A Month-Long Roundup of Memories

This is a "catch-up" blog post since I have not been posting lately.  Now that my bed-ridden days are past and I was released by my Dr. following hip replacement surgery, life has gotten busy and regular again.  So, this will be a picture overload to recapture recent happenings.

I had posted several weeks ago that one of my goals for the month of April was to get a new vehicle.  That happened with the purchase of this beautiful Highlander Limited.  I never desired a red car, but this one is the prettiest color and definitely meets my need for a nice, comfortable SUV.

Great Grandsons:

Jax, in Indiana is thriving and talking up a storm.  look at those beautiful, expressive eyes.  He will be two in July.  We miss him so much.

Landon had his first haircut before celebrating his 2nd Birthday.  He is growing so fast and getting tall and very verbal.

Granddaughters:

Savannah is getting ready for her July 27 wedding and has just about all the i's dotted and t's crossed.  She is so organized and will definitely have the wedding of her dreams.  We can hardly wait to experience this special event with her.

Savannah's little sister, Mary-Elizabeth will be graduating from Xavier University in Cincinnati this week with a BSN degree.  We are so proud of this smart girl and she will be working at a local hospital there.  Best wishes for a very bright future in nursing, M-E.

Youngest Granddaughter, Ava Grace is a HS Junior and continues to excel.  A few weeks ago she performed in the school production of "White Christmas."  (Above middle)  She was recognized as an honor student and for excelling in the area of anatomy at the recent school Honors Night.  She was absolutely beautiful for the Junior/Senior Prom last weekend.  It is hard to believe she will be a senior in a few months.  How fast time flies.

Our son, John and Daughter-in-love, Michelle visited us a few weeks ago.  It was so good to have them with us for several days.  We managed to stay busy as well as just doing nothing but enjoying them.  They were also here to see Ava Grace's theater production.

This week I am visiting my sister in South Louisiana.  We always treasure these times together.  Yesterday we drove down near New Orleans to spend time with her youngest son and grandson at their house on Chinkapin Canal.  It is life right on the water which is exactly what Doug was seeking.

He has three levels of decks that are right on the water.  As we sat we saw gators glide by and birds hoping to catch something popping up out of the water.  After a delicious lunch, Doug wanted to show us all that lives in his backyard.

Deep in the Maurepas Swamp, the Chinkapin Canal opens into the Amite River and from there we went into the Diversion Canal.

In order to prevent future flooding, back in the 1950's the Army Corps of Engineers created the Amite River Diversion Canal.  It is a 10.6-mile long flood control channel that conveys the Amite River flow to the Blind River.

  This created a swamp island across from Doug's house.  We rode around that island in a slow, interesting 40 mile, three-hour drive on a small party boat.

Because this lovely waterway has direct access to the infamous Lake Pontchartrain in New Orleans and provides thousands of acres of water access, it is prim property.  It is interesting to see the diversity of homes in this area.  Above are only three of the huge, gorgeous multi-million dollar homes.  There were boats and yachts at almost every home that costs millions as well.  There are several restaurants and bars that are accessible only by boat where Doug and Alex enjoy going to.  This is another lifestyle that I can only imagine.

After seeing how the other half live here, Gin and I thought we finally found something we could possibly afford.

This boat ride was so relaxing and enjoyable that I was afraid I may have trouble driving home.  We decided to skip the notoriously nightmare traffic of Baton Rouge and took a rural route through Antebellum country with old plantations such as Nottaway.

  To get there we first had to cross the famous Sunshine Bridge over the Mississippi River.   This woke us up for sure.

 This concludes my catch-up blog post and I hope you enjoyed reliving fun times with me.  I will try to get back to regular posting with Joyce for the Wednesday Hodgepodge if not other happenings.