Enjoying the Redstick Farmers Market

Our boy with his Nanny Trudy

We spent early Saturday morning at the farmer's market in downtown Baton Rouge, where we ate fresh baked pastries, sipped on organic smoothies and took home fresh peaches, blueberries and pecan pie.

A Visit with Great Grandmaw Alva

While in Louisiana Father's Day weekend, we stopped in to spend some time with Mawmaw Alva.

The Leslie Mykael Spring-Summer Fashion Show II

The buttons along the back of this one are too cute.

More couture from the House of Mommy, Maw Maw and Ms. Betty. Monique picked the fabrics and patterns, Maw Maw Nora and Ms. Betty pumped out the product.

The photos do slight justice, but the buttons, linens and ribbons are striking in person. They did a great job.

If you missed the first fashion show installment, just scroll down the blog!!

A gardener in the making

Quadson, we believe, will always have a love affair with tomatoes. What better source to get them than grown right in Paw Paw Mike's Louisiana garden!!! He got so excited, he plucked the unripe ones too.

A Country Bath

Monique and I delivered the kids to Louisiana this Father's Day weekend so that they could spend some 2 on 20+ time with their huge family. We will miss them so much, but they are guaranteed to experience many NEW THINGS like a good ole country rinse off. Leslie was covered in her city girl organic grits, and retreated afterwards for a rinsing facilitated by big brother.

Finally, some ME time!

We need to do this in the city!!

Neighbors

A day or two before they left, everyone was playing hard. It was a play-hard marathon!!!!

Above are the girls and another neighbor, Matthew.

I heard someone say that with all the gadgetry we have to email, text, blog and beam our fellow man, we are today more disconnected from each other than ever. We can sit in our homes in Atlanta, GA in front of our 100 inch flat screen TV and play a silly video game with a stranger in Tokyo, but our next door neighbor could be starving or dead and we will never know it. It blows my mind that people will intentionally coop themselves up in a cul de sac in a tightly spaced little subdivision, and make no attempt to be social or hospitable to their neighbor. In the garage and out, in their SUV is all they have to offer.

We recently bid a glad but sad farewell to the epitome of great neighbors... the Zaldivars. Victor, Zuny, Gabe, Angela, Michael, Emily, Baby Zuny, and of course Mama Zuny and Beka, will be missed. They are a hard working, fun family who loves God, their neighbors and each other with great passion. We were fortunate enough to live across the street from them to be reciprocates of so much of that passion.

Victor, a Chik-Fil-A owner and the oldest son, Gabriel had moved back in previous months to their hometown of Miami, FL to seize a new store and better opportunity than his ownership experience in Atlanta. Zuny, a homeschooling mom held down the fort, attempting to sell their house in this very fickle market. To no avail and because they missed each other, they relunctantly decided to rent the home and almost instantly, they got a bite and were faced with "getting out" in a matter of days. The last few days we hung out with each other quite a bit, had community dinners with other neighbors, etc.

We owe them so much. We have seen each other through so much. We've fed each other. We babysat for each other. Zuny helped me keep my sanity as I was in tears after a second treacherous fall "on my watch" by Leslie Mykael to our hard floors. When Quadson had a bloody fall "on my watch," Gabriel calmly accompanied me and Quadson to the ER. Gabriel kept Quadson nice and calm in the back seat as I raced to the ER in hysterics.

Quadson calls the Zaldivars "my family." He has had a super tight bond with all of them starting with the two oldest, Gabe and Angela. He worshipped Gabe at 1o or so, now a pretty boy, cool teenager, who although he loves Quadson, kinda grew up as teens do, pass hanging with a toddler. At the height of their bond when Quadson would not follow my instructions, I would ask Gabe to instruct him and Quadson fell right in line. Angela, now a young lady, always has been a matriarchal figure to Quadson and has not grown out of that, as girls tend to not do. Michael and Emily, especially, Emily, were Quadson's somewhat "equal" playmates. He and Emily had grown to be particularly close over the past few months.

Quadson knows they have gone, BUT doesn't know that they are gone. When he sees the elderly couple and their two sons and daughter-in law who will inhabit the house for some months while their permanent home is being built elsewhere, I would not be surprised if Quadson does not go knock on the door and tell the new people to "get out of my family's house!!!!!" Although the new people will be there temporarily, they are bound to be great people. There is something about that house. It attracts good neighbors. The folks who lived there before the Zaldivars, Dr. Adam and Chrissy are to this day great friends of ours.

Leslie was just beginning to get attached to the family, seen here snacking with Baby Zuny.

We can't wait to get the girls together again. We will see the Zaldivars around Thanksgiving 2007 when we spend some time in Miami before we set sail on our Royal Carribean family cruise.

More Summer Fun

After church this past Sunday, we took a detour route home and stumbled upon a nice park that had a refreshing fountain. Kids were running about it shirtless and some had on swimming gear. Luckily we had a change of clothes and sandals, so he could get out of his church duds and get wet.

He had the best time.

Leslie Mykael waited on the sidelines with keys in hand once brother had had enough of the fountain.

Summer Fun

We had a Memorial Day weekend visit from Monique's cousin Gina, her husband, Doyle and their boys, Logan and Lucas. They were a week or so away from moving from Montgomery, Alabama to Ft. Polk, Louisiana as Major Doyle is one of those courageous souls that protects our country in the Army. He served in Iraq and is due back there next year. As always we had a great time with them. They have been our pit stop a few times when we do our Atlanta to Louisiana trek and we have been their pit stop when they did their Ft. Belvoir, Virginia (his last post) to Louisiana trek. Quadson and Leslie especially enjoyed the time with their cousins.

One of our stops during their visit was to historic, artsy Decatur, GA for an awesome festival. It was a great time. Being such an old town, all the kids were able to take advantage of climbing a very old, fat magnolia tree. They had a ball. There were a good 25 children all over this huge tree.

Uncle Doyle hangs out at the tree's base in the shade with Leslie Mykael. She loved hanging with Doyle.

No, that is not Quadson. That is his taller, twin, 6 year old cousin. When they have their backs to you, overlooking the height difference, they look just alike. They had a ball in between their spats. We told Lucas that we were so glad he was with us in Atlanta and being so challenging to Quadson, because our boy really "stood up for himself" even though Lucas was considerably taller and more aggressive. Lucas wanted Quadson to come home with them and Quadson cried as they drove away.

Does she have teeth???

12 to be exact and she knows how to use them!



And she can brush them too!

Super Kids

And the sewing projects continue...

Quadson is all about playing the role of a super hero, so of course, Sissy follows suit.

They really are super kids.