Weather from Lafayette...

January 18, 2008 - 1st Big Storm
This storm woke me up, I thought there was an ambulance outside our apt. complex because the lightning kept flashing like the lights on an ambulance, police car etc. It was AWESOME!!!




May 14, 2008 - Tornado Warning
We've had a couple Tornado "watches", but this was our fist warning. The tornado touched down in some areas near by, but it didn't visit our neighborhood, directly. As you can see the rain and a good gust of wind was what we got. The rain comes up fast, it's like ponds just drop out of the sky. The way this place floods blows my mind, I've never seen anything like the weather around here!!!

A few Things I've Missed Along the Way...

Well, because I went so long without a familiar computer, I've gotten out of the habbit of even getting on now that I have a new one...so I have a lot to catch up on and stuff that happened long ago but I'm going to do my best to post a few...a lot of pictures and comments on the last few months I've been here.

Mardi Gras 2008
It was February 1-5th I believe...it reminds me a little of any parade we'd have out west, but instead of throwing candy, they throw beads, cups, back-scratchers, and other fun toys and items...contrary to what many may believe about Mardi Gras and getting beads...you DON'T have to "flash" anyone in order to get them. There is a lot more to Mardi Gras than I had ever imagined!! It's a lot of fun and we will be comming out here long after we leave for the great celebrations. I too would like to hold Mardi Gras parties at my home, wherever we may be - so friends and family, start looking for some great masks and Mardi Gras festivity gear, so when the invitation arives for our parties, you'll be prepared!!! :-)

Mardi Gras Links:
Mardi Gras Outlett
Why Mardi Gras?
Mardi Gras 2009

My battery on my camera died at the beginning of the parade I went to...so I don't have any of the floats really, but a few shots before and after the parade. (I charged my battery during the parade...SAD) The Duhon (Due-yawn) family are wonderful friends of ours.

Chuck Duhon & Scott at the Parade, Tanya Duhon & Jennifer after the parade - once we took most of our beads off, they get hot. Kennedy Duhon & Maddie & Brendan Duhon & Maddie














Here's a kid who really knows how to sweep the beads & cute Maddie "enjoying" the bead...can't you tell she just LOVES'M..??










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CrawFish! CrawFish! CrawFish!

My first crawfish boil was over at the Duhons. They boil the crawfish, potatoes, garlic & corn on the cob with amazing cajun spices, once done to perfection, the water is drained and the delectable creation is poured onto the table - no forks, knives, spoons needed - break in! FYI - don't wear anything you don't want to get messy... A tantalizing dip is prepared by the individuals who are eating, made to fit your taste buds. The base of the sauce is ketchup and mayo, from there the individual will add tobasco, cajun seasoning etc. to taste. YUMMMMM!!!














We haven't learned the art of true crawfish boils, but fortunately when we're craving crawfish, Scott was blessed to find a fabulous little ma/pa cafe that you can get crawfish...DRIVE THRU style. This way we can bring it home and enjoy as desired by our taste buds.



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Magnolia Ridge Plantation/Gardens

Scott and I spent the afternoon doing a little sight-seeing and cruzing a couple of the near by towns. The pictures are of Magnolia Ridge Plantation in Washington, Louisiana. We actually missed when the garden is in full bloom. It's usually the end of March, but due to a longer, "colder" winter than usuall, it bloomed later, but it was still beautiful!!!


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MOVING OUT...

Our home in Utah was being rented by Scott's brother and his wife, but recently decided to move to Southern Utah. We then decided it would be best to CLEAN...GUT out the house, COMPLETELY, and rent it out. I have NO idea how we ended up with so much STUFF!? It was a long hard process of cleaning it out...mostley emotionally difficult, but I'm SO, SO, SO glad we did it. I don't have any pictures of it yet now that it's cleaned out, I'll get some when I go back in June, but here are a few of the messes... YIKES!!! (The "stuff" is a combination of ours, Scott's brothers, some things from my grandfather I was keeping, plus a few things from neighbors...yea, CRAZY)














The new renters will be moving in in mid-June. A cute family of 5. Scott and I built the house in 2002. Unfortunately it never enjoyed the writing on the walls, sprinkler hoses being drug through the hallways or the pitter-pat of our own children living there, so nows the time to really break it in!! I'm excited to see them move in. They are wonderful people!

We kept very little, and what we kept is a few "heirloom peices and hunting/fishing/camping items (in a small, storage unit) that we'll be using when we come back to Utah to visit & play. We didn't take any furniture with us to Louisiana. We took the T.V. my sewing machine, cloths (not all), and a few "projects" for me to work on and that was pretty much it. Oh,and of course MADDIE! :-) If it didn't fit in my car, it didn't come. Talk about down-sizing! It was difficult at first, but the thought of moving into a larger place makes me a little nausious. I'm LOVING the luxury of a simple life!!! I need to get pictures of our apt. on the blog....


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Main Street River Ranch Apartment - Lafayette, Louisiana

The furniture was rented by the company, it isn't the best and I've felt as though I've been in a hotel-but the rental contract will be up at the end of May and I have been able to go pick out my own choice of furniture...I'm soooo excited!!! It will feel MUCH more like home once we get our new furniture here! YEA!!! For now - here is what I have - the furniture has been moved around NUMEROUS times, it's a small room and two walls are french doors-makes it a bit challenging, but fun!

I've been playing around with the video editing stuff on my computer so once I get the new furniture I'll do a video tour...that should be fun!!! Until then here's what I got for now - it's no longer arranged as you see in the picture...















Check out this site and the links to the right, under "Lafayette" to see where we live.
Main Street @ River Ranch

An Afternoon with Tami

Hey Ya'll!! Enjoy!!
(The video isn't so good, but I'm not going to take the time to edit it or it'll never get done. You'll hear the thunder after I ask Tami if she saw the lightning... no justice is done on my little digital camera...

Make a Smilebox photobook

Yesterday afternoon my friend Tami and I did a little photo shoot...now when she asked me if I wanted to go take pictures, in my mind I imagined, landscape, building, wildlife, NOPE! She had an entirely different idea! She's awesome!! Unfortunately she's only here for a couple more weeks and then her and her husband, Billy are going home to Houston, TX. They've been traveling the world with his job for the past few months and this is their last stop before heading home. We met a couple of months ago, but we were instant friends... Friends Forever... :-)