Happy Mardi Gras!

Despite some colder weather, we had a great time during our first Mardi Gras season! Before moving here, I had no idea that Mardi Gras actually lasts for two weeks. We made sure to take advantage of lots of different fun activities.

On the first weekend of Mardi Gras, we took Avery to a local daytime parade. It was so cold that day, but once the parade started rolling, nobody cared. Avery loved the floats, and she would dance in Roger's arms when each band passed. By the end of the parade, Avery knew to put her little arms up in the air to try to catch beads and other prizes. She was so cute to watch!

We had a fabulous surprise for the second weekend of Mardi Gras. Happy and JuJuBee decided to come to town to celebrate with us. They spent Thursday night downtown - enjoying the casino and Mardi Gras French Quarter style. On Friday night, we all went to a party at one of Roger's co-workers' house in Uptown. She lives just off of St. Charles Avenue - the main parade route in Uptown. Four big parades rolled by that night - one right after the other.

On Saturday, we went down to the French Quarter for lunch at NOLA - one of Emeril Lagasse's restaurants. While the food was great, Avery was not! She usually behaves remarkably well in restaurants, but on this day, she acted completely rotten - pitching a fit about sitting in the high chair, throwing food, etc. I was so embarrassed by her behavior, and poor JuJuBee spent most of the lunch trip taking Avery outside to cool down.

We came back to the house and Roger and I got ready to go to the Endymion Ball. We knew it was going to be a late night, and it was beyond comforting to know that Happy and JuJu Bee would be home with Avery.

The Endymion Ball is the biggest and grandest party for New Orleans Mardi Gras. The Ball is held in the Superdome, which is the final destination on the Endymion Parade route. I had NEVER seen anything like it before when these massive and completely over the top floats came rolling through the Superdome!

I will say that these crazy cajuns know how to throw the BEST party! There were amazing bands playing all night long, with Leonard Skynard as the headliner. Despite being 6+ months pregnant, I spent most of the night dancing on chairs with everyone else!

The Queen of Endymion

Everyone at the party is an invited guest of a member of the Krewe of Endymion. Because the Superdome is filled with friends and family and given that it is the end of the parade route, the number of beads and other goodies thrown is ridiculous!! You could leave that party with as many beads as you could possibly carry!

Roger and Shannon, who was part of the Krewe

Avery was very happy to see all of the goodies we brought home for her to play with! Beads and other throws from Endymion -

the big white teddy bear was her favorite!