Let me apologize for the two day hiatus, but I can’t wait to show you why I went silent…
For the last few days (not nearly enough) my boys and I had the honor of playing host to my friend Jody and her wonderful family. Seriously, guys, her boys are the kind of young men I hope that I am raising mine to be. Anyway, like most parents with busy lives, having out of town guests gives us the opportunity to do and see the things in our own back yard that we neglect to otherwise make time for. It was wonderful. Here’s the rundown:
The first day we had to do a crawfish boil and Jamie knocked it out of the park again! 
The whole visiting gang loved them and took home all required seasoning to have their own boil at home.
Day 2 we headed to the Evangeline Oak in St. Martinville, where Longfellow’s Evangeline waited for her love, and then we were off to the Lake Martin Bird Sanctuary.
Day 3 we took our little boat into the Atchafalaya Basin, the largest swamp in the USA, so the boys could fish and we could take in the beauty of our wildlife here in Louisiana.
We finished up at Gator Cove with a delicious meal and their amazing “pets.”
Day 4 we headed to Avery Island and toured the Tabasco Factory and the Jungle Gardens. It was beautiful and I finally got to see a river otter up close! Sadly, he was camera shy and ran across our path so fast, but he was huge and gorgeous! I am a huge bird nerd, and we have one of the greatest collections on Earth. Jungle Gardens plays host to many of them.
Last night they cooked us some fantastic brats that her husband, Chad, made himself and they were amazing! I didn’t get pictures because I was too busy eating.
It was a wonderful visit and I can’t wait to do it again! It’s good to remember all of the things that Louisiana has to offer and it’s great to be blessed in friendship! It’s also very refreshing to host kids who love the outdoors and aren’t sneaking off to play video games all of the time. It was a good thing for my kids to be with other guys who share their outdoor interests and reminded them to hang on to them.
I just can’t say enough about how invigorating a visit theirs was.
Here are a few more pictures of what Louisiana gave us and what my awesome Wisconsin friends brought me…
Suburban Homestead Nerd 