2013 In Review

I really feel like it wasn't that long ago that I was writing the 2012 in review post, but here we are almost a year later, and we're reflecting on 2013.  I can say with confidence that 2013 was the fastest year in the history of the Lowe fam.  Here's the Lowe Down on how we spent our 2013:

• Places We Traveled - This section is a little smaller this year than it was last year, but to be fair, we had an extra traveler who isn't exactly easy to pack up and take a million places.  And the Razorbacks were terrible, so no one wanted to go see them play anywhere!  This year we did our annual jaunt to Destin, but with a five week old.  And we went down to New Orleans last month for my cousin Brooke's wedding.  On the way, we also stopped over in Ruston, LA where my mom's sister and our cousins live.   Both trips were so much fun and full of family time.  In addition, I went solo to Colorado for a girls' trip to celebrate my friend Kerri's bachelorette party. We also spent an entire afternoon in Clarksville/Lamar, Arkansas visiting old sights from my grandfather and grandmother's growing up.  Alli even got to meet her great great great Aunt Kathryn.

• Things Alli Did - Alli had yet another wonderful year.  She became a big sister, spent a summer home with her mama, won her class Spelling Bee and came in second in the school-wide one, and graduated from second grade and started third.  She cantered and jumped her pony, played soccer, and paddleboarded and parasailed in Florida.  She loves to draw, play her Skylanders video game, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and her little sister.

• Things Riley Did - Oh, you know, besides being born??  That's right, she did more than just come into the world this year, but that's by far her biggest accomplishment.  We welcomed this sweet little girl in June of this year, and she's changed our worlds for the better.  She's also rolled over, can sit up unassisted, babbles constantly, and eats solid foods.  She's been to the barn, the soccer field, Bourbon Street, swimming, and the beach to name a few.

• Fun Things We Did - Besides events and travel for the girls, we had our first ever trip to the Gentry Drive Thru Zoo, our Diddy ran a half marathon, and we painted almost our entire house! There was a baby shower for Riley, snow in May and snow on Alli's birthday in December.  Alli went to horse camp, soccer camp, and Camp Wilson.  We spent almost a month in Little Rock this summer where we ate lunch with Tata at Heifer Village and went to the Museum of Discovery twice.  Alli met the Ninja Turtles at Arvest Ballpark.  We saw baby Evie at the barn when she was just hours old and celebrated the centennial of my sorority Delta Delta Delta at the University of Arkansas.

What a year 2013 was!  We added to our family with Riley, Emma Grace, and my cousin Brooke marrying Keith.  We lost my Pawpaw's brother Uncle Don, but my last memory of him was wonderful, sitting at his table during our jaunt around Clarksville this summer.  I spent so much time with my family with 12 weeks of maternity leave and two weeks at Christmas.  Alli grew and developed as a rider, a student, a soccer player, and a person.  And our precious Riley was safely born and has grown leaps and bounds ever since.  2013 has been one of my favorite years so far, and I am so anxious to see what 2014 has in store!

NOLA Family Style

When I found out my cousin Brooke was getting married in New Orleans, I definitely had my reservations about taking my whole family down there.  Where you hear NOLA, you think of beads, boobs, and Bourbon - but I'm here to tell you, there's a lot more to it than that.  We got up the morning after the wedding and headed to Cafe Du Monde to get beignets and cafe au lait.  The line was incredibly long, but it moved really quickly.  Plus we can always find a way to entertain ourselves.

Why yes, that is a balloon animal Michelangelo.  And yes, Alli did carry him around the rest of the day, until I realized on the streetcar that I had been holding him for two hours.  And he cost me $10 and almost more than that when one of his hands popped while I was holding him.  But I digress.  The beignets and cafe au lait were delicious.  I'm wishing I had ordered more.

Side note - people kept asking Alli where she got her beads, and she kept telling them "My grandmother."  We thoroughly enjoyed that.  After Cafe Du Monde, we went to Jackson Square.

There were so many great local artists on the outside of the square, and there's talent for days in that city.  After Jackson Square, we went to St. Louis Cathedral.  Absolutely stunning.

After the cathedral we walked up to the muddy Mississippi and then along it all the way to the Audobon Aquarium.

Alli was extremely excited to go to the aquarium, but there was one exhibit I knew I would be avoiding.

I mean, do people pay money to interact with free-flying birds?  Why?

We saw sharks, turtles, seahorses, and we got to touch stingrays.  Alli was pretty scared at first, but she loved it.

How much personality does this kid have?  She cracks me up all the time.

After the aquarium, we walked down Canal Street to catch the streetcar to the Garden District.  I had to see the old beautiful houses.  I wish I had a picture but I was too busy oogling.  Obsessed.

We rushed home to get Lindsey on her plane back to Fayetteville, and then we went to dinner at Oceana.  Ryan took a little heat walking Riley back home when he had to cross Bourbon Street - "Why do you have your baby on Bourbon?"  Poor guy.  It's 6:30PM and it was between him and the hotel.

We had illusions of grandeur about going out again that night but sometimes...you're just too tired.  After a day of touring NOLA, even Alli was ready to relax.

I am pretty sure we all looked like this later that night:

So I said all of this to say - there's more to NOLA than Bourbon and beer.  It was actually a pretty great place to take the girls and to expose Alli to a lot of neat culture that you can't get anywhere else.  We left the Crescent City with some things left to do - like seeing Marie Laveau's grave and really walking the Garden District and hitting the jazz bars - but it was a great trip for everyone.

The Big Easy

We had a major family event this past weekend - my cousin Brooke got married to her fiancee Keith.  Of course I love Brooke, and Keith is an awesome guy.  I mean he's an engineer - what's not to like?  So we packed up the girls and headed to the Crescent City for the festivities.

Ryan, the girls and I stopped in Little Rock Thursday to pick up my dad, and we made in to NOLA around lunch time on Friday.  We went to lunch at a place called The Coffee Pot and then got ready for the wedding.  The wedding was held at the New Orleans Pharmacy Museum.  It was a beautiful venue with a cool indoor bar atmosphere and a great outdoor area.  Pause for a second and bask with me on how gorgeous my girls are.  And my hubs.

 Brooke and Keith had some street musicians perform at the ceremony, and Riley was seriously enamored with them.  Thank goodness they were passing out CDs.

 After the wedding, we did a second line to celebrate.  We marched behind a brass band and waved handkerchiefs.  I wish I had a picture of Alli - she had a blast!  Afterwards my sister watched the girls so that Ryan and I could hit up Bourbon.  I of course had to seek out the real reason people wander Bourbon.

 Horses and hurricanes.  Hurricanes and horses.  Both make me a happy girl.  Congratulations to Brooke and Keith - I am so happy for both of you and I wish you a lifetime of love, bliss, and beauty.