Benjamin made us proud last week when he started proudly shouting “Go Dawgs!” He was wearing a Tech t-shirt that day, which I guess was the source of his inspiration. Of course, he had also been to a Tech football game two days earlier. Whatever the motivation, it sure is cute when he says it!
doneBenjamin Steals the Show
November 19, 2009 at 2:25 pm (Family)
Here’s a video that captured an impromptu moment of comedy on our last visit to Lake Charles.
doneTech Football Weekend: November 2009
November 12, 2009 at 9:04 am (Diversions, Family)
Every fall we try to go to at least one Tech football game. They are a family tradition – Mom and Dad have had season tickets for as long as I can remember, and I don’t think we ever missed a home game, rain or shine, hot or cold. Thankfully, last weekend we had perfect football weather. At game time, temps were in the 60s and the sky was clear (and dark since it was 7 p.m.). Sure, Tech hasn’t had a great season, but they actually put up a good fight against #7 Boise St., losing by only 10 points, with a score of 38-28.
We only stayed for the first half, since about that time was when Benjamin normally goes to bed. Apparently all the exciting stuff happened in the second half, but thankfully we were able to see what we missed on tv. While we were there, Benjamin wasn’t very interested in the game itself, but he enjoyed hanging out with everyone. We all had a good time, cheering for the team, drinking hot chocolate, and watching replays on the new jumbotron.
Earlier in the day we had lunch at Ruston’s new Pho restaurant, and we were impressed! Chris, Brad, and Dad had fried rice, and Karen and I had the egg roll noodle bowl. Our dish consisted of noodles, cut up pieces of egg roll, a sweet sauce, etc. We also tried the spring rolls, which are served with a peanut sauce and were delicious. It’s nice for Ruston to add this authentic Asian cuisine to its list of food offerings.
We always make a point to eat some Johnny’s Pizza while we are in Ruston, and so we had dinner there Saturday night before attending a Tech men’s basketball pre-season exhibition game. The pizza was delicious, and the game was entertaining. Benjamin seems to like basketball better than football, just like me. He had fun dancing to the music during timeouts and clapping every time the team scored.
The rest of the weekend was spent catching up with friends and family, exploring the yard with Benjamin, and as usual when it comes to my parents’ house, watching a lot of college football. We especially enjoyed watching LSU lose to Alabama. (Sorry, Tiger fans, but that’s just how I was raised…)
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- All decked out in Tech blue
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- Chris and Karen were happy that Jude was very laid back during the game.
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- A view of the marching band on the new jumbotron
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- The Tech marching band prepares to play the team out of the fieldhouse.
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- Mama C and Benjamin share a sweet moment.
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- “How ’bout them Dawgs?!”
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- Patrick and Lindsi with her homemade sign
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- Benjamin had just discovered that he could keep his hands warm by sticking them in his pockets.
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- Benjamin and Jude have a face to face moment.
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- Benjamin gives Jude kisses.
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- Jude was happy about something, either a touchdown on tv, or perhaps Mama C making him laugh.
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- Jude pauses for a moment before continued his crawling trek across the room.
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- Jude pulls up on the coffee table, and in the background, Benjamin plays with the popular fire truck toy while Mama C looks on.
Halloween 2009
November 4, 2009 at 4:30 pm (Benjamin, Diversions, Family)
We had a great time trick-or-treating with Benjamin on Saturday night. We had planned to go just as the sun was setting, but although weather.com listed 6:30 as the time for sunset, it didn’t actually get anywhere close to dark until 7:15 or so. For that reason, we were the only people trick-or-treating on our street from 6:30 to 7:30, and we made it home just in time to greet our first costumed kids at the door.
It seems like every year fewer and fewer people are turning on their porch light or displaying a jack-o-lantern as a sign that they are participating in the fun of trick-or-treating. In place of the many homes that used to display a simple pumpkin or scarecrow, there are now a few people that go all out, decorating their yards with tombstones, or spooky ghosts hanging from trees, or those giant inflatable characters. One home on our street had a yard decked out with spiders and ghosts, a strobe light, creepy music blaring from a stereo, and even spooky fog from a smoke machine! I don’t know if it was because we were out early, because so many people were at Fall Festivals, or because people were hiding out in a back room, but we only found about ten houses with lights on or decorations up. Thankfully, that was plenty for a toddler on his first Halloween.
Benjamin had a great time strolling down the sidewalk and up to our neighbors’ front doors. He never actually said “trick or treat,” but when they gave him candy, he would either sign “thank you,” or give them a sweet wave goodbye as he moved on to the next house. The monkey costume was a big hit, with Benjamin, us, and the neighbors. See below for pictures of all the fun we had.
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- Proud of his costume
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- Ready to trick-or-treat!
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- Figuring out how to walk in his monkey feet
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- That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for monkey :)
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- “Which way should we go first?”
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- Benjamin’s not sure what to think of the spooky shadows caused by the setting sun. He and Daddy look like an alien and a man on stilts!
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- “Walk softly and carry two big sticks.”
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- Waiting for the sun to go down…
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- Check out the cute monkey tail!
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- “Is it time to go yet, Mom? Enough with the waiting!”
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- Our patient little monkey
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- Benjamin was excited about an airplane he spotted in the sky.
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- We finally set out on our search for candy.
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- And so we began our long, slow trek down the street. Little monkeys don’t walk very fast.
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- Benjamin quickly figured out how this Halloween thing works, and he had a blast!
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- Benjamin running away from the creepy orange glow and Mommy’s red eyes!
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- After an hour of trick or treating, we headed home.
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- “Are you going to catch up with us, Mommy?”
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- Benjamin’s cousins stopped by for a few minutes: Jacob was a storm trooper, Joel was Iron Man, and Anna was Snow White.
