Ya Gotta Have Friends!

I was looking through some pictures I recently took when I came across some from the aquarium. I thought I would post them, and say how proud we are of Ashley getting the opportunity to do an internship in the Bahamas. She will be diving on the coral reefs counting a certain species of coral to make sure the population is growing. Okay, now having said that, the whole thing makes me very nervous. I am happy for her, but nervous. She told me she will be worried about her Dad while she is gone...I told her they were even, he will be worried about her as well!

The kids at the aquarium loved when Ashley would blow a stream of bubbles and would give her hand signals to blow more. What she could not hear were the ooohhs and aaahhs each time she did it. Oddly enough, Ashley's fasination with SCUBA diving began when she was around 4 or 5 and I took her to a little aquarium close to home which included a SCUBA show. She was mesmerized and couldn't wait until she was old enough to try it out. I thought she would forget...no such luck! I often wonder if any of the children watching her feel the same way she did so many years ago.

Checking the Progress, Once Again

Douglas continues to work with Ed on Ed's house in Lakeview. They have made a lot of progress, but it is a big job for two people. Don and I drove over today to see how it is coming and to drop off lunch for the guys...yummy shrimp po-boys. Ed was handling a conference call when we arrived, so we visited with Douglas while he ate lunch. Once we left Lakeview, Don and I went to lunch ourselves and then home to start dinner, red beans and rice! I don't think I'll get much help in the kitchen this afternoon, Don had a big lunch and I am sure he will be snoozing very soon!
This morning, Ed and Douglas leveled the porch and replaced the siding on the front of the house.
Douglas is doing a quality check on their work, so far, so good.
Yum!
Ed's office amid the rebuild. Ed is handling his conference call out in the yard.

Around Town

Drew is going to be a groomsman in the upcoming wedding of his high school friend, Keith Pumila. Keith is marrying Marie Louviere on April 3rd and we are all looking forward to the wedding. Drew and Keith enjoy brewing their own beer and recently toured the Abita Brewery and enjoyed some samples at the end of the tour! These photos were taken by Marie's father who is visiting from Japan.

Keeping Busy

I started cooking this afternoon and Don came right in and took over, and started telling me what I was doing wrong. Here he is cooking porkchops with rice, tomatoes, onions, and bell pepper.
He loves the new knife we bought - if there's chopping involved, I can't keep him out of the kitchen.
We let this bake for one hour and it was scrumptous!
My friend Mary Rose was in town recently and I told her how much Sam and Jack like Thomas the Train. When she went home she made them each a precious pillowcase with Thomas material. Ashley and I delivered the pillows to the boys today and they were a big hit. This is Jack with his flyaway hair riding his pillow like a horse.
Sam enjoying his pillow.
Ashley and I ended the evening with a very cold walk. The wind was blowing so hard I found it difficult to breathe. She wouldn't cut me any slack and made me continue until she was finished!

On occasion Don will tell the kids stories of his first job working at a pizza shop in Pensacola. He made pizzas and delivered them to the Navy base and to sailors on the Navy vessels that came into the port. After we ran errands yesterday and checked in on the repairs to Ed's house in Lakeview, we came home and Don made three pizzas for dinner. They were pretty and delicious too!
Checking out the home repair project.

How do you say New Orleans!

Getting started...This evening the family got together to boil crabs for Ed and Roxanne who are visiting from San Francisco. Mark, Tiffany's fiance, did the boiling and although I did not eat any crabs, I heard over and over again how fabulous they were! We also had po-boys, chips and dip, brownies, and king cake. Everyone had a good time visiting, especially the little girls, Kaitlyn, Savannah, and Emma.
Boilin' at its best.
Ready for eating - oohh, they smell devine!
Blue Plate Mayo on a ham and cheese po-boy - gotta love that!
Hugs for G.G. (my mother) from Emma and Savannah.
Emma in her favorite spot, Uncle Donnie's lap! Don had a great day and loved having everyone over. He worked so hard getting everything ready for the boil. Later in the evening I was outside emptying crab trays and saw him through the window cleaning the kitchen!!! He's got more energy than all of us - that's gotta be a good thing!
Savannah and Kaitlyn enjoying a snuggle.
Steaming hot boiled crabs spread out on newspaper outside, and po-boys and king cake inside - New Orleans at it's best!

Ed and Roxanne
Douglas getting ready to eat!
Drew and Larry putting a dent in the crab population!

Newly engaged, Lorie and Chad.
My brother and sister-in-law, Larry and Kathy.

Spring Fever

Today Don and Drew worked on reconstructing our barbeque pit. Don built it many years ago and it needs some attention or it will fall in on itself soon! Can you believe it's early January and they are both in shorts. It's so warm here that my bushes think it's spring and they are sprouting their new growth. I know we had one day of winter this season because it snowed...other than that, I think it's been a mostly warm and muggy season...we're over it and ready for spring.