School pride and a trip over the border

I know this picture seems strange - but it was taken to capture a prominent childhood memory of mine.  I rode the bus to and from school an hour each way, from Kindergarten through fifth grade.  Needless to say, I spent a lot of time looking down at the ground as we rode and bumped along.  I don't know why - but I was mesmerized by the texture of the road...especially when it was contrasted with a place that had been patched, which was always smooth.  You could see and feel and hear the road beneath you, and I guess somehow it was comforting to tie all those senses together.

Isn't this road really bumpy looking?  It must be a country thing.  And, does anyone else have random prominent memories like this?

Tarkington Longhorns - hook 'em:)

The front of my elementary school.  If you look closely enough, you can see the faded remains of where the o-o-l in school used to be...when the sign read "Tarkington Elementary School".  Not much else has changed about this building surprisingly.  In fact, the same old clocks hang in the hallways.

Leann made me pose:)

Ok....yeah.  What are these things for.  I was puzzled by them when I was in school - and I'm still equally puzzled by them now.  Lets put a circular pile of concrete in the middle of the sidewalk - cause kids need a few more things to trip over!

I settled on deciding that they were for posing for pictures on.  I cut off Micah and Leann's feet though, so it kind of messes the whole thing up.  (Except I did get Leann back for making me pose under the school sign - this is her "I used to be home-coming queen of this school" stance:)

Alright - on to other things.  Leann and Lance have the coolest little cabin near Louisiana.  We went down to check it out - and got totally rained in.  When we tried to leave for breakfast, we found that a tree had fallen and was blocking the road.  Stupid tree!

Luckily, this guy came down with his chain-saw to save us from our hunger pains.  

Tersa, Garron and Tess making the most of our time trapped in the wilderness

As someone with ancestors who helped found the French quarter, you would think that I'd have made it over to Louisiana at least once while living in Texas - but no.  I made the run over the border for the first time @ 30.

Creole babies w/ smiling eyes:)

Our destination - and it was well worth the wait.  I ordered a chicken fried steak that was amazing!!  It melted in your mouth and was perfectly seasoned.  I wanted to ship some home to myself.  The kids (except Mathias) ordered chocolate chip pancakes that were bigger than their heads.  Luckily we really were starving and they were able to take advantage of the over sized portions.

Aaaahhh...all filled up!