Halloween fun

Gee and I spent the weekend in the woods - at a very scary Halloween party! Our artists friends, Brent and Sandy, create and display various scary scenes in the woods on their property - and have a party! The art work is unbelieveable - fighting skeleton armies, a huge Medusa, and various scary creatures are hanging out along 4-5 trails. It's really amazing! Of course everyone costumed! We enjoyed good friends, food and an enormous bonfire which is expected to continue to burn for a week. Thanks Sandy and Brent - for another great halloween party.

Today we watched some of the Saints game - go Saints and LSU! - at Britt and Jimmy's before heading home. So nice to have them in New Orleans.

Two weekends ago we attended a couples shower for the future bride and groom. We had fun hanging out with Britt, Jimmy, Zac, Pam, Peter, Lacey, Clint, and a bunch of Jimmy's friends and family. Jimmy's family and friends are really nice and very welcoming - and definitely know how to have a great party.

Lots more things coming - baby Adam, engagement party for a friend's daughter, another shower, KBA party, trip to NC - and that just brings us to December! Life is busy and good - we are blessed!

Parties, games and work - oh my!

We attended our first "Brittany & Jimmy" party Saturday night. It was a western theme so we had on cowboy hats/boots/scarves. The home (Jimmy's sisters) was so beautiful - loved the centerpiece on the dining room table - boots with flowers in them. It was nice to meet Jimmy's sister and friends - and to see Britt's law school friends. We had a great time!

We spent the night at Britt's and I must say her house looks so nice! They painted the living room - the color is perfect with her furniture and pictures. I love the new furniture arrangement also - the living room definitely looks bigger. My favorite is the guest room - the purple/blue color is really beautiful and the bed with Granny's quilt is cozy and comfy. Very nice - Britt!

Sunday morning was lazy -beignet's for breakfast - and then off to the Saints game. The dome was unbelieveably loud - and of course the Saints ROCKED!!! We had such a great time! I really prefer watching a game on TV - but I LOVE being in the dome with that crazy crowd! LSU and Saints are undefeated - life is good!

Work is still crazy busy - IEP's - parents that don't attend meetings - progress reports - reevaluations - therapy, therapy, therapy - SACS walk through is coming soon. Things are better now - I'm getting in the groove - but I am so tired when I get home. Oh well - at least I'm not bored and looking for things to do!

Well school started and I stopped blogging! This has been the hardest beginning of a school year that I remember in a long time! We have lots of changes - most are good but still hard to get used to. We have a problem parent which is never a good thing. I still love working with the students - but it wears me out! I'm tired in the evenings - and not working out on a regular basis. I know things will get better - and they already are. Maybe since I am eligible to retire that's in the back of my mind.

We tailgated last weekend at LSU with some friends. It was pretty hot during the day - but the evening was nice. Gee cooked a jambalaya - his new receipe is so delicious. We slept at Zac's Saturday night and had lunch with Zac, Britt, & Jimmy on Sunday. Love, love, love my kids!!!! Gee and I are so lucky to have such great kids!!!

Time to address invitations for the wedding. I volunteered to address them all - and have until 11/16 to get them done - so that shouldn't be a problem. We have a western theme party for Britt and Jimmy next weekend so today I shopped for a shirt. What I bought is really tacky - and I am already having second thoughts. Will probably trade it in for a white shirt & cowboy hat instead - I'm just not that brave!

Crabs and beer

Last night we went to a seafood restaurant at the end of the bayou where then have delicious boiled crabs and the beer is free! That's right - drink all the keg beer you want as long as you are eating. We had boiled crabs and fried crab fingers. Everything was delicious - but it's kind of like being in a Seinfeld show except instead of the Soup Nazi there is a Crab Nazi. The owner is quite a character.

We also went to Downtown Live at the courthouse square to listen to a band we like. The lead singer is a friend of ours. We had a great time- beautiful night - good music. It's good to be home again.

Michigan warmed up and we had fun!

The rest of our Michigan trip was lots of fun. On Sunday we went to Mackinaw Island where we ate fudge and toured a really cool fort.








Then we went to the Soo Locks in Sault Ste Marie where we watched a 1000 foot ship enter a lock with only 2 1/2 feet to spare on each side.


On Monday we went to a lighthouse on Lake Superior:





and lower Tahquemenon Falls. Jean rowed a boat over to an island where we planned on spending some time in the water but instead ran from mosquitoes. It was really beautiful there and I was really disappointed that no one had warned us about the mosquitoes.





We then traveled to Upper Tahquemenon Falls which was equally beautiful:




Our next stop was Munising, Michigan where we went on a boat tour of Pictured Rocks National Park. It was stunning:



We headed back to Jean's house the next day. We tried to go to a Detroit Tigers baseball game Wednesday night but left early due to a rain delay. I was glad to be home on Thursday - with lots of great memories - especially of family time together. Thanks Jean and Kathy - we had fun!

It's cold in Michigan!!!

So packing mostly shorts and short sleeve blouses wasn't such a good idea for this trip - it's pretty cool here. Daytime in the 60's and nights in the 40's! First thing I did was buy a sweatshirt. So far we have spent our time in Midland - the downtown area is really neat - lots of cute shops and a great park area where there are three bridges that meet in the center of a river- they call it the tridge. We went to the Loons baseball game last night where we won a free burger and saw some great fireworks. The baseball game was good - the loons won. Today we toured the Alden Dow house - he is a famous architect in the area who studied under Frank Lloyd Wright. His house is amazing! Tomorrow we head for the Upper Penninsula. I think the best trips combine visiting with family and seeing a new area!

Cruising

Well - that was crazy fun! We just got back from a four day cruise (Carnival - Fantasy) out of New Orleans - with 55 family members - do I have to say more? We laughed, danced, swam, had a few cocktails, ate, then started all over again the next day. Even though there were 1600 people on the ship - everywhere we went we ran into someone we knew. Our accommodations were nice and the food was good -- not great. Our only disappointment with the ship was the pool was way to small and there was only one so it was always crowded - and it was July heat. We hope to have many more family vacations - and hopefully in the future everyone can come!
Best part of the trip was vacationing with our kids - all six of them - yes Mr O - you are now offically adopted.

Now - a rest at home - then Michigan. Can't wait to see Janice, Jean, and family.