Showing posts with label traditions. Show all posts
Showing posts with label traditions. Show all posts
Thursday, April 28, 2016
festival weekend.
last weekend we loaded up and brought the kids to lafayette for festival international. we missed it last year and it was awesome to be back, even though it was the most crowded i have ever seen it. the kids had a blast there, although i think the highlights of the trip for them were popsicles for breakfast, hanging with kk & jj & joe joe, and going to the dollar tree. jb and i even got to slip out friday and saturday night to see some music and peruse the crafts. we loved the bach lunch on friday, making masks at the children's area, jb and hollis dressed as twins, and squeezing in a nap during cedric watson. other than the insane rain we hit while driving back through houston, it was a fantastic trip!
Monday, February 16, 2015
mardi gras 2015.
we continued our annual tradition of heading to my hometown for mardi gras weekend this year, and it was absolutely the best time yet. the kids were soooo into it and we had a blast.
we got in late thursday night and hung at my parents' during the day friday. we ate judice inn (obviously), had gumbo for breakfast, let the kids play and hang out and watch movies all day, jb and my brother got out to play some tennis, and then we hit up the parade friday night. our tradition is to park in our area, walk over and get some pizza at this yummy spot, then back to our parade station and wait for the action. the friday parade was later than usual this year, but super fun. hollis loooooved the marching bands and the kids were both so cute waving their hands for beads. we caught a ton of stuff and by the time we got home, both kids were asking to go to bed. win!
saturday we took a nice long walk in the morning (after king cake for breakfast, duh) then headed to the fair. since they'd never really been to a fair, i had no idea how they would take it, but oh.my.goodness they were in heaven. we were there for less than two hours and spent an obscene amount of money as they wanted to play every game and ride on everything. it was awesome. some friends came with, one of whom is a 6 year old who emme loves and the two of them teamed up to ride lots of stuff. ek was so brave i couldn't believe it. she even convinced me and jb to take her on this terrifying ride called skater. she was so tough...i, on the other hand, was shaking and counting the seconds until that awful ride was over. ha.
after naps we headed back out. some friends of my parents have an awesome gathering saturday evening every year with all the food/snacks/wine/etc. this year they had cute crafts for the kids and we got to eat and chill and play before heading to the next parade. our friends met us and emme and amelia were thrilled to play and run around together. we caught another boat load of stuff, then let my parents take the kiddos home while jb and i headed over to the blue moon for some zydeco dancing. we saw cedric watson who was amazing, as usual. we also met up with some austin friends who were in town enjoying their first lafayette mardi gras.
sunday everyone was pretty tired, so we took it easy. more gumbo for breakfast and my mom fixed an amazing pork roast with limas and sweet potatoes and french bread, etc for lunch before we hit the road. i would have sworn the kids would sleep the entire ride home, but they were only out for about an hour. amazingly, for as tired as they were, they did great on the ride. we got back, got in jammies, and relished a restful night back in our own beds. laissez les bon temps roulez, indeed.
we got in late thursday night and hung at my parents' during the day friday. we ate judice inn (obviously), had gumbo for breakfast, let the kids play and hang out and watch movies all day, jb and my brother got out to play some tennis, and then we hit up the parade friday night. our tradition is to park in our area, walk over and get some pizza at this yummy spot, then back to our parade station and wait for the action. the friday parade was later than usual this year, but super fun. hollis loooooved the marching bands and the kids were both so cute waving their hands for beads. we caught a ton of stuff and by the time we got home, both kids were asking to go to bed. win!
saturday we took a nice long walk in the morning (after king cake for breakfast, duh) then headed to the fair. since they'd never really been to a fair, i had no idea how they would take it, but oh.my.goodness they were in heaven. we were there for less than two hours and spent an obscene amount of money as they wanted to play every game and ride on everything. it was awesome. some friends came with, one of whom is a 6 year old who emme loves and the two of them teamed up to ride lots of stuff. ek was so brave i couldn't believe it. she even convinced me and jb to take her on this terrifying ride called skater. she was so tough...i, on the other hand, was shaking and counting the seconds until that awful ride was over. ha.
after naps we headed back out. some friends of my parents have an awesome gathering saturday evening every year with all the food/snacks/wine/etc. this year they had cute crafts for the kids and we got to eat and chill and play before heading to the next parade. our friends met us and emme and amelia were thrilled to play and run around together. we caught another boat load of stuff, then let my parents take the kiddos home while jb and i headed over to the blue moon for some zydeco dancing. we saw cedric watson who was amazing, as usual. we also met up with some austin friends who were in town enjoying their first lafayette mardi gras.
sunday everyone was pretty tired, so we took it easy. more gumbo for breakfast and my mom fixed an amazing pork roast with limas and sweet potatoes and french bread, etc for lunch before we hit the road. i would have sworn the kids would sleep the entire ride home, but they were only out for about an hour. amazingly, for as tired as they were, they did great on the ride. we got back, got in jammies, and relished a restful night back in our own beds. laissez les bon temps roulez, indeed.
Thursday, May 01, 2014
festival fans.
this past weekend we loaded up the kids and the double bob and headed to lafayette for festival international. i really love this festival - we've missed a few years, but when we can swing it, it's an awesome weekend. live music, street food, people watching. super fun.
anyway. the kids had an absolute blast. ek called it the fall vegetable and she fully embraced the experience. friday morning we celebrated easter with my parents, which included a super cute nest cake my dad ordered from a local bakery. then we headed to the fest for the bach lunch. that was where ek discovered the splash pad and it became her focus for the rest of the weekend. after lunch/splashing, we went home for kidlets to nap and then headed back to the festival for the evening. we saw a good band and ate some more and then my parents took the kidlets home so jb and i could play for a bit. we caught the last part of a band and the first part of a russian gypsy band (jb was way more excited about that one than i was) and then headed to have a drink and visit before calling it a night. we got home slightly after 11 and just barely missed seeing emme - apparently grandparents don't believe in bedtimes...super fun.
saturday, we went to my grandmother (gg)'s house for burgers and some playing at the neighbors'. my gram's neighbors have this toy escalade that is motorized. when emme discovered she could control the car with the gas pedal, it was ON. she floored that thing and the kids were cackling. so fun.
after that we headed back to the fest for face painting, snacks, music, and more splash pad. it was a pretty exhausting but fun day and we all headed home for etouffe and watching frozen.
sunday was time to leave with our tired kidlets. they were both sound asleep within minutes of getting in the car and took almost 4 hour naps, so they missed the random GIANT fireman's hat rolling down the highway.
please note that emme got that dress from my parents for easter and wore it every day, forcing my mom to wash it each night.
anyway. the kids had an absolute blast. ek called it the fall vegetable and she fully embraced the experience. friday morning we celebrated easter with my parents, which included a super cute nest cake my dad ordered from a local bakery. then we headed to the fest for the bach lunch. that was where ek discovered the splash pad and it became her focus for the rest of the weekend. after lunch/splashing, we went home for kidlets to nap and then headed back to the festival for the evening. we saw a good band and ate some more and then my parents took the kidlets home so jb and i could play for a bit. we caught the last part of a band and the first part of a russian gypsy band (jb was way more excited about that one than i was) and then headed to have a drink and visit before calling it a night. we got home slightly after 11 and just barely missed seeing emme - apparently grandparents don't believe in bedtimes...super fun.
saturday, we went to my grandmother (gg)'s house for burgers and some playing at the neighbors'. my gram's neighbors have this toy escalade that is motorized. when emme discovered she could control the car with the gas pedal, it was ON. she floored that thing and the kids were cackling. so fun.
after that we headed back to the fest for face painting, snacks, music, and more splash pad. it was a pretty exhausting but fun day and we all headed home for etouffe and watching frozen.
sunday was time to leave with our tired kidlets. they were both sound asleep within minutes of getting in the car and took almost 4 hour naps, so they missed the random GIANT fireman's hat rolling down the highway.
please note that emme got that dress from my parents for easter and wore it every day, forcing my mom to wash it each night.
Friday, April 18, 2014
bluebonnets.
a couple of weeks ago, we attempted bluebonnet pics with the kids. in years past we have scored some great pics of the pups, and the bluebonnet pics from when ek was 16/17 months old are probably my favorite pictures of her ever.
so my thought was this year, with both kids being able to sit independently, etc., we would get the best bluebonnet series yet. aaaannnndddd…i was wrong. of course.
our first try was saturday morning. it was overcast and pretty chilly and the kids were hungry (why do i always think it's a good idea to take pics of hungry children? is that better than children with stained clothing?). emme was off running through the fields doing her own thing and basically giving us dirty looks any time we attempted anything structured. hollis was having none of the morning session.
that afternoon, i had a sewing class so justin took them back after nap and tried again with no mommy-distraction. he also brought blueberries for bribery. smart. those turned out much better than the morning ones, but still no money shot. oh well - next year, right? in any case, i really love most of these a lot more than i thought i would. my kids are super expressive, even when those expressions are ornery, and it's pretty hilarious to see it captured. and, even though there isn't a single "perfect" shot, i am still posting WAY too many pics…and this is condensed way down from my initial culling of ~50 photos from the 462.
so my thought was this year, with both kids being able to sit independently, etc., we would get the best bluebonnet series yet. aaaannnndddd…i was wrong. of course.
our first try was saturday morning. it was overcast and pretty chilly and the kids were hungry (why do i always think it's a good idea to take pics of hungry children? is that better than children with stained clothing?). emme was off running through the fields doing her own thing and basically giving us dirty looks any time we attempted anything structured. hollis was having none of the morning session.
that afternoon, i had a sewing class so justin took them back after nap and tried again with no mommy-distraction. he also brought blueberries for bribery. smart. those turned out much better than the morning ones, but still no money shot. oh well - next year, right? in any case, i really love most of these a lot more than i thought i would. my kids are super expressive, even when those expressions are ornery, and it's pretty hilarious to see it captured. and, even though there isn't a single "perfect" shot, i am still posting WAY too many pics…and this is condensed way down from my initial culling of ~50 photos from the 462.
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