Biloxi, MS

When we pulled into our park in Biloxi, we were greeted by this playground! We could barely stop and set up the kids were so excited to go try it out (Mark, too).

After they were sufficiently played and sunned out, we headed to the lake to cool down. It felt so good to get in and splash around.

 After awhile, I had to drag them away to eat lunch and take a nap. Then we drove around the city and took in the sights. The beach was beautiful. The city was mostly casinos and resorts. Since we weren't gambling, we decided to just soak up the awesomeness of the RV park as much as possible. The next day we got into our suits and went back to the lake to try out the paddle boats.  

We took a two person boat with little seats in the back. The seats didn't have much support. Mark kept telling me to hold onto Sawyer because he was going to fall out. I responded with my usual "whateves" and told him that even if Sawyer did fall in it would be fine because he had a life jacket on and, even if he didn't, I would be able to jump in and pull him out before anything happened. So we got out the the middle of the lake, and,of course, Sawyer fell in. He cried--it was cold and shocking--but he floated. I thought we could just paddle the boat over to him and pull him out, but Mark insisted I jump in and get him. So I did. Thank god I didn't lose my sunglasses, which I had forgotten to take off in the midst of the chaos. So me, my sunglasses, and Sawyer made it safely back into the boat unharmed. Then we paddled back to shore and went swimming.  

Monkey see, monkey do. 

The next morning we woke up to some exciting news. It turns out not only had we made some amazing friends and memories at Hill Shade, we also made...a baby! 

After a missed period and about 6 pregnancy tests--just to make sure--we called around and spread the good news. Then, with tears in my eyes and butterflies in my stomach, we headed toward Mobile.

New Orleans, LA

I was soooo excited to get to New Orleans! I had only been there once before, as a 19 year old at Mardi Gras, but I knew I was totally in love with it. And I was. The first night we just drove around the city. All I kept saying was "Mark, I want to live here." Judah even started saying it.

The next day we went on foot to explore the French Quarter. I had a lot of eating destinations for us. The first was a vegetarian muffaletta from Central Grocery, which claims to be the originator of the sandwich. 

It was olive-y and delicious!

Judah and Mark hated the olive salad, which was awesome, because then I got extra on mine.

I love magnolia trees. I hold my breath in anticipation of their sweet blooms in early spring in Wisconsin. I was beyond thrilled to be able to see and smell their pink deliciousness in New Orleans in February.

And speaking of deliciousness, my amazing midwife, Jan Wolfenberg, had suggested beignets from Cafe Du Monde. Fried sweet dough? I was there.

Of course, everyone loved them.

Even the birds, which Sawyer was thrilled about. He just squatted there saying "bee, bee" (Sawyer speak for birdie).

Our snacking spot was beautiful. There was the river on one side.

And an this on the other.

After our snack, Mark and the boys played at a fountain while I walked through the French Market. Aren't they adorable?

Then we headed to Bourbon Street. I had really wanted to bring the stroller to the French Quarter. I knew we would be walking a lot, and I thought it would make life easier. Mark vetoed my idea, and we left it at home. So I carried Sawyer in the carrier while Mark switched off convincing Judah to walk, carrying him, and giving him piggy back rides. I missed the stroller, But Beans loved it. He spent most of the time on the verge of falling asleep.

When I went to Mardi Gras with Jen and Kathleen, we took several pictures of ourselves under this "huge Ass Beers" sign with various characters. It was pretty fun to see Mark and Judah underneath it, even if they refused to turn around and look at the camera.

Beans and I in front of a strip club. He would have been in heaven.

After awhile, after hours of carrying 30 pounds of baby on my front, my back felt like it was about to give out. And poor Judah had a blister between his toes from walking in flip flops all day. If only we had had some sort of carrying implement on wheels that we could transport the kids in...  I gave up, and Mark carried both babies the last few blocks to the car.

But despite our discomfort, we were all super excited for the french fry po boys we had gotten to eat at home. Amazing, right?

I am in love with the French Quarter. There are some places I have really enjoyed, and a handful of places I would buy a house if we had unlimited funds (a modern beach house on the Northern California ocean cliffs, a  ranch in south central Texas, a cottage in the Louisiana bayou, and a balcony flat in the French Quarter), but the French Quarter is the first place I actually looked up rentals and seriously considered settling. It turns out we couldn't afford the type of place I would want, but if we could, I would totally spend some time there.

I was kind of annoyed with our RV park. The internet was crap, we were parked right next to the bathroom/laundry room, it was crazy dusty, and a lot of stuff was broken. But the kids had fun. I guess they always do. They spent some time putting gravel down their shirts.  

And played with their stuff.

On Thursday, we went to a market. It was really small, but we got milk, broccoli, brussels sprouts, and...

strawberries!!!

When we got home, I used some of those ingredients to make a delicious dinner. I was making mac and cheese with veggies, and as I was making the roux I said, "look mark, how fitting, I'm making a roux in New Orleans, take a picture!' He took several. This is the one in which my boobs are the least prominent. Boys...

After the dinner, the boys got crazy, as usual.

On our final day, I worked, we are breakfast, Holden lounged in the sun on the kitchen table...

and the kids and I went for a walk to say goodbye to the bay and the pool.

It broke my heart a little bit to leave New Orleans, but the beautiful drive to Mississippi helped to ease the pain. So did the prospect of staying at a park with a lake, playground, paddle boats, and cable. Luxury, here we come...

Baton Rouge, LA

The weather was beautiful in Baton Rouge. Close to 80 during the day and 60s overnight. We celebrated by eating lunch outside. There was a lot of room for the kids to play, and an on site playground, so we spent the first day just enjoying the weather and the park.

The next evening, we went to explore the town. Baton Rouge was a tough one, because everything cost money. We don't have money to spend. It is expensive living on the road. It's not bad if you find a cheap park and stay there for a few months at a time. Our month at Hill Shade was only $300! But when we are traveling, the daily rates are a lot more expensive--we try to average about $20 a night--and you have to add the cost of gas to the equation. At 7 mpg, that adds up quickly. So we eat in most of the time. I like to go to markets to get fresh local food, and then cook at home. I try to save up our eating out fund for those times we are in a place where I really want to gorge. New Orleans is going to be one of those places. We also have to find things to do that don't cost money. Since we are tourists in a new place every couple of days, we want to find ways to explore. But we can't do museums, official tours, zoos, aquariums, etc. But we have had a lot of luck with parks, beaches, nature preserves, and just walking around the city. Baton Rouge didn't have a lot of that stuff. And even the historical landmarks charged admission. So we spent a lot of time playing at the RV park, and just went to explore the downtown one evening.

The downtown is right on the Mississippi River. That was cool. And they had a nice area where you could just sit and enjoy the river, which was also cool.    

As we walked back to the car, we come across a really big fountain that the kids had a great time with.

And an old train that I took a lot of pictures of everyone next to.

The next day, I woke up and left early to go into town. The internet at the park wasn't working, and I needed to get some work done. Plus, I had a haircut appointment! Alicia had suggested Aveda Institutes for an on the road haircut, and Baton Rouge just happened to have one. It ended up taking two hours, and I walked out of there with a blow out, curled under bangs, and a numb skull, but, all in all, it turned out fine. I didn't get done until 12:15, and Mark had to be out of the park by 12, so I just met him at a Dollar Store parking lot where we hooked up the car and headed to New Orleans!