Saturday, March 29, 2008

LID #2 and a birthday

Today is our 2nd LID anniversary. Our paperwork is in the translation room. There are several "rooms" that our paperwork has to go through. There is lots and lots of information to translate.

This afternoon we celebrated my nephew, Jacob's, birthday. It was tons of fun and he is very glad to be 8 now. We celebrated at a place that has lots of inflatables and video games to play. By the time we had cake all the kids were sweaty from playing so hard. Steve and I even joined in on the fun!



Wednesday, March 26, 2008

Sping Break - Part 2

The second leg of our trip was to New Orleans. Again, everything went great with logistics. We had wonderful weather and a fun time enjoying this unique city. Karen and I have both been once before. I think New Orleans is such an interesting city with so many different personalities. We spend 2 and a half days there which was not nearly enough to do everything but we tried to hit the highlights.

This is the view from our hotel balcony. We stayed at a great hotel in the French Quarter. It was a block off Bourbon Street which made for some noise a night but it was totally worth it to be so close to everything. We didn't use the car once while we were there, instead it sat in a garage for $28 a day :)
One thing I really like about New Orleans is the architecture. All the balconies are so interesting to look at. We even found Brad Pitts house :)

No trip to New Orleans would be complete without a trip to the best breakfast stop in the world, Cafe Du Monde!

We took a Post-Katrina tour. It was very, very interesting and upsetting at the same time. We drove through many neighborhoods that were still empty or had trailers sitting in front of houses, big and small. I realized it wasn't just one area affected but most, if not all the residential areas had severe damage. The French Quarter was spared since it is about 5 ft. above sea level.

The street car was fun to ride. We took one down to the Garden District and walked around to see the amazing houses. We had a great lunch while we were touring the district and stopped at some fun stores.


Here we are in front of St. Louis Cathedral. I was able to get a Christmas ornament of the Cathedral to remind me of our great trip.
We had an awesome week and are thankful for safety and good weather. We made the 500+ mile trip back on Saturday so we could spend Easter with our families.

Sunday, March 23, 2008

Wednesday, March 19, 2008

Spring Break-Part One

Well, I am enjoying a wonderful spring break trip. Karen and I headed out on Sunday and drove to Natchez, MS. Natchez is the oldest city along the Mississippi (they told us that a lot on the tours) and has many antebellum homes in the area. Each year, twice a year, they open the homes and give tours as part of "Pilgrimage". Some of the homes still have families living in them and others have been turned into museum houses. In our three days in Natchez we saw 14 homes! Wow, that is a lot. My favorite part was learning about the history of each house and learning about the furniture. My great-grandfather was an antique furniture salesman and I think I picked up some of his genes :)
Here is a little map from the visitor's center.
The town has about 16,000 people.

In all the homes there were women and girls dressed in the
hooped dresses. They gave the history of the homes.

A very "southern" thing to do is enjoy a Mint Julep in the afternoon. So since we were doing the southern thing we tried them. What I didn't know is they have bourbon in them - a lot of bourbon! Quiet a shock :) Now I know how the ladies were able to wear those big dresses all day (they couldn't feel, haha) Don't worry I didn't finish mine ;)

Does it get more southern than this? We went to the Historical Natchez Pageant. What a sight, they even have a queen and king and it is a big deal in town!
This is my favorite house (for the outside). Dunleith is now a bed and breakfast and I am sure it would be great to stay there, too expensive for my budget. They also have lots of weddings on the grounds, how fun would that be?!?

We had tons of fun and did lots and lots of walking. We had wonderful weather except the pollen that was all over my car and made me do a lot of sneezing. Now Karen and I are in New Orleans. We drove in this afternoon and can't wait to look around and experience NOLA!

Friday, March 14, 2008

88 4th graders/12 hours= a LONG day


Yesterday was my school's annual 4th grade trip to San Antonio. The 4th graders study Texas history so it is the perfect time to make a trip to see historical places and learn some more about the state. It really is a neat trip for the kids. Over half of these kids haven't been out of Waco, ever! We got an early start leaving at 6:30am. The kids sell candy bars in the Fall to raise money to pay for 2 charter buses, Thank Goodness! We made the 3 hour trip to SA in good time and watched High School Musical 1 and 2 on the bus TVs. It always makes me laugh to see how many hand-held games, mini-dvds, cd players and the like the kids bring. Lots to entertain themselves with.

We started out at the Alamo (of course!) and took a quick tour. Then we spent several hours at the Texas Institute of Cultures. It is a really neat museum and if you haven't visited it next time your in San Antonio you should. Then we head over to the IMAX and watch TEXAS the movie which is about the battle of the Alamo. All in all the kids did a great job and had lots of fun. They were so funny asking questions about the big city.

The really good thing is that today is the last day before I have my week of spring break. Steve has been home this week enjoying some time off. He has stayed busy with my "honey do" list and I really, really appreciate him taking his week off to help :) What an awesome husband I have!!! Since we don't have the same spring break (have I mentioned that before? :) I am taking a girls road trip next week. We were going to go on a cruise but the prices DOUBLED for this week (thanks to most of the schools and colleges being out on spring break) so we decided to be more economical. My friend, Karen, and I are headed to Natchez, Mississippi to visit their Spring Pilgrimage. We are then going to head down to New Orleans for a few days. I am looking forward to a great week.

Monday, March 10, 2008

Only 125 days to go...

It seems like a long time, 125 days, but I am hopeful that it will go by quickly. 125 is how many days to go before we leave on another fun family vacation. My parents have been so nice to treat us to some wonderful trips and this year we are headed out on a cruise. Steve and I went on a cruise 2 years ago and had a blast. This will be the first cruise for my parents and my sister's family. The kids can't wait! Last night we got together and booked the excursions for the trip. Looks like all the kids will get to have dolphin encounters and I will get to hang with the sting rays. Now we will start praying for great weather, no hurricanes :) Our dock points are Montego Bay, Grand Cayman, and Cozumel. I have been to Montego Bay and Cozumel but am anxious to see Grand Cayman. That was one of our original destinations on the cruise Steve and I took but the weather got in the way. So now I have 125 days to lose some weight :), fill our itinerary and pack. Let's hope time flies! I guess this will be something to help me get through the last two months of school with no holidays :)

Friday, March 7, 2008

Beautiful Sight

What a fun thing to wake up to! Although it will melt too soon and I still have to go to work it was a beautiful sight this morning. I missed the last snow in Waco (Easter weekend last year) so I was glad to get up in time to see the snow while it was still there. Enjoy your Friday and have a great weekend!

Wednesday, March 5, 2008

Happy Birthday Steve!

Happy Birthday to my wonderful husband!!!!
Today I get to celebrate the day that Steve was born. I would love to say we went out and did lots of things but alas Steve has class tonight, bummer for him! I woke him up to say good-bye this morning before I left for school and I won't see him tonight till I am already ready to go to sleep (oh the hours of an school counselor, I go to sleep very early :)
We did celebrate earlier on Sunday with my parents and sister's family. We went out for dinner and then enjoyed cake at my parent's home. I am hoping Steve and I can celebrate together sometime this weekend. He starts his spring break on Saturday and I know he is excited about a short break from grading and teaching.
I laugh when I think of his birthday after we had first met. I had gone on a cruise with a friend and bought him a magnet from Cancun. I obviously have a hard time picking the right gifts :) I didn't know it was his birthday till I got back home and he told me a week later. I felt kinda silly that I gave him a magnet but we still have it on our refrigerator at home.

Tuesday, March 4, 2008

Weekend Wedding


This past weekend I had the pleasure of attending the wedding of a good friend and co-worker. As I have blogged before, I LOVE weddings. I helped Caroline with some of the little details and that was so fun. The reception was tons of fun spent with many of the great people I work with. The school table was the loudest, of course :) I included a picture of the groom's cake because it was so pretty and also tasted great! The chocolate covered strawberries were the best I have every had, yummy!
Yesterday my sister and I had the chance to celebrate the retirement of Liz Webb. Cheryl and I both worked with her during our Student Activity jobs. For those who went to BU and were involved in student activities you probably knew her. She was my go to gal many times when I needed something and didn't know where to find it. Cheryl and I joked about BU closing since Liz will be gone. Just last Friday I called her twice to find out info that I was looking for :) I know she will enjoy her retirement and I know Baylor will miss her!