Easter 2016

My favorite weekend of the year.  It's beginning to be something the kids' look forward to as well which makes my heart happy.  We invited JuJo to come with us and they did, which we were really excited about.  Jo and I left around 2 and I had my 4 with me and she had her 2 plus Xavier with her.  We followed each other until right before Hammond, when she needed to stop for gas but her phone died so she didn't have any way to let me know.  I was worried, but she made it to Uncle Charles' house safe and sound around 9:30 pm.  The kids played outside for a while and then we put them to bed around 10:30 all in the back bedroom.  Jo was going to nurse Jenevieve so I let her have some privacy and I went to socialize.  B and Julian arrived around 11:30 pm and Julian pretty much went straight to bed (he woke up at 4 am for work).  B and I slept on the air mattress in the living room and went to sleep around 1 am.  

Friday morning JuJo told us they were going to stay in a hotel.  I was not happy about it, but B told me that we couldn't change their minds and for some people, staying at my Uncle's house is a bit of a culture shock.  I guess he's right, but to me, it's normal.  After a few hours, we went to New Orleans with JuJo to walk around the city and eat at Cafe Du Monde.  R was our only kids that wanted to come, so we let the younger 3 stay back with Tata and Nana at Uncle Charles' house.  We enjoyed our time and walked around Jackson Square and ate beingets.  JuJo enjoyed the city and said it wasn't as scary as they thought it was going to be.  New Orleans has a bad reputation and maybe some parts are bad, but overall, it's a neat city.  While walking around Jackson Square, we saw Chris, Heather, and Lincoln.  They had taken a Riverboat Tour and were just finishing up.  We all headed back to Uncle Charles' house for some yummy food made by Dawn.  The rest of Friday evening was spent hanging out with C/H and JuJo and the kids playing.  B set up the tent for the boys and we stuffed the crawfish bags inside.  R and E went to the hotel with Gram & Granddad so the boys (A, W, Jeff & Xavier) slept in the tent outside.  It opened up a lot of space inside so B and I had the room all to ourselves.  Before going to bed, we made smores at the bonfire and played spades with Grandmalupe (one of my favorite parts). 

Saturday started off the same way it does each year: helping Grandmalupe make beignets in the kitchen while most people are still sleeping.  Uncle Charles is always up and out the door early to go pick up the crawfish and get things started.  Uncle Waldon and Little Charles usually help out but Lil' C wasn't able to come down this year due to residency up in Oregon.  We ate breakfast and just hung out at the house for a while.  I decided it was time to stuff the Easter eggs with candy for the hunt and when I went into the bedroom to get the empty eggs and candy, I found my dad and Ella still in bed with Kristin.  So I jumped in and cuddled with them and then Ashley K came in too.  All 5 of us were snuggled up close having a great time until Grandmalupe came in and fussed us all that we needed to get out of bed.  I believe her exact words were "if all you're going to do is sleep, then go home".  We all laughed when she left the room and then slowly, one by one, we got out of bed.  It was really cute though.  Ashley, Jo, Heather and I all filled the plastic eggs with candy and a few with money for the hunt and then spent the rest of the time outside eating crawfish and playing.  We got a soccer game going and my team was B, me, Ryan DeDeaux, Bubba and A versus Julian, Chris, Riley, Fresh, and Lloyd.  We played for a while and all of us were really sweaty but it was fun.  After soccer, we ate more, then played Tai games that Fai had made up.  B orchestrated the games and they were really cute.  The kids loved playing and the adults gathered around to watch.  B shared an Easter store with the children before releasing them to the front yard for the hunt. Before everyone started making their exits, we took some family pictures and said our goodbyes.  C/H/L left when it started to get dark and we wouldn't see them again for a long time.  We love spending time with the Bryant's and are so thankful that they still make the trip over to LA for Easter.  JuJo left with the boys because they were going to get an early start back to Texas on Sunday since Ju has to get up so early for work.  They said that they had a great time and Jo said that "next year she will bring fajitas" so that's a good sign that they think they might come back.  Our kids had to sleep inside because the rain was coming and B didn't want the tent to get all wet and then we would have to pack it up and put it in the van so the four kids were on the floor in our room.  After putting the kids to bed, B and Lloyd packed up the tent and we sort of hung out outside for a bit.  We got into this really weird conversation with this guy who is a friend of a friend.  He wasn't all there (if you know what I mean) so he did most of the talking and B and I just listened for a while.  I had enough of listening to him slur his words so I excused myself to head inside and get ready for bed.  We had an early morning since we needed to leave at 7:00 for Easter Sunday Mass.

There were 2 things that made this Saturday different than other Saturdays of Easter Weekend.  1. We did not play softball and I blame Lil' Charles for that one.  See, Lil C couldn't come because of his residency in Oregon and he and I always get the game going.  I asked a few people and no one seemed motivated and I didn't know where the bats and bases were.  I don't know if anyone else noticed like I did, but I didn't hear any other adults asking if we were going to play.  2. Bubba and Gilly came over and shared with us the news of their baby!  I can write it now and no one knows if I'm telling the truth, but I knew it.  As soon as they walked up and he hugged me, I knew something was up and I just had this feeling like they were pregnant.  He didn't tell us right away, but when he did, we all hugged and were excited for them.  Now, of course the circumstances aren't ideal, but things could be worse.  We had to have the conversation with R about how they could have a baby and not be married (ugh) but we are happy for them.  They've made a lot of mature decisions and they are excited about Baby Eli being born in November.

Sunday morning came early, but the kids got up and dressed in their newest Easter outfits and we followed Uncle Charles to church.  Church lasted an hour and we sat with Mom & Chuck and Uncle Charles & Grandmalupe.  The weather was terrible and it was pouring when we arrived and left.  It pretty much rained all night and morning.  After church we went by Starbucks for a little treat and then headed back to Uncle Charles' house.  They needed a few things for Easter Dinner so B & I volunteered to go to the store so we could help contribute.  Before eating, we packed up our stuff and packed up Storm so we could be ready to get on the road.  We ate outside under the car port and B said the blessing for everyone.  Easter Dinner was really nice and I was glad that we had a chance to stay and eat this year with everyone.  My mom & Chuck took W/E back with them to keep for the week and our ride home was easy and quiet.  We picked up Cooper on the way from Ms. Mary, and got home and the kids went to bed around 9:00.  The weekend was great!