Tuesday, August 31, 2010

The new guy...

Our beloved Pug, Otis, passed away several months ago. Cody and I miss him terribly. Otis was one of our first rescue dogs... well actually his Mom, Jasmine, was. Unknown to us at the time, she was pregnant and later gave birth to six healthy happy pug babies on my pillow in our master bedroom back in '02. Otis can never be replaced, and his passing left a "small dog" void in our lives. We decided we would adopt another pug when one came along. Since all of our dogs are rescues, we figured it would take a while before "the right dog" came along.... silly us!

Meet Jockamo.
No, he's not a pug, he's a French Bulldog- or Frenchie.
He's 16 weeks old and a rescue from a puppymill in OK. Through some of my friends in the animal rescue world, we were introduced to the little guy and felt he'd be a good match for our active family. Thanks to some amazing volunteers, Jockamo caught a ride down to the deep South to join us!
He moved in to our home like he's lived here his whole life. He loves the twins, plays great with the other dogs and even has the cats warming up to him!
Jock and Monty 

Sleepy puppy
Checking out the pool
Zoey loves her new buddy!

Monday, August 30, 2010

Went on down to the Audubon Zoo....

We finally brought the girls to the New Orleans Zoo! (and Aquarium). It seemed like every time we made plans to go, the weather decided it had other plans. I'm from New Orleans and love playing tourist in the city where I grew up. Some of my fondest childhood memories at the the Audubon Zoo and I hope my girls will grow up having many of the same experiences there. I've been to a lot of zoos around the world... and Audubon  truly is one of the most outstanding Zoos in the country. 

The girls LOVE zoos. Especially Emily, she loves to watch the animals and will sit quietly studying them (unless it's a big cat... the kid is crazy about felines and loves to proudly demonstrate her ability to identify "cats"). Zoey, on the other hand, loves to chase them and "hands-on" critters in the petting Zoo are her favorite.
Zoey and her Goat
Hot day at the Zoo! 

White Gator
Emily excitedly pointed at the Jaguar and yelled "kitty cat!"....
The next day we tackled the Aquarium of the Americas (and after the scorching heat at the zoo, the indoor A/C was heavenly). The Aquarium is currently housing several of the endangered Kemp's Ridley sea turtles that was injured by the BP Oil spill in the Gulf. We were able to see a couple of them on display while they recover. Eventually they'll be returned to the ocean, but it was very cool to see them.




Kemp's Ridley on display. 


The Kid's discovery Zone was a hit! Emily loved the Clownfish's Anemone zone... she would have played there all day if we let her.


Em, the clownfish...


We finished up with lunch at the House of Blues in the French Quarter... (and a quick trip to the NOLA Lush store for mama...)

Em being a camera ham...
Very sleepy girls....

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

30 things to do before I turn 30....

I had an "OMG, I'm going to be 30 next year" freak out moment the other day and it inspired me to come up with a list of things to do before the "big day". Since I'm short on time (my birthday is in April), some of these are easily achievable, but I'm still looking forward to the challenge.


1. Learn to make caramels
2. Learn to make French Macarons
3. Go to an LSU football or baseball game
4. Go to a Renaissance Festival
5. Buy a new car DONE 8/31/10 Toyota Sienna! Joining the mini van club!
6. Attend an outdoor music festival
7. Create a personal cookbook of family recipes
8. Tour a brewery
9. Pay off my credit card
10. Make a pie from scratch, including the crust
11. Learn to knit and complete a project
12. Adopt a Pug or French Bulldog from a rescue DONE 8/20/10 Jockamo joins the crew!

13. Build a sand castle with my girls
14. Go on a family trip

15. Fly a Kite on the levee
16. Get a professional haircut/style
17. Spend a day at the spa
18. Cook a 5-course meal and have a dinner party with my friends
19. Read 10 books in 10 weeks
20. Visit a State Park
21. Have a baby (this is a topic for a future blog post, but we're expecting a surprise #3 in Feb, 2011!)
22. Go to a Comedy Show
23. Clean out my closet and donate all the clothes I never wear to Goodwill
24. Paint the House
25. Do a 30-day Yoga experience
26. Go Fishing
27. Take the girls to the New Orleans Children's museum
28. Visit a Zoo outside of my city DONE 8/21/10 Audubon Zoo and Aquarium!

29.  Design and build a chicken coop for my "urban chickens"
30. Volunteer with either Habitat for Humanity or the Humane society

wordless wednesday