What a Difference

Can you spot the difference?

August 7, 2011

March 30, 2012

In just seven months...

Dad-Oh got a brand new knee,

Moe-Joe chopped her hair off,

Mandi... uh, curled her hair,

Hamp & Sammy grew their shaggy hair back,

Jason... um, is wearing jeans,

Alec gained some (baby) weight,

And as for me... well, I obviously lost some weight...

The greatest 8 pounds & 13 ounces of my life!

Wow! Time sure does fly...

what a wild (but fun) ride it's been so far.

What a difference 7 months makes!

Family Fun

After surprising Moe-Joe & Dad-Oh with their big celebratory anniversary dinner... all the planning, worrying, and acting was out of the way, and we had the rest of the week to hangout, relax, and have some good ol' family fun!

And in doing so, Allen Jess got his very first taste of some delicious baby snacks... but from the looks of his face after trying one, maybe they weren't so delicious after all!

Speaking of snacks and babies... John Hampton decided he would outsmart his mother and lock himself inside of the pantry until he had his fill of his favorite snack!

Between spit-up, snot, drool, food, dried up snacks, and a dirty diaper... sometimes an emergency bath is required!

Of course a clean baby is a happy baby...

and everyone loves a happy baby!

Moe-Joe & Allen loved hanging out at the park together!

And while Allen Jess kept Moe-Joe company...

The other two little ones took off exploring on their own!

But even with beautiful weather, a nice park, a swimming pool, and a little baby to play with... we somehow managed to find time to stimulate our brains with electronic entertainment.

Watching Sammy navigate and play on Moe-Joe's iPad...

was nothing short of extraordinary!

The Boys weren't the only ones to get sucked into the world of computer generated entertainment! Mandi spent some time on the laptop in the shade... 

While Moe-Joe & Allen enjoy some playtime of their own.

Dad-Oh gets Allen all ready to go...

as we prepare to head out for a nice meal out in town.

 God bless the iPhone!!!

(Apparently crayons just don't cut it anymore!)

Allen is just about at that age...
where the "peek-a-boo" game is suddenly lots of fun!

Sweet Sammy takes some time out of playing to make sure his Cousin is happy & comfortable before the night's festivities begin!

As an early Easter gift, Moe-Joe gave the Boys a new Wii game... so that night we all gathered round in the living room and had ourselves a little dance off!

While Hampton & Sammy had youth on their side...

Moe-Joe & Dad-Oh certainly had experience on theirs!

Somebody clearly was losing this battle! 

Right arm & left leg up... or left arm & right leg up???

Amazingly, I don't think any alcohol was involved! Nevertheless, we all had a good time dancing the night away as Hampton made sure to capture it all on film... obviously to make fun of his parents in 20 years!

After Hampton, Sammy and Allen clearly won the dance competition that night, the three boys snuggled up with their Grandparents for their trophy shot!

One of the very few requests we got that week was that we all go out to lunch one afternoon at one of the local wineries. It turned out to be a great idea... for the weather was fantastic, the scenery was beautiful, and the food was delicious!

"Come on guys, I know the way... follow me!"

Hampton's camouflage pants definitely brought

just the right amount of class to the occasion!

Lunch outside on the patio of a winery...

with your family on a gorgeous sunny afternoon...

I'm not so sure it gets any better than that!

Traditionally, Spring Break isn't usually reserved for Etheridge / Hightower family get-togethers... but with a down economy and a new baby in the family, a "stay-cation" of sorts at the so-called 'Etheridge Resort' just seemed appropriate this year. With all the family in town enjoying the wonderful weather, celebrating, relaxing, playing and having a good time with each other, it turned out to be one of the best weeks of the year!

Table for Nine

On March 18, 2012... Moe-Joe & Dad-Oh celebrated their 40th Wedding Anniversary! To celebrate such a monumental occasion, we (Mandi, Jason, Jei and I) had decided to all go in together and give them a two week Mediterranean cruise in late spring. But much to our surprise and disappointment... we found out that they had stolen our idea and actually bought their own tickets for that very same cruise before we even had the chance to do it for them! So then we went to plan B... which was obviously to get our own tickets and surprise them on the cruise ship as it left port in Barcelona!

But then we were really disappointed when we realized that Jei had a cake order for that week, Mandi had a city hall meeting, Jason had a parent/teacher conference, and I had some important training to do at work that I just couldn't miss. So with all of us super busy during the time of the cruise, we knew plan B just wasn't going to work! But with a little brainstorming and some creative thinking, we finally came up with plan C... a brilliant fail safe way to celebrate our parents 40th Anniversary! And although it had absolutely nothing to do with a cruise of any kind, we made sure it was just as thoughtful and special!

So... what was plan C you ask? Well how about some take-out Chinese food on some rented table & chairs in the backyard! Now I know what you're thinking, "Wow, they must really hate their parents!" Now I know it sounds ghetto, cheap and maybe even a little 'Whiskey Tango' (White Trash!)... but I doubt you'll feel the same way by the end of this post!

So what meant more to Moe-Joe & Dad-Oh than any cruise could ever do, was that their children and their families were with them together. It didn't much matter where... all they really cared about was being with all of us and having a good time. And since we were all going to be together here in Southern California for Spring Break, we knew that was going to be the perfect time to celebrate! So knowing that, we came up with this brilliant idea to surprise Moe-Joe & Dad-Oh one night with a very classy, elegant and thoughtful dinner. But the surprise really wasn't about the dinner that night... but rather where the dinner was!

So the plan was for me and Allen Jess to get Moe-Joe & Dad-Oh out of the house (thinking we were all going to go out for dinner!)... while the rest of the crew setup and positioned the easy-up canopy, plugged in all the lights, set up the rented table, chairs, plates, silverware, all the decorations, hung the poster-sized wedding picture of Moe-Joe & Dad-Oh we had made, and last but certainly not least... topped it all off with one of Jei's amazing cakes in the center of the table! All we needed next was a little decent acting  and a little luck, as we all held our breathes to see if this big surprise was going to work!   

And much to our relief...

the surprise worked to perfection!!!

Needless to say, they were both completely thrilled with what we had come up with... and unless they were just going/playing along with it, they were thoroughly surprised! And if they were playing along, then they deserve a couple of Academy Awards!

That evening the nine of us sat around the beautifully decorated table in our backyard, ate our favorite take-out Chinese food, and enjoyed each other's company.

After slamming down a couple of servings of orange chicken and fried rice, Allen Jess was still hungry! Luckily he had Hampton there to feed him a little dessert!

"Don't worry guys... I got this!"

With a full belly, all his family around, and the excitement of the occasion, Allen Jess stole the spotlight as he explained what exactly he was thankful for that night!

Before we knew it, it was time to dig into that gorgeous cake!

Naturally, the two love-birds did the honors of cutting the cake... and showed us that two glasses of wine really is enough!

Mmmmmm... Red Velvet Cake!!!

YUM!

No cake for Allen... but with such good food, spirits, and company, it was hard not to be smiling that night!

Our surprise anniversary celebration couldn't have gone any better! The plan worked, the setup looked amazing, the weather was fantastic, and all the food and drinks were great! And although none of us have known Moe-Joe & Dad-Oh for 40 years... we've known them long enough to know that as long as we're all together, Chinese takeout in the backyard will work just fine!

Congratulations Moe-Joe & Dad-Oh...

and thank you for setting such a wonderful example to both your children and your grandchildren, and for showing us that 40 years together really is obtainable!

Picnic at the Park

A gorgeous warm sunny day...

A bunch of family in town...

And absolutely no plans on the agenda.

Sounds like the perfect recipe for a picnic at the park! 

We certainly didn't have to tell Allen Jess twice! He put on his overalls, grabbed his favorite hat, jumped in the stroller and led the way... while Sammy & Moe-Joe brought up the rear.

After a short walk we finally got to the park where Moe-Joe & Sammy decided to see how high they could get Allen in the swing before his parents noticed and freaked out!

You couldn't possibly go to a park and not play a little baseball! We all got our turn with the bat... but it was Hampton who almost won a car! (Sorry, but you had to have been there!)

Though we weren't exactly at the beach, we still brought the Pro Kadima paddles (an Etheridge family tradition), so that Moe-Joe could give Sammy a few quick lessons.

And once Sammy got the basics down...

he then proceeded to take Dad-Oh to school!

But if the playground, baseball, and paddle-ball weren't enough... 

there was always the almighty safety net of football!

And then there were those that didn't want to play much of anything... and instead wanted to just relax. After all, it was Spring Break! "If I concentrate really hard, I'll suddenly be in a hammock, at the beach, with a beer in my hand!"

After a while, play time turned in to lunch time... so everyone took a break from playing to have a little bite to eat at the picnic table. Naturally, Sammy was on his own program and decided to have his lunch on the grass.

Of course once Allen saw Sammy sitting in the grass,

he wanted to play in the weird green stuff too!

With that warm sunshine beating down, that soft grass, and Moe-Joe's sweet voice... it was only a matter of time before Allen went down for a little afternoon snooze.

But it wasn't long before hunger beat out sleepiness...

and Allen Jess got his lunch on the grass too!

She was outside, on a beautiful day, with all her family, and feeding her grandson. Yeah, so I'm pretty sure Moe-Joe was content!

Allen was outside, had a nap, had a full belly, and was hanging out with his Moe-Joe & Dad-Oh. I'm pretty sure he was quite content as well!

"OMG... hanging out with family at the park is so much fun!!!"

Wearing a Georgia Tech football jersey while giving the Texas Hook'em Horns! Not sure what they're teaching that child... but at least John Hampton knows how to be a loving and playful Cousin!

And when all else fails...

there's always the ever so enchanting, bubble blowing!

If there's one thing our family does well, it's being outside, playing together and having a good time! At the beach, in the snow, or at the park... you name it and we'll have some fun!