Been to Louisiana lately?

Jon's parents came for a visit over the Easter holiday, and we used this visit to do some sight-seeing around our neck of the woods. Jon was armed with his new camera and so after weeding through about 600 photos, I posted the ones I thought best showed off our area. We love having visits from our family. Both sets of grandparents make it a point to visit a few times a year. We would LOVE to host people more often, so I am using this blog post to officially invite anyone who has ever wanted to visit New Orleans to start planning your trip! If you have never wanted to visit this area of the country--you have no idea what you're missing! We live on the Northshore of Lake Ponchartrain, which is about an hour outside of the city of New Orleans. Our area is worth the trip even if you never make it to the French Quarter (but I would suggest you make it to the French Quarter). The Northshore offers beautifully, quaint small-town sights, and fantastic eating. It is extremely family friendly, and the natural beauty is like nothing you will see in any other part of the country. In the Spring and Fall, the weather is fabulous, and there are free festivals with art, music, and food almost every weekend. It would take days to explore all that the Northshore has to offer, but at some point, you would have to make it to the city. New Orleans is the most unique city in the country. Jon and I often tell people that visiting is like visiting Europe without ever leaving the US. And don't believe the hype--you can bring your children to the city of New Orleans! It's not all about naked women and drunks. If you visited during one of Tech's trips to the Sugar Bowl, you missed out on what this city is really all about. So I'm declaring an open invitation to come to Southeast Louisiana, see the sights, enjoy the food and music, and experience a place like no other!!!

Just don't visit in the summer unless you really enjoy the most intense heat and humidity you've ever felt. Take a gander at Grandma and Grandad's exciting time:

After a fabulous breakfast at Louie and the Redhead Lady Too (the Mandeville Location can be seen on Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives), we set out for a walk around Covington.

We stopped for a few pictures at the Columbia Street Landing where the city holds free concerts by the river once a month.

Grandma and Grandad posed for this unknowingly with some of Covington's "colorful" graffiti. Bad Jon.
Then, we headed to Lee Lane for some shopping.

and some posing with Grandad...

For dinner, we went to an outdoor restaurant in Mandeville to enjoy crawfish and bbq before taking a sunset stroll along the lakefront.

The sunset over Lake Ponchartrain. The causeway is in the distance.

Sunset kisses ;)

A rare shot of Jon since he always has the camera.

Saturday, we headed to the Covington Farmer's Market and then did a little shopping before enjoying a nice dinner at home.

Can anyone tell me why there is a statue of Ronald Regan at the Covington Trailhead?

Apparently, working the farmer's market is hard work and sometimes requires a farmer nap. It is also an occasion to dress up...you never know where the paparazzi will be, right Brighton or should I say Suri Cruise?

Sunday was Easter Sunday.We attempted a photo shoot after church. This is the best we could do:

Let the Easter egg hunt begin...

The kiddos changed out of their church clothes, so they could play with the bunny bubble blowers Grandma brought for their Easter baskets.

Brighton fell on the patio and scraped both knees. She was given bandaids and kisses, but she insisted that she could no longer walk. So we let her snuggle with Grandad and watch The Weather Channel, which soon became one of Will's favorite things to watch.

We headed out to the spouts in Abita Springs. Will had a blast, but Brighton decided she did not want to be wet (perhaps the trauma of having booboos was too much for her). We took her down to the park to play instead.

We celebrated Jon's birthday while his parents were here by getting his favorite: a carrot cake from Zoe's bakery. I scrounged around and found three candles--I figured 30 might be a fire hazard.

On Monday, we spent the afternoon in the quarter. We ate lunch at one of our favorite spots, Oceana grill, where we all (including the kids) pigged out on alligator sausage and eggplant sticks. Of course we had chargrilled oysters and various other Louisiana specialties. After all of that eating, we needed to walk off that super-full feeling. We ended the afternoon with a trip to the airport where we dropped off Grandma and Grandad. It was a great visit! Who's next?