Camp Freeland Leslie

Mom and Dad were able to get away to play because William was at Boy Scout Camp!   It was his first sleepaway camp, and he had a great time.  He did merit badges for Archery, Woodcarving, Camping and Cooking.   I was able to get him to pose before he left for camp, and then pull a few photos off of the camp's website.   I don't think he really used his phone at all while they were there, which is good.    They slept in tents and due to COVID, it was one boy per tent.   But my only child liked that.   He'll probably be disappointed if he has to share in future years!   We were excited that he'd had at least his first vaccination before going to camp.  Due to his birth date, he didn't have time to get his second beforehand, but he got it as soon as he got home, which was a collective sigh of relief for our family.   

Our 20th Anniversary

Happy 20th to us!  Our anniversary was on June 2 when we were driving home from New Orleans ALL DAY.   We postponed the celebration until this week when William was away at Boy Scout camp so we didn't have to worry about a babysitter.

Our first trip on an airplane for 2021!   We weren't sure when we booked this flight what our vaccination status would be, so I was excited to find a great rate to use my American miles for more distanced first class seats!   Luckily we were both fully vaccinated and just got to enjoy the extra space.  Because of the miles, we flew into Fort Lauderdale and rented a car to drive the rest of the distance to Key Largo for our week of no plans!

We slept, swam, read, ate and drank, and we watched iguanas and sunsets.   An amazingly relaxing few days!

Gardening

We planted basil, parsley, loose leaf lettuce, romaine lettuce, broccoli and jalapenos from seeds.  This was the first time we did seeds instead of plants.   The basil didn't turn out at all, but luckily our neighbor planted two plants which we've been able to use.    The birds loved visiting our pots and helped us by "planting" a pumpkin and a tomato plant!   We ended up transplanting the broccoli to the garden, the pumpkin to another patch in the yard and the tomato to the basil bucket.   It's been a real treat to have the lettuce one leaf at a time for sandwiches and wraps.    It look about 6 weeks for it to take off.  And then they had a rainy, rainy week and when we came back from the Keys the lettuce had exploded!!!!  The loose leaf lettuce was starting to bolt, so I gave away everything we weren't going to be able to eat in time.  The romaine is a little heartier, and although we gave away a bunch, we still have a lot.  The bunnies found it while we were in New Orleans because I left it on the patio instead of the ledge.  Luckily it all recovered!  It's been so much fun to watch!

New Orleans Birthday Bash

The last day of school was Friday leading into Memorial Day weekend and the day before William's birthday!  Since the last day is just report card distribution and mass, they were finished at 9 am, and we hit the road for a birthday bash!

But first we started off the day with birthday presents and Boston Cream Pie!

William decided he wanted to build some of his new Halo sets in the car!  Here he is multi-tasking with building and videos.   We've now been on several roadtrips this year.  It makes me laugh that except for crinkling plastic you can't even tell he's back there!  He just pops those headphones on and is in his own zone.

Our destination was New Orleans to see the National World War II Museum.   We had planned to make this trip the prior October during fall break, but Hurricane Eta changed our plans.  On the reschedule, we decided to rent VRBO and got a three bedroom house with a pool and room for Uncles Ryan and Tarek and Grandpa Roger to join us!

We stayed overnight the first night in Kentucky so we'd be able to arrive in New Orleans in time to meet my dad's flight.   We found him on our first lap through the parking area, and we were quickly on our way to the house.  It was too early to check in so we tried to grab lunch nearby.   It was a humid Saturday afternoon and every place was packed.   We struggled to find something since it was so crowded and every place was understaffed.  And now I don't even remember what we did find.  But soon it was check in time and we got into the house and right away into the pool and enjoyed some snacks from the local market.

For dinner that night we walked to a brewery that had a combination of Creole and Asian cuisine.  Crawdads were our messy appetizer!   For dessert William has his first of several bread puddings on the trip.  He was a big fan!  Back at the house he got to unwrap presents from his uncles and grandparents.

Sunday was all day at the National World War II museum.   We walked through the heart of New Orleans (alternating Royal, Bourbon and Decatur streets) on our way there.   It was an incredible museum that is easily a multiple day visit, if you like to read all the things like we do. 

We called it a day mid-afternoon and started the walk back home.   We found some drinks and beignets along the way to break up what would have otherwise been about a 45 minute stroll.

We had dinner at the amazing Atchafalaya in the Garden District.   It was a beautiful night to sit outdoors, and in a lovely coincidence, Ryan knew the host from when they each lived in Chicago.  We were treated to amazing service and delicious food!  We ate every single bite and sip put in front of us.  My favorite may have been the complimentary blue cheese flan dessert which I paired with homemade Grand Marnier.   William's favorite was his steak and another bread pudding. 

For another group excursion, we went on an airboat tour.   A shuttle bus picked us up in the city for the 45 minute drive to the swamp.  We were 6 people booked on a small airboat that was advertised as 6-8 people, so I assumed we had a private boat.   Unfortunately they packed us in with four other people so we had 10.    After that frustration and disappointment had passed, we did enjoy the tour.  We saw birds and a lot of alligators and one racoon.

Back at the house we swam some more and then played Exploding Kittens and ate frozen pizzas for dinner.   William had gotten a phone from my parents for his birthday gift, so he had fun taking and editing photos.  These next few are his.  

Our final full day was a yummy brunch to fuel us for a second day at the museum (Grandpa and William) and a tour of Bourbon Street (Lisa and John).     John and I dropped off the guys at the museum and then drove around looking at the houses in the Garden District before returning to the house to park and walk to Bourbon Street.   

Tuesday afternoon on Bourbon Street gave me enough of the flavors and smells to satisfy my curiosity.  I left my kid at home (or at a museum...) but we saw plenty of other kids wandering around the dirty streets.  Including one without shoes.   Two hours, two drinks and I was good!   We got back to the house and into the pool to cool off.  William and my dad arrived not too long after having walked home from the museum.

We drove straight through home on our last day, since we already had to be up at a decent hour to drop off the guys for their flights home.   It was a long drive but we were so happy to have had family time together after more than a year apart!