Outings

I've been trying to get Anna and Alexander out of Mom's place as much as I can. I shoot for at least once a day, if nothing else being to simply kick the balls around outside or push trucks along the sidewalk. But mostly I've actually gotten them off the grounds.

Since we've been here the children have discovered ants and lizards, and Anna has taken to calling mosquitoes "skeeters." It's not that she can't pronounce the word but rather is mimicking me. It's cute, though.

We've already visited several parks, and the last two days I've gone to the same one that's pretty close to Mom's and which we all really like. Being right on one of the two big lakes in town, it's also got a great view.

I was this close to bringing our winter coats (I know we're in south Louisiana, but it was still January when we arrived), and I'm so glad we didn't. On most days, all we have needed has been a hoodie-type jacket. Even though it was about 76 or 78 today, I was sorry I'd let the kids wear shorts. It was pretty windy, which made it feel a lot cooler than I'd expected. (Conversely, I saw on the Weather channel that it was 6 degrees in Rapid City!)

Also, looks like we're going to leave Lake Charles on Thursday to drive to southwest Mississippi, where my family is from and where many relatives still live. It's only about a 3.5 hour drive and hopefully mom can take it well. She has doctor clearance to travel. She plans to spend some time with my sister for the tail end of her recovery. The kids and I will stay two nights in Mississippi before traveling back into Louisiana on Saturday night and getting a room. We have an early Sunday morning flight back home.

Here are some pics of today's outing.