Spring Break 2012 [New Orleans]

On the way back from Florida, we drove the long bridge across Lake Ponchatrain, then stopped and stayed the night in New Orleans to see a few sights and break up the drive a bit.

This picture basically sums up how Aaron feels about New Orleans.

It's crowded. And loud. And full of crazy people. And driving there is a mess. And the kids kept commenting that it smelled bad.

But, aside from all the craziness (if you can get past that), I thought it was pretty cool. It's such a unique city. It seems like in recent years, all cities kinda look the same. Same restaurants, same stores, same houses. New Orleans is not at all like that. It is (to say the least) very interesting.

Thursday night, we went down and caught the St. Charles Trolley which took us through the heart of New Orleans all the way to the French Quarter. We saw some absolutely stunning homes and really neat areas. We walked briefly through the French Quarter, but after a while thought it better to go back.

Among our "to do's" is NOLA was to try beignets at Cafe Du Monde. Well, the line was so long that not even a pot of gold would be worth waiting in line for (especially with kids), so we went to another cafe I'd seen the night before on our trolley ride through the city -- Cafe Beignet. I loved the ambiance and the beignets were delicious!

All in all, it was interesting, but I don't know that we'd ever go back. (Though I'd love to go spend a day taking pictures.) We did, however, decide that we'd like to go camping nearby. It's beautiful near Lake Ponchatrain. I really like Louisiana -- it's forests, swamps, and rivers. Very pretty and I always love driving through!

Spring Break 2012 [Florida, Part 2]

The next couple of days were spent almost entirely at the beach. I don't think it's possible to be anything but relaxed when you're at the beach. The water was a tad chilly for Aaron and I to do much swimming, but the kids played in the water almost all day while we watched, read, built sand castles, and all the other fun beachy stuff.

Spring Break 2012 [Florida, Part 1]

Last Sunday, we embarked on our first ever Spring Break vacation as a family. March is a spectacularly busy month for us this year, so I wasn't even sure a trip like this would even be possible, but God pulled all details together for us, and we had a fantastic week!

Sunday after church, we loaded up the car and headed down the road. Here are our awesome road warrior children!

It rained and poured and stormed nearly all the way to where we stopped in Louisiana to stay for the night. The next morning when we got up and got back in the car... still raining and storming. But it was still a fantastic drive. Once we reached Mississippi, we got off I-10 and drove along the coast, travelling through Biloxi, Gulfport, etc. It was so beautiful!

Finally, on Monday afternoon, we arrived at our hotel in downtown Pensacola. I wish I had taken pictures. It was a really cool small 1950's motel that had been newly renovated. Anyway, once we settled in, we decided to get out and see what we could see. We visited the National Naval Aviation Museum and everyone LOVED it! Aaron even said it was the best museum he'd ever been to.

After that, we drove around, checked out an old lighthouse and an old fort nearby that were really interesting. Finally, we headed back to the hotel and decided to walk around the downtown area to see what we could see.

The next morning, while we were waiting for it to warm up outside so we could go to the beach, we headed down the coast to Fort Morgan to catch the ferry over to Dauphin Island. Well, unfortunately, the ferry was closed due to fog, BUT the Fort was right there on the water, so we decided to check it out. Let me tell you, it was AMAZING. Aaron and I loved it. The kids loved it. It was so impressive. If you're ever in the area, you've got to check out one of these forts (there are a few)!

The beach is coming up in Part 2!

Recipe for Relaxation

What a month March has been. Busy as it may be, though, it's been (mostly) good. Yesterday was a little rough, however. Abby woke up with a stomach bug and was really sick all day. Carson had claimed a stomachache, too, and since I had four kids in the house (Madi and Reagan were staying with us) and Aaron had just left for work in my car (his truck was totaled just before we left for vacation), I let him stay home. The morning went fairly enough. I quarantined Abby and Carson to their rooms so they wouldn't get the girls sick. Abby slept most of the morning, but Carson wasn't too keen on staying in his room and spent the day (even after it was time to come out of his room) throwing enormous tantrums the likes of which I have not seen in a long time. I finally got around to taking the shower I'd been dreaming about since the day before, then sat on the couch to read a magazine for a few minutes before I made lunch for the kids. Made lunch and sat with Abby while she tried to eat, and then... she was sick. No time to make it to the bathroom.

It was a long day.

Aaron got home and, across the dinner table, said to me, "Why don't you get out and go sit and have a cup of coffee or something? I've got things from here."

What a blessed, wonderful, amazing man.

I couldn't go hang out with friends or anything since I'd been taking care of a sick little girl all day, but it was enough to be out of the house. I went and just sat at Starbucks for a good while. While I was there, I thought about very little -- just enjoyed the quiet and my venti light ice chai. Ahhh...



After that, I went to Target and Sprouts and picked up a couple things I'd been needing. And coveted all this stationary. Isn't it beautiful?!

As I headed home, I turned up my favorite "me" music. I felt like a totally different girl when I got home.

I am so thankful for a great husband who cares for me so well, for time to relax, and for my amazing family whom I love being with and taking care of.

Abby (7.75 years old)

This little girl is growing up.

And I just can't believe what a great kid she is. I've really enjoyed the time I've spent with her lately. Last week I decided I'd start running a few times a week, and Abby asked if she could come along. So, I said yes... and it's been so fun! Not only is she a great runner, but she's great company too. I enjoy listening to her tell me all about her day, all about her friends, the things she likes and doesn't like, what she wants to be and do, and on and on and on.

Tonight, we had a laid back night at home (she was home sick today) and we spent time in the kitchen cooking together. She made chicken strips and a honey mustard dip all by herself. She loves cooking. And art. And she now wants to be an EMT when she grows up so she can help people. And she wants a Mustang convertible... with it's own Starbucks and that's full of pillow pets. Yep, that's right. She's a dreamer. She's passionate. And kind. She still loves babies. And her friends. And having her back "tickled". So many things that have become distinctly her, and still, she's so full of surprises. It's so amazing getting to watch her as she grows up, and I can't wait to see what great things God has in store for her!

Faces

Carson has always been the king of facial expressions. He has a lot of them. Tonight he walked in excited and said, "Mom, do you wanna see me make a frowny face with a straight line across and two lines straight down? Like in a cartoon?! I just learned it looking in the mirror in the bathroom!" Of course, I did want to see, and he made this face.

This picture was actually a re-do in which he was trying not to laugh, so the original was even better. I could not stop laughing. Perhaps you had to be there. But anyway... I love this kid. He's funny and sweet... and his substitute teacher told me today that he is "an excellent child". I, of course, knew this. But it's always nice to know other people see it too. I'm one proud mama!

Geocaching

Today we had a new experience. The kids were out of school today, so we decided to do something different. We'd been hearing a lot about "geocaching", so we did a little research and then spent the day exploring and discovering hidden "treasures". It was a lot of fun!

We found our first only about a mile from our house. You'd be amazed how many geocaches are hidden all around you, no matter where you are!

When you find one, you open it out, fill out the log, and if you want, take a trinket from the cache and leave one for others to find.

It's amazing all the places you'll go looking...

and the places you'll find them.

For some you even have to solve puzzles for your next coordinates. This Lego one was fun!

It was a fun day that the whole family enjoyed. Some geocaches were really easy and some took us a while to find. We're hoping that this is something we can continue doing as a family, even on vacation. Anyone else ever given this a try?