Kings Party

Back in February King PD hosted a party to celebrate his reign for the Mardi Gras season. I did post about the amazing cake, but not many other details.  Just yesterday I got the photos... so I'm blogging about it a little late. :)

The night was so fun. Here are the King and Queen arriving:

And toasting:

(The court and past Kings and Queens joined them on the balcony.)

I bought my green dress about a year ago and was really excited to finally wear it!

The party was hosted at the Buff's house. They have a fabulous backyard that gives Chris envy every time we're there.

To the right of that photo is where the band set up. Here you can see King PD trying out the gift from his children... a washboard!

And here he is with the kids and the in-laws:

And with the geaux-to-girls:

The party lasted well into the evening and everyone agreed it was a wonderful time. The next morning we went back to collect the decorations and to help clean up. That's when we found these guys laying on the living room floor (they were part of the decorations on the balconies).

We had a good laugh... and I believe that photo got passed around facebook for about a week after the party!

Mardi Gras Platter

At our shower in Baton Rouge, we were gifted a festive platter for Mardi Gras season:

I love it! Especially the spreaders that it came with:

Recently, I used it to serve an easy appetizer for friends. All you do is take cream cheese and cover it with Raspberry Chipotle Marinade (my favorite is the brand from HEB). Then serve with little crackers.

After I took this photo, I realized that this might not be the best platter to use with this appetizer:

Doesn't it look like the Joker from Batman?

Love the appetizer! Love the platter! But probably not together.

Post-Parade

After the ball, after the after-party, after the 4 hour nap... we all pried ourselves out of the Hilton and back to the Hill compound. (Called the compound because Laura and Justin bought the house next door to PD. In addition to those three, Casey {friend of family}, Andrew {Laura's brother} and Conrad {Chris' cousin} all live there too.)

Since there was still family that are "not from 'round here" Chris got some crawfish to introduce the Yankees to some Louisiana cuisine:

Even though we were all exhausted, we stayed up till past midnight, telling stories and jokes and passing a good time.

One of my favorite parts of spending time on the compound is finding gems from Chris' childhood laying around. Like this:

Something about this photo just makes me love my husband even more! He's lost the curly top, but has the same cheeks!

Thanks for indulging me with that personal interruption. :)

After another late night and short sleep, Chris and I took his cousins from Alaska to a Louisiana plantation and lunch. Where I had one of these:

There's nothing better than a Bloody Mary on a Monday. In fact, I'd really like to bring back the Monday afternoon cocktail hour... Stay tuned for that!

We were supposed to leave Baton Rouge sometime Monday afternoon. But that quickly turned into evening... then into night. We got home after midnight, but it was worth the last few moments with the family. It was a wonderful week bonding with Chris' immediate family and getting to know the extended family even better. I'm excited for the next time that we're all together again!

The King and The Krewe

Finally it was parade time! Johanna, Laura and I went to see PD among the crowds:

Then we headed inside to greet the guests and add last minute glow sticks to the centerpieces.

Before long, it was time to grab a spot near the gates for the parade. Yes, the parade actually ends by going through the ballroom! It's by far the best part about the Krewe of Orion. Gma scooted up right next to Jojo and I. My dear friends, Magoosters, Ashley and Jackie were also close by. It was a wonderful way to cheer on the boys.

The marching bands were great, the Queen and Maids were beautiful... then 3,000 people erupted in cheers when the King rode in:

After the King's float is the Sword and Shield float-- where PD usually rides with Chris and Justin. This is Justin unloading on the fans:

The rest of the floats came in and then it was finally time for dancing!

And hula-hooping:

Some picture taking:

More picture taking when the boys joined us from their ride:

At the King's party, PD's children and spouses bought him an authentic washboard for him to play. We brought it out at the ball:

PD was a pro... and it looks like Jeremy's found a new talent as well...

It was a such a fun, special evening I know I can't capture it in words and photos... but that's a taste!

Afterwards we headed back to the Hilton for the after party. That included pizza by the slice, a food eating contest, some 'celebrities' from LA and lots of laughter. We even second-lined through the lobby and out into the streets sometime around 4:30am. 

Chris and I were having so much fun with our friends and family that we couldn't go to bed! Finally around 6am we sneaked back to the room and took a quick nap before Sunday's festivities began!

Morning of the Orion Ball

Saturday morning was a little rough:

(Photo of my dad, courtesy of my mom.)

We ladies ran over to the River Center to set up our centerpieces:

And put out the swag bags (which included koozies, cups and 2nd line handkerchiefs... all with PD's name and likeness).

 The boys were in charge of PD's King's Centerpiece. Chris' motto is go big or go home.

He chose to go big. After they got it all set up (and got the Mardi Gras floats to circle around the crown with spotlights...) he grabbed a beer and admired his work:

Here's the King's section:

And a little closer:

Later we rounded up again with PD. As a King for the people, PD wanted to parade from our hotel to the float starting point. So he hired a marching band and we all joined him:

PD greeted those who were already waiting in the streets with cheers and dancing:

When we made it to the stopping point he greeted and took photos with his guests:

Even the smallest of fans got some face-time with the King:

Soon Queen Ashley came downstairs to greet us and we had a great loud toast (to the fear of the hotel's staff).

We then sent the King off to greet the float riders and scurried back to our hotel to get ready for the grand ball!

Pre Parade Festivities

King PD rode in the Krewe of Orion parade on Saturday evening. It was an exhilarating, special and exhausting weekend! On Friday night, most of the King's 150 guests arrived in Baton Rouge. He hosted a welcome cocktail hour where he bestowed his special beads:

Once he gave the special King's polystone, PD would then autograph the back:

This was also a time for some last minute paperwork:

And to show of the royal bling:

My friend Stephanie had a birthday on Saturday and invited seven friends to join the celebration. One of those friends ALSO had a birthday on Saturday! So PD took a photo with the birthday girls:

After the reception, we all met down by the river to watch the Krewe of Artemis' parade.
Stephanie before:

And after:

Even Gma came down for the fun!

She wore her special pin all weekend and told me that with everyone asking to take her photo she "felt like a celebrity".

After the parade we scattered around downtown Baton Rouge. Despite our best efforts to get a good nights rest, Chris and I stayed up until 4am. We just couldn't go to bed when we were having so much fun with all of our out-of-town friends!

I still need to write about the King's Party (happened a few weekends before the parade) but I'm waiting on photos from one of my sisters-in-law. I'll leave out the names to protect the guilty. But her name rhymes with "YoYo". ;)

Birthday for a King

With so much King stuff going on it's no wonder my etsy store is full of crowns!

The weekend before the Krewe of Orion parade was King Cameron's 1st Birthday! Cameron is the first son of our friends Mark and Kelli.

If there's anything I love, it's a party that is themed out and this one fit the bill. We walked into Mardi Gras decorations, beads, King's Cake and shrimp etouffee.

Kelli asked that I make this sign for the party:

All the little ones brought their little red wagons all decorated for the parade:

Of course the King had the most amazing float-- that's all paper mache and can be detached from the wagon. On the back, are the numbers 31-17 signifying the Saints win at the Super Bowl... two years ago!

King Cameron didn't quite understand that he was supposed to "Throw me Something Mister" and instead clung to his personalized cups and beads for most of the ride.

Kelli and Mark came to King PD's Parade and Masquerade this past weekend. I'm just waiting on a few more photos to come in and I'll start sharing that amazing experience!