Flashback Friday- Summer, 2007

I'm using the power of positive thinking by flashing back to beautiful sunny weather perfect for a dip in the pool. It's been raining for what seems forever. Great for the gardens, but where is the sun lately?? Can't wait to hit the pool this summer b/c we need to try out the 3 different bathing suits they got as gifts this year!

Back from NOLA

I'm back!! It was a whirlwind of a trip back home to New Orleans, but I had such a wonderful time. I went down for my cousin, Erin's wedding this weekend. I decided to go alone, so Darrell could stay back with the kids.

I arrived Wed. night and met my sister Gretchen and niece Ella at the airport. We stayed at the Ritz-Carlton (ooo la la--actually thanks to a nice corporate rate from Gretchen's company). It was SO nice. We met my mom and aunts the next morning for the Bridesmaids' Luncheon at Ralph's on the Park-- great food!. Later, we walked all over the Quarter. Tourism seems to be back b/c there were nice crowds everywhere we went. The Bar at the Hotel Monteleone was celebrating its 60th anniversary, so drinks were $1 each. Mom and I decided to be part of the celebration! We waited in line for a while and I had my first (and most likely last) Old Fashioned. Not sure if all are that strong b/c it was basically like jet fuel! We walked a million blocks for dinner in Brad and Angelina's neighborhood, although, I'm sad to say no sightings that night.

On Friday, we met up with my brother, Tim, his girlfriend, Christie, and my cousin Eric (or "Boog" as we call him). We went to Cafe DuMonde for beignets and Cafe Au Lait (the best), the Insectarium, ate, visited Jackson Square, window shopped, walked some more, ate, walked some more, ate, had a cocktail or 2, ate, walked, ate po-boys at Johnny's-- you get the drift.

The wedding was Friday night and we had such a wonderful time. The weather turned out to be nice since they had predicted bad thunderstorms. The reception was at a reception hall on Bourbon Street, so naturally, we saw some interesting sights that night. I even had my first Lucky Dog after hours of dancing and having fun with the family. We met up the rest of the family at the hotel lounge and kept it open til 3 AM!! That's celebrating New Orleans-style!

The next day, we got together again as a family to... well what else but EAT at The Palace Cafe. Later, I was able to visit my dad and stepmom and my best friend, Darnell, and her husband and baby girl, too. My brother, Tim, was nice enough to boil crawfish for us that night. YUM. And then it was back to Northern Virginia on Sunday morning. I need some serious fasting after this weekend, but we really had such a great time. I think I'll wait several years until Libby and Drew get to have this kind of fun, though! ;)

I uploaded my photos and the 2 I had of the bride and groom didn't come out!! So, I'm just posting the ones that did...

Our Saturday

Today was another busy Saturday. Our church is looking for a permanent home and although they were initially intending to build, it looks like renovating a current building for sale is a better option. We went to tour the empty "Bud Building", which was the former home of the Budweiser warehouse. They had a little service talking all about it, but since it started at 8:30 AM, we missed it. We did, however, make it just in time for the BBQ and socializing. We met some new members, including Karen, who was taking some photos of the event. She got some of us, too...

My Favorite:

A Rainy Sunday

It's been raining here for the past several days, which has really helped my garden. But we've also been a little cooped up lately, so we decided to go out and play in the drizzle today. L&D had a blast in their new raincoats and matching boots (on clearance at Target)!

Oh, and Happy Birthday, Uncle Jeff!! We left you a voicemail tonight, but L&D were a little shy-- the phone still freaks them out, especially the speaker phone. ;)