Mardi Gras Slideshow...

Guiping Sisters Slideshow

Guiping Sisters - Anna and LiLi

(A little revision was in order since I accidently messed up the slide show....now it is corrected & placed above!)

This weekend we were treated to a visit by my dear cyber friend Debbie L. and her family. It was so nice to be able to finally meet them in person, since we have shared a kinship for the past year. Our daughters Anna and LiLi also share a very special connection in that they were both born in Guiping and transferred to Mother's Love in Nanning. We feel certain that they had contact in Nanning, since Mother's Love is quite small and the children would regularly get together for parties and other visits to the orphanage.

Their son, Ian and our Natalie got along so well....I think of them as "peas & carrots" :-) They both share a special connection in that they "have annoying little sisters" (as they would tell you).

We took the kids to the park to burn off energy, and later in the afternoon we went to the Exploreum where the children actually allowed us grown ups to view the "Pompeii" exhibit that was in town. It was very interesting and the kids behaved exceptionally well! I'm very proud of all of them. Then they were treated to a visit to the "hands on hall", as well as the "wharf of wonder" for the littlest ones. Finally, after hours of fun play, we strolled over to a microbrewery and tasted a couple of the local brews (and no, the 4 kids did not partake in the alchohol delights....after dinner, they were treated to scoops of ice cream at Old Dutch!)

I'm so thankful to have made new friends and especially thankful that Anna has a Guiping sister, just like her big sister Natalie has her Jiujiang sister!

Laissez les bon temps rouler!!...

... That's "Let the good times roll!!" for those of you who are not familiar with the familiar Mardi Gras refrain! Mobile kicked off the beginning of Mardi Gras season with the first downtown parade tonight.

Here's some great info about it....."Mobile is not only recognized as celebrating the first-known American Mardi Gras celebration in 1703 (yes, even before New Orleans), but also as home to the "America's Family Mardi Gras" delighting both young and old from around town and across the nation. This magnificent celebration lasts for nearly two weeks and culminates on Fat Tuesday, the day before Lent.

For weeks, the streets of downtown Mobile are filled with the sights and sounds of live marching bands, brilliant-colored floats and of course teeming crowds of parade goers. The floats are glowing spectacles manned by masked riders festooned in satin and sequins, and armed with crowd-pleasing "throws" such as beads, moon pies, doubloons and candy. Mardi Gras must be experienced to be fully understood and Mobile is the perfect place."




Of course we had to go tonight and get Anna initiated with all our rituals, etc. She didn't have any problem getting in the groove and knew just what to do! It did not take her long at all that if she wanted to catch those sparkling bead and stuff, she better get those hands up in the air! She was so smart and watched for the floats to come....as soon as they were within 50 feet, up those arms would go!




She was handsomely rewarded with this jumbo-sized teddy bear! Go Anna!!

Anna also enjoyed her first encounter with a funnel cake. Yum....nice healthy carnival food! It made her lips nice & shiny with grease! At least she didn't need any ChapStik after eating that thing!


I tried to get a pic of one of the floats before it was too close (didn't want to get my camera beaned with a bag of throws!)...but this one was too far away to get a decent picture.....I'll do better next time :-)

The weather was pretty chilly, but we bundled up enough & it wasn't raining, so perfect Mardi Gras weather for us!



Here are the girls, display some of their booty (well.......maybe I should re-phrase that and call it LOOT......I'm sure they'll be displaying enough of their booty during their teenage years :-)

Oh and I ate my one special throw......I was lucky enough to catch a banana moon-pie! Yum! Now....I'm on a quest for the elusive orange flavored moon-pie......the holy-grail of Mardi Gras throws......Wish me luck!