Babymoon Trip | Illinois and Louisiana

Oh hey, I'm back. My computer broke down right before this trip (that we took last month). Parker set up google for me last night so I am back and have a lot of cool pictures to show and things to say. I think I have been missing blogging because I have started posting a lot more on Facebook. 

So for this trip we decided to do something super big before the baby comes. Illinois, Louisiana, Kentucky- I'll explain later about how that sorted out for us. We brought Beaux with us and he did really good in the car- this time no vomit or diarrhea. A trip south of us in August was maybe not the best thing we could have done with the heat but it was the best time and now I have midwife checkups every 2 weeks so it helps that I am here. Anyway in Illinois I got the chance to have a baby shower where the highlight was a game of trying nasty baby foods my mom and I picked out- players had to guess the flavor. A LOT of my family happened to be around that week, Uncle Darrell, my cousin Jessie, I hung out with her daughter Izzy and my best friend Nicole as much as I could, which worked out well for a short amount of time there. Beaux- we found out- doesn't want to have friends. Dog friends at least. Cooper, my parents dog, and him had previously been really fond of each other and Cooper was the nicest dog Beaux had ever encountered. This time, due to repeated bullying and fighting with a neighbor dog who would attack Beaux and I, Beaux just isn't interested in being friends and choses violence. At least he is still friends with Alfie, another golden retriever down the street. Due to Beaux's behavior we decided me going to Kentucky with him isn't best as he could bite Parkers childhood dogs in half. 

But Illinois was hot. One day, we decided to go hiking out at the USFWS refuge where we met and signed a bench we made. It was SO FUN being back.  We walked the trail with Beaux- I wouldn't really call it hiking because the trail is rocked. That's what made us think we didn't need bug spray. Oh my gosh were we wrong!! The seed ticks got on us by the hundreds. We spent a long time getting them off and even longer washing Beaux when we got back home. 

Shortly after that we went to Louisiana, a 12 hour trip from my parents. We had a day of travel there, a very full day around Monroe with my best friends and then a full day of driving back to Illinois. We started the day at waffle house, I really don't want to think about the biscuits and gravy right now because they are too good and I can't get any up here. My friends, Aly and Darby, and I used to go to waffle house quite a bit- especially before going to catch frogs, so it was nostalgic. We went shopping and to Black Bayou, then went to eat at Newk's which was our other favorite place to go. While we were shopping we got beads the same color of our eyes to make friendship bracelets out of (by that time Paige had joined the crew). We made our bracelets after we ate and sometimes the beads went rolling everywhere, haha! I guess this isn't quite in order of what we did but then we went down antique ally and found a lot of really cute shops. We kept ourselves pretty busy all day and so did Parker who met up with us for food. We had supper at Traps, a favorite of Parker and I. It's a really good place for Louisiana food when crawfish aren't in season. At Traps a bunch of my old coworkers came to eat with us and we had a party of about 15 or so people. It was so much fun being back and seeing my friends. Parker and I found a place to stay in Ron and Mrs. Dodie's house- very close friends of ours who feel like family. Everyone in Louisiana feels like family actually. We left early the next morning. 

Parker went on to Kentucky to see his family and I stayed back in Illinois to keep an eye on Beaux and get some work done. Working remote sure does have its perks! Next time we have a better plan so I can go to Kentucky, too.