New Orleans

Day 1! We got up a little late since we got into New Orleans at 2:00 am. We first went to the aquarium. The kids had fun there. We also went to the Imax theater and saw a 3-D show about the ocean. Mason was nervous at first but he got into it once he got use to the noise level. Tori thought it was really cool too, even though she wouldn't keep the 3-D glasses on.

St. Charles park.

Mom trying to keep Aryah warm while we walked the French Quarter.

Inside the Cathedral

Day 2! We hit the park and the zoo today! The most memorable moment of the whole trip was at the zoo! Mason was running to the fountain to throw a coin in when his shoe came off. (they are a little bit too big.) He tripped over the lost shoe, and dove head first into the fountain! Mom ran to fish him out afraid he had hit his head. Luckily he didn't, and the water was only about chest deep! Once Mom made sure he was okay, she started laughing so hard that Mason was able to keep all tears at bay! We had to go buy him a new outfit in the gift shop!

Day 3! We went to the Insectarium, and interactive museum about bugs! We also took a ferry from one side of the Mississippi river to the other. The kids thought that was a lot of fun! We actually got to drive our car onto the ferry and ride across in it! We also walked around the french quarter. It was fun to see all the shops, street performers and cool architecture! We made a stop at Cafe Du Monde for french doughnuts called beignets. They are scones covered with powered sugar that you dip into hot chocolate! They were super delicious!

Mom and Aryah

It was so cold today! Mom was trying to keep Aryah warm with the blankets!

The oldest cathedral still in operation in the United States! Taken from Mid Mississippi river!

A street performer.

The Insectarium. GROSS! The kids loved seeing all the bugs on display, Mom thought it was disgusting! Especially when Mason got to pet the cockroach! EEWWW!!!

Mason in the butterfly garden. (The only room Mommy liked!)

Ha ha! So funny!

Petting a caterpillar.

Day 4! We decided instead of just packing up and heading home we would make our last day count! After checking out of the hotel we made 3 stops on our way home! We went to an old plantation home just outside New Orleans. It was built in the early 19th century. It was amazing! This was the high light of the trip for Ashlee! She wants to build a house that resembles an old plantation some day! The history was fascinating as well. The kids were a little board, but the whole weekend had been about them so we didn't feel too bad about making them sit through the tour!

The plantation was called Oak Ally, because the front walk was lined with 28 live oak trees. They are over 300 years old! The were planted by the original owner of the property in the 1700's.

The kids had a lot of fun running around in the grass and playing on the trees.

We went and saw the oldest cemetery in New Orleans. The oldest grave we found was around 1830. There were much older ones but they were illegible. The cemetery must have been under water after hurricane Katrina because there was a lot of damage to the graves. The don't bury the dead in the ground, they put them in these above ground tombs instead.

Ashlee wanted to go see the lower ninth ward where hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans the worst. It was the place that that leavy broke, it was called the place of total destruction. A lot of the people who lived there didn't have any insurance on there home, so they couldn't rebuild. It was weird, you would see an abandoned, ruined home right next to a brand new home. It was all so sad. Ashlee was near tears the whole time. The old houses still had big X's on them with the number of people found in each home.

This home has a big X on it and the number 18, which is how many people were found dead in the house. Heartbreaking.