Family Vacation

Our family enjoys finding opportunities to do things together. While living in Houston we have taken as much time as possible to visit local attractions (zoos, museums, etc), but have unfortunately found little time to leave the grasps of the big city. Luckily for us Tena's parents went to New Orleans for a business trip back in April which helped us visit family and go on a little vacation at the same time. (This post is a little outdated but I figured the pictures would be interesting anyway.)

I have no intention of boring any of you with a daily itinerary of our activities but thought some of you may enjoy seeing some pictures of the New Orleans area. We had a fun time quickly moving around the French Quarters, listening to local bands, going on a boat ride down the Mississippi River, visiting the oldest cathedral in the United States, and so on.

(Louisiana Superdome)

(one of the local bands playing on the streets of the French Quarters)

(boat ride on the Mississippi)

St. Louis Cathedral--founded in 1718
(view from the boat)

We also took time on our drive back to Houston to visit an old plantation in Louisiana. It's called the Oak Alley Plantation (built in 1839) and from the pictures below you will see the reason for the name.

(front view)

(view from the front balcony)

(view from the side balcony)

(view from the back balcony)

28 live oak trees in two well-spaced rows

(oak trees have the lifespan of about 600 years and these trees are about 300 year old)

Our Little Genius

I had no idea Brooklyn could to this until a few days ago. Joe said he tries to do this with her every day. I was impressed!

She has a hard time saying "F" but just wait until you hear how she says "W"--it's my favorite.

P.S. Don't pay attention to the bike in our bedroom. The apartment complex is suppose to be painting the outside of all the buildings "soon."