By Kevin Chiri

Don’t forget about the fun you’ll get all weekend at San Francisco Plantation this Saturday and Sunday, March 1 and 2, when the fifth annual Frisco Fest will be staged.

Taking a look at the lineup of events, it is clear that this year’s event will undoubtedly be the biggest and best they have ever put on, and I hope you will support it since the Fest is a major fundraiser to help San Francisco Plantation continue operating.

As many of you know, Hurricane Katrina put a hard hit on all the plantations in the region, and most are still a long way from recovering to their pre-Katrina levels. But to their credit, most all in the region have been determined to stick it out and make sure we never lose some of the great history found in these beautiful buildings.

As for the Fest this weekend, just look at some of the incredible fun you can find.

In addition to the usual lineup of great food, music and crafts, there will be an ongoing art and craft exhibition.

On Saturday there will be a bike race, car show, and a Texas Hold ‘Em Tournament, as well as a washerboard tournament.

The 5th annual Tour De San Francisco begins at 8 a.m. on Saturday with police escorting cyclists as they race 25 miles through St. John and St. James parishes.

“Cruisin’ the Plantation Open Car Show” will begin on Saturday on the grounds at 11 a.m.,

On Sunday a 5K run and one mile run will be held, and then the popular Chef’s Cook Off will be on Sunday, with awards to top dishes, but most importantly, a chance to buy tickets to taste all the great food.

So don’t make any other plans other than taking a ride out River Road to Garyville on Saturday and Sunday to enjoy this great festival.

It was a pretty special weekend at my house beginning this past Friday.

The little boy came home.

Our second grandchild, Jerry Scott Smith III, was born 12 weeks premature on Dec. 23, 2007, and has been working on getting bigger and stronger at Ochsner’s special NICU unit ever since then.

After several false alarms about getting sent home, it all finally came true last Friday when my daughter Chrissy and her husband Jerry came to our house with the teeniest little fellow buried in the children’s car seat in their SUV.

Snuggled up under some blankets was a cute little face, and sure enough, a very small, but very healthy looking Jerry Scott, now up to 4 pounds, 15 ounces. When he was born he weighed a mere 2 pounds, 4 ounces.

My wife, of course, was the first one to want to get hold of the little guy, and smothered him with hugs and kisses, talking that grandma talk all the while to him.

“Oh, you’re such a big boy, such a big boy,” she said as she cradled him in her arms very tightly.

And so the adventure began of hosting our second grandchild for the weekend, where they stayed to give Chrissy a chance to begin what will be a challenging adjustment to having this small baby at her house.

I always used to say that I would never wish twins on any couple for their first children, since it is hard enough just learning how to take care of that first kid when you have no clues about what to do.

And there is some similarity to a premature child as well. He definitely has some special needs that we have to look out for, and it all adds up to make the challenge of being the new mom and dad all that much tougher.

While his health is overall excellent, there are some small things still needing attention, and one of those is a little help making sure his heart is beating exactly right. To assist that, he has to have some medicine that is actually caffeine put into his bottle. Naturally that makes him struggle to ever completely go into a long, deep sleep, and that adds yet another burden to the mom and dad.

We saw that all weekend as he never really went into a long sleep, but rather went in and out of sleeping, while remaining somewhat cranky most of the time he is up.

And yes, I have now changed the boy’s diaper, and while I had gotten back into the swing of doing it with my little granddaughter Abby, it was quite tougher with Jerry since he is so, so tiny. His little legs are like two little chicken legs. But this is a chicken that must not have been first in line at the eating trough since he is bony and pretty small.

Still, I managed to get it done, even while he squawked and fussed the whole time.

So grandbaby number two is now in the family and adding to the excitement for this guy and his wife. As for my better half, you have never seen a woman so absolutely crazy with joy being with a little baby. I don’t even know if I remember seeing it like that with our own kids. She just can’t spend enough time with him, or snuggle, kiss and hug him.

But then I guess that’s what grandma’s are for, right?

Kevin Chiri is Publisher of L’Observateur and can be reached at (985) 652-9545 or at kchiri@bellsouth.net