Our First Week Back in Louisiana

Wow, what a first week we have had being back at home. It seems like we haven’t stopped to smell the roses. We have spent a lot of time with family, which has been great. Of course, our first order of business has been doctor appointments. Our first appointments were with our primary care manager on Monday. Then on Tuesday I went to see an orthopedic doctor for my shoulder. After a few x-rays he decided to give me a shot of steroid into my shoulder. It’s feeling a little better but I’m still experiencing a little pain that he said would be there for a while. Wednesday found us preparing for our Thanksgiving feast all day.

Thanksgiving Day found all of our family at our house enjoying a wonderful meal while we all reflected back on the blessing we have enjoyed this past year. Our Father has humbled us and our lives have been so enriched by all the wonderful people He has placed in our lives this year. They have made this past year unbelievably wonderful and we consider them all part of our family. As such, we hope everyone enjoyed a Happy Thanksgiving.

Rickey holding Addison & Dana, with two of their sons Ryan, and Steven

Me & Gina with Nicole & Shane

Thursday evening found Gina and Dana making their shopping plans for our annual Black Friday morning shopping trip together. We have done this together for the past fourteen years minus last year when we were in South Texas.  We left our house at 3:15 in the morning heading to the mall for those great doorbuster sales.

While the girls shopped Rickey stood in line to check out

Somewhere in there I took a little nap while the girls shopped

We made our way through all of the stores and finally decided it was time to head home around eleven o’clock. However, Rickey and I decided that we needed a little man shopping.  So our final destination was Home Depot.  Once we made it back home it was a meal of leftovers before we all settled down to watch the Iron Bowl as Auburn took on Alabama. After the game was over we said goodnight to Dana & Rickey and called it a day.

Saturday found us sleeping in with the only plans today was having Nicole & Shane and Gina & I going over to my sister’s house to eat hot fried turkey sandwiches while watching LSU football. Even though the game didn’t turn out the way we wanted it to we still had a great time.

Hopefully, now that this festive week is over Gina and I can slow down a little. We both have some projects that we need to get started on. So between now and Christmas, it will be our goal to get those accomplished.

Mom & Pop's will be leaving South Texas tomorrow as they head toward Arizona to spend the winter in their new home. Safe Travels Mom & Pop's and we'll be right behind y'all after Christmas.


Gina & I hope everyone has a pleasant and wonderful day, enjoying what our Father has so graciously blessed us with.

Home Sweet Home

Friday morning found us packed up and ready for that final 60 mile stretch to our stick & brick home and Gina’s beautiful garden. First, item was to get a few more minutes of visiting with John & Sandy and Jim & Ellie this morning. We finally said our “see ya down the road” and pulled out of Fontainebleau State Park around eleven o’clock. We made it to I-12 and headed west. Seeing exit 12 was a welcome sight. We turned into our driveway and Dana, my sister was there waiting on us. We got parked and after some long hugs we all walked around Gina’s garden then walked into our home. As Gina said, “It’s such a wonderful feeling to be at our home and spending time with family”.  A very special thank you to Rickey, my BIL for keeping our yard looking beautiful and to Paige & Josh for keeping both our home clean and Gina's garden looking fantastic!!

Gina, Rickey, Dana & Addison

A few minutes later my dad came over and even though we just spent time with him in Kentucky it was nice to see him again. Dana and Gina left to go buy some turkeys for smoking and frying for Thanksgiving while I turned our home around and got it setup. Once they got back from the store we headed over to Dana & Rickey’s house for a much anticipated welcome home dinner. What a dinner it was. Fried catfish with Crawfish Etouffee served on top with stuffed potatoes on the side. It tasted GREAT!! Thanks sis for that special welcome home meal. We then decided to play spades and yes, we men won. We had such a great time with them and finally said goodnight around two o’clock in the morning.

Saturday morning found us back at my sister’s house for some fresh & hot Mary Lee’s donuts (there the best IMO) and continuing our catching up. Around noon Nicole, our daughter came by and picked up Gina for a girlie kind of day. First, it was to get their hair cut and styled then they were off for that manicure & pedicure.

After they left I went back home since Jimmy, my brother called and said he was at our house. We enjoyed a wonderful visit and once he left I went back down to my sister’s house to watch LSU take on Ole Miss with Rickey. It was a very close game. However, LSU pulled ahead with 44 seconds remaining. Gina and Nicole arrived just as the game was ending. I know they had a great momma and daughter day since they didn’t make it back home until after six o’clock.

My sister had already convinced me to stay for dinner again tonight. Of course she didn’t have to convince me all she had to say was “Fried Shrimp”. Thanks sis for another great dinner. Gina and I both commented to each other that after two days of eating like this we definitely will need the desert just to lose weight.

We have really enjoyed being back home with family. Well, it’s Sunday morning and I need to get this posted since we’re heading to church in a few minutes.


Gina & I hope everyone has a pleasant and wonderful day, enjoying what our Father has so graciously blessed us with.

Bienvenue Louisiana

We finally made it down the highway at two o’clock Wednesday. I know that it’s a late start for a travel day. However, our main goal was to get out of the woods. We drove for about five hours and stopped just north of Birmingham at Cracker Barrel for dinner. Since there was a Walmart at the same exit we drove over there and after getting permission to park for the night we called it an evening.

Thursday morning found me awake at 4:30 and with coffee brewed by 4:50. We were back continuing our travels toward Louisiana at a little after five o’clock. We crossed into Louisiana around 10:30 and stopped at the Visitor’s Center.

Welcome to Louisiana

Nice to see these two Flags flying

Both Angel & Zoey need to potty since they were still sleeping when we got back on the road this morning. We could have easily made it to our house in Denham Springs, Louisiana by noon. However, our friends John & Sandy and Jim & Ellie were at Fontainebleau State Park. We haven’t seen John & Sandy since July in South Dakota and haven’t seen Jim & Ellie since March back in the Arizona desert. We decided to stop for the day and visit with them all. After getting our home parked and setup we both took showers and got cleaned up. Just as we got dressed we heard a knock on our door and it was Sandy. After exchanging our hugs with her we chatted for a while until John walked over. We continued our chat for a little while longer and then made plans to meet at their home at four o’clock. We then decided to take a walk down to Lake Pontchartrain and take a few pictures.

The grounds here are filled with Live Oak trees

Old Live Oak trees make for beautiful pictures

High grass on the edge of Lake Pontchartrain

Nice color on these Bald Cypress trees

Sandy drove Gina down to the lake to capture this sunset

Gina and I haven’t been to Fontainebleau State Park since we were in high school when we went on a couple of youth retreats with our church. That’s a story for another day.

We walked over to John & Sandy’s and sat outside enjoying the beautiful weather and catching up on our happenings since we last saw each other. They invited us for dinner, which was a great treat. Thank you guys for the wonderful meal and great fellowship.

John, Sandy &Koko

Later that evening Jim & Ellie arrived back home and we walked over and visited with them for a while.  What a wonderful and fantastic day.  It's always special to spend time with our friends.  

Jim & Ellie

The friends you meet out here in this traveling lifestyle is yet another reason why we love it so much. However, I need to post this entry and get going down the road to our house.  Our travel day is only about an hour and my sister and brother in law have a special meal planned for us this evening. Can’t wait to see ya Sis and Gina said, "she can’t wait for that hug from her brother either".

Gina and I are both looking forward to a lot of laughter and spending time with our family during the holidays.


Gina & I hope everyone has a pleasant and wonderful day, enjoying what our Father has so graciously blessed us with.