Happy 8th!

Yesterday Steve and I celebrated our 8th wedding anniversary. I started making a list of all the big changes that have happened in the past 8 years, but lost interest and decided to save that post for the 10th anniversary. =)

Last night we went to a Giants game. San Francisco, garlic fries, Ghiradelli sundaes, Giants winning big, what more could a girl ask for? (Well- there are a few things and another anniversary date is in the works. It's a win win for both of us!)

Love you babe!

I'm sad and I'm not ready to be happy yet.

I'm sad. I decided I can be sad this week, then I will put on a happy face and make the most of my new situation next week.


We've been in the same ward for the 7 years we've lived here. It is a fantastic ward. Huge, (hence the reason for this story), lots of young families, great people, the works. We got a new bishop 6 months ago and I have to say is the best bishop I have ever had, excluding my Dad of course. =) I have a lot of great friends in this ward and consider myself extremely lucky to be a part of it.

Now onto the sad part. Where our ward has been exploding the last few years, our stake has not. So basically what they did to us yesterday was split our ward 40/60% and give each of us a smaller ward from the stake. I am in the 40% group which sounds like a lot, but it really isn't for me. Out of 20 or so good friends I have are only 3 of us who are going to be in the new ward. Plus our new boundaries are HUGE to encompass some of the less active areas.

Anyway, I know this isn't the end of the world. I know that this is a opportunity to meet new people. But right now I don't care. I want let myself feel angry and abandoned and be able to shed a few tears. I want to be annoyed at all the new families who moved in and kicked me out. I know this is totally unreasonable and that this change is for the best, but I am choosing not to acknowledge that this week. For the next few days I am going to be a big baby about the whole thing. Then I'll be okay.

So there is. My sob story.

New Orleans

Steve had business in New Orleans last week from Monday-Wednesday. We decided it would be fun for me to join him and have a few kid-free days together. So we drove to L.A. to stay with my parents, Steve flew out Sunday and I joined him on Wednesday. I had pretty low expectations of New Orleans, but I loved it! The weather was yucky, but other then that we had a great time.

French Quarter:

The French Quarter is in the down town area and parts of it (Bourbon Street) are sleazy, i.e, lots of strip joints. With the exception of Bourbon Street I thought the French Quarter was beautiful. Everything was so old, 1700's old. The buildings had so much character and charm. The night life was alive with jazz and the voodoo fortune tellers.

St. Louis Cathedral 

Darling little houses

One of the oldest structures in New Orleans, 1722. Orignially a blacksmith shop, now a bar of course!

There are gas lanterns all over the French Quarter. I loved how they all looked at night. 

Food:

All I have to say is AMAZING. I wish we had had a few more days there just to eat! I wasn't sure how I'd like it because I'm not a seafood, or deep fried type girl. There was plenty of variety for people like me. Lots of blacked meats and unique spices. I'd highly recommend New Orleans for the food alone.


Cemeteries:

Because the water table is so high, the dead have to be buried above ground. There are tons of old, cool cemeteries all over the city.

The Garden District:

The Garden District is an area with all of the big, beautiful New Orleans homes. A lot of them were owned by wealthy plantation owners and were used in the off season for socializing. We got a little book that guided us on a walking tour. Very fun.

Lower Ninth Ward:

The Lower Ninth Ward is the part of New Orleans that was hit the hardest with Katrina. I'd say out of all the houses maybe half are still standing, and out of that half a quarter have been re-done and are habitable. The other quarter are falling apart. They're not even boarded up or anything. It was sad to see so many empty lots, with just a foundation and to know that there used to be a house there. It is a very poor neighborhood and many of it's residents didn't want to go back and re-build after Katrina. What's crazy is there is only 4-5 miles between the Garden District and Lower Ninth Ward.

Southern Plantations:

We ventured 1 1/2 hours out of the city to checkout a few plantations. On our way we stopped for fast food and was reminded that we were in the deep south. We could hardly understand the accents...I'm so glad we took the time. The few plantations we saw were beautiful. We toured only one, the Laura Creole Plantation. It was a great tour, lots of cool history behind it.

Laura Plantation. (Creole plantations were painted bright colors, while  European plantations were the standard white with pillars.) 

Real slave quarters on the Laura Plantation

Oak Alley Plantation. 

Cool fact we learned. All the plantations along the Mississippi River faced the river and usually had a long row of trees on either side. This created a wind tunnel effect to help cool the houses. Wouldn't it have been a sight to float down the river in those days and look left to right at all the beautiful plantation houses? The slavery thing would probably ruin it though. =)

Oak Alley behind us.

What we didn't have time for: 


I wish we would have had one more day to check out a swamp. I would have loved to have gone on a flat bottom boat and see alligators. Funny sidenote: Steve was talking with some local guys at his conference saying that it looks like they have a lot of great places to water ski. They looked at him like he was crazy and informed him he would be if he tried...Alligators of course is the reason. I think 3 full days would have been perfect.

Adventures in Dana Point

The kids had a lot of fun with Gma and Gpa while Mom and Dad were in New Orleans. 

Carson and my cousin's kids going for a ride on Grandpa's scooter around their street.

I promise the babies didn't go for a ride. They just wanted to check things out.

My parents haven't put grass in yet. Luke was in heaven!

My parents are in the middle of construction. The boys had a blast all week!

My brother's dinasour costume from when he was 4.

Thanks for watching us Grandma and Grandpa!!

Disneyland with Grandma and Grandpa Take II

Staying true to his Disney roots with his Mickey Mouse shirt, while showing love for his newest obsession, Spider Man.

What stage do you think Carson is in right now? That's right. The good old sticking out your tongue stage (insert spiting and farting noises as well.) It's seriously, getting old, but at least he is looking at the camera now.

Twinkle Toes

Here is Carson watching his favorite part in Puss in Boots. Quite the little dancer, I know... I love how into it he is and how oblivious he is of me filming it. The video is a little long, so don't feel like you have to finish it.

(BTW, notice the new blue on my walls? More posts to come with those changes. I'm waiting for my new kitchen counters. I'm so excited!)

Fairy Tale Town

The boys and I met my friend Laurel and her little boy at Fairy Tale Town in Sacramento today. The boys had a lot of fun. It is perfect for their age group.

Sitting on the thrown in the castle

This was Carson on and off for most of the day. He is still varying between nap and no nap. We've had a very sleep deprived boy this last week! 

Pirate Luke

Carson at the top of the slide in the tree house

A great smile on camera, miracle of miracles!!

Carson and Justin showing their muscles =)

Cinderella's carriage 

Mother Goose