Easter Morning/Mini travel log

We hope you all had a happy Easter.  We had a wonderful day.  We did a little Easter egg hunt in the morning.  Whitney really seemed to enjoy it.  It has been fun to see her actually start to participate in holiday traditions.  Last year we did a hunt, but of course she was oblivious to what was happening.  Here's a little video I took of Whitney: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bHR0wyGdoz0.  We were also fortunate to be invited to an Easter dinner that night at a friend's house.  The friend's family was there as well.  It was so nice to go to a family dinner, even though it wasn't necessarily our family.  

Life has been the same as usual, but there have been a few events of note since I last wrote (which was ages ago, I know).  During Ben's spring break in March we decided to go on a little family trip to San Antonio.  I had no idea San Antonio would be such a charming city.  We went on the famous River Walk our first night there, and it was gorgeous.  For those who have never heard of it, the city created a 5 mile (maybe) river running through downtown below the street level.  On either side of the river are tons of restaurants and interesting shops.  It is really beautiful at night when all of the shops are lit up and you can see the large sky scrapers towering above you.  I'd describe it as a metropolitan version of Venice.  The only unpleasant thing was all of the crowds.  It was spring break for the whole state of Texas and it seemed like the whole state of Texas decided to go to San Antonio.  Thankfully there was a boatride that we were able to take down most of the river.  Our second day in San Antonio we went to Sea World.  I'd never been.  The highlights of the day were feeding the dolphins and seeing the Shamu show.

 

The next week we spontaneously decided to head to New Orleans to watch BYU play in the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA playoffs.  The game was a bit disappointing, but the trip was really fun.  We went with a few of our med school friend-couples, all of whom would make any trip fun anyway.  The second day we were there we took a swamp tour and saw a few gators.  None of them were more than four feet long, but I was secretly grateful for that, especially since Whitney kept sticking her fingers over the side of the boat. We also spent a day in the French Quarter. The French Quarter is beautiful, and cultural, but quirky.  It reminded me a bit of London, full of history and beautiful architecture, but also full of extreme pop culture and crazy drunken people.  For those reasons, it is a definite must-see.  I think it is one of the most culturally interesting places in the US, with an identity all its own.  It, of course, is influenced by France in its buildings, food, etc.  But all of that is mixed with a southern flavor--adding its elements of mysticism, jazz, and a general edginess you really can't find anywhere else.  

  My mom also visited the week before our trips, which was so fun.  I got to see a lot of things in Dallas I wouldn't have taken the trouble to see otherwise.  I look forward to my sister coming in a couple of weeks!

That's about it on the home front! We love you all!