we're going to see the sunflowers, baby!

"We're going to see the sunflowers, baby!" is what Hudson kept telling Evangeline on our drive to Carmel, La; just a quick road trip to view a field full of sunflowers at my mom's friend Vivian's home in the country. With over 175 acres of property to play with, Mr. Faler wanted some sunflowers on his land. He is more than generous to invite us over to reap the benefits of his hard work :) Upon arrival we were offered a beer and a four wheeler - my kind of afternoon!

After a fun ride around the property, we grabbed our buckets and scissors and got to work. My sister, Lauren, said, "Isn't it funny how some of them just call out to you to pick them?!" and it's true!

 Thanks for having us! We can't wait to come back. What do you think about a bonfire this fall ;) ??

summer spectacular...

Our weekend in New Roads was like a sun drenched dream. We spent more time on the water and dock than on land. Just the way I like it. :)

Thursday night pleasure cruise:

{Evangeline hated the life jacket her dad bought her- doesn't she look scared?! Bless her little heart}

{It was fun waking up with all the kiddos in one house! You gotta love a slumber party.}

Friday: Red, White, and Blue Day!

{Our gracious host, Captain Coco!}

{the three cousins with life vests on = adorable!}

{Every time we got on the boat, E would fall asleep instantly and stay knocked out until the boat stopped! So funny.}

{The sand pit idea was kind of a bust- they were either throwing it in the water or throwing it in each others faces, but don't they know how to turn it on for the camera?}

{Lots of special Daddy-Daughter time was had.}

On the 4th of July evening, Fr./Brother-in-Law Andrew cooked burgers and we watched from the dock fireworks all up and down False River. Hudson was having a ball- he kept jumping and screaming, "SPECTACULAR!!!" We have no idea where he got that from, but I was cracking up.

On Saturday morning, I woke up early to watch the sunrise. The morning was filled with a million different shades of pastels. I just love what God does with his paintbrush in the sky.

{Some more morning cousin play time before we got ready for some coasting on False River...}

{This is our attempt at a group photo - Hudson wasn't having it. Poor guy just got sunscreen in his eyes.}

{See! I told you- falls asleep every time!}

{Hudson had fun driving for a second, but Andrew - our little dare devil- took this job seriously! Trouble ;)}

A quick jump in the river-lake and we were back on the road to Shreveport. The thing I liked best about our little road trip was the lack of clocks and structure. Since Evangeline was born I have been on such a schedule that when I realized I could just go with the flow this weekend- I took full advantage. (Y'all- I even took a nap!!) It felt like a real vacation!

On Sunday we had lunch with Russell and the Raleys at Oyster Bar. Yum. Also- I love my friends.

Then we had dinner with DeeDee and Pops.

What a wonderful 4th of July holiday!

Landing in the City of Lights...

On Lauren's birthday last Sunday, David surprised her with a trip to Natchitoches, Louisiana with the family. We all piled into his new truck (all 6 of us) and headed south for about an hour to see the festival lights along Cane River Lake and eat some dinner at The Landing on the historic Front Street. I'm not entirely sure if I can call it the "festival of lights" because I think it is just considered that on Saturdays when they do fireworks, but hey, we enjoyed seeing the illuminated light displays along the shoreline. For those of you that are interested in attending, the 87th Annual Christmas Festival is December 7th! It is ranked number 3 in the United States for best Christmas display and can't you see why?!

{That fried pecan pie and the hot chocolate to-go were my favorite parts of dinner!}

 After dinner we smooshed back into the truck for a drive down main street before going back to the Merrick's house to open gifts with Mrs. Capi :) I hope you had a wonderful birthday, sweet sister.

blueberry picking...and a little baking!

A few days ago Mama, Lauren, the kiddos, Mrs. Gerry, her friend visiting from France and I went to Frierson, LA to pick blueberries at Shuqualak Farms. It was a hot day so we waited until right before sunset to drive out there, but after finding bushes in the shade our buckets were quickly filled to the brim with blue gold.

Hudson got the hang of it very quickly :)

When you're done with your bucket, they measure your pickings and give you a free blueberry popsicle. It is to-die-for! It was a lovely way to spend an afternoon. Next is deciding what all to make with all of your berries. I decided to make blueberry muffins for my book club on Thursday. I found the recipe found here.

Delicious! Anyone have any recipes for blueberries they would like to share?