Sheer Goodness

Ida is blowing in, which is to say that the rain is coming in sideways. Maybe the water will seep in through the windows tonight instead of the foundation. A girl can dream, right? This is our first Hurricane. Whoo Hoo! I'm glad we're getting an easy one to break us in. The radio folks don't seem to think that we'll even lose power. Knock on driftwood.

Dawn surprised me with a trip to New Orleans. One could make a case that we fell in love there, so it's always a special trip. At this point, with Ida looming, a little baby (big boy) party to plan and a wife to snuggle, I'll leave it mostly to the pictures.

This is the drink that Dawn drank even after the leaves fell in her drink.

This is the tree from which the leaves that fell in Dawn's drink fell. Not exactly a straight shot.

Dawn's Swamp Fest Lunch - Jambalaya or "Jumba" as our Twins Call It

My Swamp Fest Lunch - Shrimp and Grits and Beer or "Sheer Deliciousness" as I Call It

And this is the baby that grew in my belly. And 3 years ago at just about this time, he like his cousin Ida made his intention to make an appearance known. Like he did this weekend, he danced, without regard for anyone else. He ate a bag of chips this weekend (just like his Momma did 3 years ago - same brand and everything - weird, right?) and squirmed and shook and tapped his feet and smiled his smile.

My last baby will be 3 years old at 3:41 in the morning. He had soft feet and yellow hair, and has smelly feet and red hair.

My Goodness.

Pictures, as promised

Dawn beat me to writing about our weekend in New Orleans. I guess it's fitting to let the birthday girl tell the tale, but I have the pictures. Read her. Gaze me;)

Free Beer! My favorite kind!

I'm still calling it a GREAT SUCCESS!

18 hours shy of the ETBR (Estimayed Time of Big Reveal) I had to tell Dawn the big secret. Considering that I've had the big secret for over a week and that all the kids knew the big secret, that's pretty good. So like I said, GREAT SUCCESS!

What had happened was . . .I went to the store late yesterday afternoon. When I came back Storm was on the phone with Janie, his first little girlfriend. We LOVE her! Dawn laughed and told me that she had called to ask if he is Filipino. We have no idea why she wanted to know or what led her to believe that. Anyway, Dawn went on to say that she and Janie's mom had planned a playdate (hate that word!) for this afternoon.

FLASHING RED LIGHTS! FLASHING RED LIGHTS! Channel President Clinton's look-you-in-the-face-and-lie-convincingly powers!

That, of course, is not what happened. I stammered, blushed and hid in the fridge until I came out with a half-downed beer. The beer was an Abita, because I was just feeling it, you know? No, you don't know. Just give me a second and it will all become clear. In all but complete panic mode, I put the beer down in front of Dawn and said, "Here's your first clue." Her hands were covered in shrimp juice so she just stared at the beer and kept peeling shrimp and kept talking about the playdate (hate that word!)

After she got the shrimp going and I had worn one of those pacing ditches in the floor, she went to the computer. I peeked around the corner and saw that she was on Abita.com. She got a very confused look on her face and slowly turned around. She saw me before I could snatch my head back around the corner, so I smiled coyly. She said, "Are we going to New Orleans?" I nodded.

Happy? No. Excited? No. Those words don't do her reaction justice. She was both laughing and crying. Spinning me around and a little unsteady on her feet. I let her ramble on about the zoo and the aquarium and all the kid things for a few minutes before I said, "Sans Kids."

Her beautiful green peepers just about popped out of her head.

So get ready for lots of pictures on Monday! Wish us a great weekend and Dawn a Happy Birthday!