My parents and Grandmother came up on the 23rd and 24th to celebrate Christmas with us a little early. We went to California Pizza Kitchen for lunch and then hung out at home until Brent got home from work. For dinner, I made Shrimp & Grits, a spring salad with craisins, feta and a white balsamic dressing, and the Pioneer Woman's garlic cheese bread. After dinner, Jack and Will finally, finally got to open up their presents from Gramma, Granddaddy and Mimi.
First books:
And then Wii games:
Mario and Sonic at the 2012 London Olympic Games. Jack has been looking for this game since Thanksgiving. Every time we would go in a store, he would look and it would always be gone. There was alot of celebrating when he opened up this gift!
Super Mario Galaxy 2. Will has wanted Super Mario Galaxy 2 since this summer. Every few weeks, he would ask me when he could get this game and I would always reply, "soon." Soon was finally here!
Mimi and the boys.
They love her so much; they ran to greet her and hugged her so hard that I was afraid they might knock her down.
Christmas day was spent with our little family of four. Brent and I woke up to squeals of "he came! He came! Santa came!"
A few days before Christmas, Jack told me that these mini NFL helmets were the number 1 item on his wish list, which was a little concerning to me since we had already visited Santa and told him the 3 things that we would like for Christmas. Thankfully, Santa must have known and left them as one of Jack's surprises! Good ole Santa!
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| Another surprise from Santa. These lazer stunt chasers are crazy...they can flip, jump and spin! |
Still on our Disney kick!
Will had asked Santa for a pink Stitch "Stitcherella" to go with his blue Stitch, but Santa's elves just couldn't make one or find one anywhere. Sonic the Hedgehog was a really nice substitute.
As you can see, books are really big around here!
And look what Santa left in Brent's stocking...
Reinbeer! I feel like we might be a Jeff Foxworthy joke now. If Santa ever left you beer in your stocking...
The day after Christmas, we woke up and headed straight to the airport to fly to New Orleans to see Honey and Happy! And all of the cousins! We got to Happy and Honey's house around noon, and I don't think we saw Jack and Will again until Wednesday afternoon around 3 pm. So please excuse the lack of pictures, but that is the wonderful thing about the cousins. They play for hours and hours and HOURS and stop only to eat and then play some more.
Here is the biggest Saints fan who lives outside the state of Louisiana.
Hank and Brent went to the New Orleans vs Atlanta game at the Superdome Monday night, while the rest of us watched it at home. Jack was the loudest, most spirited fan in the den. I told Honey that I had a glimpse of what Brent must have been like at 8 years old. He was so excited to see Drew Brees break Dan Marino's single season passing yards record. Jack wore the Drew Brees shirt and Saints Santa hat all week.
Thursday afternoon we went to the French Quarter, which was high on Jack's list of things to do in New Orleans.
First, we had lunch at Drago's. Brent and I each had a dozen of the charbroiled oysters...they are out-of-this-world good!
Jack and Will with the Silver Man.
The break dance guys were our favorite "show." Not only were their stunts incredible but they were so funny. Jack would bust out laughing all afternoon remembering some of the hilarious things they had said.
And eventually found ourselves at Cafe du Monde for some beignets and cafe au lait!
It was the perfect afternoon in New Orleans!
Later that night, Happy and Honey took us to Celebration in the Oaks at City Park. It was absolutely amazing! The entire park was a light display and the pathway was lined with Christmas trees adopted and decorated by area schools. One side of the park was a carnival complete with a carousel, a ferris wheel, a train and all the other rides you would expect at a fair. The other side was a storybook playground featuring Captain Hook's pirate ship while Captain Hook and Peter Pan dueling on board, the Three Little Pigs' houses with the Big Bad Wolf lurking around, and a really fun Puff the Magic Dragon slide just to name a few. Of course the boys were not ready to leave, in fact we had to drag Will out of there in tears, so next time we are in New Orleans we are headed back to City Park for more play time!
Later that night, Happy and Honey took us to Celebration in the Oaks at City Park. It was absolutely amazing! The entire park was a light display and the pathway was lined with Christmas trees adopted and decorated by area schools. One side of the park was a carnival complete with a carousel, a ferris wheel, a train and all the other rides you would expect at a fair. The other side was a storybook playground featuring Captain Hook's pirate ship while Captain Hook and Peter Pan dueling on board, the Three Little Pigs' houses with the Big Bad Wolf lurking around, and a really fun Puff the Magic Dragon slide just to name a few. Of course the boys were not ready to leave, in fact we had to drag Will out of there in tears, so next time we are in New Orleans we are headed back to City Park for more play time!
Friday morning came too quickly (doesn't it always?) and we had to get back on the plane to come home. Jack wanted to stay and live in New Orleans. He had found a home among his Who Dat people. They are his peeps.
Christmas 2011 will be remembered as one of my favorite Christmases. It was joyful, it was restful and it was spent with family. Perfect!
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