The Gator Farm

Kansas farmers raise cattle and swine and sell the animals to packing plants for a profit. Some farmers make a living solely from raising these animals. Delicious bacon and the best porterhouse steaks come from those animals. Actually, most of the meat we eat in Kansas comes from a cow, chicken or pig, right?

Louisiana is a bit different. Big surprise! I have only seen two grazing cattle in Louisiana. I saw them on the way to Baton Rouge through the swamp trees in a VERY small meadow munching on some grass. I wondered how in the world the cows survived the huge gators that live around here!?

Louisiana doesn't need to raise cattle and pigs, I guess. The "farmers" here raise what is native to the area, alligators and turtles!

We made our first gator farm visit while Travis's family was here. What an interesting experience that was! The Kliebert family of Ponchatoula owns and runs the gator farm, and they offer tours and a gift shop full of alligator and turtle skulls, teeth and bones and anything else alligator or turtle.

We knew we were in for a treat the minute our tour guide started talking. She had "the" accent. We had to get in closely to see her and tune our ears to hear and understand.

The turtles are what we saw first. Thousands of turtles were all living together in two separate ponds. The turtles are plucked out of the pond live and air shipped (live and in a crate) over to China and other Eastern countries for fool. Turtle farmers can't sell turtles for food here in the U.S. because they contain too much e. coli bacteria for the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture to deem safe to eat. She did say there was a stray alligator in one of the ponds. We asked why the turtles didn't get eaten by that alligator. She said they did, and that the turtle pond gator was too fast for them to catch, so they just let it be!

Alligators were next on the agenda. The first pond had smallish alligators, probably only up to about 5 feet long. They looked harmless enough. Oh, keep in mind, we were on the other side of the fence.

Our tour guide gave us specific instructions on the next leg of the tour. She explained that the females lay their eggs near the fence and are very protective of their nests. She said one would (for certain) come up and bang against the fence, because a raccoon had just destroyed some of her eggs. She also instructed us to walk on the far left side of the trail and NOT to put our fingers in or over the fence.

We saw our first big gator and knew exactly why we needed to stay back. They are BIG and SCARY! We saw one alligator that was 16 ft. long! I can't describe how intimidating they look. I wouldn't want to meet one out in the wild, and my kids won't be playing near the river anytime soon. The largest alligator on record was 19'2" long, and was found in Vermilion Parish, Louisiana. That alligator, stretched out, was as tall as a giraffe!

The farmers take the young alligators out of the pen with their mothers and other big gators soon after they are born so the big gators won't eat or harm the babies. I'm not really sure which ones they sell for food, but I know some are. Alligator is on the menu several places here in Louisiana.

Alligators hiss to warn predators to stay back. Their babies make this grunting sound to alert mom when they're in danger. The tour guide told us that if we ever heard that sound we should run. Oh, but I don't think anyone could outrun one anyway, because they are fast, too. People have been eaten by alligators by swimming in alligator infested waters and by standing too close to the side of the river/lake. How comforting.

We all had a greater respect for alligators after the tour, I think. Scott purchased an alligator skull as a souvenir. We went home eager to take a closer look at our own river nearby next time we drove by!

Look who blew in from Kansas!

Travis's parents, Scott and Cheryl, and his sister, Holly, were officially the first Kansans to visit us at our home in Louisiana. Scott and Cheryl flew in on July 18, and then Holly flew in on the 20th.

I hope Travis's parents and sister enjoyed their visit as much as we enjoyed having them visit. Visiting with Kansas natives (and family, no less) was a breath of fresh air. We got a little break from having to break through the Kansas/Louisiana "language" barrier for eleven days!

They all got to celebrate both Justis's and Jillian's birthdays with us. We had a three-day party for Justis (see previous blog). We celebrated Jillian's birthday one day early so Scott and Cheryl could witness The Eating of the Cake before they had to fly back to Wichita the 25th (see other previous blog). Holly didn't go home until yesterday (Sunday) evening, so she got to see Jillian open her presents on her actual birthday Thursday.

Travis and I were a little unsure how hosting visitors was going to work, considering we haven't done most of the tourist things around here. Everyone gave input to what they thought sounded interesting and we just made a plan, consulted the phone book or MapQuest, and away we went.

We visited several new places during their visit. We all went to Kliebert's Alligator Farm right here in Ponchatoula, we went to the Riverwalk one evening just so we could all enjoy the view of the Mississippi River. Holly went with us to the Audubon Aquarium of the Americas and the Audubon Zoo in New Orleans after her parents left.

We also showed them what a good time anyone can have at a state park! We picnicked at Tickfaw State Park, went on a swamp walk and played at the water park. Scott was talked (or tricked) into going camping with Travis, Dawson and Justis at Percy Quinn State Park in Mississippi. The funniest observation both Travis and Scott made about that overnight trip was that they actually got cold during the night! "Cold" or "cool" are rarely words that are used to describe the weather here.

We did take time to just relax and do everyday things at home, too. Grandpa Scott played "Tickle Chase" with the kids and Grandma Cheryl read bedtime books, including one of the kids' favorites, Peter Pan. Travis, Scott, Holly and I played the card game Phase 10 one evening, and we all shared a few home-cooked meals.


Thanks for coming Scott, Cheryl and Holly. We had a fantastic time and hope you did, too. The rest of you reading this are welcome to our home as well. We enjoy hosting family and friends. We are all looking forward to a visit from my parents, Tony and Marsha, early this fall!

Celebrating our 6th Anniversary

Travis and I are celebrating six wonderful years of marriage today. Our marriage has been through much together with five "official" moves, four children, jail time for Travis :), gallbladder surgery, etc. I think those growing experiences have only made our marriage stronger.

Holly, Travis's sister, is still here visiting and graciously babysat our children so we could go for an overnight stay in New Orleans. This was our first anniversary celebration that included more than two hours devoted to just us. Last year we celebrated our anniversary in the hospital after having Jillian!

Travis planned the whole thing, which was a gift in itself. I met him at his Destrehan elevator at 5:00 p.m. Friday. He was prepared with a dozen roses and card and a hotel reservation at the Astor Crowne Plaza in the French Quarter! I was thrilled. It's like we were on one of our first dates, but it was better. Now we know each other on a deeper level and that makes it all the more enjoyable.

We ate at a fantastic creole restauarant called the Red Fish. Travis had sesame grilled tuna and I had the shrimp carbonara. Wonderful. Travis had the banana cream pie and I had the triple berry sorbet for dessert. Yum!

We walked down Burboun Street next. How interesting. I guess I had never been down that particular street before, but there was a lot of celebrating going on! The French Quarter is like another world. We enjoyed people watching and made our way down to the square.

We got to see the French Quarter in a romantic carriage ride. Travis planned that, too! We didn't have to stroll down Burboun St. in the carriage (thank goodness), but we got to see all of the interesting balconies and points of historical interest. I would do a carriage ride again anytime!

When we were too pooped to "party" anymore (it was about 8:30 p.m.), we took a leisurely walk back through the French Quarter to our hotel and just enjoyed chatting and having uninterrupted time together.

This morning we woke up when we felt like it (also a gift in itself), went to pick up the van and ate at IHOP before returning home.

My favorite thing about our anniversary every year is that I get to reflect on all the things we've done together from dating to having our fourth child. I like to thank God for all of the growing experiences He's helped us through and that He's helped us love one another through those times. I love you, Travis!

Miss Jillian, the Birthday Girl

Jillian is celebrating her first birthday today. Yippee!

Jillian has come a long way in a year. She went from crying for about five solid months and being an upset baby in general to being so happy people have actually commented on how good of a baby she is!

Don't let the sweet smile and soft, curly locks fool you too much. She still has lots of fire in her. She seems to be reserving that fire for extreme situations, such as when one of her older siblings tries to coddle her when she doesn't want to be coddled or when Dawson comes within a two-foot radius of her play space. Jillian is bound and determined to defend her toys from Dawson as best she can because he has taken what she is playing with before (so he could play with it) and given her another toy in its place. That signals the war offensive to Jillian, who must defend her toy!

Jillian is extremely ticklish and is getting around quite well by army crawling. She still has no teeth and has dimples in her cheeks and one right in the middle of her chin when she smiles. She's still the smallest Davis child for her age, but her thighs are pleasantly plump and dimply, just like baby legs should be.

The one year birthday cake festival was actually held Tuesday night since Scott and Cheryl were still here and wanted to see her have at it before they left Wednesday morning. I won't give a play-by-play of the "eating of the cake," because the pictures say it all. The fact that she ate VERY little of the cake but threw most of it on the floor is worth mentioning.

I can't believe my baby is one! I kind of feel like we're moving into a new phase with the children since Madalynn and Justis are school-aged now and we don't plan on having any more children. I don't want the baby phase to ever end, but it has to and I know by watching Madalynn, Justis and Dawson grow that each "season" of their little lives is so much fun.

Birthday Boy Justis

Justis is a blessed young man. He has had two days of birthday celebrations and he's still partying! We have had a bang-up time celebrating, despite the fact we know no one outside the family to celebrate with. Cheryl, Scott and Holly round out a fun family party.

Justis's party started yesterday (Sunday) after church. Justis requested his birthday meal to be McDonald's, so we went to McDonald's in Ponchatoula after church. We ate and the kids played on the huge play center there. They didn't eat much of their Happy Meals, but who cares. They had fun playing.

We left McDonald's and came home to open the first round of presents. He was thrilled to get lots of stuff having to do with dinosaurs (clothes, play sets, toy dinosaurs, etc.), and he got a train and a big truck as well. Nap time followed gift-opening.

Justis blew out his birthday cake candles after supper Sunday night and then the kids went back to playing trains and dinosaurs before bed. We all got a good night's sleep before Justis's REAL birthday.

A new "big boy" bike (with no training wheels) was waiting in Justis's room when he woke up this morning. I think Dawson found it first, but I'm not sure. I heard a crash and knew the bike had fallen over, meaning someone had found it! I alerted Travis and he got out of bed to share in the surprise with him. He immediately went out to practice riding the bike with Travis, of course.

Justis opened the remainder of his presents this morning and we followed up with a pinata. The only pinata we could find was the Hillbilliest pinata I'd ever seen. You were supposed to pull a string to get the candy out. We all know a pinata is no fun if you can't whack it with a stick to make the candy come out. So, we did a Hillbilly rig-up and used the dog's leash to make the pull cord for the pinata so the kids could take turns whacking it until the candy came out. I got a kick out of pulling the cord to make the pinata go up and down so they would swing at the air. I really love my children. That was just hilarious.

Justis met his first Louisiana alligator today when we went to the local alligator and turtle farm/hatchery this afternoon. This is a blog in itself, so I'll just say the alligators made quite an impression on the kids (and the big kids)! Then almost everybody took another LONG nap.

Justis is now with Travis, Scott and Dawson for a boys overnight camp-out at Percy Quinn State Park in Mississippi. We girls went shopping, but I did get a call from Travis at the mall. He said they made it there safely and were the only campers at the tent sights. They got to pitch their tent on the best site, right by Lake Tangipahoa. I bet they're fast asleep right now, and that's where I'm headed.

Happy birthday, Justis!

Justis and the Mime

Travis's mom and dad and sister Holly are visiting us here in Louisiana right now, and last night we went to the Mississippi Riverwalk that also borders the French Quarter.

The French Quarter is not what you would call a family-friendly place on Friday night. We chose to eat at the Hard Rock Cafe near the Riverwalk and avoid the heart of the French Quarter. We enjoyed a walk along the Mississippi and we and the kids got to see a jazz cruise riverboat leave the dock, which was fun.

We decided to walk around Jackson Square, which is "in" the French Quarter, but is a clean place. Jackson Square is fun, because people with special talents are always there performing with their money bucket in front of them. Most of these performers are amazing!

We were about to round our first corner on the square when I noticed a mime standing statuesqely facing the street. I said, "Oh, look Maddie! You will like this, come here." Travis saw the mime and said, "Justis, look at that man. Do you think it is a statue, or is he alive?"

Justis immediately stopped. His senses were heightened. He looked. The mime wasn't moving. I tried to start explaining to him what it was, but he was already finished. Done. He was backing away and planning his escape route while Travis and Scott tried to convince him it was okay to pass by. Travis immediately told me not to say any more about it and to go on by.

Justis was statuesque himself. He wasn't about to move by that strange man with white makeup all over his face and a funny hat. The fear in his eyes told me Justis was ready to run for his life and he was convinced that mime was their for one reason. He was sure he was going to turn and chase him at any moment.

Travis picked Justis up and I told Madalynn we would come back sometime and watch the mime so Justis wouldn't feel uncomfortable.

The mime was a wise man. I could tell he was thinking about starting his "act" as Madalynn and I approached and he heard me explaining to Maddie what he was. He was staring straight ahead in a frozen position. His eyes ever so slowly moved to look over at Justis, however, when he started crying. Madalynn and I were the only ones that saw this, because the rest of his body stayed perfectly still. He knew Justis was afraid and kindly chose not to move until Justis couldn't see him anymore.

I am very grateful to that mime for saving me from a child having nightmares about a mime in his sleep! Justis and I chatted about that mime today at lunch. I told him that maybe he and I can find a mime to watch on the Internet or something so he could see what they do and maybe we could go back to the Square and watch another time. He seemed perceptive. I'm going to give it some time, though!

Jillian, Dawson and the Dump Truck

I deflected a WHOPPER of a mess last night.

Our family was getting ready for Bible study and it was about 6:30 p.m. Everyone was doing his or her own thing. I happened to be in the bedroom folding clothes when I heard Jillian, who was in the living room, gagging on something. I ran in right away to make sure she wasn't choking on something. Her siblings sometimes leave small toys on the ground that Jillian shouldn't have.

I walked in to find Jillian amidst a scattered mass of Whoppers chocolate candy. She has no teeth but she was gumming/gagging on three of them and holding another two, one in each hand. She was fine when I found her. She had managed to roll that Whopper that was gagging her back into the front of her mouth. She was pleased, and her chocolate-covered face said it all.

I took the Whoppers out of Jillian's hands and wiped them off. I allowed her to finish eating the three in her mouth. By the time her hands were washed they had melted down far enough not to be a choking hazard. I told Dawson (the owner of the Whopper box found beside the pile) to come pick them up and put them away. I then took Jillian to sit on the floor of my room while I finished folding clothes.

I finished folding and came back into the living room. I caught Dawson out of the corner of my eye and looked over. He was sitting with the bucket of his toy dump truck just chock full of Whoppers. I had to think about this from his perspective. Those Whoppers look an awful lot like brown boulders that need to be moved by a dump truck, don't they? Well, Dawson thought so, anyway. He wasn't eating them, just playing with them. I grabbed the camera (again) and called Travis in. I then put Jillian back onto the ground so I could snap the picture.

Jillian made a b-line for those Whoppers. Jillian is getting fast, and when it came to those Whoppers, she was on a mission. Dawson just sat there and watched while she came crawling over. Travis picked her up to avoid another gagging child and Whopper mess.