During Spring Break, we had a GREAT time visiting my mom and Keith in New Orleans! We got to see all sorts of beautiful habitats, like these pretty balconies in the French Quarter.
Most of the week, Anthony joined Keith in his ongoing work for Habitat for Humanity. Mom and Keith are renting a home in New Orleans for 6 months to volunteer. I (Megan) got to operate the circular saw for a day while Grandma
Bev watched the boys. If you are interested in how the recovery of New Orleans is coming, you can look in the background of photos like this one to see how most of the city continues to look. People say it will take 10 years to rebuild, but I don't think that 1/5
th of the work has been accomplished yet. (
Especially in the lower income neighborhoods.) So, keep praying and volunteering for them!
Micah and Paul got to see their dad and Granddaddy in action one day. Anthony helped put on the soffit and facia. Yes, the house for Natasha is PURPLE, but in colorful New Orleans, it works.
Most of the time, Micah played, even if he was pretending to build houses for people who lost their homes in the storm. We watched a great film about the hurricane and the importance of wetlands, so Micah seemed to understand a lot of what was going on. Again, look in the background to see the above-ground cemetery.
Doesn't it look like Micah is posing for a Senior picture?
We went for a walk in the bayou with Meg, Keith's cousin, and you can see how Micah flirted with her while we saw several alligators in their habitat.
Even though the boys are giving their serious looks in this photo of the bayou, they were good sports as we explored New Orleans' good food, good music, and -did I mention good food? Paul didn't sleep well the whole week, but he is on a great schedule now that we are home -- he is now rested and happy!!
We also did some fun things "just for the kids," like going to the zoo, where those of us in the older generations laughed at the primates as much as any kid!
Micah and Grandma Bev loved having time together.
Some of you may remember seeing Micah in this same outfit at the San Diego zoo.
After hearing Grandma Bev's neighbor,
Gaynell, tell stories about the storm and paddling with tennis
racquets during the flood, Micah was reading aloud the book she gave him, since he had already memorized it.
People really decorated for
Mardi Gras, even though we missed the parades by a week.
Micah had fun with his beads.
Micah talked a lot about the Mississippi River (which he CAN say,) but he says his favorite part of New Orleans was the music -- we heard great jazz at Preservation Hall and by street musicians who played "Baby Face" anytime Paul was around. My favorite was the C
ajun music we heard a couple of nights.
Really, the highlight was time together as a family.
Grandma Jo brought this awe-inspiring train cake for Micah's birthday last weekend.
She and Grandpa Doug also gave Micah a bike and taught him how to pedal -- it took him one day to learn that motion, but now he's got the hang of it.
Paul has been enjoying our nice spring weather, especially with Grandma!
He has even been breaking out the sunglasses, since winter is all he has known in his life.
We went with Paul to Noa's 1/2 birthday party, since the Noll family will be missionaries in Japan when the two of them turn 1 year. Yes, Paul is still a lot smaller, despite only being 2 weeks younger. Micah gave his pacifiers to baby Noa, since he finally gave them up now that he is 3. Hooray!
Grandma Bev sent Micah blocks and the morning after his birthday was like Christmas -- an eager Micah said, "Mom and Dad, can I please go build a castle?"
Micah had the great idea to have his birthday party at the "Kids' Castle" at a park here in town. He was so excited to play with two friends and their siblings. 
Big Micah and Little Micah at his Around the World birthday party.
Josh and Faith were showing Micah how to fly his new kite -- notice the Kids' Castle in the background. 
Paul got to eat solid food for the first time, while we had our first picnic dinner of the spring. Letting a 3 year old feed my baby is probably not something I would have imagined when I was a first-time mom, but Micah did a GREAT job of getting Paul started!
