M-I-S-S-I-S-S-I-P-P-I

When I learned to spell Mississippi, I never dreamed about going there.  But that's what we did this past weekend.  We drove an hour and a half to Pond, Mississippi, and went on a family hike at Clark Creek Natural Area.  I looked up some information about the place and expected a relatively easy hike from pictures like this:

What we actually ended up hiking looked like this:

Not the easy hike I was expecting, but a lot more rewarding knowing that we weren't on some sissy hike.  I was glad that we invested in a hiking carrier for Brielle.  Judging from the first picture, I thought she could walk quite a bit of the hike, but once we saw the real deal, there was no way she was going to make it on her own.  So she sat on Daddy's back and ate snacks the whole way.  Ah, the life of a 1 year old.  We saw several waterfalls on our hike and took a few photo ops.

The first waterfall we came to

Yeah...  This is the life...

Stopping for a snack

The last waterfall we came to.  Brielle really was happy to be there.  Promise.

We also stopped at this store down the road from the parking lot to the nature area.  We thought we may be able to buy a few things for lunch.  I fell in love with it as soon as we pulled up.  I mean, the building has been around since 1881.  Awesome!  However, inside was less than stellar.  When I was growing up, G.ville had the Bluebird - an old, rundown general-type store that sold penny candy and whatever little knick-knacks the owner took a fancy to.  When I walked into the Pond Store, I felt like I was walking into the Bluebird.  3 cats running around, stale bags of potato chips, old dolls and a dollhouse (we're talking at least 1920's), jars of pickled eggs, pickled pigs feet, and pickled watermelon rinds.  We were in the deep south, folks.  We bought a couple of pieces of jerky for the road.  The sweet old lady who owns the store used the original cash register and a calculator (for the tax) to ring us up.  It was charming to visit, but definitely not a place I'd go if I were starving, which of course I was.  Still, we got a picture before we left:

Brielle's cheeser grin says it all.  I think she had a good time.  :)

Welcome Spring!

Spring is in full bloom in Louisiana, and we seriously feel like we're in the garden of Eden.  I don't think it will ever be spring for me again until I see the azaeleas blooming.  They're everywhere here, and we LOVE them.  We've been spending a lot of time out in the yard and planting a new garden.  The family who lived in our house before us loved flowers, and we have lots of them to take care of.  Yay!

Pulling up the Broccoli from our winter garden

Eating the picked broccoli

Hanging out at church with Daddy

This is the Place

We took our annual ski trip to Utah this year.  Mark went skiing with the boys while Brielle and I stayed home with the girls.  We were too busy having fun to get many pictures, but here are a couple we did manage to get:

Brielle saw this ski picture in the Houston airport and stood just like this; riveted for about 5 minutes.  Mark was so proud...

As soon as we arrived, Brielle headed out to play in the snow.

Pop helped her make a snowman

The finished product

Waving hello

The Herbst Cousins out on the slopes.

We loved our visit, and we were happy to come back to the 70 degree weather in Louisiana!  Thanks families for letting us visit!

The Big Easy

Our first weekend in Louisiana, we decided to take a trip to the Big Easy.  Home of my favorites, Louis Armstrong and Harry Connick Jr.  And getting there was NOT easy.  We were stuck in horrible traffic on a two-lane causeway.  But we finally made it!  We maneuvered our way into the French Quarter (think tiny one-way streets with cars parked on both sides.  Eeeek!) and had ourselves a great time.  We sat and watched a street performance of some great breakdancers.  We got pralines.  We almost got bignets, but the line was 2 blocks long.  We'll go back for them another time.  We heard jazz bands.  We saw more fortune tellers in one place than I have ever seen in my life.  We took a carriage ride.  We saw the famous Bourbon Street.  We ate yummy Cajun food at the cutest little restraunt ever.  I think we'll be going back for more adventures to the Big Easy.

In front of a Jazz Band

With a mime.  Brielle wasn't sure about him.

On our carriage ride

After our yummy dinner.  The building across the street was "Bubba Gump's Shrimp Co."  (no, we did not eat there, but I'm all for going back to try it out).

Baton Rouge, We Have Arrived!

Here's a glimpse into our new home:

 Kitchen

Eating Area

 Family Room

 Built In a.k.a. the bane of our existence.  It was made to put a TV in, but ours doesn't fit.  Therefore, we have a bit empty cabinet, and I'm at a loss as to what to put on the shelves.  Any suggestions?

The Dining Area, converted into our TV area because of afore-mentioned problem.

Another view of the TV room

 

Bathroom

Playroom

Office/Guest Bedroom.  The dark blue color came from this source of inspiration:

Believe it or not, the colors in the two pictures are the same.  For some reason, it's not working for me.  Maybe a lack of pictures on the walls?  Once again, and suggestions are much appreciated.

 

Goodbye Houston

My house looks like this:

In a few hours we will be heading to a new life in a new city with new friends to meet.  And while I'm excited, I'm also very sad.  I'm sad to leave our first house.  I'm sad to leave such wonderful people; neighbors who let us use their freezer to store our freezer jam because I can't bear to throw it away.  Neighbors who knock on the door and offer to take Brielle for a walk around the block because we're packing and she's pulling all the inventory stickers off the boxes.  Neighbors who not only have us over for dinner because we have no food, but go the extra mile and make my husband a birthday cake because all my cake pans are in boxes.  Amazing visiting teachers who organize an army of women to help clean my house because all of my cleaning supplies are at the new house.  Friends who plan a going-away party for us and give us a Louisiana care package to help us feel at home in our new home.

I don't know how we got so lucky to find a neighborhood and ward full of such wonderful people.  I don't think it was luck at all.  The Lord has definitely blessed us beyond measure.  To all of our wonderful friends and neighbors, thank you from the bottom of our hearts.  We have treasured our association and friendship with all of you.  You are the salt of the earth and we will miss you dearly.

Love, the Herbsts

Christmas Menagerie

Mark's parents came to spend Christmas in Houston with us.  We had fun

Playing at the park,

Black Light Miniature Golfing,

Riding a car ride,

Eating yummy Mexican food,

and trying on Grandma's shoes

 We had a fun Christmas morning.  Brielle LOVED opening her presents and digging in her stocking to see what Santa brought.

Brielle in her new chair

 Look at my new Cowboy boots!

On the rocking horse that Pop made for her.

I included this video for the reaction I got to the Care Bears video.  Girl after my own heart.

You can hear her say "color" in this video.  It's by far my favorite word that she says.

We wrapped up the new year in Dallas with Mark's sister and her family.  Sadly, no pictures because Brielle and I were super sick, but we had fun nevertheless.  We're excited to see what 2011 has in store for us!