Last Trip Up!

Sean and I went to Arkansas last weekend. It was quite a weird feeling when we realized that it was going to be our last trip up before we have a baby in tow! Woah! That's a little strange (& awesome) to think about! My mom will be traveling south in April and May for my showers (and obviously when the baby arrives) so we won't have time to get up there again before June! I'm so glad we were able to go get a quick trip in last weekend. It was perfect, as was the weather!

We weren't able to leave until Friday late morning because SP had a closing at 10. I decided to just ride with him so we could just leave straight from there. I figured I could hang out in the car for an hour, no problem. Especially since I didn't sleep well the night before. I was feeling exhausted!

When Sean got back to the car, let's just say baby and I were nice and comfy :)

It was a gorgeous day for a road trip! We made our usual stops along the way and got to The Escarpment about 5:30! Normally when we get there my mom is outside before we are even out of the car. Not this time. We even did a honk up the driveway, and still...she wasn't there! I grab a few things out of the car and make my way up to the front door. I might mention the porch is wood and off the ground so you can definitely hear footsteps when someone is walking up. I get to the all glass door which enters into Louis' play room, and try to open it. It was locked, but when I peered in, Louis was destuffing a stuffed animal and my mom was busy in the kitchen! Louis saw me and then she did and came running over to let me in! She had the music going and dinner cooking (hence why she never heard us drive up!). It was the perfect setting to walk into! Instant FUN of course :) I didn't get a picture of dinner but she made shrimp and grits that was very tasty. For dessert later on we had homemade pound cake with fresh peaches and ice cream. Welcome home, welcome home :) We all fell asleep around the TV that night and decided around 9:30 we should all go to bed! (exciting!)

I think he was still ready to play!

On Saturday morning we met a friend, Janie, at The Press Room down on the square for coffee and breakfast. I got a decaf vanilla honey latté, scrambled eggs, the best whole grain toast ever, and a side of chicken sausage. It was all so fresh! I ate every bite! The coffee shop was slammed by the time we left. I love the vibe there.

After breakfast we headed back home to let Louis out of jail (i.e. the laundry room). My goodness it was a gorrrrrrgeous day! Our goal was to get some stuff hauled to the dump and out of the barn! I wasn't much help, seeing as how I couldn't lift too much, so I got put in charge of Louis duty!

Doesn't he look thrilled?

This dog LOVES to run! He wasn't happy being trapped in my arms. But, I just couldn't help myself. He's just the cutest ball of fluff! He would run run run and then go check in to see where his momma was. He doesn't venture too far from her without checking in. So sweet :) After several hours and a lunch break of chicken sandwiches, we all loaded up in the car and headed first to Helping Hands for some donations, and then to the dump to get rid of chemicals, paint, tires, & more of that sort of thing. We made a small dent, which is progress! We were all feeling incredibly productive at that point. This barn is so big and full of crap stuff that any little bit helps!

By the time we got back it was 4ish and we were tired. Sean did a few things to help my mom, like fix the fence to try to contain her pup, get her lawnmower battery charged, and put a lock on her screen door. We ordered pizza that evening and watched a not so good movie, Jack Reacher with Tom Cruise.

Sunday came and it looked to be a cold grey day. My mom and I made a plan for us which consisted of grocery store, gumbo making, and more organizing & straightening. My mom and a friend Becky are having a Mardi Gras party this Saturday and she is in charge of making the gumbo. I told her SP and I didn't mind helping. It is a big commitment and all day activity and I knew it would just be more fun if we all got our hands in the pot!

We got the roux to its proper color & all the veggies chopped and in the pot! Then came some afternoon fun that none of us saw coming!! 

My mom has had an armadillo tearing up her yard for the past week! It's driving her nuts (for obvious reasons) and she doesn't like to let Louis out when he's around. So, Sean is out in the barn, and my mom and I are stirring the roux. There out the front window was this damn armadillo. Sean decides the only way to get rid of it was to trap it & carry him off somewhere else! I got put on roux duty and those two went on a mission of their own! When they couldn't find the trap in the barn SP got creative with a trashcan and a cardboard box top! 

He got it trapped! He said the darn thing was bucking in that trashcan the whole time, haha! My mom hurried up to get the car so they could haul him off to the woods somewhere. Louis and I stayed inside (still on roux duty) and waited for them to return. 

Approximately 5 minutes later, I see my mom's car coming back up the driveway! Just below where they are standing in the above picture, she stops the car! I couldn't figure out what they were doing! Sean gets out and my mom drives back up with news I was NOT prepared for...THERE WAS ANOTHER ARMADILLO! In the yard, not 2 feet away from where the previous one got hauled off from! I know, I wish I was kidding, too! I had just finished talking to my mom about how I thought there was only one because he was so dumb, it wasn't possible we were seeing more than one on random trips outside. He was dumber than a doornail!

This time I decided I'd drive SP down so my mom could stay with Louis b/c he can't stand being without her and was driving me nuts, ha! I jump in the car and I head down to meet SP. The rest is captured on video. Let's just say this armadillo was no dumby, and much larger than the last one!

Ewwwww!!!

Here is how this capture (or lack there of) went down...



It was HILARIOUS! We didn't catch him, but definitely scared him off and my mom hasn't seen him since. YAY!

We finally finished the gumbo, SP got some work done, and Louis got to run around a lot. Oh, the day ended up not being grey and gloomy. It turned into a crisp blue sky day. We decided it was the perfect afternoon to go to Crêpes Paulette down just off the square in town. Normally the line is so long we never want to wait. We hit it at the perfect time on this afternoon, yay!

My mom and I split a strawberry jam w/ Nutella (they didn't have fresh strawberries that day). She would take a bite, then I would take a bite. Except, she wouldn't come out of her bite messy and I always had it all over me. Like, ALL OVER ME! We would've gotten a picture but we were too messy to pull out our phones. We were seriously cracking up! I was crying from laughter! As my mom and I were in our debilitating laugh spell, SP just stood there shaking his head at us. If my dad had been there, he would've had the same reaction! He always just chuckled and rolled his eyes when we would get into laughing so hysterically! We took Louis with us, and he had such a good time being out that when we finished and got back to the car, he literally sat down, refusing to go, in the middle of the road! It was so funny! I think he forgets we can still pick him up! He is definitely in the rebelling toddler phase of his life! One day while we were there, he started chewing on one of SP's crocs. My mom took it away from him, and about 10 minutes later he ran upstairs and before we could even go up to stop him, he came right back down with MY SHOE in his mouth. Ha! He knew exactly what he was doing!

Monday morning we had to head home. We stopped for lunch at a place I knew my mom and dad had eaten at once before. Angel's diner. It was super yummy! We both got a chicken fried chicken sandwich :)

We always have the best time on the mountain and always look forward to our next trip up! My mom sent us back with a container of gumbo that we had for dinner that evening. Yum!