About a week after Jorgenson's left, our next guests arrived! For Christmas Jeremy and I bought Jeff and Laura tickets to come stay with us, we are so glad we did! It was a blast!
They got to go to Woodlake and meet Ms. Taglauer and have lunch with Ellia.
It was nice that they came when they could see both girls at school and in gymnastics too.
Ash's Preschool.
It was also nice to have their support as I dragged three kids from gymnastics to Marigny Elementary just in time for a presentation on Play Unplugged.
Can't have visitors without getting a snoball! I tried a stuffed Amaretto with condensed milk and it was pretty awesome. I even got Jeff to finish it for me since I couldn't (he claimed he didn't really like snow cones, P.s. Jeff, these are NOT snow cones!!!)
Ashlyn doing her gymnastics during preschool.
Quincy was easier to watch this time because she is starting to get interested in what's going on.
We went on a tour of Evergreen Plantation on a day when both Ellia and Ashlyn were in school. The grounds were amazing, especially with the slave cabins. The actual house was pretty small, only 3 rooms! They added on a little by enclosing part of the porch but it was still very small. The columns from the outside give it such an optical illusion of grandeur. The layout of the grounds went through several architectural changes but are in a Greek revival state now. Everything is symmetrical.
Separate kitchen, this is still used by the owner for a "getaway" place so there are some modern things visible.
If I remember right this is the largest most preserved population of slave quarters in the area. I believe there were 40.
Two families would share a cabin, hence the double sided stove.
Lot's of huge bridges!
Had to stop by Oak Alley. We even decided to have lunch there.
A barge on the Mississippi.
If the levy hadn't been built you'd see the Mississippi River at that tree line.
Too bad the trees weren't that big when the slaves resided here. It might actually have provided them some relief from the elements.
Quincy was so good which I was very grateful for, oh, and the weather was nice.
Had to take Grandma and Grandpa out canoeing! It was a shorter trip this time. I tried to go with Jeff and Quincy and we didn't make a very good team. When Jeremy took him later though I think he enjoyed it a lot more!
Cathedral at Jackson Square.
I love the iron work on the buildings around the French Quarter.
Laura got some great pictures of some of the city sights that I never think to capture. Here's the Superdome.
Trolley's
Paddle boat.
Jackson Square
Pretty sure that décor is made from pool noodles.
Blue dog on the corner of Royal Street.
Garden District.
Tulane I think?
As we were walking along the river we passed the steamboats and heard some amazing music...as we got closer we realized it was LIVE music! We could see the person playing and the steam coming out of the pipes with each note played...I could just image being back in the day hearing that music!
Going a little less traditional for dinner at the Huck Finn, still had a really good jambalaya wrap! Ashlyn got an alligator as her souvenir in the French Market from Grandma Laura. She really enjoyed introducing it to the turtle in the fish tank at Huck Finn's
Stopping by Commander's Palace for pictures. It was pretty cool since I hadn't ever seen it in the day time. When we went we jumped out of the taxi and headed right in for dinner.
At the same time the Gillespie's were visiting my Aunt Lori came down for the Jazz Festival! She was so nice to convince her friends to stop by and say hello to us for a minute! I loved it.
Presidential Library and house of Jefferson Davis. Beauvoir House visitor center
A stop at the beach.
It was a little chilly so I didn't bother getting in. The girls were super excited so Jeremy was great to get in with them when they needed it.
Time for a swamp boat tour in the Manchac swamp.
Historic graveyard. Julie Brown was buried here. Her story is quite interesting. She was said to be friends with Madame Laveau the voo doo queen, and she would sit on her porch and rock and sing, "I'm gonna die and take you all with me." Then on the day of her funeral there was a hurricane that completely wiped out the town of Frenier.
This cabin has been on a lot of TV shows, and not just National Geographic, but some ghost shows etc. When I used to think of Louisiana this is what I pictured! There are places like this that still exist with residents and they are fun to see, but they seem few and far between.
Grandma is so brave!
While it seems most exciting to see alligators on the tours, I still like to see the other wildlife.
Stopping in Jackson Square to eat our Beignets from the Original Café DuMonde.
Some authentic Mississippi Barbecue in Ocean Springs.
A more relaxing day poolside.
Mike the Tiger at LSU
Olivia's Fairy Birthday party.
Ashlyn wanted to trap the bunny that has been frequenting out backyard so I helped her make a trap, she chose the signs and then waited patiently. For about 2 minutes.
A brief stop in St. Louis Cemetery No. 1.
The supposed grave of Marie Louveau. There are two spots that are possibilities. One because she was first buried there and one because her husbands family had her buried with them...or something.
Nicloas Cage's tomb, even though he's not dead.
Insectarium.
Got Grandpa to try some bugs. Ashlyn is getting less grossed out and will do just about anything for a cookie, even if it's called Chocolate Chirp.
Aquarium
Since I had extra help I let Quincy out of her stroller a few times and she LOVED looking at the animals.
It isn't a trip to New Orleans without a praline from Southern CandyMakers.
LSU softball game.
It was pretty hot so the girls and I sat back in the shade.
Pretty much how we all felt each day we got home....then Jeremy would get home from work an hour later and want us to "go, go, go" again.
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