All for One! And one for all!

I created the costumes for this year...next year, I might just take the easy way out and head to the store and purchase them...because I kind of went overboard this year.

I found yards and yards of gorgeous soft velvety type fabric at a yard sale a couple of months ago for a couple of dollars. And from that....Barbie Three Musketeers was born.

I scoured the internet for directions first, and came across a gem of a blog. Brown Paper Packages gave directions for how to easily create each piece of the costume, including the genius creation of Musketeer boots made out of Duck Tape.
It was a ton of work, but totally worth it. Don't you think?

Happy Halloween, y'all!

And the relatives came.....(part 3, Avery Island)

The following day, we piled in the vehicles as we headed over to Avery Island, home of the Tabasco Factory, and some of the most beautiful landscape that Louisiana has to offer.

We took the tour of the Tabasco Factory.
Cleared our sinus' for the next 10 years smelling the stuff as it fermented.
Admired the gorgeous trees on the island....
We hunted up a few gators....But you won't see us on an episode of Swamp People.
We did some hiking around the island. And just when the children were tired enough....
....we did even more hiking.
The doors to the Buddha Temple were open that day, I had never seen it open.

Unfortunately, the egrets weren't at the nesting spot as usual. I'm used to seening the hundreds of egrets out on their little dock on the island. But we were told that they had migrated for the season.

And the relatives came.....part 2, The Bell Tower

After we took the kids to see Mr. Charlie, we took a break for lunch and at McD's, and let the little Monsterlings run around for awhile.

Then I took them to see the Bell Towers. (pardon the dated link....it's the most current one I could find. The website states that it's been closed since 2004, but I know for a fact that it's wide open and available to the public!) It's a gorgeous little spot that we have been too frequently.

There is a pretty little walking trail where you can observe the wild birds, see large Cyprus trees growing
and play with enormous "man-eating grasshoppers" (at least that is what the Middle Apple calls them.
I love listening to the bells chiming their welcome to us.
"playing" the bells.....

After the Bell Towers, we came home and played Wii, gave the Little Apple a nap, rode bikes, and roller skated. It was such a fun and FULL day.

And the relatives came.....(part 1) The Mr. Charlie

It's always a special time when relatives come to visit.....I think, (and I believe the rest of the family will agree with this statement) that the worst part about being in the military is that visits with family are just too few and far between.

Our honorary guests this weekend were our relatives from MN, Uncle S., Auntie K., and CD Monsterling (their choice nickname for my nephew! I love how it sounds like an awesome Rap Artist name!) , who drove cross country by RV to see us just for the weekend. We felt so special that they would come so far to see us on one of the very few weekends that they have available together as a family.

We had a great time, and we showed them some of our favorite places around here in Louisiana. We wish that they could have stayed longer. But without further ado....here are some pics from our adventures.

On their first day here, we decided to take them to see what I think is a little known about gem here in Morgan City. The Mr. Charlie Oil Rig
The Mr. Charlie claims to be the only place in the world where the general public can walk aboard an offshore drilling rig. Our tour guide, Virgil, is a great guy, loves kids, and has tremendous knowledge of offshore drilling and environmental aspects that pertain to it. Entering the inside quarters of the rig....the kids got to try to open the hatch door.
Learning about a jack-up rig in the Rec Room on the rig.

Checking out the goodies (and sampling!) that there are to eat on a rig. Looking out over our city.
Here's a view of the deck where the magic happens.....
Practicing with a tripod lift...used to lift people out of vertical hatches.
As a bonus treat, Virgil grabbed a wrench and opened up a diving bell for the kids to climb in. They thought it was pretty darn cool!
The Middle Apple practicing her swing. (My personal favorite pic of the day. Thanks for manning the camera, Uncle S., my hands were too full of The Little Apple that day!)


If you haven't visited the Mr. Charlie before, you really should. Every time we go, we learn something new. Ask for Virgil to do your tour. He's awesome.