Sisters' Trip

My sisters, Bekah and Jessica, came to visit for a weekend. We wished Christina could have made it too!

Posing in front of the St. Louis Cathedral in the French Quarter

On the Swamp Tour - the coolest activity I've done since living here!

Gorgeous Louisiana swamps (egret in background)

I think the tour guide referred to these as "party shacks." Some have been rebuilt since Katrina, some haven't.

Feeding wild gators

Yes, that is my hand petting a wild alligator!

Shea meets Auntie Jess for the first time!

The redheads get acquainted

We had dinner at NOLA's, one of Emeril Lagasse's restaurants.

We finished off our evening at Preservation Hall, dedicated to the preservation of Jazz.

First Days

Evan did great on his first day of Kindergarten. It was me that had a hard time!

Skylar has really been enjoying preschool. She is making lots of friends and gaining confidence. Too bad this pic is so blurry!

Luau Party

Our little friend, Grace, had the idea of having a luau party in honor of the kids' return to school. Her mother and I threw together the party last minute. Sometimes the simplest activities are the best!

Packing for a trip to Hawaii. The shark sheets on the floor were Grace's decorating contribution!

The kids on the double decker "airplane" to Hawaii

I just had to show off my last minute centerpiece! ;)

After the treasure hunt!

The funny thing is that Grace's brother, Grant was here too! He just kind of did his own thing. He definitely participated in the cupcake eating, though!

Evan says

"Mom, you don't have to give me baths anymore."

I'm thinking, wow, my big boy is ready for showers.

"From now on I'm going to clean myself off like the kitties do."

"You mean lick yourself?" I clarified.

"Yep."

Guess he's still little enough for baths!

And the Winner is . . .

Since I know you are all waiting with baited breath

it is not

Cute guess, though! I'd never seen Abby Cadabby before. Her pom-pom piggies do remind me of Skylar's as her hair was growing out. Don't you think?

Cute baby, but not mine!

She does look like Meg here in the front, but since the local New Orleanians don't know Meg, Shea has never yet been mistaken for her.

Wow, Rachel, you are officially uninvited to my blog. JK ;) Lets hope Shea never does roids and gets a sex change. Even if she did, I still think she'd looked better than Carrot Top.

Of course Ginger called it - Shea gets called "Pebbles" everywhere we go!

Celebrity Look Alike

Any guesses as to which celebrity Shea is constantly mistaken for???

End of an Era or Brief Respite???

Jake and I have noticed the winds of change have been blowing in some good directions. We can actually take our kids to a restaurant besides McDonalds these days. As sad as it makes me that they grow up so fast, I've always known I would never miss my days with toddlers while waiting in line at the grocery store.

I even took my kids shopping today. Let me be more specific. I took them along to shop for clothes for me. Gasp. It occured to me that I might be wearing shorts for a good portion of the year in Louisiana, and that mine were looking pretty shabby, and that retailers probably wouldn't be carrying shorts for much longer. So I gathered up my courage and took the crew along. I have to report that despite the ongoing competition over which big kid was lucky enough to ride in the double stroller I had to jam through the aisles, they really did quite well. Surprisingly, they actually acted a lot like the girlfriends I used to take shopping once upon a time (meaning, when I actually used to shop). They picked out things they thought I would look awesome in. They cheared me on, "Oooo, Mommy, you look so pretty in that!" . . . "You could wear this to a party." They encouraged me to stock up on the accessories (probably just so they could raid my jewelry again for their treasure hunts). Overall, I realized that they really prefer that I glam up a bit. This at-home mom look I have going on is pretty drab I guess. And I have to admit, I even gave in to the pressure and bought a sun dress they loved me in. So, I guess I've found some new, unexpected shopping buddies! ;)