Mardi Gras

I've been ignoring my blog for the past week (oh, let's be honest...the past two weeks!).  But I do want to keep posting, and I need to catch up on some posts.

So Mardi Gras recap!

I great up (mostly) in Mississippi.  We "celebrated" Mardi Gras some, and by that I mean, we ate King Cakes.  And some people ventured a couple of hours down south for the festivities.  But that was the extent of my celebrations.

Bech's mom grew up in New Orleans, and his parents recently bought an apartment down there.  They are getting back connected with all of her family and friends.  In fact, Bech's mom even joined a Krewe!

Bech's mom is a member of the Krewe of Nyx, a fairly new, all ladies Krewe.  In late January, Bech and I got to go to the Krewe's Mardi Gras Ball.  His dad was traveling, but Hunter, his brother, filled in.  We got to wear long dresses and tuxes...and masks!

Hunter and I in our masks.

Miss Karey and I...aren't our masks great?  I want to wear mine all of the time!

My cute date.  

Some family friends--Sheryl is also a member of the Krewe.

The ball was so much fun.  We arrived at 7 to an open bar.  At 8, they introduced the court and the queen, and then we ate dinner.  After dinner, there was lots of dancing!  Bech and I are old folks, so we left at 12:30.  Bech's mom and brother stayed until 2...they are way tougher than us!

A couple of weeks later it was time for Mardi Gras!

***Sidenote:  I always thought Mardi Gras was wild.  Media always makes it sound CRAZY.  And it can be crazy.  But most of the parades and parade routes are totally family friendly.***

We weren't able to come down for Bech's mom's parade because it was in the middle of the week.  But we headed down the Saturday before Mardi Gras and spent two days in NOLA.  We had the BEST time, and I think Jack enjoyed it too.

The kids at Mardi Gras all sit in "ladder seats."  I was nervous at first, because they are really high!  But kids are never in the seats without tons of people in front and someone standing behind them on the ladder.  Plus, the seats are really sturdy.  This way, Jack was able to get lots of beads!

At the Krewe of Tucks parade.  Bech and Hunter caught these hats.  Floats don't just throw beads.  They also throw hats, stuffed animals, light up toys, cups, and doubloons.

Mr. John ("Farfar") got a Tuck's hat, too.  Everyone got to take a turn standing behind Jack.  It was pretty fun--the floats love to throw to kids!

I loved these guys--they all had recliners set on wheels!

A "Dr. Who" float.  All of the parades have themes and each float goes along with that theme.  This parade's theme was "Time." 

Penguins!  Obviously this was my favorite float.

These guys were great, too.  Dorky white middle aged guys with too short shorts and hilarious dance moves...what's not to love?

Most of the parades we went to that weekend were day time parades.  Bech's parents apartment is a block from St. Charles, the parade route.  We set up our stuff in the morning, headed out for the parade, and were able to walk back for drink refills, snack breaks, and nap breaks (for Bech and Jack!).  There was lots of family and friends, so lots of help with Jack!

Also, I feel like I need to let you know that I am now an expert at catching beads.  I decided, through advice from Hunter's friend Peyton, to go with the eye-contact, groveling method.  It seemed to work pretty well.  But now I have a massive amount of beads.  I did not consider the repercussions midst my bead groveling...

Saturday night, we ate oysters and hung out in the patio of the Evan's apartment building (it's really an old, beautiful New Orleans house).  Lots of friends dropped by.  Jack and his Farfar spent some quality time together.  Jack was pretty overwhelmed the whole weekend, but I think he loved all of the grandparent attention!

I'm not a raw oyster fan, but I think they're a pretty fun Louisiana food.

We enjoyed the whole weekend...I am now a fan of Mardi Gras.  I can't wait for next year.  I already got Jack a monogrammed shirt for next year's Mardi Gras!