Sunday, August 26, 2012

Family Reunion.. Southern Style!


This weekend we celebrated our Cowdell family reunion. Every year in August we have a family camp out and usually have a theme. Each family trades off being in charge and this year it was our family so we decided to go with a New Orleans (Mardi gras) theme. My mom had lived down south, near Mississippi and Louisiana, for the past five years and just moved back this summer. So, what better way to celebrate then southern style. My Mom slaved away in the kitchen, cooking up fried green tomatoes, fried cat fish, hush puppies, corn bread and jambalaya. For dessert she made a king cake and benyas. It was amazing! It is always fun and interesting to try new foods and learn about new cultures. 








Yes, those are ALL fryers! I think we had a total of six? LOL 
 This is the king cake. It is to die for. It's a French tradition. You are actually suppose to hide a baby in it and whoever finds the baby or gets the piece with the baby, becomes KING for the day. I am not quite sure what the baby represents. LOL

 We do a raffle at the end of the party and the big prize that everyone wants is usually a blanket or quilt my grandmother has made. I wanted it soooooo bad. My mom ended up winning it!!! I was so happy for her because she really deserved it. She had worked so hard on this party.




 Thanks to pinterest we came up with this cute idea for cups! They were a hit. PLUS, we didn't have to go through a million paper or plastic cups. Everyone got their own with their name on it. 

 We were obsessed with this mask. LOL. Can you tell?
 For breakfast we had corn beef and hash, southern style grits and purple and green pancakes. YUM!
 All I can remember is that it was FUNNY! LOL
 Baby Gwen rockin her Mardi gras head band.
The kids had a blast decorating their masks and getting their faces painted.