4th of July trip to Baton Rouge

My parents had their sweet friend Marilyn from Baton Rouge visit as my mom drove her to SA after her girls trip and initial plan was for my parents to drive her back on Wednesday as she got here on the Saturday before.  Ben and I talked about my parents possibly not being here on my birthday and he mentioned driving Marilyn back in the RV on the 4th.  That way I could be with my parents on my birthday and eat some great food while we were at it...or so I thought.  More on that below.

The morning of the 3rd I was pleasantly surprised when I got to work as some of the girls on my team (Yvonne, Yvette and Kenifet) gave me these beautiful roses and a sweet card.  Yvonne also gave a Starbuck's gc as she knows its my daily stop.  I also got a birthday cake and some pretty great singing by my team!  Fun day with my second family.

Emma's teachers took 4th of July pics of the kids and made these adorable frames...this is obviously extra special since the 4th is my birthday and one year ago this sweet girl was one of the best birthday presents ever!

So the morning of the 4th we loaded up on the RV and headed to Baton Rouge.  It's an 8 hour drive...a little longer in an RV but the idea is you aren't crammed in a car and are able to move around, lay down, etc.  That said it's a little easier said than done with this munchkin.  She was all geared up in her 4th of July outfit the Trevino's gave her.  Not to mention Ben was just excited to drive his RV that long...he "loves" it.

You can't drive down I10 E without stopping at Bucee's! Cash's favorite spot!!!  Our's too..but sshhh...

We got stuck on I10 due to a pretty bad accident and Emma decided to take over the wheel for a bit..the other direction.  We passed one 18wheeler that apparently was sitting for quite some time as the driver just fell asleep.  It was hilarious.

We made it to Baton Rouge, checked in to the hotel, changed our clothes and headed to dinner.  This is Emma's second 4th of July outfit courtesy of her Nana and her Papa.  We ate at one of my favorite restaurants, Mike Anderson's.  I love their stuffed shrimp and could almost taste them before I got there.  So this is the continuation from comment above...they were AWFUL!  I was so disappointed.  I guess even restaurants that have been incredible for years can go down hill..unfortunately.  I was still holding out for the next night as we were eating at Hymel's and I knew that for sure would be good..so I thought..more on that below.

We had breakfast the next morning at this little restaurant around the corner from the hotel called The Last Broken Egg.  We met Lynn and her family there.  She was an intern at my dad's office while going to law school.  Her husband Chad and kiddos Max and William joined as well.  You can see William hovering/snuggling on Cash's shoulder while he played with Max's ipad.

After breakfast we drove over to LSU so Cash could see the LSU tiger Mike.  Not sure what number this Mike is but it was super neat to see as the school has every Mike listed all around the top of the cage.  This Mike was being a little lazy but with the heat I can see why.  We went in to the gift shop and Emma got herself a little stuffed tiger, Cash a tshirt, Ben a cap and me a pair of shorts. 

This is Hymel's and my parent's friends Johnny and Marie Abrejo met us for dinner.  They are both about 90 years old and just about the sweetest people ever.  Johnny was a US Deputy Marshall and worked with my dad.  They have been friends for a long time.  So to continue my second dinner story from above...I again ordered stuffed shrimp thinking they would for sure be good here as they had been before.  NO!  They were not!  My longing for some good cajun cooking was a complete disappointment. 

Miss Emma ate her weight in food practically and this is the result afterward.  She ate a whole grilled cheese, half a container of blueberries and two crackers.  I have no idea where she puts it all but I am glad she is such a good eater. 

The next morning we packed up and headed home.  On our way we stopped in Beaumont at Gator Country so Cash could see some alligators. 

Before leaving Beaumont my brother Stephen met us for a quick bite to eat.  I love seeing him as it is not often enough!!  This was the first time he had met Ben.  They got along great!

We got home about 10pm or so, got the kids to bed, unloaded, somewhat unpacked and got to bed.  We were tired but so glad that we made this trip.  It is one that we will remember forever and more importantly one Cash will remember....because we were with my parents.