Out and about in the French Quarter

We'd heard lots of good things about the Aquarium of the America's, so we couldn't wait to take the kids to check it out. I even dressed them accordingly....Xander in a shark shirt and Jordis in her frog dress. When we walked in I loved how the fountain looked like fish scales.

Here's some of our favorite pictures of the creatures inside.







These are some favorite pictures of US at the aquarium.







The kids were really excited that we let them pick a souvenir at the gift shop. Xander picked his right away. Jordis wanted everything she saw, but finally settled on these mommy and baby penguins that she named Winnie and Squeak.


After the aquarium we all went to lunch and then did some shopping. We let the kids each pick out some beads. Xander got a police car and Jordis picked mermaids.

Then we went on a carriage ride. The kids had no interest in being there or having their picture taken.

Xander perked up though when our guide, Nick, let Xander *drive* the mule, Rock.


On our way back to the street car we came across this girl singing out in front of St. Louis Cathedral. She was filming a segment for the Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson. A crowd had gathered and we stayed to listen for awhile.


This is what she was singing. She recorded it in her kitchen and plays all of the *instruments* herself.

Dinner was at VooDoo BBQ.

Then we decided to walk back to our hotel instead of getting on the street car again. It was a nice night, but 1.4 miles with 4 kids in strollers is kind of a long hike. After the band at the hotel next door quit playing (Cinco de Mayo) we slept really well. It was a long, hot day.

On to New Orleans

Back east we traveled on Monday to go to New Orleans for three days. Of course I can't remember now where we were when I took this picture, but I've always been fascinated with trees sticking out of the water there. Jason's brother and his family also went with us. We couldn't get side-by-side rooms, but we were at least in the same hotel. We stayed right on St. Charles Avenue in the Garden District, and we were able to get a room in the front so the kids could watch the streetcar. But the window was so high they had to stand on the coffee table to do it. We could also see the Superdome from our room. I had never been to this part of New Orleans, so I was excited to see this section of the city. After checking in and getting situated, we met Jeremy and Sarah in the lobby with the kids and headed across the street to wait for the streetcar. If you ride it all the way to the end it drops you off at the edge of the French Quarter, at Canal and Bourbon streets. We wanted to eat dinner at our favorite French Quarter restaurant, so it worked out perfectly. There was a private party upstairs so we couldn't have balcony seating, but the food tasted just as good in the main dining room. After dinner we meandered down Bourbon Street and went in a few gift shops. We then made our way over to Cafe du Monde to have beignets for dessert. The kids loved fried dough with powdered sugar goodness and were excited that we bought them hats. My favorite part of Cafe du Monde is people-watching and listening to the artists that sit at the edge of the cafe and play various types of music. This particular evening Tanya and Dorise were there playing electric violin and guitar. They also had a cellist. Unfortunately it looks like I was taking a video of my sister-in-law photographing her kids (sorry, Sarah!) but I was really trying to capture the music and the mood of the evening.

On the way out Jason gave Xander some money to tip the musicians, and I also bought one of their CD's.

Cafe du Monde is across the street from Jackson Square and Sarah took this gorgeous picture of it when we left at sunset.

I couldn't think of any better way to end our day.

A first for the kids

After our long night out Jason and Terry got up early to go catch our dinner.....crawfish. When they got back Monica and I went to get Popeye's for lunch and we took lunch out on their boat in Bayou Teche.

I loved these leaves lining the water and this egret was really pretty.

It was a little windy, but the kids were really excited to be on a boat for the first time.

Then it started to look like this.

Luckily we got out of there before it stormed. Jason and Terry took our kids and the boat back to the house, and Monica and I took their girls to the store to get food for our crawfish boil. Before dinner we went across the street to say hello to Terry's parents. They live right on the bayou and their backyard is so peaceful. At least it was until I got bit by a fire ant.

Jordis wasn't so sure about the crawfish when they were still alive....

...but she took two bites when it was time for dinner.

The ladies and kids got the first batch (Xander ate some leftovers)....

...the guys got the second.

It was a great end to a fun-filled weekend.

Family Saturday

Jason's grandpa wanted a cookout since so many people were in town, so ask and you shall receive.

Jason's Uncle Ricky and Aunt Chris were kind enough to host. They've come to Ohio before and had dinner at our house, so I was excited that Xander remembered them and didn't mind going to their home.

Of course we had the obligatory group photos. This is Jason's dad sitting between his two sisters, Mona and Pris with his brothers Eddie and Ricky in the back. And PawPaw Latiolais.

This is PawPaw with his grandkids (there are some missing, I think 6, but I'm not positive).
Getting the great-grandkids to cooperate was a different story. I don't think this photo is missing anyone, but has an extra person. Xander kept taking off so Jason had to run by and drop him on his side so we could take the picture before he had time to get up.

We even had to take an in-law picture. This group of us was titled "those of us that had a choice," as in maybe we didn't choose wisely, ha-ha.

We played a game similar to corn hole and had a tournament.

Chatting in the backyard with my sister-in-law, Sarah. We saw each other almost every day for two weeks, but never really got to talk to each other much.

That night Monica recruited her brother and his girlfriend to watch our kids so we could go out. Her other brother manages a bar and had been out of town for the wedding so we decided to hang out there since he had to work. I also got to meet Jason's cousin Trish. I've talked to her online before but we'd never met in person. She's one of Monica's sisters. And even though we all know I'm really pale, in my defense Trish goes tanning. A lot.

This is my new friend Kahea. She's Monica's neighbor/friend and has the most polite kids I've ever met. Again, in my defense of paleness, she's Hawaiian. I just didn't stand a chance this particular night.

And in case you need to leave before you finish your drink, you can....take it with you???

Not sure if that's why they have cups by the door, but couldn't think of any other reason. Thought it was kind of weird so I had to take a picture. Seven of us went to breakfast at the end of the night, which was a fun way to end the night. There's nothing better than people-watching at 2 a.m.

Off to Lafayette

After two days in Thibodaux we traveled west to Lafayette to visit the Latiolais side of the family. Jason's cousin was getting married which meant that more people were in town than usual, and the day after the wedding his aunt and uncle hosted a family barbecue. Jason's cousin Monica was kind enough to demand that we stay with them invite us to stay at their house for our 3 nights in town. Jason and I had our own room and the kids had fun sleeping in their cousin Kassy's room. They also had an amazing backyard that made the kids extremely happy.

We ate a late lunch, the kids ran around, and then we all got ready for the wedding. Poor Addison was worn out before we even got out the door.

From what I could tell from my seat in the back row (so we could be by the exit), the wedding was really pretty. It was in a chapel on the campus of The University of Louisiana at Lafayette, which is where Jason's dad went to college. The priest even sang to the bride and groom, which I had never seen before, and the kids got 35-40 minutes in before having to be taken outside, so I was pretty impressed. The reception was a little more crazy since it was late and the kids were hungry, but after they got some food they were happy and ran around like banshees.

Jason's uncle/parrain (Cajun word for godfather) Eddie and Aunt Shana. They're the parents of the flower girl and Parrain is also the father of the groom.

Jason's parents

The kids having fun.

Then the kids got too busy to stop for a picture.

Our sister-in-law, Sarah, with our niece and nephew Dominic and Autumn.

Monica and Terry

Jason's dad, and his sister, Aunt Mona

Jason is Autumn's parrain

Jason's Uncle Ricky and his wife, Aunt Chris, have been taking Cajun dance lessons, so they were showing off for us.

Paw Paw Latiolais likes to sit outside and smoke his pipe, so people were taking turns keeping him company. This is Jason and his brother, Jeremy.

Jordis eventually fell asleep with Jason's mom, but the rest of the kids were still going strong when we left at 1 a.m.

Congratuations Dusty and Clare!

This little light of mine

So I had both of the kids with me at the grocery store on Friday afternoon. I usually try to avoid such a set-up because in most instances I end up having to leave before I have everything on my list. However, due to the way our week played out I didn't have much choice.

We were doing *fairly* well (for us) and I was hoping to breeze through the produce section and be out of there when Xander started to sing "This Little Light of Mine" at the top of his lungs.

It was LOUD.

Think high ceilings, echoing, reverberation, etc.

Part of me wanted to shush him because he was being obnoxiously loud and the other part of me was thinking that Jesus would really be pleased with Xander promoting Christianity. Psalm 34:1 instructs, "I will EXTOL the Lord at all times; his praise will always be on my lips," so, he was doing what the bible says without even knowing it. And because of that, and the fact that I knew he'd sing louder if I asked him to stop, and knowing we'd be leaving soon anyway...I let him sing.

As I was standing over the strawberries checking for mold, someone came up behind me and said, "Excuse me ma'am, could you please quiet down your child?" Thankfully it was my friend from MOPS, who was totally kidding. She said she had heard the little voice singing and just had to come and see where it was coming from.

Our little man definitely has his own light, and he makes sure everyone sees it. Such a special little boy he is.

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Mathew 5:16, "Let your light shine before men, that they may see your fine works and give glory to your Father who is in the heaven"