At the Beach

Here are a couple more photos I just had to share from Dauphin Island.

Grandma's Visit

It was so wonderful to have my mom visit us over a long weekend! The kids and I really enjoyed spending time with her. We went to the zoo, Dauphin Island, the children's museum, and the pool at the base. With Andy gone it was really nice to have a chance to get a few things done around the house while grandma played with the kiddos! Our trip to the beach was lots of fun! No oil there yet, but the workers were scouring for tar balls. On the surf side of the beach, which we avoided, the smell of oil was definitely present. Really the saddest part was that we were there on a Friday and there were only a handful of people there.

Andy did finally return home on Sunday evening and he has actually been home in time for dinner the last two nights in a row--that hasn't happened in over a month! So far, it is looking good for him to be home on Friday and this weekend to be with the kids while Laura and I have a fun girls weekend on the beach (hopefully) somewhere!

Wildlife Adventure

Today the kids and I went looking for something fun to do around Covington. At the Global Wildlife Center in Folsom, LA we certainly found it. It is a ride through park where you get a chance to feed and pet lots of the residents. We saw and fed lots of great animals including some longhorn (very upclose) and two baby zebras. Now we are headed down for more swimming. There are no guarantees, but I am hopeful that Andy will get off early enough this evening to see us for a few minutes before we head back home.

Children's Museum Birthday Party

William had a friend's, Jasmine's, 5th birthday party yesterday at the NO Children's Museum. Lots of great hands-on fun--much like the Magic House in STL. Clark had to go along as Andy is still on location north of the lake, but he certainly didn't mind as he loved it too! After the party we headed north to visit Andy again. He got back too late to see the kids before bed, but they did get to go swimming at the hotel. At least they did get to have breakfast with him this morning before he headed out for another day of it.

Another Trip to the Zoo

Ok, you may be tired of the posts related to our zoo trips, but the kids LOVE going there and yes, we went there again this week. Actually between the zoo and the aquarium, we usually get to one or the other about weekly. We went to the aquarium again on Sunday. Our last several trips to the zoo haven't been so wonderful because all of the school kids have been going for their end of year field trips and it has been very crowded. However, when we went on Tuesday, we went late in the afternoon and practically had the entire place to ourselves and the weather was finally a bit cooler too. I finally took a picture of the kids' favorite attraction at the zoo--the swamp monster. Yes, their favorite thing at the LA zoo isn't even alive. The swamp monster is sort of like the a Big Foot of legend and lore in the LA swamp.

Trip to Covington

After picking Wm up from school yesterday afternoon, the kids and I headed to up to see Andy--he is staying in Covington while working in Robert. When we arrived at the hotel the kids immediately wanted to go swimming, which we did for a couple of hours. Andy was supposed to get back around 7pm, but wound up working late so the kids didn't get to see him before bed. At least they did get a little dad-time this morning before he headed out for another day of it. We had our own adventure planned for the day. There is a Rail to Trail bike path that starts in Covington and winds through the area that we went to explore. We started at Covington and went to Abita Springs and Tammany Trace for a total of 16 miles via bike. It isn't a lot, but when pulling 80 pounds in the heat, it made for a great workout for mom. The kids did really great because there were two nice playgrounds along the route. The kids are napping at the hotel now, but when they awake, I am sure we will be headed to the pool before we journey back home.

End of Pre-School Program

Monday was Wm's end of pre-school program. They sang about 15 songs and each introduced themselves to the audience. Wm said he really liked performing and boy did he ever sing his little heart out! I was even able to get a photo of Wm with both of his teachers, Ms. Kim and Ms. Laura. It is hard to believe that his time at pre-school is nearly over (tomorrow is his last day) and then kindergarten is just around the corner!

One of the girls in Wm's class (Annabella, the one eating pizza with him) hosted an end-of-the-year bowling party on Monday afternoon. The kids really had a fun time there! Clark really likes bowling and he completely understands the object of the game, even crying once when he missed the pins. I was there by myself with the kids so photos of the bowling were near impossible--as it was, I had Clark stealing other kid's turns and throwing his ball on the wrong lane. Thankfully the parents were very understanding and helpful!

Unfortunately Andy did not get to attend either of these functions with us. On Sunday afternoon he was told to be in Robert, LA first thing Monday morning. Robert is actually north of Lake Ponchartrain--further from the ocean and oil than we are in NO--I know it makes little sense to me too, but it is where they are heading up part of the response effort.