Louisiana Vacation

Last week we were in Louisiana on vacation. We flew into New Orleans and spent a day there relaxing before heading off to see our friends in Lake Charles. I met Val when we were both in the process of our adoptions for our boys back in 2004. She is an amazing person and a great friend. I am so glad we had this special time to spend together and to see our children playing together!

When we arrived in Lake Charles, the kids immediately hit it off and played so nicely together.


We had fun playing with Conner and Mia's toys and visting the playground.

That evening, we went out to a restaurant and while waiting for a table, the kids got their faces painted.And, after baths, the girls got their hair done while the boys played waiting for their turn in the tub...

The following morning, we had some down time and watched movies and played.

That evening after we had dinner, we went to the local mall to visit the playground there and do a little shopping! No, Sela did not fall on her head, she was trying to do some tumbling...Here are our beautiful girls together. I was so pleased how well they got along and shared toys!

We got the kids matching outfits, and finally got a decent picture of the four together. They all looked adorable when we took them to the circus.That evening, after the best dinner ever, we went to the park, watched the sun go down and the kids play.

We hated to leave our friends, the kids cried, and I was very sad as well. When we arrived back in New Orleans, the kids took another dip in the rooftop pool after posing for a picture.

On our last full day in New Orleans, we took a bus tour of the city.Nathan learned how to take pictures, and although there were several closeups of his face and feet and various body parts of other people, he did manage to take some great pictures of the homes and architecture of New Orleans.

The kids loved to see the beads in trees as we went down St. Charles Street, the parade route for Mardi Gras.The saddest part of the tour was visiting the lower 9th ward, where most of the damage occured from Hurricane Katrina. This area was desolate and almost completely vacant. We learned that so many people left New Orleans after the Hurricane that even the police force is 400 people short! The rebuilding that is happening is wonderful, but not enough and not nearly quickly enough. Although, the homes that are being rebuilt are being built higher, stronger and hopefully more restistant should the city incur such a horrible hurricane again.We were sad to leave Louisiana, but we all agreed that this was one of our best vacations ever!!

Here is Sela getting dressed in the morning before leaving for the airport to come home. OOPS!