New Dance Moves

Do the stanky legg!!!

(really do it!)

These are a few kids from a boys and girls club in Abilene, Texas. They performed at the Stake and Burger night we attended. They got some good moves! Mike is pretty good at it too.

m-i-s-s-i--s-s-i-p-p-i

We crossed the mighty Mississippi River!! We are now camping in Vicksburg, Mississippi. Earlier today we went and saw some of the levees. They had markings of the flood lines and it was very interesting how they try to control such a massive river! The levees had historical paintings for about half a mile by a local artist. Each painting also had a brief written history by it. My favorite was the painting of Theodore Roosevelt when he went hunting near Vicksburg. Apparently, he refused to shoot a bear and that is where "Teddy Bears" came from. Ben looked at me like I should have known that...

Yesterday we stayed in West Monroe, La. I'm feeling the history vibe so I'll tell you what I learned...
Apparently we add an extra "e" sound when we say "Louisiana".
Lou-ee-zee-ana vs. Lou-zee-ana.

The kids were a lot of fun and very talented at the West Monroe club. Ryan checked his email later to see he had even gotten some new myspace freinds ;) She told Ryan that no matter where he goes she will always be his friend...Awww so sweet! :) We also played two-hand touch football. Somehow I still managed to get knocked over by a kid! Ryan and Jerry got beat in pool by a thirteen year-old girl named Rachel. Ryan and I played chess with a few kids. The kids had learned how to play from one of the staff members. Pretty cool!! Before we left, we enjoyed some really good spaghetti for lunch with a few of the staff members.

Now backtracking to our visit in Shreveport, Lou-zee-ana...
Their club had burnt down accidentally a little less than two years ago. They were meeting in a temporary building until they could raise funds to get a new one up and running. We couldn't believe how well behaved the children were. Mr. Elmer Nunley, CFO, was very active in the children's lives. He told us how he is in constant contact with the children's parents and helps to keep them in line. Transportation can often be a problem, but he is always willing to pick children up and take them home. He and his staff really are going above and beyond in helping these children. He is really helping kids be accountable and parents informed about their children. :)

~~~


All in all we are experiencing southern hospitality at it's finest...be it from the kids, staff members, strangers, rv park neighbors, or even those little mosquitoes who like to share some extra loving with us...

Swamp life

We took the day off and camped in the swamp, Stacy cut my hair.........I'll probably wear a hat for the rest of the trip. The boys went swimming at night looking for alligators. Still nothing, just a couple of Canadian snowbirds skinny dipping.( A bit more frightening than an alligator). There are some real big bugs in this area. I swallowed one , it had a slight Cinnamon flavor to it. I might spread some on a piece of armadillo meat. Last night some large rat looking creatures got into our cooler and ate our hot dogs............Mike is still in mourning. The swamp lands are the most beautiful places I have ever skated, other than Parkland.

Leaving Texas

We found a dead Armadillo on the side of the road, I think i might hollow out the shell and wear it as a helmet so aliens won't be able to hear my thoughts. I think we have been going a little bit crazy with sun block, I'm still bright white.

zoo

We are just Leaving Abiline, Texas. I fell at the skate park and skinned my knee. I cried for a little bit, the the rest of the group took me to the zoo and I felt all better. Today we skate to Dallas, we should be there by Saturday!

Tornado Warning

Oh snap! We've been moving so fast there's a tornado watch where we're at!

Or maybe it's just mother nature.

Either way, we are taking time to settle down and recap what's going on. (And don't worry we decided to stay in a hotel tonight because our tent trailer probably wouldn't withstand high winds or possible "baseball sized" hail!)

El Paso - It's about five miles from Jaurez, Mexico. We had heard a little bit about the drug cartel situation, but it all came to life in El Paso. Before we were leaving we could see a huge fire that was going on in Jaurez. Many of the children have a lot of family and freinds in Juarez, and the sitaution defintely is affecting their lives. However, the club is doing amazing work in El Paso. They take a proactive approach to their community and are really working to bridge the gap between parents and children. The club offers GED classes, family events, Aerobics classes to the community and parents...FREE of charge. The first day we arrived we hung out with the kids at the club, playing basketball and pool and enjoying some authentic Mexican food. The next day we hung out with the kids at a skatepark behind the club. It was a blast and lots of kids came! They say everything is bigger in Texas, and that's true, especially their hearts. Art, Isabel, and the countless volunteers and americorps workers....Thank you! You really inspired us with your selflessness and positive attitudes.

Odessa-I'm not going to say which football team I support, but know that football is king in this town (their HIGH SCHOOL stadium has a jumbo tron!) PLU in Tacoma doesn't even have one of those! We started out by enjoying some really good burgers some of the guys had BBQ'd. We then hid eggs for the Easter egg hunt. The girls at the club taught me how to battle...hula hoop style. Ben was feeling sick and so one of the staff members Miss Tamara Farris took Ben to the emergency room(it was the only place open) and turns out he was diagnosed with bronchitis. Good thing he didn't listen to me! I thought he was just trying to get out of skating for the day and told him to suck it up. Kelly, the CPO, gave us a tour of Odessa for the rest of us. As we were leaving I realized I had accidently left the lights on, but a nice man helped us by giving our van a jump.

Now we are relaxing and watching the Ten Commandments. Ryan just commented that Moses is pretty BA. I agree!

Ben says he is "star *cough* ing to *cough* feel bette *cough*r"

Mike is getting Ben his Vitamin C and water out of the car in exchange for a blizzard.

Jerry is enjoying the smell of rain. So am I! We haven't had rain since Washington!

Ghost town

After crossing the Arizona /New Mexico border we came across a ghost town. We told scary stories for three hours. Unfortunately, it was in the middle of the day. So only Ryan got scared. Shortly after he fell on a cactus, he is forced to sleep on his stomach because of the thorns on his back side. (poor baby)