New Orleans

Daron, Luke, Daron's dad and I went to New Orleans for BYU's appearance in the Sweet Sixteen.  They lost which was such a bummer, especially because they didn't play well at all and easily could have won if they had played half as well as they usually do.  Despite us all being a little depressed because of the game, we still had a great time in the city.  The weather was beautiful - low 80's most of the time and sunny - and there was so much to do and see.  New Orleans really is such a unique city with so much personality and good food.

There are beautiful plantations outside of the city along the Mississippi River.  There used to be 500 of them and the owners were called "New Orleans' 500 Millionaires" which is saying a lot considering the time period was early 1800's and a million dollars was worth a lot more then.  People can tour many of these plantations today and we went to one called Oak Alley Plantation.  It was given the name because of its row of oak trees leading up to the entrance.  The trees are 300 years old!

We went and visited the areas hit hardest when Hurricane Katrina came through in 2005.  180,000 people used to live in the 9th ward and now there's only about 20,000 people living there.  There are still many houses that are condemned and need to be torn down, and many areas where we saw slabs of concrete where foundations used to be but are now just overgrown with weeds.  Many businesses and schools are still closed.  Here are some pictures in the community Brad Pitt has helped get going.

Here are some pictures from a few of the restaurants we ate at.  Delicious sea food!  At Mr. B's Bistro one of our waiters had the chef sign the dessert menu for Luke and gave him a fun hat to wear.

We went on a swamp tour and saw many snakes and a couple of alligators.

There were so many things for kids to do that we didn't get to them all, but we were able to go to the Insectorium and the Aquarium.  Here are some pictures from the Insectorium.  Luke got a stamp on his hand for eating a chocolate covered cricket.  He declined the six-legged salsa and other dishes with worms.  Good thing since he was barely able to keep the cricket down.

They also had an atrium with live butterflies flying everywhere.

Here are some pictures from the Aquarium.

We did a city bus tour and one of our stops was a cemetery.  It has only been somewhat recently that people have been able to be buried underground.  The water table is so high and flooding so common that the buried didn't stay buried for very long.  So they started burying above ground in vaults.  Wealthy families have bigger more ornate crypts and many family members can be buried in the same one.  After two years they just take the remains of the most recently buried person and move them to a specially made burial bag and put the bag to the side or back of the vault. That coffin is then destroyed and the vault is ready for the newly deceased family member.  The vaults are forms of real estate and can be sold for tens of thousands of dollars if the family decides they no longer want it.

 New Orleans is a beautiful city with its flowers, bright colors and wrought iron balconies.  If BYU had to lose, they picked a good city to do it in.

Our Week

Ok, I promise I won't blog more about my dog than my kids, but here are a couple of pictures of Piper.

She loves to drive in the car with us when I take the kids to school or to their activities. 

She likes to rest under the coffee table.

Maryn had her last volleyball tournament this Saturday. She is becoming quite the volleyball player!  Here is a blurry picture of her getting ready to serve.

This week Luke had an epiphany.  I was tucking him into bed, and he said he was excited for the next day because BYU was playing in the NCAA basketball tournament and he had piano lessons.  The game part didn’t surprise me, but I did a double take about the piano.  Normally he says Thursdays are his worst days because of piano and everyday it’s a struggle to get him to practice because he whines and complains about how much he HATES piano.  When I asked him why he was excited he said, “Well, I’m prepared for my lesson.  I know all my songs really well.  It’s actually fun to play them once I know them.  I can’t believe it took me ten years to figure out that if I practice hard, my lessons are fun.  Can you believe it took me that long to figure it out?  That if I practice I’ll like it?”  I was very surprised but thankful, because that is exactly what I’ve been hoping he’d figure out.  Developing talents takes work and discipline and isn't always fun, but the results are worth it.

Daron took Luke and Gabe to the NCAA basketball tournament in Denver this weekend.  They met up with Daron's dad.  My dad was able to get them great tickets just nine rows up behind the BYU bench.  Jimmer Fredette is a senior at BYU and is a big sensation.  He has scored over 30 points a game for the last 6 games and can shoot from anywhere on the court.  They had a great time at the game and BYU won by almost 20.  This is the first time they’re going to the Sweet 16 in 30 years!  The boys had such a fun time.

Here's a picture of Gabe and Ian playing with play dough.  Maryn had to make a diorama for school so they were trying to help her.

Pinewood Derby

This year was Luke's last Pinewood Derby and he got first place!  Each year he and Daron would figure out what they needed to do to be faster, and this year they had it figured out. 

Our Puppy, Piper

We finally did it.  We got a dog.  She is the cutest thing ever and the kids are having so much fun!  She is a Goldendoodle which is half Golden Retriever and half Poodle.  They are supposed to be very intelligent, kid-friendly dogs that don't shed and rarely bark.  We have the kitchen gated off so if she has an accident it's on the hardwood and not the carpet.  We are working on the potty training but it's not going as quickly as I'd like.  Of course, my expectations were unrealistic as I wanted her potty trained after the first day.  Hopefully by the end of the month she'll be just about there. 

Surprise!

We surprised the kids with a trip to southern California Feb. 17th-23rd.  The main reason for the trip was to attend military honors done at Point Loma naval base for Daron's grandpa who died in December.  We hadn't told the kids about the military honors so when we woke them up Thursday morning they thought they were going to school.  The next thing they knew we were driving to the airport.  They were so excited and we were so glad we all went because all of Daron's family was there and it was so good to see everyone. 

On Thursday we spent the day at the tide pools in San Diego.  The kids found all sorts of creatures from star fish and crabs to sea urchins and baby lobsters.  We spent hours there and the weather was beautiful.  Here is Luke jumping from rock to rock.

Here they are looking at a sea urchin.

  The star fish they found

Gabe and Ian climbing the rocks on the beach

Me

Maryn and Luke

Dad and Ian

Daron, his dad and brother that evening at dinner

Friday morning was beautiful but a storm rolled in for the military honors at Rosecrans Cemetery. 

Daron's Uncle Brad was given the flag of honor.  It was so good to see him.  He was in a horrible car accident 11 years ago that left him blind and brain damaged.  However, he is still a kind, funny, loving man and we were all so glad to have him there.

At dinner afterwards.  It was fun to meet grandpa's friends.  He has lived in San Diego for 60 years!

The hot dog Gabe ordered.

The next day at the beach.

We have some good friends from our ward here in Boise who were also out visiting CA the same time we were.  We went to the Mormon Battalion Center to visit one of our favorite missionaries who's on a mission there.  She gave us a tour and did a great job!

The next day at church we went to church where another missionary from our ward is serving in the Carlsbad mission.

Then we went to an orchid greenhouse owned by a friend of grandpa's.

And then we went out for sushi.

The next day we spent at the USS Midway.  It was fascinating and we spent hours touring the big naval ship and the planes.

That night we drove up to LA and did dinner at Medieval Times.  The kids loved it!

The next day we went to Disneyland.  The weather was perfect and it wasn't too crowded.