Family Reunion Pictures

Last weekend we stayed at the Abita Springs RV Park. (In case you didn't know, Abita Springs is also the home of Abita Beer.) GB and GB had the RV parked there and we stayed in the cabin next door. The "cabin" was really just a trailer with wooded siding on it, but it served its purpose and the campsite was quite pretty.

Soon after we arrived we went to our first event planned as part of the Frederick Family Reunion. Paul (Grandma Betty's brother) and his wife Belle hosted a gathering at their house with LOTS of great food. We caught up with aunts, uncles, cousins, and the like. (Not to mention my father and siblings - I hadn't seen them in a while either!)

Sunday we went to Mass in Abita before heading back to Paul's for a Grillades, Grits & Bisquits Brunch. Yum! From there we went off to the Tchfuncte Queen. It is a rather large wooden boat that the family took out on the river for the day. There was lots of food and drink so a good time was had by all. As we got to Lake Pontchartrain we stopped for a swim. The brave jumped from the top deck and the rest of us watched safely from the boat.

On Monday we stopped at the Boss Frederick Tree. It is a member of the Live Oak Society. The tree was named for my great-great (maybe one more great in there) grandfather, Emile "Boss" Frederick. The road actually goes around the tree. My father reminisced about the time he spent as a kid in the Frederick house.

From there we went out to David Jone's house for the second family reunion of the weekend. We had to leave the David Family Reunion a little early to catch our flight, but we had the best burgers we've had a while there!

All in all it was a fantastic weekend. We are already talking about plans for the next get together!

Memorial Day Recovery

I'd planned to post pictures from the family reunions this weekend, but I took so many it is taking me time to go through them! Here is a preview:

The Boss Frederick Tree in Covington, LA

We got to New Orleans Saturday morning. We checked into the campground and were at Paul & Belle's house for the 1pm event. We saw the usual suspect and a number of more distant family members we hadn't seen in years - if ever!

From the top deck of the Tchfuncte Queen

Sunday after Mass we spent the day on the Tchfuncte Queen for a day cruise. It really was a lot of fun. We were fed well all weekend - pulled pork, Grillades, Grits & Biscuits, Jambalaya, Fried Chicken. I bought some pralines in the airport and felt like I'd had my fix.

We had a great night tonight. We used the crock pot to make stuffed cabbage and then after dinner went to the pool for a swim. My knees are a bit sore from the workout, but it is a good sore. Nothing a little ice won't fix!

In the last two weeks I have set a 10 pm bedtime goal. We are getting better, so I have added that we are going to be in bed by 10 WITH tomorrow's clothes ironed. I guess that leaves me with a 45 minutes tonight to do 2 hours worth of grading...oops!

Only 6 and 1/2 days to go!

Aliens?

Morgan loves his movies. His personal favorite is Star Wars, but the Indiana Jones movies come a close second. He tried to talk me into going at midnight, but I talked him out of it...we are going out of town this weekend. So we bought tickets last night and went right after work today.

Now Morgan has been reading teasers and looking at trailers forever now. I, not being quite as obsessive, did not know much about the movie going into it. Needless to say, I was a bit taken aback when the aliens references started. I know that the title has the words "crystal skull" in it, but I honestly did not expect the skull to belong to an alien.

Morgan did admit that it was the weakest of the Indiana Jones movies, but he did enjoy it quite a bit. I on the other hand just keep repeating in shock, "ALIENS?!?!" Maybe I'll pick the next movie...

Strawberry Success

A few days ago I noticed that I had a berry growing on one of my strawberry plants. The only other berry I'd found went bad before I could pick it. (It was the weekend I was in Boston and Morgan is not crazy about strawberries.)

So this afternoon I got to enjoy my first home grown strawberry. I hope for many more! My grandmother always says that Florida strawberries are the best kind!

Crock Pot Fun

Two of my latest interests, FlyLady and Gorgeously Green, both suggest cooking meals in a Crock Pot. I have wanted one for a while, but Morgan would tell me that he doesn't like stew. I went round and round arguing that you could cook more than stew in a Crock Pot. This has been the discussion over the last couple of years.

Well a few weeks ago I finally talked him into trying it - with the help of both the FlyLady and the Gorgeously Green Lady. (As with anything they were on sale - that always helps too!) It has been a busy couple of weeks with my brother-in-law in town and then my travels, so this week was our first test.

My mom gave us a slow cooker recipe book that is literally older than I am. We tried a Pork Roast with apples and ginger. Morgan waited until it was done to tell me that he is not crazy about pork done that way. It came out okay though. Yesterday we tried a brisket with carrots, celery, and onion. It was quite good.

The best part of it all...Morgan has decided that he really wants to try STEW! After years of telling me that he did not want to buy a Crock Pot because he does not like stew, he has now decided that it is the one meal he wants to cook in the Crock Pot! Go figure! (He argues that there a fancy stews in the cookbook and that they are not the plain kind that he doesn't like...)

Our goal is going to be to use it 1-2 times per week. It was SO nice to come home to dinner already prepared. So, If anyone has any Crock Pot recipes, please share!

Mother's Day Pictures

The last post was a bit sad so I thought I would add something a little more upbeat. I am home sick today anyway so I have time!

I treated Mom to Pappasitos when I was home. Yum! It was a good as I remembered! We did miss Morgan though to eat the pepper for us!

I managed to save room for the Sopapillas.
They are my favorites!

On Mother's Day Jason and I cleaned up the patio a little bit. Mom's tomato plants were looking great, so I bought some herbs to replant in the empty smaller pots. Here is a picture of Bailey, the three-legged cat, enjoying our work.

I had a great time visiting with Mom and her little dogs, too!

(Momma, Tyson, Rose, and Tator Tot)

Prayer Request

I got a call yesterday at school from my mom. She'd just found out that her cousin Kathy was killed over the weekend. She thought it was a car crash, but it turns out she was hit by a car while walking along the street with neighbors. It happened on Mother's Day.

The man who hit her has a history of problems with DUI and was about to have his licence revoked. Sometimes life just isn't fair! Kathy was so kind. She was a retired teacher who rescheduled her tutoring when my Grandma Jo took a turn for the worse so that she could take her mother (my Aunt Fran) to see Grandma Jo not once but twice. She and her daughter gave Morgan and me a wedding cake Christmas tree ornament that we treasure and talk about each year as we decorate.

Please keep the family in your prayers.

I'm pregnant?

How do you answer this? My husband sent me this e-mail at work this morning.

Tiffany in our office was advised this morning by a staff member at Lynn, who has a child at Henderson that you are pregnant! I thought I would email you to congratulate you. By all accounts it is a rumor travelling around Henderson…

Hope the morning is going well.

I always thought I would have been the first to know!

P.S. Just in case you were wondering, I am NOT pregnant. This is what happens when a few second grade parents find out that you want to have a baby...

The Good, The Bad, and Procrastination

The Good:
I had a nice weekend in Houston with my mom. I left school early on Friday and got to Hobby in time for dinner. It is the first real holiday without Grandma Jo, so it was nice to spend it with my mom. We did some shopping, some planting, and some bonding. I will post pictures soon...

I was SUPER excited today. Morgan and I stopped at Publix on our way home and I was checking the dates on my yogurt when it hit me - the school year will be over BEFORE my yogurt expires! Now that is a happy thought!

The Bad:
I think I am coming down with a cold. I have a stuffy nose, a sore throat, and feel yucky. Colds are never good, but I find summer colds the worse. It seems wrong to sniffle when it is 90 degrees outside. So much for soup and hot drinks...

The Procrastination:
I should be cleaning - changing the sheets, vacuuming, etc.
I should be grading papers.
I should be planning my ancient civilization lesson.

Oh well! I'll get to it...

What happened to Spring?

This weekend I was in Boston for a seminar. There are a group of teachers at school working on a project with the Music in Education National Consortium's (MIENC) Learning Laboratory School Network (LLSN). We have been doing it for a few years now and have expanded the project this year. This weekend was a seminar on what leadership looks like in music education. I went with the music teacher to share our story.

Usually I enjoy trips like this, but this weekend was just plain COLD! I had been looking forward to spring, but all I got was winter. (Even the team from Minnesota was complaining - it was warmer last weekend in Minneapolis!) On the plus side I did get to take some pictures of the flowers. While we have nice warm weather in Florida, we just do not get "spring flowers."

We had a nice walk from one hotel to the other - I am not sure why we did not just stay at the same place we were meeting, but it wasn't my seminar to organize! There are some nice people involved with the project so it was nice to see them again. I've returned to Florida to find summer in full swing in all but the school calendar!

Morgan got to spend time with his brother in my absence. My brother-in-law Robert leaves Thursday. He and Morgan went to play soccer tonight so I have some time to myself to catch up on the TV I missed last week. I think we have done everything thing on Robert's list of things to do before he returns to Ireland...with the exception of tomorrow night's trip to the Cheesecake Factory. Yum!