My mom turned 60 in July and we certainly stretched the celebration out for as long as possible, 3 weeks to be exact! We had a family dinner on her actual birthday, a pool party the next weekend and then a girls weekend in New Orleans the weekend after that.
She suggested this no kids, girls weekend back in May and I immediately started freaking out about leaving Savannah for a weekend. For 2 months I got anxious everytime I thought about it and once the plane tickets were purchased it got even worse.
I knew that she would be ok and that James would be ok but I wasn't sure that I would be ok. The one thing that kept sticking out in my mind was, what if the plane crashes and I don't make it home? She would have no memories of me aside from pictures and the posts in this blog.
I cried when we left the house, I thanked the Lord when we landed safely in Nashville and thanked Him again when we landed safely in New Orleans, little did I know I needed to be worried about the taxi ride from the airport to the hotel - we definitely took the scenic route and counted 15 bullet holes in the windshield of the conversion van (complete with oriental rugs) and a driver that didn't seem to understand even the most basic English and couldn't count to three, as in 3 people in the car - I am happy to report that no additional bullet holes were put there during our trip.
Thankfully we were able to Skype (I LOVE technology) both nights I was away and I obviously made it home in one piece. I know that her daddy took good care of her and checked on her 3,000 times before he went to bed just like I do. We're so lucky to have him.
Our flight to NOLA left bright and early at 6:20 a.m. which meant we were up at 4:00 a.m. - you should never have to set your alarm for 4:00 a.m. regardless of what you have planned. Getting up that early is even less fun on 90 minutes of sleep. Savannah seemed to have an allergic reaction to some dandruff shampoo (the pediatrician's suggestion for clearning up a little case of cradle cap) and didn't sleep well, James and I were taking turns trying to get her down but eventually I just took over since I could sleep on the plane and he had to go to work. Nothing a little (big) Starbucks can't fix.
Somehow Sharri managed to put on make-up and even look excited about being awake.
Heading out to eat some lunch and hit the casino, looking a little more awake.
My sister hadn't arrived yet so we went to the pool for a little bit and snuck in a nap. After she arrived we went out to dinner and then to Pat O'Brien's for hurricanes and piano bar fun. Sharri and I were unimpressed at first but thankfully better entertainers arrived and saved the night!
Lafayette Square
We took the trolley down to the nicer area of New Orleans, thankfully there was one as I was beginning to question if a nice area even existed and saw Loyola University, Tulane, some beautiful houses with cool landscaping and beads in the trees leftover from Mardi Gras.