at pictures. But at least she left her small town. Good for her."

But that's not all, folks!

Since I wasn't tired at all (you may have noticed that I'm feeling a little sarcastic today) I didn't think it'd be a big deal to pack up 8 girl scouts and 1 grandmother into a 15 passenger van and drive them 5 hours to Houston to spend the night at the NASA Space Center. That's right! My field trip weekend wasn't over!

We arrived at the Space Center just before dinner. We checked in, hauled our sleeping bags and pillows from the van and joined over 300 other Junior and Cadette Girl Scouts for a "Camping in Space!" adventure. The girls enjoyed participating in badge activities such as making air rockets and learning about astronaut food while I drank coffee and took ibuprofen, I mean, watched and took pictures. The girls really had a great time before we climbed into our sleeping bags on the floor next to the space capsules (no, really!) at midnight.

The lights came on at 7 and we packed up and headed to breakfast. We ate early "just like the astronauts" before watching an IMAX movie (2 in 24 hours - quite an experience!) and taking the tram tour of Johnson Space Center. We spent mad money (some girls spent their lunch money - oops) in the gift shop before we blasted off to lunch. We met up with my friend Holly and ate until we couldn't eat any more at Jason's Deli before heading home.

It was a wild, wonderful weekend. And now I need a nap.

run, spanns, run!

Not too terribly long ago, in a land not-so-very far away, the Spanns ran in a race. More specifically, we participated in a fun run to benefit and raise awareness for our local Women's Resource Center. 3 of us came home winners. That's right! You might be thinking, "oh poor Angela, she must have been so sad to be the only Spann not bringing home an award". Well, that's where you'd be wrong, sucka!

Nolan took 2nd place in the boy's 1 mile, Claire took 2nd place overall for the women's 5K (that's OVERALL - including grown women!) and I {embarrassingly} took 3rd place in the women's 1 mile. I mean really, who wants to be recognized for an 11 minute mile. Yeah, there weren't a ton of entrants in my category. But I ran and have a 2nd place ribbon to prove it!

We had  great time and supported a wonderful cause! Run, Baby, Run!

Oh Yeah!

trivial

Our new patio furniture is ready to be picked up. I've checked my email 5 times a day while on Spring Break, waiting for that little notification. I've been prepping the patio, cleaning out and getting ready for our new outdoor sectional. But considering what happened yesterday, it seems a bit trivial.

Early Tuesday morning, we were suddenly awakened by a frightening storm. The lightning was a strobe light around us as the thunder clapped down in a terrible rage. Rain and hail poured down from the skies. Kelly and I were up, thankful that the kids were still sleeping. We watched and listened as the tornado sirens rang throughout the city. I was worried about the old trees in our yard, afraid a limb would come crashing down. After just a while, it subsided and we went back to bed. 

I couldn't sleep in, even though I was exhausted. I went to check out the damage. Other than a sad, lonely shingle on the front porch, Magnolia leaves in the pool and lots of dirt washed up on the patio, you would almost never know the strength of the storm just several hours earlier. We were thankful and ready to enjoy another day of vacation. No big plans, but we were all free - all day!

Then Kelly got a call from one of his fellow football coaches. They lived a ways out, and suffered some damage, Kelly said. A tree fell on their house and another on their car. He & Nolan headed out to help. Claire and I went into hostess mode, cleaning and preparing for them to stay, if they needed to do so. Not knowing, but wanting to be ready.

Kelly called and asked us to come out. They needed another truck. I asked if it was bad. He said yes. I asked if it was livable. He said no. We grabbed water, ice and granola bars and made our way out. As we made our way out of town, trees and limbs scattered the roads. As we got closer to our destination, the damage became more evident. Power lines down, giant oaks blocking the road. As we came to their house, I began to cry. A giant oak tree was resting on their small, while home. It was worse than I had imagined. The house leaned forward. As we came around, another tree had pinned a silver car to the ground. Fallen trees blocked the entrance. I went inside. Soaked ceiling tiles were scattered in every room. The roof timbers were splintered in the kitchen.  You could see the oak leaves as you looked up through the ceiling. Everything was soaking wet.

We spent the next six hours, sorting, salvaging, and hauling their life out of the dangerous structure they once called home. Their life was sorted in to bins and boxes, ready for storage.

They are weary, worn and uninsured. Theirs was a rental home. The insurance adjusters came through for the homeowner. They took a few photos, looked at each other and said "total loss, let's move on". If only it was so easy.

They are with us for now. We have the room. Our hearts are broken for them.

I checked my email this morning. My patio furniture is ready to be picked up. It seems silly now. Tragedy happens everyday and the rest of the world goes on with life. Not so easy when you see the collateral damage. We're headed to pick up the furniture now. Not quite a giddy as I would have been 24 hours ago. Please pray.