So we loaded all our stuff in the car, carried the girls from their beds to their car seats and headed to the Winn Dixie parking lot. We hugged Zach goodbye around 4am as he headed off with 22 of his schoolmates and a couple of teachers to our nation's capital... with these last words whispered in his ear, "If you meet the President or First Lady, please don't text while they talk to you..." Okay, well my last words were really, "I love you more than you'll ever know" but you get the idea.
Lesson learned... take the pictures with Grandma BEFORE you wake the kids up from a nap and are about to walk out the door!
But Grandma wins in the end... there's a smile!
If you actually let the kids sleep, this is what you get in the end.
We left Alexandria Friday late afternoon and headed to Lafayette for the weekend. It was our first time attending the International Festival -- several stages around downtown and a wonderful kids area with fun activities and entertainment... and it was free! It was a beautiful, breezy day... and of course, the girls had the best seat in the house... which they shared.
BEFORE...
AFTER...
At the end of the day, we were all exhausted and headed back to the hotel for a break before dinner. The girls blew bubbles while Mom and Dad relaxed on lounge chairs and read riverside.
Sunday before heading home, we stopped by Cypress Lake at University of Louisana's campus to see the alligators. In movies and pictures, Louisiana swamps are always portrayed as dreary, dark, grey places and I really hate that.... Louisiana swamps are truly beautiful!
The girls were much more impressed with the turtles and gigantic carp... and a squirrel who you could practically feed out of your hand. Here's the girls making fish lips... 
