September, Morrissey memoriam

Hello all. Wow, it has been a very eventful September and it is only a little more than half way over. Firstly, I am studying for the GRE and applying to grad school. I'm looking at an online program...an M.S. in Health & Human Performance. Standardized tests and me do not mesh, so Joe has been taking Robin out on the weekends so I can cram. Ugh.
More exciting big news is Robin's start of Kindergarten! It's a half day program with still plenty of playtime and next year we can just roll him into a full day Kinder. I love that R's school is 5 houses down and I get to walk him there and back in this beautiful sunny weather!
Here he is in his new classroom on the first day.
Our next big event was not a good one at all. My first baby, Morrissey, is now gone. Joe & I adopted Morrissey when she was a kitten in Key West. She was not always the heavy, diabetic kitty some of you knew. She would play all day with other kitties, when she would hear Joe's jeep or my mustang drive home, she ran as fast as she could from wherever she was to greet us. She chased many a lizard and loved to drink out of the sink and then let it fill up over her.




Joe named Morrissey before we even went to the Key West Animal Shelter. Lots of "The Smiths" listening at the Coast Guard Academy.


Being far away from family, we decided to get a second cat, Lex, to keep her company when we traveled. She was a good sport about his arrival and they grew to hang out together.
Joe, Morrissey & Lex
Morrissey and Lex at our Pumpkin carving party
And then baby Robinson was born. That brought lots of soft things to sleep on and in.
Morrissey and Robin hit it off from the start. Robin has always been very gentle with animals.



One of the last photos I have of her here in New Orleans
Morrissey died on Robin's 3rd day of school. He had some crying spells at home and at school. That day they had painted. Luckily he didn't bring this one home until Monday, when I was better equipped to handle it! This is a picture of Robin & Morrissey. The blue spots are her kitty pee paw prints.
A good husband knows when his family needs a pick-me-up! Joe suggested we go away for the weekend. I was having a hard time in the house without Morrissey meowing all the time. It was different and lonely without her. I also got out of my GRE studying for the weekend. We took a trip up to Biloxi. While the boys spent Saturday at the waterpark, I had 3 spa treatments at Imperial Casino's Spa. Yay for me! Sunday we lounged at the rooftop pool and then went to the outlets. Check out the huge tv!

Also these past two weeks, Robin has been taking swimming lessons at the new YMCA that opened nearby. He loves it! Here he is with Ms. Cheri.
Made extra eye pillows for my students.

My science kid loves the solar system. Every time we go to the library he inspects their model. Since he will also learn about this at school soon, I figured it was time to get his own.

Let's see, in addition to my grad school endeavors, I am now teaching yoga at the Y and Body & Spirit Athletic Club. I've just begun a Group Fitness Instructor Training which involves one meeting and 3 classes a week. I'm excited to know more about fitness to share with others, but can't see myself teaching Zumba or Step Aerobics!

Grammy Visits....yay!

Date night in the Garden District...lame as I am, I got a kick out of the presentation here.
Magic show at the library
While Joe was away, my Mom came down to visit, which is quite impressive in this sticky heat, especially because we did lots of outside things. We took her downtown. Here are the two troublemakers just outside Cafe Du Monde.
We had to try a Muffuletta too...good.
After sightseeing, we went to the Aquarium's Member Only Event.


They had divers feeding the fish inside a viewing tunnel...neat.
Bounce house is a must even in extreme heat.
Another day Gram was here we went to the zoo.
She got drenched at the splash park.

Baby orangutan was very cute.

"ROAR!"
Robin posing and Grammy down at the bottom of the rope climb.
We discovered another part of the zoo, where you can traverse the rock waterfalls.
The long-awaited Phineas and Ferb movie.

City Park

Next on our "getting-to-know-our-new-city" stop was City Park. It's going to take a while to explore it all. City Park not only has Storyland and an Amusement Park, but they have a botanical garden, sculpture park, art museum, train, arboretum, playgrounds, and the list goes on. Plus, Joe & I discovered "Naked Pizza" which is on the ride home. Greenhouse thin crust...yum!
The 2 areas that we hit were Storyland and the Amusement Park.

I think I told the story of Cinderella 3 times inside this pumpkin.
Joe found a lady friend with a giant opossum. And unfortunately I saw a real one scurrying around. I thought they were nocturnal...ew. I'm not a fan of rodents.
Although there is no official splash park or pool, the children can get wet in the water features all throughout Storyland.
A kid after my own heart. I loved doing this one when I was little. His calves must have been killing him at the end of the day because he must have climbed those steps 15 times or more.



This kid has great gross motors. While everyone could barely stand, Robin could take 4 or 5 steps before falling. I almost want to try it.

And this one's for you, Big Papa.