Hey y'all...welcome back to another installment of the Adventures. I mentioned in my previous post that my brother Steve flew to town so we could all head down to Louisiana for a little familial reunion. The trip would be very short (Friday eve to Sunday morning), but it was on par to be a memory maker.

The destination: Mer Rouge, Louisiana home of "Duckapaloza" (aka, the Byrd Camp....aka Aunt Jan & Uncle Richards quarters on the Bayou).

The plan: Fish, Visit, Eat, Sleep, Not Shower - not necessarily in that order.



Ahhh...what a beautiful scene, yes? I took this picture around...oh, I'd say 8:30 or 9 in the morning. Nestled with a hot cup of joe, I sat on the deck in awe of the beauty that surrounded me. The colors of fall on the bayou coupled with the sound of birds and an occasional fish flapping on the water made me forget that I had just spent 10 hours in a minivan the day before.



It was just chilly enough to make me wonder why I sitting there in my pajamas, but the only one around to care was my husband who was just slightly more focused on baiting his hook. An occasional egret would fly past and break up the stillness of the scene...there was not an ounce of city life around to drown out my moment.



The only thing that had a chance of drawing me back up to the warmth of the camp was Aunt Jan's biscuits and sausage gravy. And they did not disappoint...at least not for awhile.

After brekkie and a quick change of clothes, I bopped on down to the deck to take up my day dreamy scene. Only this time as I was boppin' on down, my stomach started makin' a fuss. Oh yeah... Makin' a big fuss. The kinda fuss that don't end pretty. Like...thank goodness there was a bayou and a rail right in front of me kinda fuss. From that moment on - all day and into the night - it was coming out one end or the other. Look my people, I'm sorry for the graphic nature of my content, but you've got to be with me through the good times AND the bad.

If I had to pick a bright spot from it all, the "output" did seem to attract some good fishin'. My uncle caught a 10 inch catfish right after my initial re-view of the morning menu.

So I had to experience the fun while fading in and out of consciousness and from all the 2nd hand accounts and pictures. I actually did manage to make it out to a chair close by the window while all my family enjoyed s'mores by the bonfire. And, as everyone was leaving I did manage to keep a saltine cracker down and perk up just enough to watch my Dad, brother and husband try and peg each other with a marshmallow.

It's still a mystery what sort of bug I managed to get ahold of...nobody else at camp got sick and I ate the same thing that everyone else did for breakfast and dinner the night before (which in my opinion eliminates food poisoning).

Although most of my time was spent curled up on the bed or in a chair (wondering when my next visit to the rail was going to be), I still had a great time having all the family activity buzzing around me.

And, I can't let this post go without showing you the cutest Nana around...here's a picture of her (sans bottom teeth) with my Dad and bro:



Until the next time (which will hopefully not include any euphemisms of throwing up)...stay healthy and bug free.

love & sausage gravy (the 1st time around only),

k

SECRET MESSAGE: Chunk E. Moto

Hey y'all...

Hope you are enjoying your week...Club Amaro is ramped up for new adventures this weekend. We welcomed my brother, Steve to town yesterday by taking him to Jack's BBQ for dinner. Tomorrow, we are off to Mer Rouge,La. to hang out on the bayou at my Aunt & Uncle's camp (we call it a camp, but it's a house on the bayou...who came up with term "camp" anyway?). All my patriarchal kin will be there...should be fun! And...as a bonus, we get to bring Grandaddy back to Middle Tennessee! Stay tuned for pics...

Just a quick shout out to my amiga Julie over at The Land of Lost Luggage who is featured in the latest issues of Artful Blogging Magazine. I knew that I was in the presence of greatness 20+ years ago when we were goofing off during Ed's Photography class in high school. Congrats, Julie. If you get a chance, check out her blog as well as her mixed media artwork displayed throughout the site. Muy bien hecho, Julia!

And last - but certainly not least - the biggest shout out is to my boyfriend, Mike. Today is our 9th wedding anniversary! Who knew that December eve 13 years ago would turn into such a fun ride. He is definitely the comic relief section of Club Amaro...his humor and personality are always fun to be around. He is an excellent husband, provider, father and friend...he is a strong spiritual leader in our home yet he is humble in his position. I am so thankful for him. Happy Anniversary sweet man!! Looking forward to many, many more years.

Enjoy your weekend and stay out of trouble, youse!

love & a clean rib bone,

k

SECRET MESSAGE: Happy Anniversary!

Hey y'all. I just love sayin' y'all, y'all. Y'all know what I mean? I can't remember the last time I said, "you guys" (a term for which I constantly got ribbed for by my Louisiana kin folk).

Anyway - another day has past and I can't wait to share about what a fun day we had. Aunt Jan and Uncle Richard recently purchased a plot of land in Mer Rouge, La. on a lake...complete with a pier and fishin' poles. So, the whole family headed out to what has affectionately been named "Byrd Camp" (after Jan & Richard's last name). It was a beautiful day - although it never hit 70, there was no humidity whatsoever. There was a pretty decent breeze throughout the day, but if you caught a good patch of sun, it just didn't matter. Of course, there was a constant stream of food available all day long in case anyone began to starve...and, we had Grill Master D (sans Black Beauty tho') on hand to cook us up some tasty burgers w/ all the fixin's.


Clearly, the hottest attraction going today was the fishing. A majority of time was spent on the really cool pier that sits on Bayou Bonne Idee...all the kids really enjoyed the fishing. Us "older" cousins (me, Robyn and Ashley) recall fishing during the summers at the Scott camp, so it was neat (once again) to see history sort of repeating itself.

The most exciting moment for this mama was seeing her baby catch a fish. Abby had the biggest catch of the day (I have approval from Uncle David to say this as he oversaw most of the catches coming out of the water)!! It was a pretty little white perch and Abby roped him in ALL BY HERSELF! She went on to catch another later on as well. She was very excited...I know it will be a fond memory for her.


Other happenings at the camp were tree climbing, princess dress up, eating, losing crops (i.e. napping), bubble blowing and lots of running around. And, to top things off, we had a little fun in the bathtub. All 3 girls jumped in the over sized tub at the camp and the baby Grayson was dunked in as well. This picture of the baby Grayson is the only one I can really post since these days 3 little girls in a bathtub can get one into quite a bit of trouble. But Grayson sure didn't mind! Everyone got squeaky clean w/ new clothes and everything then headed back down to the pier for a few last minute fishing attempts.

You should really stop by the Drop Shots account and check out more pictures of the days events. More fun memories burned into the memory bank...with the Byrd Camp being only a short day's drive away, I can see more fun times are just around the corner!

Tomorrow morning we pack up base camp and head BACK to Fort Worth, Tx. where we'll be prepping our things for the ascent to Murfreesboro. We also expect a visit to Texas this week from Uncle Steve. Perhaps there might be another Bita song coming soon!

Prayer Requests:
1. More travel mercies (good thing God never runs out!)
2. Our belongings will be packed up onto a truck on Monday, then begin their travel to TN on Wednesday...although they are just "things", they are still our things alot of which are needed, some not so much :) Please pray for protection, safe arrival and no complications for our load.

love & louisiana kisses,
k