New Orleans: March 16-20, 2015

**Okay, okay. I am going to try my best here to get back into the routine of blogging. It is mainly for diary keeping for the family. I am almost an entire year short. I am going to try to catch us back up with what has happened in 2015 so far. Then I will occasionally go back and remember some good times in 2014. Let's start with what we've been up to this week...

Daddy had to go to New Orleans for work so the kids and I tagged along. This was actually our 4th or 5th time to come with him. We have the trip down to an exact science now. The first time we came, I was really nervous because all you hear is how dangerous the city is. I have to admit that now I am extremely comfortable going out by myself with the kids during the day. Sure, I am still extremely cautious. Part of it is knowing where to go and where not to. You won't find us going down a dark alley way or pursuing down Bourbon street!! And most of the people there are SO nice! Our favorite places to go are the 3 Audobon museums: Zoo, Aquarium, and Insectarium.

On Monday we drove down. Caleb actually got squirmy 30 minutes into our 6hr drive and got quite annoying for a while. Other than that, it was good! The kids are used to traveling. Once we arrived, we unloaded and got settled into our hotel a bit before heading to the French Quarter for dinner. We decided this trip we would just repeat favorites from previous trips. We decided to go to Tujagues for dinner then across the street to Café du Monde for dessert beignets. The weather was amazing so we enjoyed a slow stroll back to our hotel, including a small stop in Jackson Square at an attempt to take pictures.

Tuesday was St. Patrick's day!! Of course, I wasn't thinking and did not pack green for us to wear- total fail! But I had no idea that St. Patrick's day was SO big in New Orleans. More on that later! Tuesday was our best weather day- 84 and sunny!! We even had to wear sunscreen. The weather was amazing, such a treat after the cold winter and snows we had. We decided to go to the Zoo for the day. It is our biggest day because we have to ride the bus down, it is not within walking distance. And cf course, it takes longer to go through the zoo than the other stuff. I think the zoo day is our favorite day in New Orleans! They have a very nice zoo and very nice zookeepers who are available for questions. Here are a few pictures from our day at the zoo:

Now, I said St. Patrick's day was big. Did you know that it lasts for almost 2 weeks in New Orleans? They had several parades the week before and then of course, one on St. Patrick's day. We were excited to be there while something fun was going on. And it was kid friendly!! The only drawback was that we had already had a long day in the hot sun, so the kids were SO tired. Once the parade finally got down to us, Kailyn was relaxing in the stroller and actually fell asleep during it. Silly girl. Caleb had a blast catching bead necklaces, glow sticks, stuffed animals, flowers, flags, and a blow up hammer. I even caught a shamrock headband :) It was a looong day and we stayed out too late with the kids, but it was totally worth it to experience our very first New Orleans parade!!! Oh, and we ate dinner at the New Orleans Hamburger & Seafood Co. which has the best garlic potato wedges and thin fried catfish. Caleb said it was the best dinner EVER!

On Wednesday we headed to the Insectarium, or as the kids call it, the Bug Museum! It’s a really cool place to visit, but doesn’t take us that long to go through. They have a fantastic butterfly area with a fish pond that we like a lot. Other favorites are the ladybugs, leaf-cutting ants, and much more. The kids were still tired from staying up the night before, so it was good we had a short morning activity. We headed to Arby’s for lunch then went back to the hotel for naps!

On the walk back to the hotel, we decided to stop and a quiet little “park” and enjoy the sunshine. I wanted to make sure the kids would take naps so I let them run around for a little bit! Kailyn enjoyed picking flowers (aka weeds). Caleb wore his New Orleans street car Tshirt that day, so he wanted a picture of him with the St. Charles street car behind him!

Once Daddy got back to the hotel from working, we all decided to head to another favorite of ours- Red Fish Grill. Yum! Chocolate bread pudding…that’s all I have to say. Oh, and our Sesame Encrusted Yellow fin Tuna wasn’t too bad either. There was a free concert in Lafayette Square that night, so we headed over after dinner, but it was too crowded. We let the kids roam the sidewalk close by for a few minutes before heading back to the hotel. We just didn’t want to waste any sunshine- we enjoyed the warm weather so much!

Thursday was another fun day for Mommy and the kids! We headed to the Aquarium to see lots of our favorites- Penguins, Sharks, Otters, and even Nemo and Dory! They also have a bird aviary where you can buy seed sticks and feed the birds- this was a hit with the kids. It got pretty crowded a few times, but we just hung back and let the school groups pass us….this seemed to be a theme for us the entire week. I love seeing schools getting the kids out on these great field trips, but as a visitor it can be a little frustrating too!

Before heading to dinner, we walked over to Lafayette Square off St. Charles Street to take a few pictures of the kids. I am in love with this dress for Kailyn with the matching headband. Considering the kids were pretty wound up, I thought we got some good shots! I think Caleb’s outfit could have coordinated better, but I let Daddy pick the color of polo he wore…

For our last night out on the town, we had one more favorite restaurant to go to- Royal House. Baked Shrimp Tortellini Alfredo. Yummy!!

Friday morning we woke up and got packed up. Since we have a membership now, we can go to any of the museums as many times as we want! Daddy had never been down to the Zoo with us since he is always working on this trip. We decided to surprise the kids and go to the Zoo for a little while before heading back home. Probably ½ way there, Caleb said, “Hey! This is the way to the Zoo…” So then we had to tell them we were going, haha!! It was another nice day, so we were happy we chose to stay a little later and enjoy the day outside.