Joshua's Homework

Joshua's assignment from school:

Take a picture of yourself reading your favorite Dr. Seuss book in an unusual place.

How did he do?

A Much Needed Vacation!!!!

Jared and I went on our first cruise and had a BLAST! We have had this trip planned for 6 months and were counting down the days. This was the first vacation Jared and I have been on together, without the boys, in 13 years of marriage. Wow! Jared's mom came out to watch the kids for us. We went with some great friends from Iowa, who helped us "first time cruisers" around. We left from Miami, which was great, because Jared served his mission, for our church, there 15 years ago. We went a few days early and stayed in Miami. This was the highlight for Jared. He got to explore again and visit people he has kept in contact with. We ate Cuban food (very yummy!) drove all around (thanks to the GPS in our rental car!) We visited the Bahamas and did some shopping at the straw markets. We spent one day on Coco Cay. I wasn't feeling well, but Jared went snorkeling (pictures to come). I spent the day improving my tan and relaxing in the warm sun on the beach. We also got to go to Key West. Neither Jared, nor I was very impressed with it, but we can at least say we have been there. When we were on the ship we spent our time, eating, eating, eating, eating, going to shows, eating, relaxing at the pool, eating, visiting, eating, rock climbing, eating, eating, and eating. We both came back a little heavier than we left. We had a great time, and can't wait to go again. Next time we want to take our boys. They would have a BLAST!

KING CAKE

When in Louisiana, eat as the Louisianans do....

What is Louisiana famous for.... Mardi Gras! We have started seeing "King Cakes" appear in the grocery stores, and the kids even had a school fundraiser selling them. I am thinking, "What are King Cakes?" Well, I didn't buy any from the school ($20 a cake) and I had to ask native Louisianans what they were for, but we did decide to buy on from the store ($10) and check it out. It tasted pretty good. Here is what we found out about King Cakes....

King Cake History:

The King Cake tradition came to New Orleans with the first French settlers and has stayed ever since. Like the rest of Mardi Gras during those early days, the king cake was a part of the family's celebration, and really didn't take on a public role until after the Civil War. In 1870, the Twelfth Night Revelers held their ball, with a large king cake as the main attraction. Instead of choosing a sacred king to be sacrificed, the TNR used the bean in the cake to choose the queen of the ball. This tradition has carried on to this day, although the TNR now use a wooden replica of a large king cake. The ladies of the court pull open little drawers in the cake's lower layer which contain the silver and gold beans. Silver means you're on the court; gold is for the queen.
With the TNR making a big deal over the king cake in the society circles, others in the city started having king cake parties. These parties particularly among children, became very popular and have also continued to today. The focus of today's king cake party for kids has shifted more to the school classroom than the home, however. Up through the 1950s, neighborhoods would have parties. One family would start the ball rolling after Twelfth Night, and they'd continue on weekends through Carnival. Whoever got the baby (the coin or bean had changed to a ceramic or porcelain baby about an inch long by then) in the king cake was to hold the next party. You can still hear stories from folks who were kids during the Great Depression of what their mommas would do to them if they came home with the baby from a king cake party, since so many families were short on money then.

So basically, you eat this cake and whoever gets the plastic baby has to buy the next cake and/or host the next party. Just so you know, Joshua got the baby, so I guess he has to buy the next cake!

100th Day of School

Joshua got to celebrate the 100th day of school today. They were to make t-shirts with 100 items on them to wear to school. This was our creation........