We took our first "family of four" road trip vacation. We were out-smarting winter by going south in March. It would be warm there, cold here, and by the time we got home, we'd be almost into spring. Or so we thought... They had record cold temps in the south and we ended up with a total of one nice day. Every day, the forecast called for a warm up - tomorrow. We ended up driving home in a blizzard.
Since we were gone over Easter, the Easter Bunny had to visit our hotel room in New Orleans. Good thing we remembered to leave him a note! We spent the rest of the day in the New Orleans aquarium - you know, because it was freezing outside. We did have an incredible dinner that night!
Here are some alligators we saw in a cypress swamp off the Natchez Trace in Mississippi. I know they're hard to see in the picture. But, we were thrilled to see them! We had hope
d to see some on our Bayou tour south of New Orleans, but they cancelled our tour due to the cold.
We tried to make the best of a rainy, cool day in Natchez, MS. We waited for our carriage ride through the city for over an hour and it never arrived. They "forgot" to tell us they cancelled the rest of the rides for the day because of the lousy weather.
What a trip! Well, it wasn't ALL bad. We ate well and made the best of things by getting hotels with indoor pools so the kids could swim. And, we consoled ourselves with the fact that the weather was MUCH colder back at home!
Samantha played pillow polo this winter. It's a version of floor hockey, but they use heavily padded sticks and a soft ball. They were adorable, but it was sometimes difficult to watch a bunch of four and five year olds trying to play an hour long game. They'd lose interest so quickly, some would be sitting off by themselves, others whining for a drink or because they suddenly had to use the bathroom. Whoever was goalie that "period" was always the most comical. The kids would get so distracted playing with the net, the ball could come sailing by them and they'd never even notice. Samantha loved to run around the room, but not really after the ball so much. She just liked the thrill of running with the other kids. But, when she'd get to the ball, the other kids would fight it out to get the ball while Samantha trotted off. 
