Whew.

Is all we have to say.  The both of us, and probably Jayden a little too, are exhausted.  We had a wonderful time in New Orleans and it was really weird to be able to have our own schedule, to sleep in past 7 am (and even once until 11 am!) and to be out past 7 pm (and once until 4 am!).  And while it was really nice, we both missed Jayden terribly and were excited to get home on Tuesday.  Wednesday, when we both had to go back to the office, was an entirely different story.

Jayden and Gramma had a great time together, from what we can tell.  The house is a disaster, there are toys everywhere, they clearly survived on ice cream and potato chips and I think Jayden wore the same thing every day.  I'm kidding.  Entirely kidding.  Jayden is super happy and I think Gramma was too.  I wanted to call Gramma to tell her something today, but he told me I couldn't because she was talking to Grampa.  I told him Gramma and Grampa are okay if I interrupt sometimes but he told me no.  So, sorry Mom - I tried to call but clearly the two year old must be obeyed!

We left Thursday morning, but not so early that we didn't get to see Jayden.  We ate breakfast and went for a walk together before we took off for the airport.  The airport was a whole different kind of adventure, but we made the plane with minutes to spare, luckily.  We landed a little late, just after 5 in New Orleans, went to the hotel, dropped off our stuff and headed out to the live concert in the park up the block from our hotel.  After wandering around there (and checking in with Jayden on the phone of course), we headed straight for Pat O'Briens and the world-famous hurricanes.  I quickly learned why those are so dangerous and learned that one is plenty.  We met up with my friend Maya for a bit before she headed off for a sold out show.  Carmen and I wandered around Frenchmen (a street with a bunch of live music venues) and then headed back to the hotel.

Out hotel.  Such a cute little inn, and great location.

The patio at Pat O'Briens.

My mom was great about sending email and photo updates to help us get our Jayden fix:

Playing in the sandbox on a beautiful Southern California day.

The next day we slept in, then wandered around the city.  Since I had never been to New Orleans, it helped me get my bearings and figure out where everything is.

A balcony in the French Quarter.

At the Riverfront.  I realized it's the first time I've seen the Mississippi River!

The street car along the Riverfront.  We never actually got to ride it sadly.

A bar called Evangeline in the French Quarter where we found some good drinks, good music and decent people.  One of the bartenders was from Sonoma and told us she'd been in New Orleans for a year and a half and to sum it up, she hates it.  She was hilarious.  

A great Zydeco band in a bar on Bourbon Street.  Called the Krazy Korner, I think.  The band was Dwayne Dopsie.  The Dopsie family is a famous Zydeco family - we saw some relative of his a few days later at Jazz Fest.  Bourbon Street clearly has the best people watching ever and this bar was no exception.  

The Wright Charter High school band parading down Bourbon Street in the middle of the day.  Because why not.  Sadly they did most of their organizing where we were and didn't really start playing until they got past us. 

We had dinner at world-famous Mothers.  We were lucky enough to miss the line, which was amazing.  The food was pretty good and the experience was a lot of fun.

Sorry, no pictures of Jayden from Friday, but stay tuned!

Saturday we slept in a little, but then got our bottoms out of bed and actually worked out.  I went for a run in the heat and humidity and Carmen got a little exercise in too.  We were pretty proud of ourselves, and feeling much better too.  We continued on our laid back exploration by wandering down to Frenchmen to find lunch.  We ended up in a little bar that had a pianist playing.  During his break he came over and talked to us about Jazz Fest the next day and gave us some recommendations.  He'd played as a guest at Jazz Fest the night before, and just before we left, PBS randomly came in to film him.  Sadly I have no idea what his name was.  But he was pretty good, and the food in that place was great!

A horse-drawn carriage down a street in the French Quarter.

In a plaza near the Riverfront.

An impromptu concert in the main square down by the Riverfront.  These guys were great.  And all of the art exhibits around the square were great too.  We kept talking about buying something but never did.  We're so picky!

Drinks in an oyster bar in the French Quarter.  Nothing like electric green drinks.  Mostly Carmen was upset because we ordered a dozen oysters and they only gave us eleven.
After snacks we met Maya for a drink before she got on the Riverboat and we headed out to our concert.

At the concert we went to that night: the Hot 8 Brass Band, Talib Kweli and Pretty Lights.  We were by far the youngest people there and some of the few people who knew who Talib Kweli was.  We also missed all but the end of the Hot 8 Brass Band, which was disappointing.  I did not love Pretty Lights, which was a DJ playing with other instruments, but Carmen respected them.

The concert was in Champions Square, which is the area just outside the Superdome.

Talib Kweli

Pretty Lights with some members of the Preservation Hall Jazz Band.

Pretty Lights and Eric Krasno (the guitarist)

Meanwhile, back in California....
Saturday means swim day!  He threw a fit before getting in the water but Gramma said that 15 seconds later he was happy (and she has proof!)

15 seconds after throwing his fit, this is what he looks like.  Somehow I think he recovered okay.

Floating on his back.  Gramma said he laid like this for 30 seconds or so!  He's getting so much more comfortable in the water, although Ms. Stacy has said he's more comfortable in the shallow end than in the deep end, which is funny.

Night night time.  Such a handsome little boy.  Oh sorry, BIG boy.  Don't get that one wrong.  He is not funny.  He is not cute.  He is not handsome.  He is not silly.  He's a "BIG boy."

Sunday we braved the heat and the crowds and headed out to JazzFest.  We got there only a little after it started and immediately found the crawfish bread, which was probably one of the most important finds of the day.  We then wandered among stages, getting our bearings and generally checking out the scene. Once again, amazing people watching.

Welcome to Jazz Fest!

The Zydeco band we saw.  This guy (another Dopsie) knew how to put on a show.  He channeled Jimi Hendrix, he was making all kinds of dance moves - some seriously high energy.

Charlie Wilson and his colorful dancers on the screen.  This was one of my favorites.

Jammin' to Uncle Charlie Wilson.  This is where the energy was for sure.

The INSANE crowd at Eric Clapton.  Sadly he was very disappointing, which is why we left partway through to see Charlie Wilson.  

The concert for the taxi line - they were awesome too.  

The cutest kids ever, second to Jayden obviously.  We bought our water from them.  They totally got me.  But that's fine.

Sunday evening we went to probably the best show of the weekend; the London Souls and Karl Denson's Tiny Universe.  Completely high energy and great music.  Highly recommend if you ever get to see them.

The London Souls.

Me and Maya.  Carmen took a really close up picture.  

Karl Denson's Tiny Universe.

And of course, things were going well in California too:

Painting his masterpiece.

Making funny faces for Mommy and Daddy.

Driving to get Gramma food.  He apparently took a lot of trips to the "store" in his car to get Gramma food.  Must be nice.  :)

Monday was our last day and since Sunday was our late night we decided to take it easy.  Plus, we kept reminding ourselves we had to be parents the next day so we wanted to be somewhat functioning.  So, what else would we do but go to the zoo?!?  It was a great time, and we took a city bus back to the French Quarter and got a great little tour of the city too.

First we stopped at one of the famous cemeteries just a few blocks from our hotel.

It was a perfect day, warm of course, but with clouds and even a breeze sometimes.

Silver back gorillas.

A GIANT alligator.  I am not a fan.

A beautiful white tiger, in the middle of a yawn so we could see his jaws.

A bright green frog.

Hangin' out with the monkeys.

Giraffes!

A white alligator.  Not albino, but another genetic mutation called leucistic.

Our last evening in the French Quarter.

Our hotel.  We stayed in the portion of the property that was across the street and was the former home of Marie Laveaux, who was a famous psychic.  The rooms were great, the location was great and it was so charming. We had a great little courtyard behind our rooms with tables and chairs. It was perfect.

Armstrong park, about half a block from out hotel, where the free concert was on Thursday when we got there.  The front desk guy at the hotel recommends the gumbo there, in case you're interested.

And Tuesday it was up super early to get on the plane and race back to our awesome BIG boy.  Oh, and to officially celebrate the big 4-0.

A casual family photo on the couch after naptime.

Wearing the birthday horns at Daddy's birthday dinner.

Giggling at Daddy's birthday hat.  And yes, we did get to bring the sombrero home, so if you ever need a birthday sombrero, feel free to give us a call.

Wow.  So if you made it to the end of this marathon, you get a treat.  Jayden has been super cute recently.  One weekend morning I actually had time to shower and blow dry my hair and I came outside where he was playing with Carmen and he came up to me, touched my hair with his hands and said, "Mommy.  Mommy, your hair is beautiful!"  He said it with such emphasis and sincerity.  And recently when he sees what I choose to wear in the morning he'll either give me a "oooh, I wiiiiike it," or a "oooh, mommy, that's beautiful."  It's so cute.  And nice to have the approval even if it is from a two year old who thinks neon orange shoes go perfectly with his red Christmas socks and his blue Nike jacket.  So while you may not be able to count on him for style, per se, you can count on him to compliment you on yours.