Happy Father's Day, Matt!
We love you!
As most of you know, we are in the process of moving into the family housing apartments on campus and that means we can't have pets. So, today, we handed the leash over to Matt's parents and said "goodbye" to Zoe, although we will get her back in 3 years. (And, of course, we will see her whenever we visit them.) Three years can be a long time, though, so I decided to put together this little post in honor of Zoe...a walk down memory lane.
The only picture I can find of Zoe as a puppy! We got Zoe in March 2004, just a couple of weeks after we bought and moved into our first home in West Monroe. (I allowed Matt to get her as a "test" to see if he was ready for fatherhood...apparently he passed!) She was much smaller than this when we first got her and I remember sitting on the floor and holding her in my lap while she slept. Of course, those days didn't last long and soon she was like any other little puppy, playing and chewing and having to be housebroken. We had a little kennel for her and she slept by our bed in it for a while. In those first few weeks, until she got old enough to hold it, she would wake us up at night and we'd have to take her outside to use the bathroom. That was when she was tiny and venturing more than 3 feet from the back porch was her definition of "far away." I also had to come home at lunch EVERY day for a long time to let her out of her kennel to use the bathroom. We always left her in her kennel in front of the TV during the day with it turned to Animal Planet. It wasn't until she was over a year old before we let her out of the kennel during the day. I have to say, she was awesome at potty training, though, and had very few accidents.
Christmas 2005 (we took this picture right after Thanksgiving; just a few weeks later, two days before Christmas, I found out I was pregnant with Juliette).
One of my favorite pictures of Zoe, with a toy squirrel (that did not last long!). We didn't pose this at all...this is how I found her sleeping one afternoon!
I laid on the couch A LOT when I was pregnant with Juliette and Zoe was always right there wanting to snuggle and give belly hugs!
And then there was Juliette and Zoe's world was turned upside down! For a while, she didn't pay much attention to Juliette and even to this day, if I ask her where Juliette is, she won't go find her, but if you ask her where "Mommy" or "Daddy" is...she gets all excited. Oh, she knows who Juliette is, but I think she just chooses to ignore her unless Juliette gives her no choice...or unless Juliette has food! It's been so nice having a little vacuum cleaner! :)
As you can see, Zoe eventually realized that Juliette wasn't going anywhere!
Playing dress up!
Spring 2009
Early 2010 (Juliette took this picture of Zoe. Zoe has been her photography subject more often than anything or anyone else. As well, as her beauty subject--she would put bows in her hair; her tea party guest--she would set her place and one time put dog food on her plate for her; her student--she would lure Zoe into her bedroom with cookies or crackers, close the door, and then read books to her or play school with her; and, more than one time, Zoe stood in for me when Juliette would not go to sleep and provided a warm body next to her in bed. Zoe got treats for those times!)
Christmas 2009
Late Spring 2010
Our last day with Zoe at Matt's parents house right before we left.
The only picture I can find of Zoe as a puppy! We got Zoe in March 2004, just a couple of weeks after we bought and moved into our first home in West Monroe. (I allowed Matt to get her as a "test" to see if he was ready for fatherhood...apparently he passed!) She was much smaller than this when we first got her and I remember sitting on the floor and holding her in my lap while she slept. Of course, those days didn't last long and soon she was like any other little puppy, playing and chewing and having to be housebroken. We had a little kennel for her and she slept by our bed in it for a while. In those first few weeks, until she got old enough to hold it, she would wake us up at night and we'd have to take her outside to use the bathroom. That was when she was tiny and venturing more than 3 feet from the back porch was her definition of "far away." I also had to come home at lunch EVERY day for a long time to let her out of her kennel to use the bathroom. We always left her in her kennel in front of the TV during the day with it turned to Animal Planet. It wasn't until she was over a year old before we let her out of the kennel during the day. I have to say, she was awesome at potty training, though, and had very few accidents.
Christmas 2005 (we took this picture right after Thanksgiving; just a few weeks later, two days before Christmas, I found out I was pregnant with Juliette).
One of my favorite pictures of Zoe, with a toy squirrel (that did not last long!). We didn't pose this at all...this is how I found her sleeping one afternoon!
I laid on the couch A LOT when I was pregnant with Juliette and Zoe was always right there wanting to snuggle and give belly hugs!
And then there was Juliette and Zoe's world was turned upside down! For a while, she didn't pay much attention to Juliette and even to this day, if I ask her where Juliette is, she won't go find her, but if you ask her where "Mommy" or "Daddy" is...she gets all excited. Oh, she knows who Juliette is, but I think she just chooses to ignore her unless Juliette gives her no choice...or unless Juliette has food! It's been so nice having a little vacuum cleaner! :)
As you can see, Zoe eventually realized that Juliette wasn't going anywhere!
Playing dress up!
Spring 2009
Early 2010 (Juliette took this picture of Zoe. Zoe has been her photography subject more often than anything or anyone else. As well, as her beauty subject--she would put bows in her hair; her tea party guest--she would set her place and one time put dog food on her plate for her; her student--she would lure Zoe into her bedroom with cookies or crackers, close the door, and then read books to her or play school with her; and, more than one time, Zoe stood in for me when Juliette would not go to sleep and provided a warm body next to her in bed. Zoe got treats for those times!)
Christmas 2009
Late Spring 2010
Our last day with Zoe at Matt's parents house right before we left.Matt and I came home to an empty house this evening (Juliette is at my parents for the week) and it felt a little strange. A few times I thought I heard Zoe in the house and when I left and came back (with food), Zoe didn't meet me at the door or sit at my feet and beg for food. I've been telling Matt for weeks (as he sadly counted down the days to her departure) that it was no big deal...she would be fine at his parents and it's not like she's dying. She's alive and well and will be well taken care of and I'm sure will be just as happy. But there is an emptiness there that I thought would be easy to dismiss. Just sitting here putting this together (mostly for Matt), I've been overcome with a flood of emotions for this dog that I've been trying to distant myself from for the past year (because I knew this day was coming sooner rather than later). I had forgotten until now that Zoe was quite the companion during my year and a half of infertility and we snuggled quite a bit during that time and my pregnancy. I also remember the last few weeks of my pregnancy when I was on partial bedrest and would spend the mornings working from home, in bed with the laptop, with Zoe curled up sleeping beside me.
Needless to say, she will be missed by all of us and we will be counting down the months and years until she can join us again.
This past month has flown by and I didn't realize it had been so long since I had blogged until I logged on tonight to write this one. We've been pretty busy, I guess!
We've had mostly pretty weather here, although it is bordering on being sweaty hot. I know that almost everyone who reads this blog (all four of you) are in North Louisiana, so you may not realize it, but South Louisiana temperatures can actually be 5 degrees warmer than North Louisiana. You wouldn't think just a couple of hundred miles would make that much of a difference, but it does and although we were here for the hot part of last summer, we still aren't looking forward to it. (Although I know no one in Louisiana ever looks forward to the summer heat!)
Juliette's last day of preschool was at the end of April and they had a special end-of-year program and picnic for the parents on the last Friday of April. The theme was "Learning the Ragin' Cajun Way" (Ragin Cajuns is UL's mascot.) The teachers went through each college of the university and had different activities for them to do based on a course from each of the colleges. For instance, for the College of Engineering they had to build something out of blocks. For the College of Business, they were given play money and were allowed to "shop" in a play store. For the College of Science, they went bird watching. For the College of Liberal Arts, they paired items that rhymed. For the College of Arts, they directed parents in playing musical instruments. (UL separates their arts and liberal arts colleges, unlike other universities.) For the College of Education, they did an obstacle course (like you would do in P.E.) and there were a few more activities too. After the kids finished all the activities, they sang some songs for us and then each of them got a little certificate showing they completed either their junior year (3 yr olds) or senior year (4 yr olds) of preschool. After that, we had an indoor picnic...although technically, we just ate picnic food, since we didn't sit on the floor or anything like that!
Looking for birds!
This is Elias, one of the little boys in Juliette's "junior" class who she always talks about. When we got there that morning and saw Elias he blew her a kiss and came and hugged her. The teachers told me that they are always holding hands.
If you look closely, you can see that the kids are all sitting on colored squares. This is what they use at preschool everyday for when they need them to sit and do circle time. They sat them all on these for their songs because it wasn't really a formal thing (more like them showing us how they do songs in circle time) and I imagine they wanted them to behave and stay in one s
The Junior Class!
Just a couple of random photos that I thought were cute!
Above: Juliette brushing her teeth while sporting her little towel wrap.
Below: She didn't want to take her towel wrap off and she wanted to help me do dishes, so here she is. This was the last thing she washed. (I had to rewash everything as I was rinsing it because she's not strong enough or coordinated enough to get them completely clean, but I don't think she noticed what I was doing.)
Juliette and I spent Mother's Day at my parents' house, while Matt was at home grading finals.
Usually I have no problem getting Juliette to pose or smile for pictures, but she was not wanting to participate that morning. We tried again after church but didn't have any luck then either. She had just gotten out of the bathtub in the picture above.
Me and my mom! See those red walls? She painted her dining room red and I LOVE it! Of course, I'm certain they will never, ever, ever paint anything that dark of a color ever again because they had a ton of problems getting it to not streak and there are layers upon layers of primer as well as red paint on those walls! When Juliette first saw them, she asked mom where they bought them at!
Matt and Juliette will be home for the next couple of weeks until school starts back on the 7th. Juliette will be going to the campus daycare all day, every day and I think she's going to really enjoy it. Once preschool starts back in the fall, she'll go to the daycare at lunch time, so I'm glad she is getting to go full-time this summer so she'll get to know everyone and the routine before she starts going half-time.
Well, that is all from here for now. I have two videos I want to share with you guys, so check back later to see if I've got them up. I was having problems earlier, so I couldn't post them.
We've had mostly pretty weather here, although it is bordering on being sweaty hot. I know that almost everyone who reads this blog (all four of you) are in North Louisiana, so you may not realize it, but South Louisiana temperatures can actually be 5 degrees warmer than North Louisiana. You wouldn't think just a couple of hundred miles would make that much of a difference, but it does and although we were here for the hot part of last summer, we still aren't looking forward to it. (Although I know no one in Louisiana ever looks forward to the summer heat!)
Juliette's last day of preschool was at the end of April and they had a special end-of-year program and picnic for the parents on the last Friday of April. The theme was "Learning the Ragin' Cajun Way" (Ragin Cajuns is UL's mascot.) The teachers went through each college of the university and had different activities for them to do based on a course from each of the colleges. For instance, for the College of Engineering they had to build something out of blocks. For the College of Business, they were given play money and were allowed to "shop" in a play store. For the College of Science, they went bird watching. For the College of Liberal Arts, they paired items that rhymed. For the College of Arts, they directed parents in playing musical instruments. (UL separates their arts and liberal arts colleges, unlike other universities.) For the College of Education, they did an obstacle course (like you would do in P.E.) and there were a few more activities too. After the kids finished all the activities, they sang some songs for us and then each of them got a little certificate showing they completed either their junior year (3 yr olds) or senior year (4 yr olds) of preschool. After that, we had an indoor picnic...although technically, we just ate picnic food, since we didn't sit on the floor or anything like that!
Looking for birds!
This is Elias, one of the little boys in Juliette's "junior" class who she always talks about. When we got there that morning and saw Elias he blew her a kiss and came and hugged her. The teachers told me that they are always holding hands.
If you look closely, you can see that the kids are all sitting on colored squares. This is what they use at preschool everyday for when they need them to sit and do circle time. They sat them all on these for their songs because it wasn't really a formal thing (more like them showing us how they do songs in circle time) and I imagine they wanted them to behave and stay in one s
The Junior Class!By the way, this is not her preschool classroom or building. This is the horicultural center's building. The preschool classroom is too small for all of us to fit into it. Almost two years ago, the preschool building was struck by lightening and burned to the ground, right before school was supposed to start for the year, so the preschool has been right on campus in the education building until a new one is built. I don't think the new one will be ready until next summer, though, so we will probably never be in it.
Just last week, Matt finally finished what seemed like a long spring semester and got all A's again, so he's got a perfect 4.0 so far.
Just a couple of random photos that I thought were cute!Above: Juliette brushing her teeth while sporting her little towel wrap.
Below: She didn't want to take her towel wrap off and she wanted to help me do dishes, so here she is. This was the last thing she washed. (I had to rewash everything as I was rinsing it because she's not strong enough or coordinated enough to get them completely clean, but I don't think she noticed what I was doing.)
Juliette and I spent Mother's Day at my parents' house, while Matt was at home grading finals.
Usually I have no problem getting Juliette to pose or smile for pictures, but she was not wanting to participate that morning. We tried again after church but didn't have any luck then either. She had just gotten out of the bathtub in the picture above.
Me and my mom! See those red walls? She painted her dining room red and I LOVE it! Of course, I'm certain they will never, ever, ever paint anything that dark of a color ever again because they had a ton of problems getting it to not streak and there are layers upon layers of primer as well as red paint on those walls! When Juliette first saw them, she asked mom where they bought them at!Matt and Juliette will be home for the next couple of weeks until school starts back on the 7th. Juliette will be going to the campus daycare all day, every day and I think she's going to really enjoy it. Once preschool starts back in the fall, she'll go to the daycare at lunch time, so I'm glad she is getting to go full-time this summer so she'll get to know everyone and the routine before she starts going half-time.
Well, that is all from here for now. I have two videos I want to share with you guys, so check back later to see if I've got them up. I was having problems earlier, so I couldn't post them.
The circus is in town, so last night we (along with my brother Chad who came down for a short visit this weekend) took Juliette to the opening night of it. The only animals were elephants, lions (they put a cage up around the circle for that part), cats--like domestic, pet-type cats--and a couple of birds. Animal-wise, it was kind of disappointing, but it wasn't your usual 3-ring show kind of circus. It was called Illusination (or something like that) and had probably more people acts than animal acts in it, complete with the acrobatic stuff. Some of the stuff was pretty entertaining...some of it was boring, but I think Juliette enjoyed it. She told me she liked the elephants the best and that she can ride a baby elephant if someone would just bring one to her house!
Above--Uncle Chad, me and Matt. Juliette took this picture!Below--Uncle Chad, Juliette and me.
Juliette LOVES her Uncle Chad and basically asked for him to do everything for her while he was here. Carry her, unbuckle her, sit next to her in the backseat...
Hold her hand!
She adores him! And I love that she loves him and he loves her so much!
Have you ever, in the midst of cooking a new dish, just thought "this is going to be bad, really bad" and "oh man, I'm wasting money and no one is going to eat this and we're going to all be eating cereal for dinner." Well, that was my thoughts tonight as I started cooking dinner. By the time I put it in the oven I was POSITIVE it was going to be a disaster. Thankfully, I can now say, that it wasn't bad, although it wasn't a pretty dish, which is why I didn't take a picture. So, if you are feeling brave and this sounds good to you, give it a try. I promise you won't have to eat cereal for dinner!
Taco Cornbread Bake
1/2 lb. ground beef
1/2 packet taco seasoning mix
1 box of Jiffy corn muffin mix
1 can refried beans
4 oz. shredded cheddar cheese
(Egg & milk for corn muffin mix)
Follow directions on Jiffy box to mix up corn muffin mix. Set batter aside. Brown ground beef. Drain. Add seasoning mix and water (according to directions on packet). In 9 x 9 square dish, layer refried beans on bottom. (DO NOT spray bottom of dish.) Add beef on top. Add cheese on top of beef. Pour batter over the top. Bake in 450 degree oven for 15 minutes.
1/2 lb. ground beef
1/2 packet taco seasoning mix
1 box of Jiffy corn muffin mix
1 can refried beans
4 oz. shredded cheddar cheese
(Egg & milk for corn muffin mix)
Follow directions on Jiffy box to mix up corn muffin mix. Set batter aside. Brown ground beef. Drain. Add seasoning mix and water (according to directions on packet). In 9 x 9 square dish, layer refried beans on bottom. (DO NOT spray bottom of dish.) Add beef on top. Add cheese on top of beef. Pour batter over the top. Bake in 450 degree oven for 15 minutes.
It's official! I'm addicted to couponing! I know I may have lost some "cool points" in saying that--and if not, I'm definitely going to lose them by posting these pics--but I can't help myself. I'm super excited about saving money!
It kinda all began when I started doing most of my grocery shopping at Albertsons not too long ago. Albertsons has some awesome sales...better than I ever saw at Brookshires or Super One when we lived in West Monroe and every week my mom can attest to the fact that I call her to tell her how much I saved at Albertsons. Usually, it's at least $25. I think the highest it has been is $40. In the back of my head, I always kept thinking to myself that I probably would still spend the same amount of money on the same items if I went to Wal-mart, so one day recently I did my grocery shopping at Wal-mart (just like I used to do back in West Monroe) and actually went to the trouble of writing down prices to see how they compared to the sale prices at Albertsons. Guess what? Albertsons is better! So, after that little revelation, it dawned on me that if I were to use coupons on the items that are on sale at Albertsons, than I could get some stuff for super cheap, which is really just the basic rule behind couponing and getting the most out of them...I'd just never paid much attention!
So, just like my personality, I started doing some "research" and started reading some blogs that pertained to couponing. And, then I got hooked on trying to find good deals at any store, not just Albertsons. So, if you are looking to maximize your coupons, I recommend you check out the following:
Totally Target -- the go-to place for all deals at Target
Money Saving Mom -- the place to go for finding out the deals at any other store
My Coupon Hunter -- the place to go to buy coupons for mere pennies. I know that sounds silly, but for not much more than the cost of a Sunday paper, you can choose just the coupons you want from the current Sunday's inserts and you can order multiple of each coupon. And, you get them fairly quickly...usually within the week.
Although, I've been raving about Albertson's great sales, ironically, the pics I have below aren't from any trips there. Here's the best deals I've gotten this week:
This is what I purchased at Target for $3.40. If I wouldn't have had coupons, it would have cost $8.15. With the coupons, the Kandoo wipes (for toddlers) were 65 cents, each thing of kids Crest toothpaste was 42 cents, each thing of cream of chicken was 52 cents and the noodles were under a dollar too.
This is what I purchased at Walgreens. I found the Pantene on clearance for $2.54 each and had a coupon for buy 2, get $3 off and the eyeshadow was buy one, get one half off and I was able to use a $1 off coupon on each of them. Without coupons, it would have been $14.70, but I only spent $4.31.
This is what I got at CVS. A lot of people play the "CVS game" and are able to get stuff for free or practically free with CVS Extra Care Bucks. I just got a card today and am going to try it out. The thing is you have to spend a little money to get going, so I bought some body wash for $5.50 today and now have $4.50 in Extra Care Bucks to use next Sunday. (The new sales start each Sunday at the drug stores.) Going forward, I should only have to spend pennies or at the most a couple of dollars to get whatever I want. (Some people are so good at playing the CVS game that they can get $60 worth of stuff for just a few dollars.) If you are interested in learning how to play the "game," check out the Money Saving Mom's blog. She has links to each store and details on how to "play."
So on the above picture, the cereal was on sale for $1.88 and I had a buy 2, get $1 off coupon and the eyeliner was half off and I had $1 Cover Girl coupons, so I spent $7.76. It would have been $22 if I wouldn't have had coupons or wouldn't have found the good sales.
I also tried a new recipe tonight called Wild Rice Soup. It was pretty good! Here's the recipe if you are interested.
It kinda all began when I started doing most of my grocery shopping at Albertsons not too long ago. Albertsons has some awesome sales...better than I ever saw at Brookshires or Super One when we lived in West Monroe and every week my mom can attest to the fact that I call her to tell her how much I saved at Albertsons. Usually, it's at least $25. I think the highest it has been is $40. In the back of my head, I always kept thinking to myself that I probably would still spend the same amount of money on the same items if I went to Wal-mart, so one day recently I did my grocery shopping at Wal-mart (just like I used to do back in West Monroe) and actually went to the trouble of writing down prices to see how they compared to the sale prices at Albertsons. Guess what? Albertsons is better! So, after that little revelation, it dawned on me that if I were to use coupons on the items that are on sale at Albertsons, than I could get some stuff for super cheap, which is really just the basic rule behind couponing and getting the most out of them...I'd just never paid much attention!
So, just like my personality, I started doing some "research" and started reading some blogs that pertained to couponing. And, then I got hooked on trying to find good deals at any store, not just Albertsons. So, if you are looking to maximize your coupons, I recommend you check out the following:
Totally Target -- the go-to place for all deals at Target
Money Saving Mom -- the place to go for finding out the deals at any other store
My Coupon Hunter -- the place to go to buy coupons for mere pennies. I know that sounds silly, but for not much more than the cost of a Sunday paper, you can choose just the coupons you want from the current Sunday's inserts and you can order multiple of each coupon. And, you get them fairly quickly...usually within the week.
Although, I've been raving about Albertson's great sales, ironically, the pics I have below aren't from any trips there. Here's the best deals I've gotten this week:
This is what I purchased at Target for $3.40. If I wouldn't have had coupons, it would have cost $8.15. With the coupons, the Kandoo wipes (for toddlers) were 65 cents, each thing of kids Crest toothpaste was 42 cents, each thing of cream of chicken was 52 cents and the noodles were under a dollar too.
This is what I purchased at Walgreens. I found the Pantene on clearance for $2.54 each and had a coupon for buy 2, get $3 off and the eyeshadow was buy one, get one half off and I was able to use a $1 off coupon on each of them. Without coupons, it would have been $14.70, but I only spent $4.31.
This is what I got at CVS. A lot of people play the "CVS game" and are able to get stuff for free or practically free with CVS Extra Care Bucks. I just got a card today and am going to try it out. The thing is you have to spend a little money to get going, so I bought some body wash for $5.50 today and now have $4.50 in Extra Care Bucks to use next Sunday. (The new sales start each Sunday at the drug stores.) Going forward, I should only have to spend pennies or at the most a couple of dollars to get whatever I want. (Some people are so good at playing the CVS game that they can get $60 worth of stuff for just a few dollars.) If you are interested in learning how to play the "game," check out the Money Saving Mom's blog. She has links to each store and details on how to "play."So on the above picture, the cereal was on sale for $1.88 and I had a buy 2, get $1 off coupon and the eyeliner was half off and I had $1 Cover Girl coupons, so I spent $7.76. It would have been $22 if I wouldn't have had coupons or wouldn't have found the good sales.
I also tried a new recipe tonight called Wild Rice Soup. It was pretty good! Here's the recipe if you are interested.WILD RICE SOUP
1 box Uncle Ben's Wild Rice Mix (prepared, as directed on box)
1 can Cream of Potato condensed soup
8 oz. Velvetta cheese (cubed)
1 cup water
2 cups milk
1 tbsp. butter
5 strips bacon, cooked and crumbled
Prepare wild rice mix as directed on box. (It will take about 5 minutes.) When rice is almost done, put cream of potato, milk, water and butter in a pot. Heat until hot, butter is melted and it is mixed together good. Add cheese, stirring frequently until it is melted. Add rice. Let stand for a few minutes until it thickens just a little. Serve with bacon crumbles on top. Enjoy!
1 can Cream of Potato condensed soup
8 oz. Velvetta cheese (cubed)
1 cup water
2 cups milk
1 tbsp. butter
5 strips bacon, cooked and crumbled
Prepare wild rice mix as directed on box. (It will take about 5 minutes.) When rice is almost done, put cream of potato, milk, water and butter in a pot. Heat until hot, butter is melted and it is mixed together good. Add cheese, stirring frequently until it is melted. Add rice. Let stand for a few minutes until it thickens just a little. Serve with bacon crumbles on top. Enjoy!
Whew! It has been a crazy, busy, tiring, but fun-filled weekend and I'm glad I have tomorrow off to recover from it!
It all started on Friday when my parents and my sister and her family drove down to spend Easter with us. They'd been planning this little visit for a while now and I was told to plan some excursions for everyone, so our first stop was Avery Island--home of the Tabasco factory. Here is a picture of the Tabasco Country Store there where you can buy anything and everything with a Tabasco logo on it or with Tabasco in it. You can also sample a variety of Tabasco items, including not only their sauces, but salsa, pickles, coke!, ice cream (it was interesting) and more. (Juliette took about three bites of the ice cream before realizing it had Tabasco in it!) Avery Island is also home to the Jungle Gardens, which have a variety of birds as well as beautiful scenery, which I'm sure is in full bloom right now, but we had to get back to Lafayette to pick Matt up from the airport, so we only did the Tabasco tour.
Here is Juliette and my dad sitting on a rocker on the porch of the country store.
Friday night, we took everyone to Prejean's (pronounced pray-johns with a little French accent) for some authentic Cajun cuisine that proved to be mostly too spicy for everyone! :)
Saturday, we headed out to Baton Rouge with plans to go to the zoo, the state museum and the capitol. We ended up leaving later in the morning than we wanted to and we ended up staying longer at the zoo than I thought we would, so we didn't make it to the state museum, which is a shame because it's brand new and I'm told really nice.
Juliette feeding a giraffe some leaves.
Above--petting a hedgehog at a little live animal show-and-tell.
Below--petting a snake! She wasn't scared at all!
At the petting zoo area, Juliette took up with this little gray goat. Here she is trying to "herd" him into the stable with the sheep.
Juliette brushing the gray goat. I overheard her telling a little boy that walked up "this one is mine!"
Although, we were exhausted from the zoo and the sun (it all of a sudden decided to feel like summer down here this weekend and we were sweating all day), we still made a short stop by the state capitol since only a few of us had ever been there and the rest wanted to see it. My dad may or may not have hidden his pocket knife in the bushes outside the handicap entrance so he could gain access. :)
I was driving my dad's truck, so I wasn't able to take a picture of the governor's mansion, which looked beautiful with the azaleas and other flowers and bushes in bloom.
My sister and her family left Saturday night to head back home since my brother-in-law had to work today, so my parents and us were left to celebrate Easter today. Here is Juliette with her goodies from the Easter bunny this morning.
Outside our house this morning before church. These are our azalea bushes...gorgeous, huh?
After hunting Easter eggs this afternoon, Mom and Dad and Juliette headed to North Louisiana. Juliette is spending this week (her preschool is on Spring Break) with Matt's parents and will be sorely missed.
Hope everyone had a great Easter celebration today with their families. Happy Easter! He Is Alive!
It all started on Friday when my parents and my sister and her family drove down to spend Easter with us. They'd been planning this little visit for a while now and I was told to plan some excursions for everyone, so our first stop was Avery Island--home of the Tabasco factory. Here is a picture of the Tabasco Country Store there where you can buy anything and everything with a Tabasco logo on it or with Tabasco in it. You can also sample a variety of Tabasco items, including not only their sauces, but salsa, pickles, coke!, ice cream (it was interesting) and more. (Juliette took about three bites of the ice cream before realizing it had Tabasco in it!) Avery Island is also home to the Jungle Gardens, which have a variety of birds as well as beautiful scenery, which I'm sure is in full bloom right now, but we had to get back to Lafayette to pick Matt up from the airport, so we only did the Tabasco tour.
Here is Juliette and my dad sitting on a rocker on the porch of the country store.Friday night, we took everyone to Prejean's (pronounced pray-johns with a little French accent) for some authentic Cajun cuisine that proved to be mostly too spicy for everyone! :)
Saturday, we headed out to Baton Rouge with plans to go to the zoo, the state museum and the capitol. We ended up leaving later in the morning than we wanted to and we ended up staying longer at the zoo than I thought we would, so we didn't make it to the state museum, which is a shame because it's brand new and I'm told really nice.
Juliette feeding a giraffe some leaves.
Above--petting a hedgehog at a little live animal show-and-tell.Below--petting a snake! She wasn't scared at all!
At the petting zoo area, Juliette took up with this little gray goat. Here she is trying to "herd" him into the stable with the sheep.
Juliette brushing the gray goat. I overheard her telling a little boy that walked up "this one is mine!"
Although, we were exhausted from the zoo and the sun (it all of a sudden decided to feel like summer down here this weekend and we were sweating all day), we still made a short stop by the state capitol since only a few of us had ever been there and the rest wanted to see it. My dad may or may not have hidden his pocket knife in the bushes outside the handicap entrance so he could gain access. :)
I was driving my dad's truck, so I wasn't able to take a picture of the governor's mansion, which looked beautiful with the azaleas and other flowers and bushes in bloom.My sister and her family left Saturday night to head back home since my brother-in-law had to work today, so my parents and us were left to celebrate Easter today. Here is Juliette with her goodies from the Easter bunny this morning.
Outside our house this morning before church. These are our azalea bushes...gorgeous, huh?
After hunting Easter eggs this afternoon, Mom and Dad and Juliette headed to North Louisiana. Juliette is spending this week (her preschool is on Spring Break) with Matt's parents and will be sorely missed.Hope everyone had a great Easter celebration today with their families. Happy Easter! He Is Alive!