This is for you Suzanne!!

December. I can't believe I haven't blogged since December! The truth is, not tons has happened here at Minerville to report on. But, I'd say the over-riding issue is that I hate using my computer. It's over 10 years old & honestly still works like a champ, but it's really slow (compared to other devices) and I just don't have patience for blogging on it. So, I'm going to try blogging from my phone. We'll see how it goes!!

Let's play catch up!

In January we had a new niece born,  Harper Faye. She's such a doll with the cutest little personality. Chelsea & Josh got so lucky with the best baby...she's been sleeping through the night since 3 days old & is just so sweet. 

In February we went to New Orleans for Mardi Gras with my family. My sister is moving from there in June & we knew if we didn't go while her family was there we might not ever do it. It was such a fun experience & deserves a post on it's own. I also turned 31. Whew, I'm feeling old. I know it's not old, but sometimes those LDS social norms kick in & I feel really far behind where a lot of my peers are. Our employment is different than most, we aren't settled down attached to one particular area & we don't have a bunch of children. I try to just chug along day by day setting my own norms & ignoring the rude & insensitive comments by not only friends & complete strangers but also family. I've always been a little different than most, but sometimes that's harder than I'd prefer. Especially on the no-kid front & when I get comments from family like "well when you have your own kids...", I feel like screaming at them, "thanks for the reminder that I'm childless" !!!! It's almost comical considering I'm a nanny & the mother of the kids I nanny tells me weekly how in most cases I know her kids, especially her 2 year old better than she does & that they ask for me when I'm not there. I'm thankful to have her in my life & that she's there championing me along! She's always telling me it's ok to be different & we're still young & not to worry about what other people say or think.

The cute girls I nanny & their mom, Lisa!
(I need a good picture with Jacob their brother in it!)

In March was our big quarterly relief society meeting & it went awesome. I was so proud to be leading my committee who worked so hard & had everything turn out fantastically! I really love my calling & find so much satisfaction in improving the friendship & sisterhood in our ward. I love reaching out to sisters & having them help with our meetings. And, let's face it...I love planning  a good event or party! 

April was busy, busy, busy. Every couple months I do a short term nanny job for a 5 day stretch. It's for a family with kids ages 12, 8, 4 & 18 months...it's so crazy & hectic but I love doing it & love their family! So, I had them then the following week we had a Pink Party to thank all those people who supported Clint's mom this past year on her breast cancer journey. We are thrilled she's cancer free, but that also deserves it's own post. The week after that was Clint's sister Michelle's baby shower! We are so happy that she's having a little girl in July. It's been a long journey for her & it's such a blessing for her! I'm sure it also needs it's own post.

Whew, and here we are May 1, 2013! Where does time go. I'm looking forward to this hot summer season. I had a fitting today for my swimsuit (I have to get everything altered) and I was so excited with anticipation to hop in the pool! Final fitting is on Monday & hopefully it's perfect because I'm hitting the pool Tuesday if it is! It's already been over 100 here...bring it on!!

There.

As I've been adding items to my Christmas wishlist, there has been one little item that has been on the list. Then, marked off. Then added again, and crossed off again...repeat about a million times. I can't bare to put it on & leave it. It's so lame really. 

It's one of those pretty little hand stamped initial necklaces with a jewel or 2 added. I love them. I have loved them for oh, I'd say 4 years or so. I think they are so sweet & so simple. 

I've given them as gifts. 
I've picked out parts & pieces & had them in my online cart.

But, I just can't do it. I can't ask for it or buy it for myself because of one stupid reason. (Yes, I just said stupid!) 

For some reason I have it in my head (and heart for that matter) that those necklaces are somehow reserved for moms.

So, I'll wait. I'll keep waiting & one day that pretty, delicate, tiny little necklace will be around my neck with some person's little initial stamped on it.

There. I said it. 



I feel better.

Surprise. Surprise.

Yeah, yeah...it's been a while. I hope no one is surprised! 

I've got a few things swirling around in my head. None of it complete enough to blog about it, but I felt compelled to blog today. So here I am. 

I've got a few random projects going on & it's nice. I've had a lot of discouraging days the past month or so & I'm ready to be done with that. Nothing bad is happening, but nothing is happening & I've finally realized that I do better when something is going on, good or bad. But I can't handle it when things are stagnate. 

I'm feeling super creative & ready to tackle my to-do list. First up is a handout to go with chocolate chip cookies. They'll be in glassine bags & will be delivered to every sister in my ward. It's my first Relief Society Meeting where I'm actually responsible for something, I'm a little anxious, but mostly happy for this new adventure. I was released from primary in May (thank goodness) and was asked to be on the RS Committee... oddly enough a calling I've never had, yet it seems so perfect for me. God is good, He knew just what I needed & primary just wasn't it. 

I'm working on a few projects for girls camp as well. I was asked to serve as the Head Chef & Craft Queen. Totally excited to be going back up with all my girlies. I would have missed it so much if weren't there with them. 

My sisters best friend is interning at Martha Stewart this summer. He is crazy enough to believe that I've got what it takes to work for her. Ha! He encouraged me to make the trek back East at some point this summer & bring a craft portfolio for him to give to the powers that be. It's a little amusing & a little flattering all at the same time. I'm not sure if that's my calling in life, but it would sure be an experience of a lifetime, wouldn't it?

Among all the things swirling around in my scatter brain, I was thinking about what I think my "calling" in life is. 

You know, that thing that makes your heart soar & brings happiness nothing else can. That thing you feel you're good enough at to do for the rest of your life. I feel like I could go a million different directions (that's the hard part of being an "artist" or creative person) it's so hard to settle. I feel like if I choose something that I'll have to cut out other things that bring me joy. It's hard to explain, but it makes sense to me. I've got to learn that balance is the most important thing & that lots of things could make me happy long-term. 

I think I finally figured out what would be the most thrilling for me though & I've got to be patient to allow life to happen to get me to the point where I could actually do it. It's genius & everything I could ever, ever wish for. I know that no matter what I end up doing, it's got to include other people, strangers even. I love knowing the stories of others. I love knowing where they came from & where they're going. I want the interpretation of what I feel like God is "calling" me to do, to be sort of inspirational. I want women especially to realize what they are capable of. I want them to have a creative outlet, one where no one is better than another. Just a love filled environment where even at different levels, we're all equals. I learn from them & they learn from me. I may not ever have fame, a college degree, a Range Rover, or heck even Martha Stewart on my resume, but I know that I can make a difference. 

And I will.

Thirty.

Thirty things I know at the age of thirty...

1. Wearing nail polish is an easy way to have an instant smile.
2. Everything happens for a reason.
3. It's so, so important to have faith in yourself.
4. Being compassionate & kind to everyone is far more important than having friends.
5. Having a plan & being prepared brings success.
6. The Today Show is a great way to start your day!
7. Water is a boring drink but, necessary!
8. The scriptures can be very fulfilling when you study them vs. read them.
9. Going out to breakfast is an awesome way to enjoy the weekend.
10. God is in control. Even when we don't really understand our circumstances, He does.
11. It's better to take a risk & fail than to never try.
12. If you take a drink of water but swallow it upside down it takes away hiccups 99% of the time.
13. Simply wishing something will happen doesn't make it happen. Action is required.
14. Being a disciple of Christ is much more than saying you believe & attending church on Sunday.
15. Party planning is in my blood.
16. It's important to take time for yourself each & everyday. If you don't, you'll get burnt out.
17. Dr Pepper is delicious.
18. Getting dressed everyday (even on a day at home) makes you more productive.
19. Just because someone is "family", doesn't mean they automatically care about you or your life.
20. Reality TV can become addicting.
21. Taking time to make a dinner plan helps so much, especially on busy days.
22. Prayer really does change things.
23. Record keeping is very important to me. I feel a great sense of obligation to my future generations.
24. Sometimes a PB&J is the perfect breakfast!
25. Creating makes your heart happy.
26. The temple is a place where troubles melt like lemon drops.
27. It's okay to ask for help.
28. One of the most important things to gain in this life is a personal relationship with Heavenly Father.
29. I like living where it is quiet while still being close to a freeway.
30. Thirty is just the beginning for me & all that I will accomplish.

It's been forever!

I want so desperately to keep up with this blog. I really do, but it has just not happened. I admire people that are great record keepers & pray that maybe one day I too will be considered a good record keeper. I guess the reason I haven't really blogged lately is complex. There hasn't been a ton to write about, or at least anything that would interest anyone other than my prosperity!

The past couple of months have been good & bad. Up & down. In early December I was released from my calling as Young Women's President. I'm sure it's fairly accurate to say it ruined my holidays. It was so incredibly difficult & I think this was the first Sunday I didn't want to curl up in a ball & cry when I saw my young women, the bishopric or any of the ladies I served with while at church. I wasn't released because I was doing a bad job or because I had served for a long time. The Bishop had a prompting. A simple but powerful prompting. He said he wrestled with it for a really long time, but every time he took it back to God it was the same answer, it was time & there wasn't a known reason. He said even he had a hard time with that because he wanted to at least tell me why...but I honestly think that was one of the hardest parts... no reason. Ugh! I like resolution & answers. 

I am one of the most impatient people on the planet & I wanted to know why. Why did Heavenly Father see fit to turn my world upside down then, right before Christmas? The time of year I look forward to most. Unfortunately, to date I still don't know why. I still have good days & bad. I still have times where I feel lost  & forgotten. But, thankfully those days are becoming few & far between. Like I said, today was the first day in 2 months I didn't just "survive" my way through church. 

I love those girls with all my heart. They will never ever know how much they taught me while I served them over the past couple of years. Having that calling was such a huge blessing for my family. Clint & I had so many wonderful experiences which made it SO so evident that the Lord was aware of us & our situation. He blessed us beyond measure & that is one thing I will always treasure, was seeing the hand of God so frequently & easily in our lives.

I'm now working in Activity Days with the 10-11 year old girls. I'm adjusting. I'd be lying if I said I was excited or happy about it. But, I'm working on that as well. I'm sure if I would have had this calling in different circumstances I would have been ALL over it, but it was just kinda the wrong time in my eyes. Primary, oh Primary... I am not a Primary person. I love to teach. Love it! But teaching Primary isn't very fun & sharing time is going to be the death of me. I swear! I hope it gets easier to have this calling because right now I feel like throwing in the towel. 

At the beginning of January I started working for a new family. So I'm with one family Monday & Friday, whom I've been with for 2 years! It's crazy to think it's been that long. I love them so much & love their adorable 3 kids! I'm with the other family Tue., Wed. & Thur. It's a really funky schedule & I find myself on the wackiest schedule ever, but again I'm adjusting. I am really liking them too. The kids are really good & very polite.

Clint left the USPS in the Fall. After much prayer & consideration we both felt like it was the step he needed to take next for our family. His IT business has really picked up over the past few months & we know if he had still been at the post office he wouldn't been able to stay on top of his obligations for his clients. He is currently looking for another position with a company that offers great benefits, which would be a huge blessing since we've been without health insurance for about 7 years!!

We've been making a lot of plans for our little family. We've both felt the need to learn to be more self reliant. We've been studying up about all kinds of gardening, food preservation & the like. I'm looking forward to the spring so I can work on canning some new items for our years supply. I also learned about dehydrating recently & can't wait to try my hand at jerky, fruit & vegetables. I am excited about some classes I'm going to attend to help me learn more about the process & how to cook using items you've dehydrated. I guess Clint & I both feel like there are so many un-healthy things in food you buy at the store that we are going to try harder to eat processed free & more natural & controlled. I feel like it's something I need to work on not only for our health but for the health of our children & grandchildren. 

I guess even though the past couple of months haven't been ideal for me, I'm looking forward to all the good things that are coming our way this year. We've been praying. pondering & working towards having some great experiences. God has spoken to our hearts & minds...now it's time to put more faith & trust in Him & go & do all that he requires!

That's our December & Jauary in a nutshell!! Hopefully, I'll be a little better at documenting things in the coming months!

V-to the teaching

I've been thinking about something a lot recently so I thought I'd record it so I can refer back to it one day. A couple weeks ago we had a Visiting Teaching conference in Relief Society. The Relief Society president arranged for all the men in the ward to teach all the lessons 3rd hour so all the women could all attend! It was such a blessing to be able to be there & I'm thankful for her intuitiveness. As I was sitting there listening to all these amazing stories about how awesome it has been for some women & how their experiences were life changing. I heard of Visiting Teachers coming to the rescue, bringing in meals, bringing Dr Pepper on a stressful day, comforting, confiding, packing, watching kids, carpooling & many other noble & important things. 

Unfortunately, my experience hasn't been the same. I haven't ever had anything magical or relieving or even touching happen. In fact, I haven't ever really had visiting teachers at all. I haven't made friendships I'll have forever or built a relationship of trust so that I could call on them any time I needed something. Most of the time I don't even have a clue who they are. The few times I have had visits it's typically been 1 of the 2 sisters that is supposed to be visiting me. A few years ago, for about 3 months I had a companionship that came...but one brought her toddler who always destroyed my non-child proof home & who was always dirty, I spent at least a half hour cleaning up after them when they were gone each time. We moved shortly after that & I wasn't too sad because I'd almost preferred them never coming because I dreaded seeing my house afterwords.

The truth is though, I've never been the kind of visiting teacher that others could rely on, so why did I think I deserved 2 wonder women in my life? I've always gone off & on since becoming a visiting teacher, but never have I been faithful in going every month or even checking up on my sisters much other than when we were at her home.So then I started feeling a little guilty like maybe if I were better I'd get better visiting teachers. 

My mind (or rather the spirit) quickly said to me, "Heather it doesn't work that way & you know it. Just do your best & have faith in this program. Your day will come". It really got me thinking. I don't have a strong testimony of having amazing visiting teachers or heck at even being one, but I know that I will. One day. But until that happens, I'm going to keep doing my best. I'm going to keep having faith that this is designed by my Heavenly Father to help & rescue women. I trust that one day when I'm knee deep in laundry & have been up for days with sick babies, when I haven't gone to the grocery store or even thought about dinner, when my car runs out of gas or my husband looses his job that visiting teaching will save the day. Not only will I look forward to that day for myself, but I will try to be more in-tune with the spirit so that as I have a special & sacred stewardship over the ladies I visit that I will know their times of need & be able to rescue & relieve them in whatever way they need.

Who was I kidding?!!

The truth is, I was crazy to even think I could post EVERY single day about something I was thankful for! I don't know what I was thinking.

Here's something I don't normally do, buy my friend Angie over at angieinpink actually says PERFECTLY exactly how I am feeling about my challenge to myself to post everyday about something I'm grateful for. I honestly couldn't have said it better myself!

 

I guess I'd like to be in a better habit of setting goals, but I think next time I'll have to set one that is attainable. November, December & January are just busy busy months for me, especially with my calling in Young Womens.

Last night was Young Women In Excellence for our young women. Our theme was Treasure Seekers, as our focus this year has been on Seeking good things. It was great! We had some of our girls preform musical numbers for us, one girl made a tex-mex casserole to sample that she learned how to make at home, another girl shared her talents with us by conducting the music. We also had a treasure hunt where the girls had to work together to find all the jewels (clues) that were hidden all throughout the church. We had a few amazingly uplifting speakers & delicious fall desserts including pumpkin bread, Carmel apple dip with Utah apples, mini cheesecakes & mini apple pies with apple cider! It was a wonderful night. It's times like last night when I got home, was tired & it didn't seem to matter. Just having that sense of accomplishment was perfect. 

I also realized last night, or this morning that our young women are so much more talented than I realized. Next year our mutual theme is about letting your light shine. It hit me that our girls have light, that they have so much to offer & the way we need to carry out the theme for next year is by boosting their confidence. By giving them opportunities to do good things that will help their light grow stronger. It's there, in all of them we just need to help them polish up their exteriors so they are glowing by this time next year! I'm so excited to see the transformation!! 

Today I am thankful for revelation. For being able to recognize those small & simple promptings that will allow me to do a little better!

Give Thanks- Day 3

 

I'm thankful my sister Chelsea introduced me to OPI nail polish. It's my favorite. I love it & always want my nails painted now as a result! It's something simple I can do when I need a little boost or want to look fun & feminine!

Give Thanks- Day 2

 Today I am thankful for cooler weather on the horizon! 

About a week before we went on vacation in early October, the AC went out in our Element. Boooo! We didn't have time to worry about taking it in right before we left so we pushed it to when we got back. Life happened & we were super busy when we got back, thus resulting in us not taking it in. It's been in brutal on some days! But, I'm thankful for the few days we did have where it wasn't scorching hot outside. Finally now that we're into November we hopefully (crossing my fingers here) won't see anymore days above 90! I'm thinking at this point we'll just wait until the spring to have it looked at! We're pretty confidant it's the compressor, and who wants to drop $2000.00 big ones right as "winter" is rolling in?! Not us! 

So really, today I am thankful for cooler weather!!

Give Thanks- Day 1

 

I think I'm going to challenge myself a bit here! I'm going to blog every single day this month & post about 1 thing I am thankful for each day.

I'd like to start out by giving thanks for my calling as Young Women President at church. 

It has been one heck of a ride. I have never looked more outside myself than with this calling. I have never felt more frustration, anxiety, sadness & exhaustion as I have with this calling. I've never been more stressed out or harder on myself. I've never worried or been so hard on my performance. I've never been so busy or rushed. I've never cared so much or felt as driven. I've never been so pre-occupied with my thoughts.I've never cried this much or doubted my abilities this much. I've defiantly never felt this paranoid. I've never felt so much weight, an almost literal & physical weight as I have with this responsibility.

With all of that said, I've never been as thankful for a trial & blessing. It's taught me to reach out to my Savior.

I've felt the unwavering love & guidance from my Heavenly Father as I have served over the past year plus. I've finally understood what literal promptings were & how to recognize & listen to the Holy Ghost. On days when I wonder what in the world God was thinking when he asked me to do this, I get a sweet assurance that this was meant just for me at this time & in this place. I've felt over & over again that All is well or will be well. I understand that I will make mistakes & it's ok as long as I learn from them. I recognize that I have a purpose & that I am carrying out the Masters plan, even though I am flawed & lack the wisdom & life experience other do. I've learned to trust myself more...even if it's just a little bit more. Even at times when I stand outside myself looking in & wonder how I'll ever make it & know others must be looking over & at me & wonder how I'll do it too, I know I can & will. 

Somehow everything has a way of working out, even if to no help on my part. I somehow always find answers & know that prayer changes everything. I know that hearts can be softened & I know that the Lord is a maker of miracles. Even though there shouldn't be any possible way I could ever make a difference, I do. And it's beautiful. It's helped me learn how to work with other people, especially with women. It's helped me understand that sometimes people are mean but that I have to move on because I can't let their opinions define who I am. It's opened my eyes to the importance of listening to the spirit & acting on what I feel & hear. It's taught me to let go. It's helped me understand that this calling is a stepping stone on my path to bigger things. Not just bigger in a church sense, but bigger things for me. I know this is re-shaping me. It's building me & re-working me. It's helping me learn vital lessons about leadership, trust, discipline & how wonderful the priesthood is. It's helped me learn patience & long suffering. It's taught me how to love & how to never give on anyone. It's filled-in the longing in my heart to be a mother & somehow made everything ok. It's taught me to wait on the Lord & in his timing in all aspects of my life. It's taught me to be less judgmental even though I probably still have a long way to go. But most of all, it's taught me to be less selfish. It isn't all about me, in fact it's not about me at all. 

It's about Heavenly Father & Jesus Christ. It's about saving generations of families by saving one girl or one woman. It's about our identity as a women. It's about the amazing blessings the temple brings. It's about love & sacrifice.

For Sacrifice, it brings forth the blessings of heaven. Something I am truly humbled by & grateful for.

Our Recent Trip to the Southland...The Long Version!

I know this is a REALLY long post, but last year we went to New Orleans twice & I never blogged about it! So, I just decided I had to sit down & document everything no matter how lengthy it got! Enjoy!

We'd been planning a trip to New Orleans for my nephew Tyler's baptism for a few months when we got the news that my Aunt Glenda & Aunt Sharon were throwing a surprise 80th birthday for my Nanny in Texas the same weekend...this made things a little more hectic, but we just couldn't justify being 5 hours away & not go to her party! So, we changed around our plans & flew into Houston instead of New Orleans. We stayed the night with our friends The Sampert's. It was great to see their adorable home, catch up & enjoy her little boys fluent Japanese! Seriously, I wanted to pack them in my suitcase!! We appreciated their hospitality in having us there for just a short time, but we enjoyed every second!

Jay wanted me to take a picture of his cool lego monster!

Clint, Heather, Kai, Jay & Monika

We took a quick trip up to the town I grew up in about 40 miles North of Houston for a looksy-loo...WOW! I haven't been back in about 5-6 years. It's TINY (which is crazy because they've had tons of growth in the past 10 years!!)! My sister Megan & I just couldn't believe how small the town was. We were commenting on when we lived there growing up how big we thought it was & we literally drove all around town in less than 20 minuets! It was a little nuts. I'm glad we went up, because a lot has changed, including our high school. I didn't take any pictures of it but it's completly renovated & looks great! I did snap a photo of our football stadium (priorities right!) just so people could see how serious football is in Texas! We had to be quick so that we could make it back down through Houston to Crystal Beach for Nanny's party at my Aunt Glenda's home. After leaving Conroe, we made a quick stop by Garden Ridge Pottery, (a favorite store of mine growing up) to see if anything caught our eye for some birthday gifts we needed. We found some super cute fabric for my sister Chelsea & a fun monster pinata for Tyler. After that we made a really quick run to Old Town Spring to see if I could find one of my favorite candles from Wicks 'n' More...no dice but it was still fun to visit again after not seeing it for so long! It's the cutest little shopping village. Then we headed down to the beach. Want to hear something crazy first, the Garden Ridge Pottery we visited on Saturday, burnt down the following Wednesday...it's kinda nuts to think about it!!

My High School football stadium!

A giant catfish in downtown Conroe! Promoting the upcoming Cajun Catfish Festival!

We made it to the party shortly after the surprise due to waiting at the ferry, but it was all good. It was SO much fun to see all of my family, some I haven't see in 10 years or more! It was wonderful to see Nanny, she is doing awesome & was so thrilled that everyone would come just to be at her party! We had a photographer come & snap a family portrait for Nanny. And we also had my cousin who is a photographer snap a few for us too! We were planning a beach photo, but due to the wind, the decision was made to take it inside, hopefully it still packs a powerful punch!

The Beach House- Stunning!

Nanny & Sharon walking up to the surprise party!

 

 

 

Nanny with her Fun & Funky Cupcake Tower!

I love this shot of her! And all the Dr Pepper cans (her drink of choice) in the background!

Greyson, Halle Kate, Noah & Brooklyn

The Brother-in-laws on the beach!

My Family! Nanny is my Dad's Mother.

The "Stutts" girls! Chelsea, Amber, Nanny, Me & Megan

We spent the night & headed to New Orleans the next morning. On the way we saw a billboard in Louisiana for the world's largest gummi bear...we HAD to see it! So, we made a little stop in Rayne for a treat & to check out this fun little candy cottage. I was anxious to get to Burke & Amber's beacuase one of my best friends from high school, Melanie Lane Mitchell drove over from Texas with her 3 little boys Gideon, Gavin & Levi to spend some time with us & be there for Tyler's baptism. I just love Melanie! She grew up with 5 brothers so she says she considers Amber & I her sisters! It's always a party when she's around!

Who knew there was such a large gummi bear?! It was over 5 POUNDS!!

This sign was taped up in the candy store...we were all cracking up at it!!

Me, Melanie & Amber (Excuse me...I was sooooo exhausted from barely sleeping!)

Sunday evening Tyler was baptized & confirmed a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day saints. It was special & we were so thankful we were able to be there. Clint was asked to be a witness & I gave the closing prayer. Before his baptism, Tyler gave the prayer at dinner, he prayed he wouldn't have to get baptized twice. After the prayer we asked him what he meant by that. His response- in case my hair sticks up!! Lol! It was adorable! He only had to be dunked once! One of the things I loved the most was all of the people there that were not of our faith. Burke & Amber invited friends, neighbors & colleagues from Burke's prostodontics program. Some of these people included people from other faiths & countries, a minister from the largest Baptist church in New Orleans & a pastor from a non-denominational church. They were all so friendly & I hope that they were able to feel the spirit that night at his baptism & in their home afterward at his little dessert social. 

Tyler with his Dad, Burke

Tyler Brandon- 8 years old

Halle Kate wanted to play the piano with Amber

 

Never to old for a kiss from Mom!

Amber & her "future bishop", Tyler kept saying he was the Bishop because he was wearing a suit!

The Jardine Family (Amber, Carson-who didn't want to be in any photos, Brooklyn, Burke, Tyler & Halle)

Megan & Tyler

Grammie, Paw Paw & Tyler

Tyler with his Mom & Dad

Clint, Heather & Tyler

Josh, Tyler & Chelsea

Do I have to take any more pictures?!

OK...ONE more with Gideon & I'm DONE!

CJ had a nice meltdown because he just wanted some lemonade...totally random lol!

 

On Monday we went to a cooking class in the French Quarter at Crescent City Cooks. I highly recommend it! It was really fun & over looked the Mississippi River which is always interesting to watch because of all the barges that zoom past. We feasted on Red Beans & Rice, Jambalaya & Banana's Foster, all delicious!  We learned a lot about the history of the food & the culture. One interesting thing I'm thinking about incorporating one day when we have kids is Red Bean & Rice Monday. I guess it's a tradition that dates back many many years in the New Orleans area because Monday was kind of a "catch-up" day. It's a day when people were busy with laundry, going to the market & cleaning up from the weekend so they needed something easy & delicious for dinner. My sister said every Monday at the elementary school it is still Red Beans & Rice for lunch! I think that's really fun! We also attempted family pictures at City Park. We didn't' have as much daylight as we needed, so hopefully we've got at least 1 shot that will work! I'll post those when we get them!

After pictures we headed to Uptown, one of our favorite neighborhoods or areas of NOLA. We ate at Squeal BBQ, a favorite from previous trips. They were struggling a bit this time & we ended up being there for 2 hours. I guess they weren't used to large groups on Monday...they ended up not charging us because they felt bad we were there so long & had 4 little ones with us (who I might add did very well!). We thought that was really nice of them & will defiantly put in back on the list for next time!

Can you tell how tired I was? Oh you can't! Good! Do you see the Mississippi behind us?

Dad, Megan & Mom

Joshy & Chelsea...ready for fun!

Tuesday we went across Lake Pontchartrain to do some shopping. In the process we found a gourmet popcorn store, we were all in heaven with over 100 flavors to choose from. Clint & I selected Pumpkin Pie & Pomegranate. They did not disappoint! I'll defiantly be ordering more in the future.We also drove by Six Flags New Orleans, which was abandoned after Hurricane Katrina, it was kinda creepy! Later that evening we decided to head back to Uptown to ride the historical streetcars to dinner at New Orleans Hamburger & Seafood Co., Tyler's favorite restaurant. It was super fun & the weather was so nice thankfully because the streetcars are not air-conditioned! The route took us past Tulane, Loyola & Audubon Place- the area where the celebrities live! I could honestly do that every night, I felt so urban chic! Dinner was awesome, I'll defiantly go back & I can understand why Ty loves it so much. After that we made a mad dash to Toy's R Us (with 20 minuets until they closed) where Grammie & Paw Paw let the kiddies selected a toy they each wanted. But wait, that's not all! After we got home we went out back & rigged up the pinata for more fun & enjoyment! 

There was entire LONG wall that also had a bazillion choices! YUM-O!

Notice where it said, "Closed for Storm"...how many years has it been?!

Audubon Place - The exclusive neighborhood on St. Charles Ave.

Halle Kate & Tyler

Brooklyn & Carson

The next morning we went to breakfast at the landmark, The Camellia's Grill, can you guess where... ding ding ding! Uptown! I told you, we love Uptown! It was a blast. It's a diner style seated restaurant where the waiters still wear white jackets & bow ties. They call out your order to the cook & guess what, he got all of our orders right! I don't even know how that's possible. After a delicious breakfast I insisted we make a quick trip to Dorignacs Market for some Camellia Brand Red Beans. If you're going to get them, this is the only brand worth getting & it's impossible to find in Arizona. Dorignacs is kind of the AJ's of NOLA, I love it!

The Grill only seats about 25 people, so there is usually a wait, but they are FAST, fast, Fast so you don't wait too long!

I don't think anything that is supposed to say "that" in NOLA says it, everything is "dat" there!

After Dorignac's, it was time for our trip back to Houston to catch our flight. It was a nice drive back & always makes me homesick after driving through the beautiful south. Every time I do, I feel like packing up the second I get back home & moving back to the South somewhere, it really is where my heart is! Don't get me wrong, I love Arizona, I do. But, there is just no place like home!