Easter Weekend 2017

I wish Easter weekend could happen more often, but it's only once a year.  It's still my favorite weekend of the year and it's quickly becoming one of my kids' favorite weekends too.  Of course Civitan Camp is a favorite, but Easter is different.  It's truly relaxing and fun for all types.

This year was no different except we had more friends join us.  The Gillams flew down from North Carolina and the Livingston's drove over from Houston.  Our family drove over Thursday night after B got off of work and we made it real late, but everyone was sweet and waited up for us.  We quickly went to bed because we had to leave pretty early to pick Jen and the girls up from the airport.  I don't remember exactly what time they landed, but they flew from Florida because they had been on Spring Break at Disney.  Keith was coming form NC because he still had to work, so his flight was later.  After picking up Jen and the girls, we went into New Orleans for a while and walked around and went to Cafe Du Monde.  We looked at art and some of the magic shows around Jackson Square.

With Bree Bree making a pit stop

The line for Beignets

Tired after walking around New Orleans

We didn't have enough time to drive back to Hammond, so we went to visit Alyse for a short while.  Alyse lives in New Orleans and I hadn't seen her since last year when we ran into her at the Saints game.  She has a cute little house with a nice pool in the back, and she lives pretty close to Drew Brees.  I'm not sure which house was his, but it's close enough that he and his kids came trick-or-treating at Alyse's house last year.  It was just a way for us to pass the time.  Jen and all the kids were still in the van watching a movie and cooling off from our New Orleans walk.  Keith's flight arrived without problems and after he loaded up, we headed back to Hammond.  C/H Bryant were at Uncle Charles' house as well as most of the usual family that is there early.  Rob and Maria made their way over Friday night after they checked into their hotel.  Dad and Ella rented a bounce house that had been set up so that was a huge hit for the kids.  After a while, the 6 adults (B/K, K/J, and R/M) went to Canes for a little time away from the kids.  We left my dad in charge of all the kids and we figured they would just play outside.  When it was bed time, B set the tent up for the 6 kids, and K/J stayed in our normal room.  B and I set up our air mattress in the front room (where all the shoes are kept) but that was a mistake because the young people were singing karaoke on the carport (right outside our room).  It was loud, very loud.  Just imagine a bunch of young adults (late 20's) all drunk and singing bad karaoke.  We did not get much sleep that night.

Shopping trip for the weekend

gotta have beer

Some of the crowd

Bryce teaching the Easter story

brothers cooking crawfish

We had a bounce house this year for kids

I woke up early and went for a run.  Traditionally, B and I help Grandmalupe make beignets so we upheld tradition.  I love cooking with GLupe in the kitchen.  She's so serious about what she does.  Sort of like how she plays cards.  I love playing cards with GLupe and she's always my partner.  After breakfast, the kids just played outside and we helped get things ready for Uncle Charles.  He already had the cookers started and had picked up the crawfish already.  We cleaned the tables and got some of the chairs open and ready for guests.  I can't even remember who all came, but I know I spent most of my time with the Gillams, Livingstons, Bryants, Bubba & Gily and Mom & Chuck.  Jay Men. and his wife were there for the first time, and it seemed like they loved it.  Jay's grandfather (Uncle Tony) is G-Lupe's brother, and he lives either in Arizona or Nevada.  When Bub and I would visit Tacoma, WA, that's who we would stay with. It was good to see him and for B to meet him.  Saturday included the normal Easter story by Bryce for all the kids and then an egg hunt following. 

stealing a beignet

my people

godparents

Gily and Ashley

Bubba

After the egg hunt, Gram & Granddad took W and E and headed toward Florida because they were going to Disney for the week.  They had plans to spend them night in Tallahassee and then drive to Disney on Easter Sunday.  They had cute Easter shirts to wear also. The rest of us stayed in Hammond and had a wonderful afternoon.  We played kids vs the adults softball, ate more food, and just hung out until the bon fire where we made s'mores.  It's always a wonderful time.

Easter lunch with the family

packing eggs for the hunt

Loving on Grandmalupe

god-daughters

Easter in Disney

passed out on the way back to TX

Easter Sunday seemed weird without W and E but we woke up and went church Grandmalupe and Uncle Charles.  My mom and Chuck didn't go because they were long gone on the road to Disney.  Mass was good and then we headed home to get ready for our Easter family meal.  There was a lot of food and a lot of people.  The weather was so nice that we set up tables outside and ate under the trees.  B blessed the meal and the Livingston's came back to eat with us and J/K were there also.  After eating lunch, we took J/K to the airport and then hit the road back to Houston.  We wanted to stay longer, but knew that we needed to get back because of work and school. 

R and Eli

BFF's

weird not having W & E

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!

Miles on Storm

We drove A LOT in the month of March.  We drove to San Antonio for Sea World the first weekend of Spring Break, then to Oklahoma the second weekend of spring break.  The very next weekend was Easter, so we drove to Hammond, LA followed by a second trip to LA to get W/E back from my mom and Chuck.  4 straight weekends in a row putting miles on Storm.  She's a good van and she needs a deep cleaning.  Here are the stats:

Sea World 204 miles there and 204 miles back
Edmond, OK 483 there and 484 back
Hammond, LA 344 miles and 344 back
Lafayette, LA 255 miles there and 255 back

4 straight weekends on the road and 2,573 miles later....We are tired but I can't imagine how Storm's insides are feeling.  Here's what happened to me this past week (April 6th) on a Wednesday:

 We got a new tire and we hope that she won't rebel for her treatment anymore.