I'm exhausted and school hasn't started yet.

Yep!  I'm beat.  I've been working in my room all week and I'm not ready for kids yet.  I'm moving rooms, so I've had a lot of furniture and things to move before I could even get started putting my room together.  Last night I came home, took an Aleve, got in a HOT bath and just soaked.  It felt soooo good.  I'm not too worried though, it always seems to come together by the 1st day.

Brandt plays in an Arrowhead Jr. Golf tournament this weekend.  He tees off at 8:05 tomorrow.  In last weekends tournament he qualified for a match play next weekend.  Danny and Chad didn't do too good.  Oh well, maybe next time.

My brains too tired to think, so I'll be in touch.

Yes! I do have other children besides Brandt.

Since I have written so much about Brandt, I want to catch you up on Katie and Chad.

Katie is finishing up summer school at LSU and working.  Only 1 more semester and she graduates.  She's excited.  I think she has decided to take a semester off after graduation and study for the law school exam (I don't remember what it is called).  Maybe by then, Louisiana College will have their law school opened in Central (B.R.).  We'll see!

Chad's dream of golf school seems to be getting closer.  He has applied for a job at Pelican Point Golf Course and it looks very promising.  Before he can begin his online classes for golf school, he will have to play 2 rounds of golf at a specific golf course and score around the upper 70's and work at a golf course for 6 months.  That's all I know at this point...his daddy helped him with this and I haven't asked for details, but as soon as I get them I will pass them on to you, but it looks like he's a step closer to his dream.   There really is a method to this golf madness.

All 3 of the men in my house are playing in the Baton Rouge Amateur tournament tomorrow (and they tee off together...  :)  They'll have fun...I hope.  Then next weekend, Brandt plays in the Coca Cola Classic for Arrowhead Junior Golf Tour at Beaver Creek in Zachary.  

So, if you've read my blog so far it is obvious that our house functions around golf.  I know many think golf is boring, but when your in the middle of it and your family is involved, it's amazing how exciting it can be.  What I enjoy is spending a day following them in the golf cart and since it must be quite, there are no cell phones, no television, no radio, no computers...just the players and God's amazing creations.  It is so peaceful.

Have a great weekend!  (2nd to last before school starts...YIKES!!!!!!!!)

And you thought I was just a worry wort!

Did you see the news today?????   Yes!  Qantas Airlines is what Brandt flew on to Australia.  For those of you that did not see the news.  A Qantas plane traveling from London to Australia lost cabin pressure, dropped the air mask, and nose dived 20,000 feet due to a hole in the side of the plane. It landed safely, but I was thankful it wasn't Brandt's plane.  

I'll be honest.  I don't think I had ever heard of Qantas Airlines until Brandt flew on it and now it seems like I here about it all of the time.  The day he was traveling from Brisbane to Sydney to Hawaii, I turned on the television in Utah and the first thing I heard was a Qantas aircraft was evacuated due to a bomb threat.  My heart dropped.  It turned out to be a flight from Los Angeles to Australia.  

Daddy put a prayer request in the journal for Brandt as he traveled to Australia.  THANK YOU to everyone that prayed for him.  The Lord answered our prayers.

Heee'ssss Baaaaack!!!!

Brandt touched down in New Orleans at 5:20 p.m. today.  I am sooooo glad he is home.  I didn't know how many more plane changes I could have gone through.  I usually don't stress when my kids are out of town, but there's something about him flying by himself (for the 1st time) that just stressed me out.  He did great!  No problems.  Made all of his flights ( 7 total) and didn't lose his luggage or golf clubs.  Praise the Lord!!!!   I feel like a new woman.  Everyone is back home in the nest.  You know, all these years I was thinking I wouldn't have a problem with empty nest syndrome...but now I'm rethinking that.  Hmmmmmm!!!!!  I may be in trouble.

Park City, Utah

Wow!   What a beautiful place.  I have been in Park City, Utah at a Curriculum Mapping conference for school.  This was my first trip to Utah and it was unbelievable in beauty.  It is summer now, I can only imagine how magnificent it is during the winter.  

The conference was great.  My brain took in more than it could hold, but we got so much we could bring back to school to help move our school into the 21st century.  

Park City was home to the 2002 Winter Olympics and they still have the Olympic Park and it is open to the public.  Jill and I were feeling a little daring and decided to ride the Bobsled...it is the same track that the Olympic athletes used.  It pulls about 3-4 G's, goes about 70 mph, and is equal to about a 40 story drop (not free fall).  Well!  We bought our tickets and took the shuttle to the top and as soon as we stepped in the building to sign our lives away, it started lightning and thundering :(     They put us on a 20 minute lightning watch.  Well...to make a long story short, we had quite a few 20 minute watches and we never made it down the track :(  :(    We tried to convince them that a little bit of lightning was nothing...we were BOBSLEDDING for crying out loud.  I think our risks were already maxed out.  Anyway, we were bummed, big time!  It would have been so cool to show my students a picture of me on the bobsled when we learn about the Olympics this year.  Oh well!  It wasn't meant to be.

It's so good to be home.  Now it's time to track Brandt home from Hawaii.  He'll be home tomorrow.  I can't wait!  My nerves can't take much more of him flying.  I'll post some pictures soon.

Goodbye Australia...Hello Hawaii

Just talked to Brandt...like I've done everyday, at least twice a day since he left (he's kin to me...what can I say). Today is their last day in Australia and will be flying to Hawaii tomorrow (Saturday for them). He said their team placed 2nd in the tournament against the other states, he placed 6th overall...out of 100+ golfers. He wasn't too happy because he shot in the 80's which is not his norm. Parkview's players made a great showing though - Coach Phillips would be proud. As Brandt would say "we ARE state champions, what do you expect" LOL. Chris was 5th, Brandt 6th, and Taylor 7th. I think that is pretty darn good!!!! Their game against the Australians wasn't as successful, but he said the course was great (if you were hitting the ball straight). He said he should have taken pictures, but he was too aggravated at the time. Oh well...hind sight's 20/20.

Today was their free day and they were going to watch Taylor take his surfing lesson. Brandt said he is waiting to surf when he gets to Hawaii - it's too cold in Australia. It is winter there. I know my information is weak, but we don't talk long. I'll get more when he gets home.

Australia or Bust!

Well, we got Brandt off to Australia.  He flew out Friday.  Yes, I was nervous, but excited.  I didn't realize how nervous I actually was until we had to leave him.  This was the first time he had flown and it was by himself to Los Angeles.  I watched him walk down the corridor until I couldn't see him anymore.  With security the way it is these days, there is no where inside of the airport to watch planes come and go if you don't have a ticket.  Needless to say, I made Danny drive up and down the street by the airport until I knew he was on the plane (I made Brandt call me when he was in his seat on the plane).  I wanted to wait and watch the plane take off, but Danny talked me into leaving.  Anyway, as soon as I got home, I pulled his flight up on the computer and watched it all the way to LA (www.flightaware.com - live airline tracking).  Once he reached LA and caught up with his coach and teammates I was fine.   I will confess...Sat. morning when I woke up, I tracked him to Australia.  I can't imagine not having the internet.  I would have been a basket case.  As soon as the airlines reported that his plane had landed I took a deep breath.

Brandt called around 9:30 pm tonight, Sunday (which is Monday at 12:30 pm in Australia).  They are 15 hours ahead of us.  Said they were at a theme park, but would be heading to the golf course in about an hour.  Said Australia is expensive.  A coke, 20 oz., cost $3.30.  Gas is $8.00 a gallon.  If nothing else, this will be a great economics lesson. :)

Catching Up!

Hey Everyone!

I am so excited about starting this blog. I am so bad about keeping up with everyone, so maybe this will help. I'm not promising frequent writing, but my goal will be once a week (hope I can reach it). :)

Everyone is doing great, we just stay busy with life. You know how that is.

Danny is still working at the plant and cutting grass on the side. I went back to LSU and finished my Education degree and this will be my second year teaching 3rd grade at Parkview Baptist School and I love it. Danny and I will be married 26 years August 7th. Wow, how time flies when your having fun. It seems like yesterday when we were cruising around town in the black mustang.

Katie Ree is 23 now and will graduate from LSU in December. Her major is Criminal Justice. Her next step will be law school. We're hoping that Louisiana Colleges Law School will open soon because that's really where she wants to go. We'll see.

She is still riding her horses. Last year, in her final year on LSU's Equestrian Team, she qualified for nationals in Mass. It was an awesome experience. She still has Ruff, her show horse, but she has recently had to retire him because he was diagnosed with Cushing's disease. The vet said eventually we would have to put him down, but hopefully that is a long way off. For now he is a happy, lazy, pasture horse. Then there is Scat. Scat is a thoroughbred off of the track (like Ruff) that Katie is training and then she will sell him. He is doing so good. Katie's trainer really likes him. Since she retired Ruff, she thought about keeping Scat, but he is such a good mover that he will be a hunter and Katie wants a jumper. It will be tough to let go of him. If you know Katie, she gets attached quickly. Both Ruff and Scat are with Katie's trainer in Folsom, LA.

Chad is now 20. He has been going to Baton Rouge Community College (BRCC) but he wants to make a change. We are looking into golf schools for him. He's still at home (as is Katie). Golfs everyday possible and when not on the golf course he's watching sports on T.V. When LSU baseball made it to the SEC Championship game, I decided last minute to go and Katie, Ryan (Katie's boyfriend) and Chad went with me to Hoover, Alabama. Anyway, we went to Hoover High School (featured in reality tv show - "Two A Days") and walked around. We were able to go onto the football field which was unreal. If you didn't know better, you'd think you were on a University campus. I think Chad enjoyed Hoover High School more than the SEC Championship game (go figure).

Brandt is 18. We don't have anymore minors in our house (yes we are getting old - God's little reality checks). He will be a senior this year at Parkview Baptist. We moved him to PBS to play baseball, but found out that Brandt has 3 bulging disk in his back. The neurologist told him golf would be better for his back, so he gave up baseball. Looking back, we knew that the Lord wanted Brandt at PBS, but we got the baseball part wrong. Since he is now only focusing on golf, his game has improved. He has been a scratch golfer (shoots par more than not), but now he is bringing in scores under par. He alternated as #1 & #2 man on the PBS golf team, they won quiet a few tournaments during the year, they won metro, regionals, and are State Champions for 3A golf in Louisiana. He also was named All-Metro in golf. He joined the Arrowhead Jr. Golf Tour and won the first tournament he played in and this Friday, July 11th, he leaves to play golf, representing Louisiana, in Australia. The will come back through Hawaii and play for fun. He is so pumped about this trip. I'll post pictures when he returns. He doesn't know where he will go to college yet because he wants to play golf, so it will be determined by who picks him up. I do know he wants to stay in Louisiana if possible. I'll keep you posted.

For those that don't know, my mother, Mary French, passed away on January 14, 2008 from non-smokers lung cancer. She left us much sooner than we expected, but we were so blessed that she did not suffer. I'll write a little later and tell you of her last days with us. It is incredible what she saw and was able to tell us about, just days before Jesus called her home. Our lives are so different without her and we miss her soooooooo much, but we know we will see her again.

Hopefully this catches you up with our lives. Busy, busy, busy, but Danny and I tell each other all of the time "we're gonna miss this one day", so we are trying to savor each minute. Please write, I would love to hear from you and your family. Like I said earlier, I am terrible about keeping up with everyone. This way I can write at all hours of the night and not bother anyone. Hope to hear from you soon.

Love ya!

Carol