Post Toasties...

My name is Mitch and yes, I am a blogger...

Oh great wife and family of mine...
Below find 4 new posts....Wouldn't want you to stop at just one.

New Orleans DAY 1

I am out in New Orleans for a few days…My work travel buddy, Craig Nielson (also a friend of John Olsen's family) and I, are out here for a National Court Conference. We are manning a booth for our company – hoping to drum up more business. We are also visiting a potential client and spending time with a current client here in New Orleans. Our primary objective ---Eat some good southern Cajun food!

This Lois Armstrong met us at the airport. He stands about 15 feet tall.

And this is the impressive mural that was behind Lois (I thought Jessica would like to see this). The city is proud of their musical heritage and shows where ever you go.

Our client works for the courts at Jefferson Parrish 24^th judicial court. The west has counties, the south has Parrishes. This is the statue in front of his building . It is a HOT and humid day here today. ( 90+ degrees and 85+% humidity). Who would enjoy living in this every year? Well, the food may be worth putting up with a little heat. Every time I went outside it felt like my underwear shrunk-wrapped to my body and I sealed it in with a layer of Mitch sweat.

This is our booth that we set up for Thursday's conference. Craig is the sales guy and I am…the stand up comedian…or the nice friendly face that draws them in.

there was another giant Lois Armstrong the Sheridan Hotel that was hosting the conference…He's everywhere.

We ended the evening with a stroll down Bourbon St. There was music blaring from every open door/window - the bars and resturants had mostly live bands, while the shops piped out recorded music. There were people trying to give you a 'coupon' to go into their establishment and I even had the luxury of a brief conversation with a 'lady of the night' (more like a man dressed like a lady). The whole street experience was like no other and is one that I will most likely never be experienced again. It is amazing that people 'want' to come here and their view of Bourbon St as a happy fun place. I can't even imagine what Mardi Gras is like. This is the down season and the street was alive with tourist.

The live music was an awesome and mostly positive experience, but not one worth everything else that surrounds it. The highlight of the street adventure was a brass band (10 or so teenage boys) playing some peppy jazz... an ending on a very positive note.

My Hotel - Holiday Inn expressed

Is it ever good to stay in a hotel that used to be called "Security Homestead Assn". I guess I feel safer. We parked our car out front, checked in, and the clerk told Craig that because he is a platinum member that there is valet parking. When we got up, our car was still there. We were told that they stopped doing the valet parking a couple of months ago and we would have to move said car. It sat in a No Parking Zone all night. No tickets.

There is a big Youth Catholic convention in town and there are literally 100s of teenagers walking around town wearing these green backpacks. A few of them decided to have a mini-meeting just outside my hotel room at 6a in the morning. Normally, that wouldn't be an issue, except for the fact that we arrived at the hotel at 1a and didn't getting to sleep until 2:30a that same morning. An extra hour would have been nice. Also, in this picture is my travel buddy Craig. He is in the window below the blue awning working out.

How many hotels do you know have a pool on the 6^th floor? I thought that was pretty cool…UNTIL

I saw the size of the pool – it can't be any bigger than 10x30 feet…with a max depth of 4 feet

This room wins the funniest room I have ever been in. Yes, those are windows that reach to the 3 foot mark off the floor. They must have been hanging out with the 6^th floor pool. I thought who can look out of a window that is 3 feet off the ground. I got on my hands and knees, opened the window and saw – the parking lot structure just a few feet away. I think the sun hits the window no more than one hour a day. Another strange HI Express factoid in the land of Jazz...there is NO cold water that flows from the tap. I can take a "cold" shower that is as warm as one I would have in Battle Ground. Makes for an interesting late night quick drink...

Winner Winner Crayfish Dinner...

We visited a client that works down at one of the Parrish (County to you, Parrish to the south) Courts. We asked for a place with good food. He told us of a 'hole in the wall' place next to a Comfort Inn…said it was the best food in the area - menu is on the wall with only a few choices (I think there were 5 boiled/Cajun selections and 6-7 fried choices (the same fish just prepared differently) with a handful selections of a sides. We shared 3 lbs of crayfish, a pound of shrimp, a couple of smoked sausages, corn on the cob and we each had a bowl of Gumbo. It truly was delicious…

Even though the area is known for voo-doo, this is not 'finger of a witch'. Crayfish eating was educational. Pull of the head, squeeze and suck. Then pinch the tail and pull out the meat…works and looks like miniature lobsters. The Cajun spice was just short of HOT. The corn was good and spicy.

Yes, I play with my food…The big crayfish battle…I won – many times

This is what all the work is for…a little piece of tail meat (see knife/fork for size comparisons).

This is my friend and travel buddy Craig Nielson – holding the tray of 'empties'. It was a tasty treat – everything was good.

Here lies some tall stories...Neat structures of New Orleans

These are just some of the skyscrapers that I was impressed with…either their structure or design or just catching my eye. I thought the window pattern was impressive.

What would it be like to have an office or condo on one of the top four stories – great view and maybe a deck (couldn't see if there was railing or not.

This was the top of a tall building. Hey, let's make a really tall building then put a cake topper on it…with pillars…and make it white.

This reminded me of a taller version of the old field house on CSU campus.

This was a drive by photo…it was the crème de la crème…SUPER DOME. We drove right past it when we drove from the airport to the hotel late at night and it was too dark to photograph then. This was the closest we've been since.

Coming to a Theater Near You...

I'm just waiting to hear the words ring in my ears...Dad, that just creepy now stop...(Jessica)

Megan's Favorite Magazine...

Another day with Baby Olive...

 

Connor and Olive are tye-dye buddies. Connor and Katie had a tye-dye day and made shirts and socks and a "onesie" for Olive.

Sunday evening, Connor, Katie (Connor's friend), and I took dinner to the hospital folk (Jen, Megan, Rusty and Olive). We had BBQ chicken off the grill, baked beans, a broccoli cheese rice thang and fixins (for those who wanted to make a BBQ chicken sandwich). We got there just in the nick of time. Megan had just started to eat her hospital food. I looked at her plate and said – "What did you get today, Chicken?" She said, "No this is chicken!" mmmmmm. We all had Sunday dinner together in Megan's room. Times have changed. When my brother Aaron was born, our family got to go to the hospital. Dad pointed out my mom's hospital room from the parking lot – third floor. I remember one of us saying, "Can she see us? Will she wave?" We did get to spend a couple minutes looking at him through the glass into the nursery.

Olive in her cool, far out tye-dye onesie…showing us that she doesn't sleep 24-7.

When the Taylor family gets together, we try and include Jessica and Cody via Skype video. We miss her and she REALLY wishes she was here, but knows that time comes soon. The person on the right is Jeff. He has been a friend of Megan and Jessica (and all the Taylors) since Megan's high school years

Sprinkle of Sunshine - Olive Elizabeth Wadleigh

Same baby? No! We have how come full circle…The picture on the above – Olive the picture on the below – Megan and her first bath. The Taylor button nose continues on. Olive entered earth life Saturday morning at 6:52. She weighed 7 lbs 10 oz and 20 inches in length.

Megan and baby are doing fine. ..Rusty is not doing too bad either

Grandma Taylor and her new granddaughter – Connor and Mitch now take second seat…the cats are a little concerned who's going to take care of them now too.

One proud, grey-haired, happy grandpa….Will now be referred as PapaT…(warming up my Elmo, Kermit, Grover voices as I type – they better let her watch Sesame Street…at least "Elmo in Grouchland")

Jessica gets a good view of the baby too. We had her Skype'd in (both her and Cody) so she could be a part of the experience. Skype – the next best thing to being there.

Olive's first TV program – Germany vs Uruguay in the third place game of the World Cup…Germany wins 3-2

first pickin'

these will be a nice tree-t, picked these myself now i am bushed...time to leaf, branch out to other activities, not sure what...I'm. stumped...must stick with it to get the root of it all...maybe knot you but i wood. shoot cant think of any more sap even though you are pine-ing for more

when it's 94 degrees outside at 7pm in Battle Ground...this what it looks like inside...vision from above

Yes, Connor is wearing a blanket and sweatshirt. i asked him how he was doing and he said he hates it. Jen on the other hand -- "loves it"

PGE park Home of the Portland Beavers

Mitch, Jen, Connor, and Katie enjoying the hottest day of 2010 (86 degrees) at a baseball game

Started in row 7 just behind third base...we moved up so we would have room...

Connor making the picture perfect...and Jen...in baseball heaven (and would have killed, mamed, beaten me if I didn't crop her out...let's just say if I left her in the picture you would have thought it was 50 cent beer night - NO LIMIT)

THINGS WE LEARNED LAST NIGHT -

• There is something worse than a veggie burger ...veggie hot dog
• Umpires are people too...the just make more mistakes at work than the rest of us...and don't get fired for doing so.
• Umpires can toss coaches...coaches can't toss umpires - no matter had bad of job they are doing
• the best night to see baseball is the night AFTER fireworks night
• Kraft singles BOGO night is also a great night to go...(this is same for Salt Lake's baseball games - talk to me)
• Mitch is loud
• Connor should not eat snowcones while wearing a white shirt.
• Ticket booth operators - even with fancy computers can't figure out that if I have 2 kraft wrappers that get me a buy-one-get-one ---should be 4 tickets for the price of 2 and not 4 tickets for the price of 3.
• Connor is an illegal candy smuggler.
• Baseball food is way more expensive than movie food.
• Some baseball players will never exceed past AAA baseball.
• This family will miss the baseball games after this year (MLS soccer takes over the stadium) and the baseball team has no where to go...next closest place it 2 hour drive.

ESPN the Magazine...

Weed agree that the summer will be berry good and divine

This is the wine barrel of chicks and hens - from the starter that mom and dad brought out years ago! This has been my favorite plant since I remember see them as a little kid at Grandma Etta's and her beautiful garden

This is the out of control morning glory that surrounds the Jen's homemade compost pit. The other day Connor was asked to throw out the corn husks into the pit…the husks were in plastic bags. I told him to take the husks out of the bags and then take the pizza boxes and plastic bags to the garbage. I must not speak clear English – I found the husks still in the bags in the compost pit – along with the pizza boxes…well 1 out of 3 is a good average – for a baseball player.

These flowers are blooming from the vines too. All the vines are a continuous battle.

These were just cool plants Jen has growing out front.

The black berry and marion berry bushes are out of control. The blossoms are numerous – more than any previous year. Connor and I have been out twice to trim the flowerless shoots before the reach the oak tree's lower limbs (if the reach them then they grow up the tree). It now is time for a third session of trim-back.

The blueberries are ripening – I'm getting 2-3 handfuls a day now. With all the rain , the berries are HUGE – some are dime-size in diameter.