Lemonade Mouth, New Orleans and Other Things

I had the best couple of days ever! I had a spa day and it was fabulous. I have had massages and I've had pedicures but never have I had a massage/pedicure/facial all at once. Oh, and I went with Steve to New Orleans on a business trip. Just kidding, New Orleans was better than the spa trip at the hotel. I've never been to New Orleans before so I had a blast. Steve and I went to the aquarium, took a riverboat tour, ghost tour, city tour and swamp tour. Since we had a limited amount of time and no transportation, that seemed like the best way to see the city. I also went on a tour of the World of Mardi Gras Warehouse where 80% of mardi gras floats are made. It is a very interesting process and I learned that eevery year during a 2 week period around Easter there are 54 parades, each consisiting of 14-32 floats. On the ghost tour I learned a bad tour guide makes it cheesy not spooky. On the city tour I learned that they bury their dead above ground so they don't pop out of the ground and body surf during floods. And on the swamp tour I learned that alligators like marshmellow and weenie roasts just as much as we do.

I also realized on the way to the airport that I had Texas cousins close enough to possibly visit. So if they feel like shunning me for not calling...sorry.

On the way home from New Orleans we had a short layover in L.A. In the airport we ran into 3 of the actors from the Disney Channel movie, "Lemonade Mouth." (They also happen to be on Zeke & Luther, Good Luck Charlie and Wizards of Waverly Place sitcoms). If you don't have kids old enough to be into the sitcom/movies on Disney or just don't have that channel then I say...lucky you! However, Katie, our 6-yr old is obessed with these shows. She knows all the episodes, characters, actor's real names and all shows they have been on. I am surprised at what she knows. She was so excited she wanted to get on the plane and go to L.A. and find them as if these kids actually live in the airport.

It's a cookie not dirt, I promise

Every year we go to the Beach for Nevada Day weekend. Our statehood holiday falls on Halloween. Somehow that seems fitting for Sin City. This year Steve's brother Bill & his family joined us in addition to my parents and my brothers James, Joseph & Eric and their respective families. We started our traditional trek to the beach several years ago with friends and every year we seem to add more family members to the group to replace the friends who haven't returned. The only ones that still camp with us are the Kleinpeter's, (who we consider family anyway so I don't know if they count as friends anymore). This year we faithfully brought our camera, which we never took out of the car and so I have had to rely on pictures from family. (Thanks Mom and Tina!) So without further ado here is our 2009 Beach Slideshow.

Pardon my dust...

I wanted to apologize for my disappearance act this summer. My summer has consisted of refereeing fights between the older 2, cleaning the never ending messes of the younger 2, and constantly feeding, changing and entertaining the baby. Any free time I have is usually spent sitting in the corner babbling like a madwoman.

The Highlights of my summer thus far include:

1. Lovely 4 yr old Katie deciding to walk home by herself from gymnastics and making it 2 blocks before being picked up by a passing bicyclist who took her back to the community center in time to chew out Steve for being a deadbeat dad.

2. Having enough of Levi and Rhyan's fighting and locking them outside in 100 degree weather while I showered in peace. (Peace being a relative word as I showered with the baby screaming in her Bumbo seat and Katie and Isabelle tearing up my house, but at least there wasn't a continual stream of tattling parading through the bathroom during said shower).

3. Kenna getting her first 2 teeth. Enough said.

4. Far, far too many hours spent in the car with family. (At least 3 so far).

5. Practicing to be a grumpy librarian, hoping this time they might actually be quiet and Kenna might actually sleep for longer than a half hour.

School starts in 19 days. It's not like I'm counting or anything.