Mardi Gras

In February, we decided to head to home for Mardi Gras. We haven't been home for Mardi Gras since we moved 9 years ago. I don't know why we get so excited over beads but there is something about Mardi Gras that can't be described, you have to just be there.

And just an FYI. Mardi Gras is not just in the city full of tourist and drunks. It takes place over a several weeks with parades on the East and West Bank, that are very family friendly.

Waiting for the parade to start

 

 

 

Throw me something mister

 

Like father like daughter and son.

 



 

Ripley's

Wordless Wednesday. Here is some pictures of our day at the Ripley's Aquarium and the surrounding area. 

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Tennessee

Before too long it was October, and we took a quick trip to Tennessee and met up with Grandpa Johnny and his wife Ms. Gert . I love Gatlinburg, TN there is so much to do, and the mountains are so peaceful.

We spent just 3 nights but we made to the most of our time. We stayed on the main strip so we were able to stay out every night until late.

We went hiking with the kids, and typical mayhem manner; we almost ran out of gas driving down  the mountain . Grandpa Johnny showed great resolve by not panicking but when the gas meter said 0 miles to E. I completely freaked, I had not heard Grandpa Johnny laugh that hard in a long time. 



Here are some of the pictures from our hike. 

                           Brody knows three dances, the sprinkler, the robot and the Egyptian



All I can say is beautiful.

I wish I could keep my kids little forever.

Universal Studios

We spent a day at Universal Studios, the girls loved it! The rides were bigger and it was more what they've been wanting to do. Things I loved about Universal were the great restaurants near the gate and Harry Potter World. Things that I didn't like were the long lines. Unlike Disney you have to pay extra to get a fast pass. The fast pass for all the rides was about $50 per person. That was outrageous! Brody only liked Harry Potter Word, everything else was too big. And Dr. Seuss area was very crowed.

 

All in all our trip was a lot of fun. We drove with 3 kids and made it in 1 day. We stayed at Shades of Green Resort. I highly recommend Shades of Green, if you are military of course. The lobby was nice, the room was great and we scored on a meal plan with the hotel's restaurant.

 

We also spent an afternoon on a swamp tour on a huge swamp truck. On our last night we had dinner at Ragland Road with our friends Marco and Jenn. The dancers were awesome and watching their little girls dance was priceless. But I think our favorite thing about Disney was Blizzard Beach it was so hot, I think we went three times during our stay.

 

 

 

Shades of Green