Welcome Nolan Michael Day

Louisiana Boardwalk Duck Pond

Jeff and I have a business at the Louisiana Boardwalk, a shopping center like The Summit for my Louisville friends. The Boardwalk has outlet stores, however. Believe it or not, we have a duck pond game. It's awesome. The kid (after mom or dad pay $5, or $10, depending on the prize the child wants) chooses a duck swimming in the pool. They show it to us to see if it is a winning duck. Well, they're all winners, but the kids don't know that. They show us the duck and we make a big commotion with the duck call (quack, quack, quack) and yell, "you won, you won!" By this time, mom & dad are clapping their hands & laughing saying "you won, you won." The child then chooses his own prize, depending on how much mom & dad want to spend. It is so sweet and everyone seems to like it. I should say most parents like the duck game. Sometimes, I see parents pulling their child along by the arm with their feet barely touching the ground. The kid is yelling and/or crying, "I wanna pick a duck!" The Boardwalk management want Jeff to expand his ideas & create a Kid's Zone. We have a temporary location with a tent now; Jeff wanted to see how it would go. The new location is across from Carter's Outlet & Osh Kosh, By Gosh (my favorites.) Jeff approached the Boardwalk management last year & opened a kiosk. It began with Mardi Gras speciality beads, hats, masks, boas, etc. Then he had I Love You Bears at Valentines and I cannot believe how well that did. And oh my gosh, the light up swords, they go like hotcakes in the evenings, we can't keep them in. (I hear Jeff saying "I told you so" as I type.") He then approached them about the duck pond. There is already a bungee jump game & a beautiful Louisiana Carosel on the Boardwalk. It features alligators & craw fish along with the traditional horses. We are very fortunate to be here, it's beautiful and the security is tight. No backward caps and sagging jeans here. They say 500,000 people a month come through here. It's really an entertainment complex with a movie theater, restaurants, and a comedy club located next to the casinos. A new Marriott is going in next to the carosel and a phase 2 Boardwalk section is going up sometime in the future. The Louisiana Boardwalk's slogan is "Shop, Eat, Play." It's gratifying to see the little ones playing for hours in the evenings with our light up swords, inflatible baseball bats, or Sponge Bob & Dora. I think we have added more "play" and family fun to the Boardwalk. Here is the link to their website if you want to look:
http://www.louisianaboardwalk.com/

Randy White, from
Traskwood, Arkansas,
helped us more than I
can say. He's going back
next week.
Thank you Peanut!

Spring is here

Spring has arrived to Haughton, LA! The Red Bud was the first to bloom, then we we waited for the Dogwood. When the leaves came out before the flowers, we went out to look...it's not a Dogwood after all. One morning, Jeff told me to look at the Paperwhites blooming beside the mail box. I'd never seen paperwhites before, except for the ones sold in a box at Wal-Mart. Jeff used to give me a Paperwhite or an Amaryllis during the winter time to cheer me up and assure me that spring would return someday! I picked some for the living room; their fragrance was noticeable as soon as I walked in the house. The Wisteria is blooming now and Jeff says it will bloom all summer...hallelujah. It is gorgeous and smells heavenly, but when he's through building the trellis, it will be spectacular. Katherine has one in her yard and every spring she tells me how beautiful it is. I never lived far enough south to have one! After I took a picture of the Japanese Maple, Beaux asked me to take his picture. He wants everyone to know that he's memorized his new address:) Good boy, Beaux! Beau is now Beaux...after all, the LSU Tigers' slogan is "geaux tigers." We're in Louisiana for heaven's sake! I'll let you know if and when I change my name to Margeaux!

Madelyn & Ansley visit Grandma

Jon & Melissa drove down with the girls to visit us and we had a great time despite the cold, rainy weather. Madelyn & Ansley brought lots of sunshine with their smiles and cute antics! They stayed at the Marriott Springhill Suites at Louisiana Downs which has an indoor pool and exercise room. The girls enjoyed swimming since they couldn't go outside and play in the pasture as we had hoped. Jeff made shrimp fettuccine on Thursday and Madelyn ate 2 plates. She was a hungry girl. We went to the Sci Port Museum on Friday. The girls had a great time because there was plenty of hands on fun plus lots of other kids there. Jeff fixed chicken tenders with red beans and rice for dinner. Saturday we went to Marty and Mary Jane's house where the kids got to play with Seth and Elizabeth. It stopped raining and warmed up enough to play outside. Ansley liked jumping in the mud puddles, so a change of clothes was necessary for her. Marty fixed tons of gourmet food accompanied by great wine. They left Sat evening and drove to Memphis and got up Sun morning for the rest of the drive home. It was a short visit but packed with loads of fun and good times. I miss them already, but look forward to Brian and Lea Ann coming in April with Gavin and Travis!

Trip to New Orleans

Jeff & I went to New Orleans last week and had a great time. My favorite part was riding the trolley down St Charles St and seeing the grand old homes in the garden district. This is where I would live if I had a house in New Orleans. The tulip trees were already blooming and it was beautiful there. Jeff lived in N.O. for a while and managed The Mardi Gras Zone, one of the largest distributors of Mardi Gras beads, hats, and everything else Mardi Gras. Mardi Gras isn't as big here in Northwestern LA, but Jeff is changing that. We bought tons of stuff to put in our kiosk on the Louisiana Boardwalk in Bossier City.

The ravages of Katrina are still visible. There are restored houses sitting next to damaged ones, but the city is coming back. I felt such sadness as we drove through the 9th Ward and saw where the worst damage was done.

We didn't have time to visit the cemeteries, so that is first on my list when we go back. I took a few photos from the car as we were leaving the city. I didn't know the bodies are buried above ground b/c the city is below sea level; the bodies will float away if they are buried underground.

My living room is almost done!

Sure is nice to have a room almost completed, and not have to breathe drywall dust to boot!

Before & after

Karen and Bobby were here to do our drywall work. Look at the difference in her skin after using Arbonne's anti aging RE9 set for 3 days! She looks 10 years younger.