Happy Halloween

There are many great qualities about Christian and, although he has a great sense of humor, I don't know that I would say he is a funny person. On the other hand, every now and then he really catches me off guard and makes me laugh, alot. When I woke up this morning I found a Halloween Mix CD sitting on the island for me. One would think he has some extra time on his hands and he really doesn't. So, my soundtrack for the day went something like this:

Leslie Anne Levine - The Decembrists
Gost of Tom - Aviso
Scary Mosnsters - Bowie
Wicked Annabella - The Kinks
Caring is Creepy - The Shins
Horrow Show - The Libertines
Ghost - Neutral Milk Hotel
Season of the Witch - Donovan
Wickerman - Pulp
The Rat - The Walkmen
Walking the Ghost - James
Something Wicked - British Sea Power
Laughter - James
International Rock Star (my personal favorite scary song) - The Stars
She's Not There - The Zombies
They're Not Witches - Guided By Voices
Sweet Black Magic - Ryan Adams
Tuff Ghost - The Unicorns
The Butterfly Collector - The Jam
Little Ghost - The White Stripes
Bloody Thirsty Bastards - Dirty Pretty Things
Evil and Heathen - Franz Ferdinand
She Spider - Mew

It was wonderful and silly and a total treat but, more than anything, it was a good reminder that sometimes it is okay to lighten up.

La Luz had a big night and was loaded down with candy and various Halloween treats. The butterfly costume was a huge success. I wish she had a bit more stamina but she was wiped out by 6:30. Sometimes I forget she is only 16 months old.

The Pills That You Take to Stay Happy

I pretty much devour anything that Chris Rose writes. I have enjoyed his column since he first started working for the Times Picayune and covered the celerbity news with a great tounge-in-cheek approach that I apply to my own over-the-top obsession with all things Hollywood. After the hurricane I waited with anticipation for his weekly column. Reading his column was my way of making sure that the way I was feeling was okay, that I was not alone in feeling like the wheels were really coming off the proverbial bus and I had no clue how to get them back on. He always made me feel better. The most recent two articles that chronicle his bout with depression and his ultimate decision to help himself are courageous, heartbreaking, and inspiring. I respect Chris Rose more than ever for sharing something so personal with us.

Like most everyone else who has been through the hurricane, I sank into a deep sadness that I never experienced before and, hopefully, will never experience again in the months following the storm. Unlike some people, I had the benefit of being responsible for a 2 and 1/2 month old baby, my first, when the hurricane hit. Any first time mother will probably say that the distraction of motherhood is unparalleled by anything. I believe that La Luz came into our lives in the summer of 2005 to be our distraction. Watching everything fall apart around us was tempered with the hope, love, and joy pouring out of La Luz. There is nothing in the world that could have eased my state of mind like the presence of my very own baby and, because of that, I know that her debut was not a coincidence. So far La Luz has been my Celexa and the dosing seems to be just right. For now I will keep riding this high, thanks to my very own "mothers little helper".

Here she is in the bear hat that mom's neighbor Sue made for her. It is rad!

The Weekend as a Butterfly

The bulk of the weekend was spent in costume and I am sort of wondering what is going to happen tomorrow morning when La Luz wakes up and she has to put on her civilian clothing again.



On Friday night we took La Luz to Boo at the Zoo and she loved it. I even indulged her a bit and let her eat something that seemed pretty close to candy. Any child of mine should love chewy, fruity things so it was only natural that she ate the entire 4 serving bag without stopping to breathe. Boo at the Zoo is, for the most part, geared towards kids that are a bit older but being that La Luz loves to watch people and could do it all day long the entertainment for her was in the crowd. She also enjoyed the carousel and the fake trick-or-treat neighborhood. On the other hand, she jumped into my arms every time we came close to somone dressed as a monster. Whenever we saw a monster she would say "shoo, monster, go away".



A while back I sort of looked in to the idea of babies and nightmares because La Luz was having trouble sleeping. The pediatrician assured me that it was unlikely that she was having nightmares at her age. I hope she is right because between the monsters at the zoo and the house down the street there is plenty of fuel. The house is ridiculous. I have never seen such an elaborate and altogether bizzare Halloween display. Like La Luz, I am at once drawn to it but also incredibly freaked out:



Saturday started with a long and chilly run to Audubon Park. La Luz and Loki were troopers. Later on Saturday morning La Luz and I spent some time at the park on the corner and she learned yet another thing she can make baby do, go down the slide. It was good entertainment for about an hour. She also discovered that she is pretty good at climbing up the slide and hiding out in this one area of the jungle gym that I am really too big to get into. It sort of annoys me but she thinks it is hilarious.



La Luz's and I met up with Jennifer, Attie, and baby Betsy on her first outing. We couldn't really let La Luz anywhere near Betsy because of all the daycare germs but it was exciting enough that they were within a few feet of one another for the first time. Here's a picture of the most adorable cheetah around:



Before heading to Boo at the Zoo on Saturday evening, La Luz's friend Conor stopped by to show off his new walking skills and his devil costume. They enjoyed sitting on the porch and pulling on each other's costumes. Saturday night Uncle Richmond came over and we watched, It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown. La Luz spent the majority of the night dive-bombing Uncle Richmond and climbing on and off his lap while he tried to eat.

Sunday morning was a bit of a dissapointment. All my life I have spent every year looking forward to the weekend when we fall back. In the early part of my life I looked forward to it because it meant we were going to the French Quarter to pick out our pumpkins, the cold weather was (pretty much) here to stay, and the holiday season was starting. As I got older I grew to appreciate it simply because of the extra hour of sleep. Yea, I know, one hour, but one means so much when you are sleep-deprived. So, I was again excited about the extra hour and even daydreamed about it on Saturday thinking maybe I would sleep until 9:30 this morning. So much for daydreams. The plan backfired and somehow La Luz decided to do something totally out of character and wake up at 5:30. Yes, that means I was technically up at 4:30. Disgusting. To add insult to injury, since the sun came up early La Luz was begging to go outside from about 6:15 until we actually did go to the playground around 8:00. It was a painful morning for me and not for Christian who, incidentally, slept late both mornings this weekend. Sitting here now I am glad that I captured that extra hour of time with La Luz instead of sleeping. I always complain about how little time I get to spend with her so I should be thankful. Here's what I got to enjoy:

We're Calling All Rock Stars

Last night Christian and I went to the House of Blues to see the Decembrists who are on tour for their new album The Crane Wife. The band was all set to play at Voodoo Fest last year but that didn't work out so we have been waiting, and waiting, and waiting and it was well worth it. Christian spent three hours with most of the band yesterday providing them with a tour of the hurricane destruction. It was apparent that they were appreciative when I met them before the show last night. Not only did they enjoy getting to know Chrisitian, they were deeply moved by what they witnessed and, like most people who have seen the devastation, they couldn't get over how much of the impact of the storm is lost in the media and how you really do have to see it to believe it. I thought it was sort of touching that they gave up 3 of their 12 or so hours in New Orleans driving through the flooded parts of the city.

Don't think that the somber afternoon affected the show one bit. The band absolutely rocked. Maybe it was just like every other show they have played and will play on the tour but I like to think that they gave us a little something special, figuring we could all use an escape from reality. And what a great escape it was. The hightlight for me was Engine Driver. As with most Decembrists songs, I am intrigued by the lyrics. The highlight for Christian was when they played My Mother was a Chinese Trapeze Artists. Maybe when he heard the first few notes it reminded him of those summer evenings when La Luz was a newborn and the only thing that seemed to agree with her was rocking in Christian's arms and listening to the Decembrists.

After the show we headed to one of the bars down the street and drank a round of Abitas with the band. I think we could have stayed out until the morning visiting with them but, alas, times have changed and we now have a kid and a babysitter who had to be up and ready for school at 8 this morning so we figured 1:30 was already pushing it.

I left work at noon to watch La Luz since mom-mom is in Thibodaux. Hopefully she will take a nap so that I can actually get some work done and prove that working from home might be an option. Here are a few pictures of what I am usually missing on a weekday afternoon. It is great fun.

The Decembrists Are Coming

I tried to post last night but blogger was not working properly. Instead, Christian and I watched a very exciting episode of Lost. I am really enjoying the new season and I think they are doing a great job of keeping the audience guessing.

La Luz enjoyed another lovely day yesterday and an ordinary night. Below is a pic of her ready to eat dinner. These days she lets you know when it is time to feed her. She will walk to her high chair and say "get in", then she will ask for her bib and whatever meal she thinks it is time for. She is usually pretty good with respect to figuring out when certain meals are to be had. However, last night she asked for breaky.



Today and tonight will not be ordinary, however. The Decembrists are playing at the House of Blues and they are, at least for now, Christian's favorite band. In addition to catching the show tonight, Christian enlisted to act as tour guide for the band. This afternoon prior to the soundcheck Christian is going to take the Decembrists on a tour of the areas that were hardest hit during Katrina. I am not so sure that the tour will set the mood for the sort of show that the Decembrists fans are undoubtedly looking forward to but so be it. The best news is that Christian vacuumed my car last night so he could chauffer the band in style. Gone are the cheerios, goldfish, and other odds and ends left behind by La Luz. Christian gets to hang out with his favorite band and I get a clean car. Wow.

La Luz will get to spend the evening hanging out with Kelsea. Let's hope she is on her best behavior.

When Left to Our Own Devices

So, tonight Christian is under the weather. I know he must really feel bad because he went to sleep at 7:30 and he is a night owl. Unfortunately, we are incredibly unprepared for illness in this house. Occasionally you can find some baby tylenol lying around the house but that is about it. No cold medicine, no orange juice. Christian had to make do with a few Advil (probably from the prior owners) and some juice (probably Lucy's). If it's a cold there is not much you can do for it anyway, right?

Since Christian went to sleep Loki, La Luz, and I were by ourselves. I always forget how tricky it is to feed, entertain, and bathe La Luz without the extra set of hands Christian provides until I am alone. It is, for sure, a team effort. The worst part of the night was when La Luz found the cookies and then started freaking out when Loki was chasing her around the house. Here's a small sampling of what happens when we are left alone:



We got through it somehow. I even managed to bake a chicken so that we can have a proper dinner tomorrow night. At least I think I did. It is in the oven right now and I just checked with mom and I seem to be doing it right. I guess we will see.

Oh yeah, and the heat thing...it is on and seems to be working. I suppose feeling bad was just enough incentive for Christian to turn it on. Go figure.

The Return of Old Man Winter

Blogger has been a bit sluggish over the past 24 hours. I tried posting last night to no avail. Just in case I get kicked off before I finish the post, here is a pic of La Luz in the shirt her Aunt Molls sent her recently:



Yesterday I snuck out of work early to enjoy the coldest and most beautiful day we have had in a long time. La Luz and I went for a quick spin around the park (she had already been once with mom-mom and the aunties) and then headed to Whole Foods to pick up some dinner. It is amazing how much I can accomplish in the evenings when I leave work at a decent time.

I had on a t-shirt and shorts on saturday and then, out of nowhere, it suddenly feels like Christmas. Last night we debated turning the heat on and ultimately decided not to. I guess we both sort of realize that turning the heat on probably won't make much difference in our drafty, old house so we are sort of reluctant to bother trying. On the other hand, I worry about La Luz. What if she wakes up in the middle of the night shivering? Does that happen to babies? Will she know to cry? Will I believe her cry is sincere? To alleviate my fear I stuffed her into a 6 - 9 month sleeper with feeties and piled two blankets on top of her. She looked very uncomfortable but I think she was warm. I am sure it will be in the 80's again by the end of the weekend so I guess I don't need to worry much.

The Weekend, Courtesy of Nana & Papa-T

Friday was a gorgeous day and with it came the arrival of Nana & Papa-T and the onset of a weekend of fun for La Luz. We all love when Nana & Papa-T come to town because it means a chance to visit and also get spoiled quite a bit. Unfortunately, Christian was busy with volleyball again (another tournament) so he did not get to see as much of his mom and dad as he would have liked. Here's a picture of La Luz playing with the new stroller that Nana and Papa-T brought her:



On Friday night La Luz and I went with Nana & Papa-T to Ignatius where we met up with mom-mom and ate a nice dinner outside enjoying the cooler weather. On Saturday we woke up early and had breakfast at Bluebird before Christian had to be at Newman for the tournament. While Papa-T did some landscaping work in the front yard (I am still not exactly sure how it ended up that he spent his day off doing maual labor) La Luz, Nana, and I ran some errands. After naptime we all went to Newman to watch Sacred Heart play Assumption for first place in the tournament. On Saturday night Christian and I went to my 15 year high-school reunion. Yea, I know, I am officially old and I think it shows these days. After the reunion Christian and Nana went to Harrah's and Nana won BIG!!!!

This morning La Luz and I were up a few hours before the rest of the gang so we walked around the neighborhood waiting for the sun to come out and stopped off at the Boulangerie for some croissants to entice everyone out of bed. We spent the rest of the morning hanging out with Nana and Papa-T until they had to hit the road around 11:30.



La Luz was not in the greatest mood today because of a new tooth coming in. To add to the bad mood, La Luz sort of moped around for the remainder of the day once Nana and Papa-T left until we went to City Park for the evening concert. Once she saw Emma and Luke she perked up and enjoyed dancing in the muddy grass.





All in all, it was a lovely weekend. It is a shame that it is already over and that I have another busy week staring me in the face. Sometimes I have that same sensation I used to have in high-school and I think that maybe if I just never go to sleep on Sunday night I can put off Monday morning a bit longer. I will let you know if it works.

Thy Sweetest Title, Mater Admirabilis

I could not resist a quick post on the feast of Mater. As a graduate of the Sacred Heart, I learned at an early age that when I needed guidance I could turn to Mary. I know that this might be false idolatry. If it is, call me a heretic.

I love the story of Pauline Perdeau and her fresco. I think that she is a beautiful example of courage and faith. From Pauline's story I reminded about the importance of fearlessness. From Mary's story I am reminded about being a mother and a worker (open book and distaff tell us thou hast labored to as we) and it is in honoring Mary's life that I hope to set an example for La Luz and strive to be a mother most admirable.

My How You've Grown

Today La Luz is 16 months old and here I am, 16 months later, wishing I could make time stop, just for a little while, because I can't imagine that it gets any better than this. I will save the expose for when she turns two. If I really can't make it that long I will do it at 18 months but I will hit a few high points for posterity. So, here are the things that your dad and I and everyone else in your life find interesting:

You know and say alot of words, tons in fact, it sort of freaks us out.
You can basically repeat and remember any word that you are told including hummus, sashimi, and grapefruit. It might seem like all we do is talk about food and, don't get me wrong, it is a very important part of our lives, but there are other things. A few that come to mind are pumpkin, castle, and dishwasher. We are all sort of hoping that the reason for the great vocabulary is a gargantuan brain, which explains the huge cranium and the open soft spot.

You play independently and are actually very entertaining. Your favorite things tend to revolve around doing chores, which dissapoints your dad but thrills me. You sort, stack, and segregate everything from cheerios to tupperware. You bathe your bath toys and you change the imaginary diaper of every doll and animal in the house at least once a day. You also feed everyone imaginary food. Today we all enjoyed macaroni and applesauce followed by milk bottles thanks to your skills. You are so considerate.

You love to demonstrate running, hopping, and jumping and your new favorite trick is a variation of the old classic dive bomb. You basically just throw yourself on the ground and declare to whoever happens to be around that you fell, no kidding. You think it is funny. It scares me.

You understand when something is funny and are usually right about it. If something makes you laugh you will announce that it is funny. You also understand sadness and hurting, which kind of breaks my heart a little.

By far the most wonderful thing about you these days is that you will often sit still for a hug and, on occasion, will even offer them. You are a great hugger. You have a way of burying your head right underneath my chin and grabbing the sides of my head with your chubby hands. Tonight we set a record in the life of La Luz, we had a Vaicius family hug and I thought for a second your dad and I squeezed you to death because, for the first time ever (and trust me, we've tried this alot), you did not protest. We felt like the luckiest people in the world.

Mouth of Teeth

La Luz had a surprise visit from AJ and Betsy this evening and she loved every minute of it. She was a courteous host and was kind enough to change the diapers of just about every animal and baby downstairs while we visited. She was all jazzed up since it was way past her bed time. Here she is getting attacked by Christian:

My Tiny Giant

I spent the morning with La Luz at the pediatrician's office for the series of shots babies are supposed to get when they are 15 months old. We were a little late - things have been busy around here though. Unfortunately, Dr. Shourbaji also recommended the first in the flu shot series and the pinprick test for hemoglobin and lead. Poor La Luz. She was in such an affable mood before the nurses started sticking here.

In addition to all the painful stuff, the doctor took La Luz's measurements and felt the soft spot. La Luz still has a prominent soft spot and we are all hoping it will go away so that we do not have to put a metal plate in her head. Is this even something they do? The pediatrician said not to be concerned until she is 2. It seems like a long time to wait what with all the rough-housing that goes on at daycare, but I am not the doctor. As far as the other stats go, La Luz is 22.6 lbs which puts her at about the 40th percentile for weight and, amazingly, measured 31 3/4 in height, which puts her at about the 90th percentile for height. Dr. Shourbaji knows that Christian and I are not tall so she re-measured La Luz specifically because she thought the intial measurement could not have been correct. At least for now, my kid is a giant.

La Luz spent the afternoon at mom-moms and didn't seem to have any problems resulting from the shots so she went to the volleyball game with Christian followed by her first Moe's pizza experience. I had to work late, again. So, the rest of the night was much like it was yesterday, more time in the box. Tonight, however, Loki wanted in on the fun:

Part Time Mother

I am feeling really sorry for myself tonight. I got stuck at work until 7:30 and only left at that point because I knew I would miss La Luz entirely if I didn't leave the office right then. Leaving at 7:30 means I will be up late finishing what I was in the middle of (or, rather, what I thought I had finished until the bossman got his hands on it). It is silly to complain because my plight is nothing new but it really makes me want to cry. I feel like I am not even close to doing what I need to be doing at work and that La Luz is certainly getting the short end of the stick as well.

Fortunately La Luz's dad is one of the most flexible and resourceful people around. He is perfectly capable of walking the dog and taking care of the baby, whipping up a three-course meal for a toddler on a moments notice, and coming up with creative games to distract the toddler from realizing that mommy is nowhere to be found. He can pull it off without even a hint of disgruntledness. La Luz and I are lucky.

So, when I finally did get home it didn't take long for me to dry my eyes when I happened upon the latest distraction - the gigantic box that the entertainment system arrived in. He's a smart guy for sure. La Luz and I enjoyed 45 incredible minutes of time together, many of which were spent in the box.





Oh yeah, La Luz can say Halloween. I think it is really weird that she is capable of saying Halloween but I guess it shouldn't surprise me considering she can say octopus, rhinocerus, elephant, and hippopotamus.

Ponies, PB&J, Promenades, and Pumpkins

I arrived home from my business trip late Friday night. I was exhausted from travelling but thrilled to be home and back around the gang. It was interesting because walking into the house really felt like I was entering my home, a feeling I haven't had in over a year. It was pleasant and comforting...until I entered the living room and discovered the very peculiar scene that Christian and La Luz had created earlier that night while they were supposedly playing. So here's what happens when I am not around:



I am sure there is a message for me in the positioning of the animals but I was too tired to figure it out.

On Saturday we granted Christian a much needed opportunity to sleep in and La Luz and I took Loki for a walk and to the playground on the corner. All of this happened only after a very thorough inspection of La Luz - checked all the teeth, still there; looked at her limbs for breaks and bruises, nothing to report; felt for her soft spot, oh, still there and no changes. I should have been relieved but instead I was sort of sad that they got along just fine without me and that La Luz continued to request Dadda's presence all morning. Hurt feelings aside, Saturday was a wonderful day.

La Luz had her first pony ride at Margaret's son Bo's 4th birthday party. It was as if she was born to ride a horse. She immediately settled in and grabbed the horn. I didn't even have to hold her in place. She was serious but loving every minute of it the entire time.



I guess it was a day of firsts for La Luz becuase, in addition to the pony ride, she also had her first pb&j sandwich and loved every bit of it that actually made it into her mouth and not on me.

Saturday afternoon while La Luz was napping I stopped by Jen's and spent an hour or so just holding Betsy, the dream baby. She was an absolute angel and was perfectly happy hanging out in my arms.



On Saturday night we walked down the street to Mona's for dinner. La Luz ate almost an entire plate full of hummus and, consequently, smelled like garlic for the remainder of the weekend.

This morning I woke La Luz up at 7:30 to go down to the French Quarter to meet up with baby Edward for coffee and donuts and a stroll around the french market. La Luz enjoyed her first taste of beignets and had a good time dancing to the street musicians. She also loved getting to spend a few hours with baby Edward. We were sort of bummed that the french market was lacking in produce - no pumpkins to play with - but it was a nice morning and perfect weather for strolling around. Hopefully we can make the fall french quarter trip with the babies an annual event.



Since I promised her some pumpkins and her wish is generally my command, on the way home we stopped at the pumpkin patch at Whole Foods and La Luz proceeded to engage in a whole bunch of joy-filled behavior.





When we got home we watched a bit of the Saints game. I have always been borderline ill with my supserstition and obsessive compulsive behavior so take it with a grain of salt but La Luz had the Reggie Bush jersey on and they won. I realize my 16 month old isn't the reason the Saints are winning but I promise you she will have that jersey on for the rest of the season.

Dinner at mom-mom's was a perfect way to end the weekend even if it is always tricky to extricate La Luz from mom-mom once we are there. Her eyes lit up and she practically jumped out of Christian's arms when we got there and she first saw mom-mom.

The week ahead is going to be very busy so I am sort of dreading it. Now that La Luz knows that Nana and Papa-T are coming in town next weekend she keeps asking for them so I hope Friday gets here soon!

Mama's Little Baby Loves Pumpkin, Pumpkin

Christian and I both had very long days at work today. We barely had any time to spend with La Luz. It broke my heart to put her to bed becuase I am leaving town at 5 a.m. tomorrow for work and will not return until late Friday night after she is already asleep. I even tried to keep her awake, rocking in the chair with me until she politely said, "lie down", followed by, "bed", followed by, "get in", followed by "sleepy baby'. Alright, I can take a hint. I never used to be scared of travelling until La Luz came along. Now I worry something will happen to me and she will grow up without me, never knowing how much I love her.

Although the night was short, we managed to spend some time playing with the pumpkin Christian picked up for her at Whole Foods. She somehow got in her head that pumpkins are edible in that form and constantly tries to bite it, like an apple. Here she is, caught in the act:

Another Lovely October Evening

I arrived at home to find La Luz playing in the front yard with Christian and Loki. I am not really sure if climbing stairs, trying to lift a ten pound pumpkin, and asking for the moon constitue playing but she seemed to be having fun. She also didn't cry when we closed the door and left her outside by herself after she refused to join us inside of the house. I believe she would have stayed out there all night if allowed. Here she is with me on the porch and explaining to the pumpkin she was going to pick it up:





Tonight I went to dinner at Crepe Nanou with Catherine and Betsy. It was so nice to have a chance to sit down and visit without any distractions. I always enjoy my time with my cousins, they are like sisters to me. I just wish there was more of it. While I was out La Luz woke up crying and Christian got to rock her back to sleep for about 15 minutes - no fair.

The Sweetest Thing

For all of the La Luz fans out there I couldn't resist a post filled with nothing but pictures from the past weekend. Enjoy.

And The Moon Rose Over An Open Field

This past weekend was filled with excitement for La Luz and might just take a few days worth of posting to properly report, but I can't get started without shouting a big HOORAY for mom-mom's birthday tomorrow. Back on October 9th in 1948 a beautiful baby girl was born and but for that day La Luz wouldn't even be here. Here she is probably close to that day sitting on the steps with G.G. who looks like she is in absolute awe of the wonder she wrought, exactly the way I imagine mom felt holding me and I feel holding La Luz:



Kisses and hugs for you and all of our love as we celebrate the day that you came into this world.

Friday night was almost as uneventful as I anticipated it would be. La Luz and I moped around wishing that Christian was not spending the night coaching until we discovered the gigantic harvest moon looming over the end of Camp Street. La Luz is fascinated by the moon right now and seeing it so enormous and so surreal, floating at the end of the block, silenced her. All she could do was point, slack jawed, arms akimbo.

Saturday was a bit more exciting. We spent the morning outside enjoying the beautiful weather and even went to the volleyball tournament with Jane. On Saturday night mom made a delicious dinner for everyone since Uncle Josh and Uncle Richomnd were in town. Before dinner we took a few spins around the park and then played in the front yard with Uncle Josh. La Luz showed off all of her new tricks : looking for mushrooms on the front lawn, dive-bombing, calling for Milo, and climbing up and down the steps way too many times.



Precious baby Edward was baptised on Sunday so La Luz got to spend most of the morning with her extended family and loved every minute of it. She and Edward are already starting to play together:



GG made grillades and grits, one of my favorites and apparently one of La Luz's favorites as well. After a long nap La Luz, Christian, and I headed over to city park where we met up with Mike, Kelli, and the kids for the the sunset concert series and it was a beautiful end to a lovely weekend: