Fishing @ St. Joe Bay

This week, Tom and I had "the boys" and went camping at the state park in Cape San Blas. In addition to camping, we boated, fished, scalloped, swam in the gulf and had a ball!

Jazz Fest 2009 - NOLA

Tom and I have been looking forward to Jazz Fest for an entire year. Our calendars have been marked and we've been dreaming of the music, the food, the people watching and everything else that is hot, smelly and wonderful about New Orleans.

So, we did it! We took two days off work and just went for it. So, last Thurday and Friday, we packed our suncreen and lawn chairs and joined thousands of other people to watch 60-70 performances on 12 stages for two days. This is Tom's 4th Jazz Fest and my 3rd. We're currently looking into other Louisiana festivals, but that doesn't rule out Jazz fest for 2010. Jazz Fest is one of those times in life that "the more the merrier" definately applies. So, go ahead ... mark your calendar - last week of April/first week of May! And, if you're joining us ... we'll need a totem, so start thinking creatively!

World's Most Beautiful Baby

We may be partial, but Tyli is the most beautiful baby in the world! And, I love her "invisible pacifier" pose that she's rockin'!

Spring Break 2009

We are the luckiest people on earth! This is the second opportunity we've had to take the same week off of work that the grandkids have off for Spring Break. This year, we opted to drive to Wilmington and spend our time just kicking back. We've selected a few of our favorite photos from the week to feature -

The trip coincided with Wilmington's Azalea Festival. So, on one of the days, we headed down to Wilmington's downtown area with Thomas, Patrick, Fisher and Livi. Later in the day, Tovi and Lissi joined us with Kenzie and Tyli.

Daddy Daddy & Fisher On Boardwalk

Kenzie and Livi on Pirate Ship

Kenzie, Tovi & Livi ... Beautiful!

Kenzie Meets Chocolate Soft Serve

One of the days was rainy, so we decided to go bowling:

Daddy Daddy and Livi

Fisher

Patch

Thomas

Kenzie

And, on another special day, we got to spend some time with Tyli Belle ...

A Great Valentine's Night!

This year for Valentine's Day, we opted to stay in, cook and just hang out at our house. It was a chilly evening, so we even had the rare opportunitity to give the fireplace some action.

While Tom was cooking what I knew would be the best meal served in town on this night, a variation of his famous bbq shrimp recipe, I decided to have fun and get creative making the salad and setting the table.

It was a perfect Valentine's Day! I love you, Tom! You have a gift for making the ordinary special and showing how deeply you love. You are an inspiration and I don't tell you nearly often enough how much I appreciate you and what you bring to my life.

My Fleur De Lis Was In The Cards

Tom and I have loved New Orleans and New Orleans has loved us back.

We've been so many times over the years that I've lost count. It's where we took one of our first weekend get-a-ways. It's one of the first places we danced together. It's where we got engaged (12/31/05, just a few months after Hurricane Katrina). And, it's where we love to go over and over again! In fact, we're already planning to go again for the second weekend of Jazz Fest.

For some time, Tom has wanted to give me one of Mignon Faget's necklaces. After Hurricane Katrina, Tom read about her artwork and all that she was doing to help rebuild New Orleans.

So, during this latest trip, Tom took me to Faget's Magazine Street boutique and picked out this pendant ... a Fleur de Lis, the ancient French heraldic icon signifying purity, light and life. It is the symbol for New Orleans. We've designated my fleur de lis as our symbol for our personal trinity ... live on, love on and laugh on!

Each time we visit New Orleans, we find time to go down to Jackson Square. We love to walk to the back of Cafe DuMonde where most tourists don't know that you can order a cafe au lait and beignets to-go without waiting in the long lines. We like to grab ours and head back out to the street to enjoy the free entertainment. We love the street performers and folk artists, but are particularly fond of the fortune tellers. Tom swears that there are more fortune tellers per square foot around Jackson Square than any other place one Earth!

My First Trip To New York City!

So far ... so good! The NEW YEAR is off to an exciting NEW start with a NEW president and my first trip to NEW YORK and Tom's first trip with me!

I was scheduled to go to New York City in early January for a facilitation job. So, Tom and I decided that this would be a great opportunity for him to join me and spend a few extra days having some fun. This was my first trip and I can't wait to go back. We stayed right on Times Square and I worked on Times Square just a few blocks from the hotel.

Tom planned the trip and packed a lot of fun into a few days:

Day 1: Arrive in NYC, taxi to hotel in Times Square, walk to Rockefeller Center to see iceskaters and Christmas tree, then on to Rainbow Room for drink with view of Empire State Building and then to a great deli for a late bite to eat ... he didn't warn me about the Pastrami sandwiches :)

Day 2: Walk to nearby law firm where I would be facilitating a session for a group of 18. Conference room overlooked the new swarovski crystal new year's eve ball. At about 10 a.m., it began to snow and I thought ... this is the perfect trip! After work, we headed for an early dinner at a french restaurant our friend Gayle recommended and then for drinks and to see The Fantastiks! It snowed the whole evening.

Day 3: Coffee and then on to MOMA (Museum of Modern Art) where we spent 1/2 a day and could have spent longer. Then, to an afternoon show of Wicked where Tom got us wicked good seats ... 4th row. Then, we took the subway to join Kate & Tim (Kate is a former student and employee and a great friend) at one of their favorite Italian restaurants.

Day 4: Liberty & Ellis Island, Wall Street, Ground Zero and then to Soho to meet Laura (another former student, employee and great friend) at Balthazar, one of her parent's favorite restaurants.

Day 5: Last day ... Central Park and Grand Central Station (where we ate at the famous Oyster Bar and whispered across the hall) and then to LaGuardia airport to catch a US Airways flight home to Tallahassee. Tom was leaving to go to Richmond. Two days later a US Airways flight had to do an emergency landing in the Hudson River ... everyone survived and it is being called Miracle on the Hudson.

It was a fabulous trip and Tom did such a great job packing so much fun into such a short amount of time. Thanks, Tom ... I can't wait to go back to New York with you!