April 2014

While recruiting businesses for Play Unplugged we came across some fun places. An old hardware/variety story in downtown Covington called, H. G. Smith and Sons.  They also have a little museum which is pretty cool.

Ashlyn wanted me to take a picture of her and Quincy in these fun outfits.

I wish I were a better photographer. This is a wide open field in my niehgbor's backyard.  It has an old fashioned barn with a tractor in it, and then there is even a piece of farm equipment in a grove of overgrown trees that just gives you a nostalgic feel.  Once a year they sell Satsuma's...SO YUMMY!

Jeremy being such a fun dad. Cutting out pancakes with cookie cutters, while I get to sleep in. (its a castle)

Conference morning breakfast tradition.

We had a progressive dinner with two families in our neighborhood (all girls families)!  It was a lot of fun and good food too!

Trying to get comfy for lunch.

LSU spring game.

COUSINS!!!! Mid-April, Emily and Jed came to stay with their kids, it was so fun, and as usual the cousins didn't skep a beat. Even Quincy who hasn't seen them for almost a year.

New Orleans cuisine from the best of the best at the French Quarter Festival.

Ashlyn is thrilled to be in a picture at Jackson Square.

Love the little girl squat.

Had to take them Canoeing on the Kane Bayou.  We borrowed a kayak so more of us could go at once. I was the tour guide the first trip out and we turned around without seeing any gators, but on the second trip Jed said they saw a bunch just after where we had turned around the first time.  Guess I'm not a very good guide dang it.

Picnic lunch at Northlake Nature Center.

Ashlyn and Ella being buddies at Klieberts Turtle and Alligator farm.  The people who own this are the original family on Swamp People...a reality show.

Tis the season for a crawfish boil! It was so fun to share this experience with Emily and her family, plus the missionaries, a neighbor and some friends from church! The Jorgenson's were so brave to try everything, and as usual it was S-P-I-C-Y!!!!

My girls were a little less scared this time. Ash actually held one and made it "crawl" up Jeremy's arm.

Ashlyn pushing Quincy on the swing

these need to be moved to earlier in the month (LSU Spring Game)

Playing in the rain.

Traditional stop at (ha! I almost said Dewar's from Bakersfield!) Southern Candy Makers for the best pralines EVER!!

Walking along the Mississippi at River Walk.

Alive and ready.

Help yourself!  Crawfish boils are BBQ's on steroids.  They allow for so much socializing, partly because you have to sit and peel each one for a tiny bit of meat so you are able to gather around the table and visit while you work, and partly because after you each one (or any vegetables) your lips will burn so hard for awhile you have to wait until you either regain feeling or go numb to keep eating which equals, more time to visit!

The Cabin restaurant.  Decent food but the ambiance is what keeps us going back. It's built in old slave quarters, very interesting and historic.

A little stop at the neighborhood playground for some down time.

Dress ups! Ella was such a good sport.

We stopped at the lakefront before heading to New Orleans one day while we ate beignets.  I learned the hard way the trouble with eating them in the car with the a.c. blasting.

Mardi Gras Museum.  This was pretty interesting.  We learned how all these huge figures are made....by carving Styrofoam!  They are apparently really good at recycling so we saw tons of stuff they have used in the past.  We also got a slice of King Cake and of all the people on the tour who would get the baby? Ashlyn.

The floats are so large they have to be pulled by tractors, and some even have bathrooms on them.  One float holds over 300 people!

The girls requested lot's of pictures with interesting molds.

One of my favorites!

Part of a float under construction for next Mardi Gras.

These thin sheets of Styrofoam are glued together and carved to make the large figures.

It started pouring on our way back home so we took the chance to take cousins to Ellia and Ashlyn's favorite place.  The indoor play place.  It's huge and very manageable for adults so Emily and I went down the 3 story twisty slides.

Quincy getting a little more comfortable with Jed.

Jace and Ellia.

Trying on our Mardi Gras beads.

The Cabin restaurant.

Indoor play land.

Ellia and Cole.

Ashlyn and Quincy.

The day after they left was FREEZING!  We went to play at the park for Ashlyn's Preschool Easter Egg Hunt and had to get out our winter clothes again. We didn't stay long because it was just SO cold.

Backyard after the fence was stained and another tree removed but before new grass.

Ellia's Easter party.

Quincy's first ponytail!

Park play date.

Sleeping out on the tramp with daddy!

 The day is finally here for new grass!

 

It is the shape of Texas.

Easter egg hunt on the horse trail behind our house.  The Easter bunny was amazing to time it right when we got home from church.

Ellia wanted to arrange everything she got and take a picture just like we do for Christmas.

Ashlyn got a little crazy with the Robin Eggs, not without some prompting and example by Jeremy.

Exploring Boy Scout Road for our Sunday hike.  It was pretty beautiful! There were ponds with more lilly pads than I have ever seen. Emily had tried taking pictures of a few on our canoe ride and I wish she had been able to see these...they went as far as you could see!

Planting flowers at Chic Fil A for Arbor day.

First ever ice cream cone...she did pretty good too!

Albertson's tour!  Ashlyn was so excited to go back this year and see Milton the milk monster.

Picking strawberries at Mrs. Heather's.  It was a little warm, but so fun! The berries were super plentiful and so big and red!  Ashlyn did a little more eating than picking.

There was also a lot of stuff for the kids to play on which made it a very fun play date with lunch and strawberries for dessert.

We got them just in time for me to replenish our jam...I'd never made my own freezer jam and I did ok.  It was a good thing I used so many though because the next day they were purple and starting to get mushy.  Quincy was a big help in eating them so they didn't go bad.

Just watchin a show.

First time I got to take my Christmas present to the beach! The table and umbrella made it SO enjoyable!

Had to get lot's of pictures of Quincy in this suit since all three of my girls have worn it now.

It took her a long time to get anywhere near the water, and I was perfectly fine with that.

Once she did get in, she was timid enough to be safe and still had a blast.

It's also nice that it stays shallow so far out.

The spray park was about the same for Quincy, a little hesitant at first but then I could hardly get her to leave.

Just like her sisters she had to keep coming back to the towel if her face got splashed.

For work, Jeremy got to go watch a golf tournament.

Since we had to go to the Pine Wood Derby we decided to let the girls race the cars they made when the ward in Bakersfield did a ward wide Pine Wood Derby race.  The cars didn't do well at all but the girls really enjoyed racing.

Ashlyn looses her first tooth.  I think it will be missing for a few years.  I didn't even know it was loose until like three days before she lost it.  The dentist asked if she had ever fallen on her teeth and I thought to myself, "which time?"  Apparently it is a little early.

Just looking dang cute one Sunday. She got the little heel shoes for Easter and she loves them so much that after church we have to hide them or she will try to wear them every day.