Christmas Visits

Happy Holidays!

Zac and I spent the weekend in Louisiana (though, we arrived midweek). I gave the kids the week off school so we could enjoy the holidays. Most of our laundry was washed and packed by Tuesday and I loaded the van Wednesday. Once Zac was off work, we loaded the van and headed out. I'm very glad Cole is such a good traveler now that he's older. He basically slept the whole way. Once we made it to Sean's, the kids opened some gifts and headed to bed. Sean found the gifts amusing because most of them were gag gifts.

Thursday, Sean was off so we spent the day with him. I insisted we pick up beignets for breakfast, so we popped into Cafe Du Monde and introduced our youngest to a surplus of powdered sugar. He wasn't impressed. We stopped by Sean's mom's house to visit for a little while and let Sean pick up his police car. The kiddos enjoyed running around her front lawn like maniacs. She was super happy to meet the baby. Sean had to take a nap to prepare for staying up all night, so Zac and I went to Walmart to buy some spaghetti stuff for dinner. Kyle came over after work to eat with us and exchange gifts, then we stayed up WAY too late playing Cards Against Humanity. Our sweet Jac offered to get Cole to sleep if we let him stay up as late as he wanted with the promise of coffee the following morning, so we took advantage, ha. 

Friday, we drove to Slidell to visit at Mawmaw, Marie, and Janie. Marie cooked lunch and we visited and exchanged gifts. Marie even had us play a Christmas themed bingo, then whipped up hot cocoa for the kids. We left there around 4 to get across the lake to meet up with Katie and Chase in City Park for the Celebration in the Oaks. Katie wasn't feeling well and she couldn't find a parking spot for nearly an hour, so I left Zac with the big kids in the park to meet up with her for a quick visit. They couldn't stay long because they live nearly an hour from the park, so she dropped off the gifts for the kids (ornaments!) and they left. I made it back to the park and was able to ride a few rides with the three big kids. Elias loves scary fast rides! He was squealing with delight, it was too funny. Jac even swallowed his fear to get on the ferris wheel. We roasted giant marshmallows and bought a huge cotton candy, then Leah lost a tooth while we were waiting in line! It's been bugging her for weeks. We finished with a train ride around the park and headed back to Sean's.

Saturday, we got up early and headed back across the lake, though Zac made the trip earlier that morning, unbeknownst of me, to take Sean to the rental shop to drop his car off. So much driving! But, we made it to Krystal's and hung out with her and Kevin and the girls. Kylie is looking so grown up now. She and Kayden showed me some drawings they did and they're just so talented. Kayden drew with Jac and Leah while Elias played with Piper. We even watched a few Disney movies. It was such a nice visit! We're going to try to make visiting them a priority when we're in town next time. Before it grew too late, we left Krystal's and met up with Christina and Steve at an abandoned Toys R Us parking lot to hang out for a little while. We had planned to meet at the mall but there was zero parking, being almost Christmas. We exchanged gifts and drove back to Sean's.

Sunday, we drove across the lake once more to visit with Jessie and Grahamm. I woke up with clogged milk ducts so I was super uncomfortable, but the wine and coffee definitely helped, as did Jessie's cooking. Orrin pulled out a Zelda-themed Monopoly for him and the big kids to play while Elias chased the four different cats around. Jessie has FOUR kitties! Two are bobtails, one orange tabby and one tuxedo; a heterochromatic white cat that made herself at home in the car seat; and a three-legged Sphynx with the most judgmental face I've ever seen. It was so good to see Jessie and I wish we were able to see Katie before we headed out, but alas, the stars were not aligned. Next time, though. We picked up our dogs and loaded up the van and came back home. At least the laundry is all washed.