Decorating for Christmas
Such a good helper hanging ornaments.
Getting an early start on sugar cookie making and decorating.
Quincy watching Ashlyn's computer game. Just love her concentrated pose.
Quincy has been taking her diaper off at night so this was our solution. It doesn't happen anymore.
As we were checking out at the library one day they gave Quincy a roll of stickers. Against my better judgment I let her keep them in the car. She stuck them all over the car seat. I think we'd had this car seat a whole two days.
Going to pick up Mallary from the airport and the causeway was SO foggy! It was kindof eerie. They even had it closed to one lane.
Such a trooper, right after picking her up we headed to the Insectarium and Mallary started eating bugs! Addie was a little more reluctant, but I took the cricket off her chocolate chirp cookie and she tricked Mallary into thinking she ate one.
They actually had pumpkin pie bites this time and they were tasty...just always that little crunch kindof gets to you.
Gage and Quincy enjoying the Koi pond.
That night was the Christmas enrichment party. It was a lot of fun and laughs. We made funky headbands with glue guns, and Mary didn't let her glue dry enough before putting it on her head apparently. Half way through the night she tried to adjust the headband and it was glued to her hair!
There was a white elephant gift exchange using the left/right game. One of the gifts was a big picnic basket (I personally thought it might have a cat in it.) One of the sister missionaries ended up with it, and it was a picnic basket for two! Complete with stemware! Fun irony.
The next day Jeremy took Mallary and Addie to do a swamp tour and a plantation tour. Oh, Ashlyn and Moosey went too.
Jeremy said the unique thing on this trip was when an alligator sitting down on the bank and a family of raccoons had a close encounter. As the boat got closer to the bank, the raccoons ran toward the it, probably for a handout, not realizing an alligator was nearby. All of a sudden the alligator snapped and the raccoons shot up trees in every direction.
St. Joseph plantation.
Lunch at the cabin.
Ellia was SO excited for them to get home that day. She kept asking me how close they were, and sat by the window just to be sure she didn't miss them.
Relaxing in princess dresses with cousins.
Jackson Square. It was fun to see some of the Christmas décor around the French Quarter.
We were fortunate enough to expose Mallary and Addie to a Mardi Gras-like Christmas parade. I'm sure they went home with their fill of beads. We also go to meet up with the Breedloves which the girls thoroughly enjoyed.
Quincy being a little weird.
She is ready for Mardi Gras!
Waiting for the trolley, which we abandoned once we found out it was on hold due to the parade.
Quick trip through the aquarium before it closed.
Houses on the Northshore of lake Pontchartrain all decorated for Christmas.
Quincy is starting to love playing with babies.
A little pre-bed time wrestling...always good for winding down.
Waiting for a seat on the deck at Chimes. See no evil, speak no evil...or something like that.
Watching the fish at Oak Island pond.
Can't forget a trip to the play place. Ellia and Ashlyn's first choice of what to do with guests when they visit.
After we dropped off Mallary and Addie at the airport we made a stop at the Lakeside Mall. They had some fun Christmas décor and a pretty big train inside. We wanted to go to Build a Bear but it wasn't there anymore! We had beignets instead.
At home Ashlyn used left over frosting, some sprinkles and Hershey's kisses to make this treat...I don't think she could even get her mouth around it.
Quincy ready for her first day of "school." We signed her up for a drop in day care so I could do a little more volunteering at the girls schools. She was pretty excited talking about going to school and getting her bag ready, but not so excited when I left her.
I have been wanting to make something like this reminiscent of what my mom had for us growing up. We got to decorate all the ornaments with pom poms and sequins and I LOVED choosing one to put on the tree each day before Christmas. I FINALLY got around to making one for my kids. We sat down and decorated them one night, and it was SO fun!
Pajama day at dance.
How Quincy eats apples.
Polar Express Christmas party at Ellia's school.
Ashlyn's dance Christmas party.
Big girls are braver now, but Quincy would have nothing to do with Santa. Ashlyn keeps asking for, "a dog you can tell it to walk." (A FurReal Pet.)
Moms Club Christmas party for me and Quincy. Also a polar express theme.
Ashlyn's preschool Christmas program. She did a lot better this year, actually doing most movement and some singing.
Quincy getting an early start!
Christmas gifts have transitioned from arriving in a red sleigh to a brown truck.
Ward Christmas Party, complete with Brother Granier reading of The Cajun Night Before Christmas.
Someone capturing me, capturing my kids!
Ready to go while mom and dad help clean up.
Quincy loves sunglasses. She'll wear them around all day, even in the dark.
This year Ashlyn has Quincy for a Pixie. Ashlyn stayed up late one night (by herself) and made this cardboard box car, complete with exhaust, just for Quincy.
Opening Grandma Betty's present.
Jeremy goes to a Saints game at the Superdome, while I stay home with the girls...who happened tobe very demanding that day.
I use Christmas gifts as an excuse to complete a project I have had in mind and gift it. This time it was a plaque where the girls can hang their ribbons and medals.
A day off school and a chance to play at the parenting center for a bit.
Oh, and grab some hot doughnuts at ButterKrisp.
Ellia was frustrated when her gingerbread house kept falling down. It was the first year we have attempted so we learned quite a bit on how to proceed with this activity in the future.
Had to escape to our bedroom so Quincy could have a chance to open one of grandma Laura's weekly gifts.
Making faces.
Opening Pixie gifts on Christmas Eve morning. Ashlyn was so proud to give Quincy the stool she made, and Quincy loved it too!
Ashlyn got Shopkins from Dad.
I gave Ellia and Easy Bake Oven.
A quick bike ride run to the park.
Ellia making her first Easy Bake Oven treat, chocolate chip cookies.
We decided since we postponed our trip to Natchitoches, that we would take the drive to see the bonfires in Gramercy. We got there about an hour and a half before dark and we were able to walk along the levy, talk to some of the builders and see all the structures.
One of our favorites was this sleigh being pulled by alligators.
This is how you "snowboard/sled" if you don't have snow. Louisiana Livin'!
A canoe with papa noel himself.
Another favorite.
Porbably one of the most memorable Christmas Eve dinner's EVER!! It was so fun! McDonalds was the only place open in this small town, so we embraced it. The girls still had Zak's gift from last year, McDonalds gift cards, so they got to order Happy Meals with whatever they wanted inside! I also splurged and got a sweet chili chicken wrap...soooo good! Let's not forget the holiday pies...delicious! Ellia had brought one home for me one night as a pixie prize and I was hooked.
Back to the levees for the real action! It was so cool to see all the fires starting around the same time and to walk up and down the levy.
Christmas season bonfires, once popular in France, Germany, other parts of Europe, and the British Isles, continue to be part of the Christmas celebration in a small area along the Mississippi River in south Louisiana. After dark on Christmas Eve, huge bonfires blaze along the levees of the river in the parishes of St. James, St. John the Baptist, and Ascension. (This area includes about 30 miles of levee on each side of the river and is located about midway between New Orleans and Baton Rouge.) These bonfires, built of logs, cane reed, and bamboo, create the effect of spectacular fireworks. Large crowds of family, friends, and visitors gather on the levee to watch the bonfires, sometimes built as close as 20 to a mile of levee. A popular explanation for the bonfires is "to light the way for Papa Noel ." The bonfires may have also been a way of lighting the path to the nearest Catholic church for Midnight Mass.
Oh, did I mention lot's of fireworks and firecrackers too?
These girls are so unfamiliar with hills that they started rolling in the grass, not DOWN, but sideways.
Christmas morning line up!
A mouth full of chocolate.
Ellia was up so early that we made her take a shower to kill some time before waking up the other girls.
Oh no, our first travesty.
All better!
Ellia's elementary school does a Snowflake Shop where kids can buy things for family and friends. The last few years I have been able to help volunteer while Ellia shops. Each time she earns money and picks out something for everyone in the family. This was her gift to Ashlyn, a door hanger and marker.
Hooray! A dog that you can tell it to walk!
Aftermath.
More apples Quincy style. She'll get them out and eat practically the whole bag...minus the peel.
Now there is a fun surprise to wake up to...naked girl.
Quincy's presents.
Oops, can't forget the stool.
Ellia's presents, she had fun helping me set them all up .
Gift for both big girls.
Dad's presents.
Mom's stuff.
Ashlyn's gifts
and this dinosaur
and her pots, flower and seeds.
Lego village.
Ornaments decorated and hung!
Trying out the wii fit board. Ashlyn was hesitant to try, but she beat us all in the Olympic games.
Quincy and Elsa made a good team too.
Dad's last gift to the girls was making them a wall sized dry erase board.
Brand new church dresses!
We decided to make up our trip to Natchitoches while their lights were still on display. We took a little side trip to see the Cane River plantation areas that were described in a recent book I read, Cane River. It was based on the true events of four generations of slave women who all had their children by slave owners.
One of the characters, Suzette, was even able to have communion at a church of this same name - though the dates on the church don't match that of the book.
Once we were in Natchitoches, we walked up and down the main downtown street and in and out of the shops. There was a great old Hardware Store that was really neat, that's where I snapped this picture BEFORE I read the "no pictures" sign.
We also spent a bunch of time warming up in the toy store. They had lot's of toys out that the girls could play with.
The street lights before dark.
The lights turned on before dark which made it kindof fun to take pictures and know what we were getting into!
As it got darker, it only got more picturesque, with the lights on and under the bridges, and the reflection on the river.
The next morning we visited Louisiana's state sports museum.
We also did a quick drive-by picture of the Steel Magnolias house.
Then we visited fort St. Jean Baptiste.
The current fort is a replica of an original French fort settlement; Based on the original fort blueprints, established in 1716. Natchitoches itself was founded in 1714 as the first permanent European settlement in the territory later known as the Louisiana Purchase.
Originally, Fort St. Jean Baptiste was devised as an outpost to counter the Spanish from advancing into French territory but it soon became a center of economic significance, particularly with neighboring Caddo tribes.
The fort was both a trading and military post and was abandoned after 1764. The fort was rebuilt, but the actual location is unknown.
The store/trading post that goes by another name I can't think of.....
General's quarters.
Chapel.
and FINALLY! off to lunch to try Lasayones famous meat pies. They were absolutely worth it! It was so cold outside and we slipped into this bustling old time restaurant with a perfectly accommodating southern waitress. Then, to taste the pies was something I won't soon forget. It was just a great set up for some good food!
Drove home a different way and went on this really cool bridge. Very impressive as you drive over it.
Planting Ashlyn's seeds from Christmas.
Princess outfit! (just like Ashlyn wore it!)
Quincy doing funny poses.
Lasayones for meat pies. We also decided to do a quick comparison so on the way out of town we stopped at a recommended gas station to try their meat pie. Comparable, but different in a way. I like the more breaded crust at the restaurant.
New Year's Eve treat at TCBY.
My favorite Christmas card this year!
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