Guess Who Had a Birthday?

The timing of our trip hinged around this monumental event.  It was Leah’s first birthday.
We started the day by going to church.

How cool is it to have a temple right next door?
After church we headed over to the Kellar’s for the festivities.

Leah had no clue what was in store for her so she just played with what she already had.

Good thing her daddy knows what’s what. . . .  He tried valiantly to teach her how to rip open presents.  He tried to get her interested in them too, while mommy watched.

But Leah knows what she likes!

The excitement wore out . . . Paul.

Then it was time for birthday cupcakes. 

Happy Birthday Leah!

Mardi Gras . . . Mormon Style!

I really, really wanted to at least see New Orleans.  Our timing was not the greatest as the only day we could schedule a trip there was the Saturday of Mardi Gras weekend.  (I incorrectly had believed it was a one day event.)
After researching we decided to head to Jackson Square early in the day.  We made the 80 mile drive in record time and found a spot to park.
We wandered down the street making our way to Jackson Square.  As tradition would dictate, I “needed” a t shirt to commemorate our trip so we slipped into a gift shop where I got this GREAT photo (in addition to a t shirt.)

But we also found out that gift shops were NOT a good idea.  Their target audience were people who wanted to be at Mardi Gras at the height of the “excitement”, not people like us.  I’m glad I found my t shirt so quickly.
We headed to Jackson Square which was closed but it was lined with all sorts of things . . .


Pirates Alley.  There must be something significant about it, but I don’t know what that is.
I thought this guy was original and cool looking.  As we kept going, I found out he wasn’t that original, but he was still cool looking!

I really wanted to “experience” beignets at Café du Monde, but so did EVERYONE else.  There was not a seat to be found.  So we bought some to go and headed out armed with the tasty treats . . .


and enjoyed each other’s company.  It seemed like Leah “might” be warming up to us.

I decided to stop and take a picture of this random sign.  I thought it was pretty funny when someone else copied me without even looking at what I took a picture of.  (I am amazed at how often this happens.)

We decided to explore the French Market.  It wasn’t what I expected.  At the front there were some nicer shops but the rest was a food area followed by a cheesy flea market.

There were some really interesting food options, but we had filled ourselves with beignets.  (The end result is that we will HAVE to return someday.)


By midday, it began to get more and more crowded . . with folks we wouldn’t normally hang out with.  It was time to head home. 
As we were heading back to our car, Paul pointed out that Disneyland did a good job with New Orleans Square.  Duh!  Why hadn’t I put two and two together?  Of course it would.

  On the way out of town, I spied this statue of Joan of Arc, but I wasn’t sure why it was there.  I figure it’s something to research.

On our way out, we saw the traffic heading to where we had been and we felt quite pleased that we had our jaunt early in the day. 
We enjoyed the rest of the day in relative peace!

A Boating We Will Go!

We were invited to go boating with Paul’s brother’s family.  David and Allie weren’t able to make it.  Paul had left the day before (camping along the way) and would meet us there.
I had never been boating before so I had no clue what to expect. . . .
We (the Kellars and I) met up with the other Bowens at the lake.  It was obvious they had done a lot of preparations for our outing.
Once we were at the state park, the rest of the work that we got to see began.
The boat needed to be put in the water.  I have no clue what details had to be watched for, but it’s not as easy as they made it seem.


We had to wait a little while for Paul, but it gave us time to get situated, complete with life jackets for all . . . even a little tiny one for Leah.

The sweet little girl was not a huge fan of having something so confining and warm on . . .so once Paul arrived, he went to work on charming her (or was it the other way around?)


It seemed that we sat around while Paul’s brother worked and worked

Once we got out far enough, it was time for tubing. .
My cute nieces went first while our hosts took photos and drove the boat.

Jennifer and Samuel went next. . . Jennifer laughed and giggled a lot, but we aren’t as certain that Samuel loved it as much.

Paul was up next and had to find a willing volunteer to join him.
They appeared to be having a good time.  I believe that it was this point in time when Paul may or may not have said that it was too slow. . .

What is it about brothers?  These two went airborne more than once!
We had a handy (and CUTE) flagger when they were ready to come back in. . .

For some reason, I was hesitant to try it out at all, but my sister-in-law persuaded me and we enjoyed a leisurely tour about the lake.  This IS the way to do it, if you ask me

Paul got a turn driving the boat so his brother could have some fun.

Someone knew what they were doing. . .

It was a great trip.  We enjoyed the adventure and wished our other kids were able to make it. 
But we also learned that owning a boat and taking it out are not only expensive but a whole bunch of work. 
We were sure lucky to get to go and appreciated the other Bowen’s for inviting us out.