My Seester and the Cherub. Aaaand another long vacation post.

And here he is. Just looking at him makes my heart hurt. I need another baby. This is William. My sister's sweet boy. He's about 8 weeks in this picture. Love that baby.

Amongst this summer's vacations was this trip to Louisiana to visit my sister and meet this sweet little man. Can I tell you how exhausted I was after catching two flights... one being 4 hours, the other being 3... and trying to keep my two little stinkweeds quiet/entertained/fed/pottied/rested... while fighting off clausterphobia in our 2 foot by 3 foot space on the plane, all while Damon sat on my lap!? Oh my. Robyn, you KNOW I love you. It was not a fun ride, but we made up for it as soon as we met up with the cousins!

Item #1 on the agenda? Play in the pool. Check.

Alice, Ella, Dom, Dame

"One, two, threeeee..."

"...SPLASH!"

Slippin' and Slidin'

The Back Yard

Robyn's yard literally backs up to forest. So beautiful. And so fun because her girl's have an awesome playhouse/swingset/slide built just for them. Lucky ducks. Dom and Dame were in HEAVEN...

Allie-Boo

Shoot. If that ain't a back woods boy... I don't know what is.

Dame

My sister is an amazing cook...

this is the beginnings of red beans and rice.

And this is a house out of Gone With the Wind.

Not really. But it could be. So gorgeous out there.

And so gorgeous right here. :) Look at this beautiful little man. Oh my... I need another one of these...



We stopped at a neighborhood park to let the kids play for a bit. This park was so pretty. Here's the neighborhood lake - which is right by the park, there was a plethora of canoes just piled up on the right (just out of the picture) that the residents just leave there for easy access to a quick skim on the water. I wish.

Here's a bunch of pictures of the kiddies having fun...

Dom's favorite was the tire swing.



I love Alice's hair in this picture... and Dom's face.


So much fun, those cousins.


Sliding...
Cheesin'...


Playin'...


and climbing...


One of the super-fun things that we did was go to a "Safari"! It was so awesome. And so, so hot. Check out those pink cheeks!

Here's all (almost) the kiddies before the safari started... sitting in the "covered wagon".

...the other kiddie was plum pooped.
Ugh, my poor sister wore him in that sticky, unforgiving heat.

Dominic and his cup of feed for the animals...

Damon, going in for another handful. I wasn't thinking when I handed him his own big cup of feed that he would see it as a tasty treat. He successfully shoveled an entire handful of pellets into his little mouth and was pretty much finished swallowing the last remnants before I could pry his mouth open to try and dig them out. Then he threw a huge tantrum because he couldn't have more. He kept saying, "Mmmmmm, Mum!" and then crying.

Allie-boo and her feed.

Me and the boys.


The animals flocked to our safari train like flies on poop!



Dom and the camel.

I LOVE this picture. So fun. My boys were mesmerized.


Damon even mustered up the courage to offer a tasty (beloved) pellet to his camel friend...

Happy camel... even cheesed for my picture.



William slept through most of the action...

And then there were giraffes... my favorite.

I was surprised at how uninhibited Dom was. He usually plays it on the safe side, but he loved feeding all the animals.

Dom and the Llama. I think it's a llama?

The zebra, giving the boys a staredown.

The only animals you were not allowed to feed. They bite, those zebras.

This, is a Texas Long-Horn.

Did you know they're really not from Texas at all? Spain.

He's like... "Get in my belly!"

The Safari was a blast... but the best part of this whole trip was seeing how much the kids loved each other. Dominic was in heaven.

LOVE.

This little lake is on the other side of the road from my sister's house. The owners let them go fishing here whenever they like. Allie-boo caught her first fish.

It would be so good for my soul to live here. Green everywhere you look... and tall trees... that kind of stuff makes me come alive! But then the humidity would just suck the life right back outta me, soooo...

Alice and her nasty little friend. That girl is a tom-boy.

Cori and his Mini-Me.

Awww...cute little Mini-Me.
Another awesome (and refreshingly INDOOR) place we took the kids was the"Louisiana Children's Discovery Center".

Of course, the first stop was the beloved train table.

Here's the boys, riding bareback.

Dame, his cup runneth o'er...

Man, this boy was in la-la-love... check it out:

Alice, Dom, and Dame... somersault-ers extraordinaire.

Alice

Dame

Ella

Dom

The tunnels...

... the puzzles.

And while we were there, we saw some super-cute construction guys...

...and also a couple of veterenarians.

...who take pride in their work and really love the animals they care for...

"Yup... compacted bowel. Just as I suspected."

Then we saw some Emergence Medical Technicians...

As well as some skilled surgeons, who knew how to keep their cool on the operation table...

...even when they sometimes messed up...

There were also jolly farmers...

Who know how to use a wheelbarrow...

...and aren't afraid to milk a cow.

We saw a couple of grocery Store Clerks, checking the produce for quality control...

...and running a mean cash register.

Concert pianists...

And world-class actors...

...who, by the way, put on an amazingly entertaining show.

...seriously, check it out:

The kids LOVED the bubble section.

This pully surrounds you in a ginormous bubble as you pull the rope down and the metal ring rises up...

...and the car racing section...

...such a fun day!

And one of the most awesome parts about this trip was not only that I got to meet my sweet little William, but I was able to be there for his Blessing! :) Doesn't he look so handsome in his blessing outfit? I love him.

I had every intention of making him a quilt and bringing it with me on this trip. Who was I trying to kid? I barely have enough time and energy to brush my teeth on a daily basis... let alone make a quilt. And I only have two kids! Anyway... I got him his blessing outfit instead. Still sentimental... but a lot less work. :) (Although he would have been worth every stitch and every needle prick.)

Handsome.

Little.

Devil.

Look at that face. Dome says he wants a baby "Wee-yum".
Welllll.....

I think he just wants me to have another baby so he can watch me pump. Because that boy rarely missed a pumping session.

Sorry Aunt Robyn! It was just so mind blowing. He couldn't help himself...

Ella proved to be quite the little Mother Hen. I'm jealous that Robyn will have a built-in babysitter in just a few short years. I cannot believe she'll be 8 in October. Her days were full of organizing fun games for everyone to play. Such a sweet, tenderheart this one is. Love her.

In our down time, we made some fun little books for the girls like the one Dominic has. I got the idea from my friend Amy's cute blog, here! (about 1/2 way down the page) So easy. So cheap. So nice for church, airplane rides, car trips, doctor's offices, etc. Just need a folder with brads... or a ringed binder, sheet protectors, a cheap workbook, an old sock for erasing, and dry erase markers... we added a zippered pencil pouch to keep the markers and sock in.

Dominic learned how to shake his groove thing (kinda) with Ella and Alice...




We had so much fun, it flew by and we were left feeling totally un-finished! I will remember next time to plan on at least a week and a half or maybe two. One doesn't cut it. I love this sweet family so much. I wish they were closer. I wish. I wish. I wish.

Here is our sad (but crazy-silly... so it didn't get too sad) trip back accross the lake to the airport in New Orleans.

This bridge crosses the Lake Pontchartrain from Madisonville to New Orleans. It is the world's longest "double-span" bridge. I think it's 21 miles long.

Robyn, thank you sooooo much for always showing us an absolutely amazing, fun-packed, wonderful time! I love you with all my heart, sweet sister! Next time... you guys. Arizona. Start saving.