Thursday, March 17, 2011

NOLA to P-Cola

This week is spring break for the entire family. That's one of the perks of Steve being in school for a year. Luckily, Nathan, Kathryn and I all had the same week off. We kicked off spring break with a trip to New Orleans. Well, Steve, Nathan and I went there. Lady came to our house to babysit Kathryn for us. As we've mentioned before, Kathryn is not the most accommodating traveler. Nathan, on the other hand, is always willing to take a trip without any complaints about anything. It's amazing.
Maybe one day Kathryn will learn to travel like this.
Sunglasses hanging from his shirt.
One of the best parts about traveling with Nathan is that he is impressed with everything. One thing Nathan discovered was, "Wendy's is in Mississippi too! They have Wendy's in South Dakota and Alabama too!"
The sun was in my face so I couldn't see where I was taking a picture, but luckily I got the Louisiana sign in the picture for Nathan. He was a little worried about visiting Louisiana because he pictured it having alligators all over the place. We assured him that he would not be in any danger of alligators, so he agreed to go.
His favorite part of every trip is hanging out in the hotel room. We had a view of the Mississippi River. Nathan thought it was ridiculous that the river was called the Mississippi River. "It should be called the Louisiana River because it's in Louisiana."
Jumping on the beds is one of the highlights of hotel stays.
Our room had a long running path, reminiscent of our house in South Dakota. He's been missing that. He doesn't have the indoor running capabilities at our Alabama house.

His on again-off again girlfriend, Reagan, went to New Orleans too.
Apparently they are "on again" here.
Just because a drink is a particular bar's specialty, it doesn't mean you should try it. The sazerac isn't fit for consumption. I should have known better when we ordered it and the waitress asked us if we knew what it was. Nathan shoveled pretzels in my mouth for me to get rid of the taste after each sip.
Another smashed penny. Hopefully this one makes Uncle Joe jealous.Nathan had fun watching the lobsters while we waited for our table at the restaurant. He's fascinated by lobsters, and pretty much anything else Paw-Paw talks about with him.
Back to the hotel room -- Nathan's favorite part of every trip.
Settling in for bed for another fun-filled day in NOLA.
Nathan had pizza for breakfast as we waited for our boat tour.
This was our boat. Nathan went down and checked out the engine. He's into that kind of stuff.
Cruising down the Mississippi River.
Nathan took in the scenery.
All he really cared about was Reagan, though.

Carrying my lazy little boy all over town. We decided that he's too big to carry around after he turns 4 years old. He agreed, so he must not realize how soon his birthday actually is. He hates walking long distances. He considers long distances to be anything longer than grocery store aisles.
Nathan liked all the beads strung all over the place.
Back at the hotel with ice cream after a cab ride in a Crown Vic without sitting in a car seat = Happy kid.
They both have the same stylist.
Hopefully Nathan will cross Bourbon Street off of his list of places to visit when he's older since he's already been there.
On the way home we stopped at The Shed in Mississippi. It's a barbecue joint that was featured on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, so we decided to give it a try. It was really good, but Nathan got mad at Steve because he told him he had to eat his chicken before he could eat his Doritos. This little boy takes his chip intake very seriously.
He ate his chicken so he got to eat his chips and everyone was happy again.It didn't take Nathan long to get back in the routine of picking on Baby Sister once we made it back home.
Baby Sister and Lady got a lot of bonding time in so they're best friends now.
Well, they're best friends until Paw-Paw enters the picture and spoils her beyond repair during their Florida vacation. Paw-Paw and Lady took the kids to Aunt Ruth and Uncle Larry's beach house and to Uncle Joe's house in Pensacola after we got back from Louisiana. With that being said, I don't want to waste anymore precious time blogging when I can be sitting around doing absolutely nothing and it doesn't even matter. I think I'm going to try and work a grandparents vacation into our schedule at least once a month from now on. You're up for it right, Paw-Paw and Lady?

Saturday, March 5, 2011

Another Birthday Celebration

The birthday celebrations just keep on coming around here. Steve's birthday was last Thursday, but we saved the celebration for the weekend. It was all the regulars plus Great Grandma Gerken. It was the perfect opportunity for Great Grandma Gerken to visit with Jessica. She hasn't seen her in several months, so they had a lot of catching up to do.
This picture clearly shows the phase Kathryn just entered. Stranger Danger. I guess Great Grandma Gerken will have to come for more visits so Kathryn can get to know her better.
That's a picture of Steve on the cake. Nathan designed it. After Paw-Paw's party, he made sure I knew that pictures are only supposed to be made out of frosting.
Nathan is the designated party planner and candle blower.
As usual, nothing but the frosting for Nathan.
Little party girl.
Kathryn helps people blow their noses. She thinks it's so funny.
Grandma played restaurant with Nathan.
Jessica is always very intrigued by all the kids. She watched the cul-de-sac action very intently.Then she had to get in on all the fun.
So did Joe.
Paw-Paw played hide-and-seek with Nathan and the neighbor kids.
We all watched as Nathan showed off his new bike and his awesome biking skills. (Steve is really embracing the stereotypical Southern habits. Notice he's the only one outside without shoes on though.)
Last fall Paw-Paw promised Nathan a new big boy bike in the spring. Well, here it is. New bike and helmet!
Paw-Paw said, "Next thing you know Nathan is going to be asking me for the Crown Vic keys." Nathan put dibs on that car a long time ago.
Kathryn loves riding around on Nathan's new bike. Before I know it, she'll be big enough for a big kid bike too
These are the neighbor kids. Believe it, or not, they're only three months older than Nathan.

Another Birthday Celebration

The birthday celebrations just keep on coming around here. Steve's birthday was last Thursday, but we saved the celebration for the weekend. It was all the regulars plus Great Grandma Gerken. It was the perfect opportunity for Great Grandma Gerken to visit with Jessica. She hasn't seen her in several months, so they had a lot of catching up to do.
This picture clearly shows the phase Kathryn just entered. Stranger Danger. I guess Great Grandma Gerken will have to come for more visits so Kathryn can get to know her better.
That's a picture of Steve on the cake. Nathan designed it. After Paw-Paw's party, he made sure I knew that pictures are only supposed to be made out of frosting.
Nathan is the designated party planner and candle blower.
As usual, nothing but the frosting for Nathan.
Little party girl.
Kathryn helps people blow their noses. She thinks it's so funny.
Grandma played restaurant with Nathan.
Jessica is always very intrigued by all the kids. She watched the cul-de-sac action very intently.Then she had to get in on all the fun.
So did Joe.
Paw-Paw played hide-and-seek with Nathan and the neighbor kids.
We all watched as Nathan showed off his new bike and his awesome biking skills. (Steve is really embracing the stereotypical Southern habits. Notice he's the only one outside without shoes on though.)
Last fall Paw-Paw promised Nathan a new big boy bike in the spring. Well, here it is. New bike and helmet!
Paw-Paw said, "Next thing you know Nathan is going to be asking me for the Crown Vic keys." Nathan put dibs on that car a long time ago.
Kathryn loves riding around on Nathan's new bike. Before I know it, she'll be big enough for a big kid bike too
These are the neighbor kids. Believe it, or not, they're only three months older than Nathan.

Friday, March 4, 2011

Everyday Pix

We have had so much other exciting stuff going on lately that I haven't posted any just random everyday pictures of my kids. Here are a few and maybe one day I'll have time to post some more.