1 Year Anniversary at Iberia Parish Library!

I can't believe it's been a year, since I started working down here...what an amazing year!

June Bug

June is rushing by! The crape myrtles are in bloom and the heat wave has begun!

With the 1st of June came the start of Huricane Season and the Start of our Summer Workshops. We had our 2009 Summer Kickoff at the library. This year's theme is "Once Upon a Time" and kids were encouraged to come dressed up as their favorite fairy tale character. We had craft and game stations set up around the library (pin the tail on the dragon, make crowns and wands, ring toss on the gingerbread men, etc.) and they could come and sign up for the Summer Reading Program. It was so fun! Sarah transformed the Children's Room into a Gingerbread House and the picture is of me standing by the bean stalk (you can see the gaint's foot above me). We also had the Bookmark Awards Cermony. My favorite was created by a 6th grader. It has a knight and a dragon and the knight says, "Thou Dragon, I have come to slay thee!" and the dragon replies, "Can it wait until I finish this book?" and he's reading a book entitled How to Breathe Fire For Dummies. Isn't that ingenius!

There are different workshops every day and musical and comedy acts visiting (Roger Day, whom the kids love, Healing Force, etc.).

So, that's work...Church has been just as busy...

A couple of weeks ago, we had a "Soup"er Sister Party at Church and I made homemade chili. I thought it turned out pretty well. We also had our first LDS Book Club. We read and discussed Suzanne Collin's The Hunger Games. I'm hosting June's, and picked one of Dee Henderson's stand alone books, Before I Wake (not my favorite, but it's what I could get).

The first Saturday of the month, I went to a Seminary Training Meeting (They have one every month). It was at the Baton Rouge Institute on the LSU Campus. I was hoping to be able to go to the temple while over there, but the training was from 9 to 3 pm and the last session ends at 3pm. I got another calling in the Branch- I was called to be the Temp Prep Teacher. We have a couple going through the temple next month and it's exciting.

Last Saturday, I went back to Baton Rouge and went to the Temple. It is so beautiful. I stayed and went to the Adult Session of Stake Conference and then me and 2 other ladies in the Branch got a hotel room for the night. Sunday morning I woke up to them sing Happy Birthday to me and presented me with a chocolate cupcake and a candle. It was fun! We went to the General Session of Stake Conference and they reorganized the Stake Presidency.

Oh, May!

I know, it's been a month since I've posted...I flew to Utah the first week on May and went to the Logan Temple to receive my own Endowment. It was amazing!













Between visiting with family and friends, going to lunch and dinner, I went back to do Initiatories and a session with Mom, as well as a session with Grandma at the Ogden Temple.

While I was there, Mom and Dad put their house up for sell. I can't believe they're been there for 9 years!

I also met M's new dog, Rusty, who is a red blood hound and adorable!

I took Tedi to get her hair cut and then got to see where both M and Tedi work

My wonderful parents

Me and My Papa

The rest of the month I've been busy with work, going back and forth to the dentist with a tooth filling problem, and fighting the stomach flu. Then, yesterday, our Branch Presidency was release and Mike, Tina's husband, was called as the new Branch President. To top it all off, the Stake called me to be the new Seminary Teacher!

Grandma and Grandpa's Visit to Louisiana

Hola! I've had a great week hanging out with my grandparents...It was a dark and stormy day when Grandma and Grandpa flew into Baton Rouge. They got to my apartment by 4:30 last Sat-It was so good to see them!

I took them to the library and showed them where I work. Then, we went to Duffy's Diner for dinner. Grandma and Grandpa had Po Boys and I got Gumbo and Rice. We also feasted on deep fried corn on the cob and sweet potato fries-Yummy! Grandma and Grandpa had been up since 2 o'clock in the morning, so we didn't stay out late. We just went back to my apartment and worked on a puzzle together.

After thundering and lightening all night, Sunday dawned cloudy and cool. We went to church and afterwards we went to the Symphony in the Park. It was nice, but we only stayed for the first half. Then, we took a walk around the park (half of the trails were under water from the storm!) and saw ducks and squirrels.

Monday, April 20th, was the 10 Year Anniversary of the shooting at Columbine. I'm glad I had the day off. I thought about everybody, wondering how people were doing. Daddy texted me, and I called and talked to him during lunch. I can't believe it's been 10 years...

So, Monday, we drove to Avery Island. Avery Island is actually a salt dome that extends some eight miles beneath the earth's surface and there are salt mines there. It is also were Tabasco was invented, so it's where salt and pepper meet (get it? :-) We went and took a tour of the Tabasco Factory. As soon as you step out of the car, you can smell the vinegar! The history is fascinating. The first year Edward Mcllhenny made 680 bottles of Tabasco. Today, they make 700,000 a day! Isn't that crazy?! We tried all these samples and I really like their Sweet and Spicy Ice Cream (they even have Tabasco Sodo Pop!).

We then drove through the Jungle Gardens. It's so green and beautiful with the old Live Oaks (We missed the azaleas-they were in bloom last month) We saw alligators, snowy egrets at Bird City, and stopped to see Buddha's Temple.

After lunch we went and toured Shadows-om-the Teche. (The old plantation house next to my work). Ms. Elaine was our tour guide (I work with her at the library. She's in charge of our Martin Photo Collection). The Shadows on-the-Teche was built by the sugarcane planter, David Weeks, in 1834 and four generations of his family lived there. Shadows is a fascinating house. It's two rooms deep and 3 rooms long. There are no hallways, so to get to another room, you have to go outside and through another door. There are doors at the back and at the front of the house, and during the summer, these were left opened, so air could circulate through the house. Even the stairs to the second floor are outside. There is a 3rd floor, and even a cellar (the house is built high enough). The Bayou Teche runs behind the house (hence the name). It's beautiful. Elyse, Walt Disney visited the house and signed a door that includes the signatures of all the famous people that stayed there.

Afterwards, we wandered down New Iberia's Historic Main Street. I showed Grandma and Grandpa the old Evangeline Theatre and even dragged them into Books Along the Teche (I've never been in there).

Tues, Grandma wanted to drive down the Bayou Teche Scenic Byway. We drove passed the Port of Iberia and tried going down to Cypermort Pointe, but the bridge was out (from the hurricane). So we drove back up toward Jeanerette and meandered along Highway 182. Grandma and Grandpa saw their first sugar mill. We stopped at Gail's so I could show them her yard and the Bayou and we got a little mini history lesson on it from her husband Donovan. Then, we drove to Franklin and had lunch at The Forest Restaurant: Fine Cajun Dinning. Grandma had her first taste of crawfish (mine too). She got Crawfish Ettouffee and Fried Crawfish. I tried some of it. Not bad, a lot like shrimp. I had Sausage and Red Beans and Rice, and Grandpa had Talapia. It was was nice. We meandered down Franklin Historic District and looked at some of the houses. Then, we decided to turn back, instead of driving on to Morgan City.

Wed. I had to go back to work, so Grandma and Grandpa were on their own. They drove up to St. Martinville and toured the Historic Square, saw the Evangeline Oak, and the famous statue of Evangeline (from Longfellow). They wandered around some museums and then drove up to Breaux Bridge and looked in some antique shops. When I got home from work, we ate dinner and then went out for ice cream at Freez-O (it was OK)

Grandma and Grandpa left Thursday morning. Thursday night I went to Duffy's again (a friend invited me) I had The Wipe Out and a Chocolate Malt (I really do love this place!)

I've posted some more pictures I on Facebook (it takes too long to upload them to my blog). So, if you want to see any, you'll have to go there.

I got to run!

Lonnie

Happy (Belated) Easter!

I had a minute and thought I'd post something, since I haven't written for a couple of weeks! Where has time gone?

I enjoyed Conference weekend and then Easter weekend. I hope you all had a wonderful Easter. Mine was a little crazy. I ended giving a talk in Church and then teaching the CTRS. Afterwards, I drove to Franklin and had Easter Dinner with Cheryl, John, and their family (I work with them at the library). It was really nice. The weather, on the other hand, wasn't. We had a tornado warning and the wind and rain were nasty!

Let's see…what else? Oh, I made gumbo and rice for the first time. It turned out really good, but I have so much of it, that I'm going to be eating it for a week!

Finally, Grandma Searle called me last week to tell me that they were coming to visit. Yea! I'm so excited to see them and show them around.

I hope everyone is doing well.
Lonnie

Manic Mondays

Hola, my family and friends! It's been a crazy couple of weeks for me. I decided Mondays are not good days for me...Last Monday, I had a weird tingling sensation in my body (like that feeling you get when you hit your crazy bone) that lasted for 3 days. I finally went and saw a doctor, and she thought I had a viral infection that effects the muscles and nerves in the body. There was nothing to do, but ride it out, and thankfully, it seems to have gone away.

Then, this Monday, I discovered pools of water in the cabinet under my bathroom sink! Everything was soaked, and as I pulled stuff out I found mold and mildew growing on it. So, I threw everything out, and called maintenance. I guess my pipes were leaking and who knows how long that's been going on! Anyway, Charles came and said I needed a new sink and they replaced it on Wed. (Thank goodness I have two bathrooms, because I had to temporarily use the other one :-)

On to better things...last Wed. I went to Lafayette to an ILL Training. It was held at the Headquarters of the Lafayette Library, just off Jefferson St., where the old historic buildings are-it's fun to drive down. Then, Wed. night, we had a Missionary Fireside: Come Unto Christ. It was really nice and we had a couple of non-members come. I also had my Temple Recommend Interview with the Stake President. I'm flying to Utah in May to go to the Logan Temple and receive my Endowment. I'm so excited! Finally, last Sat. we had another Baptism. I picked up Lisa and we went to support Micheal.



This week I went to the Loreauville Library for another computer class and I had to stop and take a picture of the high school next door. It's still in the original old brick building-so cool! If I remember next time, I'll post a picture .

Gotta run! I hope everyone has a great weekend!
Lonnie

1, 2, 3 Babies!

The following was supposed to be posted last Monday, so the news is a 2 weeks old-Sorry!

Grandpa Bill is now officially a Grandpa! His son and daughter in law had a baby girl last Monday. Bill got back from Huston and we went and out to Sicily's to celebrate.

Apparently my family also had an eventful week. I found out that Mom was in a car wreck. She's fine, but they say the car is totaled. It was snowing and she got sideswiped by another car. As for good news, M got a job! He's a maintenance worker at the new Marriott Hotel in Logan. Yeah!

Wednesday, Candice invited me to lunch and we went to Duffy's Diner. It's a fun old 50s diner with jukeboxes and all the waitresses wear poodle skirts. They have deep fried corn on the cob and fried okra, along with other yummy things. I had the daily special, which was a poboy and fries. It was my first experience with spicy ketchup (made by Tabasco, of course) and I liked it…Ketchup with a kick!

For some reason, I woke up late on Thursday and had to fight to stay awake all day. I got home just as Linda, my V.T. partner, came to pick me up and we went to visit some ladies. I didn't get back until after 8 pm…It was a long day.

Friday, I finished the last book in the Underland Chronicles. They're written by Suzanne Collins, the same author who wrote The Hunger Games…I love all of her books-they're amazing!

Today's Post (3/23/2009):
Last week was another crazy week. My director, Kathy had her baby on Monday!

Tuesday night was our Relief Society Birthday Party. The theme was Becoming an 8 Cow Woman. We went around to different stations such as Cash Cow (learning about finances) and Holy Cow (ways to do family scripture study), etc. It was so fun!

Friday, I stayed up and met Candice at Wal-Mart for the Twilight Release Party at Midnight. I got home, slept for 3 hours, and then got back up to get ready to go to Baton Rouge. Stephanie and I drove over together. We had a Training Meeting at the Stake Center, and afterwards, we went to Cold Stone for ice cream. It was the first time I've been to Cold Stone and I had the Cookie Doughn't You Want Some:-) It was good. Our friend Denise called and said she was in labor, so Stephanie went to see her at the hospital in Lafayette and I got Rosie and watched her for the rest of the day.

Three baby girls in three weeks!

Gotta Run...Love You All!
Lonnie