Photos to Share: Our Fabulous Weekend in Louisiana!

Huge oak trees arching over the road in Plaquemine, Louisiana

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Hubby and I had a WONDERFUL trip to Louisiana this past weekend to see the kids and grandkids! On the way down last Wednesday after work we stayed at the gorgeous new farmhouse (on 7 wonderful acres) of some dear friends of mine, Connie and Buddy, whom I have known since High School. Since their home was on our route and Buddy had not yet met John, it was a perfect opportunity to make introductions and spend some quality time with them. Alas, I was so caught up in visiting that I completely neglected to take any photos of their place or their lovely family...but I certainly will the next time we go. (you GOTTA see their place!) But as a form of introduction, you might be interested to read the ongoing saga of their current project in their side-business (buying and restoring homes for investment property). Connie is writing this as a multi-installment article for Atticmag.com, a cool virtual collecting and home design magazine. Her series is called Reno-Nation and her writing style is hilarious! She's in the process of planning and starting a blog, and as soon as that's up and running, I'll be sure to link to it - can't wait!

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Then Thursday we were on our way again - looking forward to finally getting to see and hold and smell (ahhh baby smell) little Princess Hope - the star attraction of our visit. Isn't she just lovely! And she's such a good baby!!

Proud "Papa John" (as the grandkids call him)

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I just had to share a few silly photos I took at breakfast on Friday morning. We ate at Earl's place, the Wag a Sac in Plaquemine...

I took so many, I had to make a little montage... (I think the folks in there thought I was from the Health Department the way I was snapping away with the camera - but we set them straight)

That was one incredible breakfast - not for the faint of heart nor for those watching their cholesterol!!! The biscuits were unbelievably huge and incredibly delicious! And the grits - to die for!!!

Then, there was an old cookbook in a kettle that caught my eye (you can see it in the montage above), so I had to get a closer look - it was called "How to Cook Everything" by Mark Bittman. "Everything, huh?" I said to myself - "Let's see". So I opened it up and flipped through - once I saw this recipe for Grilled Octopus I thought "yep, that about covers it!"...

Don't say I never share recipes on this blog! :o)

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Well, Friday night we got together with all the kids and grands and had a wonderful joint celebration for Kane's (Hope's brother) and Papa John's birthdays. (John's actual birthday is next week, but this was their only opportunity to celebrate with him until Christmas)

Kane enjoyed his cake (or should I say his icing) immensely...

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Saturday morning, we headed over to see Drayk's soccer game (Drayk is Kane and Hope's older brother). His team won 7 to 0!!!!! Go Drayk!!

I was so impressed by Jill, the mom of these 3 beautiful children - she handles all the pressures of having 3 little ones with such grace...she is amazing...(so is Daddy Ryan, but he was working overtime this Saturday)

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There was much more that happened this weekend- lots of family stuff that I don't have photos for or room to share here (tour of Travis' Paint and Body shop, Lunch with Tanya, lots of BBQ, Leah's plans to open a Pet Boarding business, the upcoming soap box derby, gandkids' various activities, etc). Suffice to say, a big vibrant family has a lot going on...

I am so blessed to have married into such a wonderful, beautiful family!!

My cup runneth over...