Life with Emma

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

Louisiana Trip- Day 1

Thursday morning, bright and early (too bright and too early), we headed out for Louisiana. The truck was loaded down with clothes, toys, and food! Luckily, Emma slept a lot of the morning and after she woke up, she watched a movie until time to stop for lunch. I had done some research, and decided we would stop at the Oakland Plantation outside of Natchitoches. http://www.nps.gov/history/nr/travel/caneriver/oak.htm It is a Creole plantation with lots of outbuildings, and it is free to check out! There was, also, a pavilion where we could eat lunch. We had a little minor freak out when the GPS only took us part of the way to the plantation and we couldn't find any other directions online. But I called the Park Service and got directions for the rest of the way. It was a little windy, so our picnic was not as fun as I had envisioned it, but it worked out. Then we walked around for a bit to stretch our legs.

Playing under the oaks...

What is it with this kid and rocks??

She didn't want to sit IN the tree!


Playing with Daddy.

Emma did really good the rest of the way into Baton Rouge, she watched movies and ate her snacks. When we got to Baton Rouge, Clinton wanted to stop at LSU to watch some of a baseball game that was going on. This was Emma's first LSU game! It was really just a scrimmage, but it was fun to see anyway.

After we left the ballpark, we decided to go by Mike the Tiger's habitat. It was just our luck that the "Tiger Whisperer" was there. Every other time we've stopped by to see Mike, he has been asleep in the corner and you could barely see him. But the "Tiger Whisperer" apparently goes and plays with him everyday and Mike knows him and will play. He even got Mike to go swimming, but I didn't catch a picture of it!

We finally made it to Mike & Terri's house! Mike was out of town on business, so Terri took us to dinner. It was great and had live music, which was good in case Emma decided to be loud! Back at the house, Terri cracked open some wine, and we enjoyed some time with her before going to bed!

Tuesday, November 2, 2010

The Game Plan

Busy weekend ahead for our bunch.

The itinerary is as follows:

Thursday- head out to Lousiana! Check-in at Casa de Mike & Terri Bell
Friday- Sesame Street Live show at 7 pm
Saturday- tailgating then LSU v Bama game -babysitting provided by Mike & Terri (pray for them)
Sunday- hopefully taking Uncle Nell to lunch, then heading home to Texas!

A problem presents itself... we are traveling with a 2 year old. This two year old has demonstrated her ability to be a "pain in the you know where" while eating at restaurants. Just ask my BFF Sara! So the problem is- what do we do about food while we are on the road? After discussing this with Clinton, we decided that we would try to pack a lunch and eat at a rest stop or roadside park along the way (fyi- Louisiana has really nice rest areas!) I can't let it be that simple! So I decided to challenge us! No fast-food, no restaurants, and no convenience store food while we are traveling (this does not include the time in Baton Rouge!) I thought about cooking up something that can be eaten at room temp, but I just am not channeling Martha today. I made a quick trip and picked up some sandwich makings, fruit, snacks, and drinks. I probably spent more on those things than we would have spent on the road, but don't tell Clinton. I will report back how we did next week! Stay tuned...

Trick or Treat

Emma got to go trick or treating twice! After her birthday party, with very little nap, we went to Trunk or Treats at Bogata. She actually did pretty good trick or treating this time. Although I think her Daddy had to say Trick or Treat for her most of the time!

The Cheatwood Girls and the Middleton Boys (with accompanying parents- don't you think its funny that the Daddies are holding the daughters and the Mommies are holding the sons?)

Mario, Luigi, and Ben Ten (aka the English Boys!)

The next night we went to the Cuthand Church and went trick or treating all over again!

Lady Bug & Minnie Mouse all ready to go!

Emma and Kinsley would not pose for Brittney and me!

The cutest little lamb, Nakota, and her mean ole daddy, Brodie.

Sunday, October 31, 2010

Emma's Birthday Party

We had Emma's 2nd Birthday Party on Saturday, October 30th at 11 am at our house. We are so blessed to have so many family and friends who took time out of their day to celebrate with us! Clinton cooked hotdogs and sausages. We had cake and ice cream. The kids played outside, then busted the pinata! Emma had a blast and received so many presents! Thanks so much everyone!