Our time in the Delta is running out

On Friday as I drove over this bridge, I found myself getting a little emotional.  I even dropped a tear or two.  This was one of my last trips over the bridge we have come to know so well.  School is out tomorrow and our time in the Mississippi Delta is coming to a close. When we moved here I never imagined that moving on from this stage of our lives would be difficult, much less something that would bring me to tears.

We have 2 weeks left of living in the South. It is not long enough.  I am fighting it.  I am pretending it isn't happening and have yet to pack a single thing.  How can I just pack in as much of it as I can in the next 2 weeks?  As much as we will miss this place, we have decided that it will be best for the future of our family to move.  We are headed to Colorado.  We will be living in Littleton for now, but where we will permanently be has not been decided yet, although it will probably be somewhere in Colorado.

The South is something else, especially in the Mississippi River Delta.  It is a place you just have to experience for yourself. There are so many things that I will miss about living in the South, and of course a few things I certainly will not miss.  I will miss driving through the country listening to country music.  There is just something right about that. I will miss the beauty of the farmlands, the cotton plants, the cypress and magnolia trees, and Brinley's new favorite, the corn stalks.  I will miss the small town feeling.  I will miss the fried chicken, crawfish, turtle soup, and fried catfish. I will miss the "little baby turtles" and the Egrets, and the cardinals. I will miss the southern drawl and the little boy whose favorite primary song is "Take a ride on my big green tractor."

More than anything I will miss the friends that we have made while living here.  Something about being away has made it easier to build relationships with friends as well as with each other. Everyone becomes closer when all you have is each other. You are important to those around you, and they are important to you. I worry so much about going back to where we are just one of many, and getting lost in the crowd.  There is not enough room here to get lost in the crowd. I just wish I could bring all of these wonderful people with me. 2 weeks really is not long enough.

Of course, living here has had its fair share of difficulties. I will NOT miss the poor customer service, or my inability to communicate.  I will not miss the giant mosquitoes that for some reason love the taste of my blood, and the hotter than anything summers. I will not miss having to drive to a park to be able to go for a run, although I have come to love that park.  I will not miss the lack of elevation, lack of fabric stores, or lack of decent restaurants. When we first moved here I thought all of these things were important.  Oh how minor they really are.

We have so many memories that we built here, from seeing our first alligators, to entering new states, to even having a child here.  We have had so many learning experiences and cultural awakenings.  I wouldn't trade the past two years for anything.  Yes, I just cried a little bit more.

Another first: Florida

I said a month ago I would post some pictures soon.  A month counts as soon right?

A couple of weeks ago Brent had a couple of days off school.  Since our time here in the south is coming to a close (more on that later...hopefully sooner than a month) we decided we wanted to go somewhere we hadn't been yet around here.  On Wednesday night we decided we would go to the panhandle of Florida, and right after school on Thursday we took off. This is not like us (or me to be more correct). We are boring, stay at home, save money kind of people.  But for some reason we did it and are so happy we did.  We built some great memories as a family. 

We started off by driving to Biloxi, MS and sight seeing around there.  Our first time to the Gulf of Mexico.  It threw us off a little when we realized we were still in Mississippi.  It was not like the part of Mississippi we love and are used to.  You know, there were things like stores there and nice houses too.  Yeah, Target and an outlet mall.  Happy day. 

The next day we drove to Panama City Beach, Florida.  Florida was one of just a few states that I haven't been to.  Brent and I got to cross a new state off our list together for a change.  Before our adventures in the south Brent had only been to a handful of states.  He is now turning out to be quite the world traveler.

Well I realize I am now dragging on. To keep it short from here.  We camped out...In a tent.  Apparently people don't camp in tents in the south.  They thought we were crazy. 

We swam a lot. The beaches were beautiful. The sand felt like powdered sugar. The waves were a little bit strange.  They were very small and didn't roll in in sets like they do in California, but were still powerful.

Elsie loved the beach.  Or she just loved finding all the little things in the sand and putting them in her mouth.  Lovely.  She wasn't quite so keen on going in the water though.  We are working on that.

This girl loved the water.  She has asked me if we can go to the beach almost everyday since.  Good thing we have a trip to California on the schedule for the summer. I can't wait until Elsie is old enough to play with her and keep her entertained so she doesn't have to try to steal toys from all the random people at the beach anymore.

On Sunday we visited one of Brent's mission companions and his wife and son. Her family owns a cattle ranch so we got to spend some time feeding the cattle and getting to know more about cattle weaning.  Funny as it sounds, it kind of made me want to own a cattle ranch.  Perhaps someday,. but probably not. Brinley was in love with their son.  She is a hand holder and he would hold her hand and drag her along.  She was in bliss.

And of course we saw an alligator.  You can't go to Florida without trying to see an alligator.  Brinley named her alli.  This poor little gator was missing a leg. Yet another thing Brinley asks for everyday.  "See alligator mom!"

I apologize if I dragged on.  I blame it on a mix between eating a bag of plantain chips and watching the firm.  We will see if this blogging thing becomes a habit.

Color

I would hope you learn three things from this picture.  1. Christa is an amazing chef(or Sheff).  2. I am a very lucky man.  3. I am not a great food photographer.

I eat amazing meals every day.  Christa could open her own restaurant.  She denies it citing the fact that she forgot the pepper jack cheese that she bought for the grilled tilapia fish tacos with fresh salsa and cabbage.

Like I said. I am a very lucky man.

Well maybe I should start blogging again...

Brinley has been on a napping hiatus.  I don't like it.  No I do not.  I usually do any blogging while the girlies are asleep, but without nap time blogging doesn't happen.  Okay that is just an excuse.  It's a good one though right?  Maybe I have just been feeling burned out and blogging seemed like an easy thing to get rid of.  Either way, I haven't blogged for almost 2 months.  I am sorry.  To myself as much as anyone.

Well, this is kind of a sad excuse for a post.  If you want to see a real post you can take a look at my post on the blog I participate in with my sister in laws:
http://www.sisterview.com/?p=1223

I hope to post some pictures soon!

6 Months Old

Elsie is 6 months old.  Actually she is now 6 1/2 months.  I am a little late on this one. 

6 Months.  How does that happen? 

It is amazing how much joy this little girlie can give us. 

 Elsie is a great baby.  She sleeps a solid 9 + hours every night. I enjoy it. She is just so chill all the time she probably gets left without any attention all too often. 

At six months Elsie was 14 lb 12 oz and 25.5 inches long. She has two teeth that both came in at the same time.  She has just recently started army crawling and can get anywhere she wants. We are learning, again, how to baby proof our apartment.  It is proving to be more difficult with a toddler running around. She is working hard at getting up on her hands and knees and is almost there. Elsie loves to eat. She has the most beautiful smile.  

We love this kid.

ROUS (Rodent of Unusual Size)

This is what our apartment looked like last night:

The only thing that could flip everything upside down like this would be the presence of a RAT.  Yes, a rat.  Not a measly little mouse, but a giant gray rat.  And yes, he was big.

Here is the story. Two days ago we heard a scratching sound in one of our walls.  We went to bed and when we woke up the next morning we found traces of rat everywhere.  Even next to our bed.  It's okay to cringe now. I certainly did.

We set up barricades and had a stake out until we knew where he was.  We found his hole:

Back behind the oven.  We set up a video camera baby monitor so we could see where he was going and what he was doing.  Brent stood silent next to the oven for about 20 minutes until he came out. Of course he ran away into our living room and under our couch.

So we set up more barricades.  A glass wall leading to the kitchen:

We opened the front door and cleared a pathway.  We armed ourselves with a mom and a broom. I put on my tough face.

Brent flipped the couch and out he ran.  Straight into the glass.  Birds aren't the only ones.  Brent gave him a wacking or two, in the process breaking the corner of the glass from our coffee table. A small price to pay.  The rat jumped.  I probably screamed. Then he came towards me.  I gave him a licking too and then chased him straight out the front door.  Whew.

We celebrated.  I am not joking when I say that for the past two days I was constantly thinking about where he might be and what he might be putting his germs on.  It was good to get him out.

I spent all morning today mopping floors, vacuuming, and probably overusing a can of lysol. I learned that I might be hyper-paranoid when it comes to rodents living in my house.  Let's just say I am not planning on giving Brinley a pet rat anytime in the future.

Food glorious food

Elsie just started solids and she LOVES them.  Loves them like a mommy loves a nap (speaking for myself).  I think that today she ate more rice cereal than Brinley ever did.  Actually Brinley really never ate baby food at all.  She just went straight to table food.  She would have nothing to do with it unless she could do it herself.  Talk about discouraging to a first time mom.  Anyway, back to Elsie.  I am glad that she is enjoying eating.  This will hopefully lead to something like letting someone else watch her for more than three hours at a time.  Hopefully.

She is beautiful and amazing and I just can't get enough of her.  That is all. The end.