Pig Out

This past week was very low key and relaxing (for me and the kids anyway). Poor Jonathan spent the entire week hard at work, visiting clients and answering calls and emails. But the kids and I had a wonderful time at the RV park pool and playground. When Jonathan told me where we were staying, I was expecting a little backwoods dump of a park, but we rolled into a wonderfully kept park surrounding a pretty little lake with swans swimming in it! They had a very nice pool area, store, game room, fishing lake, and our space was directly across from the water with beautiful views. If you're ever in the Livingston, La area, check out the Lakeside RV Park - very nice management and clean facilities. 

ANYWAY, enough about that! After spending the first few days in and out of the pool, dodging never-ending rainstorms, the kids and I were ready for a change of scenery, so Thursday morning we all piled into the truck and went to work with Jonathan. We drove for several hours in the small towns in between Baton Rouge and New Orleans visiting Jonathan's clients. The kids did great on the long car trip, and didn't start getting antsy until the last hour when we rolled into NOLA and I started describing Cajun food and beignets to them! Haha. Then they were beyond ready to get out of the truck. After visiting his last client of the day, Jonathan treated us to a delicious dinner at one of my favorite restaurants in New Orleans, The Gumbo Shop. We all got seated while Jonathan went and bought a bag of chips for a homeless man who helped us get our GIANT truck wedged into a TINY parallel spot in the itty bitty streets of the French quarter. We don't carry cash on us, and Jonathan wanted to help the guy out, so they made the trek to the corner grocery store for chips and apple juice while the kids and I got a table. Jonathan makes me proud by his willingness to help out anyone who asks him, any time. He's a pretty great guy, even if I do say so myself. But back to the Gumbo Shop! I had a plate of the most delicious crawfish étouffée and red beans and rice I think I've ever eaten. Granted, Jack stole all of my crawfish, so I was really only left with a crawfish flavored soup, but it was crazy good, nonetheless! And the red beans were slap your momma amazing. Whew! We left there stuffed and happy and headed straight to Cafe du Monde to introduce the kids to beignets. From their looks of sheer joy, and the half inch thick layer of powered sugar on their faces afterward, I'd say the introduction went well. 

In the same area, we came across a Sucré, and Jonathan bought us an insanely amazing box of macarons! No, not macaroons...and yes, there's a difference. ; ) They were deadly, in the best way possible. I'm really glad the things cost $2 a piece, because otherwise I could eat my weight in them, and might end up looking like a macaron...round and mushy. But seriously,YUM!

While in Livingston, we had the chance to visit a church in Denham Springs for their Wednesday evening service. The pastor taught a wonderful message, and it was nice to see an old friend I hadn't seen in years. But at the same time, it made me miss our home church just a little. Ok, maybe a lot. One of the major trade-offs of this crazy adventure we're on is missing our family, friends, and home church.  So if you know us and we'll be passing through your area, or you'll be passing by us at any point, PLEASE stop and visit us and give us a big hug! Seeing friends along the way helps chase away the homesickness. 

We wanted to get the kids out of the house Friday morning, so I found a really cool looking alligator farm up the road in Hammond, La. It was a gorgeous sunny day, so I got us ready, got the kids all excited to see alligators, and we headed off down the road...into a giant rain storm. Sigh. So with a truck full of disappointed kids (and why lie, I was pretty bummed myself) we headed toward town to see if there was anything interesting to do in the town of Hammond. There was not. 
So I found myself wandering through the local Target with two sad little boys who could only talk about how badly they had wanted to see the alligators. So guess who left the store with new Legos to make up for their disappointment? When will I ever learn to stop telling them ahead of time that we are going to do something fun?! If I would keep my mouth shut, I could save myself tons of money in guilt-Legos! 

We left Louisiana yesterday afternoon and headed toward Alabama. The kids did really well on the car trip, in spite of our new DVD player deciding to bite the dust about 20 minutes into the trip. They made do, and about 3 hours later we rolled into Mobile, Alabama. The park we booked isn't the nicest or most luxurious, and I was a little leery about staying here. But once I met the incredibly sweet owner and her husband and a few of their friends this evening, I have to say I actually really like it. There's no pool, no fancy anything really, but the kind people make up for anything that's lacking. It's a possibility that I am so fond of this couple because they told me there was no way I was 30, and that they thought I was 17! Oh and did I mention they have 5 dogs and about a jillion cats wandering around? Yep, these are my kind of folks. And when they told me I could pick a kitten to have, that just sealed the deal! We are now besties. No doubt about it.

Oh, one last thing: a Junebug update! Ms Junebug is adjusting well to RV life and seems to really enjoy her time hanging out with the kids, begging non-stop for food, snuggling up with anybody who will sit still long enough for her to crawl into their lap, and lounging in the sun like a tiny little slob. She's definitely a handful, and she insists on only pottying outdoors. She will hold it until she's about to pop, then squeal for you to take her to the grass instead of using her conveniently located potty pads. So her potty pad training isn't working out too well so far. That being said, anyone with piggy potty training tips, give a girl a hand here! 

Well, we're about to visit a new church today here in Mobile, so I better go get ready!

- Molly