It's officially Lent, which means we just finished celebrating Mardi Gras in Louisiana. Lake Charles' Mardi Gras celebration is second only to New Orleans. They have a ton of festivities that are family friendly, but we only made it to a few this year. We decided this year was our scouting year and next year (when the boys are another year older) we would really hit up the major events. On Saturday we went to a Gumbo Cook-off. There were about 3 dozen different booths and for $5 you could try all the Gumbo you could fit in your belly! There wasn't even any parking fees...I love small town festivals!!! After that we were going to go to the Barkus (dog) Parade, but the weather turned cold and rainy so we decided to wait until next year for that one.
The next day was Children's day. They had lots of games and prizes for the children, refreshments, a bird show, and a dance floor with a band. This was followed by the children's parade (the whole celebration consisted of about 6 parades over the long weekend). Even though James was exhausted and ready for a nap, he loved the parade! We're excited for next year when the boys can enjoy more of the games and the carnival...and maybe some cousins can come enjoy the festivities too! :)
