Things to do if you come to Fort Polk

I like to make a list of things I want to do and see when we get stationed to different parts of the world with the Army.  Most people will tell you Fort Polk is the arm pit of the Army.  We have really enjoyed our time here and have seen lots of different things we wouldn't have otherwise.  Louisiana is a party state.  There is always a festival going on for something; oysters, watermelon, mardi gras, and crawfish festivals. I hope this list helps others who might get stationed here. 

Things to do in Louisiana

1. The museum of West Louisiana
2. Hodges Gardens DONE
3. Kent Plantation Home, Alexandria
4. Alligator Park, Natchitoches DONE
5. Natchitoches- plantation tours, shops, and restaurants DONE
6. Blue Hole DONE
7. Alligator Lake DONE
8. Camping/kayaking at Toledo Bend State Park DONE
9. Historical downtown Leesville- shops, art galleries, farmers market DONE
10. Alexandria Zoo DONE
11. Hunt an alligator
12. Eat an ice box pie at Strawn’s Eat Shop, Shreveport DONE
13. Blueberry picking DONE
14. Anacoco Lake, Vernon Lake DONE
15. TREE House Museum, Alexandria
16. Leesville Race Track
17. Dixieland Water Park, Baton Rouge
18. Splash Pad, Fort Polk DONE
19. Bourbon Street, New Orleans DONE
20. Swamp Tour DONE
21. Grant's Christmas Tree Farm DONE
22. Eat alligator DONE
23. Audubon Experience, New Orleans DONE
24. Splash Pad, Leesville DONE
25. Book-Lewis House, Leesville DONE
26. Tabasco Pepper Sauce, Avery Island DONE
27. Cemetery Tour, New Orleans DONE
28. Shreveport Boardwalk
29. Steamboat, Mississippi River DONE
30. Creolenaturetrail.org- crabbing, shelling, crawfish hunting
31. Festival of Lights, Natchitoches (December) DONE
32. Mardi Gras Parade (January/February) DONE
33. Gonewildsafari.com (318-787-6902)
34. Suck crawfish DONE
35. Fish at Sunrise Catfish Farm, DeRidder
36. Biking/running trail near BJACH DONE
37. Eat at Tonk’s DONE
38. Baton Rouge Temple
39. Anderson Farm DONE
40. Sabine ATV Park
41. Old School House Mall, (Washington, LA) DONE

Germany Bound

We are excited to announce our upcoming move to Hohenfels, Germany! We have really enjoyed our time in Fort Polk, Louisiana and look forward to many more adventures in Europe.  I will be completing some mandatory army training in June for 2 weeks and then headed to Utah with Kate to visit family before we head out of the country for 3 years. Bryan will follow shortly after his change of command ceremony July 2, 2014.  We leave for Baltimore July 21, so we would love to try and see all we can before we leave.

Here is a picture of our beautiful home Bryan re-built. If you know anybody moving to the area looking for a 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom home, let me know!

Mardi Gras 2014

We started out the day with a 5K through down town Leesville.  Bryan got 3rd place in his age group.  I was just happy to make it across the finish line. 

Then we went down town to watch the parade with friends! We got lots of beads and candy. Kate LOVED it! 

 Next, our neighbors came over for Kate's smash cake.  Jennifer took wonderful pictures of Kate tearing up her cupcake cake.  I did a much better job decorating this cake.  It makes a world of a difference when you have the right tools.  

What we've been up to...

This past month has been a little chaotic.  We had to move out of our rental at the end of September, but the house Bryan has been working on wasn't exactly livable (no flushing toilets or running water). My good friend Casey let us stay at her place, she's deployed and had a fully furnished apartment- THANK GOODNESS! Oh by the way, Bryan had to go to the field at the end of September too, so it was imperative that we move out early and get me situated somewhere livable.  Anyways, 3 weeks later (October 12) we finally move into our little house flipper.  Bryan is still in the process of putting things together, but there is running water, flushing toilet, and refrigerator.  The basics.  

I don't have good pictures yet of the before and after, but here is some pictures that I pulled from my phone. 

 Granite counter tops- Black Pearl- with under mounted sinks int he kitchen and two bathrooms.  LOVE THEM!

 Some of the siding.  Still have to complete the triangle on top, put on some shutters, and get some grass to grow.

 Kate has not swallowed any nails or screws that we know of,...she is loving to explore in daddy's tool boxes though!

 We put porcelain tile everywhere, except the bedrooms.  Nice for clean up and easy maintenance for a rental.  

 Kate enjoying her new bathtub.  Really slippery because its so new and clean! Oh, and look at those razor sharp bottom teeth!

While Bryan was in the field, I was involved in the Fall Fest for our FRG group.  We raised $100 throwing rings on pumpkin steams.  Pretty fun!

We've been pretty busy.  Pictures to come when I get the chance.  

Koplin Grandparent's visit and Kate's Blessing

My parents came out to visit the best kept secret, Fort Polk Louisiana! They stayed for about 6 days, which was just about right.  I was sad to see them leave.  Its hard being away from family and missing out on everything.  I took them kayaking on Alligator Lake and biking on all the trail systems here on post.  We went out and got ourselves some crawfish at Mud Bugs.  It really isn't all that bad, just annoying breaking the shells to get the smallest amount of meat.  

We went shopping down in old Leesville and all its boutiques, hardware stores, and thift shops.  My dad fixed stuff around the house while mom, me, and Kate rested.  We played a lot of games-Wacky Six, Train Dominoes, and Qwirkle. We even went to the park, Anacoco Lake, and played a game.  It was a little windy that day.  

  It was a lot of fun to have them around, help out, and share our beautiful baby girl with.  

 On Sunday, Bryan gave Kate a beautiful blessing at church.  I am so grateful my dad was able to be here to participate in that special moment.  Kate did great- no puke or poop on the dress.  I almost didn't make it out of the mother's lounge in time for the blessing though!

 My mother helped me trim up my old blessing dress to fit Kate. I was a 10 pound baby, but was probably about 12 pounds when I was blessed, so the dress was a little big for my sweet girl.  We trim it down to size on the arms and waist line and it worked perfectly.

 She is a pretty sleepy baby! We are definitely blessed with a sleeper!

 Cute smile with her St. Patrick's Day bow!

Almost there!

The third trimester is long and the most uncomfortable part of pregnancy. Sometimes I feel like I am carrying around a medicine ball.  I haven't had any pregnancy complications, just your typical pregnancy.  I have gained between 35-40 lbs depending on the time of day I get weighed.  I haven't noticed any swelling on my face or nose and my wedding ring still fits. Around 36 weeks, I noticed stretch marks on my breasts and was not super thrilled about the discovery. Other than that, I still make it to my exercise classes in the morning (spin and crossfit) and have become an awesome stay at home wife and nester.

 36 weeks.

37 weeks.

 38 weeks.

I met a friend in my crossfit class who has the same due date and has decided not to find out the gender of her baby either.  What are the chances?  It has been nice to struggle with her in class and go for walks on the trails here with her dogs.  The best part, she lives in our neighborhood too. 

This month we have been trying to complete last minute projects and cherish our time alone together.  Of course this involved going to the shooting range and sighting our AR-15, glock, and 45 with the new stuff Santa got us :)

 

Isn't this the perfect picture of motherhood? 

Bryan has been a stud, like always. I just got to brag! Work has been going well for him (in the unit and at the hospital), as well as extracurricular activities.  He won 3rd place in a racquetball competition.  The first place winner (on the right) is some nationally ranked racquetball player that was visiting from Fort Drum for work.  He gave Bryan some real competition! Then he got 1st place overall in a 5K this Wednesday (Jan 30).  What a stud!