I Love SILLY...

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 THIS is so SILLY!
And oh, so FUN!

Nick and the neighbors parakeet.
Havin' a little chat!
~~~

These Shoes Tell A Story...

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Shoes...

      what do these shoes say to you? They tell a different story to everyone who sees them...

Two small, sparkly shoes catch my eye resting on the final stair to the beach. The sound of laughter and soft giggles rings in my ears.


A small, barefoot child spins and twirls on the sand with her arms spread wide. Her closed eyes and bright smile point toward the blue sky above.


A mother rests on the large rocks a short distance away. She too is lost in time for that brief moment as she watches with a gleam in her eye and the corner of her mouth slightly raised on one side.

  ~ Robert J. Corsaut

I close my eyes and can picture this story as it unfolds...I LOVE it!  ~Bet Corsaut

                    

Lobsters and Crabbies!

In SC and in MD...the seafood was awesome during our holiday celebrations!

On Christmas Eve in SC we all went to the Children's Christmas Service at church.  It was a great candlelight service and then we headed to downtown Charleston for dinner.  We went to PEARLZ, the best raw oyster bar in town.

 We had a huge sampler of oysters for an appetizer...they were absolutely the best I've ever tasted!

On New Year's Eve we brought in the New Year with Lobsters!!  We bought them at the Piggly Wiggly and they steamed them for us.  Sounds funny buying lobsters from a Pig!

Nick and Girlie weren't too excited about the lobster so we fed them shrimp!  

The shrimp were sweet and delicious.

 Girlie contributed some chocolate gold coins for dessert to bring us good luck!

We made plans the next day to have a southern tradition, Black Eyed Peas and Rice, to bring in the New Year with health and prosperity. They were Nick's favorite...actually, we all loved them!

We also enjoyed another holiday tradition, we made Chex Mix that was so good it only lasted two days!!!  In MD, the Corsaut's made the mother load of Chex Mix!  Mimi said John kinda made enough for an army!  YAY!  It's a holiday tradition and we all love it!

Deb, Nick, Girlie and I joined our MD family in Pasadena for a holiday celebration.  Along with son, John, daughter-in-law, Katie, and grandchildren Chris, Mimi and Brad, and friends Ali & Jaime, we had a huge "crabbie" party. As is always our tradition when I come to visit we feasted on Maryland Blue's

 

Can you smell the Old Bay Seasoning?

We wrapped the tables in butcher paper, dumped the pile of crabs on the table and no body talked for a few minutes!!!  We were too busy eating the crabbies and pumpernickle bread.  We also had mussels, shrimp and wings.  

Having two of my three children on the east coast we were so blessed to be able to spend time together with family.  Robert, my west coast son, couldn't join us this year and we really missed him even though he was there in spirit.  Next year for sure...we're all getting together to share the holidays.

Family is the most important thing.

~~~

APPLE anyone?

Getting together in MD is always an excuse to play games.
This year was no exception, well maybe a little diversion first,
time for an APPLE break!!! John, Nana and Chris just couldn't resist!

After a quick check on our MAC'S to catch up
on emails we were ready.

JB, Katie, Nana, Chris and Brad
had some fun playing "Apples to Apples" on December 28th...

Somebody's cheating!

Somebody's winning!

I think I have too many cards...aren't we supposed to get seven?

Somebody's got a new hairdo!

Somebody had a lot of fun and laughs !

~~~

Decorating the Tree

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We watched Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer (it's tradition) the night we picked out our Christmas tree. We put the tree in a big bucket of water while we waited for the branches to drop so we could put it in the stand. The very next day we were ready!

The "Santa Claus is Coming to Town" movie was on and we drank egg nog. And we waited.....

Our tree is the most perfect tree you have ever seen! We wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year was playing and we watched as daddy finally put the lights on the tree! Girlie and Nick could hardly wait to start decorating from the two big boxes of ornaments. It's fun to reminisce about ornaments and everyone had a comment or favorite memory about each ornament and what year they got it and how special it was to each one of them.

(Double click on the play button to watch the video!)

"Let me tell you a little story about Frosty the Snowman." Girlie and Nick love listening to Burl Ives tell that story and we all sang as we decorated our tree. Now we're waiting for the big man to arrive to fill our stockings and bring us that special gift that we asked for.

~~~

From our Halloween Journal

These are the pumpkins of Girlie and Nick!
We had fun making them scary this year.

My eyes! Not my eyes!

Now I'm just an empty head with no eyes and no way to see the night!
If only I had a candle!

Oh, no! Not my other eye, too!
I'm spilling my guts...please, not my eye!

~~~

The New House

Journal from October 31st, 2009;

The beach house, finally ready to move in!


Complete with a reading room!

Girlie & Nick love the new porch.

We celebrated halloween on Saturday night by going to the Halloween Party at the park in Folly Beach. We had a great time and the kiddies came home with bags of goodies. There were hot dogs and popcorn for everyone! Lots of games and scary skeletons.

Mr. Bones joined in the celebration.

Nick won a prize for Original Costume and Girlie won for the Cutest Costume. They were so proud. Nana, Girlie and Nick won 3 cakes at the cake walk!!! Just what we needed, more sugar! Aunt Ma came to visit us and joined in the celebration. We had a lot of fun and were the last ones to leave the party!!! We're already talking about how much fun we're going to have again next year!

~~~

South Carolina is Calling Me

View from the pier at Folly Beach, SC
Deb and Steve were chilling out!

My grandchildren are waiting for Nana to come to visit them! I'm packing my suitcase and taking lots of art supplies! They want to know what project I'm bringing for us to make. Ya gotta love it!

Girlie loves watermelon while watching the 4th of July parade!

Nick finally lost his front tooth a couple of weeks ago.
Time for the tooth fairy!

Girlie's new shoes and pony tails! "She's all that and a bag of chips!"

Nick's last day of school picture before summer vacation.
Mommy, Nana and Girlie went to the party!

I'm planning on flying in next week in time for Nick's first day of school. He's going into second grade. And for Girlie's first day of Pre-School! She's getting to be a big girl! Every day she asks if she goes to school today. She's so excited!

~~~

A Busy Two Months!

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I haven't posted to my blog in 2 months!!! What a busy two months they've been! I flew to the east coast on May 14th and spent 3 weeks in Charleston, SC watching my grandchildren and visiting my daughter and son-in-law.

I posted the adventure on my blog, "My Little Corner". It was so much fun being with my grandbabies, Nick 7 and Girlie 2. I miss them a lot!

I came back to San Diego on July 2nd to an overrun yard, and all the dialy chores, along with unpacking! I wasn't in any hurry so I took a few more days off, just loafing around and visiting the beach!

The San Diego County Fair opened and on June 17th mom and I went to the fair. It's tradition, we go every year together. We had such a great time, enjoying all the good foods and exhibits. We didn't leave until 8pm!

Then on the evening of June 18th, my mother was rushed to the hospital with pneumonia. After two weeks, we thought she was well on her way to going to home. Unfortunately, she had a relapse, and now has double pneumonia. Being a diabetic, hasn't helped in the healing process.

GET WELL SOON, MOM!
We want you back home!!!

It's been a very busy time for all of us, taking turns visiting the hospital and trying to keep her company while she recuperates. She gets stronger every day. That's a really good sign. Thank you to everyone....you've been so nice sending well wishes and prayers her way.

~~~

MOTHER'S DAY Celebration at the 94TH Aero Squadron

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A step back in time to the days of World War I.
Including music from that era.

What a great day the Decoteau family had together on Sunday, May 3rd, at the The 94th Aero Squadron for their fabulous brunch. We celebrated Mother's Day one week early this year because some members of the family decided to go on a Carribean Cruise for Mother's Day on May 10th!!! Actually, it was wonderful to get ahead of the crowd for Mother's Day by celebrating it early!

Clams, shrimp and crab legs, along with fresh sushi.

My favorite, Eggs Benedict!

Sweet rolls and croissants as far as the eye could see!
A crepe bar, an omelet bar, fresh fruits stacked high, a full salad bar,
a luscious dessert bar with a flowing chocolate fountain
and strawberries for dipping, and champagne.

A toast! To us on Mother's Day!

Mother, Cecelia, of Betty Ann, Jack, Eddie, Al, Ray and David

Mother, Betty Ann, of John, Deborah and Robert

Mother, Ginny, of Beth, Holly and Teri

It was wonderful and all of the mothers were treated like queens.

Mommy, Beth, of Avery and Tehya

Mommy, Teri, of Caleb and Emma

We all had a wonderful brunch and laughed a lot!
HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY everyone!

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HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JB

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Such a special day of firsts!

Being my first born, you remind me of my age!!!!!!!

It's all good!

Ooooppppsss! That's not your baby picture! (I'll keep looking for it!)

This is the first blog I've written for you on your special day!
Happy Birthday, son.

This is the first day of being your wonderful age...which means everything you do
from this day forward is a first but you have the added advantage
of all of those years of wisdom behind you!!!

(I can't take credit for saying this...it came from Katie & John!)

Have a wonderful weekend in Ocean City.
I know you and Katie are having FUN......
And isn't FUN THE BEST THING TO HAVE!
xoxox

More pictures to follow!
Stay tuned......

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Dad Celebrates - 90 Years

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April 2, 1919 ~Celebrating 90 Years~ April 2, 2009

"Happy Birthday to You,
Happy Birthday to You,
Happy Birthday Dear Dad,
Happy Birthday to You!"

Dad and Mom at the party. They celebrated 70 years of marriage last October!

Dad's birthday card-in-a-box that I made for him.
(Click on any photo to see it up close and personal.)

The photo is of dad holding me when I was born!

Dad, daughter Betty Ann and Mom.

Daughter-in-law, Ginny (Dave's wife) and Charles Decoteau.

Raymond and David Decoteau.

David and daughter, Holly.

The birthday boy, John Laurier.

He huffed and he puffed and he blew out the candle!

What a great day for a birthday celebration!

Dad requested his favorite restaurant, The Soup Plantation,
for a Sunday Brunch. The food and the ambiance were great.
And a good time was had by all!
~
(Postscript: Don't forget to click on any photo to see it up close and personal!)
~