Southern Living

Anniversary dinner

Fall in Louisiana is basically just a continuation of summer. The only real difference is every weekend becomes all about football, especially living right near LSU. We did go tailgating once just to experience it, it is definitely a spectacle. We met some great friends at church and started watching football with them most weekends. We also had the opportunity to go to an LSU game and a New Orleans Saints game! While neither of us really care that much about football, it was always fun to watch a game and hang out with friends.

We both continued to stay busy with jobs. Owen also picked up volunteering at a free clinic on Tuesday nights. I continued with soccer through the fall, even coaching with a broken toe and foot in a boot! As soccer began to wrap up, I went full time with my health coach job. I also had the great opportunity to help our team develop a new weight loss program and be the health coach for the pilot study during the fall and holiday season. It's a really exciting program and I've really enjoyed being a part of it.

 We also continued to do long bike rides with Clint, hang out with friends, see one of Al's games in New Orleans, and enjoyed decorating fall, since there's not really any foliage here. We celebrated our anniversary. Went trick or treating with some friends and their kids,  had a med school friend visit during residency interview season, and enjoyed being outside in the "milder" weather as much as possible. The pictures from these highlights are below, as well as a little tour of our home this year. Enjoy!

Woman's Center for Wellness - Jamie's job

Year end wrap up for soccer, coaches did a silly little dance

The soccer kids got to help at an LSU game

Some pretty sweet storm clouds down here

With Allison and Barron at an LSU football game

LSU football stadium

Our home

St Maarten sand and treasures (lots more throughout the house)

The only fall foliage I could find

At least inside our home was some fall foliage :)

Scenes from bike rides

Owen has been doing lots of climbing

Trick or Treating

LSU band at the tailgating

LSU football stadium at night

Cayleigh stopped by to visit after an interview in New Orleans

Hawks #15 Al Horford playing the New Orleans Pelicans

Superdome for the New Orleans Saints game

Great seats

Hot times in Louisiana

We moved to Louisiana in the end of June, just in time for one of the hottest summers in a long time (of course!). It was in the upper 90's and low 100's, with heat indexes well into the 100's! Within a week of moving to Baton Rouge, Owen went as the doctor on a missions trip with the youth group from Valley, our church in Connecticut. He spent 10 days in El Salvador, occasionally being a doctor, but mostly helping teach football camps and mentoring the local youth (I'll try to find some pictures from Facebook to include, since he didn't take any). During this time, I spent my 30th birthday in New Orleans with some doctors wives I met on our networking sites. The I went up to Shreveport for 4th of July with Alie, Sean, and their kids.

During July, we were both looking for jobs, so we had some free time to explore south Louisiana. We went boating with our neighbors on the Atchfaylaya basin, did a lot of biking (and running for me), did a lot of fishing in different ponds in the area (though not a lot of catching!), went to a hot air balloon festival, and hung out with friends, getting to know our new "home." We also celebrated Owen's 30th birthday with a day at Tickfaw State Park, we fished, had a cookout, he kayaked on a pond with an alligator, and we held baby alligators that some redneck caught!

In August we both finally started working. Owen had already been trying to work with the local ambulance company, but that did not end up working out. He was already doing some work with Pennington Biomedical Research, seeing study research study participants in the clinic there and helping write some articles, so he ended up picking up more hours there. He also started landscaping on Fridays with our friend who started his own landscaping business. I went on a few interviews, none of which felt right, so I declined a few offers. I decided to send an email to a wellness center nearby, part of a local hospital, and just asked if they had any openings in the the nutrition and life coaching that I saw advertised on their sign. Turns out they were just about to post an opening on their website! I immediately knew that was the right place for me. I started part time as a health coach in August (eventually turning full time later in the fall). I also started coaching youth soccer in September, 6-9 year olds, 4 nights a week and Saturday games, and a 3 year olds program! So we both started getting busy.

So that's how we spent our hot southern summer. 

Here's a few pictures to highlight some of our fun times.

30th Birthday dinner in NOLA at a Caribbean restaurant with some fellow "LDW" members

Dessert with a fleur de lis

Boating on the Atchfaylaya with Clint and Paula

Some great summer storm clouds

At the pool with Alie

Feet in the Mississippi River

Lots of big spiders, bugs, and snakes

Serious rain and flooded streets

Beautiful sunset and clouds with Owen shooting his bow

Post first 50 miler with Clint

Tickfaw State Park, there was a big alligator in there!

Those redneck guys caught these baby alligators (later put them back)

Ascension Balloon Festival

The balloon from Connecticut!