Quick update..

• I'm leaving for Louisiana tomorrow. This house is way too empty and we've got plenty of time to kill; so we'll do it in Cajun Country. We'll be back soon.
• Sarah has been eating cereal twice a day. Some days, she's okay with it. Tonight, she actually thought the experience was funny; yesterday, not so much. I think she misses her Dad or maybe it's a growth spurt, but she's been out of character.
• Gabe is AWESOME! His Daddy would be so proud of the way he is handling things lately. He is my rock! And he's a huge help with Sarah.
• Back to Sarah: I LOVE the way she looks at her brother. It's like he's the best thing to ever walk the earth. He makes her laugh. She melts when he kisses her. I sure hope the love lasts for quite a while; but then again, I'll have to chuckle at the brother/sister fights that I'm sure will happen soon enough.
• Two weeks has passed since Phillip left and I'm glad to say that it's been a quick two weeks. I hope the rest of the time goes by just as quickly.
  

Hope all is well on your end. I'll post again for you soon; hopefully with more travel and exploration pictures, so you can live vicariously through me.
J~

"Lift the Spirits" Get Together

I hosted a party at my house last night. I kept it simple and of course, kids were encouraged to come along, because hey...finding a babysitter these days is all about asking your friends, who might be at the party, to watch your kids. You get my meaning. I think we counted 9 women and 16 children. For a minute, the deployment and all it's suckiness was forgotten. Thanks Ladies, I needed that!

Ooops!

I have made a grave mistake. The church mentioned in a post below is named St. Charles Borromeo.

So sorry. How could I forget that one?

May I introduce to you...

The Atchafalaya Swamp.

We began the day with getting the Edge's oil changed (we brought 2 dozen of Meche's Donuts to the dealership where Dad works and made lots of people happy), and having spent almost a week trying to reserve a swamp tour (5 adult minimum was needed), I decided that I'd take Gabe out to the Atchafalaya area to at least show him something from dry land. We stopped by the tourist information center in Butte La Rose to see if anyone there knew of another good tour besides the one given at McGee's Landing (said to be the best) to get ourselves onto and we were able to learn quite a bit of cool things about the area.

When I was little, and before my parent's divorce, we spent every Saturday out on the swamp in Dad's boat (The Elva Marie) named after my Mom.


Air boat on the levee.


My first official date was at this restaurant. I remember looking at him like he was totally nuts after he asked me if I wanted him to "mix up" my rice....no thanks, I'm a big girl! We were about 15 years old, maybe he saw his Dad doing it for his Mom...I don't know.


Gabe and I watched this man pull in catfish after catfish; I think he was using crawfish heads as bait because every now and then some woman would drop a bucket full into his boat from the fence above. While we were at Pat's, I overheard a man at a table next to us say that he just booked his family on a swamp tour for 1 p.m.....Yes, We were able to get right onto that one.

And now we get to the actual tour part of this post...
there were lots of fishermen (and women) out that day.

Two houseboats down below.

The little cajun man giving the tour asked Gabe to drive for him so he could point out a few things.

A prayer was put up by some people who lost loved ones to an accident in the swamp. Between my kindergarten and 1st grade year, I lost a classmate to the swamp. He was fishing with his grandfather and the boat overturned. I remember my Mom crying buckets over that one...

Underneath the I-10 bridge (the 2nd longest bridge in the States, I believe).

Lucy cleared the dock for us by barking her sweet little head off when we approached at the end of the tour.

McGee's Landing where the tour began and ended. Years ago, we'd pull our boat up to the dock to get a bucket of crickets (for bait, in case we'd fish), a box of Doo-Dads (snack) for Dad and chicken salad sandwiches. It was weird to me to see that place again, different from how I remembered it to be, and to be able to show Gabe a part of my history.

Father's Day at Dad's House

It was a good day. No make-up, hair wasn't fixed; just sitting out under the trees , watching Dad do his thing.

Pictures from our week away...

I took a trip down memory lane this past week and showed Gabe a few of the places where Mommy went to school. The picture below is where I went to school (St. Ignatius, Grand Coteau, LA) up until the 4th grade. Right beside the school is St. John Berchman's Church. I was baptised into the Catholic religion there and graduated from kindergarten there, as well. To the side of the church on it's left is a Catholic Retreat House and to the left of the church is a Jesuit seminary. I still remember like it was yesterday attending plays put on by the Jesuits and exploring the Retreat House with my favorite priest, Father Poche. (a small group of us were "sick" and couldn't attend P.E., so Father Poche took us to the Retreat House for milk and cookies to help us feel better!)Although I didn't attend the Academy of the Sacred Heart in Grand Coteau, it is still one of my favorite places on earth to visit. The charm and peacefulness of the campus is extraordinary. At the time that I was in school, the first year was 5th grade, but now it starts with kindergarten. I know if we were living in the area, that is where I'd want Sarah to attend school (funds allowing, of course). Many of my friends went on from 5th grade, straight through their senior year. Unfortunately, I was not able to go because of the extremely high price of tuition. Rumor has it that Salma Hayek was kicked out of the school for not following the strict rules. Click here to read more about the school and the Grand Coteau area.
Oak Alley was planted years ago so that there would be a shaded lane for travelers to get from the Academy to St. Ignatius School and the Church.
This is one of the buildings on the ASH campus. I believe it's on the second floor of this building that the only U.S. recognized location of a miracle happened. Grand Coteau is a very beautiful little town. I've made it known to many that I love, that the cemetery there is where I want to be at my eternal rest.

A pond on the ASH campus.

From St. Ignatius, I went on to Sunset Elementary and then on to Sunset High until my junior year. Sunset High was such an old school that a new one was built, and so at Beau Chene High, I finished off my education. The picture above is a time capsule to be opened up at the close of the school. It was put there in 1992.

I was so disappointed in the poor shape of the school. It is only about 16 years old, and was named (in french) for the huge old oak trees in front of the building. I was in the second graduating class. I have many great memories from that place. But then again, if given the chance, I'd never go back to high school....I'm crazy, but not that crazy! I'm at peace with the way my life is now.

After our trip down memory lane, we went on to Mom's house . Sarah loved the bean-bag chair!

It's been fun. It's been a distraction. And now we're coming home.

We are driving home tomorrow. I feel really sad, and not quite ready to face a house without Phillip, but I have two wonderful children to keep me busy. Like Jenn K, I'll go home and do some cleaning and organizing to make it feel like a fresh start. We've got things to do for the rest of the month of June and July will have us mostly in Texas.

We did quite a bit this week that I'll blog later about. Thankfully, MOST of my family understood the method to my madness this week. I'm taking it day by day; no plans, just waking up and doing what I feel like doing. My main focus is myself and my kids. And all in all, it was a great week.

I'm looking forward to Friday, when I'll have friends over for a "Lift the Spirits" get-together.

Gotta go for now...we're having a "picnic" that my little party planner (Gabe) has organized. I'm needed in the kitchen.

The Zoo

Like I mentioned before, my sole purpose for coming to Louisiana was not only to create a diversion for myself and the kids from the current depressing situation, but to spend time with family and to show Gabe what Louisiana is all about. This week, we went to the Zoo of Acadiana. It's been here for years and I've never had the oppurtunity to visit. I was quite impressed.

On a train ride around the zoo, one of the staff got down to feed the monkeys for us.

Hopefully, on a future trip back here, I can take Gabe and Sarah to the Audubon Zoo in New Orleans. Fun, Fun!