New Orleans

In May I got to go on vacation! I went to New Orleans with my 2 sisters and my niece. It was great to get away and go somewhere I'd never been and I think we all had a lovely time. We flew in on a Monday, and spent that evening checking into our hotel, eating at the VooDoo BBQ, planning our trip, and going for a walk (which was much longer than I expected) that ended at Copeland's Cheesecake Bistro. Yum!

On Tuesday we got up early to go on a swamp boat tour. We had a cool tour guide (Capt. Cody) and got to see a lot of alligators, birds, turtles and trees. Who knew that alligators like marshmallows? Then we went to the Garden District and had crawfish pizza at Rocky's Gourmet Pizza on Magazine Street for lunch. After lunch we took a ghost/cemetary walking tour in the Garden District with a crazy tour guide, and got to see cool houses and hear fun stories about them. Then we drove to the French Quarter and took a ferry across the Mississippi River and back. We walked around shopping at tourist shops and had a treat at Pinkberry. That night when we went back up to the hotel room, Suzanne and Elizabeth took a little longer getting in the room. They started their quest to collect AUTHENTIC Mardi Gras beads.

On Wednesday we drove out to see a few plantation houses . . . the Laura Plantation and the Oak Alley Plantation. We had lunch at Oak Alley, enjoying Po' Boys and Gumbo (I only tasted the Gumbo - it was good but I'm not a big soup lover). Then we drove across the Lake Pontchartrain causeway, the longest over water highway bridge in the world. We stopped at Big Top Sno-Balls and had stuffed snoballs which were quite tasty, though my teeth turned blue. Then we went back to the French Quarter for more tourist shopping and beignets at Cafe du Monde. That night Suzanne and Elizabeth continued on their quest for beads, retrieving many more. They divvied up the beads and we all got to take some home.

On Thursday we rode the streetcar up and down St. Charles Ave. Then we went back to the French Quarter for an abbreviated walking tour, then a tour of the Hermann-Grima house. Then it was time to go home.

Rozanne, Suzanne, Elizabeth & Emily

the reason why a few of those walks seemed SO long

Elizabeth & Suzanne on the swamp tour w/ Capt. Cody in the background

The 1st gator we saw on the tour . . . the one we got really close to who never moved. There was some speculation as to whether this one was real. We saw many more that were definitely real.

Rozanne, Emily & Elizabeth on the ferry across the Mississippi River

sunset on the Mississippi

Rozanne and Suzanne waiting for beignets at Cafe du Monde

beads in a tree at our hotel

Suzanne & Elizabeth getting beads out of a tree at our hotel -- if you look closely you can see the bristles from the broom they 'borrowed' from the cleaning lady to reach more beads. It was much more effective than the hangers from the closet in our room.

All of us with our star rubies, on the cache of beads. Emily has the ring that was my mom's. I got mine for high school graduation and I love it. As a child I always looked for the star in my mom's ruby, and now my kids do the same with mine.

I had a great time and I hope we get the opportunity to go on another fun trip in the future. Next time, I'm leaving the boot home.

Say "Aahh"

Cool as a cucumber

Six months ago when I visited the dentist, I asked to set up an appointment for Easton when we came again in six months. They asked if it was his first time, which it was. I was slightly dreading it because Logan was AWFUL when we first took him to the dentist (and when we second took him, third took him, etc.). Six months later I brought Easton with me to the dentist, where the dentist looked in his mouth, counted his teeth and said, "I think he's ready for a cleaning". So, we had to make another appointment. He was quite angry that he didn't get his teeth cleaned that day with Lauren and me. When the lady asked when I wanted to make his appointment Easton told her, "Right now!". I made an appointment for him to come back in a week with David and Logan. He patiently waited . . . then he FINALLY got to go to the dentist and have his teeth brushed with the cool brush, and the water squirted in his mouth!

He was very cooperative and opened his mouth so well and sucked on the suction sucker like a pro. So, when they put the flouride styrofoam things in his mouth, we were all quite surprised when he promptly spit them out. Lauren always loves the flouride . . . it's her favorite part! Next time we'll have to try a different flavor, because apparently bubblegum is nasty!

When he was sitting in the chair, after his cleaning, waiting for the dentist to come take a look, he kept telling me his chair was moving. I thought he was just talking about the way the chair could move up and down and tilt way back. He said, "no, it's moving right now!" Sure enough, he had pushed a button somewhere and activated the massage on the chair. So, he got his teeth cleaned, and a massage!

Holy Snowstorm Batman!

I think this is March coming in like a lion . . .

New Bathroom

We decided it was finally time to put a bathroom in the basement . . . so we called a guy and it's done!

BEFORE:

DURING:

AFTER:

TA-DA!

What do you think?

Catching up with pictures

It has been brought to my attention by my sister and Anonymous (my other sister?) that I did not post in December. I am definitely a failure. Here is my attempt to catch up.

Logan finally got to play some football in September/October 2010. He has been asking for years and I never found one I wanted to spend the money on. It was flag football, which made me feel better. Logan LOVED it and their team had a winning season. He had a great coach who really made it enjoyable. We're hoping to get the same team and coach together next year. Logan is wearing blue shorts, blue shirt, blue flags, and is about to catch the ball.

On Thanksgiving morning, David ran a 5k. I think it was about 10-15 degrees. He is the one in the white and blue jacket. We, his not-so-supportive family, missed his finish because we were in the car warming up. Oops.

Grandpa came to town in early December to visit and shop and spend time with his grandkids. Here he is reading to Lauren while Easton waits patiently for his turn.

Grandma Liz came to town with Grandpa and got to enjoy spending time with the kids. Here she is reading to Easton.

One day the kids built a snowman, then continued to build snow boulders all over the yard. This one got too big and they couldn't roll it any further. When the surrounding snow melted, this boulder was still there, and still is, with some added snow around it.

Here is Lauren thanking Logan for the Zhu Zhu pet.

When Easton made his Christmas list he asked for a snow globe that lights up and changes colors (his grandma has a Halloween one). We figured we wouldn't be able to find one, and had given up looking. Whenever we talked about what Easton wanted for Christmas we downplayed the snow globe, trying to make him forget. He hadn't mentioned it in a few weeks, and I thought he had forgotten about it. Phew. Then David found one! It's even a penguin, and Easton likes penguins. He was very pleased with his gift and he asks me to turn it on every night for a few minutes when he goes to bed.

This is when the kids found out we got a Wii.

Here is Easton celebrating the new year (at 9:30).

The rest of us celebrated a little later and had obviously had too much to drink at this point.

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!!

This little boy turned four

Last month was Easton's birthday.  He loves all things Halloween, so this year he picked a ghost cake.  He was also a ghost for Halloween.  He picked McDonalds for lunch and we partied at Grandma and Grandpa's house.  They got Easton a new pair of rain boots and lucky for him, it rained on his birthday!  He got to splash in puddles galore.

A few things to remember about the 4 year old Easton:

he loves the cat and loves to torture him

he loves playing with his friends and always wants Matthew or Elise to come over

he loves to cook . . . he always wants to help in the kitchen

he is still a lover, and is always willing to give me a kiss and hug

he likes to play the "Mad" game (a card game like UNO)

he says funny things, and when we laugh, he laughs and laughs and laughs

glubs = gloves

shlokit = chocolate

spensor = sensor

lizzard = blizzard

pomatoes = tomatoes (and he hates them)

he can write an E for Easton

he loves to play outside

his favorite colors are green and orange

his favorite holiday is Halloween

whenever we are slicing cheese for sandwiches he wants "cheese in my hand"

he loves pickles

he loves our extended family and always wants to go to their 'cabins' (my dad rents a different house every year for the whole family to come and play, and David's brother has a cabin)

he loves to take the garbage and recycling out and he loves to watch the trucks when they come

We love having Easton in our family!!!!


Easton with some birthday loot

blowing out the candles

the happy ghost

Easton & Axel

Lauren & Easton jumping in puddles