trip to the beach

We're skipping ahead a bit to share some pictures from our trip to the beach last weekend. As some of you know, Ann's training for her first triathlon. One of the segments is a swim in Lake Andrea. In between thunderstorms, we were able to enjoy a bit of time on the beach at this lake. Here are a few nice pictures of our kiddos.

The Best of the Rest

Okay, I just need to finish up with the New Orleans pictures and move on to something else. Here are the best of the rest, including some fun pictures taken in the French Quarter.

Henry Can't Eat Crawfish Yet ...

... but he sure wanted to. It's hard to eat crawfish with one hand, so everyone took turns holding Henry. He proved to be a fantastic traveller and the life of the party. You can see how happy he is here, really the party animal with his floppy hat.


I just had to throw in the picture below -- I saw him bike by.  He was too busy to stop for crawfish (we offered).

Crawfish Boil!

More New Orleans pictures.

Another highlight of our trip to see Robert & Linda in New Orleans was a crawfish boil, held in a neighborhood near the Jazz Fest grounds. Robert boiled 140 pounds of crawfish, so there was just enough for Nora (next to edamame and mac & cheese, crawfish is her favorite food). It was really neat to see Nora bravely playing with live crawfish along with the little boys and then trying her best to be helpful during the food prep.

Getting ready to dump the kettle.
Everyone got their own pan of food. There weren't many chairs, so most folks sat at the curb.
Afterwards, Nora and Robbie supervised the cleanup efforts.  Nora really got busy, and totally enjoyed it.

Jazz Fest!

After several years away, we finally made it back to New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival!  It was truly wonderful to be back to enjoy friends, great food, and a huge variety and quantity of music.  As usual, there were many food and music highlights.  The headliner for the day was Stevie Wonder.  Unfortunately, furious thunderstorms and cranky kids forced us to leave before his set.

Nora and Henry really seemed to love Jazz Fest.  Both of them were smiling, dancing (Henry only sorta), and stuffing their faces (Nora recommends the Crawfish Monica.  Henry liked his Gerber Veggie Puffs).

But man, oh, man is Jazz Fest different with little ones.  For the adults, there's a lot less drinking and being silly, and a lot more work.  Look at the picture of Linda and the stroller below. 

Henry had plenty of time to bond with our good friend, Robert.  And he even found a great new cuddly toy to chew on!

And Nora had a blast in the Jazz Fest kids' play area (Huh? There's a play area?)

Finally, a picture of some Mommy and son bonding time.

Cafe du Monde

Cafe du Monde, located in New Orleans' French Quarter, is famous for its delicious beignets and cafe au lait. It is a definite "must see" when you visit the Crescent City, and we were excited to give Nora and Henry their first experience. Ann took some pictures of Steve & Nora while we waited impatiently for our goodies.

Spidergirl?

The blog is back, after a brief respite.  Our HP laptop has gone kaput, so now the blog is powered by a new MacBook.

We'll start things off with a picture and a video clip.

At the end of April, we took a trip to New Orleans to see some old friends from Madison, Robert & Linda. Now living successfully in post-Katrina New Orleans, they are the proud parents of two rambunctious little boys, Robbie & Ryan.

Nora enjoyed making new friends and playing with their toys.  For some reason, she was attracted to this:

When Nora is 13, she will be very happy that we put this video of her on the internet.