Swamp Tour

We went on the Honey Island Swamp Tour.  It was fun, but I probably would not pay to go again.  We found out afterward that we would have seen more wildlife later in the year.  Honestly, I think we saw more wildlife closer up at the Alligator Park (Brazos Bend SP) near our old house in Sugar Land.

 

Adeline behaved okay, but it took a lot of effort to keep her happy and sitting on Grandma's lap.

Reuben was fabulous, again!  It was hilarious to watch his expressions while the wind was blowing in his face; his slobber kept blowing all over his face.  He ended up falling asleep for half of the trip.

The Louisiana State Tree is the Bald Cypress.  Our guide said this tree was probably 800-900 years old.

Great Blue Heron

It would be an interesting experience to live in one of these houses.  I think I could last a week and then I would be ready to live in my suburban house again.

Rosedown Plantation

Here is Rosedown Plantation in Francisville, Louisiana.

This plantation has about ninety percent of its original furnishings.  It was build in 1834 and was passed down to family until 1956 when a couple from Houston, the Underwoods, bought it.  The Underwoods used $10 million of their own money to restore much of the house to be as accurate as possible.  Eventually, Rosedown was bought by the state of Louisiana in 2005 and is now a historic landmark.  At its height of cotton production, this plantation encompassed 3,455 acres and utilized 450 slaves.

Porches with rocking chairs is one of my favorite things about the South.

Mom, Adeline, Marissa, Peter, Dad and Rigby playing games on my phone

A picturesque view from the top balcony of the oak-lined lane.

The kids were wonderfully behaved!  I plugged Rigby and Peter into the games on my phone, Reuben chilled in the baby backpack carrier and Miss Adeline . . .

. . . was securely restrained in Grandma's arms.  Grandma still has those strong mom arms; thanks Mom!

There were so many breakable things everywhere.  One wrong move from the kids could have been a disaster.  Again, thank goodness they were angels.  Probably not the greatest place to bring young kids.  

This beautiful wallpaper mural in the entrance was hand-painted in France I believe.

This medallion was on the ceiling of the guest bedroom.

This was my favorite "clever features" in this house.  A large funnel  on the roof collected rainwater which would rain down through the shower head on this box when the cord was pulled.  This amenity really was years ahead of its time.

This needlepoint picture is thought to have been sewn by Martha Washington and was probably one of the Turnbulls' most prized possessions.

Adeline decided she needed to visit the ladies' privy (bathroom), so my mom had to run in and grab her.  Wish she would have deposited her little present in here then I would not have had to change a diaper full of diarrhea just a mere ten minutes after this.  I had my share of poopy diapers this day between Adeline and Reuben!

Me, Reuben, Adeline, Peter, Rigby

Under protest, our photographer had his picture taken.  You look pretty handsome in this picture, Dad; I am glad Mom made you sit down for a picture!

Aunt Moo, Adeline, Rigby, Peter

One of my favorite thing about this area is the Spanish Moss everywhere-just beautiful.

If you are ever wanting to visit a great plantation, I would highly recommend this place.  It was beautiful and the tour guides were great!

Baton Rouge Temple

My family is the sight-seeing type of people on vacations.  We were able to go to the Baton Rouge Temple, Rosedown Plantation, a swamp tour in Slidell, the French Quarter and swimming in our neighborhood pool. 

Here is the Baton Rouge Temple.

It was so nice to have a picnic right next to the temple.

Of course, Reuben decided it was the perfect day to have one of his massive poopy diapers.  I mean the kind that have more outside the diaper than inside.  He exploded all over his clothes, back and tummy; thankfully he missed me.  So here are my Mom and I cleaning up the little stinker in the van.  I cannot wait until his constipation issue is resolved!

New Orleans

For the first time since we moved to Louisiana over a year ago, we finally made it to the French Quarter area of New Orleans.  I guess we have never gone before because we did not know if just Scott and I could deal with the kids by ourselves.  We probably could have but it was very nice to have more adults around for extra help. 

Doug and Kris outside in the courtyard of the French Quarter Visitor's Center.

Grandma Flamm with the Rigster, Miss Adeline and Peter

She is amazing, I cannot believe she did 7 kids in 10 years!  Four kids in 6 years is killing me right now.

In the visitor's center, they had old phones to listen to some jazz music.  I told the kids that they were old telephones and Peter said, "these aren't phones."  I realized that my kids do not even realize what a corded phone is.  I guess I am getting old.

It was cold and windy so I had to squeeze Reuben into my jacket.  I looked a little silly, oh well.

This little baby boy was excellent during almost all of our outings.  I guess he is making up for all of those rotten times the first two months of his life.

Rachel, Scott and Reuben next to the "Mighty Mississippi" River.

I love this picture of Peter on the banks of the Mississippi.  He is growing up so fast!

Grandpa Flamm kindly pushed the stroller for me, thank you!

Here is what a typical street in the French Quarter looks like during tourist season: narrow, busy, dirty and eclectic.

There are a lot of fun and unique shops.  I would love to go into this store some day.

It would be fun to stay in this hotel, don't you think?

Peter was so excited to find that there was a street with his name.  It is so fun to see him discover the world of reading.

The Saint Louis Cathedral next to Jackson Square

Andrew Jackson Statue

Andrew Jackson defeated the British in the War of 1812 with an army of free African Americans, Tennessee and Kentucky riflemen, Louisiana militia and pirates/smugglers.  What an unusual combination of people!

We enjoyed jazz music from some street musicians.

I heard that Southern Candymakers was one of the best places to get pralines.  I have decided that I am not a praline person, but their tortes were delicious (and very expensive!).

Looking at this picture gives me hope that I will someday get the hang of four kids.  I think I look fairly put together in this picture.

My mom will probably be embarrassed that I am putting this picture up.  She mentioned that she was curious about Bourbon Street because you often hear about it when people talk about New Orleans.  I insisted that we take a picture of her, my Dad and Marissa on Bourbon Street when we first entered.  After three blocks of walking along it, we decided this street was much too offensive for our eyes.  We all decided this would be our first and last walk down Bourbon Street!  So glad my kids were to young and naive to understand some of the stuff we saw, oops!

 Scott and Peter entertained themselves with this long-nose mask while us girls did some mask shopping.  My mom, Marissa, and I had so much fun trying on and buying masks!

Here are my Dad, Mom and Marissa eating some beignets at the original Cafe du Monde.

What a cute picture!  Daddy feeding his baby girl a yummy beignet.

Scott, Peter and Rigby making a powdery mess!