4th of July in Hot Louisiana!

But before we went to Louisiana we helped out with VBS decorations.

Shelly has been in charge of VBS decor since we moved here. The theme is Under the Sea this year (or something like it).

We painted a lot of toilet paper tubes this day and then cut and curled them. 

The kitties are growing up. One of them was run over, but we still have four (which is plenty). I think we have settled on the names Gus, Sean, Rochester, and Johnny Reb and the momma is Hattie.

Harrison and the boys from church hung out at the Bartisons one day. Lots of outdoor guy time (and some inside Risk time).

The boys playing chess.

Cody came over to visit for the weekend, but alas, no pictures. I think I tend to get pictures mostly of the kids, and now that the kids are growing up....... this blog may fall apart.

And then to Louisiana! We left 6 am Monday morning ~ Harrison, Phoebe and I. Phoebe drove almost 3 hours through Arkansas on the way there and most of Arkansas on the way back. Little Rock is a beast, but we made it through without a scratch! I liked going this way better than the Interstate way that H and I took last time we went. It was much prettier and more relaxing. Arkansas is aptly named the Natural State.

We stopped at a Cajun restaurant for supper on the way down. Phoebe's Mac and Cheese was delicious! My Jambalaya was good, but a little too spicy for night time. Harrison had grilled cheese with two cheeses ~ also very good! 

We made it to Nana and Aupa's house by 8 pm. Their home is so comfortable ~ talk about a good night's sleep after driving all day.

Aupa is showing Harrison how to play 3-D tic-tac-toe.

Harrison is a beach boy, so my dad got us all hauled to Rutherford Beach (when I was a kid, I heard it as Ruttafer; imagine my surprise when I googled it to find out if they had bathrooms. Rutherford is so formal sounding. Anyway, when we lived in Rayne, it was a Labor Day tradition to go there all day and come back crispy). We went over some bayous and waterways to get there. I probably counted 10 alligators on the way.

Phoebe enjoyed looking for shells and sitting in the shade. She got in the water some too. The first day we were with my parents, she and Nana and I went to the antique stores in Jennings, so that was more her "thing" of choice.

Dad had recently gotten shorts to wear and had mowed the lawn in the them. He got such a bad burn on his legs, he had to go to the doctor. So he tried to stay out of the sun more than the rest of us as well. I'm so glad he set up some shade!

It's a gulf beach, so we don't get super high waves or anything, but they do have some nice shells that other beaches don't have. What I remember as a kid was walking far, far out into the ocean and it seeming never to get deep. I thought for sure I used to walk a mile and it would only be up to my chest. 

But at this spot this time we walked up to our neck in just a few feet and then found a nice sandbar that we could step up on and walk a little further out until it got to our neck again. It wasn't anything close to a mile though. Ah, what memories we have that reality crushes. 

Harrison delicately asked me while we were out in the water and I was telling him how far we used to walk: "Mom, do you think your perspective as a child changed how you remember it?"

"Yes, son, yes it did."

Nana and Harrison dug a hole. I think we all helped a little. We had to find sticks and large shells to dig with because that's one thing we forgot to bring.

And the kids did great on the "let's not broil our skin on this trip" plan. Phoebe stayed out of the sun enough and Harrison was wearing a shirt. I was the one who got the most burnt. Everyone down south is like, "Oooo, that's gonna turn into a nice tan." But it hurt. It did not boil up though and it hasn't peeled, so it's not so bad as all that. 

Harrison sitting in Aupa's chair reading The Far Side. 

My parents invited friends over for the 4th of July. Mrs. Christine in the light blue, Mrs. Peggy in the dark blue and my mom in the patterned blue. Those three have all been friends for many, many years.

We had So Much Food! 

I remember Mrs. Christine complaining one time when I was younger about all the food events the church has all the time. "Every time we meet, we eatin'! Why we have to eat so much!" That still cracks me up. 

Mr. Johnny is against the wall there; he's Mrs. Christine's husband, and James is husband of Teressa (my bestest childhood friend). She, of all things, was in France! She had never flown before, and her first flight is to France. Unbelievable. She is singing over there with a choir. We face-timed for a few minutes. She was enjoying it.

Uncle Gerald, Nettie and her daughter......

Wade and his wife were there also.

Jayda and her boyfriend came too. They were super helpful with clean-up. Jayda is Teressa's daughter, and every time we went to Louisiana we would spend time with her and her brother Zachary. 

There's my kids. 

James had a lot of stories about WWII from his grandpa that Harrison seemed interested in hearing about.

Which led to my dad getting on the computer to show pictures of his Dad in Korea. We also got to hear some audio of Grandpa Clouse. He would do reel-to-reel messages to send home to Grandma and the kids, and then Grandma would tape over that and send him messages. So we have a little bit of them talking back and forth. 

Harrison and Aupa set off the fireworks for us. Harrison wasn't sure which he enjoyed more: the beach or the fireworks. They were finding all kind of things to blow up ~ pipes, mouse hole, black widow spider nests, watermelon rinds, anthills. 

Aupa and Harrison also went fishing while we girls were antiquing. At the Jennings Lake they only caught turtles.

But at the pond close to the house they got some good sized Bluegill which we had for supper that night.

We are home now. Phillip took these pictures tonight of the sunset. You just can't beat home.