Muffalettas, beignets, and True Blood

Our little New Orleans trip was so much fun!  I love taking road trips with Tom. Since we weren’t bringing the kids and didn’t have much luggage, we were able to take Tom’s Jeep which made him happy.  And I can’t drive his Jeep (stick shift) which made me even happier.  The best part about New Orleans is the food. Oh man, the food. So good.  For our actually anniversary, we ate at K-Pauls.  The food was amazing and I wish I hadn’t been too full for dessert.  I also had fried tomatoes at Daisy Dukes, a muffaletta at Pat O’s, pizza at Reginellis, and, of course, beignets at Café du Monde.

I really don’t like Bourbon Street in New Orleans. I am a total people watcher, but I just find Bourbon Street depressing. However, this time Bourbon Street provided the most excitement.  They were filming a scene of True Blood right in front of us.  I have only watched a few episodes of the show, but I did read the entire Sookie Stockhouse series it is based on.  Anyway, they wanted to use the crowd as extras, but everyone was taking pictures with their phones.  The director kept asking everyone to put their phones away. Finally, they had the star stand on a car and ask everyone to put away their phones just for the filming and as soon as they yelled “cut” we could take pictures.  The Eric character then lifted Bill on his back and we all were told to cross the street with them.  Then they yelled “cut” and told us to get out of the production area.  It was all very exciting.

It was the perfect anniversary. Now I am really looking forward to July when we go to Vegas for a week to continue celebrating it!

Dead fish and wedded bliss

So, we ended up telling Ellie that her fish died.  Big mistake. Huge. The drama was through the roof.  At one point she was in her room sobbing loudly, “My fish is gone. He’s gone. GOOOONE!”  Of course, the fact that I kept laughing when trying to break the bad news to her didn’t help the matter any.  I don’t know what is wrong with me, but I always laugh at inappropriate moments (like my grandma’s funeral or during my friend’s wedding vows).  Anyway, I told her we could get a new fish once we got back from New Orleans.  That’s right, we are going to New Orleans this weekend. Something I am beyond excited about.  Tom and I are dropping the kids off with my parents tonight and then it is a weekend of fun for us!  Tomorrow is our 10 year anniversary.  Hard to believe it has already been ten years. Although I have loved him since I was 15.  I feel really lucky to have a guy like Tom by my side.  Not only is he my favorite person to hang out with, but he can still make me laugh like no other.

The one where her fish dies

Ellie's fish died this morning.  She didn't notice.  Should I replace it with a new fish?  Or do I have to have one of those teaching moments about death?  Because I am really leaning towards the sneak-a-new-fish-in-the-bowl option. 

A few weeks ago, Ellie was playing in the backyard.  She called me outside to show me a sweet nest of grass she had made.  Nestled among the grass was a small, dead bird.  My initial reaction was to freak out a bit and tell Ellie she is not to touch dead animals.  She kept insisting the bird was not dead because there was no blood. It was just "frozen."  I couldn't help but remember the time I found an actual frozen kitten as a child and tried to bring it back to life in my mom's microwave.  So, Ellie was insisting that the bird was alive and I didn't have the heart to convince her it was dead so I just went along with it.  Later, when Ellie was in the bath scrubbing off all the dead-bird germs, I tossed the bird over the back fence so Ellie would think it had flown away.  That's how we deal with death around here.

Our weekends have been filled with birthday parties as of late. First, it was my niece Naomi's puppy-themed party.

We were even able to bring our dog Kali since the location adjoined a small dog park.

The dogs did tricks for treats...and so did the kids. 

(The puppy-party pictures were lifted straight from Sabrina's blog, but all other pictures are my own crappy cell phone shots.)

Then, Sabrina threw out another animal-themed party when she did a My Little Pony party for Olivia.

Yeah, there were REAL ponies for the kids to ride. Actually, they were full-blown horses. Ellie has ridden a pony many a time at rodeos and whatnot, but this is the first time she has been on one so large. I don't think I have ever seen her sit so still and quiet.

This past weekend we went to my niece Mia's pool party. They rented two human hamster balls. It was a challenge getting Ellie out of them so the other kids could have a turn.

Jack gave it a try, but he much preferred going off the diving board.

It is nice having a party to go to every weekend... especially when the people throwing them are so fun and creative!