mardi gras break

As our first year in Baton Rouge, Ashley and I were both asked numerous times, "What are your Mardi Gras plans? Going to any parades?" Having grown up in Mobile, Mardi Gras is not really a novel concept for me. Plus, with a toddler, parades just don't sound that much fun. So, we took the few days off work as an opportunity to go out of town.

Ashley had a baby shower to attend in Jackson, so we drove up Friday afternoon and were there by dinner time.

Saturday morning was lounge-time ...

Then Ashley headed off to the baby shower (for Christy Ketchum) ...

Where she saw lots of college friends including Mica and Belle ...

And, though she should have expected it, she was surprised to also see her grandmother's sister, Aunt Jean (who's now married to Christy's Granddaddy), at the shower, too. Ashley says it was comforting to be around close friends and family.

After the shower, Ashley stopped by a fabric store on her way home where she ran into an old family friend from St. Mark's. Ashley and Ann shopped for fabric together and caught up. Then Ann decided she was going to make Eden a new blankie -- satin with pink and green polka dots. It was waiting for us at church the next morning.

After the fabric store, Ashley called me (I was getting my hair cut) and told me she had spoken to her college roommate, whose daughter just happened to be having a birthday party down the street. So, we went. I was sent on a shopping adventure by myself to Target to pick up a t-shirt for Caroline for her birthday present before we headed out - can't go to a party empty handed. The report from Mandy is that Caroline has already worn the gift and asked about Baby Eden.

On Sunday, we took Eden out to her favorite resturant, Ichiban. It has several buffet tables and even sushi! Of course, she was completely mesmorized by all the people, but her favorite game that day was playing "Hello" with her Granddaddy.

Then, on Sunday afternoon, we visited with a few old friends. Jeremey and Sarah Nicholas were some of the first people we met in Jackson as a newly married couple. We attended the same Sunday School class and joined a small group together that met on Sunday evenings. We had a long standing New Years tradition of playing cards that we kept for the first three years we were in Indiana (we've been derailed by pregnancy and sick babies but we're hopeful for next year). The Nicholas family is now 4 strong (Charlie is 3, and Mary Holland is just a few months older than Eden).

Eden especially liked Mary Holland's toys (MH's walker was Eden's favorite). Mary Holland was very gracious to share, and they seemed to play well together.

On Monday, after a morning of shopping for Ashley, Eden and her CC, we made our final stop at Chick-fil-A for lunch with CC and Granddaddy before we headed out of town. Overall, it was a nice little break, and we continue to count our blessings for living so close to family and old friends.