At the beginning of the month I was getting discouraged trying to find a house. We had sortof decided we wanted to be close to the trace...an old rail trail paved over for running, biking etc. So I started driving around it looking for signs of houses for sale by owner, and guess what? I found one where the trail went right through the back yard! I gave the contact info to Nicole and she scheduled a time for us to go see it.
Beautiful Girls.
Fishing outings with dad
Fountainbleau state park
They could play dolls all day.
Had to get some pictures of Quincy in this cute silky pajama dress before she outgrew it.
We've been bribing Ashlyn for months with gymnastics. "You can't wear diapers at gymnastics." So the time has finally come for her to start. She was so excited. She jumped up and down the entire time.
Ellia is a great big sister to Quincy but sometimes she is a little overconfident. Taking her out of her crib while I am showering and then setting her up at the table...quite the surprise to me when I came out of the bathroom.
She did pretty well though and looked so stinkin cute joining in on the sister fun.
Been wanting to make these little insect guys for a while and we finally did it one relaxing Sunday night. Can you tell which one the girls made for Quincy?
Putting on a show. Actually they never got to the show because they had to go over all the rules. "The second rule is, you never play on the phones." me: "what about taking pictures." lia, "no. You have to pay money, one dollar." "No leaving, you have to stay here." "No getting up." "We don't talk in shows."
More park adventures with dad....Bougue Falaya, and the lake shore.
The neighborhoods go crazy decorating their entrance signs here. For EVERY holiday...which includes Mardi Gras.
Bowling with a little play group.
Jeremy's birthday cake.
Went to fountainbleau state park for Jer's birthday, Quincy really enjoyed it.
So did Ashlyn and Ellia.
On our hike, it was pretty sloppy so we had to balance across these planks.
We played hide and seek behind all the big trees, and it was so fun! Ashlyn was never all the way hidden, and watching her search for us was a blast. We also hit a few pine cones, and Ellia was doing so good!
She lost her third tooth while we were there!
Teaching Ellia to tie her shoes.
The park is awesome, there are board walks over a swampy area and trails to see wild life. Then there's a playground, fishing pond, splash pad...and sandy beach! Awesome. I'm starting to get excited to frequent these places.
We even got to see an alligator in the pond...about 6 feet is all.
Ashlyn calls these ghosteses trees. They are really live oak trees covered in moss. Which I learned is airborn and then attaches and grows wherever it lands.
Bird sighting.
Helping her dolly do school.
First armadillo sighting after a trip to Lacomb national wildlife refuge.
I love how gentleman are asked to remove their caps...so proper.
Official Louisiana drivers.
Baby bath!
I've driven by several "sno-ball" stands and finally asked our real estate agent what was up. Well here's my first try...the places are packed and have around 80 flavors! The ice is shaved super fine with tons of flavor and you can get it "stuffed" with ice cream and add toppings too. All starting at $1.50. I tried a stuffed wedding cake for my first and it was amazing!
A little egg hunt at a friends.
Jeremy had to spend a week in Houston and I was pretty nervouse about being alone with the 3 girls and being so new here and all. So who was more than willing and able to come to the rescue...my bestie Jamie and Adalee. We picked them up in New Orleans and started some sight seeing. The girls immediately felt comfortable with her so it was such a nice break for me!
It was really the first chance I had to tour the French Quarter so it was fun for me too.
Unfortunately it was Monday and so many things are closed! We finally found a place to eat and got to try crawfish and alligator. I had red beans and rice, the traditional Monday meal because it used to be wash day so people would spend the day cooking their beans.
the next morning it was pretty cold, but we braved the weather and used a discount to visit Global Wildlife Center. It was AWESOME!! Jamie bought a huge bucket of food and we had these little cups to scoop out and feed to the hundreds of animals. It was like a little safari! The girls got the hang of it really quick and the animals were of course used to being fed. One even took Ashlyn's cup from her and held it over its nose while it ate every last bite...then ditched the cup.
We were warned that the zebras were mean and would bite so we should be careful...that's why when the zebra stuck its head in the wagon we got a little nervous.
Ash would sit like this and just throw pieces of food over her shoulder, it was fun to watch.
that was after we told her not to just dump the whole cup out all at once.
I think the lamas (alpaca's maybe) were out favorite because you could let them eat right out of your hand.
We decided to make it an animal trip, and headed over to Kliebert's Turtle and Alligator farm. I know the picture is terrible, but the family that runs this place was on the first season of swamp people.
The tour started off with about a million turtles.
Then straight to the big guys...Our guide, Gage, was great at getting them to hiss and snatch. Once he said he even felt them get the tip of his finger.
It was a little alarming that a chain link fence was the only thing separating us. No to mention that it was all bowed out in places.
These guys were a bit smaller.
This is the fan boat used in the filming of some old movie I will have to look up again.
Catching an alligator for holding.
I was the first to hold it and pretty nervous surprisingly. It was actually very soft.
The girls were nervous too, but ended up touching its tail so I was proud.
HUGE snapping turtle. He said these had jaws comparably strong the alligators.
I was surprised the girls were brave enough to sit on this guys with me....and that he was strong enough to hold us.
When Jamie tried to pick him up he started scurrying away and she grabbed his tail but he would pull her and she had to crawl after him....everyone just watched and laughed with her. Then Adalee got the better of him.
We all got to sign on the wall on the first letter of our name so we can find it next time!
I think this is when Ashlyn's fetish with alligators started. We got to hold these harmless little baby alligators and they were SO CUTE.
until it moved a little and she freaked out and dropped it.
Tiny red eared slider turtles just like the one we had in Cali. I think we'll try having one as a pet again as soon as we are settled,
That night I was introduced to Waffle House, it was so yummy! Ellia was teasing Jamie about her drinks and this was Jamie's response...so of course Ellia had to try it.
Ashlyn showing me how her jammies are slippery.
The following morning we got up early to catch a trolley tour of New Orleans. I tried to remember as much as possible so I can recreate the tour for future visitors.
We stopped at St Louis Cemetary 1 (I think) and learned some pretty interesting things.
This is a vault built by a lady who isn't even dead yet...our tour guide said its just for her and her dog, and cost like 4 million dollars to build.
Beignets and hot chocolate at city park.
Our guide told us, "Only in New Orleans do you have two south streets meet up."
A snack and rest on the River Walk.
The Creole Queen steam boat.
Teri Worthen told me I had to get some pralines for her, and this was my first attempt.
Even the signs here speak a different lingo ;)
Aquarium of the Americas.
This big guy isn't as uncommon as you might think, and its not albinism.
I couldn't believe some of the amazing bands that will be coming for the jazz festival. I just assumed it was all jazz music I guess.
We crossed Bourbon street, but didn't spend any time there. I've heard too many warnings!
The balconies still decorated with beads.
A few days later we went to the Chinchuba house for the inspection. Almost immediately we were informed that the house had piping that needed to be replaced. I pretty much started crying. I talked to Jeremy on the phone and we decided to continue with the inspection and hope for the best. At least the girls were well behaved through the whole thing.
The weather finally warmed up a bit and the girls spent nearly the whole day playing outside.
The night before Jeremy came home Quincy got sick. She was screaming inconsolably and couldn't be put down...wouldn't sleep obviously. I called Jared Rice to give her a blessing and he came over with April. After a blessing and the insight to give her some numbing ear drops sine my mom said that was the only time any of us ever cried like she could hear Quincy crying, she calmed down enough to sleep. In the morning she was her happy self again.
Some days she was great while I worked out at the apartment gym, others I had to make do.
What happens when I try to put the kids to be myself when Jeremy is gone with young mens or something else.
